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
Tired of the screenwriting software out there, four-time Black List screenwriter Michael Sherman did what any writer with a coding itch would do: he built his own.
He's certainly qualified.
Sherman is one half of the duo Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, co-writers of Knock at the Cabin, directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs), which was released by Universal Studios and debuted #1 at the Box Office.
Useful links:
Revision Screenwriter - Michael's software (https://www.revisionscreenwriter.com/)
Dreaming Ants - Steve and Michael's website (https://www.dreamingants.com/)
M Night Shyamalan's YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@MNight)
State of the Story - DGA Theater October 4th - Tickets! (https://storytelling360.com/state-of-the-story-new-york-2026/)
Screenwriting360 - Online Membership (https://storytelling360.com/membership/)
USE COUPON CODE 'HILL' FOR 25% OFF
31 Aug 2026
Alex Convery
Visit the new Stan Store @ stan.store/blacklisted (https://stan.store/blacklisted)
Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify here (https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/chillfilms/subscribe).
Before he was writing Air for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Alex Convery was chasing his own guy on the sidelines of college football. In this episode, Convery breaks down Bag Man, his 2018 Black List script about a college football fixer navigating star quarterbacks, blue-chip recruits, and the NCAA agent closing in on him — a world Convery mined for a script unlike anything else on the market that year.
We talk about how he found the "bag man" as a character nobody had put at the center of a movie before, how the script's momentum landed him UTA representation off a spec, and what it's like following up a Black List debut with an even bigger swing (his Stan Lee biopic Excelsior! made the list a year later).
Convery gets into structure, research, and the instinct for finding a true story's most cinematic entry point — the same instinct that would eventually lead him to Sonny Vaccaro and Air.
Guest: Alex Convery (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7418825/) on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/aconvery) and X (https://x.com/alexconvery)
Host: Chris Hill (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3728604/) on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chrishillwrites), X (https://x.com/chrishillwrites) and BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/chrishillwrites.bsky.social)
Visit storyandplot.com/blacklisted (https://storyandplot.com/blacklisted/) for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses.
Useful links:
Alex Convery Interview (Air) - Act Two Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/act-two-podcast/id1500354709?i=1000561510566)
Alex Convery Interview (Air) - The Hollywood Hang (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hollywood-hang/id1805490059?i=1000712270963)
'Air' To Get Theatrical Release - Deadline (https://deadline.com/2023/01/ben-affleck-matt-damon-amazon-studios-nike-movie-air-theatrical-release-date-1235237259/)
'Air' Package Picked Up By Amazon-MGM - THR (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ben-affleck-matt-damon-true-life-story-nike-sneaker-man-sonny-vaccaro-1235132424/)
Bag Man - ScriptShadow Review (https://scriptshadow.net/screenplay-review-bag-man/)
Excelsior! - ScriptShadow Review (https://scriptshadow.net/screenplay-review-excelsior/)
Alex In His Own Words - L.A. Times (https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2023-11-28/air-screenwriter-alex-convery-gets-the-call-from-ben-affleck)
Alex On What Made Air Rise - Final Draft (https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/air-screenwriter-shares-what-made-his-spec-script-rise-above-the-rest)
24 Aug 2026
Kelly Marcel
Visit the new Stan Store @ stan.store/blacklisted (https://stan.store/blacklisted)
Subscribe to our extended interviews on Spotify here (https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/chillfilms/subscribe).
Before Fifty Shades of Grey, before Venom, Kelly Marcel wrote a spec about a two-week standoff between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers, and it landed on the 2011 Black List.
This week on Blacklisted, Kelly joins me to talk about turning one of Disney's most closely guarded pieces of company history into Saving Mr. Banks.
We also get into her leap from Terra Nova to features, and why she still believes in writing the script nobody asked for.
And yes, saying 'no' to Stephen Spielberg...
Guest: Kelly Marcel (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0545150/) on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lelping/?hl=en)
Host: Chris Hill (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3728604/) on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chrishillwrites), X (https://x.com/chrishillwrites) and BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/chrishillwrites.bsky.social)
Visit storyandplot.com/blacklisted (https://storyandplot.com/blacklisted/) for a 10% discount on Tom Vaughan's fantastic screenwriting courses.
Useful links:
Disney Acquiring 'Saving Mr. Banks' - Deadline (https://deadline.com/2012/02/disney-acquiring-black-list-script-saving-mr-banks-on-making-mary-poppins-227838/)
Kelly Marcel Interview - Go Into The Story (https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-story-interview-kelly-marcel-892c1e358e7f)
Saving Mr. Banks (Script Review) - ScriptShadow (https://scriptshadow.net/screenplay-review-saving-mr-banks/)
Emma Thompson Interview - Variety (https://variety.com/2013/biz/news/emma-thompson-saved-by-mr-banks-1200852446/)
Movie Structure Analysis - Helping Writers Become Authors (https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/movie-storystructure/saving-mr-banks/)
Who has been a guest on Blacklisted
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dan Kunka
Anna Klassen
Travis Braun
Elyse Hollander
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
4.7 / 5
12 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 29 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
37
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
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