[…] One script that received a lot of attention in the 2013 Black List is “Shovel Buddies” by Jason Mark Hellerman (it garnered 22 votes). I was quite struck by the story — “Over 24 hours, four teenage friends try to complete the “Shovel List” (a will/bucket list) left for them by their best friend before he died of Leukemia” — and reached out to talk with Jason about it. We ended up talking for 90 minutes, an excellent conversation covering a lot of territory. I think aspiring screenwriters will find Jason’s insights particularly relevant as we got into quite a …read more […]

"when I’m getting weird notes from people I’m not sure I want to sign with" - how did you end up feeling during that and dealing with those producers?

If you don't agree with a note from a producer talk to your team about it. Ultimately it's your story but a lot of times you have to take some notes to get people more interested - when you;re trying to break in you have to be egoless, willing to bend, break, rewrite your stuff to make it fit the mold that these producers think will sell but also you know what's best for the story - if you truly believe a note will make the script worse you have to suggest other fixes As far as feelings, in any general I take everything with a smile and I write it down, even if I don;t agree with it. That helps you decide who you'd want to work with in the future.

Thanks Jason.