The Black List Names 2012 'Best Un-Produced Screenplays'

Just in time for Christmas, the annual Black List of promising unproduced scripts has been released this morning.

While this year's list is about what you'd expect for a collection of scripts voted on by nearly 300 industry execs nmdash; a high number of 'based on true events' abound nmdash; there are a few with rather promising premises. For example, Americatown, by Ben Pool, is a crime thriller set in a near-future American expatriate enclave within the city of Hong Kong. Timely! Matt Aldrich's The Ballad Of Pablo Escobar also deserves a mention for the craziest idea on the list, which is casting the notorious druglord as the protagonist in a battle to protect his family against rival cartels and his government.

The list also includes a script by Zach Whedon (brother of Joss), and one by A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot writer Eric Heisserer, among many others. The full list, plus synopses, is available here. While you read, try to find out for yourself which of these titles will almost certainly die during production. My guess is that Cherries will get a far less provocative name, probably something like Father's Day.

The top ten scripts based on the number of votes are:

#10 - 28 mentions. DEVILS AT PLAY by James DiLapo
#8 - 29 mentions. ME & EARL & THE DYING GIRL by Jesse Andrews 
#8 - 29 mentions. GLIMMER by Carter Blanchard
#7 - 31 mentions. EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL, AND VILE by Michael Werwie
#6 - 33 mentions. WUNDERKIND by Patrick Aison
#5 - 35 mentions. STORY OF YOUR LIFE by Eric Heisserer 
#4 - 39 mentions. RODHAM by Young Il Kim
#2 - 43 mentions. A COUNTRY OF STRANGERS by Sean Armstrong
#2 - 43 mentions. SEUSS by Eyal Podell, Jonathan Stewart
#1 - 65 mentions. DRAFT DAY by Rajiv Joseph, Scott Rothman 

The full list is as follows:

FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS by Brad Desch
SOMACELL by Ashleigh Powell
GEORGE by Jeff Shakoor
AMERICATOWN by Ben Poole
MIDNIGHT AT NOON by Nathaniel Halpern
THE FINAL BROADCAST by Chris Hutton, Eddie O'Keefe 
WUNDERKIND by Patrick Aison
OUT OF STATE by Eric Pearson
THE BALLAD OF PABLO ESCOBAR by Matt Aldrich
COMANCHERIA by Taylor Sheridan
CLIVE by Natasha Pincus
FROM NEW YORK TO FLORIDA by Austin Reynolds 
STOCKHOLM, PENNSYLVANIA by Nikole Beckwith 
THE HOOVERVILLE DEAD by Brantley Aufill
A COUNTRY OF STRANGERS by Sean Armstrong
WHIPLASH by Damien Chazelle
GLIMMER by Carter Blanchard
TRANSCENDENCE by Jack Paglen
THE EQUALIZER by Richard Wenk
COME AND FIND ME by Zack Whedon
UNTITLED COPS SCRIPT by Blake McCormick
MURDER CITY by Will Simmons
MONSOON by Matt Ackley
MAN OF TOMORROW by Jeremy Slater
FUCK MARRY KILL by Neel Shah, Alex Blagg
THE PAPER MAN by Sean O'Keefe
PESTE by Barbara Marshall
THE OUTSKIRTS by Dominique Ferarri, Suzanne Wrubel
EX BOYFRIEND OF THE BRIDE by Matt Hausfater 
THE LIGHTHOUSE by Eric Kirsten
BLEEDING KANSAS by Russell Sommer, Dan Frey
KING OF HEISTS by Will Staples
THE BROKEN by John Glosser
WHO FRAMED TOMMY CALLAHAN? by Harry Kellerman
GOODBYE, FELIX CHESTER by Max Taxe
THE JUDGE by Bill Dubuque
EL TIGRE by Aaron Buchsbaum, Teddy Riley
HIBERNATION by Will Frank, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
CHERRIES by Brian Kehoe, Jim Kehoe
THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Mark Hogan
FLOWER by Alex McAulay
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by April Prosser
TITANS OF PARK ROW by Mitch Akselrad
BLACK BOX by David Guggenheim
HEY, STELLA! by Tom Shephard 
DEVILS AT PLAY by James Dilapo
OUR NAME IS ADAM by T.S. Nowlin
THE KILLING SPREE by Derek Elliott, Jack Donaldson
THE DISCIPLE PROGRAM by Tyler Marceca
JOJO RABBIT by Taika Waititi
SEUSS by Eyal Podell, Jonathan Stewart
GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR TOM by Jason Micallef 
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber 
TIMES SQUARE by Taylor Materne, Jake Rubin
CONVERSION by Marissa Jo Cerar
MCCARTHY by Justin Kremer
THE SURVIVALIST by Stephen Fingleton
RODHAM by Young Il Kim
THE WINTER KILLS by Ben Carney 
SAND CASTLE by Chris Roessner 
ME & EARL & THE DYING GIRL by Jesse Andrews 
IF THEY MOVE... KILL 'EM! by Kel Symons
PENNY DREADFUL by Shane Atkinson
DOPPELGANGERS by Evan Mirzai, Shea Mirzai 
BORDER COUNTRY by Jonathan Stokes
WHALEMEN by Tucker Parsons
DON'T MAKE ME GO by Vera Herbert
DRAFT DAY by Rajiv Joseph, Scott Rothman
SWEET VIRGINIA by Paul China, Benjamin China
ALMANAC by Jason Pagan, Andrew Stark 
EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL, AND VILE by Michael Werwie
THE PORTLAND CONDITION by Dan Cohn, Jeremy Miller
STORY OF YOUR LIFE by Eric Heisserer
ALL-NIGHTER by Brad Ingelsby
SHUT IN by Christina Hodson
HOLD ON TO ME by Brad Ingelsby
THE KEEPING ROOM by Julia Hart
THE EEL by Roberto Bentivegna

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