• ​Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ​Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This week on Blacklisted, we're joined by screenwriter Kat Wood, whose spec script Ruby made the 2020 Black List and sold to Amazon Studios and 87North in a competitive situation.

Kat's path here is its own story - she started as a BBC broadcast journalist in the UK before breaking into Hollywood with sci-fi specs Envoy and Genus, both of which sold to Amy Pascal's Pascal Pictures.

We dig into how Ruby took a familiar genre - the assassin thriller - and found a fresh way in, the process of getting a female-led action spec noticed in a crowded market, and her meteoric start directing Maggie Gyllenhaal in a short film on Venice Beach! If you're working on a genre spec and wondering how to make a familiar premise feel new, this one's for you.

Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Kat Wood⁠ 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:

Fantastic Four - Trailer

Jameson Short Film - Home (8 mins)

Ruby Spec Sale - Deadline

David Boxerbaum Talks About Ruby Sale - Into The Story

Ruby Review - Scriptshadow

Envoy Spec Sale - Deadline

Genus Spec Sale - Deadline

Pete Spec Sale - Deadline

Kat Wood Signs With Range Media Partners - Variety

• ​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)

• Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Subscribe 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

• Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠⁠

• Subscribe 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

• Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠⁠

• Subscribe 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

• Visit the new Stan Store @ ⁠stan.store/blacklisted⁠

• Subscribe 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

• Visit the new Stan Store @ stan.store/blacklisted

• Subscribe 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 Broad
• Why We Write: Allison Lee
• Black List 2025 - The Hollywood Reporter
• Allison Lee: Film Independent
• ⁠Allison Lee: Sundance Advisor
• Allison Lee - Creative Screenwriting Interview

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

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

In 2022, the script that rose to the very top of the Black List was Pure, a psychological horror-thriller about a woman whose obsession with food purity unravels into madness at her sister's destination wedding. The writer was Catherine Schetina, best known for her work on the acclaimed Hulu drama The Bear.

The manager behind her? Jon Hersh.

Jon founded Night Drive Management in 2017 with one clear mission: find bold voices with incendiary material.

Since then, he's built a roster of writers and writer-directors whose work has landed at Universal, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount Players, AMC, and beyond — and whose scripts have become a regular fixture on the Black List year after year.

In this episode, Jon pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to compete at the highest level of the spec market.

Jon also reflects on his path from story analyst at CAA to development executive at Broad Green Pictures before ultimately founding his own company, and what each stop taught him about the business of discovering and developing great writers.

Useful links:

"Pure" tops the Black List in 2022.

Night Drive Management Website.

Yoko Ono Biopic, "Oh Yoko!", lands on Black List 2025.

Short Story "Carrier" Sells to New Regency.