Though the film industry has been forced to practically reinvent itself during this pandemic, one aspect of the business hasnt changed: screenwriting. This years Black Lista competitive roundup of the most-liked, not-yet-produced screenplays in Hollywoodis a testament to that, containing scripts about everything from interstellar romances to trans coming-of-age stories to deep dives on tabloid stars like Lindsay Lohan and Anna Nicole Smith. [Although, yes, there is one script about a pandemic.]
The list was announced in a livestream Monday featuring Black List founder and Vanity Fair contributing editor Franklin Leonard and late-night hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero. The livestream, which raised proceeds for the charity Young Storytellers, also featured pop-up cameos by Oscar-winning writer-directors Bong Joon Ho and Taika Waititi [whose Jojo Rabbit script made the Black List in 2012].
Id like to congratulate the writers that have made it onto the list, said Bong in his remarks. And hope that great directors, producers, and actors help these screenplays come to life.
In an age when much of the world has been spending a lot more time at home, reading and writing scripts has been one of Hollywoods rare bright spots. The Black List has the stats to prove it: Leonard told V.F. that user submissions to the organizations script-hosting site have increased by about 33%, while industry usage of the site spiked over 100%. Hes also found himself fielding more requests than ever from execs who suddenly had open schedules.
I was getting a lot of incoming phone calls from high-level people in the industry being like, Youre the script guy. What should I be reading? Leonard said.
This years list, compiled from suggestions made by more than 375 film execs, is the place to start, with the number one spot going to Sophie Dawsons highly unconventional Headhunter, which got 29 mentions. Its about a cannibal that eats people based on their Instagram following, Leonard said with a laugh. Its wild. Dawson, he pointed out, is one of five women who made the top 10 this year, a welcome step forward for behind-the-scenes inclusion; 37.5% of the writers on the list are women, an improvement from past years.
Dawsons script is followed by Jingyi Shaos Chang Can Dunk, a coming-of-age story about an Asian American teen who obsesses over basketball, and Dave Collards Neither Confirm Nor Deny, an adaptation of the David Sharp book The CIAs Greatest Covert Operation, about the recovery of a Soviet missile submarine. The trio inadvertently hits on a few common threads for this years list, like unconventional tales of celebrity and novel conversations about race and identity.
There are three scripts that center on trans leads, a first in Black List history. This is frankly shocking in the best possible way, Leonard said. These are not stories that historically weve seen a lot in Hollywood. One of the scripts, Alvaro García Lecuonas What If?about a 17-year-old cis boy who asks out his trans classmateis already on its way to production after Billy Porter signed on to direct it in November.
Leonard also noted that several of this years scripts focus on the rise and fall of billionaires and business empires. Alexandra Skarsgards Plush is one such screenplay, tracing the life of billionaire toy entrepreneur Ty Warner [two words: Beanie Babies], while Chris Parizos Viceland, about the three founders of Vice magazinetwo of whom helped flip it into a media empire, and one of whom founded the far-right Proud Boysis another. That feels very much tied to what were dealing with as a society related to income inequality, Leonard said.
While he cant say for certain how the pandemic influenced the list, the societal and economic effects of quarantining and social distancing for months may have made some scripts resonate more than others. Case in point: More than one script revolved around isolated lovers in outer space, like Angela Bourassas If You Were the Last.
There are a lot of scripts about nontraditional relationships with space and time. Like, Im stuck on a space ship forever, and I dont know whats real. Were stuck in a time loop where a moment is repeated over and over again, Leonard said. And not for nothing, I think a lot of that stuff can be shot in controlled environments. All of those things feel pandemic-related.
Still, Leonard doesnt think physical production is top of mind for the execs who vote on the Black List. After all, their only criterion is to vote for the scripts they enjoyed the most.
Theyre thinking about what they love, [which] is more likely to be the things that you were thinking about consciously or subconsciously in the world, he said. So when something comments on that in an interesting way, or you identify with being disconnected from society or every day being exactly the same, you end up saying, Oh, my God, I love this. It spoke to me in the moment.
Read the full list below, provided by the Black List.
Headhunter by Sophie Dawson [29 mentions]
A high-functioning cannibal selects his victims based on their Instagram popularity, but finds his habits shaken by a man who wants to be eaten.
Agency: WME Entertainment
Agents:Mattew Balick, CJ Fight, Brett Rosen, Sarah Self
Management:Bellevue Productions
Managers:John Zaoizirny, Zack Zucker
Chang Can Dunk by Jingyi Shao [28 mentions]
A young Asian-American teen and basketball fanatic who just wants to dunk and get the girl ends up learning much more about himself, his best friends, and his mother.
