David Mills (TV writer)
David Mills | |
---|---|
Born | David Eugene Mills November 20, 1961 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Died | March 30, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | (aged 48)
Occupation | Journalist, television writer |
Alma mater | University of Maryland, College Park |
Period | 1993–2010 |
Notable works | The Corner, Kingpin |
David Eugene Mills.
Early life
Mills was born in Washington, D.C. His family moved to Lanham, Maryland after their home was destroyed by a fire.[1] In 1979, Mills graduated from DuVal Senior High School in Lanham.
Journalism
Mills attended the
After graduating, Mills became a features writer. He worked for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, and The Washington Post. Among the many articles he wrote, Mills produced a number of controversial celebrity interviews.
Professor Griff
In 1989, Mills interviewed
Sister Souljah
Mills spoke with activist and rapper Sister Souljah in 1992 for the Washington Post. During the interview, the two spoke about the race riots that had taken place weeks earlier in Los Angeles after a predominantly-white jury acquitted four police officers who had been videotaped while beating a black motorist named Rodney King following a high-speed car chase.
The most controversial portion of the interview came when Mills asked Souljah whether violence was a rational response to outrage. Imagining the thoughts of a participant in the riots, Souljah said that it was:[7]
Mills: But even the people themselves who were perpetrating that violence, did they think it was wise? Was that wise, reasoned action? Souljah: Yeah, it was wise. I mean, if black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people? You understand what I'm saying? In other words, white people, this government, and that mayor were well aware of the fact that black people were dying every day in Los Angeles under gang violence. So if you're a gang member and you would normally be killing somebody, why not kill a white person? Do you think that somebody thinks that white people are better, or above and beyond dying, when they would kill their own kind?[8]
Within weeks of the interview,
Television
Homicide: Life on the Street
In 1993 Mills wrote the script for an episode of
The episode, called "
NYPD Blue
At a professional writer's seminar during 1994, David Milch, the co-creator of NYPD Blue, tried to explain why there were so few African-American screenwriters. He said that "in the area of drama, it was difficult for black American writers to write successfully for a mass audience". In response to Milch's comments, which were made public by The Washington Post, Mills wrote a letter in which he challenged Milch's assumptions concerning Black writers. As a result, Milch hired Mills as a writer for NYPD Blue.[16]
Mills wrote nine episodes of
Looking back on his experience working on NYPD Blue, Mills would later write, "Milch didn't hire me just to get Jesse Jackson off ABC's back. He gave me a shot, I rose to the occasion, and he became a true mentor to me."[17]
ER
Between 1997 and 1999, Mills wrote four episodes of ER. He is credited with creating the character of "Rocket" Romano.[18]
The Corner
During 1999, David Simon was asked to adapt his book
In another P-Funk reference, Mills named his production company Knee Deep Productions, a reference to Funkadelic's 1979 hit "(Not Just) Knee Deep".
Kingpin
Mills's next project was the development of an original miniseries for NBC.
The Wire
In 2006 Mills was reunited with Simon as part of the writing staff for
He returned as a writer for the
Conviction
During 2006 Mills wrote one script for the short-lived Conviction.
Treme
Mills collaborated with Simon on Treme, a series that premiered on HBO in April 2010. The final episode of the show's first season was dedicated to him.[28]
Book
In 1998, Mills and some of his fellow Uncut Funk authors edited various interviews they had conducted with P-Funk members over the years. The resulting book, George Clinton and P-Funk: An Oral History, was published as part of the For the Record series, edited by music critic Dave Marsh.
