The Black List 2011: By Agencies
The Black List 2011: By Managers
A screenplay titled THE IMITATION GAME by Graham Moore, about British WWII cryptographer Alan Turing who cracked the German
Enigma code and later poisoned himself after being criminally prosecuted for being a homosexual, tops 2011′s THE BLACK LIST. (I covered the screenplay sale here: Warner Bros Buys Spec Script For Leonardo DiCaprio.) Once again, Deadline Hollywood is first to post in its entirety THE BLACK LIST, which for the uninitiated is film executive Franklin Leonard’s hot unproduced screenplay pecking order which he began in 2004. Compiled every year from the suggestions of hundreds of film executives, each contributes the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2011 and will not be released in theaters during this calendar year. THE BLACK LIST does catapult dozens of scripts into production and screenwriters out of oblivion. Diablo Cody’s Juno, Nancy Oliver’s Lars And The Real Girl, Scott Neustader’s and Michael Weber’s 500 Days Of Summer, are just some of the screenplays which appeared on The Black List and then were made. I’ve noticed that it’s also a “big dick” measuring contest for the Hollywood agencies and their motion picture lit departments. Problem is, some screenwriters think this list isn’t on the up-and-up and accuse junior studio execs and assistants along with self-interested agents and managers of getting together to push their own clients on projects even if already abandoned. Also, if you spot inaccuracies, take it up with Leonard: I do not alter his list. Anyway, climb off the ledge if you’re not on THE BLACK LIST. And, if you did make the cut, then congratulations:
The Black List was compiled from the suggestions of over 300 film executives, each of whom contributed the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2011 and will not have begun principal photography during this calendar year.
This year, scripts had to receive at least six mentions to be included on the The Black List.
All reasonable effort has been made to confirm the information contained herein. The Black List apologizes for all misspellings, misattributions, incorrect representation identification, and questionable 2011 affiliations.
It has been said many times, but it’s worth repeating:
The Black List is not a “best of “ list. It is, at best, a “most liked” list.
Enjoy.
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THE IMITATION GAME by Graham Moore
The story of British WWII cryptographer Alan Turing, who cracked the German Enigma code and later poisoned himself after being criminally pros¬ecuted for being a homosexual..
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: JP Evans, Jacqueline Sacerio
MANAGEMENT: The Safran Company
MANAGER: Tom Drumm
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Ido Ostrowsky, Nora Grossman84
WHEN THE STREET LIGHTS GO ON by Chris Hutton, Eddie O’Keefe
In the early 1980s, a town suffers through the aftermath of a brutal murder of a high school girl and a teacher.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Simon Faber, Sarah Self
MANAGEMENT: Tariq Merhab Management
MANAGER: Tariq Merhab
PRODUCER: Imagine Entertainment59
CHEWIE by Evan Susser, Van Robichaux
A satirical behind the scenes look at the making of Star Wars through the eyes of Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Mike Esola
MANAGEMENT: Industry Entertainment
MANAGER: Jess Rosenthal53
THE OUTSIDER by Andrew Baldwin
In post World War II Japan, an American former prisoner-of-war rises in the yakuza.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Jay Baker, John Garvey
MANAGEMENT: Anonymous Content
MANAGER: Bard Dorros, David Kanter
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Linson Entertainment43
FATHER DAUGHTER TIME: A TALE OF ARMED ROBBERY AND ESKIMO KISSES by Matthew Aldrich
A man goes on a three state crime spree with an accomplice, his eleven year old daughter.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: John Garvey, Stuart Manashil
MANAGEMENT: Silent R Management
MANAGER: Jewerl Ross
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Pearl Street Productions
33
IN THE EVENT OF A MOON DISASTER by Mike Jones
An alternate telling of the historic APOLLO 11 mission to land on the moon that examines what might have happened if the astronauts had crash landed there.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: David Kopple, JP Evans, Matt Rosen
MANAGEMENT: The Gotham Group
MANAGER: Lindsay Williams
PRODUCER: FilmNation30
MAGGIE by John Scott 3
As a “walking dead” virus spreads across the country, a farm family helps their eldest daughter come to terms with her infection as she slowly becomes a flesh-eating zombie.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Billy Hawkins, Dan Rabinow
MANAGEMENT: Sly Predator
MANAGER: Trevor Kaufman
FINANCIER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam
PRODUCER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Trevor Kaufman, Matthew Baer30
THE CURRENT WAR by Michael Mitnick
Based on the true story of the race between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to develop a practical system of electricity and sell their respective inventions to the country and the world.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Simon Faber
MANAGEMENT: Fourth Floor Productions
MANAGER: Jeff Silver28
THE END by Aron Eli Coleite
