Projects
TELEVISION - Limited Series
Asylum City
Based on the successful Israeli television series under the same title. Currently being adapted and packaged for USA/International.
Mary Barnes The Path Through Madness
Imagine One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest set in London in the 1960s... featuring Sean Connery, and (as local lore would have it) the Beatles, as well as many other cultural luminaries.
London in the early 60s was the epicenter of cultural revolution. Music, art, and fashion were exploding, and mind expansion and a general all- encompassing “we are the future” mentality served as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. The path was set for a dazzling, limitless expansion of cultural consciousness.
Our tale of one woman – a seemingly mad artist – and the mental health community she revolved in, epitomizes all of the hopes, challenges, disappointments, and potential for transformation that all revolutions face.
Mary Barnes, a schizophrenic woman who had been rejected and betrayed
by traditional mental health facilities was taken on as a model patient by two unconventional psychiatrists. R.D. Laing and Joe Berke carried out their crusade for “freeing the mind” in London’s Kingsley Hall. Mary Barnes proved to be their greatest challenge but her struggle highlights both the successes and epic failure of the medical establishment’s quest for mental health.
Nearly 50 years later, we still struggle with how to help those whose minds are a mystery. In Mary Barnes’ story, we find hope, joy, and an ability to believe that anything is possible. Her journey through madness defines not just her empowerment, but the beginning of women’s personal empowerment. Mary’s determination and success led the way for mental health to emerge from the dark ages.
Auntie Mame
A current, continuous multiethnic relationship drama, inspired by the original classic.
Democracy vs. Autocracy
A sprawling international action adventure, inspired by the Israeli film “Anthrax”.
Rotorhead
Rotorhead is the evolving story of a female warrior back from war, facing a court marshal, and attempting to reintegrate into American society and her family.
Phil Moore
At the epicenter of black culture, he developed and gave voice to many musical stars. And lead an unpparelled colorful life. Discovered and wrote music for Dorothy Dandridge, wrote music for Lena Horne, Diann Carroll, Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe.. and many more.…
TELEVISION - Series
An Agent of Sorts
A futuristic/fantasy action adventure saga.
A Cold War
A present day Underground Railroad—our heroine saving sex-trafficked women escape captivity. It couldn’t be more personal. She was once such a captive.
Eagles
Inspired by the novel “Mustangs”. A social/political character driven drama, following the true stories of the famed Cleveland high school wrestling team “The Eagles.
Identity
This action/thriller series explores that complex and often befuddling theme of ‘who we are’. Preview documents available — here
Madame Wu’s Magical Kitchen
A clash of cultures thru world kitchens. An American top chef and a Chinese partner open an experimental restaurant in an Oakland ghetto. The drama revolves around a crime ridden neighborhood that coheses around serving the community.
The Handle And The Hold
A novella by David Mamet. To be adapted as a series by Mamet, pilot series to be written by Mamet.
FILMS
Fear of Water
A contemporary, gritty, action-comedy. A rich, spoiled, blind, black wrestler teams up with an over-the-hill, blue collar former collegiate wrestling star in a classic road movie. Their goal—to gather enough points to qualify for the Olympics.
Endangered Species
A geo-political comedic action-adventure set on the African Continent against the backdrop of nuclear testing.
The Dragon and The Eagle
A grand adventure/love story, unfolds against the background of historically accurate events—when two empires collide, Rome and China. Seen through the point of view of a Chinese princess and a Roman senator’s son. A love story.
The Diary of Anne Frank
By David Mamet, to star Al Pacino. LINK
On The Road Again
A dramady written by Michael Traeger and Gabriel Grunfeld LINK
IPs
The Stan Lee Omniverse: LINK
Film and TV Rights based on Plays from the Odyssey Theatre: LINK
Books by best selling author Alan Russell
Burning Man
In this first book of the #1 bestselling series, LAPD Detective Michael Gideon and his K-9 partner Sirius almost die after charging into an inferno in pursuit of a serial killer, but even after recovering from his burns, the cop never fully escapes those flames, as his resulting PTSD manifests itself in fire dreams of his near-death experience. His visions bring more than pain, though, allowing him oracular insights into his work at LAPD’s Special Cases Unit (SCU), where he handles cases deemed unusual even by Hollywood standards, such as the young man found crucified in the Hollywood Hills. ———- Los Angeles Magazine called this novel, “An engrossing thriller!”
Cold War
Nina Granville is engaged to Congressman Terrence Donnelly, of the Donnellys, and expectations are that she will one day reside on Pennsylvania Avenue, but that’s before she takes a work trip to Alaska and is abducted by a mountain man called Bear who imprisons her in his remote cabin in the frozen wilderness. As she considers taking her own life, Nina finds a secreted diary of another woman abducted by Bear, and finds comfort in their sisterhood. Refusing to be a victim, Nina remakes herself in order to take on her captor, her fears, and nature itself, in a cat-and-mouse game of survival. — —- Booklist said this novel is “a truly gripping page-turner,” and Kirkus Reviews proclaimed “Russell writes with matter-of-fact mastery.”
