Seth Michael Donsky

Named to the International Screenwriters Association's

list of the 25 top screenwriters to watch in 2024

About

Seth Michael Donsky

Seth is a Los Angeles based screenwriter named to the International Screenwriters Association's 2024 list of the top 25 screenwriters to watch,

His screenplay Stardusk, about transgender Andy Warhol superstar Candy Darling is currently being shopped by Oscar-winning Producer Bruce Cohen (Milk, Silver Linings Playbook, Rustin, The Great Lillian Hall) , director bretten hannam (Wildhood!, At The Place of Ghosts) and Mason Alexander Park (Netflix's The Sandman, Cowboy Beebop, Quantum Leap, Oh, Mary!) are attached.

His screenplay Live at the Desert Inn about British icon Noël Coward reinventing himself in a post-war world by performing in Las Vegas in 1955 is currently negotiating an option.

Seth's debut film Twisted, Dickens' Oliver Twist set in New York's queer, underground subculture during the 1990s, which he wrote and directed, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was inducted into MoMA's permanent film collection. Twisted featured the debut film performance of Tony, Grammy, Emmy-award winning Billy Porter and the penultimate screen performance of Oscar-nominee William Hickey. It earned acclaim from major media including The Los Angeles Times, Variety, The New York Press, and The Village Voice.

Twisted screened in New York's Anthology Film Archives's 2024 Narrow Rooms series for queer films that have gained greater recognition and appreciation in retrospect than they received upon initial release.

Seth's films have screened at major festivals worldwide, including Berlin, London, Seattle, Cinequest, the Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Turin (Audience Award,) and Ottawa (Audience Award), and the short film festivals of Palm Springs and Clermont-Ferrand.

Seth holds a BA in drama from UCI and an MFA in film from Columbia University where he was a two-time recipient of the Dean's scholarship. While atteneding Columbia Seth was a two-time national finalist for the Coca Cola Refreshing Filmmaker Contest. Prior to attending Columbia, Seth interned for Broadway prodcer Richard Franel as well as for the artistic staff of The Mahattan Theater Club. He also directed an off-off Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Balcony.

He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, modern dancer and choreographer Patrick Corbin, a professor at the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at USC, their son, three cats, and two French bulldogs.

He is represented by Gersh, Heroes and Villains, and Echo Lake management.

Seth at IMDb

IN DEVELOPMENT

LIVE AT THE DESERT INN

In 1955, British icon Noél Coward seeks to reinvent himself in a post-War world with a Las Vegas concert.

Status: Negotiating Option

STARDUSK

Amid the 1960s New York counterculture scene, transgender Candy Darling courageously battles societal prejudice and personal demons to pursue Hollywood stardom, paving the way for future generations of marginalized voices.

Status: Shopping

Producer: Bruce Cohen (Milk, Silver Linings Playbook, Rustin, The Great Lillian Hall)

Producer: Gary Ventimiglia (Choke, The Punisher, Warzone)

Director: bretton hannam (Wildhood!, At The Place of Ghosts)

Attached: Mason Alexander Park (Netflix's The Sandman, Cowboy Beebop, Quantum Leap, Oh, Mary!)

Stardusk at IMDb

Available

OCD, THE DUDE, AND me

A reclusive high-school senior with OCD cautiously befriends an offbeat, closeted peer who models himself after The Dude from The Big Lebowski and whose friendship helps her confront her guilt over her childhood BFF’s shooting death and rejoin the world.

Adapted from the Capital Choice award-listed Penguin/Random House YA novel by Lauren Roedy Vaughn.

"...definitely one of those rare finds…A must-read." — Kirkus Reviews

Status:Available

OCD, THE DUDE, AND ME at Penguin/Random House

A QUEER AND PLEASANT DANGER

From Scientology’s grip to confronting personal demons, the true story of a resilient soul bravely transitioning and embracing their true identity as a trans woman.

Adapted from queer pioneer Kate Bornstein's Penguin/Random House memoir.

“A nervy, expansive memoir from a pioneering gender activist.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Status:Available

A Queer and Pleasant Danger at Penguin/Random House

Trailers/Screeners

TWISTED Trailer

A retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist set in a New York City 1990s underground populated by drag queens, drug abuse, and prostitution.

Featuring:

• Tony, Emmy, Grammy-winning Billy Porter's first professional film role

• Oscar nominee William Hickey's (PRIZZI'S HONOR) pen-ultimate film role

• Infamous composer Q Lazzarus's (Silence of Lambs' "Goodbye Horses") final film score

Critics said:

"Twisted was a film ahead of its time in many ways, and a reminder of the LGBTQ youth homeless crisis both then and now. Amazing how the bones of Dickens’ story still resonate almost 200 years on…especially when mixed with some gayness." - Queerty (2022 review)

"A great Oliver Twist update, genuinely daring and deeply felt... a social schematic in porno temptation" - The New York Press

"A stylized, operatic fable of innocence and corruption. Its world and Dickens' is one and the same." - The Los Angeles Times

"A must for the gay fest circuit." - Variety

"Donsky, whose background is in the theatre, gives the film a solid structure, reveals a stylist's eye, and draws lively performances from a uniformly colorful cast." - Film Journal International

"Hickey is wonderfully creepy and Billy Porter's in-your-face drag queen is a hoot." - Newsday

"Oscar Nominee William Hickey oozes deeply creepy Eurotrashiness in his pen ultimate role." - The Village Voice

Twsited on IMDb

LOOPY Trailer

When amateur actor Colin Highsmith finishes his role as the big, bad wolf in a local community theatre production of Little Red Riding Hood, he puts the costume away for safe keeping. But the costume is not safe...and neither is Colin.

Adapted from a short story by Edgar-Award winning crime writer Ruth Rendell.

Featuring Tony-award winning Elizabeth Franz (off-Broadway's original Sister Mary Ignatious in Christopher Durang's Sister Mary Ignatious Explains It All For You)

Loopy on IMDb

Spec Commercial Spot

This commercial spot was produced by Coca-Cola as a finalist entry in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker Contest.

Seth Michael Donsky

JUMP TO

About

Seth Michael Donsky

FILMS

IN DEVELOPMENT

LIVE AT THE DESERT INN

STARDUSK

Available

OCD, THE DUDE, AND me

A QUEER AND PLEASANT DANGER

Trailers/Screeners

TWISTED Trailer

LOOPY Trailer

Spec Commercial Spot

Reviews

Inquire

The Gersh Agency

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Echo Lake Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Echo Lake Management

Contact Seth Directly

Seth Michael Donsky

JUMP TO

About

Seth Michael Donsky

FILMS

IN DEVELOPMENT

LIVE AT THE DESERT INN

STARDUSK

Available

OCD, THE DUDE, AND me

A QUEER AND PLEASANT DANGER

Trailers/Screeners

TWISTED Trailer

LOOPY Trailer

Spec Commercial Spot

Reviews

Inquire

The Gersh Agency

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Echo Lake Management

Heroes and Villains Entertainment Management

Echo Lake Management

Contact Seth Directly

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