Four people – a veteran broadcaster in London, a sixteen year old girl and her boyfriend in Ann Arbor, and a devoted family man in Shanghai – each try to make peace with their lives before an interstellar event ends the world in six hours.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Matt Rosen, Martin Spencer
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers27
BEYOND THE PALE by Chad Feehan
Teenage siblings suspect they’ve been ripped off by the town undertaker, but what they discover is much more sinister than either imagined.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Matt Rosen, Jacqueline Sacerio
MANAGEMENT: Management 360
MANAGER: Guymon Casady, Mary Lee
FINANCIER: Vendome Pictures
PRODUCER: The Fort27
EZEKIEL MOSS by Keith Bunin
A mysterious stranger who possibly has the power to channel the souls of the dead changes the lives of everyone in a small Nebraska town, especially a young widow and her 11-year-old son.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Rowena Arguelles
MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone
MANAGER: Alex Lerner, Sean Perrone
PRODUCER: A Likely Story, Mandalay Pictures24
GRACE OF MONACO by Arash Amel
Grace Kelly, age 33 and having given up her acting career to focus on being a full time princess, uses her political maneuvering behind the scenes to save Monaco while French Leader Charles de Gaulle and Monaco’s Prince Rainier III are at odds over the princi¬pality’s standing as a tax haven.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Rich Green, Matt Rosen
FINANCIER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam
PRODUCER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam24
HE’S FUCKIN’ PERFECT by Lauryn Kahn
A social media savvy girl who is pessimistic about love finds the perfect guy and decides to use her internet research skills to turn herself into his perfect match.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Cliff Roberts
FINANCIER: Fox 2000
PRODUCER: Gary Sanchez23
BETHLEHEM by Larry Brenner
A group of people struggling to survive a zombie apocalypse make an alliance with a vampire, trading themselves as food in exchange for protection since zombies don’t eat vampire.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Martin Spencer, Jacqueline Sacerio
MANAGEMENT: Magnet Management
MANAGER: Mitch Solomon
PRODUCER: Roth Films20
THE THREE MISFORTUNES OF GEPPETTO: by Michael Vukadinovich
A prequel to the story of Pinocchio in which Geppetto endures a life of misfortune, war, and ad¬venture, all to be with Julia Moon, his true love.
AGENCY: ICM
AGENT: Ava Jamshidi
FINANCIER: Fox
PRODUCER: 21 Laps Entertainment20
POWELL by Ed Whitworth
Based on the true story of Colin Powell questioning the Bush administration leading up to his United Nations presentation where he made the case for going to war with Iraq.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: David Karp, Cliff Roberts, Dan Cohan
MANAGEMENT: Circle of Confusion
MANAGER: Ashley Berns
PRODUCER: Spirit Dance Entertainment19
THE KNOLL: by Christopher Cantwell, Christopher Rogers
A rookie cop and his potential flame witness JFK gunned down from the grassy knoll on November 22, 1963. Within hours, they’re on the run from the murderers who desperately need them silenced.
AGENCY: ICM
AGENT: Aaron Hart
MANAGEMENT: Management 360
MANAGER: Jennifer Graham, Chris Huvane
PRODUCER: Management 36017
HOW TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY: by Ed Solomon
A child prodigy tries to take control of his life away from his demanding parents.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Jay Baker, Todd Feldman, David O’Connor
FINANCIER: Sony
PRODUCER: Escape Artists17
DESPERATE HOURS by E Nicholas Mariani
A small town crippled by WWI and the Spanish flu finds itself facing major moral questions and a brutal invading force when a young girl shows up on a rancher’s doorstep covered in blood.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Charles Ferraro, Jenny Maryasis
MANAGEMENT: Circle of Confusion
MANAGER: Britton Rizzio
FINANCIER: GK Films
PRODUCER: Infinitum Nihil17
A MANY SPLINTERED THING by Chris Shafer, Paul Vicknair
When a charming heartbreaker finally meets a girl he can’t have, he discovers the true meaning of love by living out other people’s love stories and writing his own.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Jon Huddle, Jason Burns, Max Michael
MANAGEMENT: Brillstein Entertainment Partners
MANAGER: Missy Malkin
PRODUCER: Wonderland Sound and Vision17
FLARSKY by Daniel Sterling
A political journalist courts his old babysitter, who is now the United States secretary of state.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Julien Thuan
PRODUCER: Point Grey Pictures17
BLOOD MOUNTAIN by Jonathan Stokes
After his team is ambushed and killed in Pakistan, a young army ranger must escort the world’s most wanted terrorist over dangerous terrain in order to bring him to justice. While being hunted by both of their enemies, they must find a way to work together in order to survive.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Ramses Ishak, Michael Sheresky, Geoff Morley
MANAGEMENT: Energy Entertainment
MANAGER: Brooklyn Weaver17
BASTARDS by Justin Malen
Two brothers, raised to believe their biological father died, find out their mother slept with many powerful and famous men in the 1970s, and the siblings hit the road to find their real father.
