What do Argo, The King’s Speech, The Butler and Stoker all have in common? Besides being great movies, they were all once on The Black List. If you’re sitting on a great, unproduced script, it might be high time you ask yourself, Do You Know: The Black List?
In 2005, Franklin Leonard, an industry executive, surveyed around 100 industry executives about their favorite unproduced screenplays from that year. He published their answers and thus The Black list was created. Since then, it has become a database where screenwriters can upload their script, pay for evaluations and get the attention of industry players. In addition, The Black List continues to publish a yearly report of the best unproduced screenplays. Past screenplays on this list have included Hanna, Argo, The King’s Speech, The Butler, and this year’s award favorite Spotlight.
So how does it work for me?
“Putting your film on The Black List” does NOT mean you are automatically included in the yearly report. You are paying The Black List to host your script on their database and make it accessible to industry executives/filmmakers. That’s it. The hosting fee for your script is $25 per month.
Similar to script coverage, The Black List offers script evaluations. Qualified readers will rank your script from 1 to 10 in a number of categories and give comments. Evaluations are a $50 one-time fee per evaluation.
Scripts that receive a “high score” [usually 8 or higher] are then labeled a “Spotlight Script.” The Black List sends a list of these Spotlight Scripts to industry members. If interested, industry members will then go to your scripts page and can choose to view/download the script. If they like it, they can then get in contact with you.
What if there’s a rewrite?
You do have the ability on The Black List to switch out versions of your script. However, you must consider this: How different is the draft? If we’re talking a page one re-write, then you might not want old evaluations and ratings associated with the new draft. It’s recommended [both by The Black List and myself] that you delete the previous entry and essentially start over.
Listen carefully, please – While The Black List does offer screenwriters an invaluable opportunity to receive industry attention, it’s really only screenplays that receive a rating of 8 or higher that get attention.
I believe The Storyteller received a 7 rating from the person we paid for coverage. Which is quite good I’m told, but not enough to really get anything moving for us on there. We weren’t willing to pay to host the script for more than a couple of months without any organic traffic. It adds up fast. – Rachel Noll, producer of The Storyteller
The key to a great screenplay is understanding where your script is in the writing process and what you need to get it to the next stage. Getting feedback is crucial to making any script grow. Whether Coverage, Contests or The Black List is your next stage, you should know what you’re buying before you whip out your credit card. Our comprehensive article on the subject – The Storyteller Series: Script Coverage & Screenwriting Contests – will give you a head start.
The Black List, the buzzy compendium of the year’s most-liked unproduced Hollywood screenplays, revealed its 2021 titles Monday, with Daniel Jackson’s comedy script Cauliflower topping the 17th annual list, which ran the gamut from biopics on Kanye West, William Hung, Michael Bay, Shania Twain, Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan among others to comedies, music-based and youth-centered plots.
This year’s list was presented by Black Lady Sketch Show‘s Ashley Nicole Black and Gabrielle Dennis, who showcased a total of 73 screenplays and 71 writers/writing teams that were selected from votes by more than 375 film finance and production executives.
Cauliflower led the pack with 32 total votes. The plot: Under the cruel guidance of a mysterious coach, an ambitious high school wrestler struggles to become a state champion while battling a bizarre infection in his ear that both makes him dominant in his sport and threatens his sanity. UTA and Bellevue Management rep Jackson, with Fuller Media aboard as producer.
Lily Hollander’s See How They Run finished second overall on the list with 30 mentions, while Rebecca Webb’s Divorce Party was third with 25.
See the full ordered list below, and check back as we break down the agency and management scorecard.
Previous scripts on The Black List include four that went on to win the Best Picture Oscar: Slumdog Millionaire, Argo, The King’s Speech and Spotlight, and a total of 12 Screenwriting Oscars in the bunch. Last year, Sophie Dawson’s Headhunter was the top script in voting.
Black and Dennis were joined virtually by three Black List alums — the most recent screenwriting Oscar winners Emerald Fennell [Promising Young Woman] and Florian Zeller [The Father] and Zach Baylin who penned Black List script King Richard, now in theaters starring Will Smith. [See the four-part video presentation of the list below.]
Other Black List-to-screen films include the likes of recent pics Free Guy along with Queen & Slim I, Tonya, All the Money in the World, Bird Box, The Post and Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Since The Black List was first released in 2005, 440-plus scripts have been produced.
