Blacklisted

Chris Hill

Blacklisted is a podcast where we delve into the minds of the talented writers who have been featured on the annual Black List - a prestigious list of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood, as voted on by industry professionals. Each episode, we talk to a screenwriter about their first screenplay that placed on the coveted list; the journey it took to get there, and the subsequent impact the achievement had on their career. You can subscribe to our premium feed of extended episodes here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/chillfilms/subscribe

  1. 2 days ago

    Todd Bartels & Lou Howe

    ​Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This week we're joined by writing partners Lou Howe and Todd Bartels, whose Dolly Parton origin story Dumb Blonde landed on the 2022 Black List - and whose next collaboration just got a lot bigger. Their Anthony Bourdain feature Tony, directed by Matt Johnson and starring Dominic Sessa, hits theaters from A24 this week, and we get into what it actually looks like to go from a beloved-but-unproduced script to a movie in theaters. We trace their partnership all the way back to high school, where the two met and first started acting before they ever thought about writing together professionally. From there we dig into the mechanics of co-writing - how they split scenes, fight for lines and banish widows - plus the very different challenges of cracking a music-icon origin story versus a pre-fame character study of a guy everyone thinks they already know. If you've ever wondered what a writing partnership actually looks like day-to-day, this one's for you. Guest: ⁠⁠⁠Todd Bartels on Instagram and X Lou Howe on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and X Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Hill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠storyandplot.com/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses. Useful links: Tony - A24 Trailer Tony - Official Website Tony - THR Review Tony - Cast Conversation (YouTube)

  2. 27 Jul

    Liz Hannah

    Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠. What does it look like when a spec script becomes a Spielberg film? Ask Liz Hannah. In 2016, Hannah — a first-time feature writer who'd spent four years in development before switching to the page — wrote a script about The Washington Post's decision to publish the Pentagon Papers. She wrote it because the story of Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, was one she couldn't shake. Her best-case scenario was getting an agent. Instead, the script placed second on the 2016 Black List, landed at Amy Pascal's desk, and sold the day after Pascal read it. Weeks later, Steven Spielberg called. Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks followed. We get into what drew her to Graham's story in the first place, how she found a personal way in to such a monumental piece of American history, and how she defied ‘one in a million’ odds to get her first movie made by Steven Spielberg. Guest: ⁠⁠Liz Hannah⁠ on Instagram⁠ Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Hill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠storyandplot.com/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses. Useful links: The Making of The Post - YouTube Liz's Writing Office Set-Up - Variety Episode Link - Post producer, Trevor White Episode Link - Post producer, Allan Mandelbaum Liz Hannah Interview - The Washington Post Overall Deal with Sony TV - Deadline 'The God of the Woods' - Mini-Series Press Release

  3. 20 Jul

    Aaron Karo

    Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Aaron Karo wrote a Black List script about a toy that turned into a bomb scare. This week's guest is comedian, author, and screenwriter Aaron Karo, whose spec Tickle Me Elmo landed on the 2024 Black List. On paper, it's the story of how a $28 vibrating plush toy nearly tanked a toy company's supply chain, and turned suburban parents into brawlers. Off paper, it's personal — Karo's father was a Tyco executive who carried the first Tickle Me Elmo prototype through airport security, where its internal mechanism read as an explosive on the X-ray and he had to disarm it — by tickling it — in front of armed guards. Aaron and I get into how you build a movie around a toy instead of a person, the rise of the corporate biopic and what it took to get a spec this specific onto "the list." Guest: ⁠Aaron Karo⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠X ⁠and ⁠TikTok⁠⁠ Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Hill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠storyandplot.com/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses. Useful links: Man of the Year Podcast Black List 2024 - Variety Elf Unwrapped: Behind The Scenes of a Modern Christmas Classic - HarperCollins Aaron Karo: Ruminations Aaron Karo: Books! The Buddy System - Audible

  4. 13 Jul

    Julia Yorks

    Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. What happens when the line between life and art disappears completely? That's exactly what happened to today's guest, Julia Yorks, writer of the 2024 Black List script The 7 Guys You Date Before Marriage, about a newly single woman diving back into the dating pool after the collapse of a ten-year relationship. Here's the twist: that exact heartbreak happened to her between the first and second drafts. She's been remarkably open about it, chronicling the whole thing for her 75K+ followers across social media. But this isn't just a story about heartbreak; Julia just sold the project to Sony. Find out how she turned tears into a sale in today's interview. Guest: Julia Yorks on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X and TikTok⁠ Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Hill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠storyandplot.com/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses. Useful links: ScriptWell: The Community for Screenwriters Go Into The Story: Interview Eat, Cry, Write - by Julia Yorks (Substack) Shyamalan's 'The Happening' Deserves Another Chance - Den of Geek Jack Reacher and Sandy Hook - Guardian

