Madame Candidate: MacDella Cooper’s Quest for the Presidency of Liberia

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In 1980, on the heels of the violent overthrow of a democratically elected leader, Liberia, West Africa — a small, theretofore peaceful and prosperous nation with strong diplomatic ties to both Europe and the United States — fell gradually into a three-decades-long spiral of social unrest, political instability and upheaval that would undermine its standing around the world and cast the nation’s future in doubt.

The abuses and corruption of the military regime that controlled the government during the era inspired numerous coup attempts before the close of the decade — conflicts which, though ultimately thwarted, weakened the regime and emboldened other factions to rise up and threaten the political order.

By 1989, two separate rebel insurgencies had launched attacks on the government and thrust the nation into a devastating civil war that would persist, in some manner or form, until 2003, when a bloc of West African nations, exhausted by the regional impact of the continued conflict, intervened to impose a cease fire and send Charles Taylor, the infamous warlord and Liberia’s titular leader, into exile.

In 2006, following three fitful years of relative stability, Liberia held its first democratic election in more than a generation, and installed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president — the first woman to be so elected in the continent’s history.

By UN estimates, more than 250,000 Liberians were killed and more than one million displaced in the course of the conflict — triggering a refugee crisis that flooded neighboring countries, and nations around the world, with individuals and families displaced by the war. Among those seeking asylum abroad was a rootless, teenaged girl named MacDella Cooper.

Granted clearance to come to the US in 1993, where she was reunited with her mother and sisters after more than three years apart, MacDella Cooper was able to overcome the traumas of her early life and thrive — earning a full academic scholarship to college, and building a successful (sometimes controversial) career as a fashion model and event planner in New York City.

Driven by a desire to help those left behind in her native country, Ms. Cooper created the MacDella Cooper Foundation: a non-profit dedicated to the protection and empowerment of Liberian women and children displaced in the aftermath of the war. However, despite the success of her foundation, Ms. Cooper is inspired to do more — much more.

This year, as the Sirleaf administration nears the end of its second term, a pool of eight candidates have emerged to succeed her as president and contend with the issues — widespread illiteracy, deep-rooted traditions of patriarchy and tribalism, endemic mistrust of government, inadequate infrastructure, anemic tax revenues and the residual impact of the Ebola outbreak — that continue to afflict the nation. Among them is MacDella Cooper — who, at age 40, is the youngest presidential candidate in the 170-year history of the republic.

“Madame Candidate,” a feature-length documentary film, will chronicle the final weeks of Ms. Cooper’s campaign. Through interviews; “in-the-field” coverage; and impromptu Q&As with candidate Cooper, regional leaders, public officials and expert commentators from the international community — as well as the outgoing president — the film will seek to capture greater insights into Cooper’s motivations for running, her fears and anxieties with respect to the undertaking (particularly in light of the violence and instability that have historically plagued the office), her vision for the country, and her preparation — personal and professional — for the immense challenges she faces as a candidate, and would continue to face as head of state: key among them being to the extent to which the gender and the complex legacy of sitting president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf bears on Ms. Cooper’s fortunes as a politician.

Furthermore, in witnessing her reception among “everyday” Liberians, as well as members of the nation’s ruling elite; in detailing the views and opinions of supporters and detractors (including her challengers); and in documenting the range of struggles, triumphs, victories and defeats encountered on the campaign trail, the film will document Cooper’s attempt to journey from daughter of Liberia to elected leader of the nation.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2017. (“Madame Candidate:…” is registered with the WGA West, Inc.)

The Secret Life of Naomi Campbell

In 1985, while window shopping outside of a London department store, Naomi Campbell, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, was discovered and signed to a professional modeling contract. Lithe-figured and strikingly exotic, Campbell’s early stint on runways throughout Europe soon led to higher-profile ad campaigns for internationally recognized brands, and little more than a year later, the cover of Elle Magazine — an honor that effectively introduced her to the world.

In the years that followed, mentored and championed by many of the most iconic names in fashion — Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Galliano — Campbell overcame the racial discrimination of the modeling world and scored a number of firsts for a woman of color: appearing on the cover of French, British, Japanese and Chinese Vogue and being the featured model in spreads shot by the industry’s most renowned fashion photographers.