Here’s the full list of scripts below ordered by voting mentions, with title, writer, logline, agency, agents, management company, managers, financiers and producers listed if applicable:
32
CAULIFLOWER Daniel Jackson Under the cruel guidance of a mysterious coach, an ambitious high school wrestler struggles to become a state champion while battling a bizarre infection in his ear that both makes him dominant in his sport and threatens his sanity. AGENCY: UTA AGENT[S]: JESSICA KANTOR, GRACE ROYER, MICHAEL SAUVAGE MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS MANAGER[S]: JOHN ZAOZIRNY, ZACK ZUCKER
PRODUCERS: FULLER MEDIA
30
SEE HOW THEY RUN Lily Hollander A blind mother moves into a remote farmhouse with her young daughter, but the mystery of the home’s previous inhabitants intrudes upon her attempts to repair their relationship. AGENCY: ROTHMAN BRECHER EHRICH LIVINGSTON AGENT[S]: JIM EHRICH MANAGEMENT: FOURTH WALL MANAGEMENT MANAGER[S]: SYDNEY BLANKE, RUSSELL HOLLANDER, JON HUDDLE
PRODUCERS: FOURTH WALL MANAGEMENT
25
DIVORCE PARTY Rebecca Webb Patricia Ford feels pretty good about trading her South Boston roots for a “perfect” life on New York’s Upper East Side, until everything falls to shit and her raucous girlfriends throw her a Divorce Party at the home she’s about to lose. As the night goes from wild to totally insane, Patricia takes back control of her life. MANAGEMENT: 42 MANAGER[S]: ALEXANDRA KORDAS, JOSH VARNEY
PRODUCER[S] 42
23
KILLER INSTINCT Lillian Yu After a Hollywood assistant is publicly fired for admitting while on a conference call that he’d love to kill his boss, he finds his boss dead in the office the next morning and goes on the lam to figure out the real culprit, all while being hunted by his boss’s assassin. AGENCY: UTA AGENT[S]: GREGORY MCKNIGHT, MAX MICHAEL MANAGEMENT: MANAGEMENT 360 MANAGER[S]: MARC MOUNIER, CLIFFORD MURRAY, DANIEL RAPPAPORT
PRODUCERS: MAXIMUM EFFORT PRODUCTIONS
21
THE VILLAIN Andrew Ferguson The completely outrageous and completely true story of “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli — from his meteoric rise as wunderkind hedge fund manager and pharmaceutical executive to his devastating fall involving crime, corruption and the Wu-Tang Clan — which exposed the rotten core of the American healthcare system. MANAGEMENT: WRIT LARGE MANAGERS: MICHAEL CLAASSEN
PRODUCERS: MANDALAY PICTURES
19
ULTRA Colin Bannon When an ultramarathoner learns he is one of ten contestants chosen to take part in a secret race known as “the hardest race on earth,” he is forced to confront his past when he realizes there are deadly consequences for breaking the rules. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY AGENT[S]: PARKER DAVIS, ADAM LEVINE MANAGEMENT: SUGAR23 MANAGER[S]: SUKEE CHEW FINANCIERS: TRISTAR PICTURES
PRODUCERS: SUKEE CHEW
WAIT LIST Carly J. Hallman A troubled millennial from small-town Texas will do anything to get into her top-choice law school, including murder. MANAGEMENT: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
MANAGERS: DERRICK EPPICH, DANIEL SECO
18
MERCURY Stefan Jaworski When a first date takes a dangerous turn, down-on-his-luck Michael risks everything to save his newfound love from her past. Little does he know, the night — and his date — are not what they seem. Michael soon finds himself on a high-octane cat-and-mouse race across the city to save himself and uncover the truth, armed with nothing but his wit, his driving skills, and a 1969 Ford Mercury. MANAGEMENT: LIT ENTERTAINMENT GROUP MANAGER[S]: ADAM KOLBRENNER, KENDRICK TAN
PRODUCERS: ACE ENTERTAINMENT, LIT ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
17
IN THE END Brian T. Arnold In the near future, terminal patients are given the opportunity to go out with a bang with personalized VR “perfect endings.” But when the best Transition Specialist gets far too close to a patient, he finds himself questioning everything in his life. AGENCY: APA AGENT[S]: HALLE MARINER, ADAM PERRY, SHERYL PETERSEN MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS MANAGER[S]: KATE SHARP, JOHN ZAOZIRNY
PRODUCERS: SISTER
16
