Intro 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  In addition to my own stories I want to help you tell yours, so I'm seeking all collaborators who have a stake in telling compelling stories grounded in character within the studio system and beyond. 

Feature work of late includes the crime thrillers TRAFICANTE and HANGFIRE, both of which are collaborations with director/producer Jose De Avila, and the comedy ANNA'S BOUNTY for director Adrian Pruett. I also wrote an episode of the limited series drama FORGOTTEN DISTRICT for 24k Black Films and am currently staffed on the web series comedy THE SINGLE(S) for Round Group Entertainment/Sentience Entertainment. 

In addition, I've written three book adaptations -- THE SPINNING MAN, KILL ME and CIRCLE OF SIX -- for CAA-mentored Worldlight Pictures, as well as the harrowing true story EMIGRANTE for Isickles Media.  

If you're in the market for specs -- loglines of which can be found below -- or a writer for hire, you can reach me at DonaldTLewis@gmail.com 

Looking forward to seeing you down the road!

Spec Features

MONTGOMERY MUD (ancestry thriller)                                                                 

When a biracial lawyer discovers his African American family on an ancestry website, his loving younger sister invites him to a family reunion where their malevolent older sister forces a battle of wills due to his origin story...their deceased father's love for a white woman.

PLAY RESPONSIBLY (neo-noir thriller)

After winning a lottery ticket worth $6.5 million, a small town housewife hides it from her abuser husband, planning to burn it in front of him on the day of its expiration, until she realizes her more empowering path is his murder.    

MOTHERLOVE (psychological thriller)

A needy 12-year-old boy and his mother's boyfriend conspire to create a family, leading to the mother's murder and the boy's fight for his future and redemption.  

THE FOLLOWER (teen thriller)

In leafy suburbia, a preppy teen beauty takes a bullied outcast under her sophomore wing, inadvertently opening a Pandora's box of working class revenge.

COME TO ME SOFTLY (neo-noir thriller)

An avenging daughter plots to execute her father when he's released from prison for her mother's murder, but her mother's spirit has more ambitious plans.

MOVIE HOUSE (horror)

A deteriorating movie palace learns that developers have plans to convert it into a mall, forcing it to take the only action it can -- deadly defiance. 

YOUNG BLOOD (coming of age drama)

Two 11-year-old boys -- one white, one black -- fight against their oppression in a Catholic orphanage and run away, only to escape into the oppression of 1968 Chicago.

BLEEDING HEARTS (urban drama)

A veteran white LAPD officer resolves to protect the unborn child of an abusive black mother, forcing both to confront their very different lives in South Central LA. 

FULL COURT PRESS (drama/stage play adaptation)

In a downtown Chicago hotel on the day of the NBA Draft, eight guys take on race, basketball and what it means to be a man, balling on the court of explosive racial politics.

ROADSIDE MAMAS (road dramedy)

Two gals in their golden years -- a straight-laced businesswoman and a free-spirited eccentric -- meet in Taos, New Mexico, finding love, adventure and purpose on a cantankerous road to Chicago.

NIGHT BUS (romantic dramedy)

A single mom navigates through the pain of romance and fear of her jazz piano talent, driving a night bus in the big city, when a pain in the ass law student challenges her to reimagine her life.

THE HANDYMAN (romantic comedy) 

A self-absorbed law firm manager acquires boyfriends for the sole purpose of working on her aging parents' home, only to fall for a pro skateboarder past his prime who can't fix anything -- except her heart.

BRACING WHIFFS (coming of age comedy)

On the cusp of high school, a small town boy's first love faces first bust when his nemesis middle school principal begins dating the new high school principal -- his crush's mother.

SWEET MOVE (college comedy)

When a college basketball star loses her scholarship to a sorority vendetta, a group of off-campus slackers take her in and fight the power to get her back in school, becoming student movers.

Spec Shorts

GOOD GIRL (drama/stage play adaptation)

A doll searches for answers when her young owner doesn't return, revealing dark, disturbing secrets a doll shouldn't have to know.

PERENNIALS (drama)

Paranoia takes root when a white suburban woman repeatedly receives business cards from a Mexican landscaper through her front door mail slot, sending her on a frantic mission to stop the invasion of her home.

CROSSING  (drama)

A businessman helps an elderly woman cross the street, opening his troubled heart to her and changing his life.

BEHIND THE WALL (comedy)

A nerdy guy confidentially obsesses about the girl on the other side of his apartment wall, till the girl's new beau forces him out of his comfort zone.

Resume

IMDb 

TERROR ON ALCATRAZ (produced)

   Trans World Entertainment

TRAFICANTE (pre-production)

   Traficante Film LLC

   Christopher Silva Entertainment

FORGOTTEN DISTRICT (pre-production)

   24k Black Films

ANNA'S BOUNTY (script)

   Adrian Pruett Entertainment

____________

Options

ROADSIDE MAMAS

  Cine Enterprises, Inc. (2)

   Letitia Popa-Schwartz, director

   Roadside Productions

YOUNG BLOOD

   Nemesis Productions

   Letitia Popa-Schwartz, director

SWEET MOVE

   NAK Filmworks

   Brian Bender Productions

BENCH PRESS

   Patrick Gorman, actor

   Broadway/Hollywood Productions 

BLEEDING HEARTS

   Martin Morris Productions   

STREET FIGHT

   Bravo Entertainment Inc.

MOVIE HOUSE

   Broadway/Hollywood Productions

FULL COURT PRESS (stage play)

   Desert Eagle Films

____________

Screen Rights (to stage plays)

THIRD WORLD

   Robert H. Townsend, producer

WISE FOOLS

   Robert H. Townsend, producer

____________

Work For Hire - Features

TRAFICANTE (original)

   Traficante Film LLC

HANGFIRE (original)

   Jose De Avila, director/producer

ANNA'S BOUNTY (original)

   Adrian Pruett Entertainment

THE SPINNING MAN (adaptation)

   Worldlight Pictures Inc.

KILL ME (adaptation)

   Worldlight Pictures Inc.

CIRCLE OF SIX (adaptation)

   Worldlight Pictures Inc.

UNTITLED HEIST (original)

   Worldlight Pictures Inc.

EMIGRANTE (based on a true story)

   Isickles Media

FRONTIER DAYS (original)

   Patrick Flaherty, producer

____________

Work For Hire - Series

FORGOTTEN DISTRICT (original)

   24k Black Films

THE SINGLE(S) (original)

   Round Group Entertainment/

   Sentience Entertainment

____________

Affiliations

COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO

   BA Film & Video 

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

   BA History

CHICAGO DRAMATISTS

   Resident Playwright Alumnus

STAGE 32

   Member