We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jason Goldberg. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jason below.

Alright, Jason thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

It’s been a journey. Like many, I began my professional career with an internship. I left my home in central New Jersey to intern for E! Entertainment (Los Angeles) in 2006. For 3 months, I worked in development and quickly transitioned into the world of production assistant jobs; I was fortunate enough to navigate many departments within NBC, including New Media and on-air promo localization for international distribution. From there, I was promoted as a programming coordinator; for 3-years, I wrote for E! Online, helped the business team develop on new apps and distributed content to local and international buyers. My final role within NBC would be for their gaming network, G4TV, where I would produce and edit segments and series. “Rated A for Adult” would be my swan song – a 2-season series that I produced with 1 other producer. Together, we helped make one of the networks’ highest rated shows.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. I worked for NBC for 7 years and then became a freelancer. For the past decade, I’ve worked as a story producer and field producer in unscripted television on a number of genres (and formats) for networks and streamers. Some projects include: Botched (E!), Life Below Zero: First Alaskans (Nat Geo), Bug Juice: IRL (Disney+) and Brain Games (Disney+).

While I was working in unscripted, I would continue my life passion – writing and producing horror/thriller features. My first feature screenplay would place in Script Pipeline’s Top 10; my followup placed on the Tracking Board’s Hit List and has been optioned multiple times. I would later sell “Stay Out of the Attic” to Top Dead Center Films and secure distribution from Shudder. That film came out in 2020, as the world shut down due to the Covid pandemic. Since my daughter’s school also closed, I then began seeking other projects to produce. I was gifted “Glorious,” (which was then called OLD GLORY) and began setting that project up, while I was helping other filmmakers sell their completed horror films to distributors.

That’s really been my world – making unscripted television, while writing and producing genre material.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In elementary school, my bus driver would play The Howard Stern Show on the radio. It was very inappropriate, but I loved every second of it. Much like Howard, I went to college at Boston University’s College of Communication. I started “Something Wicked,” a punk/rock comedy radio show that would ultimately claim a lifetime achievement award for being one of the longest running shows, well after I graduated in 2005.

I always wanted to be a storyteller, like Howard. My reps (Time Train, WPA) gravitated towards my unique stories that had market potential. My first chance to be produced occurred after I was hit by a car, while crossing the street. I woke up under a truck and would pay for my first short film with the lawsuit money. That project, “Metamorphosis” would introduce me to a lot of the filmmakers that I actively work with. It was also incredible to have that project beat feature films for “Best Horror” project.

As a writer, my biggest tool is Final Draft. It’s an industry standard. I use it for my own projects, as well when I work with clients as a ghost writer or script doctor. My goal is always the same – write a compelling script that gets a reader hooked. If I can do it for my material, or a clients then there’s the opportunity for – festival/contest wins, securing representation and hopefully being produced.

What makes a “Jason Goldberg” project? I think my biggest compliment was one of the horror blogs calling me “The Bloodhound Gang of Horror,” which really made me smile. I love bizarre stories that come together.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Being a filmmaker/screenwriter means you will constantly be told “no.” You need a thick skin. Not a thick skin, like being an assistant in this industry, but one that allows you to handle rejection. Art is subjective. You might be told “no” 100 times before you get that “maybe.”

I love when I find a project or write a project that gets a “maybe” or “wow… that’s unique, but not for us” because plenty of those production companies or execs reach out after we’ve made it with an “Oops. We should have boarded.” I’ll then submit other projects to them. No harm. No fowl. Mandates always change.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

If you can find a mentor, you’re golden. I did this on my own and learned a ton along the way, but if you can have someone helping/guiding your career, it makes all the difference. This doesn’t have to be a rep, but someone who’s been through the production pipeline or can vet your material.

That being said, I always think kindness is key. Work hard, make good contacts and always be able to help if you can. There’s plenty of emerging artists that could use a hand, and passing that olive branch means they’ll hopefully do the same.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jscottgoldberg
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jscottgoldberg83/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-scott-goldberg-7a78401/