From an early age, Michael Elliott struggled with the inner conflict that his life was an ongoing case of mistaken identity. Told he was half Italian and half American/English, he often felt uncomfortable in his own skin. With his mother’s family in Italy, he felt accepted, spoke the language fluently, and walked the streets like a native son. With his father’s family, he intuitively knew he was the odd man out. In 2017, he discovered he was not 50% Italian, but 98%. An undergraduate English Literature major with a master’s degree in Communications from Penn State, he began his screenwriting career in 2020, determined to create characters true to their identities with an unshakeable moral center. He grew up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland, where he continues to reside.
Works
Book • Available
A novel of veterans, civil conflict, and survival in a country under siege.
When jihadist violence threatens America, Vietnam combat veteran Wayne Foltz joins with fellow veterans to defend their Washington, DC-area community against collapse, fear, and armed invasion.
Book • In Development
History, destiny, and the mysterious pull of the past.
A story of history, destiny, and the mysterious pull of the past.
Screenplay • Rights Inquiry
A Vietnam veteran risks prison to act on conscience.
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.
In the spirit of The Fugitive × Born on the Fourth of July
Screenplay • Rights Inquiry
A lifetime first love returns when time is running out.
When 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.
In the spirit of We Live in Time × Blue Valentine
Screenplay • Rights Inquiry
A revenge thriller built around a fatal moral question.
Seeking revenge on a white criminal gang, a Black homeowner lures them into a home invasion attempting to disguise murder as self-defense.
In the spirit of Man on Fire × The Usual Suspects
Screenplay • Rights Inquiry
A teenager is pulled from 1990 into the turbulence of 1967.
A 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.
In the spirit of Stargate × Platoon