12.19.08 Entertainment Weekly 29

The coolest event in

hollywood this week won’t

involvestarletshittingared

carpet—justamid-levelstudio

executive hitting senD. on Dec. 11,

Universal’sFranklinleonardwillpush

thebuttononthisyear’seditionofthe

Blacklist,hisannualrankingofthebest

unproducedscreenplaysoftheyear.he’ll

e-mailonly260people,buttheyinturn

willlaunchaforwardingfrenzy.“every-

oneisineachother’soffices,callingeach

other,anddebatingtheorderofthelist,”

saysWilliamMorrisagentcliffRoberts.

“trafficinthedevelopmentcommunity

stopswhenitcomesout.”

Injustfouryears,theBlacklisthas

becomehollywood’sequivalentof the

RookieoftheYearaward—aneonarrow

pointingtotheworkofundiscoveredor

unappreciatedwriters.Ithaslaunched

careers,beenanincreasinglyimportant

weaponinthebattletogetgreatoriginal

screenplays made into great original

films,andevenbecomeacrystalballfor

the oscars. In 2005, leonard’s list

Every year, the Black List ranks

the best unproduced screenplays

in Hollywood. Who’s behind

the list—and whose lives is he

about to change? An exclusive

look at this year’s top 10.

BY Nicole sperliNg

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GREGG SEGAL

Franklin Leonard photographed on Dec. 2, 2008, in Los Angeles

Hollywood’s

Hottestlist

the creatorFRANKLIN LEONARD

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championedDiablocody’sscriptforJunoandnancyoliver’sforLars and the Real Girl. last year, both werenominatedforBestoriginalscreen-play.codyultimatelytookhomethelittlegoldengod,butolivercertainlyhad no complaints. “Lars had beenmakingtheroundsforafewyears,butitwasstillaninvisibleproperty,”shesays. “the Black list changed allthat. It gave permission for otherpeopletolikeit.”leonardhasneverputhisnameontheBlacklist,eventhoughtheLos Angeles Timesoutedhimasthemastermindtwoyearsago.thisyear,however,he’sagreedtoleteWhaveanearlypeekathistop10(seesidebar)andtotalkabouttheimprob-abletripthatthelisthasgoneonsincehelauncheditin2005.

leonard himself is a soft-spokenGeorgianativeandharvardgrad.he’suncomfortable,forgoodreason,withpeopleassumingthathenamedhisprojecttheBlacklistsimplybecausehe’sAfrican-American.thetruthisthathehadacoupleofdifferentinspirations.Yes,hewantedtosubverttheculturalmetaphorthatblackequalsbad(“Iwantedtostickmyfingerintheeyeofthatidea”); but he also wanted to take a swipe at theinfamous Mccarthy-inspired blacklist, which killed thecareersofscreenwriterssuspectedofbeingcommunists(“Whatiftherewasablacklistthatpeoplewantedtobeon?”).

In2005,leonardwasaformerMcKinseyanalystandcon-gressionalcampaigncommunicationsdirectorwho’dlandedasadevelopmentexecatleonardoDicaprio’sproductioncompany,AppianWay.he’dreadnothingbutgarbageformonths.Fedup,hesentane-mailtohispalsinhollywoodandaskedthemtonamethe10bestscreenplaysthey’dcomeacrossthatyear.ninetypeopleresponded,andleonardestablishedasimplerankingsystem:thescriptwiththemostvoteswouldbeno.1.(thatyearThings We Lost in the Firetookthehonor.)leonarde-mailedtheresultstothe90folkswho’dvoted,andthenhewentonvacation.hereturnedhometofindthatthelisthadbeenforwardedbacktohim25timesbypeoplewhodidn’tknowhe’dactuallycreateditinthefirstplace.“Itbecameathingveryquickly,”leonardsays.

“I’dlovetosaythatthiswasallpartofthemasterplan,butIjustwantedtoreadsomegoodscripts.”

AfterleavingAppianWay,leonardworkedasadevelopmentexecfordirector-producersAnthonyMinghellaandsydneyPollack.Bothdiedwithinmonthsofeachotherthisyear,andleonard found a home at Universal. he now submitsrequeststosome400industryinsiders—fromlowlyproduc-ers’assistantstoexecutivevPsofdevelopment—fortheirhonest,anonymousassessmentsofthebestwritingoftheyear.(thisyear,260responded.)Butleonardstillgenerallydeflectsattentionfromhimself.“thislistisn’taboutme,”hesays.“It’saboutthescreenplays,thewriters,and,morebroadly,thehollywoodcommunitythatevaluatesthemovies.”

thehollywoodcommunity,bytheway,doesoccasionallysnipeatleonardandhislist.somethinkthatthescriptsthelisthighlightsaretoonavel-gazingandquirky.othersinsistthatitwilleventuallybehijackedbyagentstryingtopromotetheirclients—ifithasn’tbeenhijackedalready.Attheriskofanyoneinhollywoodtrustingsomeone,though,mostgiveleonardthebenefitofthedoubt.“Franklin’sveryethical,”saysWMAagentRoberts.“somepeoplecouldhavebeeneasilycorrupted.Ibelievethelistislegitimate.”

