Earlier, we gave you a sneak peak at the top 10 scripts on the Black List, an unscientific but much-watched ranking of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood. Every year, Franklin Leonard, a midlevel Hollywood executive, surveys his colleagues in the industry for their suggestions on the best scripts they've read and compiles the results into this dossier.
This year, some 300 executives responded, and below are their results. Many of these scripts are already in the hands of studios or indie financiers. Some are still waiting to be discovered. Regardless, the writers who land on this list hope the citation will give their careers a big boost. Read on to see what Hollywood is reading.
Click ahead to see the 2010 Black List:
49 Votes: "College Republicans" by Wes Jones
Based on true events. Aspiring politician Karl Rove runs a dirty campaign for national College Republicans chairman under the guidance of Lee Atwater, his campaign manager.
Agent: Creative Artists Agency -- Gregory McKnight, Jay Baker
Manager: Circle of Confusion -- Ken Freimann, Greg Shephard
Anonymous Content producing
47 Votes: "Jackie" by Noah Oppenheim
Jackie Kennedy fights to define her husband's legacy in the seven days immediately following his assassination.
Agent: Creative Artists Agency -- Rowena Arguelles, Billy Hawkins
Manager: Management 360 -- Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
Fox Searchlight. Protozoa Pictures producing.
45 Votes: "All You Need Is Kill" by Dante Harper
A new recruit in a war against aliens finds himself caught in a time loop where he wakes up one day in the past after having been killed on the battlefield.
Agent: Creative Artists Agency -- Todd Feldman, Jay Baker
Manager: Management 360 -- Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
Warner Bros. 3 Arts Entertainment, VIZ producing.
43 Votes: "Safe House" by David Guggenheim
A young man at a CIA-run safe house in Rio de Janeiro must help a rough ex-agent escape assassins who want intelligence that he won't sell them.
Agent: Agency for the Performing Arts -- David Boxerbaum
Manager: Madhouse Entertainment -- Adam Kolbrenner
Universal. Stuber Pictures, Madhouse Entertainment producing.
39 Votes: "Stoker" by Wentworth Miller
After the death of her father, a teenager must deal with a mysterious uncle who returns to spend time with the family.
Agent: ICM -- Nicole Clemens, Adam Weinstein
Manager: Industry Entertainment -- Eryn Brown
Fox Searchlight. Scott Free Productions producing.
32 Votes: "999" by Matt Cook
A gang of crooked cops plans a major heist that will require them to shoot a fellow officer in order to get away with it.
Agent: William Morris Endeavor -- Cliff Roberts, Danny Gabai
Manager: Anonymous Content -- Bard Dorros, Keith Redmon
Anonymous Content producing
31 votes: "Margin Call" by J.C. Chandor
Based on true events, the final 24 hours of Lehman Brothers
Agent: WME -- Rob Carlson, Simon Faber
Before the Door Pictures, Washington Square Arts & Films, Benaroya Pictures and Taggart Productions producing
30 votes: "American Bull ... " by Eric Warren Singer
The true story of Abscam, the FBI's 1980 undercover sting operation of Congress to root out corruption, which was the brainchild of the world's greatest con man.
Agent: CAA -- Robert Bookman, Billy Hawkins, Stuart Manashil
Sony. Atlas Entertainment producing.
28 Votes: "Argo" by Chris Terrio
The true story of how the CIA, with help from Hollywood, used a fake movie project to smuggle hostages out of Tehran during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.
Agent: CAA -- Rowena Arguelles
Manager: Anonymous Content -- Michael Sugar, Bard Dorros
Warner Bros. Smoke House producing.
24 votes: "The Last Son of Isaac Lemay" by Greg Johnson
An aging outlaw convinced that there is evil in his genes goes on a journey to kill his offspring. In the process, he discovers that his last remaining son is a terrifying manifestation of his worst fears.
Agent: RWSG -- Sylvie Rabineau
Blind Wink Productions producing
21 votes: "Family Getaway" by Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer
A man whose family doesn't know he's an assassin must protect them during a cross-country car chase when rival killers show up.
Agent: United Talent Agency -- David Kramer, Jason Burns, Geoff Morley, Rebecca Ewing
Manager: Mosaic -- Emily Rose, Dawn Saltzman
Warner Brothers. Mosaic producing.