By the mid 1990s, Naomi Campbell had become one of the world’s most recognizable faces — appearing frequently in pop music videos, films and TV shows; becoming the featured model in international ad campaigns for Versace, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana — and in the process, secured a place in the pantheon of the famed “supermodels.”

But while beauty and fashion were Campbell’s ticket to fame and fortune, and while her celebrity has fueled the media’s lurid fascination with her private life, far less public — far less celebrated — are the many charitable and humanitarian causes upon which Campbell has brought her celebrity to bear, and for which she has been honored the world over.

Since 1997, Campbell has supported charity work focused on the peoples and communities of Sub-Saharan Africa and South America, via organizations like the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Quincy Jones’s Listen Up Foundation, the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) orphanage in Jamaica, Fidel Castro’s Cuban Children’s Fund and We Love Brazil, which she founded for the nation’s children, and for which she was named International Ambassador of Rio de Janeiro.

In 2005, Campbell created Fashion for Relief, raising $1M for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In 2007, she hosted the South African leg of Live Earth in Johannesburg; she also received the Black Retail Action Group (BRAG) “Special Recognition Award” in honor of her efforts to promote acceptance of men and women of color throughout the fashion industry. In 2009, Campbell was awarded the Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society from Trinity College, Dublin for her charitable and professional work; she also received the “International Woman of the Year” award from Russian Glamour. And just last year, at its famed Charity Gala for Children in Need, Campbell received the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Pyramide Con Mani award for her outstanding social commitments.

The Secret Life of Naomi Campbell will explore these little-known facets of Naomi’s identity — shedding light on the causes that inspire her, helping to dispel many of the notions that have marred her reputation, and allowing Campbell, perhaps for the first time, to paint and to frame a portrait of herself.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2011. (“The Secret Life of Naomi Campbell” is registered with the WGA West, Inc.)

Evander Holyfied: Beyond the Ring

In 1964, two-year-old Evander Holyfield relocated with his family from the mill town of Atmore, Alabama, to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. As the youngest of the family’s nine children, it is speculated that Evander learned early on to fight for his share of recognition. Whatever the motivation, Holyfield began boxing in earnest at age 12, and his unusual gifts for the sport quickly became apparent. By age 13, Holyfield had qualified to compete in his first Junior Olympics; by age 15, he had become the nation’s Southeastern Regional Champion.

In 1983, at age 20, Holyfield won a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela. And in 1984 — easily the most eventful year of his early career — he became the National Golden Gloves Champion, won a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and made the fateful decision to leave the amateur ranks and become a professional fighter.

By 1986, little more than two years after turning pro, Holyfield’s rapid ascendance in the cruiserweight division positioned him for a title shot against then-WBA Champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi. In a bout that Ring Magazine would deem “the best cruiserweight fight of the 1980s,” Holyfield won a hard-fought 15-round split decision, and his first world title.

The next two years saw Holyfield dominate the division: scoring a fourth-round knockout in his rematch with Qawi, and winning both the IBF and WBC cruiserweight titles — becoming the first-ever undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world. And in 1988, hungry for new challenges, Holyfield decided to move up in weight class to pursue the heavyweight title.

A series of devastating knockout victories over legitimate heavyweight contenders and former champions — most notably Michael Dokes, a fight that Ring Magazine dubbed “the best heavyweight bout of the 1980s” — quickly established Holyfield as the division’s #1 contender, and by 1990, positioned him for a title shot against then-heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson.

That fight would be delayed, however, and in October 1990, Holyfield would score a third-round knockout over James “Buster” Douglas — who had defeated Tyson months earlier — to become the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In so doing, Holyfield notched the second of his historical “firsts”: becoming the first fighter to ever hold unified titles in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.

Holyfield’s career would continue to span another twenty-odd hall-of-fame caliber years, and feature many of the sports most memorable battles — including three magnificent fights against Riddick Bowe, and two commanding victories over Mike Tyson. In the course of those years, Holyfield, arguably the sports fiercest and most courageous competitor, would become the first and only man in the history of boxing to recapture the heavyweight title four times.