AGENCY: Verve
AGENT: Bill Weinstein, Rob Herting
MANAGEMENT: H2F
MANAGER: Chris Fenton
FINANCIER: Paramount
PRODUCER: The Montecito Picture Company17
CRAZY FOR THE STORM by Will Fetters
The true story of Norman Ollestad’s relationship with his father, who thrust the boy into the world of extreme surfing and competitive downhill skiing at the age of three. But it was that experience that allowed an 11-year old Norman to survive a plane crash amidst a blizzard in the San Gabriel mountains.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Elia Infascelli-Smith
MANAGEMENT: 3 Arts Entertainment
MANAGER: Oliver Obst
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Billy Gerber16
THE SLACKFI PROJECT by Howard Overman
A hapless and broken hearted barista is visited by two bad-ass soldiers from the future who tell him mankind is doomed, and he alone can save them.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Julien Thuan
FINANCIER: Sony
PRODUCER: Matt Tolmach Productions14
THE MUSEUM OF BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS by Natalie Krinsky
Lucy, a twenty-eight year old junior curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, is sleeping with her boss. When he dumps her she begins a collection of “break up items” and starts a blog which goes viral.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Jessica Matthews
MANAGEMENT: The Gotham Group
MANAGER: Jim Garavente, Jeremy Bell14
ST VINCENT DE VAN NUYS by Ted Melfi
When a twelve year old boy in need of a babysitter moves in next door to a misanthropic aging retiree whose life mainly consists of gambling, hookers, and drinking, the elder becomes an unlikely mentor to the boy.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Ramses Ishak, Michael Sheresky
MANAGEMENT: Infinity Management International
MANAGER: Jon Karas
FINANCIER: Fox
PRODUCER: Chernin Entertainment, Crescendo Productions14
DJANGO UNCHAINED by Quentin Tarantino
A freed slave named Django is trained as a bounty hunter by a German dentist named Schultz, and the two men set out to find Django’s enslaved wife.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Mike Simpson
FINANCIER: The Weinstein Company, Sony
PRODUCER: Double Feature Films, The Weinstein Company13
THE ACCOUNTANT by Bill Dubuque
The Treasury Department pursues a brilliant, autistic accountant who doubles as an assassin and “problem-solves” with precision in more ways than one.
AGENCY: Paradigm
AGENT: Trevor Astbury
MANAGEMENT: Zero Gravity Management
MANAGER: Eric Williams
PRODUCER: Silverwood Films13
SAVING MR. BANKS by Kelly Marcel
The story of how Walt Disney got the rights for Mary Poppins.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Phil Raskind, David Karp
PRODUCER: Ruby Films12
BRIDGES ON THE FORT POINT CHANNEL by Chuck Maclean
An Irish family in the 1970s, dealing with the loss of their father and the busing of black kids into white neighbor-hoods, decides to blow up all the bridges in Boston.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Billy Hawkins
MANAGEMENT: Oasis Media Group
MANAGER: Allison Doyle, Ben Rowe12
THE BIG STONE GRID by Craig Zahler
A cop is pulled into an underworld organization that brutally murders people to extort money out of others.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Julien Thuan, Emerson Davis
MANAGEMENT: Caliber Media
MANAGER: Dallas Sonnier
FINANCIER: Sony
PRODUCER: Michael De Luca Productions12
CITIES OF REFUGE by Brandon Willer
A former FBI psychologist is called in to investigate when a young girl goes missing after the apparent murder of her father and brother by two strangers in a small Oklahoma town.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Phil D’amecourt, Jeff Gorin
MANAGEMENT: Benderspink
MANAGER: Jake Weiner
PRODUCER: Tower Hill, Benderspink, Charlize Theron12
GOOD KIDS by Chris McCoy
Four overachieving high school students in Cape Cod reinvent themselves during the summer after graduation.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Simon Faber, Jeff Gorin, Sharon Jackson
MANAGEMENT: The Gotham Group
MANAGER: Shawn Simon
PRODUCER: Depth of Field11
LEAVING PETE by Ali Waller, Morgan Murphy
A recently divorced author is stunned when his ex writes a popular book about their breakup, and he has to keep that fact secret from his new girlfriend, who works for the book’s publisher.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Bill Zotti, Andy Elkin11
HIDDEN by Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
An elevated horror-thriller about a family hiding in a bomb shelter after escaping a mysterious outbreak.
AGENCY: Paradigm
AGENT: Chris Smith
MANAGEMENT: MXN
MANAGER: Mason Novick
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Mason Novick, Roy Lee, Lawrence Grey11
DIRTY GRANDPA by John Phillips
A young groom engaged to a demanding woman is forced to spend the week before his wedding with his half-blind, half-crazy, and wholly horny grandfather. Through this wild journey, his grandfather shows him how to take life by the balls and lead with his heart.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Jon Huddle, Steven Fisher
FINANCIER: Universal
PRODUCER: Josephson Entertainment11
GRIM NIGHT by Allen Bey, Brandon Bestenheider
A family has to defend themselves from the Grims, strange creatures who attack Earth and kill thousands one night every year.