Management: The Gotham Group
Managers: Max Goldfarb, Peter McHugh
Financier:Disney+
Producers: Hillman Grad, Makeready
Neither Confirm Nor Deny by Dave Collard [26 mentions]
An adaptation of David Sharps book The CIAs Greatest Covert Operation that chronicles the clandestine CIA operation that risked igniting WWIII by recovering a nuclear-armed Soviet Sub, the K-129, that sunk to the bottom of the ocean in 1968.
Agency:Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston
Agents:Jim Ehrich
Management: Fourthwall Management
Managers:Russell Hollander
Producers:New Sparta Films, Scott Free
If You Were the Last by Angela Bourassa [25 mentions]
Two astronauts who think theyve been lost in space forever fall in love, becoming content with their isolated lives, only to suddenly have to return to Earth.
Agency: United Talent Agency
Agents: Eni Akintade, Houston Costa, Mikey Schwartz-Wright, Carolyn Sivitz, Hope Watson
Management: Fourward
Managers:Jon Levin, Sean Woods
Producer:Depth of Field
Two Faced by Cat Wilkins [25 mentions]
A high school senior attempts to get her principal fired after observing racist behavior, but she quickly learns he wont go down without a fight.
Agency: United Talent Agency
Agents: Jessica Kantor, Luke Murphy
Management: Echo Lake Entertainment
Managers:Trent Hubbard
Financier:Bron
Producers:Sharla Sumpter Bridgett, Bron, The Story Company, TPH Entertainment
Bring Me Back by Crosby Selander [22 mentions]
When a woman on an interstellar voyage falls in love with someone during a cryosleep simulation, she attempts to discern whether the man is a real passenger on the ship or just a figment of her imagination.
Management:Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Managers: Aaron Kaplan, Ben Neumann
Financier:Legendary Entertainment
Producers:Legendary Entertainment
Bubble & Squeak by Evan Twohy [21 mentions]
Two newlyweds traverse a fictional country on their honeymoon but slowly realize theyre yearning to take separate journeys.
Agency: Creative Artists Agency
Agents: Christina Chou, Josh Pearl
Management: Grandview
Managers: Merideth Bajana
Producers:Chris Storer, Universal, Remote
Emergency by KD Davila [21 mentions]
Ready for a night of partying, a group of Black and Latino college students must weigh the pros and cons of calling the police when faced with an emergency.
Management: Management 360
Managers:Reilly Martin, Marc Mounier, Clifford Murray
Financier:Amazon Studios
Producers: Temple Hill Entertainment
Forever Hold Your Peace by Emma Dudley [19 mentions]
Twenty-four-year-old, quiet, self-conscious Hazel has struggled with her sexuality ever since her conservative dad walked in on her kissing a girl at a middle school sleepover and flipped his absolute shit. On the way back to her hometown for her dads wedding, Hazel gets drunk and makes out with an older, attractive female flight attendant. Shes thrilled to have moved past her hang-ups and had some fun until she arrives home and realizes that the flight attendant is her dads fiance.
Agency:The Gersh Agency
Agents:Sam Masura Sekoff, Amanda Jo Smith
Management: Writ Large
Managers:Lauren Dineley
Producers: Lord Miller
Video Nasty by Chris Thomas Devlin [18 mentions]
Three teenagers who rent a cursed VHS tape are pulled into an 80s slasher movie that threatens to trap them forever.
Agency: United Talent Agency
Agents: Charles Ferraro
Management: Bellevue Productions
Managers: Jeff Portnoy, John Zaozirny
Financier: Lionsgate
Producers: Point Grey Pictures, Stampede Ventures
Saturday Night Ghost Club by Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman [17 mentions]
After being haunted by a terrifying entity, a twelve-year-old boy teams up with his eccentric uncle and three other misfits to form their own ghost club, investigating all the paranormal sites in town so that he can find and confront the ghost thats tormenting him.
Agency: Agency for the Performing Arts
Agents: Adam Perry, Sheryl Petersen
Management: Management 360
Managers: Jill McElroy, Marc Mounier, Geoff Shaevitz
Producers: Fully Formed Entertainment
The Sauce by Chaz Hawkins [17 mentions]
A depressed, selfish black man fights for his life after taking a job at a white-owned beauty parlor, whose monstrous owners concocted a wildly popular shampoo that requires a sickening ingredient.