Yet for all of his many accomplishments in the ring, and his long-time acquaintance with fame and celebrity, the greater portion of Holyfield’s life — his values, his faith, his passions beyond boxing; in short, in his inner world — remain largely unknown to the public.

“…Beyond the Ring,” through its up-close perspective on Holyfield, and its focus on the Holyfield Foundation’s work with at-risk/disadvantaged youths, will allow us a glimpse into that inner world. A world comprised of a champion’s heart, a champion’s pride and a champion’s sense of discipline. A world inhabited by an extraordinary man, with an extraordinary sense of duty, and the courage to help lead others into manhood.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2011. (“Evander Holyfield: Beyond the Ring” is registered with the WGA West, Inc.)

In Search of Mos Def

In 1996, a single titled Universal Magnetic was released to much acclaim into New York’s hip-hop underground. And over time, the artist behind it — a 23-yr-old with the stage name “Mos Def” who had become familiar to the city’s hip-hop faithful through various collaborations and cameo appearances, most notably with the storied De La Soul — would steadily become one of the culture’s most sought-after talents.

Born Dante Smith in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Mos demonstrated an early interest and aptitude for the arts — majoring in Musical Theater at New York’s Talent Unlimited High School of the Performing Arts, and notching roles in the TV movie God Bless the Child, and alongside Bill Cosby in the The Cosby Mysteries, while still a teenager.

In 1998, after signing with the now-defunct Rawkus Records, Mos Def, along with his partner, Talib Kweli, released the eponymous Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star — an album that showcased their cultural literacy, their political awareness, their uncommon creativity and, by the standards of the era, made stars of them both.

One year later, Mos released his debut solo album Black on Both Sides, a masterpiece of hip-hop music — a masterpiece of American music — that captivated a generation of listeners and catapulted Mos Def into the ranks of superstardom.

Newer and ever more prominent outlets for his creative gifts soon followed.  In 2000, he landed a role in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled; 2001 saw him join Halle Berry and Billy-Bob Thornton in the controversial Monster’s Ball; in 2002, he starred alongside Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan in Brown Sugar, and opposite Jeffrey Wright in the Pulitzer Prize®-winning play Topdog/Underdog on Broadway; in 2003, he landed a role in the big-budget Hollywood feature The Italian Job.

2004 saw Mos sign to Interscope/Geffen Records, where, at the helm of his rock band Black Jack Johnson, he released his second solo album: the daringly experimental A New Danger — which notched several Grammy nominations. That year also saw Mos notch Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award nominations for his searing performance in the HBO film Something The Lord Made.

In the ensuing years, work in TV, film, theater and music has continued almost unabated — onscreen in The Woodsman with Kevin Bacon, 16 Blocks with Bruce Willis, Be Kind Rewind with Jack Black, and Cadillac Records with Beyoncé Knowles; in-studio with the release of True Magic and The Ecstatic; onstage in John Guare’s A Free Man of Color at Lincoln Center —  with Mos continuing to grow as an artist, and with his artistic and creative renown continuing to grow here in the States and around the world.

But even though much is known about the art that Mos Def’s gifts and versatility produces, little is known of the man — little is known of the artist — behind the art. In Search of Mos Def will both literally and figuratively seek to find the man and artist — searching through his life and loves to find the wellspring of his creativity; witnessing, first hand, the method of his expression; and learning, through his own words, the aims of his unique vision.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2011. (“In Search of Mos Def” is registered with the WGA West, Inc.)

In Search of Ms. Lauryn Hill

In 1992, an aspiring young recording artist named Prakazrel Michel, approached Lauryn Hill, a gifted young poet/vocalist in his New Jersey high school, about joining a music group that he was forming with his cousin, Wyclef Jean. The trio — whose eclectic sound integrated elements of hip-hop, soul and Caribbean musical forms, and whose lyrics reflected a heightened political awareness — dubbed themselves “The Fugees” (as in refugees), and were soon signed to Columbia Records.

