The 2010 Black List has been unveiled — and DealCentral has uncovered five of its hidden gems that best reflect the spirit of the list, which has become increasingly populated with movies that have already been filmed or are scheduled to start production.
The Black List is the brainchild of Franklin Leonard (left), a former Universal exec who now serves as VP of creative affairs at Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment. The list features Hollywood's "most liked" unproduced screenplays as ranked by studio execs, agents, managers and assistants who were asked to name up to 10 of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with 2010, and won't be released in theaters during the calendar year.
The 2010 Black List features 76 screenplays, all of which had to receive at least five mentions to be included.
Scripts that were featured on previous incarnations of the Black List include Diablo Cody's "Juno," Kyle Killen's "The Beaver," Nancy Oliver's "Lars and the Real Girl" and Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber's "500 Days of Summer."
As for this year's list, "Margin Call," "One Day," "The Impossible," "Abduction," "Crazy, Stupid Love" and "Prom" have already gone before cameras, while "Dark Moon" is scheduled to start shooting this winter. Additionally, "Jackie" and "Oz: The Great and Powerful" have cast their title characters, while "Safe House" and "Looper" have multiple actors attached and the rumor mill has already started churning for 20th Century Fox's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," Lionsgate's "Hunter Games" and Anonymous Content's "College Republicans," the latter of which topped the list by receiving 49 mentions.
The top 5 were "College Republicans" by Wes Jones, which follows a young Karl Rove as he teams up with Lee Atwater to run a dirty campus campaign; Fox Searchlight's "Jackie" by Noah Oppenheim, which is set during the week immediately following JFK's assassination; Warner Bros.' "All You Need Is Kill by Dante Harper, which is a big-budget sci-fi/action movie about a soldier caught in a time loop while he fights a war against aliens; Universal's "Safe House" by David Guggenheim, a high-octane thriller that has Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington attached to star; and Fox Searchlight's "Stoker" by "Prison Break" star Wentworth Miller, about a teenager who must deal with a mysterious uncle who returns after the death of her father.
TheWrap has taken a long, hard look at the 2010 Black List and selected five scripts that have the best chance at actually coming soon to a theater near you.
1. FAMILY GETAWAY by Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer
“A man whose family doesn't know he's an assassin must protect them during a cross-country car chase when rival killers show up.”
Agent: UTA — David Kramer, Jason Burns, Geoff Morley, Rebecca Ewing
Manager: Mosaic — Emily Rose, Dawn Saltzman
Notes: Set up at Warner Bros. with Mosaic producing.
2. 999 by Matt Cook
“A gang of crooked cops plan a major heist that will require them to shoot a fellow officer in order to get away with it.”
Agent: WME — Cliff Roberts, Danny Gabai
Manager: Anonymous Content — Bard Dorros, Keith Redmon
Notes: Anonymous Content producing.
3. GET A JOB by Kyle Pennekamp & Scott Turpel
“A comedy about a father and son struggling to find a job in the current job market.”
Agent: CAA — Gregory McKnight, JP Evans
Notes: Set up at CBS Films with Double Feature Films producing.
4. ATM by Chris Sparling
“Three co-workers end up in a desperate fight for survival when they stop to use an ATM.”
Agent: UTA — Charlie Ferraro, Doug Johnson
Manager: Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment — Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
Notes: Gold Circle Films and The Safran Company producing.
5. THE ESCORT by Justin Adler
“A ‘flight escort’ responsible for overseeing the safe transport of a spoiled, wise-ass child must find alternate means of getting the kid home to Boston after their plane is grounded.”
Agent: UTA — Julien Thuan
Manager: Kapital Entertainment — Aaron Kaplan
Notes: Set up at Dreamworks with Tom McNulty producing.
Finally, here's an approximated scorecard tallying which agencies and management companies represent the writers on this year's Black List:
AGENCIES
CAA: 20
WME: 17
ICM: 12
UTA: 11
Gersh: 3
HML: 3
APA: 2
Verve: 2
Featured Artist Agency: 1
Kaplan Stahler Agency: 1
Original Artists: 1
Paradigm: 1
RWSG: 1
MANAGEMENT COMPANIES
Circle of Confusion: 7
Management 360: 6
Industry Entertainment: 5
Anonymous Content: 4
Gotham Group: 4
Madhouse Entertainment: 4
Kaplan/Perrone: 3
Brucks Entertainment: 2
Caliber Media: 2
Mosaic: 2
Prolific: 2
Alan Gasmer & Friends: 1
Aperture: 1
Brillstein Entertainment Partners: 1
The Collective: 1
EMC Entertainment: 1
Energy Entertainment: 1
Exile Entertainment: 1
Film Engine: 1
Fineman Entertainment: 1
Heroes & Villians Entertainment: 1
Kapital Entertainment: 1
Media Talent Group: 1
Principato Young: 1
Smart Entertainment: 1
Tantillo Entertainment: 1
Tom Sawyer Entertainment: 1
Underground Films: 1
