In 1990, De Luca made his debut in the film industry as an associate producer on '. De Luca has been collecting comics since childhood and is a huge fan of comic books and graphic novels, in particular the works of Frank Miller, and sci-fi properties such as Star Trek. He wrote the 1994 horror filmIn the Mouth of Madness, directed by John Carpenter. De Luca co-wrote the story for the 1995 film adaptation of the popular British comic book character Judge Dredd, starring Sylvester Stallone as the eponymous lead. In 1996, De Luca, a self-proclaimed "Trekkie", was approached by the producersBrannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore for ' and pitched an idea which turned into an opportunity to write an episode for the series. De Luca is a former President of Production for New Line Cinema. During his tenure at New Line Cinema, he oversaw a variety of films that would come to define the studio, including Seven, Friday, Boogie Nights, Austin Powers, Rush Hour, Blade, American History X, and Magnolia. DeLuca wrote and produced , the sixth entry in the long-running Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. After New Line Cinema, De Luca became President of Production at DreamWorks, his tenure lasting between 2001 and 2004. After his contract with DreamWorks ended, De Luca signed a production deal with Sony Pictures and started his own production company, Michael De Luca Productions. His first release under his production company was Ghost Rider starring Nicolas Cage, followed by 21 and The Love Guru starring Mike Myers. He was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar two years in a row for 2010's The Social Network and Moneyball. He received a third nomination in 2014 for producing Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips. De Luca also produced the 2011 remake of the cult classicvampire horror filmFright Night. De Luca and Dana Brunetti reunited for Fifty Shades of Grey, the 2015 film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name. It was a massive financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing R-rated films of all time. On January 3, 2020, it was announced that De Luca had been appointed Chairman of the MGMMotion Picture Group.
Personal life
De Luca was previously in a relationship with actress Julianne Moore, star of New Line's Boogie Nights. In 2009, he married actress Angelique Madrid from Ft. Worth, Texas, who was a contestant on the first season of ABC's The Bachelor. They have a daughter, Skylar, and a son, Caden.