“We are an underdog culture. We love the underdog story. And I think with wrestling, and certainly what we tried to do with HEELS was that,” says Martin.

“Regional wrestling, that's like about the lowest level of showbiz you can get and people are doing it truly because they love it because it means something to them because maybe they are not special in their life, but when they are in that ring, people are watching them. People care about what they're doing, even if it's just a handful of people and they feel valid for that moment.”

HEELS follows two brothers and rivals - one a villain, or "heel," in the ring; the other a hero, or "face," who war over their late father's wrestling promotion, vying for national attention in small-town Georgia.

In this interview, we talk about the creation of HEELS, character development and relationships, the appeal of the underdog story and the pursuit of glory, early drafts and feedback, and much more. For more on Eric, you can also listen to our first interview back in Episode 493 of the podcast.

As a special note, this was part of our new LIVE interview series in partnership with Buzztown, a community for serious screenwriters, where students also participated in this interview. You can learn more or join the waitlist here:

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