He created the horror comic book series Chopper published by Asylum Press[1] and wrote the screenplay for the movie version of it.

Shortly after returning to Patrick AFB, Florida, he was accepted into UCF's motion picture program,[4] where he developed a passion for writing, directing and producing films alongside classmates Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, who went on to co-direct The Blair Witch Project several years later.

Shapiro went on to write and develop projects for MGM, HBO and other production companies including an adaptation of Dragonlance, the New York Times bestselling series of fantasy novels with sales of 22 million copies worldwide, and the role-playing game Millennium’s End.

While writing professionally in Los Angeles, Shapiro attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where he received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting.

[5] A prequel based on characters from the comic book was produced as a web series[6] starring actors Tyler Mane (Halloween, X-Men) and Andrew Bryniarski (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Batman Returns).