  5. 6 Jul

    Richard Martin

    Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify ⁠here⁠. How do you land a spot on the annual Black List without an agent or manager? Just ask this week's guest, Richard Martin. Richard cracked the 2025 Black List with Geezers — a slasher set in a Florida retirement complex. Think Golden Girls meets Scream. Or, put another way: how would Blanche deal with Ghostface? Fun! After earning his master's at USC, Richard spent a decade as a development exec at Bad Hat Harry Productions, shepherding projects from studio tentpoles like X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past to indie horror gems like The Taking of Deborah Logan. He's since moved into directing and producing — helming Hulu's horror-comedy series Spooked — and picked up a ScreenCraft Grand Prize along the way. Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Martin on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠ Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Hill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠storyandplot.com/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses. Useful links: Jamie Lee Curtis presents GEEZERS - Black List Save The Cat Michael Arndt - Story Structure Videos

  6. 29 Jun

    Allison Lee

    Visit the new Stan Store @ stan.store/blacklistedSubscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify here. In our season three premiere, we speak to screenwriter Allison Lee, whose biopic Oh Yoko! landed on the 2025 Black List, the annual survey of Hollywood's best unproduced screenplays. The script traces Yoko Ono's path from her birth in war-torn Tokyo to her emergence as a groundbreaking modern artist in New York, before her life is upended by a whirlwind romance with John Lennon that would brand her as the "witch" who broke up the Beatles in the eyes of the public. Lee, who has also adapted Maurene Goo's novel Throwback and developed projects for Netflix Animation, Amazon, and AMC, talks candidly about the personal stakes of the project — including writing an outline for the script without telling her own representatives, drawn to a story she "just couldn't let go" of despite the complicated rights landscape surrounding the Beatles' legacy. Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Allison Lee on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠X⁠ Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Hill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠storyandplot.com/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses. Useful links: Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind - Special Exhibition @ The BroadWhy We Write: Allison LeeBlack List 2025 - The Hollywood ReporterAllison Lee: Film Independent⁠Allison Lee: Sundance AdvisorAllison Lee - Creative Screenwriting Interview

  7. 13 Apr ·  Bonus

    T.J. Fixman

    What does it take to write one of the biggest movies in Netflix history — from scratch? This week, we sit down with screenwriter T.J. Fixman, the man behind Carry-On — the Christmas action thriller that broke Netflix records, racked up over 172 million views, and sparked a genuine cultural debate: is this the new Die Hard? Before he was writing Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman into one of the most-watched original films on the planet, Fixman was crafting narratives for video games — most notably the beloved Ratchet & Clank franchise. So how does a game writer crack Hollywood's most coveted genre: the contained, high-concept, race-against-the-clock thriller? We also talk about the Die Hard question, building a villain you never quite see, writing Christmas into the DNA of an action film without making it a gimmick — and what's coming next with his new project The Seventh Man. If you've ever stared at a blank page wondering how a single high-concept idea becomes a global phenomenon, this one's for you. Useful Links: Carry-On on Netflix Most Popular Movies on Netflix - Carry-On at #3 Seventh Man sells to United Artists - Variety

    T.J. Fixman

  8. 6 Apr ·  Bonus

    David Boxerbaum

    In this bonus episode, host Chris Hill sits down with David Boxerbaum, partner at Verve Talent & Literary Agency and one of the most respected literary agents working in the spec script market today. Named to The Hollywood Reporter's "Next Generation 35 Under 35" at just 26 years old, Boxerbaum has built his reputation on landing six-and seven-figure spec sales for his clients — and he's not done yet. Useful Links: 'Don't Go In The Water' sells to Universal - Deadline Chris Pine to star in Netflix survival thriller 'Yeti' Python Thriller Spec 'Crush' sells to 20th - Deadline Skydance buys short story 'Drift' for $2M+ 'Cola Wars' Pitch sells to Sony - Deadline Apatow and Spielberg attached to 'Cola Wars' - Deadline Veteran lit agent joins Verve - Variety

    David Boxerbaum
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Hosts & Guests

About

Blacklisted is a podcast where we delve into the minds of the talented writers who have been featured on the annual Black List - a prestigious list of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood, as voted on by industry professionals. Each episode, we talk to a screenwriter about their first screenplay that placed on the coveted list; the journey it took to get there, and the subsequent impact the achievement had on their career. You can subscribe to our premium feed of extended episodes here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/chillfilms/subscribe

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Hill
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Chris Hill
  • Show Website
    Blacklisted

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