Refresh for updates: The Black List, Hollywood’s annual rundown of unproduced screenplays, unveiled their titles (unranked) today in Easter Egg fashion, hiding all 73 screenplay selections in a six minute-42 second second short The Last Days of TJ Staggs which starred Paul Scheer as an agent who pulls a Rip Van Winkle in 1998, and wakes up 20 years later, thus realizing how the town has changed. The ranked list with agency rep info and loglines will post around midday.
The short was directed by Noga Pnueli and written by Pnueli, Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan and Kevin Oeser, and featured such talent as Sunita Mani, Constance Wu, Jay Ellis and Yvette Nicole Brown
This is the 13th edition of The Black List and since its inception by feature development executive Franklin Leonard the survey has yielded north of 400 Black List scripts. Of that batch, those produced continued on to earn $26B+ at the global box office in addition to 53 Academy Awards from 262 nominations, including 4 of the last 10 Best Picture Oscars and 10 of the last 22 Best Screenplay Oscars. Three hundred film executives and financiers vote on the Black List.
Such recent Black List titles that have made it to the big screen include this year’s Oscar winner I Tonya (BL 2016) and Oscar-nominated All the Money in the World (BL 2015), and releases such as Chappaquiddick, Adrift, Life Itself, The Post, and Roman J. Israel, Esq (all from BL 2016).
Last year, Matthew Firpo and Ryan Firpo’s Ruin led the Black List 2017 with 68 votes. Story centered around a nameless ex-Nazi captain must navigate the ruins of post-WWII Germany to atone for his crimes during the war by hunting down and killing the surviving members of his former SS death squad. Ruin goes into production this summer with Margot Robbie and Matthias Schoenaerts starring, Justin Kurzel directing and Marc Butan of MadRiver Pictures is producing alongside Kurzel.
Of note on this year’s list is Cody Brotter’s Drudge, a movie about internet reporter Matt Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky Scandal and nearly took down a presidency, all from a desktop computer in his one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood. There are also some titles that are already being fast-tracked, i.e. Universal-Working Title’s Covers by Flora Greenson which already has $6.5M in California production tax credits and is still in development. The story follows a longtime assistant of a famous singer who must navigate the rocky waters of the LA music scene to make her dreams of producing music a reality.
Here’s the ranked list — we are still adding titles so be sure to refresh
36 Votes:
Frat Boy Genius by Elissa Karasik
A disgruntled employee of Snapchat tells the rise of her former Stanford classmate, preeminent douchebag and current boss Evan Spiegel.
AGENCY: UNITED TALENT AGENCY
AGENTS: AMANDA BURNETT, ANNA FLICKINGER, JORDAN LONNER, JULIAN THUAN
MANAGEMENT: THE GOTHAM GROUP
MANAGERS: MAX GOLDFARB, STACEY LUBLINER
35 Votes:
King Richard by Zach Baylin
The true story of Richard Williams, the hard-nosed and uncompromising father of tennis prodigies turned superstars, Venus and Serena Williams.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENTS: SUE CARLS, JON CASSIR, PRAVEEN PANDIAN
MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW
MANAGERS: ZAC FROGNOWSKI, JEFF SILVER
PRODUCERS: STAR THROWER ENTERTAINMENT
34 Votes:
Get Home Safe by Christy Hall
A young woman must get home by herself on Halloween with no cell phone battery and a group of gamergate trolls out to get her.
AGENCY:CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY
AGENTS: SUE CARLS, DANA HARRIS
MANAGEMENT:LBI ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGERS:HARRY LENGSFIELD
PRODUCERS: GREY MATTERS, CHRISTY HALL, ERIC HEISSERER
30 Votes:
Drudge by Cody Brotter
The story of how oddball internet reporter Matt Drudge broke the Lewinsky Scandal and nearly took down a presidency, all from a desktop computer in his one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood.
AGENCY: ICM PARTNERS
AGENTS: CULLEN CONLY, JAMES ROBINS EARLY, NATALIE COVAULT DOUG MACLAREN, JR RINGER
MANAGEMENT: BRILLSTEIN ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS
MANAGERS: NATALIE COVAULT
PRODUCERS: BEN LECLAIR
Harry’s All Night Hamburgers by Steve Desmond, Michael Anthony Sherman
A down-on-his-luck high school senior discovers that the old roadside diner outside of town is secretly a hangout for parallel universe travelers. He sets off on a mind-bending adventure across the multiverse that takes him beyond his wildest dreams.