AGENCY: Verve
AGENT: Bryan Besser
FINANCIER: Universal
PRODUCER: Marc Platt Productions, Unbroken Pictures10
WATCH ROGER DO HIS THING by Michael Starrbury
A retired hitman gets roped back into his old trade in order to save his friend’s life and quickly finds himself caught in a struggle trying to finish the job, and get his family out of Chicago alive at the same time.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Bill Zotti, Dan Rabinow
MANAGEMENT: Caliber Media
MANAGER: Dallas Sonnier, Julian Rosenberg
PRODUCER: Tripp Vinson, One Race Films10
THE FLAMINGO THIEF by Mike Lesieur
Grief stricken over his wife leaving him, a man finds solace in an odd activity… swiping figurines of flamingos.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Rich Green, Adam Kanter
MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone
MANAGER: Sean Perrone
PRODUCER: Kaplan/Perrone, Red Hour10
TWO NIGHT STAND by Mark Hammer
After an extremely regrettable one night stand, two strangers wake up to find themselves snowed in after sleeping through a blizzard that put all of Manhattan on ice. They’re now trapped together in a tiny apartment, forced to get to know each other way more than any one night stand should.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Carolyn Sivitz
MANAGEMENT: The Safran Company
MANAGER: Tom Drumm10
SEX TAPE by Kate Angelo
When a married couple make a sex tape to spice up their relationship, it disappears, and they are frantic to get it back.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Jason Burns
FINANCIER: Sony
PRODUCER: Escape Artists10
THE GUN EATERS by Alex Paraskevas, Jordan Goldberg
Four hardened New York detectives race to apprehend a relentless spree-killer who’s executing victims from Queens to Southampton in the span of a single day.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Rebecca Ewing, Keya Khayatian
MANAGEMENT: Oasis Media Group
MANAGER: Ben Rowe
PRODUCER: Oasis Media Group10
LITTLE WHITE CORVETTE by Michael Diliberti
A down and out brother and sister go to Miami to sell a duffel bag of cocaine that they found in the trunk of a corvette left them by their dead father.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Phil Raskind, Simon Faber
MANAGEMENT: New School Media
MANAGER: Brian Levy
PRODUCER: Scott Aversano Productions9
JANE GOT A GUN by Brian Duffield
After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasn’t seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her husband’s gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job.
AGENCY: Gersh
AGENT: Devra Lieb, Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank
MANAGEMENT: Circle of Confusion
MANAGER: Zach Cox, Noah Rosen9
THE LAST WITNESS by Stefan Jaworski
An FBI Agent interrogates an amnesiac, sole survivor of a Boston bombing in order to prevent future terrorist attacks.
AGENCY: Paradigm
AGENT: Trevor Astbury, Valarie Phillips, Ida Ziniti
FINANCIER: Fox
PRODUCER: Davis Entertainment9
MURDERS & ACQUISITIONS by Jonathan Stokes
The world of high-stakes finance collides with that of high-priced hitmen when an ousted CEO decides to hire an assassin to kill the corporate raider who stole his company.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Ramses Ishak, Michael Sheresky, Geoff Morley
MANAGEMENT: Energy Entertainment
MANAGER: Brooklyn Weaver
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: KatzSmith Productions9
FLASHBACK by Will Honley
A former NASA pilot with amnesia — also the first person to travel the speed of light — realizes he has the ability to travel back in time and along the way rediscovers his love for his wife.
AGENCY: Verve
AGENT: Adam Levine
MANAGEMENT: Nuclear Entertainment
MANAGER: Nick Fariabi, Jesse Silver9
THE LAST DROP by Brandon Murphy, Phil Murphy
A fully functioning alcoholic meets the girl of his dreams and soon discovers that there’s a lot more at stake than love if he doesn’t clean up his act.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Rich Cook
MANAGEMENT: Mosaic
MANAGER: Langley Perer
FINANCIER: Mandate Pictures
PRODUCER: Greg Shapiro9
FRIEND OF BILL by Harper Dill
After a humiliating episode in New York, a young woman returns to her hometown and tries to deal with her alcoholism.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Sarah Self, Jeff Gorin, Sharon Jackson
MANAGER: Mike Dill
PRODUCER: Marc Platt Productions, Neda Armian8
DEAD OF WINTER by Sarah Conradt
A teenage girl heads to a remote cabin in the moun¬tains with her father and new stepmother – an experience the father hopes will bond the two ladies. But when a mysterious wounded Park Ranger shows up, family bonding will be the least of their concerns.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Jacqueline Sacerio
MANAGEMENT: Hopscotch Pictures
MANAGER: Sukee Chew
FINANCIER: Lionsgate (distrib), Wind Dancer (financing)
PRODUCER: Sherryl Clark, Hopscotch Pictures8
ON A CLEAR DAY by Ryan Engle
When a powerful and mysterious force invades an American city, a young father must traverse the battle-torn city in an effort to save his wounded wife and rescue their stranded children. In the process, our hero becomes the target of an enemy who will stop at nothing to kill him.
AGENCY: Original Artists
AGENT: Chris Sablan, Matt Leipzig
MANAGEMENT: Mosaic
MANAGER: Michael Lasker, Langley Perer
PRODUCER: Ombra Films8
HOME BY CHRISTMAS – BOB HOPE IN KOREA by Ben Schwartz
Young Larry Gelbart goes on tour with his idol Bob Hope in the middle of the Korean War and learns the true price of patriotism.
