Need some inspiration to write your next screenplay? A quick look at the most talked about screenplays in Hollywood for 2007 might just be what you’re looking for.
Over this past weekend, the Black List for 2007 was released. The Black List is an attempt to collate the most talked about scripts floating around Hollywood as voted on by over 150 agents and top level assistants. A screenplay has to receive at least 2 mentions in order to appear on the list.
Examining the List
A quick read through brings up two points.
One - there are a number of political thrillers - interesting in so far as political thrillers have not done well at all this year. People want to make these kinds of films, but they apparently don’t want to go see them.
Secondly, it seems that the most compelling stories have the shortest loglines.
For example, one of my favorites is Source Code by Ben Ripley:
“As part of an experimental government program to investigate a terrorist incident, a soldier finds himself living and reliving a series of events that take place on a commuter train just prior to the train exploding.”
The concept is strong and clear. I want to see that movie!
Contrast this with Robert Siegel’s The Wrestler:
“Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson, a 1980s-era pro wrestler, has become a burnt-out shell of his former self. After he has a heart attack during a small-time match, a doctor tells him he could die if he fights again. In an effort to build a new life, Robinson takes a job at a deli, moves in with an aging stripper and tries to build a relationship with her son. The prospect of a rematch with his old nemesis, the Ayatollah, proves too tempting to resist, even though it means risking his life.”
Not quite as compelling. I don’t know if I want to see that movie or not.
The script could be fantastic, but you don’t really get a sense of that from the logline. It certainly doesn’t create the instant visual image that the first story did.
Browsing through the 40 or so pages of popular story ideas, I found myself glazing over the longer loglines, subsconsciously determining that the longer the logline the more muddled the story concept.
Get the List
If nothing else, The Black List of 2007 is a wonderful source of story ideas that is sure to spark your own inner muse. Who knows if these films are great or not; as mentioned in the preface it’s a “most liked” list, not a “best of” list…which, in Hollywood, is all that really matters!
Download The Black List 2007
Hope to see yours there next year!
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