Annual Lists

At its heart the Annual List aims to shine a light on extraordinary screenwriting that may otherwise have been kept in the dark. At least 440 Black List scripts have been produced, grossing over $30 billion in box office worldwide. Black List movies have won 54 Academy Awards from 267 nominations, including four of the last twelve Best Picture Oscars and eleven of the last 28 Best Screenplay Oscars.

2024 ADAPTATION LIST

2024 Adaptation List

2024 ADAPTATION LIST

In honor of the annual Black List’s 20th year and our 2024 expansion into fiction, we solicited the opinions of 84 publishing industry editors and literary agents - roughly the number of voters on the first annual Black List - about the novels published since the Black List’s first year, 2005, that they most want to see adapted into film or television.

The Adaptation List includes the novels that were mentioned more than once.

It is important that we reiterate what this list can only ever be: A list of novels mentioned at least twice when the 84 editors and agents who responded to our request were asked to list ten published since 2005 whose acquisition or sale they were not involved in that they'd most like to see adapted into film and television.

2024

2024

The 2024 Black List features highly competitive pool sharks, family run businesses facing economic adversity, retreat like settings turned hostile, and journeys of vengeance to right devastating wrongs inflicted upon family members. There's the corporate stories of Tickle Me Elmo and Abercrombie & Fitch. Celebrity werewolves and Peloton instructors (and their classes) in mortal danger. TWO(!) soccer related scripts. And the first ever writer to have back to back #1 scripts.

Romantic Comedy

Travis Braun

ONE NIGHT ONLY

ONE NIGHT ONLY

ONE NIGHT ONLY

Two strangers scramble to find someone to sleep with on the one night of the year when premarital sex is legal.

Film
Film • 60 votes
Psychological Thriller

Marie sterbye

PLAYDATE

PLAYDATE

PLAYDATE

When taking her daughter to a playdate at a new s house, Alice suddenly comes face to face with her childhood bully, Katrine. An evening of seemingly polite dinner conversation and catching up turns into a night of psychological warfare as the two women reveal the scars of the past and the wounds of the present while their two young daughters play mind games of their own.

Film
Film • 39 votes
Action Thriller

Natan Dotan

ALIGNMENT

ALIGNMENT

ALIGNMENT

A board-member at a booming AI company wrestles with corporate politics and warped incentives as he tries to prevent his willful ignorance from causing a global catastrophe.

Film
Film • 38 votes
Drama

Julia Cox

LOVE OF YOUR LIVE

LOVE OF YOUR LIVE

LOVE OF YOUR LIVE

a smart, wry is swept up in an immersive love, one that sets her life on a trajectory she never would have imagined.

Film
Film • 37 votes

2023

2023

The 2023 Black List includes couples going back in time to prevent themselves from falling in love, women's basketball executives, legendary Ivorian soccer players, and country music legends. Crimes of all manners. Two legendary fortunes lost, and perhaps most terrifying for Hollywood: a studio executive trapped in a screenplay he passed on.

Drama

Travis Braun

BAD BOY

BAD BOY

BAD BOY

A rescue dog suspects his loving new owner is a serial killer.

Film
Film • 49 votes
Drama

Justin Piasecki

STAKEHORSE

STAKEHORSE

STAKEHORSE

A racetrack veterinarian who runs an off-the-books ER for criminals finds his practice and life in jeopardy when s recruited for his s heist.

Film
Film • 47 votes
Drama

Jordan Rosenbloom

SPOILER

SPOILER

SPOILER

After passing on a hot new screenplay, a studio executive finds himself trapped as the protagonist inside the film and must regain control before the credits roll.

Film
Film • 42 votes
Drama

Colin Liddle

HEAD GAMES

HEAD GAMES

HEAD GAMES

A corporate spy poses as a personal chef to the disgraced founder of a neuroprosthetics firm in order to steal his seismic-shifting new invention from his secluded villa in Greece.