AGENCY: The Nethercott Agency
AGENT: Gayla Nethercott
PRODUCER: Jon Shestack Productions, Pink Slip Productions8
THE PRETTY ONE by Jenee LaMarque
When a woman’s identical “prettier” twin sister dies, the woman assumes her sister’s identity, moving into her apartment and the big city.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Carolyn Sivitz
MANAGEMENT: Management 360
MANAGER: Mary Lee, Daniel Rappaport
PRODUCER: RCR Pictures, Steven J Berger8
BAD WORDS by Andrew Dodge
The bastard child of the organizer of the national spelling bee gets his revenge by finding a loophole and attempting to win the bee as an adult, only to find friendship in a young Indian contestant.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Carolyn Sivitz
MANAGEMENT: Fourth Floor Productions
MANAGER: Jeff Silver
FINANCIER: Darko
PRODUCER: MXN8
JURASSIC PARK by Imran Zaidi
A high school couple and two of their friends ditch school to catch a special preview screening of JURASSIC PARK.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Jason Burns, Jenny Maryasis
MANAGEMENT: Management 360
MANAGER: Darin Friedman8
GASLIGHT by Ian Fried
Secretly imprisoned in a London insane asylum, the infamous Jack the Ripper helps Scotland Yard investigators solve a series of grisly murders whose victims all share one thing in common: dual puncture wounds to the neck.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Dan Cohan, Mike Esola
MANAGEMENT: Prolific
MANAGER: Will Rowbotham7
SUBJECT ZERO by Dave Cohen
A Frankenstein-like tale of a scientist who develops a powerful new drug that brings his son back to life after he dies in a terrible car accident. Unfortunately, the desperate experiment of a loving father leads to the creation of a flesh-eating zombie epidemic with horrific consequences.
AGENCY: ICM
AGENT: Kathleen Remington, Emile Gladstone
MANAGEMENT: Generate
MANAGER: Jeremy Platt7
THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD by Tom O’Connor
The world’s best bodyguard must protect his arch nemesis, the world’s top assassin…so he can testify against a brutal dictator and save his wife.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Charles Ferraro, Barbara Dreyfus, Emerson Davis
MANAGEMENT: Industry Entertainment
MANAGER: Andrew Deane, Jess Rosenthal
PRODUCER: Skydance Productions7
CRISTO by Ian Shorr
A man is unlawfully sentenced to an infamous prison and escapes, then transforms himself into the mysterious Cristo and systematically destroys the men who manipulated and enslaved him.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Charles Ferraro, Jason Burns
MANAGEMENT: Mosaic
MANAGER: Langley Perer
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Bellevue Productions, Langley Park Pictures7
UNTITLED HLAVIN HEIST by John Hlavin
An American thief living in Paris is coerced into pulling off a complex heist in order to save his kidnapped wife.
AGENCY: UTA
AGENT: Jason Burns
FINANCIER: DreamWorks
PRODUCER: Film Rites7
LINE OF SIGHT by F Scott Frazier
After a military coup takes out the executive branch of government, the country’s survival depends on a Navy Seal sniper extraction team getting the Speaker of the House from Washington DC to New York.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Dan Cohan, Mike Esola
MANAGEMENT: H2F
MANAGER: Chris Fenton, Chris Cowles
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Silver Pictures7
PINOCCHIO by Bryan Fuller
A wooden puppet, Pinocchio, dreams of becoming a real boy.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Phil D’amecourt
FINANCIER: Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Dan Jinks Company7
THE WEDDING by Andrew Goldberg
A group of couples deal with their respective issues as they attend a wedding.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Rich Cook
MANAGEMENT: Underground Films and Management
MANAGER: Josh Turner Maguire
FINANCIER: CBS Films7
77 by David Matthews
Two stories from 1974 are linked together – the unsolved murder of an LAPD officer and the nationally televised shootout in South Central Los Angeles between the Symbionese Liberation Army and the LAPD where 50,000 rounds of gunfire was exchanged. The events will be seen through the eyes of a pair of police partners, one black and one white.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Roger Green, Elia Infascelli-Smith
MANAGEMENT: The Schiff Company
MANAGER: Nicole Romano
PRODUCER: Wolf Films6
GUYS NIGHT by Christopher Baldi
Sick of brunches, bosses, and light beer, four co-workers set out on the mother of all guys nights in an attempt to rediscover their manhood.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Bill Zotti
MANAGEMENT: New Wave
MANAGER: Mike Goldberg, Josh Adler
FINANCIER: Millenium Films
PRODUCER: Jim Valdez, Matt Bass6
SELF/LESS by Alex Pastor, David Pastor
An extremely wealthy elderly man dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness to the body of a healthy young man but everything may not be as good as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body’s origins and the secret organization that will kill to keep its secrets.
AGENCY: CAA
AGENT: Stuart Manashil, John Garvey
MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone
MANAGER: Alex Lerner
FINANCIER: FilmDistrict (distrib), Endgame Entertainment (financing)
PRODUCER: Ram Bergman6
HYPERDRIVE by Alex Ankeles, Morgan Jurgenson
When a tough cop recruits a geeky sci-fi author to help him track down a mysterious murder witness, they find themselves in the middle of a space opera playing out here on Earth.
AGENCY: CAA/APA
AGENT: Bill Zotti (Ankeles), Ryan Saul (Jurgenson)
MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone (Ankeles)
MANAGER: Aaron Kaplan (Ankeles), Jonathan Hung (Jurgenson)
FINANCIER: Paramount
PRODUCER: Disruption Entertainment6
BEFORE I FALL by Maria Maggenti
When a popular teen girl is killed in a car crash, she relives the critical day seven times and makes changes in an attempt to affect the outcome; in the process, she herself changes as she tries to make up for previous heartless, self-absorbed behavior and gains a better understanding of herself and others. As she evolves and makes the connections necessary to save a bullied, depressed girl’s life, she comes to accept her own fate.
