Matthew Benjamin

While in graduate school at the University of Chicago, I began teaching history at Columbia College in Chicago, a fine arts school. During this time I wrote my first script which was picked up by NBC and produced as a television movie. Eventually I left both those worlds (academia and the arts) and became involved in finance and travel. I have since returned to the literary world and have just published a first novel, "Elevator to Hell," a contemporary story about the rise and fall of an illegitimate son of rock star who grows up in Detroit and eventually self-destructs during the implosion years of the music industry. I also currently have a movie project in development entitled, "Wrong Ticket," to which actor Morgan Freeman has attached himself as Executive Producer. I live in Long Beach, CA, and Shanghai with my wife, Wei, a Shaoxing opera actress.