Brian Keith McDonald (born February 18, 1965)
– Adelaide Screenwriter. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an American screenwriter, director, teacher and author, who lives in the state of Washington. McDonald is best known for the books ''Invisible Ink'', ''The Golden Theme'' and ''Ink Spots'',''Invisible Ink'' and ''The Golden Theme''
– Booktrope (Libertary Editions). Retrieved February 22, 2012. and for the short film ''White Face''.

Early life

Brian McDonald was born in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

on February 18, 1965. He was named after his mother's favorite actor,

Brian Keith Brian Keith (born Robert Alba Keith, November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film '' The Parent T ...

. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister. McDonald lived in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado until the age of seven. After his parents divorced, he moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington with his mother. One of his teachers suggested that he had a learning disability; McDonald learned that he was dyslexic when he was around twenty years old. As a child, he used a

cassette recorder A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertainment system, a part of ...

to tape television shows, then watched them repeatedly "to see what made them tick." McDonald made his first film, ''The War,'' which featured green plastic Army men in battle, when he was 10 years old.

Career

McDonald started his first film-related job as a teenager around 1979, working for Bruce Walters at a company called ''Trickfilm'' in Seattle, making animated titles,

motion graphics Motion graphics (sometimes mograph) are pieces of animation or digital footage which create the illusion of motion or rotation, and are usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects. Motion graphics are usually displayed via elec ...

and effects for commercials. When Walters took a job with

Industrial Light and Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...

in 1983, McDonald continued working with other Seattle-based animators until he was 21. He interned for Alpha Cine labs, working for Bruce Vecchitto in the FX and title department, and for the Tennesson/Tobin Animation Studio. In 1986, he moved from

to Los Angeles. His first job in L.A. was with Ted Rae on a movie called

Night of the Creeps ''Night of the Creeps'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film written and directed by Fred Dekker in his feature directorial debut, starring Jason Lively, Jill Whitlow, and Tom Atkins. The film is an earnest attempt at a B movi ...

(1986), working as a runner who assisted in making the Creeps. In 1988 he worked as a fabricator on ''

Dead Heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

'', ''Return of the Living Dead Part II'', and '' Night of the Demons.'' McDonald worked as an animator on ''The Resurrected'', a 1992 horror film, and as a production assistant on ''

Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who, despite ...

'' (1993). He also worked on other "creature" movies without gaining screen credits. At the same time, he was writing speculative screenplays, comic books, and jokes for

Ron Pearson Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, a comedian and old friend. Shortly after, he started working casually as a comedian, doing his own material. McDonald has described himself as "a mediocre stand-up," but credits the experience with teaching him "a ton about audiences and communication." After seven years of struggling in L.A., juggling jobs in the film, comedy, and comic book writing fields, he returned to Seattle in 1993. There he found work as a screenwriting instructor at the

911 Media Arts Center 911 Media Arts Center is a non-profit media arts and access center located in Seattle, Washington. 911 Media Arts Center was incorporated on August 14, 1984, to support the expressive use of media tools through training, equipment, and access gran ...

. On the "near-demand of a student and the advice of a friend," McDonald wrote a book based on the classes he taught. Completed in 2005, he called it ''Invisible Ink''. When he failed to find a publisher, he handed out copies of the manuscript to students and sent the manuscript to an old friend, Derek Thompson, a story artist at

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

.An interview with Brian McDonald, part 2
– Adelaide Screenwriter. Retrieved February 22, 2012. Andrew Stanton, who was working with Thompson, read McDonald's book in one sitting and later said it helped him with ''

Wall-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...

''. He provided a

blurb A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dust jacket of a book, and are now also fou ...

for the book and later suggested to the Pixar University''Pixar University: Thinking Outside The Mouse''
SFGate.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012. staff that they allow McDonald to teach a class there. Since 2006, McDonald has taught writing classes at

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and

. In 2001, McDonald directed a

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

short film called ''White Face''. It was shown at the 2001

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...