Agency: WME Entertainment
Agents:Chelsea Dern, Nick Hoagland, Perry Weitzner
Management: Heroes and Villains Entertainment
Managers: Aaron Lipsett
Producers:Scott Free Productions
Sharper by Brian Gatewood, Alessandro Tanaka [17 mentions]
A chain of scam artists goes after one wealthy family with the perfect plan to drain them of their funds. But when love, heartbreak, and jealousy slither their way into the grand scheme, it becomes unclear whether the criminals are conning or the ones being conned.
Agency: United Talent Agency
Agents: Dan Erlij, Jay Gassner, Lily Safran, Julien Thuan, Hope Watson
Management:Management 360
Managers:Eryn Brown
Financier: Apple TV+
Producers: A24, Gatewood & Tanaka, Julianne Moore, Picturestart
Birdies by Colin Bannon [16 mentions]
When Tabitha, a struggling foster kid, wins a contest to become part of the BIRDIES, a popular daily YouTube channel featuring the radiant and enigmatic Mama Bird and her diverse brood of adopted children, she soon learns that things get dark when the cameras turn off.
Agency: Verve Talent and Literary Agency
Agents: Parker Davis, Adam Levine
Management: Hopscotch Pictures
Managers:Sukee Chew
Producers:Sukee Chew
Possum Song by Isaac Adamson [16 mentions]
After discovering his secret songwriting partner dead, a country music star struggling to record new material makes a Faustian bargain with a family of possums who have taken up residency within his walls.
Management: Lee Stobby Entertainment
Managers:Lee Stobby
Producers:Isaac Adamson, Lee Stobby Entertainment
The Black Belt by Randall Green [15 mentions]
Eighth grader Simon Paluska dreams of being a Taekwondo Black Belt, but hes not allowed to take lessons. So he buys a Black Belt on Amazon for twenty-five bucks. Then, he has to use it.
Agency: United Talent Agency
Agents:Amanda Hymson, Blair Kohan
Management:Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Managers:George Heller - GEORGE HELLER
Financier:Monarch
Producers:Indivisible
Ripper by Dennis MaGee Fallon [15 mentions]
London, 1888: When their friends begin dying at the hands of a brutal killer, an all-female crime syndicate, The Forty Elephants, must work together to take down the predator stalking them - Jack The Ripper.
Agency:WME Entertainment
Agents:Tanya Cohen, Brett Rosen
Management:Bellevue Productions
Managers:John Zaozirny, Zack Zucker
Producers:Atlas Entertainment, Bellevue Productions
A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey by Seth Reiss [14 mentions]
After both attending the same wedding solo, David and Sarah embark on a big, bold, beautiful journey with a little help from their 1996 Passat GPS and a little bit of magic for the road trip of their lives.
Agency:United Talent Agency
Agents:Alex Rincon
Management:Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Managers:Brad Petrigala
Producers:Love & Squalor, Red Hour, Seth Reiss
Enemies Within by Cat Vasko [14 mentions]
In the 1950s, Joseph McCarthy and his right hand man Roy Cohn sit at the height of their influence, casting aside democratic norms unchecked - until the Armys lowest-level lawyer, John G. Adams, stumbles upon the shocking truth behind their power grab, and makes it his mission to reveal this to the public.
Management: Grandview
Managers:Zac Frognowski, Matt Rosen
Financier:Endeavor Content
Producers:Automatik
The Man in the Yard by Sam Stefanak [14 mentions]
When a dangerous stranger shows up at her front door, a depressed widow must confront her own past in order to protect her two children.
Agency:Kazarian, Spencer & Associates
Agents:Michael Kolodny, Varun Monga
Management:Epicenter
Managers:Allard Cantor, Anastasiya Kukhtareva, Jarrod Murray
Financier:Blumhouse
Producers:Blumhouse
Suncoast by Laura Chinn [14 mentions]
An awkward teenage outcast comes of age against the backdrop of the hospice where her brother [and coincidentally, Terri Schiavo] are dying.
Agency:United Talent Agency
Agents:Susie Fox
Management:3 Arts Entertainment
Managers:Josh Lieberman, Oly Obst
Producers: 3 Arts Entertainment
Fish in a Tree by Jeff Stockwell [13 mentions]
Based on the eponymous novel by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. A young girl in an intimidating new school finally faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles in her learning and in her social life when she crosses paths with an energetic-but-inexperienced substitute teacher.
