Michael Morris is an actor, producer, writer and director known for 3 Wishes for Christmas, The Shepherd Code (2024) and The Shepherd Code II :Road Back (2025). He stopped by to speak with us about The Shepherd Code movies.
You were an associate producer on the first Shepherd Code movie but became co-director for part 2; how was that to work on and what is your process for working with another director?
I had just finished filming The Last Nosferatu with Alan and he mentioned a new action thriller he was working on. He sent me the script and we worked together to flesh out the characters and edit the script. I came onboard as Associate Producer to help Alan with the UK filming alongside Joe Hallett. Matt Daniels was born at this point and the rest is history. I was already heavily involved with The Shepherd Code franchise so moving to Co- Director alongside Alan was pretty straight forward. As I again helped flesh out and beef up the script and brought it to M and M Film Productions to take on all producing elements. Alongside Monika Gergelova and Malcolm Winter we organised the UK cast and locations, plus took care of the action choreography bringing in Kiran Pande and his fantastic stunt crew. Alan organised the US and Portugal cast and locations. Co-Directing is something I’ve done numerous times as I can listen and share responsibility very well. So, no matter who I am paired with I give 100% to get the job done.
How would you describe working with Alan Delabie?
Alan is great to collaborate with as his passion is always on show. I’ve worked with him on numerous projects, and we always get the job done. Alan is very much like me in regard to giving everything we work on 100% and working at top speed. He’s a guy that walks the walk and I respect that.
Did you both have a clear vision for the film from the start, or did it evolve?
The vision was clear as we both worked on the script from day one. Alan had the story planned out and I helped beef it up with more action and changed up some of the characters dialogue.
I edited the script, and we delivered it to M and M Film Productions as it was very apparent at this early stage that the budget needed to rise significantly to get this film made.
Do you have any favourite genres or film styles that inspire you?
My favourite genre is Action and Sci-fi. That’s my primary focus when I look to get involved in projects. Those genres and scale get my creative juices flowing.
Each movie has a great cast with awesome villains like Silvio Simac and Mark Strange; how do you decide who you want to join the movies?
Due to my Marketing background and Alan’s understanding of filmmaking it was very clear we needed to cast actors with strong marketing potential to get the films sold, distributed and the audience watching. Casting action actors such as Silvio, Mark, Shaina West and Don Wilson was pivotal as we had to cast actors around both Alan and myself that had great screen presence and also most importantly sales potential. We also brought in Michael McKell for the same reason. Michael is a great actor, so he adds depth but also adds marketing and sales potential due to his vast experience and back catalogue of Film and TV work. Casting can make or break a film. It’s a key element in securing both finance and sales. How you market a film is extremely important and that starts from the casting stage.
Who are the directors or filmmakers that have influenced you the most?
Zack Snyder, Michael Mann, Michael Bay. They present everything I look for in a film. Fantastic style, vision and some of the most kick ass visuals you will ever see on screen!
What were some unexpected lessons you learned from making these films?
Time, scale and coordination. Budget dictates time, and on an independent feature that is one of your greatest battles, as you don’t have enough budget available to grant enough choreography days, rehearsal days and actor availability days. Scale is what gives a film greater depth and again the budget dictates scale. On paper you can plan an epic but in reality, once the numbers are crunched, the scale slips away and you have to evolve and adapt very quickly. Coordination is key and yet again as previously mentioned budget pushes the coordination to its limits within each department. We had a fantastic crew on this film, and they worked their bums off to deliver this overly ambitious film for the budget we had to play with.
Are you involved in the upcoming third film? Can you discuss any details?
I am not involved in the third film due to scheduling conflicts. M and M Film productions did not produce the upcoming film.
What would you like audiences to take away from these films
Just have fun! It’s made to entertain with over-the-top characters and a comic book sense of humour. Don’t over think it.