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MARCUS D. RUSSELL

What I Do

I write across several forms, specifically: technical writing, ad copy, prose, academic writing, short form writing and screenwriting.  I am a consummate story teller who leverages economics, critical theory, philosophy, literature and internet culture to create meaning.  I am a former investment analyst, writer/director/producer and TV Drama writer.  Most recently, as a Senior Technical Writer at Riot Games, I partnered closely with product and engineering teams to shape how internal platforms and tools were understood, adopted, and trusted. While the work was deeply technical, the core challenge was narrative: translating evolving systems, new capabilities, and product decisions into stories that made sense to diverse audiences operating at speed.

Featured Work

Miss Prissy MUA Cosmetics

Film Reviews

Film Reviews I have written

Focus - Film Review

Neil Slavin’s merry-go-round of apology affectionately titled “Focus”, bearing the same name as the Arthur Miller novel that it was adapted from, is an exercise in near implausibility and should be re-titled “How to be an Anti-Semite and not offend anyone.”
In “Focus” William H. Macy (true to form the role comes complete with self-loathing and non-acknowledgement of the obvious) portrays Lawrence Newman a corporate yes-man and momma’s boy who has spent the better half of his waking-life walking...

All About the Benjamins - Film Review

The black comedy is something of a double-edged sword. It is without a doubt the most visible, most financially profitable segment of African-American film and at times it is the only intellectual property that the media conglomerates, in their infinite wisdom, will often consider producing. But at the same time they often reinforce offensive stereotypes and for members of the target demographic are a painful reminder of the mammies and painted faces of our collective theatrical past.
It is up...

Undercover Brother - Film Review

Where shall I begin? Shall I tell how funny this film is, how many times I wiped tears out of my eyes? Shall I continue Director Malcolm D. Lee’s hidden message of the film that comedy must be used to discuss race because many of us (black & white) refuse to take any comment on it seriously? Shall I run the risk of being labeled an anti-Semite by pointing out that many of the moans and groans surrounding “not another race movie” seem non-existent for “The Believer” not to mention “Uprising”,...

Brown Sugar - Film Review

Everything I’d read in advance of seeing Rick (The Wood) Famuyiwa’s new film suggested that it dealt with its lead character’s lifelong love of hip hop as much as her lifelong love of a childhood friend. She’s an established writer at work on a book about her passion for the music and culture. I happen to be a lover of music myself. More than for any other reason I decided to see this film in the hope that it would serve as a primer to a form I’ve not yet learned to love.
Perhaps that was an unf...

Drumline - Film Review

I know that you are confused. I am aware that you are trying, to the best of your abilities, to understand why a film that is so obviously about the mundane topic of marching bands looks and feels so much like a film about sports. Well that is because this is a film about sports. “Drumline” is the brainchild of Charles Stone III. He borrows heavily from the genre conventions of one of the more popular arenas of contemporary film to create a viewing experience that is truly unique.
With its f...

Screenwriting

TV specs and Pilots that I have written

Feed Back on my work

Google Drive •

Permutation Pilot - Script Coverage

Permutation does a really strong job bringing the classic noir investigative detective genre and bringing it into a much more modern era. The script does a nice job hitting the appropriate beats from the classic entrees into the genre; from the existential voiceover to the damaged loner detective to the twisting, layered narrative, the script feels right at home in the niche of neo-noir. What separates this story and adds originality, however, is the use of both an African American detective and the video game/artificial intelligence slant, which adds a modern, almost science fiction twist to the genre. The tone is also on point here, particularly as the story crafts an atmosphere of mystery and dread particularly with developments such as English discovering he eerily resembles a suspect in the search for Neil Standard.

Technical Writing Stream

Multimedia

Film

Social Media Prescence for Fitness

Quora Posting History

DJ Sets