Wednesday, March 24, 2010
TRUE LIFE: I’M A TEENAGED SCREENWRITER
Posted by Frank Lewis on Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 2:40 PM
“This shows that young people in the city can do amazing things,” said Jackson before introducing Scenarios USA founder Jill Paulsen, who spoke briefly about the organization’s interest in “motivating youth.”
New York-based writer-director Malcolm D. Lee (Roll Bounce, Undercover Brother) will direct Williams’ script. He talked about his Cleveland connections (his uncle was a CSU professor) and joked, “I am not here to try to poach LeBron James.”
Lee said Williams’ 15-page short story, Life’s Poison, about a troubled boy named Eliyah, is “poetic, cinematic and dramatic,” and called it “an extraordinary piece of work.” He added, “It’s a story that I can’t wait to start collaborating on.”
Lee and Williams have already spent a weekend scouting locations, and filming is slated to begin in May. Williams, who describes herself as a “regular teen who wanted to make a difference,” will devote the next month to turning her story into a screenplay. Scenarios organizers hope to screen the short film at next year’s Cleveland International Film Festival. — Jeff Niesel
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