In 1994, the group released their first EP Blunted on Reality. While the album garnered little in the way of mainstream recognition, it notched two urban-market hits and revealed a bold new artistic voice — setting the stage for a much-anticipated follow-up.

That sophomore effort, 1996’s The Score, would exceed even the highest expectations — charting four Billboard hits, selling 15 million units worldwide, earning Best Rap Album and Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1997 Grammy® Awards, and catapulting The Fugees into superstardom. The glare of fame and fortune, however, intensified problems within the group, and strained by the growing solo ambitions of its three members, The Fugees disbanded before year’s end.

In 1998, Lauryn Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and soon thereafter, she became the biggest solo artist in the world. Combining live instrumentation with Hill’s rich vocals and impassioned lyrics, Miseducation reigned atop the Billboard charts for six weeks — charting four hits (including a #1 single) and selling more than 18 million units worldwide.  At the 1999 Grammy^® Awards, Miseducation earned Hill a permanent place in music history, making her the first woman ever to notch 10 nominations in a single year. Hill went on to win five Grammys^® — Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best New Artist and Album of the Year — also a historical first.

As time progressed, Hill became disenchanted with the burdens of celebrity. Distancing herself from the music industry and the media — firing her management team, rejecting interview requests, refusing to watch TV or even listen to music (or so it is rumored) — Hill sought refuge in her then-burgeoning spirituality. And in 2000, near the height of her acclaim, Lauryn Hill vanished from the public eye.

Hill would resurface after more than a year — releasing a moderately popular second album, appearing (with occasional controversy) at several high-profile international events, and reuniting with The Fugees for a two-year span that ended bitterly in 2006.

In the years since, Hill has continued to tour and perform intermittently in venues around the world. Frequent domestic appearances during 2010, coupled with rumors emerging from within the music industry, have led many to speculate — some, perhaps, wishfully — that Hill intends to release a new album in the coming year.

How will the music world receive Lauryn Hill? Can her creative vision remain relevant in a ever-fragmenting pop-culture industry? Is she truly ready to face the glare of a celebrity spotlight that’s more intense and unrelenting than the one she fled? In Search of Ms. Lauryn Hill intends to document her journey and uncover the truth.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2010. (“In Search of Ms. Lauryn Hill” is registered with the WGA West, Inc.)

Finding Allen Iverson

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In recent decades, as the popularity of basketball has grown and spread throughout the world, many standout players from the United States have explored offers to travel overseas and continue their careers as professional athletes. Of this ever-growing pool of talents, a select few have been former NBA players; fewer have been NBA players of any renown; and none have been as prominent as Allen Iverson.

One of the fiercest competitors and most prolific scorers in NBA history, Iverson entered the league as the #1 pick in the ’96 NBA Draft, and almost instantaneously established himself as one of basketball’s brightest stars and most captivating talents — winning Rookie of the Year honors and leading the Philadelphia 76ers’ return to prominence.

Underneath the brilliance of Iverson’s play, however, lay a complex, sometimes unpredictable personality that meshed uneasily with the corporate culture of the NBA  — bringing Iverson into frequent conflict with the head coaches for whom he’s played during his 14-year career. And in 2006, following a 10-year stint with the 76ers, during which he lead the team to six-straight Playoff appearances and an appearance in the NBA Finals, Iverson was traded to the Denver Nuggets — the first of three teams for which he would play during the next four tumultuous seasons.

In November 2009, just three weeks after the Memphis Grizzlies terminated his contract by “mutual agreement,” Iverson signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the 76ers — hoping to end his career where it began. Three months later, citing family issues, Iverson left the team indefinitely. And in March of this year, the 76ers announced that Iverson would not return.

On the eve of the 2010 NBA Season, Allen Iverson — 11-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, four-time scoring champion, two-time All-Star Game MVP, and 2001 NBA MVP — found himself unsigned and uncertain of his future as a professional athlete, until inking a two-year deal with Besiktas of the Turkish Basketball League.

As he embarks on what may prove to be the final leg of his athletic career, Iverson — a baller and “streetwise” persona forged on the courts of Virginia; a world-renowned athlete who has triumphed at the highest levels of competition — becomes a stranger in a strange land, cast adrift from the fame and fortune of the NBA, and dreaming, some speculate, of someday returning.

