The Successful Screenwriter with Geoffrey D Calhoun: Screenwriting Podcast Ep 267 - Breaking the Blacklist: Frank Monteleone’s Script Summit Success Story
Apr 14, 2025
27:32
Frank Monteleone, winner of Best TV Pilot at Script Summit 2022, joins Geoffrey to share how that win lit a fire under his career. From scoring high on The Black List to attaching IP and navigating the WGA strike, Frank’s story is a masterclass in strategy, persistence, and smart networking.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Frank Monteleone is the writer behind Candlestick Men, a Russian-American crime pilot that earned Best TV Pilot at Script Summit 2022. A rising talent with a pragmatic approach, Frank is blending research, IP, and polished craft to bring his stories to screens.
About the Host: With films on network television and streaming platforms, Geoffrey D. Calhoun is a screenwriter, author of The Guide for Every Screenwriter, and a passionate instructor helping writers find success through his podcast and screenplay contest, Script Summit. Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
Want your script read by industry pros? Submit to Script Summit before the June 15 deadline!
#Screenwriting #ScriptSummit #TheBlacklist #TVPilot #ScreenwriterJourney #WGAstrike #FrankMonteleone #GeoffreyDCalhoun #WritingTips
Explore Free Resources & Membership
👉 Visit TheSuccessfulScreenwriter.com for free tools, guides, and podcast extras.
Members unlock Virtual Geoffrey, the AI screenwriting assistant built to transform good drafts into great scripts.
Connect with Geoffrey
📸 Instagram: @screenwriterpod
▶️ YouTube: The Successful Screenwriter
If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe. Share it with a fellow screenwriter who’d find it valuable!
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why winning Script Summit was a turning point for Frank
- How Frank “broke” The Black List with high scores and free evals
- Attaching IP to elevate your spec script
- The smart way to revise and polish a winning pilot
- Why networking (and Twitter) still matters in 2025
- 01:33 – How Script Summit and a Twitter post attracted producers
- 04:58 – Frank’s high Black List scores (and how he scored free evals)
- 07:50 – Forming a producing team just before the WGA strike
- 12:40 – How Frank secured an option agreement with Yale
- 18:44 – The scene tweak that elevated an already award-winning script
Frank Monteleone is the writer behind Candlestick Men, a Russian-American crime pilot that earned Best TV Pilot at Script Summit 2022. A rising talent with a pragmatic approach, Frank is blending research, IP, and polished craft to bring his stories to screens.
About the Host: With films on network television and streaming platforms, Geoffrey D. Calhoun is a screenwriter, author of The Guide for Every Screenwriter, and a passionate instructor helping writers find success through his podcast and screenplay contest, Script Summit. Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
- Script Summit Contest
- The Black List
- The Vory by Mark Galeotti (Yale University Press)
- Website: TheSuccessfulScreenwriter.com
- Instagram: @screenwriterpod
- TikTok: @screenwriterpod
- YouTube: The Successful Screenwriter
Want your script read by industry pros? Submit to Script Summit before the June 15 deadline!
#Screenwriting #ScriptSummit #TheBlacklist #TVPilot #ScreenwriterJourney #WGAstrike #FrankMonteleone #GeoffreyDCalhoun #WritingTips
Explore Free Resources & Membership
👉 Visit TheSuccessfulScreenwriter.com for free tools, guides, and podcast extras.
Members unlock Virtual Geoffrey, the AI screenwriting assistant built to transform good drafts into great scripts.
Connect with Geoffrey
📸 Instagram: @screenwriterpod
▶️ YouTube: The Successful Screenwriter
If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe. Share it with a fellow screenwriter who’d find it valuable!