Film
Film • 25 votes

2022

2022

As ever, the subjects of the 2022 Black List scripts ranged widely, from a list-topping horror script about a foodborne illness to apocalyptic gender reveals, exploding zeppelins, the band Led Zeppelin, biopics of Jerry Springer, John Madden, Britney Spears, and Dolly Parton, a comedy set at the CIA, a supernatural thriller in a remote farmhouse in Varanasi, and the chronicle of November 7, 2020 at a Holmesburg, Pennsylvania commercial landscaping company called Four Seasons.

Comedy

Catherine Schetina

PURE

PURE

PURE

Obsessed with food purity, Hannah's trip to her sister's destination wedding descends into madness when she contracts a mysterious foodborne illness that threatens to destroy her from within.

Film
Film • 25 votes
Drama

Elad Ziv

COURT 17

COURT 17

COURT 17

An over-the-hill tennis pro, trying to salvage her career, finds herself stuck playing the first round of the US Open over and over again against one of the top players in the world. The only way to stop the loop is to win the match, a seemingly impossible task due to how overmatched she is.

Film
Film • 22 votes
Drama

Haley Bartels

PUMPING BLACK

PUMPING BLACK

PUMPING BLACK

A desperate cyclist and his charismatic new team doctor concoct a dangerous training program in order to win the Tour de France. But as the race progresses and jealous teammates, suspicious authorities, and the racer’s own paranoia close in, they must take increasingly dark measures to protect both his secret and his lead.

Film
Film • 22 votes
Comedy

Jean Kyoung Frazier

PIZZA GIRL

PIZZA GIRL

PIZZA GIRL

An 18-year-old pregnant pizza delivery girl falls into an obsession with a stay-at-home mother who is new to the neighborhood.

Film
Film • 21 votes

2021

2021

The 2021 Black List was the first list to feature a sports script in the #1 spot since 2012's DRAFT DAY. Daniel Jackson's CAULIFLOWER follows the story of an ambitious high school wrestler with a dangerous secret. Multiple other scripts from the 2021 Black List also featured sports or famous athletes, like Alex Convery's AIR JORDAN and Jordan VanDina's DENNIS RODMAN'S 48 HOURS IN VEGAS.

Drama

Daniel Jackson

CAULIFLOWER

CAULIFLOWER

CAULIFLOWER

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.

Film
Film • 32 votes
Thriller

Lily Hollander

SEE HOW THEY RUN

SEE HOW THEY RUN

SEE HOW THEY RUN

A blind mother moves into a remote farmhouse with her young daughter, but the mystery of the home's previous inhabitants intrude upon her attempts to repair their relationship.

Film
Film • 30 votes
Comedy

Rebecca Webb

DIVORCE PARTY

DIVORCE PARTY

DIVORCE PARTY

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.

Film
Film • 25 votes
Action & Adventure

Lillian Yu

KILLER INSTINCT

KILLER INSTINCT

KILLER INSTINCT

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.

Film
Film • 23 votes

2020

2020

Future 2022 Sundance awardees NANNY and EMERGENCY appeared on the 2020 Black List. Nikyatu Jusu's NANNY (her directorial debut) centers on a supernatural presence that haunts an undocumented nanny. It went on to win the prestigious U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize while EMERGENCY by KD Dávila–the #7 script about a group of Black and Latino teens who must weigh the pros and cons of calling the police after an emergency–won the U.S. Dramatic Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.

Comedy

Sophie Dawson

HEADHUNTER

HEADHUNTER

HEADHUNTER

A high-functioning cannibal selects his victims based on their Instagram popularity, but finds his habits shaken by a man who wants to be eaten.

Film
Film • 29 votes
Comedy

Jingyi Shao

CHANG CAN DUNK

CHANG CAN DUNK

CHANG CAN DUNK

A young Asian-American teen and basketball fanatic who just wants to dunk and get the girl but ends up learning much more about himself, his best friends, and his mother.

Film
Film • 28 votes
Historical

Dave Collard

NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY
 

NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY

NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY

An adaptation of David Sharp's book THE CIA’S GREATEST COVERT OPERATION that chronicles the clandestine CIA operation to recover a nuclear-armed soviet sub, the K-129, that sunk to the bottom of the ocean in 1968 even at the risk of igniting WW III.

Film
Film • 26 votes
Romance

Angela Bourassa

IF YOU WERE THE LAST

IF YOU WERE THE LAST

IF YOU WERE THE LAST

Two astronauts who think they've been lost in space forever fall in love, becoming content with their isolated lives, only to suddenly have to return to Earth.

Film
Film • 25 votes

2019

2019

The 2019 Black List featured a number of outlandish and grounded biopics. In the #4 spot, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT tells an action-packed story about the CIA, a drug cartel, and Nicolas Cage. Similarly, BARRON: A TALE OF LOVE, LOSS, AND LEGACY spins a farcical tale about Barron Trump’s attempt to sabotage his father’s 2016 presidential campaign. RUMOURS, the #7 script on the list, is a more realistic take on the meteoric success and personal turmoil between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham after they joined Fleetwood Mac.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Ken Kobayashi

MOVE ON

MOVE ON

MOVE ON

Teddy thinks he's the only living person left in a world where humanity is frozen in time... until his ex-girlfriend, Leyna, shows up at his doorstep. Together, they must go on a journey to find the cause behind the freeze and in the process, confront the issues that plagued their relationship before it's too late.

Film
Film • 29 votes
Drama

Reiss Clauson-Wolf, Julian Silver

FIELD OF VIEW

FIELD OF VIEW

FIELD OF VIEW

A soldier, forced to relive her worst day in combat, begins to question her sanity when the VR simulation she’s experiencing doesn’t match her memory of the mission gone wrong...

Film
Film • 20 votes
Drama

Carey Van Dyke,Shane Van Dyke

DON'T WORRY DARLING

DON'T WORRY DARLING

DON'T WORRY DARLING

A psychological thriller about a 1950s housewife whose reality begins to crack, revealing a disturbing truth underneath.

Film
Film • 19 votes
Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Austin Everett

THE TRAVELER

THE TRAVELER

THE TRAVELER

A man jumps forward in time at the same time every morning. As the length of time increases for every jump, he struggles to keep his family together and find a cure, all as his secret spreads throughout the world. Based on the novel by Joseph Eckert.

Film
Film • 16 votes

2018

2018

The 2018 Black List featured the future Best Original Screenplay winner PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020 Academy Awards) and nominee KING RICHARD (2021 Academy Awards). PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, Emerald Fennell’s debut feature script and film, was also the ninth Black List script to win the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay in 15 years. Mattson Tomlin’s A DECONSTRUCTION OF REALITY marked his fourth consecutive appearance on the Black List–the most of any screenwriter.

Biopic

Elissa Karasik

FRAT BOY GENIUS

FRAT BOY GENIUS

FRAT BOY GENIUS

A disgruntled employee of Snapchat tells the rise of her former Stanford classmate, preeminent douche bag & current boss Evan Spiegel.

Film
Film • 36 votes
Drama

Zach Baylin

KING RICHARD

KING RICHARD

KING RICHARD

The true story of Richard Williams, the hard-nosed and uncompromising father of tennis prodigies turned superstars, Venus and Serena Williams.

Film
Film • 35 votes
Thriller

Christy Hall

GET HOME SAFE

GET HOME SAFE

GET HOME SAFE

A young woman must get home by herself on Halloween with no cell phone battery and a group of gamergate trolls out to get her.

Film
Film • 34 votes
Biopic

Cody Brotter

DRUDGE

DRUDGE

DRUDGE

The story of how oddball internet reporter Matt Drudge broke the Lewinsky Scandal, and nearly took down a presidency, all from a desktop computer in his one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood.

Film
Film • 34 votes

2017

2017

The 2017 Black List featured two separate scripts about the Jane Collective, a Chicago-based underground collective that provided safe abortions from 1969-1973. Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi’s CALL JANE premiered at Sundance 2022 as screenwriter Phyllis Nagy’s directorial debut. The chilling indie horrors THE LODGE and THE OTHER LAMB also made an appearance on the 2017 Black List.

Thriller

Matthew Firpo, Ryan Firpo

RUIN

RUIN

RUIN

A nameless ex-Nazi Captain must navigate the ruins of post-WWII Germany to atone for his crimes during the war by hunting down and killing the surviving members of his former SS Death Squad.

Film
Film • 68 votes
Biopic

Mario Correa

LET HER SPEAK

LET HER SPEAK

LET HER SPEAK

The true story of Senator Wendy Davis and her 24-hour filibuster to save 75% of abortion clinics in Texas.

Film
Film • 42 votes
Drama

Christy Hall

DADDIO

DADDIO

DADDIO

A passenger and her cab driver reminisce about their relationships on the way from the airport to her apartment in New York.

Film
Film • 40 votes
Biopic

Samuel Franco, Evan Kilgore

KEEPER OF THE DIARY

KEEPER OF THE DIARY

KEEPER OF THE DIARY

Chronicle's Otto Frank's journey, with the help of a junior editor at Doubleday Press, to find a publisher for the diary his daughter Anne wrote during the Holocaust.

Film
Film • 32 votes

2016

2016

Though Elyse Hollander’s BLOND AMBITION topped the 2015 Black List with 48 votes, the second spot was a three-way tie between THE POST, LIFE ITSELF, and THE OLYMPIAN. Steven Spielberg directed Liz Hannah’s THE POST, which earned over $175 million in global box office totals against a $50 million budget. In addition to a nod for Best Picture, THE POST snagged Meryl Streep a historic 21st nomination for Best Actress at the 2018 Oscars. The 2016 Black List also featured HALA by Minhal Baig, which went on to become one of the first feature acquisitions for Apple TV+.

Biopic

Elyse Hollander

BLOND AMBITION

BLOND AMBITION

BLOND AMBITION

Chronicles Madonna in the 1980’s in New York as she struggles to get her first album released while navigating fame, romance, and a music industry that views women as disposable.

Film
Film • 48 votes
Drama

Dan Fogelman

LIFE ITSELF

LIFE ITSELF

LIFE ITSELF

A multigenerational love story that weaves together a number of characters whose lives intersect over the course of decades from the streets of New York to the Spanish countryside and back.

Film
Film • 35 votes
Drama

Liz Hannah

THE POST

THE POST

THE POST

Before Watergate, there was the Pentagon Papers. This is the true story of how Washington Post scion Katharine Graham and legendary editor Ben Bradlee overcame their differences to publish the story that would change their lives.

Film
Film • 35 votes
Sports

Tony Tost

THE OLYMPIAN

THE OLYMPIAN

THE OLYMPIAN

The true story of an underdog rower trying to make it into the 1984 Olympics, told through the story of his relationships with his coach, his father, his fiance, and with competition itself.

Film
Film • 35 votes

2015

2015

The 2015 Black List is (so far) the only List to feature a script from the perspective of a celebrity chimp in the #1 spot. Isaac Adamson’s wildly entertaining BUBBLES was the writer’s first appearance on the Black List; his second script, 2020’s POSSUM SONG, features a Faustian deal with a family of possums. The 2014 Black List also featured Jared Frieder’s THREE MONTHS, a 2019 GLAAD List script that was turned into a film with Troye Sivan in the lead role.

Biopic

Isaac Adamson

BUBBLES

BUBBLES

BUBBLES

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.

Film
Film • 44 votes
Biography

John Pollono

STRONGER

STRONGER

STRONGER

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.

Film
Film • 40 votes
Drama

Ben Kopit

THE LIBERTINE

THE LIBERTINE

THE LIBERTINE

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.

Film
Film • 37 votes
Sports

Jeffrey Gelber

ROCKET

ROCKET

ROCKET

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.

Film
Film • 37 votes

2014

2014

Despite the continued trend of dramatic biopics, three comedies managed to snag a spot in the top five screenplays on the 2014 Black List. Brian Duffield’s horror-comedy THE BABYSITTER marked the writer’s third time on the Black List. Eric Heisserer also returned with BIRD BOX, a Netflix hit that held the title of “Most-Watched Film” for three years on the streamer. Kenneth Lonergan’s future Best Original Screenplay winner MANCHESTER BY THE SEA also made an appearance on the 2014 Black List.

Period

Kristina Lauren Anderson

CATHERINE THE GREAT

CATHERINE THE GREAT

CATHERINE THE GREAT

Sophia Augusta takes control of her life, her marriage, and her kingdom becoming Russia's most celebrated and beloved monarch: Catherine the Great.

Film
Film • 51 votes
Crime

Adam Morrison

ROCKINGHAM

ROCKINGHAM

ROCKINGHAM

A look into the mania of the OJ Simpson trial, through the eyes of Simpson's sports agent Mike Gilbert and Los Angeles Police Department Detective Mark Fuhrman

Film
Film • 38 votes
Comedy

Randall Green

THE SWIMSUIT ISSUE

THE SWIMSUIT ISSUE

THE SWIMSUIT ISSUE

A nerdy high schooler, who fancies himself an amateur photographer, attempts to create a 'Swimsuit Issue' featuring his high school classmates in hopes of raising enough money to go to summer camp.

Film
Film • 35 votes
Horror

Brian Duffield

THE BABYSITTER

THE BABYSITTER

THE BABYSITTER

A lonely twelve year old boy in love with his babysitter discovers some hard truths about life, love and murder.

Film
Film • 34 votes

2013

2013

The 2013 Black List was the year for biopics and historical dramas. Tom McCathy and Josh Singer’s SPOTLIGHT–a gripping drama about the Boston Globe investigative journalists that exposed system abuse in the Catholic Church–went on to win both Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2015 Academy Awards. Real life figures like Mister Rogers (A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD), David Foster Wallace (THE END OF THE TOUR), and John McEnroe (SUPERBRAT) also made appearances as protagonists in the 2013 Black List.

Drama

Andrew Sodroski

HOLLAND, MICHIGAN

HOLLAND, MICHIGAN

HOLLAND, MICHIGAN

A thriller centered on a woman who suspects her husband is cheating, and enters into an affair of her own, before learning her husband's true, dark secret life.

Film
Film • 46 votes
Period

Aaron Berg

SECTION 6

SECTION 6

SECTION 6

A British war vet is tasked with a secret mission in 1919 to prevent a diplomatic catastrophe by recovering a coded assassination order in Russia.

Film
Film • 44 votes
Comedy

Simon Stephenson

FRISCO

FRISCO

FRISCO

A forty-something pediatric allergist, who specializes in the hazelnut and is facing a divorce, learns lessons in living from a wise-beyond-her-years terminally ill 15 year old patient when she crashes his weekend trip to a conference in San Francisco.

Film
Film • 39 votes
Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Patrick Ness

A MONSTER CALLS

A MONSTER CALLS

A MONSTER CALLS

A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom's terminal illness.

Film
Film • 27 votes

2012

2012

With over $1 billion in global box office totals and 23 Oscar nominations–including five wins–the 2012 Black List is one of the most critically and commercially successful Lists of all time. This list included future Best Adapted Screenplay winner JOJO RABBIT (2019 Academy Awards) and nominee ARRIVAL (2016 Academy Awards), along with the international box office hit THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.

Drama

Rajiv Joseph, Scott Rothman

DRAFT DAY

DRAFT DAY

DRAFT DAY

At the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he's willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams.

Film
Film • 65 votes
Family

Eyal Podell, Jonathan Stewart

SEUSS

SEUSS

SEUSS

As a young man, Ted Geisel meets his future wife Helen, who encourages his fanciful drawings, and in the 1950s when Ted is struggling professionally, Helen helps inspire the children's book that will become his first big hit, 'The Cat in the Hat.'

Film
Film • 43 votes
Thriller

Sean Armstrong

A COUNTRY OF STRANGERS

A COUNTRY OF STRANGERS

A COUNTRY OF STRANGERS

Inspector Geoff Harper conducts a 40 year search for the Beaumont Children, three siblings taken from an Australian beach in January of 1966.

Film
Film • 43 votes
Biopic

Young Il Kim

RODHAM

RODHAM

RODHAM

The story of Hillary Rodham's early years as a young lawyer in Arkansas during the Watergate scandal.

Film
Film • 39 votes

2011

2011

The 2011 List included scripts for the future Oscar-winning films DJANGO UNCHAINED (Best Original Screenplay, 2013 Academy Awards) and THE IMITATION GAME (Best Adapted Screenplay, 2015 Academy Awards). The former marked the second script for Quentin Tarantino on the Black List, and it went on to gross nearly $450 million in global box office totals. THE IMITATION GAME was the number one script on the 2011 List, and it still holds the record for highest percentage of votes, with over 10% of total votes recorded.

Drama

Graham Moore

THE IMITATION GAME

THE IMITATION GAME

THE IMITATION GAME

English mathematician and logician, Alan Turing, helps crack the Enigma code during World War II.

Film
Film • 133 votes
Drama

Chris Hutton,Eddie O'Keefe

WHEN THE STREET LIGHTS GO ON
 

WHEN THE STREET LIGHTS GO ON

WHEN THE STREET LIGHTS GO ON

In the early 1980s, a town suffers through the aftermath of a brutal murder of a high school girl and a teacher.

Film
Film • 84 votes
Biopic

Van Robichaux, Evan Susser

CHEWIE

CHEWIE

CHEWIE

Set against the backdrop of the making of Star Wars, Peter Mayhew tries to balance a career as a hospital worker while chasing Hollywood dreams by playing furry suited alien Chewbacca, who goes on to become one of the most iconic screen sidekicks in modern times.

Film
Film • 59 votes
Crime

Andrew Baldwin

THE OUTSIDER

THE OUTSIDER

THE OUTSIDER

An American spends WWII as a POW in Japan. He stays in Japan after the war ends, and works his way through the rituals and hardships to become the rare outsider who gains membership in the Yakuza, the organized crime outfit.

Film
Film • 53 votes

2010

2010

The 2010 Black List has the highest percentage of produced scripts, with 43 released films from 76 scripts–including eight of the top ten scripts on the List. This List included commercial hits THE HUNGER GAMES and EDGE OF TOMORROW, as well as smaller critical darlings like JACKIE and STOKER. ARGO (#9 on the 2010 List) went on to take home Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2013 Academy Awards

Political

Wes Jones

COLLEGE REPUBLICANS

COLLEGE REPUBLICANS

COLLEGE REPUBLICANS

Aspiring politician Karl Rove runs a dirty campaign for national College Republican Chairman under the guidance of Lee Atwater, his campaign manager.

Film
Film • 49 votes
Biopic

Noah Oppenheim

JACKIE

JACKIE

JACKIE

Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband’s historic legacy.

Film
Film • 47 votes
Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Dante Harper

EDGE OF TOMORROW

EDGE OF TOMORROW

EDGE OF TOMORROW

A soldier fighting in a war with aliens finds himself caught in a time loop of his last day in the battle, though he becomes better skilled along the way.

Film
Film • 45 votes
Action & Adventure

David Guggenheim

SAFE HOUSE

SAFE HOUSE

SAFE HOUSE

A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.

Film
Film • 43 votes

2009

2009

The 2009 Black List included THE KING’S SPEECH and THE SOCIAL NETWORK–the respective winners of Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2011 Academy Awards. In addition to its four Oscar wins and eight nominations, THE KING’S SPEECH also brought home the 2010 BAFTA for Best Film.

Biopic

Christopher Weekes

THE MUPPET MAN

THE MUPPET MAN

THE MUPPET MAN

A look at Jim Henson’s life, the creator of the most famous puppet franchise of all time, The Muppets.

Film
Film • 47 votes
Drama

Aaron Sorkin

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, but is later sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the cofounder who was later squeezed out of the business.

Film
Film • 42 votes
Comedy

Michael Perry

THE VOICES

THE VOICES

THE VOICES

A disturbed factory worker who hears advice from his pet dog and cat is implicated in the accidental death of his co-worker.

Film
Film • 40 votes
Thriller

Aaron Guzikowski

PRISONERS

PRISONERS

PRISONERS

When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?