MR BENIHANA Chris Wu When a short Japanese kid from post-war Tokyo decides to make it big in the US of A, he discovers a winning recipe of exploiting his heritage with good old-fashioned American entertainment, to the great shame of his traditionalist father. This is the larger-than-life immigrant story of the OG daredevil playboy tycoon: the one-and-only Rocky Aoki. AGENCY: KAPLAN-STAHLER AGENCY AGENT[S]: MICHAEL KOLODNY MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS MANAGERS: JOHN ZAOZIRNY
PRODUCERS: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
WORST. DINNER. EVER. Jack Waz An estranged father and son have to survive terrorists, explosions, and, most terrifying of all, dinner with each other. MANAGEMENT: FOURTH WALL MANAGEMENT
MANAGERS: RUSSELL HOLLANDER
15
GRIZZ Connor Barry A car accident strands a young paramedic in the rugged Pacific Northwest where she is hunted by a ravenous grizzly bear. AGENCY: Gersh AGENT[S]: JONATHAN MARTIN, DANNY TOTH MANAGEMENT: SUGAR23 MANAGER[S]: SUKEE CHEW
PRODUCERS: SUKEE CHEW
HOMECOMING Murder Ink [Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, Jana Savage] Ten years after graduation, one of New York’s most eligible bachelors and his eccentric wanderlust wingman try to pull their recently divorced friend out of his rut by taking him back to Howard University’s legendary Homecoming for the best weekend of their lives. AGENCY: APA AGENT[S]: HALLE MARINER, ADAM PERRY FINANCIERS: LIONSGATE PRODUCERS: GET LIFTED FILM COMPANY,
MANDEVILLE FILMS, MURDER INK
WHITTIER Filipe Coutinho, Ben Mehlman While looking into a client’s murder, a Los Angeles social worker stumbles on a political conspiracy in the wake of the 1987 Whittier earthquake. MANAGEMENT: MAZO PARTNERS
MANAGER[S]: MATT ROSEN
14
*WEIRD Augustus Schiff An autistic kid tries to do normal college things — making friends, figuring out if girls like him, getting over his mom’s death — while seeing life in his own “musical” way. MANAGEMENT: HEROES AND VILLAINS ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: AARON LIPSETT
PRODUCERS: AUTOMATIK ENTERTAINMENT
13
AIR JORDAN Alex Convery The wild true story of how an upstart shoe company named Nike landed the most influential endorsement in sports history: Michael Jordan. AGENCY: UTA AGENT[S]: RAMSES ISHAK, JORDAN LONNER, MICHAEL SHERESKY MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW MANAGER[S]: ZAC FROGNOWSKI, FAISAL KANAAN
PRODUCERS: MANDALAY PICTURES, SKYDANCE SPORTS
THE COLLEGE DROPOUT Thomas Aguilar, Michael Ballin A young Kanye West’s intimate journey to create his seminal first album that reinvented hip hop music. AGENCY: APA AGENT[S]: MIKE GOLDBERG, KYLE LOFTUS, ADAM PERRY MANAGEMENT: NEW WAVE ENTERTAINMENT MANAGERS[S]: MATT OCACHER, MICHAEL PELMONT
FINANCIERS: COLUMBIA PICTURES
HOT GIRL SUMMER Michelle Askew After witnessing a drug deal gone wrong, thirteen-year-old [and exceptionally awkward] Beatrice accidentally finds herself in the middle of an underground drug ring…and on the perfect route to having a proper hot girl summer. MANAGEMENT: FOURTH WALL MANAGEMENT MANAGER[S]: BELLA BAGATELOS, RUSSELL HOLLANDER
PRODUCERS: DAVIS ENTERTAINMENT, PAUL FOLEY, ALEXIS OSTRANDER
HOTEL HOTEL HOTEL HOTEL Michael Shanks A man wakes up trapped in a mysterious hotel room. All alone in a mind-bending prison, his only chance for escape is teamwork: with himself. AGENCY: WME AGENT[S]: TJ BERNARDY, PERRY WEITZNER MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW
MANAGER[S]: ADAM KLEIN, MATT ROSEN
LOUD Whit Brayton A famed experimental musician finds himself embroiled in the race to solve Earth’s primary existential threat: A deafening sound that never stops, forcing all of humanity to survive in silence. MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW MANAGER[S]: TRACY KOPULSKY
PRODUCERS: STAR THROWER ENTERTAINMENT
RABBIT SEASON Shanrah Wakefield Supernatural horror about a woman stalked through a dark city park by the most monstrous manifestation of manhood during her walk home from her high school reunion. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: RYANT BARILE, OLIVIA BLAUSTEIN MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW MANAGER[S]: TRACY KOPULSKY
PRODUCERS: GHOST HOUSE PICTURES
12
