It's weird how stuff trends. Not only have we had a surge in fairy tales, but we had a wave of Snow White, a wave of Peter Pan, and now, apparently, Pinocchio.
Zombies are still in the fight, but they've gotten more complicated. Gone are the days when you can write a script about a group of people fighting off a zombie horde. Now your zombie spec needs a gimmick. John Scott III found something new with his drama script Maggie, which I really enjoyed, and there is also a script about a group of people who make a deal with a vampire to protect them from zombies. I don't know how anyone can improve on The Kitchen Sink, but I'm willing to give it a read.
Lots of assassins. There are always lots of assassins. I wonder if real assassins read about these movies and shake their heads.
I think they're now legally required to put Tarantino on the list.
If I'd realized what Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses was about I'd have read it sooner, but I never saw the second half of the title so I thought this movie was about a dad taking his daughter to a baseball game or something. Now I plan to read it.
Other scripts I'm most looking forward to reading: Chewie, Blood Mountain, Desperate Hours, The Slackfi Project, Sex Tape, Flashback, The Hitman's Bodyguard, and 77.
What are your thoughts on the list?
I would say Tarantino's script made the list because he's the best screenwriter of the past 20 years. Of course that's just an opinion, but so are the votes that put scripts on the Black List.
ReplyDeleteMost of the loglines are good; a couple of retreads; a script on Gepetto AND Pinocchio. Between that and the HIT LIST, this year seems gonzo for spec material.
ReplyDeleteMy interests are two-fold: I'm partnered on a civil-rights biopic so I'm gonna get into GRACE OF MONACO, POWELL and IMITATION GAME (tho' DiCaprio has got to step away from these things soon - J.EDGAR was meh-bleh).
Since I'm currently intrigued by what else can be done in the vampire-zombie zeitgeist, MAGGIE, SUBJECT ZERO and BETHLEHEM spur me on.
Hey Recovering Booth Rat,
ReplyDeleteDo you write like Tarantino?
I don't one guy from Scripttube or Scripthamster or Done Deal Poor who can write dialogues like Tarantino. Why is there no one coming close to Tarantino in terms of writing.
Spacesurfer, UK
I don't write like Tarantino, although I do work in the same genres as QT.
ReplyDeleteI would say there are some people in his league, just not many, and even fewer that work in the crime/violence genre.
I think "Black List 2011" will go down as a disappointing vintage. There wasn't really anything on the list that really stood out.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to add "Cristo" and "Murders and Acquisitions" to your reading list. Cristo was a surprisingly effective near-future take on the Dumas classic. Murders and Acquisitions had a clunky beginning but given what I believe your tastes lean towards you'd probably find it interesting. Well worth the wade through the first 30 pages but still needs some rewriting.
I believe you're up tomorrow on SS. Good luck. I'm sharpening my rhetorical axe in anticipation :) Seriously, though I predict a 70-75% positive evaluation.