, where it won the Audience Award for Best Short. He said he made the film as "a work sample," to "show off" his directing and writing skills. It has since run on HBO and

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

, been used in corporations across the United States as a

Diversity training Diversity training is any program designed to facilitate positive intergroup interaction, reduce prejudice and discrimination, and generally teach individuals who are different from others how to work together effectively. Diversity training is o ...

tool, and is available on DVD. McDonald has also directed several online advertisements for

Visa Inc. Visa Inc. (; stylized as ''VISA'') is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded cred ...

In 2002, he was a camera operator on ''Elixirs & Remedies'', a music documentary. In 2010, the Libertary Company of Seattle (later known as Booktrope), published ''Invisible Ink'' and ''The Golden Theme''. In 2011, Booktrope Editions published ''Freeman – A Novella in Screenplay Form'', and then ''Ink Spots'', a compilation of posts on his ''The Invisible Ink'' blog from across a number of years, in 2012. In the same year, McDonald started work with

Tom Skerritt Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', ''Alien'', '' The Dead Zone'', '' Top Gun'', '' A ...

and the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, as part of the Red Badge program which encouraged US veterans to tell their stories.

Directing and performing

In 2001, Brian McDonald directed a

short film called ''White Face''. Shortly after, he directed, and appears in, ''Flickering Memories'', a documentary short about Seattle cinemas of the past, for the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

of 2004. The film was incorrectly titled ''Flickering Images'' by the title-maker, though it is listed correctly by IMDb. Two years later the film was incorporated into a TV series called ''About Us'', under the title ''Belltown: Flickering Images''. In 2008, he performed in the 20-minute short film ''Bookie''. That film has been since been shown at some two dozen film festivals around the world. McDonald directed a documentary short called ''Squirrel Butter and the Tall Boys – Old Time music'' for MTV in 2009.

Writing

Blogs

Brian McDonald has been publishing ''The Invisible Ink Blog'' since 2005, in which he analyzes great movies and discusses aspects of screenwriting theory.

Books

In 1995, Brian McDonald was one of the primary contributors to a four volume anthology called ''Colors in Black'' (with story pieces in issues 2, 3 and 4), published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

in cooperation with

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

, which focused on African-American creators. In 2001, McDonald contributed the story ''"The Misadventures of Tommy T-Rex"'' to the

Collection humor anthology book ''Scatterbrain''. In 2003, on the advice of a student, Brian McDonald compiled his screenwriting notes into a book he called ''Invisible Ink''. Completed in 2005, it was eventually published by Libertary Editions in 2010. By then it was already well known in filmmaking circles and championed by people such as

Andrew Stanton Andrew Ayers Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is an American filmmaker and voice actor based at Pixar, which he joined in 1990. His film work includes co-writing and co-directing Pixar's ''A Bug's Life'' (1998), directing '' Finding Nemo'' (2003) ...

, who opened the door for McDonald to teach at Pixar. In 2010, Libertary Editions also published ''The Golden Theme: How to Make Your Writing Appeal to the Highest Common Denominator'' by Brian McDonald. In 2011, Booktrope Editions (formerly Libertary Editions) published ''Freeman – A Novella in Screenplay Form''. Both ''Invisible Ink'' and ''The Golden Theme'' were listed on the twenty-six book Recommended Reading List for interns at

in 2012.

Comics

The first comic books written by Brian McDonald were published in 1989. They were Issue No. 19, ''Scratchin','' and Issue No. 24, ''Puppy Love'', of

Caliber Comics Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America ...

' ''Caliber Presents: Volume One'' compilation, and were followed by ''Harry the Cop, No. 1'' for

Slave Labor Graphics Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jh ...

in 1992. Next came '' Hardware #9'' (1993) and ''

Static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

No. 40 – Boyz Night Out'' for

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

(1996). In the same year he wrote ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

: Strange Roux'' for

, which was republished in 2008 in ''

Omnibus Volume 3''. Brian McDonald wrote ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

: The Gorilla Camp Raiders'' for United Media Syndicate. It was published as a Sunday newspaper comic strip over 14 weeks (Aug 17, 1997, to November 16, 1997). The artist was

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...

