Background
Wilkinson was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia.
director screenwriter film producer
Wilkinson was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia.
Temple University.
He also wrote the screenplays for Ali (2001) and Copying Beethoven (2006), the latter of which he also produced. His scripts are often historically based. He began his career as a musician before attending film school at Temple University.
Wilkinson starting out his career writing, producing and directing industrials, commercials and documentaries in Philadelphia and New York, while also working as a cameraman for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, Columbia Broadcasting System Sports and EUE/Screen Gems.
His documentaries from this time include Engine 2, Ladder 3, Echoes and One in Ten, all of which appeared on Public Broadcasting Service. Ali (2001), directed by Michael Mann and starring Will Smith, details Muhammad Ali"s boxing career and soul-searching struggles. Copying Beethoven (2006) dramatized the last years of Ludwig van Beethoven"s life as he became increasingly isolated, struggled with deafness and was scorned by the public.
Wilkinson also produced the film, which was directed by Agnieszka Holland and starred Editor Harris. In 2008, he and Rivele did script work on Moneyball (2011).
He was a writer and executive producer on Pawn Sacrifice (2014), Miles Ahead (2015), and wrote and directed the Public Broadcasting Service film, Virtuosity (2014).
Wilkinson worked on the screenplays for Mercury, a biopic about Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died of complications from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in 1991, the long-planned All Eyez on Maine, based on the final days of rapper Tupac Shakur, who was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting in 1996, and Birth of the Dragon, Bruce Lee origin story inspired by the real-life no-rules fight between Lee and Chinese kung fu master Wong Jack Manitoba
He is a member of the DGA, WGA and Screen Actors Guild.