Script File

BLACK DIAMOND

A drama about a gospel/jazz singer in the 1940s who falls in love with a Kansas City's Negro League baseball player trying to be the first Black in the majors.

  • JT O'Neal
    Writer
    AU PAIR, KANSAS
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    110
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Winner, UCLA Screenwriting Showcase; Finalist, Maui Writer's Conference
Writer Biography - JT O'Neal

JT O'Neal attended the University of Kansas where he majored in history of art. He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and then did residency training at and received a Masters of Public Health from Harvard. He received a Masters in Fine Arts in screenwriting from UCLA, where his screenplay, BLACK DIAMOND, won the prestigious UCLA screenwriting showcase. Also an award-winning film director, his short films and feature film (AU PAIR, KANSAS) have played at over 100 festivals and venues around the world.

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Writer Statement

I attended graduate school in Kansas City and was fascinated by the vibrant history of both the KC jazz scene and the Monarchs Negro Leagues baseball team. After doing extensive research on the Monarchs, and listening to countless hours of recorded audio tapes of old Monarchs players, I found a story that needed to be told. Though the four main characters are fictional, their story is set in a non-fiction setting where the vibrant jazz and baseball scenes intersect.