The Black List is an annual compilation of the best-unproduced screenplays circulating through Hollywood. Such scripts named on the list in the past that have gone on to enjoy great success include Bird Box, Queen & Slim, The Post, All the Money in the World, I, Tanya, and many more.
Last month, the 16th annual Black List was unveiled after 80 screenplays were read, categorized, and voted on (mentioned). The varying subjects among the Top 10 scripts include ruthless cannibals, 80s-style slashers, foreign coming-of-age dramedies, WWII spy dramas, outer space romances, high-school shenanigans, and much more. Scroll below to find the 10 best un-produced scripts of 2020.
Video Nasty (18 Mentions)
The term Video Nasty refers to the description of extreme horror movies in the 1980s too explicit for viewers to watch without warning. In the script written by Chris Thomas Devlin, a trio of teens find themselves stuck inside a real-life Video Nasty.
Aligned with Lionsgate as a financier and Seth Rogen as a producer, the script entails three teenage friends who rent an accursed horror videotape in the 1980s and become trapped inside the celluloid nightmare for all eternity. (Picture courtesy of The Dude Designs.)
Forever Hold Your Peace (19 Mentions)
Scripted by Emma Dudley, Forever Hold Your Peace is a coming-of-age story about a sexually confused 24-year-old woman named Hazel who musters the courage to follow her heart while attending her father's second wedding.
Ever since being caught kissing a girl in middle-school by her ultra-conservative father, Hazel has pushed her true sexual feelings down. However, a drunken tryst with an older woman at her father's wedding rekindles her true desires and allows her to embrace her natural identity. Dudley served as an assistant in the wardrobe department on 13 Reasons Why (pictured).
Emergency (21 Mentions)
Written by KD Davila, Emergency is a story punctuating the importance of Black Lives Matter. The story revolves around a group of young black and Latino college students who, after facing a grave emergency during a party, struggle with their line of recourse.
After the emergency takes place, the non-white students grapple with whether or not to call the police for help. The film is based on Davila's short film of the same name that was named the winner for Best Narrative Short at the 2018 SXSW Festival. Amazon Studios is set to finance the film.
Bubble & Squeak (21 Mentions)
Bubble & Squeak is a romantic road movie written by Evan Twohy, a writer's assistant on such shows as Bunk, Are We There Yet?, Failosophy, Donny!, and Midnight, Texas (pictured).
The story revolves around a newlywed couple who travel to a fictional country for their honeymoon celebration, but soon realize they may not be each other's ideal match. Or, at the bare minimum, they want to embark on separate vacations.
Bring Me Back (22 Mentions)
With Legendary Entertainment named as a financier, Bring Me Back is an ambitious sci-fi romance penned by Crosby Selander. Somewhat akin to Solaris (pictured), the love story concerns a female astronaut on an interstellar mission.
Upon falling in love with a stranger while in cryosleep, the woman begins to lose her grip on reality as she begins to wonder if the man is real or just a figment of her isolated imagination.
Two Faced (25 Mentions)
Cat Wilkins' Two Faced is a racially-charged Election for a new generation. Taraji P. Henson (pictured) set to direct the script in her filmmaking debut for BRON Studios.
The story follows a high-school senior who concocts a scheme to get her principal fired from his job following a racist encounter. However, the student learns that the principal has a rash of tricks up his sleeve and won't go down without resistance.
If You Were The Last (25 Mentions)
Angela Bourassa's If You Were The Last is the second romance film set in outer-space to make the 2020 Black List. However, with three more mentions than Bring Me Back, If You Were The Last could be the first to be produced.
The film revolves around two lonely astronauts who fall in love with each other while believing they're stranded in the cosmos forever. When the sudden return to Earth presents itself, the two lovers must reconsider their potential lives together back home. (Image via Zedge.net.)
Neither Confirm Nor Deny (26 Mentions)
Based on David H. Sharp's 2012 memoir The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation, Dave Collard's adapted screenplay Neither Confirm Nor Deny is the third-best un-produced script of 2020, per the Black List.
The true-story details the top-secret mission in 1968 in which the CIA attempted to retrieve a nuclear-armed Soviet Submarine, the K-129, from the bottom of the ocean. The U.S. government risked waging WWIII with their secret mission.
Chang Can Dunk (28 Mentions)
The second-most beloved un-produced screenplay of 2020 belongs to Chang Can Dunk, a coming-of-age dramedy centered on a teenage Asian-American basketball fanatic who wants nothing more than to slam dunk.
On his quest to stuff the rock, Chang learns more about his mother, his friends, and begins to find himself in the process while pursuing a popular girl in school.
Headhunter (29 Mentions)
Besting Chang Can Dunk by a single mention is Headhunter, a blistering script written by newcomer Sophie Dawson. The horror-comedy centers on a high-functioning cannibal who gets a dose of his own bad medicine.
The cannibal in question selects his human victims based on their Instagram popularity. However, when the cannibal meets a man who desires to be eaten alive, the entire dynamic is thrown for a loop.