AGENCY: Paradigm
AGENT: David Boxerbaum
MANAGEMENT: Madhouse Entertainment
MANAGER: Robyn Meisinger
FINANCIER: Fox 2000
PRODUCER: Jon Shestack Productions6
BREYTON AVE by J Daniel Shaffer
A group of teens living without adults and under their own social order in a small fenced-in neighborhood are forced to face what they fear is the inevitable physical danger beyond the fence.
AGENCY: Verve
AGENT: Bryan Besser, Rob Herting
MANAGEMENT: Management 360
MANAGER: Mary Lee, Jill McElroy
PRODUCER: Unbroken Films6
EL FUEGO CALIENTE by Ben Schwartz
A remake of SOAPDISH, a desperate telenovela star dreaming of Hollywood stardom has her life implode, making her real life crazier than the insane show she made famous.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Rich Cook
MANAGEMENT: Tom Sawyer Entertainment
MANAGER: Jesse Hara, Rachel Miller
FINANCIER: Paramount
PRODUCER: Reiner-Greisman6
THE DUFF by Josh Cagan
Adapted from Kody Keplinger’s novel THE DUFF, the travails of a seventeen year old girl who believes she is the “designated ugly fat friend.”
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Rich Cook
MANAGEMENT: H2F
MANAGER: Chris Fenton
PRODUCER: Wonderland Sound and Vision6
UNTITLED ARIZONA PROJECT by Luke Del Tredici
A satirically dark comedy about a homicidal foreclosure victim kidnapping a real estate agent and planning to kill her in the housing development where she finagled money from customers like him.
AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Roger Green
MANAGEMENT: Mosaic
MANAGER: Christie Smith
PRODUCER: Rough House Pictures
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Glad to see QUENTIN TARANTINO has a script on the black list.
Yeah, that poor guy could use a break.
LOL
Fingers crossed this exposure helps him get his movie off the ground.
Maybe he’ll finally get that big break he deserves. What’s the criteria of this stupid list again? I always heard Citizen Kane had a pretty good script, maybe that’ll make the Black List next year.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
How many toes do you have to suck to get on this list?
It’s official, the Black List is crap. GRIM NIGHT…. really? Did anybody read this thing? I know it sold for big coin, but it sold on concept. The script itself SUCKS beyond reason.
Yes — this is a true fact. There is no subjectivity here. It is 100% objectively a bad script. Cool setup… But you know, a script needs to tell a whole story, not just have an idea.
I’ve appeared on the list previously. A lot of these scripts are terrible, just beyond terrible. Even the stuff that sells for a million, usually that’s an indication of its broad appeal, and it’s just garbage.
I know it’s frustrating for writers to not make the list, but there are all level of disappointment. I’ve consoled 5 writer friends today, all Black List alumni, and we know our scripts this year were better than ones from previous years. And certainly many that are better than stuff on this last. But you can play that game all day. I see scripts towards the bottom every year that are better than those close to the top. It’s a crapshoot.
Yes, that’s because the ones at the bottom are the typically scripts that are actually read and not, you know, summarized. But I wholly agree with your assessment. Most of these are horrible (and, yes, I’ve read them) but have the development executive seal of approval because they’re too scared not to approve them.
That’s really well said. Groupthink and fear drive some of these picks.
Though hype has turned the process sideways, it’s always nice to see the ones that get a few votes each year that turn out to be great reads. It’s always an odd batch, which keeps it fresh.
How can a writer be in oblivion yet their script is rep’d by CAA or WME… This list is political BS
I believe in a lot of these cases, the writers got the representation from the positive response to these scripts.
If you wrote a script and it enough attention to be on the black list at the end of the year, it probably got enough attention for you to be rep’d by those agencies before the Black List comes out.
That’s not always true. Many, if not the majority of these writers were already repped by these agents/managers.
That’s BULLSHIT because none of the execs would have read the script if these agencies got it to them.
sorry, if these agencies HADN’T gotten it to them. my blind rage blinded me.
This isn’t a stab at the list, but more of the system in general: Studio Executives tend not to read specs by new or unproduced writers, so this list isn’t really made up of scripts written by complete unknowns. This is a list of scripts, mostly with producers already attached, that the Executives read because they know the writers.
As well, since most of these scripts have producers or production companies attached, wouldn’t it be in the Studio Executive’s best interest to vote for a script that belongs to them, but their company just hasn’t gone into production on yet? Remember, most producers or production companies have deals with studios. That means these scripts mostly all have a home, are going to be heading to production, but just haven’t YET. And that means the script is eligible to be on the Black List! And since it’s eligible, the Studio Executive may as well vote for it to give it some clout.
I’m not saying the list doesn’t boast wonderful scripts, but it’s not AT ALL objective and unbiased.
All Leonard’s content but no link to his site??
Zombies are the new Vampires. And when you combine zombies with vampires you really get magic. Using my napkin math, I’ve ascertained that one in four Black List scripts are about Zombies. Go team Hollywood! Who said we can’t create original ideas anymore.
So did voting happen on that heavy handed, pay-to-use site they’re pushing now?
Anybody else think that zombies have overstayed their comeback?
