The Black List
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The Black List Announces its 2018 Screenplays
The 13th edition of The Black List has just been released. Founded by development executive Franklin Leonard, the list is a survey of the best un-produced screenplays in Hollywood, according to an anonymous selection of agents, managers, and production companies. Topping the list is Frat Boy Genius, a seemingly Social Network style take on Snap’s Evan Spiegel. Other highlights include a new project from Lena Waithe, and Nobody Nothing Nowhere, written by last year’s 25 New Faces Rachel Wolther and Alex Fischer. Read on for the full list. 36 Votes: Frat Boy Genius by Elissa Karasik A disgruntled employee of Snapchat tells the […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 17, 2018 -
Panelists at TIFF Talk Distribution, Data Analytics, Documentary and New Audience-First Marketing
Diversity was a hotly debated topic within the “Dialogues: At the Table” panel. Gil Robertson, CEO of the African American Critics Association, probed the panelists to explain why people of diverse backgrounds are still struggling to get their films made. The outspoken, decisive Franklin Leonard, who runs online network The Black List, which connects writers and their scripts with agents, producers and financiers, shrugged his shoulders: “The numbers don’t lie. Look at the success of films such as Titanic and Avatar. [They] made it clear many years ago that women could sell films. And this year we have the success […]
by Tiffany Pritchard on Sep 18, 2017 -
Hot in Cleveland: Ivan Reitman on Draft Day
Pulling the curtain back on the process through which the National Football League invites new players into its ranks, Draft Day stars Kevin Costner as the embattled general manager of the Cleveland Browns, a beleaguered franchise whose owner (a sly Frank Langella) wants his employee to make a “big splash” at the upcoming NFL draft. Persuaded by the front office of the Seattle Seahawks to acquire the first pick in the draft, Costner’s Sonny Weaver spends the day on the phone talking to his staff, prospective draftees, their agents (one of whom is memorably played by Sean Combs in an […]
by Brandon Harris on Apr 10, 2014 -
The Opportunity of a Lifetime
Is there such a thing as an opportunity of a lifetime? During the first two days of IFP’s Independent Film Week, it became clear that the answer is yes and no. Yes, a conversation, a short film, a meeting, a festival acceptance, can be the opportunity that changes everything, but a career isn’t just a year or one film – it’s a lifetime of dedication to craft. In his impressively extemporaneous speech, J.C. Chandor (above) recalled not the glories of having his first feature, Margin Call, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, but the 15 years he spent trying to […]
by Mary Anderson Casavant on Sep 18, 2012
