The Black List (survey) explained
Document Name: | The Black List |
Purpose: | Ranking of top unproduced screenplays |
The Black List is an annual survey of the "most-liked" motion picture screenplays not yet produced. It has been published every year since 2005 on the second Friday of December by Franklin Leonard, a development executive who subsequently worked at Universal Pictures[1] and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment.[2] [3] [4] The website states that these are not necessarily "the best" screenplays, but rather "the most liked", since it is based on a survey of studio and production company executives.[5]
Of the more than 1,000 screenplays The Black List has included since 2005, at least 440 have been produced as theatrical films,[6] including Argo,[7] American Hustle, Juno,[1] The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire,[8] Spotlight, The Revenant, The Descendants, and Hell or High Water. The produced films have together grossed over $30 billion,[9] and been nominated for 241 Academy Awards and 205 Golden Globe Awards, winning 50[10] and 40 respectively. As of the 92nd Academy Awards, four of the last 10 Academy Awards for Best Picture went to scripts featured on a previous Black List, as well as 12 of the last 20 screenwriting Oscars (Original and Adapted Screenplays).[11] Additionally, writers whose scripts are listed often find that they are more readily hired for other jobs, even if their listed screenplays still have not been produced, such as Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, two of the writers of the screenplay for The Descendants, who had an earlier screenplay make the list.[3] Slate columnist David Haglund has written that the list's reputation as a champion for "beloved but challenging" works has been overstated, since "these are screenplays that are already making the Hollywood rounds. And while, as a rule, they have not yet been produced, many of them are already in production."[12]
History
The first Black List was compiled in 2005 by Franklin Leonard, at the time working as a development executive for Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way Productions. He emailed about 75 fellow development executives and asked them to name the ten best unproduced screenplays they read that year.[13] To thank them for participating, he compiled the list and sent it to the respondents. The name The Black List was a nod to his heritage as an African American man, and also as a reference to the writers who were barred during the McCarthy era as part of the Hollywood blacklist.[14]
The screenplays to top The Black List, from 2005 to 2023 respectively, are: Things We Lost in the Fire; The Brigands of Rattleborge; Recount; The Beaver; The Muppet Man; College Republicans; The Imitation Game; Draft Day; Holland, Michigan; Catherine the Great; Bubbles; Blond Ambition; Ruin; Frat Boy Genius; Move On; Headhunter; Cauliflower; Pure; and Bad Boy.
On January 27, 2019, at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, it was announced that the LGBT media advocacy group GLAAD had partnered with The Black List to create The GLAAD List, a new curated list of the most promising unmade LGBT-inclusive scripts in Hollywood.[15]
Structure
The Black List tallies the number of "likes" various screenplays are given by development executives, and then ranks them accordingly. The most-liked screenplay is The Imitation Game, which topped the list in 2011 with 133 likes; it went on to win the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 87th Academy Awards in 2015.[16]
Films on the Black List
See main article: List of produced films included in The Black List. More than 440 screenplays have been put into production after appearing on The Black List.[11] These include:
2005 Black List
(121/286 screenplays produced)
2006 Black List
(40/87 screenplays produced)
2007 Black List
(56/130 screenplays produced)
2008 Black List
(39/105 screenplays produced)[18]
2009 Black List
(41/97 screenplays produced)[19]
2010 Black List
(44/76 screenplays produced)[20]
2011 Black List
(28/71 screenplays produced)[8] [21]
2012 Black List
(27/78 films have been put into production; 26 completed, 1 in production)
2013 Black List
(19/72 films have been put into production; 18 completed, 1 in production)[22]
2014 Black List
(18/70 films have been put into production; 17 produced, 1 in production)[23]
2015 Black List
(20/81 screenplays produced)[24]
2016 Black List
(19/73 films have been put into production; 18 completed, 1 in production)[25]
2017 Black List
(15/76 films have been put into production; 14 completed, 1 in production[26])
2018 Black List
(9/73 screenplays produced)[27]
2019 Black List
(10/66 films have been put into production; 9 completed, 1 in production)[28]
2020 Black List
(16/80 films have been put into production; 11 completed, 5 in production)[29]
2021 Black List
(6/73 films have been put into production; 5 completed, 1 in production)[11]
2022 Black List
(1/74 films have been put into production)[30]
2023 Black List
(0/76 films have been put into production)[31]
Notes and References
- The Black List: How Hollywood's Buzziest Scripts Get Their Juice. Sperling. Nicole. December 10, 2008. Entertainment Weekly. https://web.archive.org/web/20150929003000/https://ew.com/article/2008/12/10/black-list-why-hollywoods-abuzz/. September 29, 2015. live. April 25, 2013.
