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Michael Cimino (pronounced [ˈtʃamɪnəʊ], "chi-MĒ-nō", born February 3, 1939) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject matter. Michael Cimino was born in New York City on February 3, 1939. A third-generation Italian-American, Cimino grew up in Old Westbury, Long Island. He was regarded as a prodigy at the private schools his parents sent him to, but rebelled against... MORE

Michael Cimino (pronounced [ˈtʃamɪnəʊ], "chi-MĒ-nō", born February 3, 1939) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject matter. Michael Cimino was born in New York City on February 3, 1939. A third-generation Italian-American, Cimino grew up in Old Westbury, Long Island. He was regarded as a prodigy at the private schools his parents sent him to, but rebelled against his parents by consorting with lowlifes, getting into fights and coming home drunk. Of this time, Cimino described himself as "always hanging around with kids my parents didn't approve of. Those guys were so alive. When I was fifteen I spent three weeks driving all over Brooklyn with a guy who was following his girlfriend. He was convinced she was cheating on him, and he had a gun, he was going to kill her. Their was such passion and intensity about their lives. When the rich kids got together, the most we ever did was cross against a red light." His father was a music publisher. Cimino says his father LESS