AGENCY: AGENCY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
AGENTS: ADAM PERRY, SHERYL PETERSEN
FINANCIER: WARNER BROS
PRODUCERS: MAD CHANCE
Promising Young Woman by Emerald Fennell
Still hurting years later from the suicide of her mistreated best friend, a woman is torn between seeking vengeance on the lost friend’s behalf and moving on with her life.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENTS: ALLAN HALDEMAN, JOSH KATZ, GREG MCKNIGHT, ALEX RINCON
MANAGEMENT: MANAGEMENT 360
MANAGERS: CLIFFORD MURRAY
FINANCIER: FILMNATION
PRODUCERS: LUCKYCHAP
29 Votes:
Cobweb by Chris Thomas Devlin
Peter has always been told the voice he hears at night is only in his head, but when he suspects his parents have been lying, he conspires to free the girl within the walls of his house.
AGENCY: UNITED TALENT AGENCY
AGENTS: CHARLES FERRARO, JENNY MARYASIS
MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
MANAGERS: JOHN ZAOZIRNY
FINANCIER: LIONSGATE
PRODUCERS: VERTIGO ENTERTAINMENT, POINT GREY PICTURES
26 Votes:
The Worst Guy of All Time (And the Girl Who Came to Kill Him) by Michael Waldron
Barret is a social media influencer, the worst guy ever, and the eventual President of the United States. Dixie is a badass freedom fighter, sent back from 2076 to kill him before he takes over the world and ruins the future. They fucking hate each other. Then they accidentally fall in love.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENTS: MATT HENRY, PRAVEEN PANDIAN, PETE STEIN
MANAGEMENT: LBI ENT.
MANAGERS: CHRIS DONNELLY, HARRY LENGFIELD
PRODUCERS: STAMPEDE VENTURES
21 Votes:
Analytica by Scott F. Conroy
The true story of Chris Wylie and Cambridge Analytica.
AGENCY: CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY
AGENTS: RACHEL ADLER, JON CASSIR, DARIAN LANZETTA
MANAGEMENT:KAPLAN / PERRONE ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGERS: JOSH GOLDENBERG, SEAN PERRONE
PRODUCERS: IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT
20 Votes:
The Broodmare by Michael Voyer
When a recovering member of Alcoholics Anonymous decides to make amends with his high school sweetheart, he soon realizes that her newfound love of equines may have some darker, more sinister connections.
AGENCY: VERVE
AGENTS: PARKER DAVIS
MANAGEMENT: GOOD FEAR FILM + MANAGEMENT
MANAGER: SCOTT STOOPS
PRODUCERS: DARK CASTLE, XYZ FILMS
Covers by Flora Greeson
The longtime assistant of a famous singer must navigate the rocky waters of the LA music scene to make her dreams of producing music a reality.
AGENCY: UNITED TALENT AGENCY
AGENTS: ANNA FLICKINGER, BILL ZOTTI
FINANCIER: UNIVERSAL PICTURES
PRODUCERS: WORKING TITLE
19 Votes:
The Biscuit by Jack Waz
In 1998, a teacher and her veteran husband find a way to afford the family they’ve always dreamed of: by selling America’s nuclear launch codes after President Bill Clinton loses them.
MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
MANAGERS: JOHN ZAOZIRNY
Just the Facts by Kenny Kyle
The riveting true story of AJ Daulerio’s meteoric rise from obscure sports blogger to Editor-in-Chief of Gawker Media during the wild, heady early days of the digital journalism boom, culminating in the Hulk Hogan sex tape trial, which brought about Gawker’s downfall and set a precedent for billionaires to attack the media and free speech.
AGENCY: WME ENTERTAINMENT
AGENTS: TANYA COHEN, CJ FIGHT
MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
MANAGERS: JEFF PORTNOY
FINANCIER: FIRST LOOK MEDIA
PRODUCERS: EXHIBIT A
18 Votes:
The Seventh by Reiss Clauson-Wolf, Julian Silver
A look at the regiment led by Colonel Custer in the days leading up to the disastrous fight at Little Bighorn against Sitting Bull.
