Kevin Willmott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kevin Wilmott is a Professor of Film at the University of Kansas. Willmott wrote and directed the feature film "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America," about a North America where the Confederacy won the American Civil War. After its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, IFC Films purchased the film for domestic theatrical distribution. "CSA" was released theatrically by IFC in late 2005, and is now available on DVD. The film is also being distributed theatrically internationally.
Willmott’s latest film, "Bunker Hill," is currently in post-production. "Bunker Hill" stars "NYPD Blue"’s James McDaniel, along with Saeed Jaffrey, Laura Kirk, Kevin Geer, Blake Robbins and Scott Allegrucci. Willmott is producer and director of "Bunker Hill," from a script he wrote with Greg Hurd. He is expected to begin filming "Wilt of Kansas," a narrative feature about Wilt Chamberlain’s years in college, in the summer of 2007.
"Ninth Street," an independent feature film starring Martin Sheen and Isaac Hayes, was written, produced and co-directed by Willmott. He also played the role of "Huddie," one of the films main characters. "Ninth Street" was released in November of 1999 on video and DVD by Ideal.
For television, Willmott co-wrote with Mitch Brian "House of Getty" and "The 70’s," both mini-series for NBC. "The 70’s" aired on NBC in May of 2000. He recently co-produced "High-Tech Lincoln," a special which premiered on The History Channel in 2005.
As a screenwriter, Willmott co-wrote "Shields Green and the Gospel of John Brown" with Mitch Brian. The script was purchased by Chris Columbus’s 1492 Productions for 20th Century Fox. He has 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. Willmott & Brian also adapted the book Marching to Valhalla by Michael Blake for Stone. Willmott also adapted The Watsons Go to Birmingham for CBS, Columbia Tri-Star and Executive Producer, Whoopi Goldberg. Willmott recently adapted and directed a stage version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham, workshopped in New York and premiering at Kansas City’s Coterie Theater.
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 by the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The play is published by Dramatic Publishing.
Willmott recently directed premiere performances of "Now Let Me Fly," a new play by Marcia Cebulska commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision to desegregate public schools. The performances featured actors James McDaniel, Roger Aaron Brown (The District) and Yolanda King, and musical performers Queen Bey and Kelley Hunt.
Willmott grew up in Junction City, Kansas and attended Marymount College 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 Worker shelters for the homeless and forcing the integration of several long standing segregated institutions. He attended graduate studies at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, receiving several writing awards and his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing.
He 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.
Contents |
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Writer
- Bunker Hill (2007) (post-production)
- C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)
- The '70s (2000) (TV story) (teleplay)
- Ninth Street (1999) (also play)
[edit] Actor
- Waiting for the Son (2007) (post-production) .... Priest
- The Search for Inflata-boy (2003) .... Expert
- The Fascist of X-Mart (2003) .... Narrator
- Ninth Street (1999) .... Huddie
[edit] Director
- Bunker Hill (2007) (post-production)
- C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)
- Ninth Street (1999)
[edit] Producer
- Bunker Hill (2007) (post-production) (producer)
- High Tech Lincoln (2005) (TV) (producer)
- Ninth Street (1999) (producer)
[edit] Self
- Das Bus (2003) .... The Buppy
