The 2015 Black List was revealed earlier today, giving us a look at what might be one day. There’s no way of knowing which of these 81 highly acclaimed—as decided by 250 participating studio executives—yet unproduced screenplays will ultimately be adapted for the screen, but now that the list is available for perusal, we can speculate and hope. For example, Isaac Abramson’s Bubbles, the life story of Michael Jackson’s pet chimpanzee as narrated by the ape himself, took the top slot on the list. And who would want to live in a world in which a story like that went unfilmed? Then there’s Crater, written by John J. Griffin (who is currently writing Romeo And Juliet: The War for Lionsgate) and featuring five teenagers taking an “unauthorized and adventure-filled road trip” across the moon, would appear to a no-brainer. It’s like an angstier The Martian.
In an industry where any story not based on a comic book has one strike against it before it’s even exported as a PDF, the Black List is an invaluable resource for both authors and producers. Inclusion in the annual catalogue imbues an otherwise hopeless script with the kind of resplendence that can almost maybe get it kind of considered by studios. And in the relatively few cases in which that actually happens, the resulting films can become prestige projects : Two of this year’s Oscar favorites, The Revenant and Spotlight, were featured on previous Black Lists. And a number of former entries—such as American Hustle, Argo, and The King’s Speech—have in fact managed to bag the golden statues for their authors.
While we can’t say with any certainty that Stronger—the true story of a Boston Marathon bombing victim who helped bring the Tsarnaev Brothers to justice—will result in awards or nominations for its authors John Pollono and Scott Silver, it’s a pretty fair bet that at least a few of this year’s choices will go the distance.
[via Deadline Hollywood]