18 votes: "Die in a Gunfight" by Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari
A young New Yorker falls in love with the daughter of his father's nemesis, setting up a forbidden romance reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.
Agent: WME -- Danny Greenberg, David Karp, Mike Esola
Manager: Prolific -- Stuart Wrede
Media Rights Capital. Mark Gordon Co., Ninjas Runnin' Wild producing.
17 votes: "Better Living Through Chemistry" by David Posamentier & Geoff Moore
A straight-laced pharmacist's uneventful life spirals out of control when he starts an affair with a trophy-wife customer who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder.
Agent: ICM -- Adam Weinstein
Manager: Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment -- Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
Occupant Films producing
17 votes: "Gray Man" by Adam Cozad
American operative Court Gentry, also known as the Gray Man, races against time and teams of government assassins in an effort to save his family.
Agent: ICM -- Aaron Hart, Doug Maclaren
Manager: Gotham Group -- Jeremy Bell
New Regency. Shine Pictures producing.
17 votes: "Imagine" by Dan Fogelman
A musician in his 60s tries to live his life differently after reading an old letter written to him by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Of greatest importance to him: tracking down and reconnecting with his biological son, whom he has never met.
Agent: WME -- Danny Greenberg
Manager: Industry Entertainment -- Eryn Brown
Warner Bros. Di Novi Pictures, Carousel Productions, Jessie Nelson producing.
16 votes: "Chronicle" by Max Landis
Three Portland teens become exposed to a mysterious substance in the woods and, as a result, begin to develop incredible powers. They work together to hone their skills until personal and family problems begin to turn them against one another.
Agent: WME -- David Karp, Simon Faber, Danny Gabai
Manager: Circle of Confusion -- David Alpert, Britton Rizzio
Fox. Davis Entertainment producing.
16 votes: "Gold" by Patrick Massett & John Zinman
The true story of the biggest securities exchange fraud in United States history.
Agent: CAA -- Matt Rosen
Manager: Industry Entertainment -- Michael Botti, Andrew Deane
Paul Haggis producing
16 votes: "Snow White and the Huntsman" by Evan Daugherty
A re-imagining of the story of Snow White in which the huntsman sent to kill her becomes her mentor.
Agent: UTA -- Tobin Babst
Manager: FilmEngine -- Jake Wagner
Universal. Roth Films producing.
15 votes: "Are We Officially Dating?" by Tom Gormican
A dating movie told from the male perspective about the lengths men will go through to avoid being officially in a relationship.
Scott Aversano, Andrew O'Connor producing
15 votes: "Free Country" by Josh Parkinson
The owner of a tourist mining cave kills a rich boy who finds a huge ruby. Chaos ensues when he teams up with his two dysfunctional brothers to hide the body and fence the stone with the victim's hot-headed twin on the hunt for his brother.
Agent: CAA -- Dan Rabinow, Matt Rosen
Manager: Gotham Group -- Lindsay Williams
Mandate Pictures. Rough House Pictures producing.
15 votes: "Gangster Squad" by Will Beall
Amid the corruption and chaos of 1940s Los Angeles, the LAPD's Gangster Squad works to keep the East Coast mafia out of the city.
Agent: CAA -- Jay Baker, Shari Smiley
Manager: Management 360 -- Darin Friedman
Warner Bros. Lin Pictures, Langley Park Pictures producing.
15 Votes: "Your Bridesmaid Is a Bitch" by Brian Duffeld
After agreeing to groomsman duties at his sister's wedding, Noah Palmer realizes he has made the mistake of his life after finding out that the woman who broke his heart is also part of the bridal party.
Agent: HML -- Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank, Devra Lieb
Manager: Circle of Confusion -- Noah Rosen, Zach Cox
Skydance Productions producing
14 votes: "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith
When the mother of future United States President Abraham Lincoln is murdered by a vampire, he begins a lifelong vendetta to rid the world of the heinous creatures.
Agent: WME -- Cliff Roberts, Jeff Gorin
Fox. Tim Burton Productions, Bazelevs Productions producing.
13 votes: "Hunger Games" by Billy Ray
Based on the book by Suzanne Collins. In an America of the future, young boys and girls are forced to participate in a televised battle to the death.
Agent: CAA -- Todd Feldman, Brian Kend
Manager: Management 360 -- Guymon Casady.
Lionsgate. Color Force producing.