. In 1998, McDonald wrote three volumes of the comic book sequel to the

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

film

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

(''

#1'', ''

#2'' and ''

#3'') for

. These were later reprinted as a single volume. He wrote the

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossover ...

spin-off, Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead for

in the same year. In 1999, he wrote ''

Aliens vs. Predator ''Alien vs. Predator'' (also known as ''Aliens versus Predator'' and ''AVP'') is a science-fiction action horror media franchise created by comic book writers Randy Stradley and Chris Warner. The series is a crossover between, and part of, th ...

: Lefty's Revenge'', for

. That was republished as part of '' Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus'': Volume 2 (collects ''Lefty's Revenge'', among others). Milwaukie, Oregon,

in 2007. In 2003, '' Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead'' was reprinted in '' B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth and Other Stories''.

Screenplays

Brian McDonald has written numerous screenplays. Those produced include the mockumentary short film ''White Face'' in 2001, and a thriller feature called ''Inheritance'' in 2004.

Television

Brian McDonald's 2004 film, ''Flickering Memories'', was incorporated into the 2006 TV series, ''Belltown: Flickering Images''. He wrote episodes 15, 16 and 18 of Season 2 the A+E television show Hoarders in 2010.

Teaching

Since 2003, Brian McDonald has worked as a story consultant at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

's Animation Capstone, helping produce animated short films.

, writer and director of ''

'' and numerous other projects at

, recommended that the Pixar University staff invite Brian McDonald to teach a class there. Since 2006, he has taught writing classes at

and

. In 2008, Brian McDonald was guest speaker at the

National Speakers Association The National Speakers Association (NSA) is a US based association that supports motivational and other public speakers. It is the oldest and largest of 13 international associations comprising the Global Speakers Federation. History NSA was f ...

(NSA) ''Presentation and Performance Lab'', in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. In 2009, he stepped in on short notice, following the sudden death of

Blake Snyder Blake Snyder (October 3, 1957 – August 4, 2009) was an American screenwriter, consultant, author and educator based in Los Angeles. His screenplays include the comedies '' Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'' (1992) and '' Blank Check'' (1994). Through ...

, as keynote speaker at the ''Write on the Sound'' Writers' Conference, presented by the

Edmonds Edmonds may refer to: * Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname) * Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US ** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US * Edmonds station (SkyTr ...

Art Commission. In 2010, McDonald taught at the

Northwest Film Forum The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Summer Classes. In 2011, he was interviewed on the subject of Cinematic Storytelling by

Warren Etheredge Warren Etheredge is an educator. He lives in Seattle, Washington. Etheredge has tried writing 5 books and is the writer or director of over 40 plays staged in New York City. Etheredge is the founder of The Warren Report, a Seattle-based film and ...

for ''The Warren Report''. McDonald was a guest lecturer at the ''

National Film Festival for Talented Youth The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY- pronounced nifty), held annually in Seattle, Washington, showcases work by filmmakers 24 and under from across the U.S. and the world. Founded in 2007, it has since become the most influentia ...

'' in January 2012.NFFTY, 2012
– ''5 Minute Film School'' and ''How To Tell Your Story''. Retrieved February 22, 2012. Held in

, Washington, it is the largest youth film festival in the world, and "the premier showcase of the best young directors (aged twenty-two) and younger from around the world." He also taught a short course for ''Women in Film Seattle''.

Producing

Brian McDonald produced ''White Face'' in 2001. In 2004, he co-produced ''Flickering Memories'', a documentary short, which was incorporated into the TV series ''About Us'' in 2006 as ''Belltown: Flickering Images''. In 2004, he also produced a thriller feature called ''Inheritance''.

Awards and honors

Brian McDonald won the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the 2001

, and a Creative Merit Award at the 2001

for the short film ''White Face''. He won the Science Fiction category of the 2006 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition for the screenplay ''Graverobbers''.''Interviews: Austin Film Festival Screenplay/Teleplay Competition''
– MovieBytes, October 26, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2012. In 2009, Brian McDonald was a semi-finalist in the

Nicholl Fellowship The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is a fellowship program founded in 1986 to aid screenwriters. It is administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. History Gee Nicholl, widow of producer Don Nicholl, worked w ...