LADY KRYLON Brandon Constantine Two rival graffiti artists engage in a series of street battles, culminating in an otherworldy duel after the art starts bleeding into the real world. AGENCY: PARADIGM AGENT[S]: MELISSA BALOGLU, ETHAN NEALE MANAGEMENT: HOUSEFIRE MANAGEMENT MANAGER[S]: JON HERSH
PRODUCERS: STAMPEDE VENTURES
THE MASKED SINGER Mike Jones, Nicholas Sherman Mickey Rourke loses his mind after he’s forced to take a gig on television’s highest rated show: The Masked Singer. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY
AGENT[S]: PARKER DAVIS
MICHAEL BAY: THE EXPLOSIVE BIOPIC Sean Tidwell Packed with enough C4 to split an asteroid in two, this tell-all Michael Bay origin story reveals the explosions that defined him, the fire that ignited his little heart, and the fate that sealed his Hollywood destiny. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY
AGENT[S]: KYLE JENSEN
SYMPHONY OF SURVIVAL Daniel Persitz The incredible true story of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich writing an epic symphony during the deadly World War II siege of Leningrad — a work of art so powerful it would save him and his family, all while helping to unite his people with the Allies. AGENCY: APA
AGENT[S]: DAVID SAUNDERS
11
BELIEVE ME Hannah Mescon, Dreux Moreland An absurdist biopic chronicling the many rises and falls of Donald Trump, culminating with that fateful night at the 2011 Correspondent’s Dinner. AGENCY: WME AGENT[S]: ERIC DARNELL, OLIVE UNIACKE MANAGEMENT: SUGAR23 MANAGER[S]: ALEX CREASIA
PRODUCERS: BAHA PRODUCTIONS, PARADOX
CANDLEWOOD Jason Benjamin, Jessica Granger In 1992 a seaplane crash in a lakefront community sparks a relationship between three young sisters and the mysterious, injured female pilot. AGENCY UTA [BENJAMIN] / ICM PARTNERS [Granger] AGENT[S]: JENNY MARYASIS, LARRY SALZ [BENJAMIN] / MELISSA ORTON [GRANGER] MANAGEMENT: ARTISTS FIRST [GRANGER] MANAGER[S] ALLEN FISCHER, CASEY NEUMEIER [GRANGER]
PRODUCERS: WASHINGTON SQUARE FILMS
INDIGO Ola Shokunbi An art thief who takes priceless objects from museums and private collections and redistributes them to their original countries of ownership is tracked by a dogged FBI Agent across the globe. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: JON CASSIR, DARIAN LANZETTA, BEGHO UKUEBERUWA
PRODUCERS: GODDARD TEXTILES
JELLYFISH DAYS Matthew Kic, Mike Sorce A young woman and her devoted boyfriend’s lives are dramatically altered by a medical procedure that could potentially quadruple their lifespans. AGENCY: WME AGENT[S]: CJ FIGHT MANAGEMENT: CAVALRY MEDIA MANAGER[S]: JARED CEIZLER, ARI ZUDKEWICH
PRODUCERS: TEMPLE HILL ENTERTAINMENT
WHEELS COME OFF Kryzz Gautier In the year 2065, a fiery teenager with a wild imagination, her paraplegic mom, and their clueless robot struggle to navigate the post-apocalypse; but when the mother’s wheelchair breaks, the trio must venture out into the dangerous “outside” for a chance to survive. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: CHRISTINA CHOU, STEPHANIE SMALLING, DAVID ROMERO, KATIE LANER
MANAGEMENT: MAZO PARTNERS
MANAGER[S]: DAVID CLARK, MATT ROSENPRODUCERS: OHCO
YASUKE Stuart C. Paul The true story of the first and only African Samurai in feudal Japan who rose from being a slave for the Jesuits to fighting as a Samurai in the unification of Japan. AGENCY: PARADIGM AGENT[S]: ETHAN NEALE, MATT SNOW MANAGEMENT: CIRCLE OF CONFUSION MANAGER[S] JULIAN ROSENBERG
PRODUCERS: 1.21, RECORDED PICTURE COMPANY
10
ABBI AND THE EIGHTH WONDER Matt Roller When a misogynist explorer meets his sudden [and violent] end, his long-overlooked understudy seizes the moment and embarks on an adventure that will earn her a place in the annals of history. MANAGEMENT: MANAGEMENT 360 MANAGER[S]: ERYN BROWN, MARC MOUNIER
FINANCIERS: TRISTAR PICTURES
CRUEL SUMMER Leigh Cesiro, Erica Matlin During the summer of 1998, five camp counselors accidentally kill a stranger in the woods. MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW
MANAGER[S]: TRACY KOPULSKY
FOLLOW Michael Kujak When a social media influencer meets a fan at a meet-and-greet, she’s so taken with her cleverness and vulnerability that she invites the fan to intern with her for the summer. At first, they’re an unstoppable team, but soon, the influencer is forced to wonder who she has let into her life. AGENCY: WME AGENT[S]: CJ FIGHT MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS MANAGER[S]: JOHN ZAOZIRNY
PRODUCERS: 21 LAPS ENTERTAINMENT, BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
MIMI Scarlett Bermingham A successful illustrator finds herself friendless after her best friend gets engaged, forcing her to embark on an epic quest to “date” for new girlfriends — as an adult. MANAGEMENT: CAVALRY MEDIA MANAGER[S]: JARED CEIZLER
PRODUCERS: BIG CAT PRODUCTIONS, CANARY HOUSE PRODUCTIONS
OPERATION MILK & COOKIES M. Miller Davis After their house is threatened with repossession, a mismatched group of foster kids set out on an adventure to summon Santa Claus to save their home and end up on the run from a crew of angry bank robbers. AGENCY: APA AGENT[S]: KYLE LOFTUS, ADAM PERRY MANAGEMENT: GOTHAM GROUP MANAGER[S]: PETER MCHUGH, CHARLIE SCULLY
PRODUCERS: JENNIFER TODD PICTURES, RACHEL ROVNER
SANDPIPER Lindsay Michel Still reeling in the wake of her husband’s death, master thief Viola Crier signs on to a risky, last-minute job set to take place inside a man-made time loop, but as the number of loops increases, the job begins to spiral out of control. AGENCY: WME AGENT[S]: CONNOR ARMSTRONG MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS MANAGERS: KATE SHARP
PRODUCERS: MADRIVER PICTURES
SHANIA! Jessica Welsh Eilleen Edwards rises from an impoverished upbringing in rural Canada to transform into 90’s global country-pop superstar Shania Twain, only to face her greatest challenge yet: putting her life and career back together after losing her voice. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: NORRIS BROOKS, STEVEE JO EADS, BRIAN KEND MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS MANAGER[S]: KATE SHARP FINANCIERS: SONY
PRODUCERS: MONTECITO PICTURE COMPANY
SKELETON TREE Paul Barry When an accident sinks their boat, two teenaged boys must learn how to survive the wilds of the remote Alaskan coastline, endure one another, and to come to terms with a long-held life-altering secret. MANAGEMENT: WRIT LARGE MANAGER[S]: MICHAEL CLAASSEN
PRODUCERS: 3FIFTY FILMS, 87 NORTH
9
CHALLENGERS Justin Kuritzkes Framed around a single tennis match at a low-level pro tournament, three players who knew each other when they were teenagers — a world-famous grand slam winner, his ambitious wife/coach, and their old friend who’s now a burnout ranked 201 in the world — reignite old rivalries on and off the court. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: SUE CARLS, KEVIN LIN, JIAH SHIN MANAGEMENT: MGMT ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: DIANNE MCGUNIGLE
PRODUCERS: PASCAL PICTURES
CHICAGO FOR ONE Madeleine Paul Based on Robbie Chernow’s hilarious viral solo adventure, a newly heart-broken groomsman takes Chicago by storm celebrating a solo Bachelor Party Weekend after the rest of the party — including the groom — get stuck over 700 miles away. MANAGEMENT: MANAGEMENT 360 MANAGER[S]: MARC MOUNIER
PRODUCERS: ENTERTAINMENT 360
FIENDISH Edgar Castillo While meeting her boyfriend’s dysfunctional family at their ancestral manor, a young woman finds herself entangled in a bizarre and terrifying mystery when the family’s patriarch claims to have been cursed by a demon. AGENCY: KAPLAN-STAHLER AGENCY AGENT[S]: VARUN MONGA MANAGEMENT: SCHEMERS ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGER[S]: GAVIN DORMAN
HARD TO GET Dan Schoffer After Amanda is seemingly ghosted by the man of her dreams, she’s delighted to discover he’s actually been kidnapped — and takes it upon herself to be his rescuer, going on an adventure of epic proportions along the way. MANAGEMENT: AUTHENTIC TALENT & LITERARY MANAGEMENT MANAGER[S]: BOB SOBHANI
PRODUCERS: WALL FLY, WEED ROAD PICTURES
IDOL Tricia Lee The true story of American Idol viral sensation, William Hung
PRODUCERS: HAPPY CANVAS, MOTOR CONTENT
IT WAS YOU William Yu With the future of Manhattan’s Chinatown at stake, a stubborn store clerk battles against an innovative CEO’s expansion plan, while both are unaware they’ve been falling in love with each other on a new, anonymous dating app. AGENCY: APA AGENT: HALLE MARINER MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS MANAGER[S]: ZACK ZUCKER
PRODUCERS: ELECTRIC SOMEWHERE CO.
8
BALLAST Justin Piasecki A naval engineer and her crew find themselves trapped in a deadly game on a shipping vessel in the middle of the Atlantic when they learn a series of car bombs are hidden amongst the thousands of vehicles on board. AGENCY: PARADIGM AGENT[S]: ETHAN NEALE, MARK ROSS, MATT SNOW MANAGEMENT: ZERO GRAVITY MANAGEMENT MANAGER[S]: JEFF BELKIN
PRODUCERS: LOVE AND SQUALOR PICTURES, THUNDER ROAD PICTURES
BARRON’S COVE Evan Ari Kelman When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician — the father of the kidnapped boy. MANAGEMENT: TACT MEDIA MANAGERS: CORY THOMPSON
PRODUCERS: MANDALAY PICTURES
THE DEVIL HERSELF Colin Bannon When an elite assassin is sent to the haunted Harz Mountains in Germany on an extraction job she intends to be her last, she quickly learns that the local legends about witchcraft are true and must face a sinister supernatural threat. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY AGENT[S]: PARKER DAVIS, ADAM LEVINE MANAGEMENT: SUGAR23 MANAGER[S]: SUKEE CHEW
PRODUCERS: SUGAR23, SUKEE CHEW
THE FIRE OUTSIDE Yumiko Fujiwara Peter, a seventeen-year-old painter, lives with his controlling mother in a lonely house in the wilderness. When he meets a mysterious stranger, he begins to question the reality he was raised to believe, gathers the courage to leave his mother, and unveils the sinister truth behind his upbringing. MANAGEMENT: WRIT LARGE
MANAGER[S]: LAUREN DINELEY, GREG SHEPHARD
FOUR ASSASSINS [AND A FUNERAL] Ryan Hooper The adoptive daughter of a legendary assassin returns home for his funeral… and finds herself in the crosshairs of her four highly trained, highly dangerous siblings. AGENCY: PARADIGM AGENT[S]: MARK ROSS MANAGEMENT: INDUSTRY ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: ANDREW DEANE
PRODUCERS: THUNDER ROAD PICTURES
FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW Laura Kosann After a woman becomes one of the first female presidents of a 1950s publishing house in New York, she draws a former college classmate into her orbit, who soon finds her literary empire is not what it appears to be. MANAGEMENT: HEROES AND VILLAINS ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: CHRIS COGGINS
PRODUCERS: B FOR EFFORT, INNIS FREE
GO DARK Josh Marentette, Spencer Marentette A team of black-ops soldiers use an experimental technology to travel into the afterlife and rescue their dead teammate. AGENCY: UTA AGENT[S]: JORDAN LONNER, MICHAEL SAUVAGE MANAGEMENT: KAPLAN/PERRONE ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: ALEX LERNER, BEN NEUMANN FINANCIERS: MIRAMAX
PRODUCERS: UNIQUE FEATURES
HELLO UNIVERSE Michael Golamco When a bully’s antics land a timid boy in the bottom of a well, his self-proclaimed psychic friend and unknowing crush team up to find him. Based on the 2017 book by Erin Entrada Kelly. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: JON CASSIR, ALBERT LEE MANAGEMENT: MANAGE-MENT MANAGER[S]: DAN HALSTED, NATHAN MILLER
PRODUCERS: SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTIONS
A HUFFLEPUFF LOVE STORY Sophia Lopez Unpopular Hogwarts student Finn blames everything bad in his life on being sorted into Hufflepuff rather than Gryffindor with Harry Potter and the cool kids. So when he discovers a chance to go back in time and fix that, he takes it — only to discover things aren’t quite as simple as he’d imagined. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY AGENT[S]: MATTHEW DOYLE, SARA NESTOR MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
MANAGER[S]: JOHN ZAOZIRNY
A NICE INDIAN BOY Eric Randall When Naveen brings his fiance Jay home to meet his family, his traditional Indian parents must contend with accepting his white partner and helping them plan the most fabulous same sex Indian wedding the Bay Area has ever seen. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY AGENT[S]: MELISSA DARMAN, PARKER DAVIS MANAGEMENT: RAIN MANAGEMENT GROUP MANAGER[S]: JONATHAN BARUCH
PRODUCERS: LEVANTINE FILMS
ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRESENTS THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES Hannah Hafey, Kaitlin Smith Frustrated by the conservative curriculum at her high school, a rebellious teen girl decides to stage the school’s first ever production of The Vagina Monologues. Which is going to be a challenge, as no one else at St. Mary’s can even bear to say the word ‘vagina’ out loud . . . Based on Flynn Meaney’s Bad Habits. AGENCY: GERSH AGENT[S]: ERIC GARFINKEL MANAGEMENT: THE ARLOOK GROUP MANAGER[S]: JACK GREENBAUM FINANCIERS: AMAZON STUDIOS
PRODUCERS: DI NOVI PICTURES
7
APEX Jeremy Robbins When an adrenaline junkie sets out to conquer a menacing river, she discovers that nature isn’t the only thing out for blood. AGENCY: UTA AGENT[S]: CHARLIE FERRARO, MICHAEL SAUVAGE MANAGEMENT: FOURTH WALL MANAGEMENT MANAGER[S]: RUSSELL HOLLANDER, JON HUDDLE
PRODUCERS: IAN BRYCE PRODUCTIONS
BELLA Chris Grillot A young college student is forced to confront her family’s dark past when a mysterious stalker appears, derailing her life and sending her spiraling into a web of anxiety and paranoia. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: BRYANT BARILE
PRODUCERS: DI NOVI PICTURES
BLACKPILL Alexandra Serio Awkward and lonely, Jared is only able to find a community online — until the day he realizes that his favorite Youtuber lives nearby. Desperate for a connection, he becomes determined to find a way into her life… whether she wants it or not. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY AGENT[S]: JENNA BLOCK, SARA NESTOR, JESSICA ZOU MANAGEMENT: BELLEVUE PRODUCTIONS
MANAGER[S]: JOHN ZAOZIRNY, ZACK ZUCKER
CARRIAGE HILL Emi Mochizuki, Carrie Wilson A pregnant couple hoping to start their family in the suburbs find themselves embroiled in a decades long mystery which threatens to shatter their American dream. MANAGEMENT: SUGAR23 MANAGER[S]: SUKEE CHEW
PRODUCERS: SUKEE CHEW
THE DARK Chad Handley When stranded on the far end of Manhattan by a mysterious city-wide blackout, a group of inner-city middle schoolers must fight through seemingly supernatural forces to make their way back to their parents in the Bronx. MANAGEMENT: REDEFINE ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: TONY GIL FINANCIERS: PICTURESTART
PRODUCERS: GET LIFTED FILM COMPANY
DENNIS RODMAN’S 48 HOURS IN VEGAS Jordan VanDina Before Game 7 of the NBA finals, Dennis Rodman tells Phil Jackson he needs 48 hours in Vegas. What follows is a surreal adventure with his skittish assistant GM that involves a bull rodeo, parachuting out of a Ferrari and building a friendship that neither one of them ever thought was possible but will end up solving both of their problems. AGENCY: UTA AGENT[S]: ALEX RINCON MANAGEMENT: 3 ARTS ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: ARI LUBET FINANCIERS: LIONSGATE
PRODUCERS: 3 ARTS ENTERTAINMENT, LORD MILLER, NOTHING TO SEE HERE
FALSE TRUTH Thomas Berry, Isaac Gabaeff, Nathan Gabaeff The life of a cynical San Francisco criminal lawyer at the top of his career unravels when he agrees to represent a father accused of killing his infant son in an extraordinary case that challenges widely accepted medical beliefs, a biased justice system, and his own personal worldview. Based on true events. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: PRAVEEN PANDIAN MANAGEMENT: GRANDVIEW
MANAGER[S]: ZAC FROGNOWSKI, FAISAL KANAAN
THE FAMILY PLAN David Coggeshall A former top assassin living incognito as a suburban dad must take his unsuspecting family on the run when his past catches up to him. MANAGEMENT: WRIT LARGE MANAGER[S]: BASH NARAN, NOAH ROSEN FINANCIERS: SKYDANCE