12 votes: "Welcome to People" by Alex Kurtzman, Bob Orci, Jody Lambert
A young man whose father has recently died is tasked with bringing $150,000 to an alcoholic sister he never knew about and her 12-year-old son.
Agent: CAA -- Risa Gertner, Todd Feldman (Kurtzman, Orci)
WME-- Cliff Roberts, David Karp (Lambert)
Manager: Mosaic -- Paul Nelson, Dawn Saltzman (Lambert)
Dreamworks. Kurtzman/Orci producing.
12 votes: "What Happened to Monday?" by Max Botkin
In a world where families are allowed only one child due to overpopulation, a resourceful set of identical septuplets must avoid governmental execution and dangerous infighting while investigating the disappearance of one of their own.
Agent: CAA -- Stuart Manashil, Matt Rosen
Manager: EML Entertainment -- Eva Lontscharitsch
Vendome Pictures. Raffaella Productions producing.
11 votes: "The Butler" by Danny Strong
The story of African American White House butler Eugene Allen, who served eight United States presidents from 1952 to 1986.
Agent: CAA --Risa Gertner, Maha Dakhil
Manager: Gotham Group -- Lindsay Williams
Sony. Laura Ziskin Productions producing.
11 votes: "The Escort" by Justin Adler
A flight escort responsible for overseeing the safe transport of a spoiled, wise-acre child must find alternate means of getting the kid home to Boston after their plane is grounded.
Agent: UTA -- Julien Thuan
Manager: Kapital Entertainment -- Aaron Kaplan
Dreamworks. Tom McNulty producing.
11 votes: "Fun Size" by Max Werner
A high school senior is forced to take her weirdo brother trick-or-treating but loses him along the way. With the help of a few classmates, she tries to find him before her mother gets home. Meanwhile, the depraved little brother is having the time of his life.
Agent: WME -- Danny Greenberg, David Karp
Manager: Anonymous Content -- Bard Dorros
Paramount. Anonymous Content, Fake Empire producing.
10 votes: "Arsonist's Love Story" by Katie Lovejoy
A young arsonist falls for a woman in the art world, which he desperately wants to be a part of.
Agent: CAA -- John Campisi, Craig Brody
10 votes: "Looper" by Rian Johnson
In the present day, a group of hitmen is sent their victims from the future.
Agent: Featured Artists Agency -- Brian Dreyfuss
Endgame Entertainment. Gordonstreet Pictures producing.
10 votes: "Murdoch" by Jesse Armstrong
As his family gathers for his birthday party, Rupert Murdoch tries to persuade his elder children to alter the family trust so that his two youngest children by his newest wife will have voting rights in the company.
Agent: CAA -- Gregory McKnight
10 votes: "One Day" by David Nicholls
Dexter and Emma meet for the first time at college graduation in 1988 and proceed to reunite one day a year for the next 20 years.
Agent: CAA -- Robert Bookman, JP Evans
Focus Features, Film4. Color Force, Random House Films producing.
10 votes: "Perfect Match" by Morgan Schechter & Eric Pearson
Male and female roommates, both 28, who are longtime best friends and unlucky in love decide to try an Internet dating service that promises to introduce them to their "perfect match." In the process, they discover that they're each other's "perfect match."
Agent: UTA -- Rebecca Ewing (Schechter)
ICM -- Doug Maclaren (Pearson)
Manager: Circle of Confusion -- Ken Freimann, Britton Rizzio (Schechter)
Michael De Luca Productions producing
9 votes: "The 13th Man" by Enio Rigolin
An unlikely codebreaker is thrust into the role of hero when he discovers a secret code being sent through comic books during WWII.
Agent: The Kaplan Stahler Agency -- Shan Ray
Manager: Heroes and Villains Entertainment -- Mikhail Nayfeld, Markus Georg, Dick Hillenbrand
9 votes: "Dark Moon" by Olatunde Osunsunmi
Using found footage, the story explores the possibility that manned moon missions did not stop with Apollo 17.
Agent: CAA -- Billy Hawkins, Ben Kramer
Manager: Caliber Media -- Dallas Sonnier
Dark Castle Entertainment. Weed Road Pictures producing.
9 votes: "Hot Mess" by Jenni Ross
Four girlfriends make, and then break, a list of rules devised to get the guys of their dreams and discover their inner hot messes in the process.
