I make thingspeople can't ignore.

Award-winning filmmaker. Content strategist. Repeatedly viral. 16+ years of building things that stick. 150 million+ organic views. Not a dollar in paid promotion.

150M+Organic Views
3000+Videos Produced
6000%Engagement vs Paid
186K+Reddit Upvotes
30+Film Awards
82%RT Fresh
150+Countries Reached
0Dollars in Paid Promotion
150M+Organic Views
3000+Videos Produced
6000%Engagement vs Paid
186K+Reddit Upvotes
30+Film Awards
82%RT Fresh
150+Countries Reached
0Dollars in Paid Promotion
Press & Collaborations
Forbes Rolling Stone The Hollywood Reporter Deadline MrBeast Modest Mouse Fangoria SlashFilm Ars Technica Collider Ridley Scott

I make things people care about, again and again and again.

Games, film, advertising, memes. I've led content strategy for titles played by millions, directed an award-winning feature film, and watched my family photoshoots become perpetually viral memes. Everything I've built started with the same question: will someone care?

Murder Bury Win board game

Content & Community Strategy

Global Head of Content & Community at Amazon Game Studios. I've driven strategy on multiple #1 hits. Before that: performance advertising at Twitter, user acquisition at Electronic Arts, and building an entire video content operation from zero at Wargaming. At every stop, the same pattern: community content that outperforms paid and promotional content by 300-6,000% in engagement. The results transfer because the approach does.

Video Production, Hosting & Direction

Thousands of videos across games, film, and advertising. Documentary series, comedy formats, dev updates, community shows, music videos, UA ads. Art direction for Toyota. On-camera host for years. GDC speaker. I've done every job in the pipeline: writing, directing, producing, editing, costuming, art direction, on-camera. From concept through post. Every frame earns its keep.

Brand Voice & Trust

I work backwards from the customer. Trust is earned through consistency, sincerity, and knowing when to shut up and listen. The audience always knows when you're faking it.

Going Viral (Repeatedly)

Multiple Reddit front page hits. 186K+ combined upvotes. Reshared by celebrities, picked up in 20+ countries on every inhabited continent. The work earns its reach.

Selected Work

The track record.

@everlovan

Family portraits with my wife Amy and our daughter that became global memes. Amy does the costumes and prosthetics. Our daughter brings the energy. The Gollum and Penguin photos are active memes, reshared daily around the world.

750K+ engagements

186K+ Reddit upvotes · 130K+ Instagram likes · 60K+ Facebook reactions · shared in 20+ countries

Murder Bury Win

Wrote, directed, and produced my feature debut. Shot in 14 days with a crew of 10. Self-funded. 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. 30+ awards. Distributed internationally. Forbes called it "a standout comedy." Austin Chronicle Top 10 Festival Films of 2020.

82% Fresh

30+ awards · international distribution · streaming worldwide

Amazon Game Studios

Led content and community for Throne and Liberty from launch — #1 on Steam, #1 on Twitch. Drove video content across Lost Ark and New World, both also #1 on Steam. Community videos outperformed trailers by up to 6,000% in engagement. 45+ social channels across 5 titles.

6,000% over paid

community vs. paid · 5 titles · 6.8B impressions

Wargaming NA

Built the entire North American video content operation from zero. 570 videos. On-camera host for years. Grew engagement by 2,400% and new-content views by 316% year over year. Documentary series, comedy shorts, WWII history, live broadcasts. Not a dollar in paid promotion.

50M+ organic views

570 videos · 2,400% engagement growth · all organic

Modest Mouse

Costume design and art direction on two official music videos with my wife Amy: Lampshades on Fire (Rolling Stone called it "visceral") and The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box. Amy slapped me with a fish in Lampshades. I played the death figure in Ground Walks. Still accumulating views a decade later.

8M+ views

2 music videos · costume & art direction

Japan in a Day

Co-director on the Scot Free Productions (Ridley Scott) documentary capturing Japan one year after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Selected from thousands of user-submitted clips from across the country. Premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Ridley Scott

Scot Free Productions · Tokyo Intl Film Fest

Michael Lovan

Theater kid. Filmmaker. Content strategist. I'm always searching for ways to connect.

I studied directing at UCLA. BA in Theater, MA in Directing. I’ve loved theater my whole life and I’ve been a gamer just as long. Right now I’m having the most fun talking to the people who play them.

Sixteen years of building programs that didn't exist before I got there. I created Wargaming's entire North American video and community function. Now at Amazon Game Studios, I lead content strategy across Lost Ark, New World, Throne and Liberty, and Tomb Raider. Along the way, I worked with MrBeast, did costume and art direction for some Modest Mouse music videos, and got my indie film Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and covered in Forbes, Fangoria, and The Hollywood Reporter.