AGENCY:PARADIGM TALENT AGENCY
AGENTS: MARK ROSS, ZACH SIMMONS, CHRIS SMITH
MANAGEMENT: Hollander Entertainment
MANAGERS: RUSSELL HOLLANDER
17 Votes:
Bag Man by Alex Convey
Atticus Archer is college football’s version of a fixer. As he juggles chasing the nation’s top prospect, a mental breakdown from a star quarterback, and his own personal demons, an NCAA agent arrives on campus to threaten everything.
AGENCY: UNITED TALENT AGENCY
AGENTS: RAMSES ISHAK, JORDAN LONNER, MICHAEL SHERESKY
MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW
MANAGERS: ZAC FROGNOWSKI, FAISAL KANAAN, REID KLARSFELD
15 Votes:
Grace by Will Lowell
When Grace and her husband Jay retreat to an empty vacation island to escape his grueling political campaign, Grace begins reliving traumatic experiences from her past, forcing her to question what is real. After she discovers that powerful people behind Jay’s campaign have been manipulating her experiences, Grace’s struggle to retain her sanity becomes an all too real fight for survival.
MANAGEMENT: LBI ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGERS: HARRY LENGSFIELD, SAM WARREN
PRODUCERS: MARC EVANS
14 Votes:
In Retrospect by Brett Treacy, Dan Woodward
When a man’s estranged wife gets lost inside of her own mind during an experimental procedure, he must navigate her subconscious to find her in the memories of their past.
AGENCY: WME ENTERTAINMENT
AGENTS: MIKE FERA, SOLCO SCHUIT
MANAGEMENT: MADHOUSE ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGERS: KENDRICK TAN
PRODUCERS: JACKSON PICTURES
Rub & Tug by Gary Spinelli
In 1970s Pittsburgh, Dante “Tex” Gill (fka Jean Marie Gill) runs a massage parlor and steroids operation that challenges the mob, rising to power with the support of the gay community and girlfriend Cynthia.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENTS: SCOTT GREENBERG
PRODUCERS: MATERIAL PICTURES, SILVER PICTURES
13 Votes:
Our Condolences by Greg Kalleres
A couple navigates their relationship after another couple, with whom they’re close, tragically loses their child.
AGENCY: VERVE
AGENTS: JENNA BLOCK, MELISSA FRIED, RICH ROGERS, ADAM WEINSTEIN
MANAGEMENT: THE GOTHAM GROUP
MANAGERS: JUSTIN LITTMAN, LINDSAY WILLIAMS
PRODUCERS: MAVEN PICTURES
Queens of the Stoned Age by Elyse Hollander
Forced out of a fashion industry that exploited her, former model Honey stumbles into dealing weed to make ends meet – and soon discovers a gift for it. Hiring all her model friends to work with her, they quickly become one of the biggest weed dealers in New York City, knowing all the right people and using their looks and charm to avoid detection. But their success soon brings all the wrong kinds of attention… and they find themselves in a fight for their lives. Based on a true story.
AGENCY: WME ENTERTAINMENT
AGENTS: TANYA COHEN, SIMON FABER
MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
MANAGERS: JOHN ZAOZIRNY
FINANCIER: SONY PICTURES
PRODUCERS: ESCAPE ARTISTS, INIMITABLE PICTURES
12 Votes:
Meet Cute by Noga Pnueli
When a woman finds a time machine in a downtown Manhattan nail salon, she uses it to keep traveling back in time 24 hours to make her previous night’s date perfect.
AGENCY:AGENCY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
AGENTS: SEAN BERARD, CHRISTINA CAMPAGNOLA, CHRIS COGGINS SHERYL PETERSEN
MANAGEMENT: HEROES AND VILLAINS ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGERS: CHRIS COGGINS
PRODUCERS: WEED ROAD PICTURES
********
7 Votes:
Wendi by Amy Wang
When an ambitious girl from the slums of China manipulates her way into marriage with a media tycoon, she becomes one of the most powerful women in the Western world. This is the story of Wendi Deng, second wife of Rupert Murdoch.
MANAGEMENT: KAPLAN / PERRONE ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGERS: CASSIE DUFFY, LINDSAY PERRAUD
Source: Read Full Article