.Nicholl Fellowship
– 2009 finalists. Retrieved February 22, 2012.

Productions

Films

* 1986 ''

'' – runner * 1986 ''Howard Jones – You Know I Love You... Don't You?'' – animation camera operator * 1988 ''

'' – runner and fabricator * 1988 ''Return of the Living Dead Part II'' – runner and fabricator * 1988 '' Night of the Demons'' – runner and fabricator * 1992 ''

The Resurrected ''The Resurrected'' (also known as ''The Ancestor'' and ''Shatterbrain'') is a 1991 American horror film directed by Dan O'Bannon, and starring John Terry, Jane Sibbett, Chris Sarandon and Robert Romanus. It is an adaptation of the H. P. Lo ...

'' – animator * 1993 ''

'' – production assistant * 2001 ''White Face'' – writer, director, producer * 2002 ''Elixirs & Remedies' – camera operator * 2004 ''Inheritance'' – writer, producer * 2004 ''Flickering Memories'' – director, performer, producer * 2008 ''Bookie'' – performer * 2009 ''Squirrel Butter and the Tall Boys – Old Time music'' – director

Television

* 2006 ''Belltown: Flickering Images'' – director, performer, producer * 2010 ''Hoarders'' (episodes 15, 16 and 18, Season 2) – writer

Books

* McDonald, Brian and Purcell, Gordon and Pallot, Terry. ''Lost in Space''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 1998. * McDonald, Brian and others. ''Scatterbrain''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 2001. * McDonald, Brian. ''Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate''. Seattle, WA, Libertary Company, 2010. * McDonald, Brian. ''The Golden Theme: How to make your writing appeal to the highest common denominator''. Seattle, WA, Libertary Company, 2010. * McDonald, Brian. ''Freeman – A Novella in Screenplay Form''. Seattle, WA, Booktrope Editions, 2011. * McDonald, Brian. ''Ink Spots: The Collected Writings of Brian McDonald on Story Structure, Filmmaking and Craftsmanship''. Seattle, WA, Booktrope Editions, 2012.

Comics

* McDonald, Brian. ''Caliber Presents: Volume One, Issue #19''. "Scratchin'."

, 1989. * McDonald, Brian. ''Caliber Presents: Volume One, Issue #24''. "Puppy Love."

, 1989. * McDonald, Brian. ''Harry the Cop, No. 1''. San Jose, CA,

, 1992. ASIN B0017QASIU * McDonald, Brian. '' Hardware #9''.

, 1993. ASIN B000LA200M * McDonald, Brian. ''

No. 40 – Boyz Night Out''.

, 1996. * McDonald, Brian. ''

: Strange Roux''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 1996. * McDonald, Brian and Morrow, Gray. ''

: The Gorilla Camp Raiders''. United Media Syndicate, 1997. * McDonald, Brian. ''

#1''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 1998. ASIN B000R32MAQ * McDonald, Brian. ''

#2''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 1998. ASIN B000R335CU * McDonald, Brian. ''

#3''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 1998. ASIN B000R3365Q * McDonald, Brian. ''

Abe Sapien Abraham Sapien, born Langdon Everett Caul, is a fictional character introduced in the comic book series ''Hellboy'', created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "''Ichthyo sapien''", the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his c ...

: Drums of the Dead''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 1998. * McDonald, Brian. ''

: Lefty's Revenge''. Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 1999. * McDonald, Brian and others. '' B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth and Other Stories'', (collects '' Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead'', among others), 2003. * McDonald, Brian. '' Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus'': Volume 2 (collects ''Lefty's Revenge'', among others). Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 2007. * McDonald, Brian and others. ''

Omnibus Volume 3'' (collects ''

: Strange Roux'', among others). Milwaukie, Oregon,

, 2008.

References

External links

Brian McDonald official website

The Invisible Ink Blog
* Brian McDonald o
Comic Vine
* * Brian McDonald o
Dark Horse Comics
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Brian 1965 births Living people Writers from Seattle American male screenwriters Screenwriting instructors Screenwriters from Washington (state) 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers