David Michael Barrett (born April 3, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film producer in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Best known for his films '' Bad Actress'', '' Such Good People'' and '' Kiss Me, Kill Me'', his play ''Brentwood'' was featured in

Noah Wyle Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He rose to fame as John Carter in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' (1994–2009), receiving five Emmy Award nominations, three Golden Globe Award ...

's Blank Theatre Company's Living Room Series of new works. He is an alumnus of

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

's Screenwriting Lab, and has been a mentor at the International Academy of Film and Television, where he is on the advisory board. Prior to writing, Barrett spent over a dozen years in drama development at Warner Bros. TV, where he worked with writer/producers James Duff ''The Closer,'' Deborah Joy LeVine ''The New Adventures of Lois & Clark'', among others.

Screenwriter

''Bad Actress'' (2011)

'' Bad Actress'' is a dark comedy about has-been TV star, Alyssa Rampart-Pillage ( Beth Broderick), whose career is restarted when she’s accused of murdering her husband, Bernie ( Chris Mulkey). The film premiered at the Miami International Film Festival in March 2011 and was later showcased at various film festivals, including the Cleveland International Film Festival. Beth Broderick's performance earned her the Best Actress award at the New York Independent Film Festival, and the film received the "10 Degrees Hotter Award" for Best Picture at the Valley Film Festival. The film is distributed by Strand Releasing.

''Such Good People'' (2014)

A screwball comedy, '' Such Good People'' tells the story of Richard (

Michael Urie Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC comedy drama television series ''Ugly Betty'' and Brian on the Apple TV+ series '' Shrinking'', a role for which he won ...

) and Alex ( Randy Harrison) who, while house-sitting for rich humanitarian friends, find a huge stash of cash in the residence. When the homeowners die in a car crash, altruism and greed collide as Richard and Alex try to decide what to do with the money. Directed by Stewart Wade. Breaking Glass Pictures is the film's distributor.

''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' (2015)

A contemporary

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

psychological thriller, '' Kiss Me, Kill Me'' is a murder mystery about Dusty ( Van Hansis) who blacks-out while confronting his unfaithful boyfriend. When he comes to, his boyfriend Stephen ( Gale Harold) has been murdered, and he's the prime suspect. Directed by Casper Andreas. In June 2016, ''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' screened opening night at FilmOut San Diego, where picture won six awards, including Best Feature and David Michael Barrett won Best Screenplay.

Producer

In addition to producing '' Such Good People'', '' Kiss Me, Kill Me'', and executive producing '' Bad Actress'', in 2016 Barrett co-produced the award-winning documentary '' Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America''.

''Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America'' (2016)

The feature film documentary, directed by Tiffany Rhynard and edited by Heather Matthews, tells the story of Moises Serrano, an undocumented and queer young man who grew up in rural North Carolina. Picture had its world premiere at

where it won the Freedom Award for Best Documentary, 2016, then went on to win the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

’s Social Justice Film award at the 2016 Charlotte Film Festival. San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings

Personal life

David Michael Barrett was born on April 3, 1971, in Seattle, Washington, to Ashkenazic Jewish parents, Ronald Barrett, an entrepreneur, and Judy Barrett, a real estate professional. He grew up in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

neighborhood of Northridge. During his high school years, he was active in Jewish youth group

BBYO BBYO is a Jewish teen movement, organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The organization is intended to build the identity of Jewish teens and offer leadership development programs. On June 19, 2001, ...

: the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, where he served as S'gan (vice-president) for the Southern California region. In college, he studied literature, screenwriting, and film production at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

, where he graduated summa cum laude, and was an active member of

Zeta Beta Tau Zeta Beta Tau () is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded in 1898 at City College of New York. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed in 1954 when the fraternity became non-sectarian and open to n ...

. He married Mark Peters, a popular QVC host, on Feb. 16, 2004. Barrett's chronicle of their wedding in the historic

San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings The San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings took place between February 12 and March 11, 2004, after San Francisco Mayor of San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom directed the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. California At ...

inspired the publication of a non-fiction collection of essays: ''Hitched! Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall'', edited by Cheryl Dumesnil, published by Da Capo Press (September 21, 2005). Barrett and Peters live in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

References

External links

*
David Michael Barrett
on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, David Michael 1971 births 21st-century American LGBTQ people Living people American male screenwriters American LGBTQ screenwriters LGBTQ people from Washington (state) Screenwriters from Los Angeles Film producers from California