The Black List 2016: Hollywood’s Best Unproduced Screenplays Include Biopics of Trump, Madonna
The Black List 2016 is here, a survey of the best screenplays that have not yet gone into production.
An ambitious — if not surreal — pack of 73 scripts made the the list, an annual survey of over 250 Hollywood executives for the unmade films that have kept crossing their desks.
An early look at pop icon Madonna, the real estate beginnings of President-Elect Donald Trump, the tumultuous relationship between former Clinton intern Monica Lewisnky and Linda Tripp and two scripts about Stephen King made the cut.
Also Read: Black List Picks 7 Screenwriters for 2016 Feature Lab
“Blond Ambition” follows an on-the-brink Madonna in 1983 New York, preparing the release of her first album. The President-Elect is surveyed in “The Builder,” billed as “a look inside the torturous drama of Donald Trump’s first Manhattan real estate deal, his relationships with troubled older brother Freddy and famed fixer Roy Cohn.”
This year’s list also includes a surprising number by well-known screenwriters, including “The Imitation Game” Oscar winner Graham Moore, Oscar-nominated “Nightcrawler” scribe Dan Gilroy and “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman.
Bold names aside, Black List Founder Franklin Leonard told TheWrap a stronger theme brews in the 2016 list that is not one about celebrity or politics.
“There are many true stories about systematic corruption,” Leonard said. “From the DEA to a church accountant to a local school, and that’s pretty prevalent in our times.”
Also Read: Bradley Cooper to Star in Black List D-Day Action Film 'Atlantic Wall'
A-list writers, showrunners and stars like Peter Dinklage, David Benioff, Armie Hammer, Eva Longoria and Domnhall Gleeson began announcing the scripts via social media videos posted on Monday — with a new entry fired off every two minutes..
Read the list:
“Linda and Monica”
Screenwriter: Flint Wainess
True story of Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp and their relationship“Blond Ambition”
Screenwriter: Elyse Hollander
This follows Madonna in 1980s New York as she struggles to get her first album made, navigate fame and struggle with her gender in show business.“The Time Traveler’s La Ronde”
Screenwriter: Tom Dean
A story of a man who experiences love at all ages as he travels through time.
Also Read: Women Screenwriters Make Up Paltry 17 Percent of Black List 2015
“Carnada”
Screenwriter: Katharine Werner
Based on true events in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a young CIA agent is assigned to the Miami field office to become a case officer for a charismatic Cuban ambassador offering to help eliminate Fidel Castro.“I Think We’re Alone Now”
Screenwriter: Mike Makowsky
The apocalypse is a blessing in disguise for one recluse until one other companion arrives.“Fairy Godmother”
Screenwriter: Chiara Atik
Fay is an in-demand fairy godmother hired by a “mind-boggling gorgeous” teenage client to bag a handsome prince. She hits a snag when the prince falls in love with the godmother, not his intended teen match.“Kings Canyon”
Screenwriters: Paul Hilborn, Evan Parter
At the height of the Cold War, an Air Force pilot vanishes over Sierra Nevada mountains. Then he crawls out of the wild with a tale of survival. However, discrepancies in his story soon prompt many to doubt his story and call it a “hoax.”“Rugged”
Screenwriter: April Prosser
Four female coworkers get lost in the wilderness when they are on a team building activity and they have to work together to survive.“A Deconstruction of Reality”
Screenwriter: Mattson Tomlin
Tasked with finding a game changing take of the sixth Jason Bourne movie, Tom Milton goes down the rabbit hole of cracking the story, with help of a professor and Bourne.“Escape From Sarajevo”
Screenwriter: Vanya Asher
Based on the author’s own father’s escape from Sarajevo in 1992, actor Armie Hammer described the project as a “heartbreaking tale of a man and his family.“Hummingbird”
Screenwriter: John Tyler Mclain
A story of a Black Ops assassin who has to question her own identity.“Untitled Lax Mandis Project”
Screenwriter: Seth Spector
A freshmen film exec at odds with the state of his industry is forced to work with the one person who is making him question everything.“The Last Days of Night”
Screenwriter: Graham Moore (Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, “The Imitation Game”)
An attorney who takes on Thomas Edison in the legal battle over who would come to light America.“The Gun Show”
Screenwriter: Lucas Carter
A cop wakes up 20 years after his shootout and is reinstated to solve his partner’s murder… but he is paired with his partner’s son.“The Post”
Screenwriter: Liz Hannah
“The Post” is the true story about how about a Washington Post reporter and her editor overcame their differences to publish the story about the Pentagon Papers… which would change their lives.“In the Blink of an Eye”
Screenwriter: Colby Day
The script explores the history of the universe and our species that questions the nature of life, love and mortality.“The Hunchback”
Screenwriter: Topher Rhys-Lawrence
A dystopian take on Victor Hugo’s classic “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” sees a gypsy revolutionary and a hunchback take on an isolationist government.“Man Alive”
Screenwriter: Joe Greenberg
After an alien invasion takes over the minds of humankind, one survivor know as “man” must make peace with the alien force to fight a greater evil.“Palmer”
Screenwriter: Cheryl Guerreiro“Mother”
Screenwriter: Michael Lloyd Green“Let The Evil Go West”
Screenwriter: Carlos Rios“The Housewife”
Screenwriter: Alyssa Hill“The Fall”
Screenwriter: Pete Bridges“Contingency Protocol”
Screenwriter: Mark Townend“Hart You”
Screenwriter: Zoe McCarthy“America: The Motion Picture”
Screenwriter: Dave Callahan“Space Oddity”
Screenwriter: Rebecca Banner“Boyfriend Material”
Screenwriter: Mackenzie Dohr“Villains”
Screenwriter: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen“Free Guy”
Screenwriter: Matt Lieberman“The Olympian”
Screenwriter: Tony Tost“Reason of State”
Screenwriter: Matthew Orton
“Orb”
Screenwriter: Steve Desmond, Michael lSherman“Donzinger”
Screenwriter: Matt Bai, Jay Carson“Bad Education”
Screenwriters: Mike Makowsky“Allison Adams”
Screenwriter: Devon Graye“Inner City”
Screenwriter: Dan Gilroy“Layla… And Other Love Songs”
Screenwriter: Derek Weissbein“Miller’s Girl”
Screenwriter: Jade Bartlett“Dark Money”
Screenwriter: Matt Fruchtman“Maximum King!”
Screenwriter: Shay Hatten“Zoyagers”
Screenwriter: Zach Dean“King of LA”
Screenwriter: Chris Brenner“Life Itself”
Screenwriter: Dan FogelmanMore to come…
Related stories from TheWrap:
Bradley Cooper to Star in Black List D-Day Action Film 'Atlantic Wall'
Black List Picks 7 Screenwriters for 2016 Feature Lab
'Jessica Jones,' 'Walking Dead' Scribes to Mentor Women in Film-Black List Female Writers Lab
