WJBK anchor Lee Thomas‘ story of his struggle with a skin disease may soon become a movie. Thomas has vitiligo, a skin disease which destroys the pigment that gives skin its color.
He wrote a book about it in 2007 called Turning White. Now some Michigan filmmakers have optioned his story for a film.
“It’s shockingly beautiful,” said filmmaker Luke Jaden Sawicki told the Detroit Free Press. “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.”
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.
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.