Agent: WME -- Simon Faber, Elia Infascelli-Smith
Manager: Tom Sawyer Entertainment -- Rachel Miller, Jesse Hara
Endgame Entertainment. Goldsmith-Thomas Productions producing.
8 votes: "Everly" by Yale Hannon
The story of one woman's struggle for redemption as she fights to stay alive and unite with her mother and young daughter, all while staving off vicious attacks by a ruthless army of yakuzas who have trapped her in her apartment.
Agent: Verve -- Adam Levine, Bryan Besser
Anonymous Content producing
8 votes: "Hoof Harrington's Greatest Hits" by Dutch Southern
An aging, semi-retired hitman recalls his murderous career while trying to kill the billionaire who has put out a contract on his life.
Agent: UTA -- Tobin Babst
Manager: Energy Entertainment -- Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall, Angelina Chen
8 votes: "The Impossible" by Sergio Sanchez
After a major tsunami hits a beach resort in Yokohama, Japan, a Spanish family on vacation with young children becomes separated and must find one another amid the wreckage.
Agent: UTA -- David Flynn, Rich Klubeck
Summit Entertainment. Apaches Entertainment producing.
8 votes: "Murder of a Cat" by Christian Magalhars & Robert Snow
A darkly comic noir about a guy trying to unravel the mystery around the murder of his pet cat.
Agent: The Gersh Agency -- Carolyn Sivitz
Manager: Madhouse Entertainment -- Adam Kolbrenner, Chris Cook
8 votes: "Oz: The Great and Powerful" by Michell Kapner
Based on the books of L. Frank Baum. The story of how a con artist from Kansas became the wizard behind the curtain.
Agent: HML -- Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank, Debra Lieb
Manager: Fineman Entertainment -- Ross Fineman
Disney. Roth Films producing.
8 votes: "Road to Nardo" by Mike Gagerman & Andrew Waller
Two guys drive to Mexico to rescue their best friend who is broke and without an ID.
Agent: APA -- Debbie Deuble, Sheryl Petersen
Manager: Circle of Confusion -- Britton Rizzio
Sony. Original Film, American Work Inc. producing.
7 votes: "Abduction" by Shawn Christensen
When a teenager who has always felt distanced from his parents discovers that he was kidnapped as a child, he is thrust into a vast conspiracy and must go on the run in order to survive.
Agent: Verve -- Bryan Besser
Manager: Caliber Media -- Dallas Sonnier
Lionsgate. Vertigo Entertainment, the Gotham Group, Tailor Made Entertainment producing.
7 votes: "Can You Keep a Secret?" by Megan Martin
After a woman spills her secrets to a stranger during a turbulent plane ride, she shows up at work to discover that he is the recently returned CEO of her company.
Agent: WME -- Sime Faber, Craig Kestel
Manager: Principato/Young Management -- Susan Solomon
Seed Productions, Laurence Mark Productions producing
7 votes: "Cinema Verite" by David Seltzer
Based on the PBS series "An American Family," cameras follow the members of a family as they go about their daily life.
Agent: ICM -- Nicole Clemens
HBO Films. Pariah producing.
7 votes: "The Claim" by Damien Chazelle
A father with a criminal past must save his kidnapped daughter, even as he fights the claim of another couple who insist the girl is theirs.
Agent: The Gersh Agency -- Sandra Lucchesi, Frank Wuliger
Manager: Exile Entertainment -- Gary Ungar
Route One Films producing
7 votes: "Crazy, Stupid, Love" by Dan Fogelman
Straight-laced, fortysomething Cal Weaver is living the dream -- good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweatheart -- but when Cal learns that his wife, Emily, has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his "perfect" life quicky unravels.
Agent: WME -- Danny Greenberg
Manager: Industry Entertainment -- Eryn Brown
Warner Bros. Di Novi Pictures, Carousel Productions producing.
7 votes: "Get a Job" by Kyle Pennekamp & Scott Turpel
A comedy about a father and son struggling to find a job in the current job market.
Agent: CAA -- Gregory McKnight, JP Evans
CBS Films. Double Feature Films producing.
7 votes: "The Girl With Something Extra" by Terrence Michael
A young man who has been raised his entire life to believe that he is a girl comes of age as he enters high school and learns his true gender.
