High school senior Carson Phillips (Chris Colfer, “Glee”) was destined for bigger things than his close-minded small town could ever offer. He was on a path to greatness, but destiny had a different plan when he was suddenly killed by a bolt of lightning in his school parking lot.

 

Demonstrating that life is what happens while you’re busy planning your future, Carson recounts the last few weeks of his life via witty, insightful flashbacks, including a blackmail scheme targeting the popular kids in school that he concocts with his best friend (Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect) and a home life that includes a mother (Allison Janney, Juno, “The West Wing”) who’s more interested in the bottle than her son’s future and an estranged father (Dermot Mulroney, My Best Friend's Wedding) who suddenly appears with a pregnant fiancée (Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”).

---

What The Critics Are Saying

“Chris Colfer outdoes Tina Fey with his script... it feels exactly like the fantasy I would have liked to see late at night when I was twelve or thirteen, wondering why I didn’t fit in.” – Indiewire

 

“Offers up plenty of smart and quirky moments...driven by terrific performances by Alison Janney, Christina Hendricks and Dermot Mulroney.” – Screen Daily

---

Press

Chris Colfer: By the Book (The New York Times)

 

Chris Colfer on How 'Lightning' Struck Twice (Entertainment Tonight)

Director: Brian Dannelly

Screenwriter: Chris Colfer

Producer: David Permut, Roberto Aguire, Mia Chang

Editor: Tia Nolan

Director of Photography: Bobby Bukowski

Production Designer: Linda Burton

Executive Producer: Jason Berman, Chris Colfer, Glenn Rigberg, Lawrence Kopeikin

Co-Producer: Monica Aguirre Diez Barroso, Steve Longi, Mark Moran

Primary Cast: Chris Colfer, Allison Janney, Dermot Mulroney, Christina Hendricks, Sarah Hyland, Rebel Wilson

Brian Dannelly co-wrote and directed Saved! in 2004 (it later premiered as a musical at the Playwrights Horizons in New York). Dannelly was the creative producer for the first season of Weeds, also directing several episodes. His TV work includes episodes of Pushing Daisies and United States of Tara.

---

Buy the Book

Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal