Greg Wilkey
Joel Eisenberg and Steve Hillard’s Council Tree Productions (“The Chronicles of Ara,” “Then Again with Herbie J Pilato”) has acquired Greg Wilkey’s “The Life and Undeath of Mortimer Drake” to develop as a weekly one-hour YA series. The deal was shepherded by Mr. Wilkey’s publisher and manager, Todd Barselow of Auspicious Apparatus Press, and Forbes West.
Mr. Barselow and Forbes are, separately, under contract to Council Tree for their proposed original series, “Strange War,” an allegory set in the French West Indies during World War II, that explores the conflicts and repercussions of political resistance at the cost of assimilating within a hostile power.
Council Tree Productions is jointly-owned by Mr.
Eisenberg and Mr. Hillard, the latter owner of Council Tree Investors, a private equity firm responsible for developing, or advising on, several billion dollars in telecom investments, including Telemundo.
Says Mr. Eisenberg: “We are thrilled to be working with Greg, Todd and Forbes. As one of Council Tree Productions’ mandates is to discover such bold new voices who may not have the connections necessary to break in to film or television, we look forward to leading the way.” Eisenberg credits Ryan Murphy, writer-director of FX’s “Feud,” for a shot of inspiration. “Ryan proactively hires women and minorities for his projects when far too many producers turn the other way,” he explains. “Our doors are open to all, including diverse independent content creators.”
Mr. Wilkey’s “Mortimer Drake” series focuses on the titular teen who comes to discover the source of his mounting angst: he is the product of a supernatural mixed-marriage. His mother is human and his father is a 925-year-old vampire. Mortimer’s life is turned upside-down as he struggles with this knowledge, and his own emerging vampiric nature. Further complications ensue when the truth behind the myths and legends of the vampire are unveiled, a gradual discovery that includes all manner of supernatural entity, and Mortimer enters into a centuries old war with his undead brethren.
“Interview with the Vampire” author Anne Rice is a longtime supporter of the “Mortimer Drake” series. “Greg Wilkey is a writer to watch,” she wrote. “Greg’s imagination and storytelling have enchanted fans young and old. I applaud Greg’s immense talent and his willingness to go it alone as an indie published author.”
In his daylight hours, Mr. Wilkey works as an assistant principal at East Side Elementary, in Chattanooga. His nights are reserved for his favorite vampire. “When I write,” he says, “time disappears. My worries, fears, and doubts fade away.” He dedicates his collective efforts to his late wife, Alicyn Wilkey, who passed away unexpectedly in 2014.
Both “The Life and Undeath of Mortimer Drake” and “Strange War” will be developed and packaged in-house with Council Tree Productions, and set for network or streaming pitch meetings in the first quarter of 2018.