Agent: Original Artists -- Chris Sablan
Manager: Media Talent Group -- Chris Davey
7 votes: "How It Ends" by Brooks Mclaren
When an apocalypse strikes, a man halfway across the country from his pregnant wife goes on a dangerous and desperate journey to get back to her.
Agent: ICM -- Adam Weinstein, Emil Gladstone, Aaron Hart
The Schiff Co. producing
7 votes: "Hyde" by Cole Haddon
An allegedly rehabilitated Dr. Jekyll is pulled out of prison to help hunt a new monster who seems to be using an improved version of the Hyde serum.
Agent: ICM -- Lars Theriot, Ava Jamshidi
Manager: Anonymous Content -- Alex Goldstone
Dark Horse Entertainment, Mark Gordon Productions, Skydance Productions producing.
7 votes: "Keep Coming Back" by Michael Gilio
When an adrenaline-junkie interventionist attempts to save a troubled woman, he nearly loses everything in the process.
Agent: UTA -- Julien Thuan
Manager: Industry Entertainment -- Eryn Brown.
Fox Searchlight. Ad Hominem Enterprises producing.
7 votes: "The Last Witch Hunter" by Cory Goodman
With the population of witches and warlocks on the brink of a major explosion, one witch hunter must stop them before it's too late.
Agent: WME -- Mike Esola
Manager: Aperture -- Adam Goldworm
Summit Entertainment. Aperture producing.
7 votes: "Ricky Stanicky" by Jeff Bushell
For years, three lifelong friends have used an invented character named Ricky Stanicky to get out of sticky situations. When their wives demand a meeting with Ricky, the friends hire an actor to portray him.
Agent: WME -- Mike Esola
Manager: Smart Entertainment -- John Jacobs
Summit Entertainment. Michael De Luca Productions, Smart Entertainment producing.
7 votes: "Easy Money" by Noah Oppenheim
Based on the foreign film "Snabba Cash," a business-school student with substantial ambition works in strategy for a New York City criminal enterprise.
Agent: CAA -- Rowena Arguelles, Billy Hawkins
Manager: Management 360 -- Guymon Casady, Darin Friedman
Warner Bros. Atlas Entertainment, Ninjas Runnin' Wild Productions producing.
7 votes: "Zombie Baby" by Andy Jones
After the zombie apocalypse, a young couple unsure about whether to start a family has the decision made for them when they take in an orphaned zombie baby they don't have the heart to kill.
Manager: Alan Gasmer & Friends -- Alan Gasmer, Daniel Vang
Unnamed Yorn Co., Alan Gasmer & Friends producing
6 votes: "ATM" by Chris Sparling
Three co-workers end up in a desperate fight for survival when they stop to use an ATM.
Agent: UTA -- Charlie Ferraro, Doug Johnson
Manager: Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment -- Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
Gold Circle Films, the Safran Co. producing
6 votes: "Boy Scouts vs. Zombies" by Carrie Evans and Emi Mochizuko
A troop of Boy Scouts on their weekend camping trip must protect an island town from a zombie outbreak and save the local Girl Scout troop.
Agent: HML -- Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank, Devra Lieb
Manager: Brucks Entertainment -- Bryan Brucks.
Paramount. Broken Road Productions producing.
6 votes: "The Ever After Murders" by Ian Fried
In a dark metropolis populated by characters from classical folklore, detectives Tom Thumb and Rachel Riding investigate a murder that brings them into contact with the city's most dangerous inhabitants.
Agent: WME -- Mike Esola
Manager: Prolific -- Will Rowbotham
6 votes: "Hovercar 3D" by Blaise Hemingway
Set in the future, an ex-con street racer has to transport a whistleblower across country in a high-speed hovercar with an army of authorities trying to stop them.
Agent: ICM -- Harley Copen, Ava Jamshidi
Beacon Pictures. Millar/Gough Ink producing.
6 votes: "Lola Versus" by Daryl Wein & Zoe Lister-Jones
A 29-year-old woman has to reevaluate her life after her longtime boyfriend calls off their wedding at the last minute.
Agent: The Gersh Agency -- Carolyn Sivitz
Manager: Management 360 -- Daniel Rappaport
Fox Searchlight. Groundswell Productions producing.
6 votes: "Prom" by Katie Wech
High school students prepare for their prom.
Agent: ICM -- Nicole Clemens, Todd Hoffman, Ava Jamshidi
Disney. Idealogy, Inc., producing.
