Cinebuds · Radio Milwaukee

A tribute to Milwaukee filmmaker Michael Schultz

September 10, 2025·27 min·2 clips

Milwaukee Film launches an award named after director Michael Schultz, who launched Denzel Washington's career.

The hook is local pride. Pollard and Zori talk about Michael Schultz as a Milwaukee director with a resume that runs through movies, television, and theater, even if plenty of listeners may not know his name yet. That surprise gives the episode its spark. They treat the tribute less like a formal honor roll and more like a nudge toward cult favorites and a filmmaker with real Milwaukee roots. Milwaukee Film is naming an award for him. Schultz gets the first one, with a plan to recognize another Black director each year whose work has shaped culture and the industry. The schedule gets specific in a way that helps. Friday brings The Last Dragon at 8 p.m., and the conversation hangs out with Bruce Leroy, martial arts obsession, costumes, and Shonuf, the Shogun of Harlem. Saturday brings Car Wash. Schultz attends the 3 p.m. screening afterward for an onstage conversation, which gives the weekend the feel of a real gathering rather than a tidy playlist. Cooley High is the anchor. Before its 7:30 screening, Schultz is set for a Q&A, and Milwaukee Film plans to present the first award with his name on it. Dori asks about what comes next. Pollard says he does not know exactly how involved Schultz will be with future recipients, then comes back to the larger hope: bringing in Black directors whose work still echoes. That uncertainty helps. Schedules, willingness to come, and the ordinary grind of programming sit right next to the excitement, so the event talk never turns glossy. Still, the possibilities feel wide open. Pollard has a kid-at-Christmas charge as he imagines future guests, future movies, and a Milwaukee celebration that keeps building around Schultz's name. The close stays neighborly. After recommendations and thanks to the producer, theme-song creator, sponsor, and members, the episode lands where Cinebuds often lands: see you at the movies, with the room still buzzing before the weekend starts.

As heard by us

A local tribute that feels like the start of something worth repeating.

CineBuds treats the Milwaukee Film tribute to Michael Schultz as more than a polite nod. It connects his career to the weekend screenings of The Last Dragon, Car Wash, and Cooley High, and the first Michael Schultz Award lands as something that could keep going, not just a…

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Why you'd press play

You want a Milwaukee film conversation centered on Michael Schultz, the new award named for him, and a weekend of screenings.

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