Wednesday, January 20, 1999
TV drama a dream for Ohio writer
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. So did Alex P. Michaels.
“I've been writing stories ever since I was a little kid, short stories and plays. I do temp jobs, so it gives me more time to write,” Mr. Michaels says.
“Hopefully I'm working toward being a full-time writer.”
The first step toward making his dream come true happens Thursday, when his first screen credit airs on television. He wrote What Angels Fear, the second annual Procter & Gamble Dreambuilder Celebration production.
The 32-year-old Cleveland native submitted the winning script among the 67 entries in the Dreambuilder competition for African-American playwrights. It was filmed as a one-hour TV drama by Jim Friedman, the Emmy-winning Tristate producer who created the Dreambuilder program, which also trains minorities in behind-the-camera jobs.
Adam Lazarre-White (The Young and the Restless, The Temptations) and Greg Lauren (A Time to Kill, Silk Stalkings) star as black-and-white undercover police partners, or “angels,” who intercede to keep bad things from happening.
“Alex is the perfect example of why we're doing this. He was so excited, and honored, and willing to learn,” says Mr. Friedman, 43, who won multiple regional Emmys for such WCPO-TV (Channel 9) specials as Celebrate Cincinnati and the Best & Worst of Cincinnati.
“He turned to me once during the filming and said, "I can't stop smiling. I can't believe all of you are running around and doing this because of something I wrote.' ”
Include all viewers
The Dreambuilder program was created in 1997 to give “a black voice doing his or her point of view on mainstream television” in a production that would appeal to all viewers,” Mr. Friedman says.
“When television stations do Black History Month programs, they tend to exclude non-African-Americans. It's almost as if they're saying, "This is only for black people. Our feeling with Dreambuilders was to do a program from a black writer that would be enjoyable to all viewers,” he says.
Last year's winner was Howard Simon's Just Passin' Through, about a light-skinned African-American posing as a white man who is confronted by his brother.
Minorities composed about one third of the 36-member crew. The film was produced on a budget slightly more than $100,000, he says.
“Most movies spend more on feeding their crew than what we spent on the whole movie,” says Mr. Friedman, who also produces and syndicates Craig Kopp's Channel 9 movie features.
Viewers of What Angels Fear, shot in Cincinnati and Glendale, may be confused by the flashbacks to Kevin's (Mr. Lauren) shooting in the line of duty in the first half of the film. Mr. Friedman, who directed and produced the film, admitted that the story structure “will force you to work a little bit to keep up with it, and you'll have to draw your own conclusions in some places.”
A cameo role
What Angels Fear also may hold the distinction as the first Tristate film shot in the new wide-screen high-definition television format, similar to 35-mm film. The action was shot by Mr. Friedman with the eventual wide-screen sets in mind, even though viewers won't notice any difference on their conventional TV sets.
The HDTV novelty didn't matter to Mr. Michaels. He was just happy to see his words come to life on the film, which will air in Cincinnati and nine other Midwest cities.
“It's very difficult to get started in this business,” says Mr. Michaels, who makes a cameo in his film as the young uniformed police officer washing his hands when officers Sly (Mr. Lazarre-White) and Kevin enter the restroom.
“You hear about writers selling scripts, but they're put on a shelf and never made,” Mr. Michaels says.
“This one actually got made.”
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV critic. His column appears on Mondays and Wednesdays.
ON THE AIR
• What: What Angels Fear.
• When: 8 p.m. Thursday.
• Where: Channel 9.
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