Agency:United Talent Agency
Agents:Charles Ferraro
Management: Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Managers:Tobin Babst, Alex Lerner
Financier:Netflix
Producers:Fezziwig Studios
The Neutral Corner by Justin Piasecki [13 mentions]
A Nevada court judge who moonlights reffing high-profile boxing matches must face his demons when hes assigned to the Olympic fight of an ex-con hed previously sentenced for murder.
Agency:Paradigm Talent Agency
Agents:Ethan Neale, Matt Snow
Management:Zero Gravity Management
Managers: Jeff Belkin
Producers:Aggregate Films
Gusher by Abigail Briley Bean [12 mentions]
Based on the story of Anna Nicole Smith, a shrewd young mother rises out of a small Texas town to become a famous Playboy centerfold, but when she falls in love with an eighty-nine-year-old billionaire, his son and the entire world believe shes nothing but a gold digger.
Management: The Vendetta Group
Managers: Jasper Grey
Producers:Coveside Films
Bikram by Silpa Kovvali [11 mentions]
Based on an unbelievable story, Bikram chronicles the rise and fall of celebrity yoga guru Bikram Choudhury through the eyes of his young wife Rajashree, who engineers his ascent to fame and fortune, then fights to salvage their empire when his crimes bring it crumbling to the ground.
Agency: United Talent Agency
Agents:Abby Glusker, Alyssa Lanz, Jordan Lonner
Management:Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Managers: George Heller
Producers: David Weil and Star Thrower Entertainment
Borderline by Jimmy Warden [11 mentions]
A bodyguard protects a pop superstar and her athlete boyfriend from a determined stalker in 1990s Los Angeles.
Management: Grandview
Managers:Merideth Bajana
Producers:Luckychap
Lurker by Alex Russell [11 mentions]
An obsessed fan maneuvers his way into the inner circle of his hip hop idol and will stop at nothing to stay in.
Management:Grandview & Elixr Global
Managers: Merideth Bajana, Erick Mendoza, Ethan Jones
Producers:Chris Storeer, Lee Sung Jin
My Dear You by Meghan Kennedy [11 mentions]
Based on a short story by Rachel Khong. A love story set in the afterlife about our struggle to let go of the past, even when our present is heaven... literally. Tess keeps searching for the love of her life without realizing hes right there next to her the whole time, helping her look.
Management:Writ Large
Managers:Britton Rizzio, Noah Rosen, Greg Shephard
Producers: Writ Large
Occupied by Tara Cavanagh [11 mentions]
When a tactless Nordstroms store manager denies two trans women access to the bathroom, Fran and Althea seek restitution and occupy the ladies room in protest.
Agency: United Talent Agency
Agency: Jessica Kantor, Hope Watson
Management:Management 360
Managers:Eryn Brown, Marc Mounier
Producers:Gatewood and Tanaka
Reptile Dysfunction by Creston Whittington [11 mentions]
A chemical leak in a local water supply in Central Florida wreaks havoc on the invasive population of pythons, leading a family to the fight of their life to survive.
Management:Heroes and Villains Entertainment
Managers:Gary Ventimiglia
St. Simmons by Greg Wayne [11 mentions]
When a very fat and possibly gay boy from New Orleans is visited by an angel called Barbra Streisand, he sets out on a holy crusade in daytime television to touch and save the soul of every obese person in America before his demons consume him - if only to make his daddy proud. Its the true gospel of Richard Simmons.
Management:Mutiny
Managers:Ryan Casey
The U.S.P.S. by Perry Janes [11 mentions]
Following in his murdered mothers footsteps, Michael Griffiths enlists in the United States Postal Service... only to discover a mail route full of surprises and a job that means maybe, just maybe, saving the world.
Management: Writ Large
Managers: Bash Naran
Financier: Amazon Studios
Producers: Chronology,Imagine Entertainment
Annalise & Song by SJ Inwards [10 mentions]
Annalise is a girl who quite literally sees the world differently than everyone else and finds herself a lonely, misunderstood outcast who keeps her cursed sight a secret as a consequence. But everything changes when Annalise meets her new neighbor, Peter Song -- a fellow teenager whom everyone else sees as a disfigured boy, but whom Annalise sees entirely differently.
Agency: Verve Talent And Literary Agency
Agents: Melissa Darman,Nicholas Mohebbi,Adam Weinstein
Management: Kaplan/perrone Entertainment
Managers: Alex Lerner, Ben Neuman
Producers: Luckychap,Star Thrower Entertainment
Blood Ties by Aaron Katz [10 mentions]
Based on the New Yorker article by Nathan Heller. A true-crime thriller based on the story of two brilliant college lovers convicted of a brutal slaying. An obsessed detective investigates the true motives that led to a double homicide, and the decades of repercussions that follow.