I live in the Bay Area with my wife Amy and our daughter. We make fun things together: ridiculous films, family photoshoots, and whatever project speaks to us next.

My leadership compresses to three tenets: Be of Service. Lead With Emotion. Don't Bullshit. I'd rather leave something unsaid and trust you to pick it up than spell it out and kill the moment. Humor is how I process most things. I'm warm but I don't perform warmth.

Michael Lovan filming from inside a WWII Spitfire

Filming from a WWII Spitfire for Wargaming's Remember Dunkirk documentary.

UCLA · Bay Area, CA · Head Turner Films, LLC

Our family photos became internet legends.

Amy does the costumes and prosthetics. I do the "normal" version. Our daughter steals the show. The internet does the rest. Every single day we're tagged in new threads sharing our photos around the world. All organic. @everlovan

Last of Us family portrait

The Last of Us

73,068 upvotes on r/gaming
Lord of the Rings Gollum family portrait

Lord of the Rings

55,793 upvotes · active global meme
Penguin Batman Returns family portrait

Batman Returns

45,900 upvotes · active global meme
Severance family portrait

Severance

The Music Dance Experience
Everything Everywhere All at Once family portrait

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Hot dog fingers included
The Shining family portrait

The Shining

Here's Johnny
Alien family portrait

Alien

In space, no one can hear you parent
Squid Game family portrait

Squid Game

Player 456
Labyrinth family portrait

Labyrinth

Where it all began
I just like making cool stuff.

Murder Bury Win

I wrote, directed, and produced an indie feature about three friends who invent a board game about getting away with murder... then have to use it for real. Shot in 14 days with a crew of 10. Self-funded. Screened at 15+ festivals including Cinequest, Austin Film Festival, and Leeds International. Won 30+ awards, including Best Feature at Phoenix FearCon. Distributed internationally by Gravitas Ventures. Covered by Ars Technica, SlashFilm, Collider, and 25+ more outlets.

82%
RT Tomatometer
30+
Festival Awards
14
Days to Shoot
15+
Film Festivals

"Assured direction, strong pacing, and a great balance of tension and comedy."

FORBES

"Beautifully performed, frequently hilarious."

VAGUE VISAGES

"A unique contribution to the sub-genre of films exploring what leads ordinary people to commit horrific acts of violence."

AUSTIN CHRONICLE

"A deft, thoughtful murder-comedy, with genuinely laugh-out-loud moments."

NIGHTMARE ON FILM STREET

"90 fun minutes fly by. 9/10."

HORRORBUZZ

Murder Bury Win official movie poster

Watch the Trailer

Streaming on Prime Video · MGM+ · Apple TV · Roku

Released in US · Brazil · Germany · Spain · UK

"Tremendous fun"Berkeleyside
"5/5"The Scariest Things
"An excellent dark comedy"Horror Obsessive
"9.5/10"Christine's Cinema Corner
"A win for everyone"The Cine-Men
"8/10"But Why Tho
"Highly entertaining · 4/5"Horror Fuel
"Top 10 Festival Films of 2020"Austin Chronicle
"Darkly playful, poignant critique of ruthless capitalism"Daily Californian
"Roll the dice and take a chance"The Spool
"The perfect swirl of conflicting personalities and campy horror"Austin Film Festival
"Tremendous fun"Berkeleyside
"5/5"The Scariest Things
"An excellent dark comedy"Horror Obsessive
"9.5/10"Christine's Cinema Corner
"A win for everyone"The Cine-Men
"8/10"But Why Tho
"Highly entertaining · 4/5"Horror Fuel
"Top 10 Festival Films of 2020"Austin Chronicle
"Darkly playful, poignant critique of ruthless capitalism"Daily Californian
"Roll the dice and take a chance"The Spool
"The perfect swirl of conflicting personalities and campy horror"Austin Film Festival
What People Say

"You could have adopted any persona you wanted, yet you chose to be yourself. That incredible level of sincerity serves as an example to all of us."

Lovan Says Goodbye · YouTube comment

"This is probably the best World of Tanks video ever."

Planet Tanks · 846 likes

"When a game publisher does more to preserve and tell history than most American media outlets."

Remember Dunkirk · 292 likes

"Can I work at your marketing department? Looks like fun."

#CrushingIt · 608K views

"Whoever had this idea deserves a pay raise."

WoT & Order: Detanktive · 258 likes

"This video is just perfect. Total transparency, we love that."

Forged in Aeternum Q&A · 185 likes

"I really love how much effort this team puts into their videos. You're all wonderful."

Festive in Aeternum · 88 likes

Let's make something together.

If something here resonated, I'd love to hear from you.