It should have stopped after Shawn of the Dead.
So the Black List used to stand for independent thinking and sincere, honest opinions about upcoming screenplays — some of which were actually quite terrific — but now it’s a love-fest for agencies to hype their own films. So, so ridiculous.
I didn’t even write a script this year but I’m PISSED I didn’t make it!
Companies like 360, CofC, H2F, & Mosaic are some of the larger management companies in town, aren’t they? Those shops dominate both this list and the Hit List. These lists cater to the big shops and not the smaller shops IMO.
hey douche,
H2F is Chris Fenton and Chris Cowles. TWO guys. Not a big company. they just do good work, and no, i’m not them or a client.
Team Fenton.
Wtf this may be a great marketing tool but this list should be about scripts that DON’T have financiers and producers attached. “forgetting ones purpose is the most common form of stupidity”
I’m sorry, but what a circle-jerk. I read most of these and — with exception of IMITATION GAME and a few others — found them severely lacking on many levels. Good for the writers, I guess. But what a wank.
so inspiring to see young obscure writers like Quentin Tarantino and tiny boutique agencies like CAA (hope I spelled that right) and UTA finally get some attention in this town. This is why they call it the dream factory, I guess. Way to go, Hollywood.
I made the list in 2007. When my then-agent called to tell me, I was walking a picket line during the strike. My script got sold after the strike ended but it never was made. Take it for what it is- a list produced by insiders to crow. No more, no less.
Congrats to the writers on the list. There are are some great scripts on the list. However,IThe fact that he’s f****** perfect made the list, basically nullifies this list in my mind. Has anyone read this script? Am I missing something?
totally agree, that script is okay at best but currently ‘hot’ thanks to her gary sanchez connections. the fact that it sold for over a million is frustrating to hear when much stronger work gets nowhere.
…a sense of humor and a finger on the pulse of what is actually happening online… but otherwise, no.
Can someone tell me the real story about how this works. Is it the product of lobbying? Calling in favors? Is it sincere? Who votes? Why are so many of the agents representing three, four, or more of these writers?
Leonard would send out an email that said something like ‘hey give me your top 10 favorite scripts this year.’ He’d compile the votes and send out a list to people, just as a way to gauge interest.
It got bigger, and bigger, and more prominent. Now there’s a subscription tracking service out of it. And it got to the point of being a hype machine where people curry favor.
This launched a series of equally asinine lists: the Brit List (top unproduced British scripts) the Blood List (horror) and the Hit List (spec scripts that are actually not set up). The Hit List addresses some of these grievances (you don’t see Tarantino or Sorkin on there, for example) but it’s still a favor-fest circle-jerk, just with less prominent writers.
Your last question is answered by your first. Yes.
@ ROB, I think calling H2F a large management company is absurd. They have 4-5 employees including interns
I like Franklin, but the Black List has outlived its usefulness. Basically just a list of already sold scripts from big writers with studio execs/agents pushing things they want to get buzz.
A real Black List would consist of great unsold scripts or great scripts lingering in development hell.
And studio flacks wouldn’t be the ones voting.
Yeah- when Tarantino is on the list, you know it’s finally jumped the shark. Time for a Blacker Black list- like others have pointed out- maybe a list of best “unrepresented” scripts, as opposed to best “unproduced”- since it seems virtually every script on the list is already in development if not already in production like Django. Love the original idea for this list, but time to re-think and get back to the original idea- discovering great scripts that aren’t getting attention.
Two things:
1) If a script is good, it would be represented.
2) If a script is not represented, it won’t get read as nobody is going to read unsolicited subs.
When you return to earth, you may want to talk to unrepresented writers, including those who have won contests and festivals.
This is for unproduced scripts, and Django Unchained is in pre-production – doesn’t shooting start in January? Which makes this list… another Hollywood PR stunt.
With the exception of one or two, none of them sound particularly appealing.
I swear on my mother’s life. I read THE IMITATION GAME. Such a bore and crappy dialogue.
disagree strongly. It’s a beautiful script–each scene is genius, the script itself addresses so many things in a nugget.
“Crappy dialogue?” You’ve got to be kidding me. This was one of the most brilliant scripts I’ve read in years, and the dialogue in particular was a standout.
You wanna know what the really good scripts on the list are? Read the one’s that are still available. I know for a fact that execs vote for the projects they bought. I have several friends working on projects and they admit to voting for those projects.
The list used to be legit, unfortunately that is no longer the case.
Writers without agents have almost no shot
Only 5 by women and three of those are chick flicks. Apparently girls still can’t write screenplays worthy enough to get produced. Maybe next year.
Er, blame it on Diablo Cody?
Excellent.
Idiot, don’t blame it on Cody. Blame it on agents/managers not being open to reading unrepped women feature writers. At least it’s opening up a bit on the TV side.
“Blame it on agents/managers not being open to reading unrepped women feature writers.”
Really? Where do you get this idea? Because I just can’t imagine an agent going, “I love this script and can sell the shit out of it. I just need to look at the title page again– Wait, what?! A woman wrote this?! Nevermind.”
I used to love the Blacklist & the idea behind it. The last thing I would ever call Franklin Leonard is a sell out. Now it’s just another cluster fuck of influence peddling, mediocrity & ass sucking. Where are the real discoveries? The real original scripts? Not this bullshit that gets read because someone knows someone &/or is owed a favor.
