The Black List is an annual survey of a whole bunch of executives who work in Hollywood, asking them to name 10 of their favorite unproduced screenplays from that year. Any screenplay that gets 6 or more mentions gets compiled. Previous Black Listed screenplays that went on to become movies include such award winners as Spotlight, Arrival, and The Social Network as well as crowd-pleasers like John Wick, The Hangover, and The Fault in Our Stars. And we got ourselves a brand-spanking new Black List earlier today!
Some good news as pointed out by The Wrap: So many women! Women as the main character and as the screenwriters were more plentiful on this year's list than ever before. So plentiful, they almost come close to 50%! 25 of the 76 scripts on this year's list were written by women: that's 33%! 34 out of those 76 scripts have a female character as the lead: that's 45%! Among those female protagonists, 5 are assassins (at least 2 deal with that female assassin saving their daughters). There are several biopics about extraordinary women: one on Wendy Davis, the Texas State Senator who fillibustered for 11 hours to defend reproductive rights; a long overdue one on Nancy Wake, a secret agent and resistance leader in WWII, who became the Gestapo's most wanted person, and also a biopic on J.K. Rowling, the British novelist who went from homeless and broke to being the president of the Johnny Depp fan club. In conclusion: Women! As leads! As writers! How exotic!
So I went over this year's Black List (it's a PDF), and I'm going to list some of the ones that stood out to me. But please, go over them yourself and list the ones you like/dislike and who you'd want to cast in them!
Breaking News in Yuba County (favorited by 19 execs)
Written by Amanda Idoko
Plot: After catching her husband in bed with a hooker, which causes him to die of a heart attack, Sue Bottom buries the body and takes advantage of the local celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband.
My take: This seems like trashy fun!
The Jellyfish Project (favorited by 12 execs)
Written by Sarah Jane Inwards
Jihotties (favorited by 7 execs)
Written by Molly Prather
Plot: In an effort to fund their start-up, two women catfish ISIS and get more than they bargained for when the CIA recruits them as spies.
My take: WhiteNonsense.gif part II
The White Devils (favorited by 6 execs)
Written by Leon Hendrix III
Plot: Cassius raises his sons, Malcolm and Mandela, isolated and alone in the woods. They have never met another person in their entire lives. The boys have learned to survive and protect their fragile family at all cost. When they find a mysterious wounded white girl, June, alone and lost in their woods, prejudice, lies and love set them on a collision course with the real world that puts all their lives at risk.
My take: This seems likely to lead to some serious wankery if it gets produced. And it might actually be good!
Sources: The Wrap, Wiki on Wendy Davis, Wiki on Nancy Wake, Wiki on J.K. Rowling, Black List website
Some good news as pointed out by The Wrap: So many women! Women as the main character and as the screenwriters were more plentiful on this year's list than ever before. So plentiful, they almost come close to 50%! 25 of the 76 scripts on this year's list were written by women: that's 33%! 34 out of those 76 scripts have a female character as the lead: that's 45%! Among those female protagonists, 5 are assassins (at least 2 deal with that female assassin saving their daughters). There are several biopics about extraordinary women: one on Wendy Davis, the Texas State Senator who fillibustered for 11 hours to defend reproductive rights; a long overdue one on Nancy Wake, a secret agent and resistance leader in WWII, who became the Gestapo's most wanted person, and also a biopic on J.K. Rowling, the British novelist who went from homeless and broke to being the president of the Johnny Depp fan club. In conclusion: Women! As leads! As writers! How exotic!
So I went over this year's Black List (it's a PDF), and I'm going to list some of the ones that stood out to me. But please, go over them yourself and list the ones you like/dislike and who you'd want to cast in them!
Breaking News in Yuba County (favorited by 19 execs)
Written by Amanda Idoko
Plot: After catching her husband in bed with a hooker, which causes him to die of a heart attack, Sue Bottom buries the body and takes advantage of the local celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband.
My take: This seems like trashy fun!
The Jellyfish Project (favorited by 12 execs)
Written by Sarah Jane Inwards
Plot: A young black girl’s family in 1960s Mississippi decides to harbor two human-looking refugees who have mysteriously fallen from the sky.
My take: I am alarmed. WhiteNonsense.gif (Ms. Inwards is white). I am always leery of layering fantastical elements on serious, brutal historical events, and this could be one of them. But maybe it'll be good! I'll be keeping an eye out.
Moxie (favorited by 10 execs)
Written by Heather Quinn
Plot: To combat crime in near-future Los Angeles, the FBI creates supercops based on specific genetic sequences. To their shock, their best candidate is a vulgar stripper named Moxie.
Moxie (favorited by 10 execs)
Written by Heather Quinn
Plot: To combat crime in near-future Los Angeles, the FBI creates supercops based on specific genetic sequences. To their shock, their best candidate is a vulgar stripper named Moxie.
My take: A sci-fi action comedy where the superhero is a vulgar stripper who shows up the LAPD? I'm in!
Jihotties (favorited by 7 execs)
Written by Molly Prather
Plot: In an effort to fund their start-up, two women catfish ISIS and get more than they bargained for when the CIA recruits them as spies.
My take: WhiteNonsense.gif part II
The White Devils (favorited by 6 execs)
Written by Leon Hendrix III
Plot: Cassius raises his sons, Malcolm and Mandela, isolated and alone in the woods. They have never met another person in their entire lives. The boys have learned to survive and protect their fragile family at all cost. When they find a mysterious wounded white girl, June, alone and lost in their woods, prejudice, lies and love set them on a collision course with the real world that puts all their lives at risk.
My take: This seems likely to lead to some serious wankery if it gets produced. And it might actually be good!
Sources: The Wrap, Wiki on Wendy Davis, Wiki on Nancy Wake, Wiki on J.K. Rowling, Black List website
Their captain's insane vision of a Northwest Passage has kept the crewmen of The Terror trapped in Arctic ice for two years without a thaw. But the real threat to their survival isn't the ever-shifting landscape of white, the provisions that have turned to poison before they open them, or the ship slowly buckling in the grip of the frozen ocean.
