Kevin Willmott, writer/director of "CSA"
Kevin Willmott grew up in Junction City, Kansas and attended Marymount College of Kansas, receiving his BA in Drama. After graduation, he returned home, working as a peace and civil rights activist, fighting for the rights of the poor, creating two Catholic Workers shelters for the homeless and forcing the integration of several long-standing segregated institutions. He attended graduate studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, receiving several writing awards and his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing.
The play T-Money and Wolf, written with Ric Averill, dealing with the holocaust and contemporary gang violence, was selected as part of the New Vision/New Voices series produced at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The play is published by Dramatic Publishing.
As a sreenwriter, he co-wrote Shields Green and the Gospel of John Brown with Mitch Brian. The script was purchased by Chris Columbus' 1492 Productions of 20th Century FOX. He also co-wrote Civilized Tribes for producer Robert Lawrence and 20th Century FOX. Producer and director Oliver Stone hired him to co-write Little Brown Brothers, about the Philippine Insurrection. He also adapted the book Marching To Valhalla by Michael Blake for Oliver Stone.
For television, he co-wrote with Brian, House of Getty and The 70s, both mini-series for NBC. The 70s aired in May of 2000.
Ninth Street, an independent feature film starring Martin Sheen, Isaac Hayes, and Queen Bey, was written and co-directed by Willmott and produced by his CSA producer, Rick Cowan. He also plays the role of "Huddie," one of the film's main characters. Ninth Street is a comedy/drama based on Willmott's experiences growing up in the small town of Junction City, Kansas, that is adjacent to an army base. Set in 1968, the film deals with the last days of one of the most notorious streets in the nation. It is distributed by Ideal and was released in November 1999 on video and DVD.
He most recently authored Colored Men, about the Houston riot of 1917. He also adapted The Watsons go to Birmingham for CBS, Columiba Tri-STar and Executive Producer Whoopi Goldberg.
His current film, C.S.A: The Confederate States of America, is about an America in which the South won the Civil War. It's world premier is at Sundance 2004.
Willmott is an Assistant Professor in the Film Studies Department of Kansas University. He and his wife Becky have five children and live in Lawrence, Kansas. |