This list is a political self massage until you get a script of yours on it… then it is awesome. Kinda like the way we ignore critics and say they are useless until they write us a good review and then we love critics.
I’ve read most of these. Meh – to most of them. Some are actually bad. Just a hype machine for agents/managers and producers trying to get their projects off the ground.
But happy to see some good agents and managers get their names up there.
This is the reason I tell screenwriters who are in the Topeka Screenwriters Guild, the Clearwater Screenwriter’s Club, and thousands of other groups in the flyover states that “No. No one is going to option your screenplay, let alone greenlight it.”
But most people think THEY will be the exception.
Nope.
If you’re not in LA, there no chance and even for people in LA the chances are slim.
Bitter, party of one? Um, I live in LA and I found out that access is pretty easy, you just need to not bitch about life and stop writing on deadline.com. And by the way, the list blows like last year.
… how is his advice bitter? It’s actually good, practical advice.
I never lived in Los Angeles. I sold a spec from the other side of the country that went in a bidding war between 3 major studios. I was without an agent since I couldn’t get one yet. I had a hungry manager who hadn’t made it yet and was basically on the same level as me but had worked in the mail rooms making connections. I okayed the sale from my living room over the phone. Telling people it’s impossible or they have no chance is wrong. If you write a great script and find a fan or two in town who are hungry you can sell it. Can you sell an unsolicited script? No. But it’s a myth that you have to live in LA and pay your dues and pound the pavement to sell a script. It’s also a myth you have to graduate from a powerhouse film school. I never went to film school. It’s also a myth you need an agent. I’ve made more money in my career before I signed with an agent than I did after I had signed with one. I was far more successful financially with a hungry manager and a lawyer than I am with the agency machine behind me.
Congratulation, writer (and I’m not being sarcastic. it’s hard to tell on these boards, but I’m not.) my hat’s off to any writer who makes a sale.
I’m only speaking from my experience — the writers i know who came out to LA. (about… 20, 25 of them) are all working, and the ones i know who DIDN’T come to LA (about… 15 or so) none of them are working.
I just think it’s a LOT harder to do it if you’re not here, where you can swing into meetings and generals, etc. The buyers are all here.
How did you get your manager, if not here in LA? That might be good advice for writers who for some reason don’t want to live in LA.
Robert – A friend read my script and knew some people in LA. She tried to give it to people inside agencies and they would only send it for coverage and then never call me. She told me about this guy who was trying to become a manager who I never actually met. We just spoke on the phone and via email/text. He took my script out, was able to get a lot of heat on it, then get an attachment and finally brokered the deal for it. He also landed me 2 writing assignments off that sale before I even signed with an agent. Once I signed with an agent I basically stopped working. Whenever I meet aspiring writers who think getting an agent comes with a Mercedes and a 10 million dollar check I just laugh at them. Agents do nothing for you. At least my agents do nothing, lol. You have to do the work and you always need a little luck.
I agree that being located in LA helps your chances, but it’s not impossible to do it from anywhere in the world. That being said, knowing someone, even someone at a very low level within the business, helps. My friend basically passed my script around to everyone she knew and only one person called me to tell me they liked it and they thought they could sell it. Of course once it sold every moron who passed on it or never read it told me how much they loved it in general meetings.
My advice to any writer out there is go through everyone you know. There’s usually someone who knows someone in the business. If you seriously don’t know anyone at all then move to LA and work a desk, get coffee, give handjobs, etc.
One (or two) of my favorite posts I’ve ever read on this site.
Such horseshit, sorry. Not all agents fit the stereotype. Sandra Lucchesi found me when I hadn’t done a thing, figured out what I did well (pitching), got me into offices. I’ve had a seventeen year career because she works 24/7 and I’m certain all of her clients would say the same. God, how I despise caricatures. Some of these people would fucking harder than you do.
I agree with this person that Sandra Lucchesi ROCKS! I’m a literary manager and I deal with many, many agents and I have found her to be one of 4 agents that I know who consistently works her ass off and is on top of her game. I wish I had more clients with her.
I don’t think anyone was making caricatures — just speaking about their own experience. Telling aspiring writers that they should plan on doing most of the leg work themselves, and not relying on their agents or managers is very good advice.
no need for the profanity, sandra.
I sold a script for good $$$ while living in Ohio. It was nener made, but I got a large check. Then I moved to L.A., sold a couple more, for less money. Diablo Cody was discovered – and sold a script – while working as a stripper in Minnesota. Yeah, that’s what you should do — leave L.A., go to St. Paul and start stripping, you may finally get somewhere in this business.
The writing in the previous post makes it abundantly clear why a “stripper” was able to succeed with a writing career and the previous poster not.
This is a reply to robert garant above, whose post has no reply link (nor does mine). I meant to say she ‘works’ fucking harder than you do, which, yes, is a profanity, but it’s true, and meant with love. There are exceptional agents in Los Angeles. Blaming a failed career on someone else is such an easy game. But I do agree, writers have to do their part, they have to be extremely proactive, never take anything for granted, never assume the work’s being done for them. It’s a 50-50 partnership.