Malcolm Spellman
Malcolm Spellman
Malcolm Spellman is a Screenwriter, Producer, and one of the owner of Blackball Universe, a record label and multimedia collective. [1] He is the Showrunner and one of the major writers for the Television series, Empire.
Early Life & Activities
Photo taken in 93' of Malcolm with his friends as a young man in Oakland.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he grew in the cities Berkeley & Oakland for most of his life.
He is of French and African American background. His mother is from France.
Growing up he was always fascinated by storytelling.
The subculture of the Hip hop culture in Oakland became a part of his everyday life and dove into its world as an individual willing to tell its story. Often times he would play basketball and enjoy attending the parties in the neighborhood with the rest of his friends. Many of his friends from when he was a young man growing up in the city of Oakland have gone on to become artists and musicians.
Screenwriting
Malcolm Spellman with Microphone Check of NPR where he is interviewed about the process of working onEmpire
He sold his first spec for Fox in 2000. Since then he has worked for all of the divisions of
Fox including Television and film.
In the mid 2000s, he worked as a writer for Video Games such as The Sopranos: Road to Respect.
After working on several independent projects in Los Angeles, he became one of the central writers for the film, Our Family Wedding .
Writing Process
Malcolm with his dog as he works on his laptop.
As a professional writer, he works on his craft for most of the day.
He usually works from 8am to 4pm.
In the first half of the day, he writes pages that he will then edit and rework for the second half of the day.
He often writes in a reclined position, but when carpal tunnel begins he works on a desk.
He also likes to edit and rewrite while inside of his car.
Empire
EMPIRE Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: The Cooler w/Special Guest Malcolm Spellman (Empire Writer)
In 2014, Malcolm joined a diverse group of writers to craft the episodes for the show, Empire. As Malcom describes in a conversation with NPR
about the first season of the show, there were writers of different backgrounds working on the story -African Americans, Latinos, and Homosexuals.
He has written, produced, and executive produced more than 29 episodes.
Personal Life
Malcolm is known around the Jazz and music community in Oakland. Though he has become one of the most sought after writers in Hollywood, he has remained loyal to his hometown.
He is the manager of the artist Fantastic Negrito. [1] He is also the co-owner of the independent record label, Blackball Universe.
He works closely with Digital marketing expert and consultant, Nathan Allen Pirtle.