Management- Grandview
Managers- Ben Rowe
Financier- Endeavor Content
Producers - Automatik
The Boy Who Died by Monisha Dadlani [10 mentions]
A young girl creates a robot version of Harry Potter while her father simultaneously is treating Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe for a terminal disease.
Agency- Verve Talent And Literary Agency
Agents- Michael Chung, Melissa Darman, Jake Dillman, Matthew Doyle
Management- Good Fear Content
Managers- David Baggelaar
Crush on You by Shea Mayo [10 mentions]
Summer on a secluded campus takes a dark turn for three college girls when a supernaturally sexy mystery man begins haunting their dreams.
Management- Fourthwall Management
Managers- Sydney Blanke
The Culling by Stephen Herman [10 mentions]
A troubled priest confines himself to a remote cabin in the middle of the woods where he attempts to make a last stand against the demon that terrorized his family when he was a child.
Agency- Verve Talent And Literary Agency
Agents- Adam Levine, Nicholas Mohebbi
Management- Good Fear Content
Managers- Scott Stoops
Financier- Lionsgate
Producers- Good Fear Content, Mangata
May December by Samy Burch [10 mentions]
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
Management- Grandview
Managers- Gabrielle Lewis, Ben Rowe
Producers- Gloria Sanchez
1MDB by Scott Conroy [10 mentions]
The incredible true story of the multi-billion dollar Malaysian government corruption scandal which led to the conviction of Prime Minister Najib Razak and almost $5 billion in settlements paid out by Goldman Sachs.
Management- Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Managers- Josh Goldenberg, Sean Perrone
Producers- 2.0 Entertainment
Rewired by Adam Gaines, Ryan Parrott [10 mentions]
Harvard. 1959. A young Ted Kaczynski is experimented on by Dr. Henry Murray during a secret CIA psychological study that may have led to the creation of the Unabomber.
Management- Haven Entertainment / Grandview
Managers- Brendan Bragg / Erick Mendoza, Ben Rowe
Story by Emily Siegel [10 mentions]
When a journalist turned stay-at-home mom relocates to Los Angeles to rebuild after a personal trauma, she blurs the lines between fact and fiction... only to find herself at the center of her own story.
Management- 3 Arts Entertainment
Managers- Nora May, Daniel Vang
Cosmic Sunday by MacMillan Hedges [9 mentions]
A small percentage of the population is stuck in a time loop and have had to create a society that functions within the same day, repeated day in and day out. One man struggles to find himself for the first time in ages amidst a society clinging to a sense of normalcy. Agency- The Gersh Agency
Agents- Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank, Frank Wuliger
Management- Management 360
Managers- Geoff Shaevitz
Producers- Original Films
Earworm by Austin Everett [9 mentions]
A former music therapist is recruited to use a mysterious machine to dive into the memories of a serial killer on death row.
Agency- Verve Talent And Literary Agency
Agents- Parker Davis, Kyle Jensen
Management- Writ Large
Managers- Michael Claassen, Matt Dartnell
Excelsior! by Alex Convery [9 mentions]
The true story of the meteoric rise [and subsequent fall] of Marvel Comics and the star-crossed creators behind the panel: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.
Agency- United Talent Agency
Agents- Ramses Ishak, Jordan Lonner, Michael Sheresky
Management- Grandview
Managers- Zac Frognoswki, Faisal Kanaan
Flight Risk by Jared Rosenberg [9 mentions]
An Air Marshal transporting a fugitive across the Alaskan wilderness via a small plane finds herself trapped when she suspects their pilot is not who he says he is.
Agency- Paradigm Talent Agency
Agents- Ethan Neale
Management- Fourthwall Management
Managers- Russell Hollander
Producers- Davis Entertainment
High Society by Noga Pnueli [9 mentions]
A depressed, progressive woman stuck in a conservative small Texas town starts micro-dosing the entire town with marijuana to make them all get along.
Agency- Creative Artists Agency
Agents- William Brown, Ruby Kaye,Joe Mann
Management- Heroes And Villains Entertainment
Managers- Chris Coggins
Horsegirl by Lauren Meyering [9 mentions]
Living under the full time care of her cancer-stricken mother, a twenty-six-year-old, socially awkward, horse-obsessed woman attempts to prove her independence by winning a hobbyhorse competition.