6 votes: "Replay" by Jason Smilovic
Based on the Ken Grimwood novel. A man dies, wakes up in his 18-year-old body and has to relive his life over and over. With his original memory intact, he takes the opportunity to travel down roads he passed up the first time around.
Agent: CAA -- Risa Gertner, Jay Baker
Manager: Madhouse Entertainment -- Adam Kolbrenner
Warner Bros. Goldsmith-Thomas producing.
6 votes: "Sidney Grimes" by Brian Helgeland
A man just out of prison seeks revenge against his former partner who got him locked up.
Manager: Brillstein Entertainment Partners -- Missy Malkin
Todd Black, Billy Gerber producing
5 votes: "Alive Alone" by Khurram Longi
A London-based suicide bomber is having a crisis of conscience as he and his cell are planning an attack in the city. His female next-door neighbor, a drug addict and prostitute, has men who want to kill her after she witnessed the murder of her john. These two find solace in each other as they try to survive their respective situations.
Agent: Creative Artists Agency –- Robert Bookman, Martin Spencer
Sarah Radclyffe producing
5 votes: "The Flight of the Nez Perce" by E. Nicholas Mariani
The true story of Chief Joseph and his resistance to his tribe's relocation to a military settlement in Idaho during the 1800s.
Agent: United Talent Agency -- Charlie Ferraro, Jenny Maryasis
Manager: Circle of Confusion -- David Alpert, Britton Rizzio
5 votes: "... Jane Austen" by Blake Bruns
Two male friends angry at Jane Austen for creating unrealistic romantic expectations among women today get sent back in time to the 19th century. The only way for them to return home is for one of them to get Jane Austen to fall in love and sleep with him.
Manager: Brucks Entertainment –- Bryan Brucks
Brucks Entertainment producing
5 votes: "Hit and Run" by Owen Yarde
A young man discovers that the undertaker who recently hired him as his driver is actually a hit man for the mafia.
Agent: William Morris Endeavor –- Cliff Roberts, David Karp
5 votes: "Kitchen Sink" by Oren Uziel
A human teenager, a vampire and a zombie must save their town from an alien invasion.
Agent: International Creative Management –- Harley Copen
Manager: Circle of Confusion -– Britton Rizzio
5 votes: "O.K.C." by Clay Wold
An ambitious legal aide working for the Timothy McVeigh defense team tries to get to the bottom of what really happened during the Oklahoma City bombing.
Agent: United Talent Agency -- Charlie Ferraro, Barbara Dreyfus
Manager: Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment –- Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
The Safran Co. producing
5 votes: "Ness/Capone" by Grant Myers
The true story of young Elliot Ness taking down Al Capone.
Agent: Paradigm –- Mark Ross
Manager: Gotham Group –- Jeremy Bell
5 votes: "Point A" by Chris Rubeo
An unconventional romantic comedy featuring a 30-year-old magazine writer and the subject of his newest piece, a witty, wise-beyond-her-years teenage video blogger.
Agent: International Creative Management –- Aaron Hart, Adam Weinstein
Manager: Tantillo Entertainment -- John Tantillo
5 votes: "Paint" by Brit McAdams
A Bob Ross-esque PBS painting-show host must fight for his career when his station brings in a rival painting host.
Agent: United Talent Agency -- Blair Kohan, Geoff Morley
Manager: The Collective –- Sam Maydew
Rip Cord Productions producing
5 votes: "Paper Airplane" by Sid Karger
After sabotaging another family vacation, a travel agent who's afraid to fly battles his irrational phobias to win back his wife and daughter.
Agent: William Morris Endeavor –- Mike Esola
Manager: Madhouse Entertainment -– Adam Kolbrenner
5 votes: "Serena" by Chris Kyle
In 1930s North Carolina, George Pemberton, with the help of his father's money, owns and runs a logging operation in the Smoky Mountains. George meets and marries Serena, a strong-willed, scheming, ambitious woman.
Agent: International Creative Management –- Robert Lazar
Nick Wechsler Productions, Exclusive Media Group producing
-- Nicole Sperling
When it comes to making New Year's resolutions, we writers aren't exactly the norm.
Most people resolve to lose weight, dreaming of the day they can hold up their "fat jeans," as if in a weight-loss commercial. We want to hold up a few freshly printed scripts and know we've created something tangible.