Exposure
War photojournalist turned paparazzo Graham Wells is used to exposing the secrets of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but the tables turn on him when a shady governmental operative blackmails the snapper into doing his own nefarious bidding. When Graham goes rogue, he is targeted by an assassin who bears a Schmiss (a facial scar known as a badge of honor) from his time in a German dueling fraternity. Fleeing for his life, Wells must uncover answers or die. ——- Publishers Weekly awarded this book a starred review and wrote that this novel shows “Russell is one of the best writers in the mystery field today.”
Guardians Of The Night
Ronald “Wrong” Pauley, an unhoused man long fallen from grace, claims he witnessed the murder of an angel, a case that is assigned to Gideon and Sirius of LAPD’s Special Cases Unit. While trying to make sense of Pauley’s story, Gideon explores the thin line between the real and surreal, and unravels a dark otherworldly mystery in order to deliver real-world justice. ——- Guardians of the Night was an e-books number one bestseller with more 225,000 copies downloaded.
The Homecoming
Seven years have passed since Stella Pierce vanished, and despite Detective Orson Cheever’s tireless efforts, he’s made no headway finding the girl. Then, the miraculous occurs; the now 14-year-old Stella returns home and tells her long suffering family she has been away with “the Travelers”-extraterrestrial nomads-voyaging through space. No one believes her account, but is it her tale which is incredible, or is it Stella? She soon finds that navigating the homefront, with its high school politics and mean girls, is more difficult than traveling the cosmos. In this coming-of-age story that is part mystery, part supernatural, part Y.A., Stella struggles to finally find her way home.
Hotel Detective
Am Caulfield’s job as the Assistant G.M. of the oceanfront Hotel California has made him fond of observing that a “hotel is a circus without a tent.” When he’s forced to fill-in as security director, Caulfield has to deal with the mayhem brought on when the 178 member Bob Johnson Society checks-in (everyone in the group is named Bob Johnson) for a murder mystery weekend, a problematic situation that is compounded when he suspects one of the “Bobs” is a real-life killer hiding in plain sight. —— The Denver Post called the novel “Exuberantly entertaining,” and the Orange County Register said it was “Recommended with absolutely no reservations.” The sequel, The Fat Innkeeper, was awarded U.S.A. Today’s Critics’ Choice Award, and won The Lefty for best comedic mystery of the year.
Multiple Wounds
When Detective Orson Cheever interviews a witness to the murder, he is bewildered by what the artist Holly Troy might or might not have seen, as her responses are all over the place, ranging from loud to quiet to manic to childlike. The situation becomes even stranger when Troy cries actual tears of blood, and Cheever learns she suffers from dissociative identity disorder, with her personalities manifesting themselves in the forms of such Greek goddesses as Artemis (hunt), Ate (mischief), Mania (madness), and Nemesis (vengeance). To get answers, Cheever must unravel the complex labyrinth that is the witness’s mind to try and solve the crime. —-Multiple Wounds was nominated for both the Anthony and Macavity awards for best mystery of the year. The Los Angeles Times said the novel was, “An ambitious attempt to push the boundaries of the crime novel,” and the Chicago Tribune said, “Russell makes the most of the imaginative setup.”
Political Suicide
Will Travis is a West Point dropout turned spotter, a paid fly on the wall who anonymously goes into businesses and observes operations. With his eidetic memory, and ability to notice everything around him, he is unsurpassed in his work, even though a part of him regrets not fulfilling his family’s warrior tradition of duty, honor, and country. During a bar audit, Travis emerges from the shadows after witnessing the tampering of a woman’s drink, and goes to “war” to save her from forces that want to silence her from going public in claiming her father’s death was not a suicide, but resulted from a political duel. —— The Chicago Tribune called the novel “Credible and deeply touching,” and the San Diego Union-Tribune said, “Ingeniously imagined and skillfully told, this book must be included in any list of this year’s best thrillers.”
St. Nick
It’s a fish out of water story, a modern-day tale of Scrooge, and much more. Suspended from the force, estranged from his family, San Diego cop Nick Pappas is facing a grim Thanksgiving when his former partner turned mall security director asks him to go undercover, but fails to mention that Nick will be doing his surveillance while working as a mall Santa. Nick needs a Christmas miracle or two to save the day, help some children in need, and transform himself from a curmudgeon to a modern-day St. Nick. —— St. Nick was a #5 Audible bestseller, and thousands of readers and listeners around the world have fallen in love with this novel.
Shame
Caleb Parker has long run from his past, never revealing that he is the son of an infamous serial murderer known as Shame, but his life is upturned when a spate of new murders not only exposes his secret, but makes him the prime suspect in those crimes. On the run from the law, he is helped by a bestselling true crime writer whose career began when she was the sole survivor of one of his father’s killing sprees. —— The Boston Globe said the novel is “Complex and genuinely suspenseful,” the Los Angeles Times said Russell is, “A crime fiction rara avis.”