What are Iverson’s plans for the future? What will be the key challenges he faces — how will he create a sense of normalcy — in a society so different from our own? What wisdom has he earned from his experiences? And what does he want to share with the world?

 “Finding Allen Iverson” will explore those questions and more, serving as Iverson’s reintroduction to the world — allowing him the rare opportunity to determine and define who and what we see.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original-series treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2010. (Both the “Finding…” series and the “Finding Allen Iverson” installment are registered with the WGA West, Inc.)

Finding Stephon Marbury

In recent decades, as the popularity of basketball has grown and spread throughout the world, many stand-out players from the United States have traveled overseas and enjoyed long and productive careers as professional athletes. Of this ever-growing pool of talents, a select few have been former players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Fewer have been NBA players of note.  And fewer still have been as prominent as Stephon Marbury.

Long among the NBA’s most elite players and scintillating talents, Marbury found his stock decline after of series of very public controversies led many in both the league and the media to question his judgment, his professionalism, and his commitment to team play. And at the end of the 2009 season, Marbury, 32, a thirteen-year veteran and two-time All-Star, found himself unsigned and uncertain of his future as a professional athlete and public figure.

That changed a short time later when Marbury joined the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), and quickly established himself as one of the league’s premier players — earning MVP honors in the CBA’s All-Star Game, inking a three-year extension, and securing a commitment from the Brave Dragons to help grow and promote his Starbury sneaker brand in mainland China.

As he embarks on what may prove to be the final leg of his athletic career, Marbury — a “streetwise” player and persona forged in the crucible of New York City’s public courts; a world-renowned athlete who has triumphed at the highest levels of amateur and professional competition — finds himself a stranger in a strange land, cast adrift from the fame and fortune of the NBA, and dreaming, some speculate, of someday returning.

What are Marbury’s plans for the near future? What are the key challenges he faces — how has he created a sense of normalcy — in a society so radically different from our own? What wisdom has he earned from his experiences? And what, if anything, does he want to share with the world?

“Finding Stephon Marbury” will explore those questions and serve as Marbury’s reintroduction to America, giving him the opportunity — perhaps for the first time in his adult life — to control the narrative that defines him.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original-series treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2010. (Both the “Finding…” series and the “Finding Stephon Marbury” installment are registered with the WGA West, Inc.)

 

Jean Quixoté: Wyclef’s Quest for the Haitian Presidency

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“Jean Quixoté…” is a documentary film/series that provides a sustained, behind-the-scenes glimpse into Haitian-born, Grammy Award®-winning musician Wyclef Jean’s improbable candidacy to become the President of Haiti — the 12th in the last 20 years.

Against the backdrop of the Haitian landscape, the program will follow Wyclef along the campaign trail – observing his most public and his most private moments, and tracing his evolution from world-renowned pop star and political novice to aspiring statesman and world leader.

Using archival film and photographic footage, narrative voice-over, excerpted news coverage and “talking-head” interviews with academics, journalists, relief workers and prominent Haitian leaders, the program will provide a summary of Haiti’s richly complex history — balancing that against a clear, unsentimental depiction of the nation’s contemporary struggles both before and after the January earthquake.

Through interviews and impromptu Q&As with Wyclef, as well as with elected leaders and commentators from other nations in the region (including the US), the program will seek to capture greater insights into Wyclef’s motivations for running, his fears and anxieties regarding the undertaking (particularly in light of the violence and instability that have historically plagued the office), his vision for the nation, and his preparedness for the enormous — and unpredictable — challenges he would face as President.

In witnessing his reception among Haitian citizens and members of Haiti’s Establishment, exploring the opinions of supporters and detractors (including his challengers), capturing the struggles, triumphs, frustrations and defeats that await him and his campaign, the program will document Wyclef’s “performance” as a political candidate — charting where and when the music stops.

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This concept summary is excerpted from an original treatment conceived, written and designed by me in 2010. (“Jean Quixoté” is registered with the WGA East, Inc.)