Movie planned on Fox 2 Lee Thomas' life with vitiligo

WJBK-TV (Fox 2) morning anchor Lee Thomas shared the reality of his life with vitiligo in his moving 2007 book, "Turning White." Now there are plans for his journey to make the leap to the big screen.

A trio of filmmakers rooted in Michigan — Luke Jaden Sawicki, Cort Johns and Phil Wurtzel — have optioned Thomas' story and plan to write and produce the film version under their new company, Eden Road Pictures.

Thomas will be on board as an executive producer.

Long a popular reporter and anchor on Detroit's broadcast journalism scene, Thomas found out in the mid-1990s that he had vitiligo, which destroys some or all of the pigmentation that gives skin its color.

The local TV star uses makeup when he's on the air, but he has shared his struggles with vitiligo through his memoir as well as a Fox 2 special report and many national TV appearances.

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For Thomas, speaking out as an African-American man in the public eye was a way to help others deal with the physical and emotional challenges of the condition.

Sawicki, a teenage filmmaker from Clarkston who has gained Hollywood attention for his work, said in a statement released Tuesday that he's thrilled Eden Road Pictures is taking on a movie about Thomas' memoir.

"It’s shockingly beautiful. His words are so real and honest as we see the struggle he’s come to face over the years as he’s battled vitiligo, a skin disorder, while being in the spotlight. I could not be more honored that Lee chose Eden Road to tell his story."

In a phone interview, Sawicki, 19 (who now goes as a director and writer by his full name), said he  found out  from his mom  about the anchor's vitiligo. She had seen Thomas on Fox 2.

Later, he met Thomas when the journalist interviewed him about his work as a young directing whiz.

Sawicki says he has always been impressed by Thomas. "Lee is just one of the coolest dudes I've ever met. ... He's such a genuine, caring guy and is just incredible."

The launch of Eden Road Pictures was announced earlier this month. The new venture with offices in Battle Creek is a joining of forces by Sawicki and prior colleagues Johns, a metro Detroit filmmaker now based in Los Angeles, and Wurtzel, a West MIchigan filmmaker.

The company's mission is to produce films with a positive impact. "We're trying to create films that have messages and will move people, unforgettable stories that will bring light into people's lives," said Sawicki.

The filmmakers are currently in post-production on “Wolf Who Cried Boy,” a short film about Detroit scrappers that stars Oscar-nominated actor Barkhad Abdi of "Captain Phillips." They plan to expand it to a feature-length movie along the same model used by the breakout drama "Whiplash."

They're also developing several other projects, including an adaptation of "Hacker" by novelist Ted Dekker and "Seeing Stars," a memoir  about a teenage boy who, according to Eden Road Pictures, is  "battling anorexia while dealing with a spiritual warfare that’s causing him to lose his faith."

Sawicki says "Seeing Stars" is based on his own story and that, inspired by Thomas and his book,  he's also writing a memoir version of it.

Eden Road Pictures is represented by CAA.

Contact Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.