Author · Screenwriter · Storyteller
“Don’t ever count me out.”
Michael Elliott is an Annapolis, Maryland–based author and screenwriter whose work centers on protagonists with firm identities and deep moral conviction.
About Michael
From an early age, Michael Elliott struggled with the feeling that his life was an ongoing case of mistaken identity. He had been told he was half Italian and half American/English, yet he felt most at home with his mother’s family in Italy, where he spoke the language fluently and moved through the streets like a native son. In 2017, he learned that he was not 50 percent Italian, but 98 percent. That discovery deepened his interest in identity, belonging, and moral character. An undergraduate English literature major with a master’s degree in communications from Penn State, he began his screenwriting career in 2020. He grew up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and continues to live in Annapolis, Maryland.
Michael has always gravitated toward creative pursuits, including music, stand-up comedy, fiction, and screenwriting. His literary influences include F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck. His film influences include John Huston, Billy Wilder, Ridley Scott, and George Lucas.
Selected work
Published fiction and screenplays available for development or future consideration.
Published novel · 2011
A political action thriller centered on Vietnam combat veteran Wayne Foltz and a community forced to confront fear, violence, and the collapse of public order.
A decorated Vietnam combat vet, dealing with PTSD, defies the FBI and risks prison to help a notorious and wanted antiwar activist escape to Canada.
Comparable films: The Fugitive and Born on the Fourth of July
View screenplay detailsWhen a stubborn 75-year-old man agrees to care for his lifetime first love now battling cancer, their rekindled romance forces them to confront the wreckage of decades while racing time to finally choose each other.
Comparable films: We Live in Time and Blue Valentine
View screenplay detailsSeeking revenge on a white criminal gang, a Black homeowner lures them into a home invasion, attempting to disguise murder as self-defense.
Comparable films: Man on Fire and The Usual Suspects
View screenplay detailsA teenager is unexpectedly transported from 1990 to 1967, where he becomes entangled in the world of hippies, the Vietnam War, and the paranormal, forcing him to confront his own destiny and the power of the past.
Comparable films: Stargate and Platoon
View screenplay detailsView all screenplays, including the future project Senior Center Assassin
Creative approach
“I specialize in protagonists whose inner strength is the firmness of their identities, bolstered by a deep moral center.”
Michael Elliott