THE BLACK LIST

The Hollywood Blacklist of 1947 began with ten names of writers and directors who were found by the House Committee on Un-American Activities to have ties to the Communist party.

The Blacklist meant shame and led to the professional and personal ruin of many artists.

Sixty years later, the "blacklist" has taken on new meaning, a more positive one, a list on which writers want to see their names.

Each year, ninety Hollywood executives are polled and asked to mention their favorite scripts of the past twelve months. Although the organizers make it clear that the list does not represent the best only favorites, it is difficult to separate the two in a town where subjectivity rules.

Below are the ten scripts which received the most “mentions.” I’ve included the loglines (when applicable). All told, THE BLACK LIST contains 87 titles, the majority receiving two mentions.

On a side note, most of the scripts come from six major agencies, CAA, WILLIAM MORRIS, ICM, UTA, ENDEAVOR and PARADIGM. Of the 87 titles, 9 come from other agenices.

These titles provide execs with some holiday reading and should be on the "wish list" of aspiring writers.





WITH 30 MENTIONS:

THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE by Craig Zahler

After the siege of a small town by outlaws leaves over sixty dead, a sheriff teams with a mysterious doctor to find the responsible villains.



WITH 23 MENTIONS:

STATE OF PLAY by Matt Carnahan

A tabloid reporter struggles to uncover the truth behind the suicide of a Washington intern who was the lover of a popular, married senator.



WITH 19 MENTIONS:

RENDITION by Kelley Sane

After an Egyptian expat/Canadian citizen, wrongly suspected of terrorist ties, is captured and rendered by the US to Egypt for questioning, his American wife, a congressional aide, and a CIA man try to gain his release.



WITH 17 MENTIONS:

VILLIAN by Josh Zetumer

Two slightly deranged brothers stalk each other in the wilderness of Alaska until their angry rivalry starts claiming innocent lives.



WITH 16 MENTIONS:

THE GRACKLE by Mike Arnold & Chris Poole

A thug, who beats up bad guys for a living, struggles to overcome the revenge plot of a victim - an ex-con with plans to takeover the French Quarter.

THE CITY WALLS by Caleb Kane

A young man feels remorse after he delivers a teenage girl to his pimp benefactor and attempts to rescue her and himself from the mean streets of Eighties New York



WITH 15 MENTIONS:

LAST MAN HOME by Jamie Moss

An AWOL Marine battles a Special Forces team and a crew of CIA hitmen as he struggles to locate his missing Air Force pilot brother - smack dab in the middle of the shock and awe of Uncle Sam’s assault on Baghdad, circa 2003.



WITH 14 MENTIONS:

UNTITLED RICHARD PRYOR by Caleb Kane



WITH 13 MENTIONS:

SEVEN POUNDS by Grant Nieporte

An IRS agent tracks down good people whose lives have been ruined by tragedy and arranges to help them all before killing himself.



WITH 11 MENTIONS:

HIMELFARB by Andrew Mogel & Harrod Paul

After one bad blind date, a hopeless geek becomes obsessed with a small-town girl and crashes her family Thanksgiving to try to make it work between them.



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For those interested, my Inside Hollywood Screenwriting class runs for six consecutive Saturdays at Los Angeles Valley College (Coldwater & Fulton).

March 10 - April 21 from 10AM - 1PM.

Tuition: $93.00.

Registration starts on January 3, 2007 at 8AM.

Call 818 947 2577, Extension 4172.


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