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“Nobody knows anything,” opined screenwriter William Goldman in his classic book Adventures in the Screen Trade, referring to the inability of Hollywood to distinguish between a good idea and a bad one. The annual Black List of “most liked” screenplays (surveyed from top execs and “high level assistants”) therefore provides a fascinating window on what Hollywood insiders consider good. Film executive Franklin Leonard first published the list in 2005, naming it both in reference to his African-American heritage and the McCarthyist blacklisting of screenwriters in the 1950s. The Black List website states it has the intention of shining light “on extraordinary screenwriting, some of which may have been overlooked more broadly.”
There’s no doubt the list has drawn attention to some less mainstream scripts over the years. However, there’s also plenty by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Aaron Sorkin, who really don’t need the exposure. Nevertheless, The Black List has a roll call of great films that went into production, including some modern classics. Here’s a rundown of the 15 best produced films from the list since 2005. In some cases, the gap between inclusion on the list and year of release is an indication of just how long it takes to get a good film made.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
An adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s best film tells of a relentless oil prospector, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), who comes into conflict with a preacher, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). “I have a competition in me,” states Plainview, making clear the film’s theme of toxic capitalism. The rivalry between the main characters, representing opposing business and religious interests, is soon revealed as a fight between two equally venal forces. Day-Lewis has never used his method acting to better effect, inhabiting the madness of a man for whom acts of creation and destruction are inextricably linked. It’s one of modern cinema’s greatest epics, culminating with the promised bloodletting and a perfect line to sum up Plainview’s capitalism run amok: “I drink your milkshake!”
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
If Tarantino’s Kill Bill and Death Proof didn’t quite match the brilliance of his ‘90s output, then Inglourious Basterds was a rip-roaring return to form. The director started writing the script in 1998, taking a decade to get it into shape. It’s a WWII story in the mold of The Dirty Dozen, but the style is all Tarantino, with the action divided into scenes of tension and verbal dexterity. Inglourious Basterds manages to be a satisfying action movie whilst maintaining the meta-textual play – a war film that knowingly plays with the conventions (most brilliantly in an early scene where Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa agrees to speak in English with a French farmer by way of avoiding subtitles). The final coup de cinema is a moment of wish-fulfillment that abandons all pretense at historical realism, something that Tarantino would return to in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Ten years in the writing, Inglourious Basterds was worth the wait.
Zodiac (2007)
Based on the real-life murders and written by James Vanderbilt, Zodiac initially seems a muted experience compared to the gothic splendor of David Fincher’s previous serial killer thriller, Seven. However, with the matter-of-fact violence perpetrated by the Zodiac, it’s a more insidiously chilling film. Unlike fictions such as Silence of the Lambs where a chain of inquiry leads to the apprehension of a killer, Zodiac embraces the murky facts of the case and lack of resolution. From the coded clues to the debatable source material – protagonist Robert Graysmith’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) books – Vanderbilt and Fincher make a virtue of the unreliable narrative. At the crest of a wave of true-crime podcasts and documentaries in the streaming age, Zodiac was prescient in highlighting the moral conundrums of such entertainment.
The Prestige (2006)
Between Batmans, Christopher Nolan directed one of his best films, a characteristic exploration of duality and artifice. Nolan wrote the script with his brother Jonathan, based on Christopher Priest’s cult novel. It tones down the mystical elements of the book to focus on the rivalry between 19th Century magicians Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). Far from a stuffy period piece, the film’s themes of corrosive ambition and technology gone awry feel resolutely modern. The Prestige is as finely structured as a great magic trick, only revealing its secrets at the very end – the implications of which linger in the mind.
Under the Skin (2013)
In a movie as chilly as its setting, writers Jonathan Glazer and Walter Campbell (adapting Michel Faber’s novel) flip the script by having Scarlett Johansson as an alien predator seducing and killing men in Glasgow. Glazer directs the often dialogue-free script with a dispassionate gaze that recalls Stanley Kubrick, leaving the events and intentions of Johansson’s character up for interpretation. However, by its very reversals, Under the Skin evokes a society where sexual violence against women is pervasive. One disturbing scene, in which an abandoned baby is ignored as one of the alien interlopers removes its dead parents, suggests a complete lack of human compassion. The black, water-filled void where the victims are taken and consumed by the alien force is a clear influence on Stranger Things.
Arrival (2016)
A genuine “spec” script from the list, Arrival was written by Eric Heisserer based on his admiration of Ted Chiang’s novella, The Story of Your Life. Chiang’s work, which deals with some complex themes of linguistics and determinism, doesn’t cry out for a film adaptation. It’s therefore a testament to Heisserer’s script that the film got into production. Director Denis Villeneuve’s film is a soulful take on alien contact and the implications for how it might change our reality. The final payoff has a poignant inevitability that makes this one of the great science fiction films of the 21st Century.