Others might hope to finish their first triathlon this year. We hope to finish a screenplay, a one-hour pilot, and a half-hour comedy spec.
This year, I'm gonna write more. It's a popular resolution amongst our crowd. It's a great goal, but it's vague.
Then again, maybe some of us promised to write every day. That's even better.
But just like hitting a plateau at the gym, we sometimes lose the steam that once powered a new and exciting story idea. We take one day off, which turns into two days off; eventually, we find ourselves opening up a document only to realize it hasn't been touched in two weeks – or more.
Let's say you do write most of the time, but you take one or two days off each week for any number of reasons. That's still a lot of writing. But consider this: at the end of the year, that's roughly 10 weeks, or 2.5 months' worth of days that you didn't write anything.
That's where Jerry Seinfeld's productivity tip "Don't Break the Chain" comes in.
Years ago, when software developer Brad Isaac was performing stand-up at open mic nights, he received his best advice ever from the already-famous comedian.
Seinfeld explained his method for success: each January, he hangs a large year-at-a-glance calendar on his wall and, for every day he wrote new material, he had the exquisite pleasure that can only come from drawing a big red "X" over that day.
Drawing those Xs got to be pretty fun and rewarding, so he kept doing it. Eventually, he began to create a chain of red Xs.
The idea was to never break that chain.
Not only does this approach program the body and mind to sit down and write daily – it also motivates you to continue that beautiful string of big, red Xs. If you don't write one day, you don't get to draw the X.
It doesn't particularly matter what you write. Blogs, articles, scripts, your memoir. It can be anything, as long as you're actively and routinely pushing yourself.
But let's say you're a screenwriter, and you take it a step further. You might decide that you only get an X for the days you work on your screenplays.
If you made progress on your scripts every single day for an entire year, how many could you finish? Two? Four? More? Now, imagine that you've finally gotten the ear of an agent, producer or director. If you don't break the chain for two or three years, chances are you'll end up with a script to please just about any buyer.
Learning from the pros is imperative in this business, but if you don't put their lessons into practice, it won't take you far. And while professional writers offer a wide range of ideas, they will all agree that discipline and determination must come first.
That means writing all the time. It means not believing in writer's block. It means turning off the television, silencing your phone, and finding some Shangri La that somehow does not yet have wireless internet.
First and foremost, it means making writing a major part of your life. To do that, you have to make writing a habit, just like going to the gym, eating healthy foods, or flossing - but harder.
There are countless excuses, most of them completely acceptable, which hold us back from writing. More often than not, it's our never-ending To-do lists that take precedence over our passion.
With Don't Break the Chain, writing, too, becomes a daily task that we have to cross off that To-do list. This method is a constant reminder that, if we want to succeed as writers, we must acknowledge our craft and respect the process.
Because the reality is, if you do work at your craft obsessively, you will find success. And if you do become a professional writer, you will need to write every day. Not only that, you'll be expected to prove that you can constantly produce worthwhile material, and the only way any of us can achieve that is to push ourselves tenaciously.
Who else is going to push you? For many, it's going to come down to self-determination. Your partner or parents or kids can encourage you, too. Let them know about the calendar. After you prove you can keep the chain connected for a couple of weeks, they too will motivate you not to miss a single day.
Find all the motivation you need to get started, because by teaching yourself to incorporate writing into your daily routine, you'll transform yourself into a professional.
Think of it this way: Your first day at a new job can be stressful. You might feel like you don't know where to park, when to show up, or how to answer your phone. Cut to a few months later. You've gotten into a routine. It's no longer intimidating. It is, simply, what you do.
The same idea applies to writing.
It's no wonder we tell ourselves we have writer's block some days, especially after leaving a story cold and dead for a whole month or more. Think of those big red Xs covering an entire calendar year as a fire stoking your creativity – and your writing career.
Of course, it's up to you whether you want to jump-start your career now rather than a few years down the line. If you want to do it now (a wise choice), Don't Break the Chain will get you moving right away – as in, immediately! TODAY!
The Writers Store was launched to provide writers with the tools necessary to help at any stage and in any medium of writing. That’s why we’re offering a free download of your own yearly calendar to print out.
Now, all you need is a pen – the color is up to you – and the goal to draw a big X over every single day.
Are you willing to see how much you can create over an entire year? Are you curious to find out what happens when you take a professional’s heartfelt advice and put it to good use?