- Web site: Black List founder Franklin Leonard out at Overbrook Entertainment. Sperling. Nicole. September 19, 2012. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20131106070948/https://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/19/entertainment/la-et-mn-black-list-franklin-leonard-overbrook-20120919. November 6, 2013. live. October 13, 2021. subscription.
- Web site: Hollywood's talent pool. Edgars. Geoff. February 23, 2012. Boston Globe. https://web.archive.org/web/20120503075254/http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-23/news/31092008_1_systems-engineer-unproduced-scripts-franklin-leonard. May 3, 2012. dead. May 3, 2012.
- Web site: For Budding Screenwriters, a Way Past the Studio Gates. Dodes. Rachel. December 21, 2012. The Wall Street Journal. https://archive.today/20160427204911/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324024004578173742359909344. April 27, 2016. dead. October 13, 2021. subscription.
- Web site: A 'Black List' that's a career boost. Sperling. Nicole. December 13, 2011. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20111216175418/https://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/13/entertainment/la-et-black-list-20111213. December 16, 2011. live. October 13, 2021. subscription.
- Web site: The Black List, Founded in Hollywood, Expands Into Theater. limited. Paulson. Michael. January 25, 2022. The New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20220125160418/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/theater/black-list-theater.html. January 25, 2022. live. April 27, 2022.
- Web site: The Black List 2010: Screenplay Roster. Finke. Nikki. December 13, 2010. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20101216014353/https://www.deadline.com/2010/12/the-black-list-2010/. December 16, 2010. dead. October 13, 2021.
- Web site: Hollywood's 'Black List' of best unproduced scripts of 2011 revealed. Ben. Child. December 13, 2011. TheGuardian.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20130925214324/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/dec/13/hollywood-black-list-unproduced-films. September 25, 2013. live. October 13, 2021.
- Web site: Black List 2021: Films About Kanye West, Martin Shkreli, Donald Trump Among Favorite Unproduced Scripts. Welk. Brian. December 13, 2021. TheWrap. https://web.archive.org/web/20211213190615/https://www.thewrap.com/black-list-2021-films-kanye-west-martin-shkreli-donald-trump/. December 13, 2021. live. March 24, 2022.
- 2017 Black List of the Best Unproduced Screenplays Unveiled. Kilday. Gregg. December 11, 2017. The Hollywood Reporter. https://web.archive.org/web/20220325102942/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/2017-black-list-best-unproduced-screenplays-unveiled-updating-live-1066272/. March 25, 2022. dead. April 27, 2022.
- Web site: The Black List 2021: Daniel Jackson's 'Cauliflower' Tops Heap Of Year's Most-Liked Unproduced Screenplays. Hipes. Patrick. December 13, 2021. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20211214190632/https://deadline.com/2021/12/the-black-list-2021-screenplays-list-scripts-1234890009/. December 14, 2021. live. March 24, 2022.
- Web site: The Mostly Dull-Sounding Screenplays on This Year's 'Black List'. Haglund. David. December 13, 2011. Slate. https://web.archive.org/web/20181211095628/https://slate.com/culture/2011/12/the-2011-black-list-of-unproduced-screenplays-very-hollywood-fairly-dull.html. December 11, 2018. live. October 13, 2021.
- September 14, 2017. How an underground script list changed movies. Online video. October 13, 2021. https://archive.today/20211014011853/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXG1e4r5qeQ. October 14, 2021. Vox. YouTube.
- Web site: Franklin Leonard's Black List can help green-light screenplays. Rottenberg. Josh. Los Angeles Times. December 15, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150316002706/https://www.latimes.com/local/great-reads/la-et-c1-franklin-leonard-black-list-20141215-story.html. March 16, 2015. dead. October 13, 2021. subscription.
- Web site: Sundance: GLAAD and The Black List Join Forces to Promote LGBTQ Screenplays. Kilday. Gregg. January 27, 2019. The Hollywood Reporter. https://web.archive.org/web/20210711211156/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/glaad-black-list-inaugural-2019-gay-screenplay-list-1179670/. July 11, 2021. live. January 28, 2019.
- Web site: Oscar Winners 2015: Complete List. . February 22, 2015. Variety. https://web.archive.org/web/20150223092037/https://variety.com/2015/film/news/oscar-winners-2015-academy-award-winner-list-1201439020/. February 23, 2015. live. October 13, 2021.