the screenwriters, meanwhile, are ecstatic. even forwriterswhosescreenplaysdon’tenduponthebigscreen,thelistcanbelife-changing.JoshZetumerhaslandedscriptsonthelistforthepasttwoyears.neitherhasbeenfilmedyet,butthe27-year-oldwentfromworkingasanassistantforaneatniklawyertoastintscribingdialogueonsetforDanielcraigandQuantum of Solace. “Iwascleaningupafteralawyer’smaid,”hesays,“andsuddenlyI’mwritingdialogueonacocktailnapkin,andit’slandinginaBondmovie!”theydon’tevenwritehollywoodendingslikethat.n

12.19.08 Entertainment Weekly 31

BLACK LISTERS: (Clockwise from top) Previous honorees include The Road, Seven Pounds, and Juno

1. The Beaverby Kyle KillenIt’s About: Walter Black, a depressed toy manufacturer, loses his family and his business. But then Walter tries on a hand puppet—a chatty British rodent called “The Beaver”—and his per-sonality is transformed. It’s all good at first, but things turn ugly when the puppet won’t let go. It’s Like: Liar Liar fused with the horror movie Magic. Sta-tus: Steve Carell is attached to play Walter.

2. The Oranges by Jay Reiss and Ian HelferIt’s About: Two New Jersey families are thrown into comic turmoil when the prodigal daughter returns for Christmas and falls in love with her parents’ best friend. It’s Like: The Gradu-ate engaged to Meet the Parents. Status: Anthony Bregman (Thumbsucker) and MRC will produce. Julian Farino (Entourage) is negotiating to direct.

3. Butter by Jason MicallefIt’s About: Destiny, a black foster child, faces off against Iowa’s reigning dairy diva, the beautiful but venal Laura Pickler, in an epic but-ter-carving competition for

the ages. It’s Like: Election swirled with Best in Show. Status: Jennifer Garner is in talks to play Laura, while DreamWorks is in early ne-gotiations for the project.

4. Big Hole by Michael GilioIt’s About: Lee, an old, grumpy ex-cowboy, loses $30,000 to a fraudulent sweepstakes company and sets out to punish those responsible. Lee’s son, the local sheriff, is charged with stopping him. It’s Like: Falling Down splattered with No Country for Old Men. Status: Project is set up with Aversano Films (Failure to Launch).

5. The Low Dwellerby Brad IngelsbyIt’s About: Charlie “Slim” Hendrick, a don’t-eff-with-me ex-con, returns home to find that his sweetie has moved on and his bitter brother has gambling debts. When a disfigured, dog-loving thug beats his sibling to death, Slim seeks vengeance. It’s Like: Unforgiven, only less geriatric. And much less forgiving. Status: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Tony and Ridley Scott will co-produce.

6. F***buddies by Liz MeriwetherIt’s About: Emma and Adam have the best relationship ever! They’re twentysomething pals who, you know, do it. A lot. But then Adam goes and falls in love with Emma and ruins everything. Can their per-fect non-union survive? It’s Like: When Harry Met Sally… for the Juno genera-tion. Status: Ivan Reitman’s company is developing it.

7. Winter’s Discontentby Paul FruchbomIt’s About: After the death of his wife of more than 50 years, irrepressible horndog Herb Winter sets out, at age 75, to find sex-ual fulfillment with another woman. Or, if possible, several. It’s Like: Superbad set in a retirement com-munity. Status: The film is set up at Sony. No director or star is attached.

8. Broken Cityby Brian Tucker It’s About: The New York mayor asks private eye Billy Taggart to find out if the mayor’s wife is cheating on him. She is, with the cam-paign director of the mayor’s political rival, no less, who soon turns up dead. Did Billy’s investigation lead to murder? It’s Like: A modern L.A. Confidential peppered with Glengarry Glen Ross

patois. Status: Being devel-oped by the producing team behind Juno.

9. i’m With cancerby Will ReiserIt’s About: Adam, a 25-year-old single Jewish dude, is diagnosed with spinal cancer. Hilarity ensues. Seriously. It’s Like: The 40 Year-Old Virgin with chemo. Status: Seth Rogen will produce and has signed on to play Adam’s best bud.

10. Our Brand Is Crisisby Peter StraughanIt’s About: A team of American political opera-tives moves to Bolivia to take on a flailing presiden-tial campaign. Loosely based on the 2006 documentary of the same name. It’s Like: Primary Colors picked The Motor-cycle Diaries as a running mate. Sta-tus: George Clooney’s company will produce it.

Written by Jeff Jensen, Ari Karpel, Dafna Pleban, Josh Rottenberg, Sean Smith, Nicole Sperling, Benjamin Svetkey, Adam B. Vary, and John Young

The 2008 Black listOn Dec. 11, Franklin Leonard will release his list of the 106 best unproduced screenplays of the year. EW has this exclusive look at the top 10 scripts that have Hollywood dazzled.

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