PRODUCERS: SKYDANCE MEDIA
AN IDEAL WOMAN Laura Kosann Set in American suburbia during the Cuban Missile Crisis: A 1960s ex-actress and housewife finds her house-of-cards world begin to tumble as she continues to be pitted against two identities. MANAGEMENT: HEROES AND VILLAINS ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGER[S]: CHRIS COGGINS
KILLERS AND DIPLOMATS John Tyler McClain, Michael Nourse The true story of the murder of four American churchwomen in El Salvador in 1980 and the low-level American diplomat who teamed with his most dangerous informant to smoke out their killers. Based on Raymond Bonner’s work for The Atlantic. MANAGEMENT: HEROES AND VILLAINS ENTERTAINMENT [MCCLAIN] / ANONYMOUS CONTENT [NOURSE] MANAGER[S]: CHRIS COGGINS [MCCLAIN] / RYAN CUNNINGHAM [NOURSE]
PRODUCERS: PAPER CLIP
LIFT Daniel Kunka A female master thief and her ex-boyfriend who works for the FBI team up to steal $100M worth of gold bullion being transported on a 777 passenger flight from London to Zurich. AGENCY: VERVE TALENT AND LITERARY AGENCY AGENT[S] DAVID BOXERBAUM, MELISSA FRIED MANAGEMENT: LIT ENTERTAINMENT GROUP MANAGER[S]: ADAM KOLBRENNER FINANCIERS: NETFLIX
PRODUCERS: 6TH & IDAHO, GENRE FILMS, HARTBEAT PRODUCTIONS
MAX AND TONY’S EPIC ONE-NIGHT STAND Thomas Kivney A disastrous Grindr hookup goes from bad to worse when a meteor unleashes a horde of aliens on New York and the two ill-matched men must depend on each other to make it through the night alive. MANAGEMENT: KAPLAN/PERRONE ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGER[S]: MICHAEL WILSON
SLEEP SOLUTION Ted Caplan, Jenni Hendricks Two former thieves are having a hard enough time with their fussy newborn baby when a mishap draws them back into their old lives, forcing them to recover a priceless jade bangle, escape their boss’s murderous son and, toughest of all, get their baby to sleep through the night. AGENCY: UTA AGENT[S]: ANNA FLICKINGER, MARY PENDER MANAGEMENT: KAPLAN/PERRONE ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGER[S]: BEN NEUMANN, HANNAH OZER
THICKER THAN ICE Tara Tomicevic Inspired by the true story of Hannah and Marissa Brandt, adoptive sisters and hockey players who put their relationship to the test as they vie for Olympic glory… on different teams: top-ranked Team USA and Korea’s first ever unified team. AGENCY: PARADIGM AGENT[S]: MARK ROSS, MICHAEL ROMERO-LoSASSO, KELSEY ROBERTS MANAGEMENT: LIT ENTERTAINMENT GROUP MANAGER[S]: KENDRICK TAN PRODUCERS
LIT ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, SUGAR23, TIME
THE UNBOUND Sam West Disillusioned with life in the wake of a personal tragedy, Rachel goes on a mountain retreat with her friends in search of an escape, only to find themselves stumbling into the depths of horror and madness.
PRODUCERS: ROOM 101, TETRAD STUDIOS
THE WAY YOU REMEMBER ME Geoffrey Roth Following the death of her vivacious, entrepreneurial, thirtysomething son Ben, Laurie learns that he had frozen some of his sperm before his passing. As she embarks on an unconventional journey in search of someone who may bear Ben’s child, Laurie forges an unexpected friendship with a woman, who, in turn, starts to fall for the memory of him. MANAGEMENT: 3 ARTS ENTERTAINMENT
MANAGER[S]: LUKE DILLON, LUKE MAXWELL
WAYS TO HIDE IN WINTER Jenny Halper A woman in rural Pennsylvania falls in love with a stranger from Uzbekistan, then finds out he may be responsible for war crimes. Based on Sarah St. Vincent’s acclaimed debut novel. AGENCY: CAA AGENT[S]: DARIAN LANZETTA MANAGEMENT: UNTITLED ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER[S]: LIZA ZUSMAN
PRODUCERS: SHANI GEVA, JENNY HALPER
The Black List reveals:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV