I may be the most experienced writer and filmmaker you never heard of.
Company
Clio Films LLC
"Bull Durham" analogy: I’m the Crash Davis of film -- maybe the most experienced screenwriter and filmmaker you never heard of. I make the hardest films – serious documentaries for a mass audience – in the impatient arena of television. I’ve worked as an Emmy-winning writer-producer for PBS, Nat Geo, Discovery, History, Animal Planet, Smithsonian, and major production companies on five continents. More than 400 films (IMDb lists only a fraction) -- and not one flop. A hard record to match.
Story is the key to success. I know story. After writing and editing hundreds of nonfiction stories during my print career, I spent five years at Discovery Networks as a resident script doctor during its documentary heyday. My job: boost profits by boosting ratings. I did. Most filmmakers are stronger with a camera than a pen. Most of the rough cuts that crossed my desk needed surgery. I didn’t give drive-by notes; I waded in and fixed the problems – with the filmmaker’s endorsement to boot. Then my work was judged by an unforgiving standard: the Nielsens. I not only hit the target, I typically surpassed it -- sometimes astronomically. Not … one … flop.
Drama directors start with a story, then shoot. In documentaries, I’m typically forced to create the story after we shoot. I start with chaos: thousands of raw shots, facts, and sound bites. Shot by shot and line by line, I winnow that chaos to crack the code of structure: where to start, where to end, and how to arrange what comes between. I make thousands of choices about words and pictures, sound and music, guided solely by my gut. As writer-director John Sayles says, I’m “thinking in pictures.” I have more experience as a film writer than most directors, and more experience as a filmmaker than most writers – and more hours as a script and film doctor than maybe anyone.
My career in docs has given me a Midas Touch for drama: adaptation. I turn riveting books into Emmy- and Oscar-caliber scripts that can be shot on fat-free budgets and yield hefty profits. I’ve adapted fiction but largely stick to the bankable genre of inspiring true stories. Two dozen scripts and counting, including a true NASA drama to rival "Apollo 13"; a true Cold War drama to rival John le Carre; a true POW thriller to rival "The Great Escape"; the greatest submarine adventure ever – a mission that changed history; a real-life "Rain Man" drama based on Daniel Tammet’s acclaimed "Born on a Blue Day"; the "Hidden Figures" of World War One; a pilot based on James Kaplan’s definitive biography of the original American idol – Sinatra; a fictional rom-com that taps the lucrative, global audience of "Downton Abbey." In development: a real-life "Master and Commander" saga with a teenage hero; a limited series drawn from history that makes "Game of Thrones" look like child’s play; a civil rights mystery to outshine "Selma"; a "House of Cards"-esque diplomatic thriller; and dozens more movies and limited series.
The difference between a documentary and a drama is who’s in front of the camera. The challenge remains the same: entertain the viewer and reward the investor. I do. What story can I tell for you?
  • Writer (14 Credits)
    Born on a Blue Day
    Screenplay
    Bringing Columbia Home
    Screenplay
    Grand Theft Hollywood
    Television Script
    Hellfighters
    Screenplay
    Jeeves Takes Charge
    Screenplay
    Love and Glory
    Screenplay
    Operation Olympia
    Screenplay
    Red Harvest
    Screenplay
    Scandal at Blandings
    Screenplay
    Sinatra: The Voice
    Screenplay
    The Candy Bombers
    Screenplay
    The Rescue
    Screenplay
    The Shepherds
    Screenplay
    Treasure Island
    Screenplay
Quarter Finalist
The Rescue
Page Turner True Story
2025
Semi Finalist
The Rescue
Creative Screenwriting Feature Competition
2025
Semi Finalist
The Rescue
Emerging Screenwriters Action and Adventure
2025
Finalist
The Rescue
Hollywood Genre Action Screenplay Contest
2025
Finalist
The Rescue
Page Turner 100
2025
Quarter Finalist
The Candy Bombers
Page Turner Feature and TV Pilot
2025
Semi Finalist
The Candy Bombers
Page Turner True Story
2025
Quarter Finalist
Scandal at Blandings
Page Turner 100
2025
Quarter Finalist
Red Harvest
Page Turner 100
2025
Quarter Finalist
Sinatra: The Voice
Page Turner True Story
2025
Quarter Finalist
Sinatra: The Voice
Page Turner Feature and TV Pilot
2025
Semi Finalist
Sinatra: The Voice
Page Turner 100
2025
Semi Finalist
The Shepherds
Page Turner Faith Based Features
2025
Semi Finalist
The Shepherds
Faith Based Features
2025
Semi Finalist
The Shepherds
Page Turner Feature and TV Pilot
2025
Finalist
The Shepherds
Page Turner 100
2025
Finalist
Jeeves Takes Charge
Page Turner 100
2025
Semi Finalist
Hellfighters
Page Turner 100
2025
Quarter Finalist
Grand Theft Hollywood
Page Turner 100
2025
Finalist
Born on a Blue Day
Page Turner 100
2025
Quarter Finalist
Born on a Blue Day
Page Turner Feature and TV Pilot
2025
Quarter Finalist
Love and Glory
Creative Screenwriting Feature Competition
2025
Semi Finalist
Love and Glory
Table Read My Screenplay
Hollywood
2025
Semi Finalist
Love and Glory
Page Turner First 15
2025
Semi Finalist
Love and Glory
Unique Voices
2025
Finalist
Love and Glory
Page Turner Feature and TV Pilot
2025
Finalist
Love and Glory
True Story True Crime
2025
Finalist
Love and Glory
Page Turner 100
College
University of Virginia
Hisstory
Birth City
Fukuoka, Japan
Current City
Washington, DC
"The three most important things about a film are the script, the script, the script." – Fred Zinnemann
I may be the most experienced writer and filmmaker you never heard of.
Company
Clio Films LLC
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