Agency- United Talent Agency
Agents- Charles Ferraro, Abby Glusker, Laura Goodfriend,Jessica Kantor, Jordan Lonner
Management- Kaplan/perrone Entertainment
Managers- Andrew Murphy, Hannah Ozer
Producers- Alix Madigan
Magazine Dreams by Elijah Bynum [9 mentions]
A Black amateur bodybuilder struggles to find human connection in this exploration of celebrity and violence.
Management- Kaplan/perrone Entertainment
Managers- Josh Goldenberg, Alex Lerner, Sean Perrone
Producers- Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy
Mouse by Kelly OSullivan [9 mentions]
When seventeen-year old Minnies best friend Callie is killed in an accident, she struggles to find an identity of her own and forms a complicated friendship with Callies grieving mother.
Agency- Wme Entertainment
Agents- Hannah Davis, Daniela Federman, Max Gross, Nick Hoagland
Management- Fusion Management
Managers- Adam Kersh
Murder in the White House by Jonathan Stokes [9 mentions]
The President is murdered during a private dinner, and Secret Service agent Mia Pine has until morning to discover which guest is the killer before a peace agreement fails and leads to war.
Management- Management Sgc
Managers- Scott Carr
Financier- Paramount Pictures
Producers- Original Film
Nanny by Nikyata Jusu [9 mentions]
Aisha is an undocumented nanny caring for a privileged child. As she prepares for the arrival of her only son, who she left behind in her native country, a violent supernatural presence invades her reality, jeopardizing the American Dream shes carefully pieced together.
Agency - Creative Artists Agency
Agents- William Brown, Sue Carls, Christina Chou,Scott Henderson,Brandon Lawrence
Management- M88
Managers- Gaby Mena, Natalia Williams
Producers- Nikkia Moulterie
A Single Point of Failure by Terry Huang [9 mentions]
Journalists race to expose how Boeing knowingly misled regulators, pilots, and airlines to cover up a problematic flight software system on the 737 MAX, leading to two major airplane crashes and the deaths of 346 people. Based on real events.
Management- 3 Arts Entertainment
Managers- Katie Newman
Producers- Mandalay Pictures
State Lines by Rachel Wolf [9 mentions]
When headstrong but well-intentioned college student Sara Jane bails on Senior Spring Break to drive a fourteen-year-old girl to get an abortion, shes shocked to discover that her passenger is an undercover pro-lifer who has kidnapped her.
Management- The Gotham Group
Managers- Tony Gil, Max Goldfarb
Producers- Picture Films
Viceland by Chris Parizo [9 mentions]
The true story of how Vice magazine grew from a free magazine in Montreal into a multi billion dollar media empire, making two of its founders multi-millionaires while the third founder was kicked out and went on to modernize the white supremacist movement by creating the Proud Boys.
Management- Bellevue Productions
Managers- John Zaozirny
Producers- Bellevue Productions
Emancipation by Bill Collage [8 mentions]
Based on a true story, a runaway slave has to outwit bounty hunters and the perils of a Louisiana swamp to reach the Union army and his only chance at freedom.
Management- Syndicate Entertainment
Managers- Cliff Roberts
Financier- Apple Tv+
Producers - CAA Media Finance,Escape Artists,Mcfarland Entertainment
Fight or Flight by Brooks McLaren, DJ Cotrona [8 mentions]
A mercenary takes on the job of tracking down a target on a plane but must protect her when theyre surrounded by people trying to kill both of them.
Agency- Verve Talent And Literary Agency / The Gersh Agency
Agents- Kyle Jensen, Adam Weinstein / Eric Garfinkel, Steven Gersh,Leslie Siebert
Management- Brillstein Entertainment Partners / Inspire
Managers- George Heller / Jason Spire
Producers- Thunder Road
The Gorge by Zach Dean [8 mentions]
A brazen, high-action, genre-bending, love story about two very dangerous young people, who despite the corrupt and lethal world they operate in, find a soulmate in each other.
Management- Lit Entertainment Group
Managers- Adam Kolbrenner
Financier- Skydance Media
Producers - Lit Entertainment Group, Skydance Media
Here Come the Bandits by Ethan Dawes [8 mentions]
Mickey Bradley, a wildly talented minor league baseball player in his early twenties who returns home to Los Angeles after an injury and coaches a little league team full of misfits who remind him why he fell in love with baseball in the first place. And theres a sweet romance in there too.
Producers:Corduroy Entertainment, Makeready, Waffle Iron Entertainment
Plush by Alexandra Skarsgard [8 mentions]
Sex, money, and one schoolyard fad that took a nation by storm. Based on the true story of Ty Warner, the enigmatic entrepreneur behind a 90s toy craze that sparked madness, murder, and a billion-dollar empire.