Death
David Mills died of a
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Result | Work | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award
|
Outstanding Dramatic Series | Nominated[27] | The Wire season 5 | Shared with |
2008 | Won[24] | The Wire season 4 | Shared with Ed Burns, Chris Collins, Kia Corthron, Dennis Lehane, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon and William F. Zorzi | ||
2007 | Edgar Award
|
Best Television Feature/Mini-Series Teleplay | Won[23] | Shared with Ed Burns, Kia Corthron, Dennis Lehane, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon and William F. Zorzi | |
2000 | Emmy Award
|
Outstanding Miniseries | Won | The Corner | Shared with Nina K. Noble and David Simon
|
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Movie | Won | Shared with David Simon | |||
1999 | WGA Award | Episodic Drama | Nominated | Homicide: Life on the Street episode "Finnegan's Wake" | Shared with David Simon and James Yoshimura |
1998 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | ER | Shared with John Wells and Lydia Woodward
|
1997 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | NYPD Blue | Shared with Steven Bochco, Bill Clark, Steven DePaul, Robert J. Doherty, David Milch, Theresa Rebeck, Michael M. Robin, Mark Tinker and Michael W. Watkins |
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Nominated | NYPD Blue episode "Taillight's Last Gleaming" | |||
Humanitas Prize | 60 minute category | Won | NYPD Blue | ||
1996 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Nominated | NYPD Blue episode "The Backboard Jungle" | Shared with William L. Morris |
1995 | WGA Award | Episodic Drama | Won | Homicide: Life on the Street episode "Bop Gun" | Shared with David Simon |
1992 | Pulitzer Prize | Nominated | articles for The Washington Post |
References
- ^ a b c Weber, Bruce (March 31, 2010). "David Mills, Television Writer and Producer, Dies at 48". The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ a b Villarreal, Yvonne (April 1, 2010). "David Mills Dies at 48; Emmy-Winning Writer for 'The Wire,' 'NYPD Blue'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ a b Trescott, Jacqueline; De Moraes, Lisa (April 1, 2010). "David Mills, 48, Journalist, Emmy-Winning TV Writer". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ Simon wrote of the relationship in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision on affirmative action. See Simon, David [@AoDespair] (June 30, 2023). "Thread re. David Mills" (Tweet). Retrieved June 30, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Robert Christgau (1989). "The Shit Storm". LA Weekly. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
- ^ Robert Christgau (January 16, 1990). "Jesus, Jews, and the Jackass Theory". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
- ^ David Mills (May 13, 1992). "Sister Souljah's Call to Arms". The Washington Post. pp. B1.
- ^ David Mills (June 16, 1992). "In Her Own Disputed Words". The Washington Post. pp. A7. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2007. Alt URL
- ^ Gwen Ifill (June 14, 1992). "Clinton at Jackson Meeting: Warmth, and Some Friction". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
- ^ Terry Eastland (September 2, 1996). "Redeeming the Race Card". National Review. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
- ^ a b Hal Hinson (June 2, 2002). "TELEVISION/RADIO; Revisiting Baltimore's Embattled Streets". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2007.
- ^ Stephen Gyllenhaal (director), Tom Fontana, David Simon, David Mills (writers) (January 6, 1994). "Bop Gun". Homicide: Life on the Street. Season 2. Episode 01. NBC.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (December 24, 1993). "TV Review: Homicide: Life on the Street". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Cynthia Rose. "The originator of TV's 'Homicide' remains close to his police-reporter roots". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 28, 1999. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
- ^ Zaslow, Jeffrey (July 2, 1996). "Future brother-in-law's pantyhose create a snag; A black voice in "Blue"; "NYPD" writer finds depth in Fancy, Sipowicz". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois. p. 34.
- ^ Joyce Millman (September 22, 1997). "Racist — or realistic?". Salon.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ David Mills (June 7, 2007). "Sing Along with Milch". Undercover Black Man. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (March 31, 2010). "David Mills, Emmy-Winning TV Writer, Dies". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c Mary Alice Blackwell (March 23, 2007). "Fun comes down to 'The Wire'". Daily Progress. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ "The Wire season 4 crew". HBO. 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 14, 2007.
- The Wire. Season 4. Episode 02. HBO.
- ^ "Episode guide - episode 39 Soft Eyes". HBO. 2006. Retrieved August 9, 2006.
- ^ a b "Curtains Receives Edgar Award Nomination". Theatre Mania. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008.
- ^ a b "2008 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. December 12, 2007. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ Agnieszka Holland (director), David Mills (story and teleplay), David Simon (story) (writers) (February 3, 2008). "React Quotes". The Wire. Season 5. Episode 5. HBO.
- ^ "The Wire episode guide - episode 55 React Quotes". HBO. 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
- ^ a b "2009 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. December 8, 2008. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Walker, Dave (June 20, 2010). "'Treme' explained: 'I'll Fly Away'". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
- ^ "Veteran 'Wire,' 'ER' screenwriter David Mills dies". Associated Press. March 31, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
- ^ Walker, Dave (March 31, 2010). "'Treme' writer David Mills dies of brain aneurysm". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
- ^ Walker, Dave (April 11, 2010). "As the premiere of HBO's 'Treme' approached, its creators, cast and crew remembered David Mills". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
- ^ Barnhart, Aaron (April 12, 2010). "'Treme' plants a tree for David Mills". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
Bibliography
- Mills, David; Alexander, Larry; Stanley, Thomas; Thomas, Aris (1998). George Clinton and P-Funk: An Oral History. New York: Avon Books. ISBN 0-380-79378-4.
External links
- David Mills at IMDb
- Undercover Black Man, David Mills's blog
- Archive: The Music Writing of David Mills, The Washington Post
- Uncut Funk archives
- The Undercover Black Man Interview, an interview with David Mills, July 31, 2007