Back before the turn of the last century, Cleveland filmmaker Alex P. Michaels was on the verge of seeing his name on the small screen, credited as the writer and creator of a made-for-television movie titled What Angels Fear.
He was 32 years old at the time, working temp jobs so he could make time to screenwrite. One of those stories was Angels. Michaels entered the script into Procter& Gamble’s Dreambuilder competition for African-American playwrights. He won.
The Dreambuilder program was created in 1997 to give African-American voices and points of view a place on mainstream television in a production that would appeal to all viewers.
“Jim Friedman, a white producer in Cincinnati, created the program for black writers to get their scripts produced,” says Michaels. Friedman is an Emmy-winning director. “In addition to buying the scripts, Jim and his company produced the stories and aired them on television. What Angels Fear won four Emmys. Jim won as director, both lead actors,…
He was 32 years old at the time, working temp jobs so he could make time to screenwrite. One of those stories was Angels. Michaels entered the script into Procter& Gamble’s Dreambuilder competition for African-American playwrights. He won.
The Dreambuilder program was created in 1997 to give African-American voices and points of view a place on mainstream television in a production that would appeal to all viewers.
“Jim Friedman, a white producer in Cincinnati, created the program for black writers to get their scripts produced,” says Michaels. Friedman is an Emmy-winning director. “In addition to buying the scripts, Jim and his company produced the stories and aired them on television. What Angels Fear won four Emmys. Jim won as director, both lead actors,…