Agency- United Talent Agency
Agents- Jessica Kantor, Grace Royer
Management- Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Managers- Hannah Ozer
Towers by Aaron Rabin [8 mentions]
A businessmans obsession with his competitor leads him down a rabbit hole of self-discovery, fantasy, and delusion
Management- MXN Entertainment
Managers- Michelle Knudsen
Producers- 1.21 Pictures
Trespasser by Gabe Hobson [8 mentions]
A father and daughter living in remote isolation must fight for survival after aliens arrive seeking revenge for killing one of their own.
Financier- Endeavor Content
Producers- Fully Formed Entertainment, Jason Fuchs
Uncle Wick by Gabe Delahaye [8 mentions]
An action comedy wherein Benji Stone, a lovable but deeply unpopular sixteen year old, is pulled into an international assassination plot by his uncle, a retired undercover assassin charged with babysitting Benji for the weekend.
Agency- United Talent Agency
Agents- Emerson Davis, Jenny Maryasis
Management- Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Managers- Aaron Kaplan, Michael Wilson
Financier- Amazon Studios
Producers- Field Trip Productions
What If? by Alvaro Garcia Lecuona [8 mentions]
An unassertive seventeen year old turns his high school on its head when he asks out his crush, a transgender classmate.
Agency- Agency For The Performing Arts
Agents- Halle Mariner, Lucy Tashman
Management- Vision Entertainment
Managers- Andres Budnik, Victor Rodriguez
Financier- MGM, Orion
Producers- Andrew Lauren Productions, Killer Films
Bella by Jason Markarian [7 mentions]
Set against the backdrop of an unprecedented crime wave that gripped New York City in the 80s, a hyper-stylized action thriller about a cops daughter who, after her father clings to life following an assassination attempt, goes on a rampage to unearth her fathers assassin and weed out deep-rooted corruption in the NYPD.
Agency- Verve Talent And Literary Agency
Agents- David Boxerbaum, Parker Davis
Management- Heroes And Villains Entertainment
Managers- Markus Goerg, Aaron Lipsett
Dust by Karrie Crouse [7 mentions]
A young mother in 1930s Oklahoma is convinced that her family is threatened and takes drastic steps to keep them safe.
Agency- Creative Artists Agency
Agents- Jay Baker
Management- Anonymous Content
Managers- Bard Dorros
Financier- Searchlight Pictures
Producers- Mad Dog Films
Frenemy by Ariel Sayegh [7 mentions]
A chronicle of the infamous Lindsay Lohan/Paris Hilton feud of 2004-2006 over who would be Britney Spears best friend.
Agency- Paradigm Talent Agency
Agents- Melisa Baloglu, Olivia Falletti, Sam Fischer, Mark Ross
Gabi Seems Different by Victoria Bata [7 mentions]
After spending several years recovering from a devastating car crash that pulled her out of the spotlight, Gabi, a famous pop star, gets ready to perform again for the first time. But with the pressure mounting and her memory failing her, the young woman begins to doubt who she really is -- and if Gabi really survived the crash at all.
Agency- United Talent Agency
Agents- Anna Flickinger
Management- Management 360
Managers- Jenna Sarkin
Generation Leap by John Sonntag, Thomas Sonntag [7 mentions]
After a global pandemic causes NASA to send a crew of astronauts into deep space to find another habitable planet, the crew is unexpectedly awoken from hypersleep and must survive a mysterious new threat that comes from the future generations they sought to save, and the one place they never expected - Earth.
Agency- The Gersh Agency
Agents- Eric Garfinkel, Danny Toth
Management- Bellevue Productions
Managers- John Zaozirny
Producers- Atlas Entertainment
Get Lite by Eric Gross [7 mentions]
Saunders, a headstrong Bronx teenager, is caught between his love of Litefeet subway dancing and his strict fathers insistence on becoming an engineer. After he finagles his way onto a ragtag Litefeet crew, hes exposed to an electrifying new world as well as a new crush. Now he has to decide who and what hes willing to sacrifice in order to compete in the biggest dance competition of the year: Kingdome.
Agency- Verve Talent And Literary Agency
Agents- David Boxerbaum, Parker Davis
Management- Lit Entertainment Group
Managers- Adam Kolbrenner, Kendrick Tan
Good Chance by Tricia Lee [7 mentions]
A feisty transgender teen helps a church-going, undocumented Asian woman escape deportation, and they form an unlikely friendship that helps them heal the rifts in their own families.