- Web site: Carnival Row Brings a Richly Textured Fantasy World to Life. Ouellette. Jennifer. September 4, 2019. Ars Technica. https://web.archive.org/web/20190909011441/https://www.wired.com/story/carnival-row-amazon-prime-review/. September 9, 2019. live. October 14, 2021. Wired.com.
- Web site: The Black List 2008: Top Screenplays. Finke. Nikke. December 10, 2008. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20150118022227/https://deadline.com/2008/12/the-black-list-is-out-7744/. January 18, 2015. live. March 24, 2022.
- Web site: The Black List 2009: Full Roster. Finke. Nikke. December 11, 2009. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20140915112452/http://deadline.com/2009/12/the-black-list-to-be-posted-here-in-entirety-19919/. September 15, 2014. live. October 14, 2021.
- Web site: 2010 Black List: 5 Scripts With the Best Chance of Getting Made. Sneider. Jeff. December 13, 2010. TheWrap. https://web.archive.org/web/20220325024257/https://www.thewrap.com/2010-black-list-5-scripts-best-chance-getting-made-23209/. March 25, 2022. live. March 24, 2022.
- Web site: The 2011 Black List: The Year's Best Unproduced Screenplays. Han. Angie. December 12, 2011. Slashfilm. https://web.archive.org/web/20211015030501/https://www.slashfilm.com/518921/2011-black-list-years-unproduced-screenplays/. October 15, 2021. live. October 14, 2021.
- Web site: Black List 2013: Full Screenplay List. . December 16, 2013. Deadline Hollywood. https://archive.today/20150516003915/http://deadline.com/2013/12/2013-black-list-best-screenplays-full-list-653017/. May 16, 2015. live. February 26, 2023.
- The 2014 Black List Announced. Ford. Rebecca. December 15, 2014. The Hollywood Reporter. https://web.archive.org/web/20220325045729/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/2014-black-list-announced-757571/. March 25, 2022. live. March 25, 2022.
- The Black List announces 2015 script selections. Coggan. Devan. December 14, 2015. Entertainment Weekly. https://web.archive.org/web/20160501211236/https://ew.com/article/2015/12/14/black-list-2015-script-selections/. May 1, 2016. live. March 25, 2022.
- Madonna Biopic 'Blond Ambition' Tops 2016 Black List. McNary. Dave. December 12, 2016. Variety. https://web.archive.org/web/20161213113339/https://variety.com/2016/film/news/2016-black-list-scripts-announced-updating-live-1201939817/. December 13, 2016. live. March 24, 2022.
- Web site: The Black List 2017 Screenplays: Post-WWII Tale 'Ruin' Is No. 1 – Full Rankings. Hipes. Patrick. December 11, 2017. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20171213020936/http://deadline.com/2017/12/2017-black-list-scripts-ranking-list-screenplays-1202222558/. December 13, 2017. live. April 27, 2022.
- Web site: The Black List 2018 Ranked: Disgruntled Snapchat Employee Story 'Frat Boy Genius' Leads; Scripts About Matt Drudge & Young Samuel L. Jackson Round Out Survey. D'Alessandro. Anthony. December 17, 2018. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20181218014353/https://deadline.com/2018/12/black-list-2018-scripts-ranking-list-screenplays-1202521338/. December 18, 2018. live. March 25, 2022.
- Web site: The Black List 2019 Screenplays Unveiled & Ranked: Ken Kobayashi's Frozen-Time Romance 'Move On' Tops List. D'Alessandro. Anthony. Ramos. Dino-Ray. December 16, 2019. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20191227085324/https://deadline.com/2019/12/black-list-2019-scripts-rankings-full-list-1202810439/. December 27, 2019. live. October 14, 2021.
- Web site: The 2020 Black List Presents the Year's Best Unproduced Scripts . Lindahl . Chris . December 14, 2020 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20201216175438/https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/2020-black-list-best-unproduced-scripts-1234604589/ . December 16, 2020 . live . February 27, 2021.
- Web site: Guy . Zoe . The 2022 Black List Has a Britney Biopic, Four Seasons Total Landscaping Drama . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221212220101/https://www.vulture.com/2022/12/black-list-2022-screenplays.html . December 12, 2022 . en . December 12, 2022 . live.
- Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . The Black List 2023: Travis Braun's Bad Boy Leads List of Year's Most-Liked Hollywood Screenplays . . . December 11, 2023.