Film
Film • 35 votes

2008

2008

The 2008 Black List included the critically-acclaimed scripts INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and THE DESCENDENTS, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2012. UP IN THE AIR became the third consecutive Black List script to win a BAFTA for Adapted Screenplay, following 2006’s THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY and 2007’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.

Psychological

Kyle Killen

THE BEAVER

THE BEAVER

THE BEAVER

A troubled husband and executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communicating.

Film
Film • 67 votes
Comedy

Ian Helfer, Jay Reiss

THE ORANGES

THE ORANGES

THE ORANGES

The enduring friendship between the Walling and Ostroff families is tested when Nina, the prodigal Ostroff daughter, returns home for the holidays after a five-year absence and enters into an affair with David, head of the Walling family.

Film
Film • 61 votes
Comedy

Jason Micallef

BUTTER

BUTTER

BUTTER

In Iowa, an adopted girl discovers her talent for butter carving and finds herself pitted against an ambitious local woman in their town's annual contest.

Film
Film • 44 votes
Western

Michael Gilio

BIG HOLE

BIG HOLE

BIG HOLE

An old cowboy goes on a mission to recover his money after a million dollar sweepstakes scam cleans out his entire bank account.

Film
Film • 42 votes

2007

2007

Scripts from the 2007 Black List earned 17 Academy Awards and grossed over $6 billion globally. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, in addition to seven other wins. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY was a particular critical and financial hit, with five Academy Award nominations and over $900 million in global box office revenue, making it the most profitable script to ever appear on the Black List.

Political

Danny Strong

RECOUNT

RECOUNT

RECOUNT

A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent recounts in Florida.

Film
Film • 44 votes
Political

Beau Willimon

THE IDES OF MARCH

THE IDES OF MARCH

THE IDES OF MARCH

An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.

Film
Film • 43 votes
Drama

Paul Webb

SELMA

SELMA

SELMA

Martin Luther King, Lyndon Baines Johnson and the civil rights marches that changed America.

Film
Film • 29 votes
Political

Steve Knight

CURVEBALL

CURVEBALL

CURVEBALL

A based-in-fact thriller about the faulty information that led to the war on Iraq.

Film
Film • 27 votes

2006

2006

The 2006 Black List resulted in four Best Adapted Screenplay nominations, two Best Original Screenplay nominations, and four Best Picture nominations from the Academy Awards. LIFE OF PI earned over $600 million in global box office totals, making it the fourth most profitable film to appear on the Black List.

Western

Craig Zahler

THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE
 

THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE

THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE

A group of bandits use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob the occupants of a small town.

Film
Film • 30 votes
Political

Matt Carnahan

STATE OF PLAY

STATE OF PLAY

STATE OF PLAY

When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the congressman, his old college friend.

Film
Film • 23 votes
Thriller

Kelley Sane

RENDITION

RENDITION

RENDITION

A CIA analyst questions his assignment after witnessing an unorthodox interrogation at a secret detention facility outside the US.

Film
Film • 19 votes
Thriller

Josh Zetumer

VILLAIN

VILLAIN

VILLAIN

Set in the Alaskan wilderness, a forest fire spotter receives an unexpected visit from a mysterious man.

Film
Film • 17 votes

2005

2005

The List that started it all. Of the 278 scripts on the first Black List, 117 have been produced and released. Five scripts on the inaugural Black List went on to win Oscars, including LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and JUNO for Best Original Screenplay. Scripts from the first Black List have received 54 Oscar nominations and have grossed over $7 billion in global box office totals.

Drama

Allan Loeb

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
 

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

Film
Film • 25 votes
Comedy

Diablo Cody

JUNO

JUNO

JUNO

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.

Film
Film • 24 votes
Comedy

Nancy Oliver

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

A delusional young guy strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.

Film
Film • 15 votes
Drama

Allan Loeb

ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK
 

ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK

ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK

Adrift in New York City, a recent college graduate's life is upended by his father's mistress.

Film
Film • 14 votes
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