Management- Fourward
Managers- Jon Levin, Sean Woods
Producers- Janet Yang Productions,JBF Entertainment
Handsome Stranger by Greg Navarro [7 mentions]
Based on the incredible true story of serial killer Paul John Knowles and the week he spent with British journalist Sandy Fawkes in the midst of a murderous killing spree.
Management- Epicenter
Managers- Allard Cantor,Anastasiya Kukhtareva,Jarrod Murray
Producers- Affiliated Pictures
I.S.S. by Nick Shafir [7 mentions]
At any given moment in time there are roughly six astronauts living on the International Space Station [ISS]. The station itself is divided into two segments one half Russian, one half American. When a world war event occurs on Earth, America and Russia find themselves on opposing sides. As such, both nations secretly contact their astronauts aboard the ISS and give them instructions to take control of the station by any means necessary. The six astronauts must each secretly choose between their friendships with each other and their allegiance to their country.
Agency- United Talent Agency
Agents- Charles Ferraro,Michael Sauvage
Management- Zero Gravity Management
Managers- Cameron Cubbison
Financier- LD Entertainment
Producers- LD Entertainment
Margot by Emily Adams [7 mentions]
Annie Mills has always known Margot Ellison to be two things: her best friend and a devout Mormon. But as high school graduation nears and Margot starts to crave change, the girls must grapple with the fear that growing up might require growing alone.
Management- MXN Entertainment
Managers- Tracy Kopulsky
Producers- Canary House Productions
The Peak by Arthur Hills [7 mentions]
A troubled young surgeon travels to a desolate peak to climb the mountain where her father suffered a mental breakdown years earlier, only to realize halfway up the rock wall that she might be subject to the same fate.
Agency- WME Entertainment
Agents- Nick Hoagland, Phillip Raskind, Perry Weitzner
Reality by Heather Quinn [7 mentions]
A woman abruptly discovers nothing shes known until now is real, and she must recover the truth in order to save the rest of the country, still trapped inside of the lie.
Management- Writ Large
Managers- Courtney Conwell
Ruby by Kat Wood [7 mentions]
After her husband is attacked, assassin Ruby is lured into the open to hunt down those responsible, leading her back to the boss who wants to keep her in the fold at any cost.
Agency- Verve Talent And Literary Agency
Agents- David Boxerbaum,Pamela Goldstein
Financier- Amazon Studios
Producers- 87 North
Tin Roof Rusted by Michelle Harper [7 mentions]
When two life-long best friends discover that theyre both pregnant, they promise to embark on their journey together. But with the constant pressure of outsiders, the two struggle midst personal differences and must re-learn that what connected them as children can still be their glue as adults.
Agency- United Talent Agency
Agents- Bill Zotti
Management- Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment
Managers- Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
Financier- Tristar
Producers- Jax Media
War Face by Mitchell Lafortune [7 mentions]
A female U.S. Army Special Agent is sent to a remote, all-male outpost in Afghanistan to investigate accusations of war crimes. But when a series of mysterious events jeopardize her mission and the units sanity, she must find the courage to survive something far more sinister.
Agency- Agency For The Performing Arts
Agents- Debbie Deuble Hill, Mike Goldberg
Management- Cavalry Media
Managers- Matt Delpiano, Barney Slobodin
Producers- Calvary Media
The Women of Route 40 by Erin Kathleen [7 mentions]
A struggling single mother must confront dangerous forces - and sins of her past - when her world collides with that of a serial killer. Inspired by the true story of Delawares only serial murderer, the Route 40 killer.
Agency- The Gersh Agency
Agents- Mark Hartogsohn, Alice Lawson, Frank Wuliger
Management- Jen Au Management
Managers- Jennifer Au
Producers- Phantom Four Films
Yom Kippur by Brett Melnick [7 mentions]
After getting high on the night of Yom Kippur, three distant cousins wake up with muddled minds and empty stomachs as they find themselves in the middle of a kidnapping and a major drug ring.
Management- Grandview
Managers- Faisal Kanaan
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31 Charitable Holiday Gifts That Give Back
JASON JAMAL NAKLEHJason TidwellStyleShoots© 2020 Mattel Inc.Though the film industry has been forced to practically reinvent itself during this pandemic, one aspect of the business hasnt changed: screenwriting. This years Black Lista competitive roundup of the most-liked, not-yet-produced screenplays in Hollywoodis a testament to that, containing scripts about everything from interstellar romances to trans coming-of-age stories to deep dives on tabloid stars like Lindsay Lohan and Anna Nicole Smith. [Although, yes, there is one script about a pandemic.]