The Social Network (2010)
Fincher’s second film on the list, from a script by screenwriting legend Sorkin, is one that dealt with very recent history. Sorkin’s take on Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), his some-time friends, and his rivals is a typically sharp depiction of very smart people doing questionable things. The script is laced with some of Sorkin’s best lines, the pick of which is Zuckerberg’s shot at the Winklevoss Twins (Armie Hammer) during a lawsuit: “If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.” Made before Facebook became embedded in… well, everything… The Social Network is a snapshot of the time. It showed drama about modern business could be as compelling as any thriller, foreshadowing the likes of The Big Short and The Dropout.
Juno (2007)
A true success story from the list, Diablo Cody’s script won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2008. On release, it was a winningly fresh take on teen issues that benefited from a breakout performance by Elliot Page as Juno, as well as Cody’s sharp dialogue. While Juno’s unplanned pregnancy is the inciting factor in the script, it’s ultimately a story about taking responsibility and finding happiness at any stage of life, reflected in the choices made by all the characters. Cody would go on to collaborate with director Jason Reitman in the equally great Young Adult and Tully.
Nebraska (2013)
Shot in stark black and white, Nebraska’s tale of family dysfunction and delusion finds an ending that’s unexpectedly moving. Written by Bob Nelson, director Alexander Payne made only minor changes to the original script. It’s a showcase for a late career masterclass by Bruce Dern, although Will Forte is just as great playing the bemused straight man in this case. Nebraska is Payne’s most humane and funny work to date.
Hell or High Water (2016)
Co-written by David Mackensie and Taylor Sheridan (who also directed), Hell or High Water is the best modern Western since No Country for Old Men. However, this is a story more grounded in the harsh realities facing a generation left behind. Jeff Bridges is wry and amusing as an aging lawman who just won’t give up, although our sympathies are squarely with Chris Pine and Ben Foster’s brothers driven to bank robbery to save their family farm.
Whiplash (2014)
Oscar-bait for sure, the sequence where manipulative teacher Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) ritually humiliates drum student Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is a standout. Writer/director Damien Chazelle sets up the scene as the big break for his young protagonist but dashes any expectation Whiplash will be a cozy take on the downs and ups of musical ambition. Simmons gets the role of a lifetime as a mentor who is by turns brilliant and monstrous. The film asks some difficult questions about the value of ambition and the price of excellence.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Written and directed by Killing Eve show runner Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman’s take on the topic of consent is by turns funny and disturbing. Framed as a revenge thriller, Carey Mulligan’s character feigns drunkenness in clubs and bars to confront men who attempt to sexually assault her. The film depicts a culture where predatory sexual behavior is normalized in reference to alcohol, but the film also points the finger at the educational institutions and legal systems that fail to acknowledge (or actively attack) victims. The justice obtained by the protagonist for the rape of her friend in college will divide audiences (suggesting it can only be achieved through her self-destruction), but it’s undeniably impactful. Mulligan’s performance is a standout, supported by Bo Burnham as a love interest who is predictably too good to be true.
The Imitation Game (2014)
A script that benefited from Black List exposure, The Imitation Game shines a light on the genius of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) as well as the discrimination he faced for his sexuality in 1950s Britain. It’s an efficient period thriller made fascinating by Turing’s code-breaking and the foundations of modern computing. As a gay man convicted of “gross indecency” under the laws of the time, Turing was sentenced to chemical castration and subsequently committed suicide. The film brought attention to the issue of such historical convictions in addition to Turing’s legacy. Ultimately, The Imitation Game is an indictment of a society that would destroy one of its greatest minds because of prejudice.
Superbad (2007)
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s semi-autobiographical script updated the teen comedy, finding their perfect stand-ins with Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Intelligent, neurotic, and sex-obsessed, their affectionate bickering is too believable. While earlier teen comedies featured older authority figures out to stop the fun, Superbad’s cops (played by Rogen and Bill Hader) team up with the hapless Fogell/McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) for various shenanigans. The suggestion is that nowadays no-one ever really grows up. Many films seek to capture the delicate moment between the end of school and the start of something else but, for all its crude humor, Superbad manages to be one of the most poignant.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
If there’s a movie responsible for solidifying the contemporary wave of time-looping adventures then it’s Edge of Tomorrow. While Bill Murray in Groundhog Day employed his endless second chances to develop interpersonal skills, protagonist Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) uses a time loop to get really, really good at kicking alien ass. An adaptation of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s light novel All You Need is Kill, the script is lean and mean, marking one of the best collaborations between Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie (a co-writer of the script). Emily Blunt steals the show as a veteran alien-killer and, as always in a time looping adventure, there’s joy in repetition.
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