"Tell stories that illuminate our times and our souls.
That waken the sleeping angel inside the beast."
– Frank Pierson
FILM & TV
AFTER THE REALITY
Wrote, Directed & Produced
Released by 1091 Media & Film Mode
Premiered on
"Deliciously Pitch Perfect" - Hollywood Reporter
For more on AFTER THE REALITY's awards, honors, and where to watch, click here
THE INSPECTORS
Staff Writer
CBS
BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT
Wrote, Directed and Produced
Premiered at Palm Springs ShortFest
For more on BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT, click here
USofAnderson.com
Wrote, Directed & Produced
For more on this web series that was nominated for up an Upper Midwest Emmy and that Garrison Keillor said of Anderson's performance: "He's got a lot of energy and verticality." click here
FRONTLINE WORLD: Island on the Edge
Produced & Cinematographer
FILMS & TV
IN DEVELOPMENT
BLACK APPLE
written by
David Anderson
LOG LINE: When favorite English teacher, Edward Wilder, is found dead in the school swimming pool, his teaching protege, Lee Ann Sterling, goes in search of the truth only to discover the harrowing underbelly of the American education system. There will be blood and children will be left behind...
One of four feature scripts selected for the distinguished ALMANACK OCTOBER SCREENWRITERS COLONY 2019
Slated to begin production in 2025. Updates and pitch deck here
LOG LINE: Launched into space for scientific study, Water Bear ELLA (14) is abandoned on the moon by NASA and must find a way back to earth with her burgeoning space explorer skills and the help of her estranged, eccentric and musical Water Bear family.
ANIMATED/PUPPET SERIES
Curious about the veracity of these Water Bears? Read the WIRED story that broke this lunar invasion....
STAR SIMONE
ANIMATED/PUPPET FEATURE
developed by
David Anderson
LOG LINE: Denied a constellation in the Milky Way, Simone the star (a 14-year-old in human years), sets out for the Andromeda Galaxy with an unlikely partner, fending off black holes, aliens, and her past in hopes of joining a newly forming Andromeda constellation.
Welcome to a YA movie filled with stars... the kind that are light years away.
AMERICAN LETHAL
series written and created by
David Anderson
LOG LINE: A correctional nurse responsible for administering lethal injections turns to vigilante justice when she learns the truth about her past. BETTER CALL SAUL meets PRISON BREAK.
Currently Pitching Pilot & Series
ANIMATED YA SERIES
created by David Anderson & Magnolia Esperance
LOG LINE: A fourteen-year-old bully cast with a spell that makes her act like a pirate, rafts down the Los Angeles River only to be transported back to the early 1700s where she must teach the ferocious Blackbeard pirate to stop bullying the seas, or else she’ll be stuck in the 1700s forever.
GOLD RUSH 2023!
Animated Feature
Created by David Anderson
LOG LINE: Using gadgets from her family’s wilderness store as well as reconceived high-end fashion accessories, failed social influencer ESPERANZA (15) and her best friend embark across California’s diverse terrain on an elaborate high-stakes treasure hunt for a dead billionaire’s gold fortune, all in an attempt to save her family’s store and home.
MINNETONKA
series and pilot
Created by David Anderson
LOG LINE: The mystery surrounding a 1994 missing child is revived by a true crime podcast, forcing a brother and sister to face dark childhood secrets that could alter their lives forever
A SAMPLE of PUBLISHED WORKS
BIO
DAVID ANDERSON is an LA-based, Minnesota-born writer and director. With a unique yet accessible voice, Anderson’s work is a hybrid of Coen Brothers’ deviance with Kermit The Frog genuineness, all packaged in a tidy Midwestern bow.
Anderson’s peerless style can be seen in his completed feature film, AFTER THE REALITY (starring Matthew Morrison and Sarah Chalke) which he wrote, directed and produced. It was distributed by THE ORCHARD / 1091 MEDIA, premiered on Netflix and is now available across the country (on all digital and cable platforms) and the globe. The Hollywood Reporter dubbed it, "Deliciously pitch perfect."
He recently completed writing his next feature, BLACK APPLE, a neo-noir thriller about school standardized testing (MICHAEL CLAYTON meets 1970s thrillers in the world of FARGO). The script was one of four scripts to be workshopped at the distinguished 2019 Almanack October Screenwriters Colony and is currently being considered by Shudder Productions.
Most recently he was a staff writer on the CBS Saturday morning show, THE INSPECTORS, writing two episodes. This past year he pitched to Netflix a take on the award-winning young adult property, GUTSY GIRL as well as to Scott Free his original pilot, AMERICAN LETHAL.
Prior to AFTER THE REALITY, his award-winning short film BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT (starring Jason Ritter and Kelen Coleman) screened at dozens of festivals and will soon be available on iTunes. A slightly nuttier and younger side of Anderson can be seen on award-winning web series USOFANDERSON.COM (featuring Weezer and his high school foreign exchange student, Nikolai). A more serious side can be seen on his PBS "FRONTLINE/World" produced documentary SAKHALIN: ISLAND ON THE EDGE.
Having toiled in the documentary and journalism worlds for a good decade, Anderson continues to write for several national publications, including Delta SKY. For over a decade, he wrote a monthly column for Mpls St. Paul Magazine, contrasting his life in LA with his youth in Minnesota.
Anderson got his Hollywood start working for showrunners and producers, Chris Brancato and Bert Salke, assisting in the development and production of three pilots for ABC.
Anderson is a graduate of Northwestern University and its prestigious writing for the media program and the recipient of the T. Stephen May Scriptwriting Award.
