The Black List 2015 has chosen projects about war hero presidents and Hollywood primates as the best unmade screenplays of the year.
Among the top scripts announced Monday were “Bubbles,” about a baby chimp adopted by Michael Jackson and “Mayday 109,” about JFK’s battle on a downed patrol torpedo boat in WWII.
The Jackson chimp drama is billed as a first-person narration from Bubbles’ own point of view, detailing “his life within the King of Pop’s inner circle through the scandals that later rocked Jackson’s life and eventually led to Bubbles’ release.”
“Mayday,” by Samuel V. Franco and Evan Kilgore, is described as “a young John F. Kennedy struggles to save the crew of his PT Boat after it is sunk by a Japanese warship during World War II.”
“I Believe in America,” by Terry Clyne, sells itself as a “behind-the-scenes look at the making of ‘The Godfather’, revealing that the creative forces behind one of the finest American films ever made were all as cunning and ruthless as the mobsters portrayed in Mario Puzo’s bestseller.”
The list is compiled from the suggestions of over 250 film executives, the organization said, “each of whom contributed the names of up to ten of his or her favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2015.”
Titles had to be mentioned at least six times to rate. Read top 25 Black List films, in order of votes received:
“Bubbles,” by Isaac Adamson
Votes: 44
Logline: “A baby chimp is adopted by the Pop star Michael Jackson. Narrating his own story, Bubbles the Chimp details his life within The King of Pop’s inner circle through the scandals that later rocked Jackson’s life and eventually led to Bubbles’ release.”
“Stronger” by John Pollono
Votes: 40
Logline: “The true story of Jeff Bauman, who after losing his legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, was an integral part of helping police to locate the suspects.”
“Rocket* by Jeffrey Gelber and Ryan Belenzon
Votes: 37
Logline: “Roger “The Rocket” Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, has 4672 strikeouts, 354 wins and a record 7 Cy Young awards. This is the story of why he is not in the Hall of Fame.”
“The Libertine” by Ben Kopit
Votes: 37
Logline: “After the Head of the French National Assembly is placed under house arrest for accusations of sexual assault, he must live in a guarded apartment with his estranged wife until the case comes to a close.”
“Crater” by John J. Griffin
Votes: 34
Logline: “On the moon, five teens take an unauthorized and adventure-filled road trip, just before one of them is to be sent away on a seventy-five year journey to another planet, leaving behind his best friends.”
“Miss Slone” by Jonathan “Jonny” Perera,
Votes: 31
Logline: “A powerful lobbyist sacrifices her career on Capitol Hill so she can push through an amendment enforcing stricter federal laws regulating guns.”
“True Fan,” by John Whittington
Votes: 28
Logline: “After interfering with a foul ball during a Chicago Cubs playoff game, Steve Bartman was tortured and stalked by die hard Cub fans for potentially costing them their first National League pennant since 1945. Years later, in a new town with a new identity–but depressed, overweight and working a dead end job–Steve meets a woman who gives him a new lease on life and reason to live.”
“Pale Blue Dot” by Brian C Brown and Elliot DiGuisseppi
Votes: 26
Logline: “Twelve months after returning from a space mission, decorated astronaut Laura Pepper is arrested for the attempted murder of a fellow astronaut.”
“Reagan” by Mike Rosolio
Votes: 25
Logline: “When Ronald Reagan falls into dementia at the start of his second term, an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the commander in chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie.”
“Bump” by Ori Guendelman and Rob McClelland “
Votes: 21
Longline: “After an accidental hit and run, a young lawyer’s entire life unravels over the span of one night as he attempts to dispose of a corpse that turns out to be much more than an innocent victim.”
“Eli” by David Chirchirillo
Votes: 21
Logline: “Having moved into a “”clean house”” to treat his auto-immune disorder, eleven year old Eli begins to believe that the house is haunted. Unable to leave, he soon realizes that the house, and the doctor who runs it, are more sinister than they appear.”
“Septillion to One” by Adam Perlman and Graham Sack
Vote: 20
Logline: “While a former FBI agent is working in the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery investigating a woman who has mysteriously hit the lottery jackpot three times, he falls in love.”
“White Boy Rick” by Logan and Noah Miller
Votes; 20
Logline: “True story of Richard Wershe Jr., the only successful white boy gangster/drug kingpin in an African American dominated 1980’s Detroit ghetto.”
“Boomtown” by Matt King
Vote: 18
Logline: “A slick corporate investigator with a closely guarded secret discovers a sinister criminal conspiracy in North Dakota oil boom country.”
“Dreamland” by Nicolaas Zwart
Votes: 18,
Logline: “With his family’s farm on the precipice of foreclosure, fifteen year old Eugene Evans is determined to capture a fugitive bank robber and collect the bounty on her head. Against all odds, he beats out the FBI and the local police to capture her, only to discover that all may not be what it seems. “
“The Fisherman” by Will Dunn
Votes: 18
Logline: “A fisherman sails out of Martha’s Vineyard in search of the shark that killed his fellow sailors while they were stranded in the water for four days after their ship was attacked by a Japanese submarine.”
“The Water Man”by Emma Needell
Votes: 18
Logline: “A young boy tries to save his mother from terminal cancer by seeking out the town’s bogeyman, The Water Man, who is fabled to have conquered death.”
“All the Money in the World”
Votes: 17
Logline: “The story of Getty kidnapping crisis encompassing the Red Brigades, the Italian tabloids and the Vatican.”
“Boy” by Mattson Tomlin
Votes: 17
Logline: “A teenage boy is born with special abilities and spends his childhood switching names and cities so as to keep his identity hidden. When he loses control and accidentally kills his father, he and his mother have to go on the run.”
“The Shave” by Thomas White and Miles Hubley
Votes: 17
Logline: “A dirty cop, exonerated in the murder of a high school honor student, visits the boy’s father at his barbershop, and while receiving a straight razor shave, listens to him recount the story of his son’s life.”
“Do No Harm,” by Julia Cox
Votes: 16
Logline: “An ambitious surgeon’s life takes a dangerous turn when she indulges in an affair with a doctor whose god complex challenges her own.”
“Hammerspace” by Mike Van Waes
Votes: 16
Logline: “A terminally-ill teenager looking for answers about his missing father finds a key that unlocks an opening to an alternate animated dimension and a new friend who helps him repair his broken family.”
“The Wretched Emily Derringer” by Chris Thomas Devlin
Votes: 16
Logline: “Gleefully terrifying her small town as a serial killer known as ‘The Misfit Butcher,’ 13-year-old Emily Derringer becomes annoyed when a new killer comes to town and residents begin attributing his sloppy murders to the Misfit Butcher. In a macabre coming of age story, Emily must deal with her competition while also taking on the other trials and tribulations of junior high school life.”
“Pandemonium, Splendidly Managed” by Brett Conrad
Votes: 15
Logline: “A local Phoenix newscaster at the pinnacle of local celebrity slowly descends into the depths of madness as he sees his world around him start to crumble piece by piece all while trying to become a game show host in Los Angeles.”
“The Virginian” by Michael Russell Gunn
Votes: 15
Logline: “Based on the novel by Owen Wister, a young, down-and-out George Washington, desperate to join the British Army, accepts a dangerous mission to conquer a French fort and save the American colonies. “