Born in New York City, Michael joined the United States Navy and served as a Seabee. He graduated from the University of Southern California and began his film career as a location scout and then assistant to director John Milius. The movie he produced and directed, "The Deer Hunter", garnered 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. He was also nominated for Best Screenplay.Cimino's next film, "Heaven's Gate", was nominated for five Academy Awards but received only one, for its cinematography
His third project, "The Deer Hunter", won three Oscars, including Best Actor (De Niro), Best Editing (McNeil) and Best Writing (Hill). His first dramatic feature film, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four: Best Supporting Actress (Kathleen Turner), Best Original Screenplay (Hill), Best Cinematography (Allen) and Best Costume Design (Jack O'Connell).
Making movies is controlled anarchy, chaos.Michael Cimino
Family politics are worse than world politics. That's all I can say. You don't get to choose your family you get to choose your friends. Your family is imposed upon you.Michael Cimino
Friendship and sentiment and the giving of one's words are very important.Michael Cimino
