TFS Grad Adam G. Levine Premieres ‘Neglected’ at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre
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A-list actor Josh Duhamel had a message for the press assembled at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles for the red-carpet premiere of his latest film, Neglected, last week: Remember the name Adam G. Levine.
“He’s gonna be the next big Hollywood writer,” the Transformers star said of Levine – a Class of 2025 Toronto Film School screenwriting grad who co-wrote and executive produced the thriller.
Levine, for his part, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry – and he wasn’t the only one.
His whole family, including his mom, dad, sister, aunt, and cousin, were all sporting tearful smiles on the red carpet at the May 4 screening – a fitting response to a moment five years in the making.
Afterall, the sold-out premiere at one of Hollywood’s most iconic venues marked the culmination of a journey that began with an idea Levine first put to paper in 2021, wound through 15 rewrites and a two-year casting process, shot over 12 days in Clinton, Mississippi, and concluded with Levine’s name appearing on the screen three times: with story by, written by, and executive producer credits.
“I wrote this first draft in 2021, got the deal in 2022, we shot in 2024, and then we finally just had the premiere,” Levine said. “It was life changing. It was really emotional just to see my work on the screen. I’m still speechless.”
The Film
At the centre of all the excitement is Neglected, a “pulse-pounding” thriller in which a small-town detective (played by Duhamel) is pulled back from retirement on his very first day off when a blood-drenched teenager named AJ (Dylan Sprouse) walks into the precinct and surrenders – with a chilling ultimatum. He has buried Shaw’s teenage son (Corbin Pitts) alive.
What follows is a film BuzzFeed describes as a “race against the clock movie that’ll have you on the edge of your seat,” as Shaw is forced to revisit a trail of grisly homicides while navigating a precinct on the brink of mutiny and a suspect who thrives on psychological warfare – all while the oxygen in his son’s remote grave runs out. As Shaw closes in on the truth, he uncovers something far more unsettling: he wasn’t chosen at random.
It’s a premise Levine dreamed up five years ago, born partly out of a desire to write the kind of morally complex villain role he had always wanted to play as an actor.
“Everything has been done,” he said of his approach to the concept. “So, it’s like, what can you do to make it different and stand out? What did Detective Shaw neglect that brought the killer to him to prove a point?”
From Dinner Table to Hollywood Deal
The answer to that question caught the attention of the right people at exactly the right time. Levine’s path to Neglected began not in a writers’ room or a studio lot, but at his cousin’s dinner table, where a chance conversation led to an introduction to writer/producer Justin L. Levine (no relation).
From there, the Neglected script was passed along to David Lipper, president and CEO of Latigo Films, who recognized the strength of the concept despite the screenplay still being very much a work in progress. Lipper took Levine under his wing, and together with Latigo’s then-Director of Development Isabella Blake-Thomas, the three spent years reshaping the script across dozens of phone calls and writing sessions.
“I was still learning the craft, but David saw something in the concept,” Levine recalled. “He helped me shape the script through 15 drafts, and by the time it was ready, it had become something I was truly proud of.”
By 2022, Latigo Films had optioned the script. Casting began in 2023 and took nearly two years, eventually landing Duhamel as the determined Detective Shaw and Sprouse as the chilling AJ – a role Sprouse made his own in ways Levine hadn’t anticipated.
“I didn’t expect him to have this creepy little laugh throughout that everyone loved,” Levine said. “I just love the creativity that actors bring to a role like that.”
A Night to Remember
The evening of Neglected’s Hollywood premiere had no shortage of standout moments. Duhamel pulling Levine onto the red carpet in front of the press was just the beginning.
“It was just like a nice feeling of everyone getting back together to enjoy something we all worked so hard on,” Levine said, noting that many members of the cast and crew were on hand for the star-studded event.
In addition to Duhamel, also in attendance were Sprouse, Lipper, Elena Sanchez, Corbin Pitts, Jeremy London, and Kristen Wollett, to name a few.
Inside the theatre, the energy when the lights went down and Levine’s three title cards appeared on screen was electric.
“Every time I saw my name on the screen, I almost teared up,” he said. “But it was more than just the credits – it was watching everything edited together, seeing the stunts, the scenes, and realizing how it all came together.”
They ended the night, appropriately enough, with an after-after party at In-N-Out Burger.
The TFS Chapter
What makes Levine’s story particularly remarkable is that much of it unfolded while he was still a student. He enrolled in Toronto Film School’s Writing for Film & Television program in 2023 – already mid-deal, with Neglected deep in the casting stage – because, as he put it, he believed he could still get better.
“Even though I was having all these successes, I felt like I could learn more,” he said. “And TFS has been the best experience of my life.”
When the Neglected shoot was confirmed with just two weeks’ notice, Levine’s TFS instructors didn’t hesitate to accommodate him – allowing him to write his exams early and submit assignments ahead of schedule, so he could fly to Mississippi to watch his script come to life on set.
His classroom lessons at TFS, he said, made a direct and measurable difference to the final product. Teachers including program director Michelle Daly – the former CBC Head of Comedy who greenlit Schitt’s Creek – along with instructor Alan Resnick and others, drilled into him the importance of economy on the page.
“They taught me to respect the space on a page,” Levine said. “Make it shorter, sweeter, detail-packed. Periods are your best friend. And that made my scripts sharper – not just Neglected, but everything I’ve written since.”
By the time he arrived on set in Mississippi, the cast and crew noticed the difference. “They asked me, ‘Did your writing get better?'” he recalled. “And I said yes – because of Toronto Film School.”
The relationships Levine built at TFS have endured well beyond graduation – he’s maintained contact with many of his former instructors, including Daly, TFS President Andrew Barnsley – himself an executive producer of Schitt’s Creek – as well as instructors Resnick, Dave McGrath, and Phyllis Newman.
“They aren’t just my teachers anymore,” he said. “They’re family, friends, mentors.”
What’s Next
With the success of Neglected and the recognition it’s brought him – his name is now listed in all the top Hollywood publications, including Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, BuzzFeed and Collider – more and more doors are opening for Levine.
He is now working under the mentorship of Warren Zide – the producer behind the American Pie and Final Destination franchises – who is helping him develop a comedy script. He also has a drama, an action film, and two TV pilots in various stages of development.
And in a move that surprised even himself, Levine has also co-created a line of card games, partnering with a distributor connected to Cards Against Humanity, with up to nine titles expected by the end of 2027 – a deliberate move to build financial stability while he focuses on his craft.
“We live project to project in this business,” he said. “I figured out how to create something I love that also keeps the lights on.”
His advice to aspiring writers is simple and hard-won: Tell everyone what you do, listen more than you talk, and don’t lead with your script when you meet someone new.
“Get to know people. Learn who they are and what they want,” he said. “And never let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do – because if you know you can do it, you will get there.”
Standing on the red carpet at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Levine said it dawned on him how improbable his journey has been so far.
“I started this at 23,” he said, his voice catching. “I’m going to be 26 soon. I feel very fortunate, lucky, and grateful that someone my age was able to accomplish this so early in their career. And I just want to keep going.”
