GLAAD and the Blacklist have worked together to promote ten original movie scripts with LGBTQ issues and viewpoints.
The Black List is an online database and survey where screenwriters can post their unproduced scripts. Those scripts are then voted on for an annual list of the most popular unproduced scripts that year. The website has become a treasure trove of original stories and many of them have gone on to become big and award winning movies. This includes The King’s Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, Argo, American Hustle, The Revenant, Arrival, I, Tonya, Bird Box, Manchester By The Sea, American Sniper, and more.
Wanting to promote the production of original scripts with LGBTQ leads or issues, GLAAD recently joined together with the Blacklist to create their own list.
“There is no more reputable source for discovering quality scripts in Hollywood than The Black List,” said Jeremy Blacklow, GLAAD’s Director of Entertainment Media. “The Black List’s commitment to elevating marginalized voices in the film industry is unparalleled and GLAAD is excited to lock arms with them in helping bring diverse LGBTQ stories to Hollywood’s attention.”
"The Black List is thrilled to be working with GLAAD to shine a spotlight on brilliant LGBTQ-inclusive scripts hosted on the Black List and beyond,” said Franklin Leonard the Founder and CEO of The Black List. “We are even more excited by the prospect that this spotlight will vault these films toward production and into theaters around the country and the world, bringing with them a more LGBTQ-inclusive culture and society."
Without further ado, here are the loglines of the top ten scripts:
The Ecdysiasts, by Mary F. Unser – Soon the 13-year periodical cicadas will emerge from underground by the millions, molt and fill the air with their joyous, deafening song. Above ground, 13-year-old Trygg is struggling with his own emergence since the death of his older sister Katie. When lesbian entomologist Allison Armstrong moves in next door, she and Trygg become fast friends and make plans to celebrate the appearance of the cicadas.
The Enclosed, by Chris Basler – In 13th century England, Brigid, an anchoress living a hermetic existence in a church cell, stumbles upon a holy relic that may give her life new meaning — but when a sinister entity after the relic threatens her, she’s forced to confide in an impertinent servant girl with plans of her own.
Me & Tammy Faye at the Betty Ford Clinic, by Pamela García Rooney – The totally MADE-UP story of the unlikely bond between a Latina transgender woman and the queen of Christian televangelism, inspired by the very real life of Tammy Faye.
Paragraph 175, by Diane Hanks – In the storm of persecution that is Hitler's rise to power, two lovers are torn apart and find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict: one a prisoner in a concentration camp, the other his captor.
Queen, by Harry Tarre – Based on the inspiring true story of the world’s first openly transgender high school Prom Queen, Corey Rae.
Scott, by Anna Rose Moore – After her best friend dies, a success-driven lawyer is left with an unwinnable case – a female inmate’s accusations of rape by her prison guards. She soon uncovers a massive systemic scandal of sexual abuse by prison staff and the network used to cover it up.
Three Months, by Jared Frieder – After being exposed to HIV the weekend of his high school graduation in 2011, a queer teenager from Miami must survive the three months it takes to get tested in this coming-of-age dark comedy about shame and resilience.
Trouble Man, by David Carlson – The incredible true story of unsung hero Bayard Rustin, the gay African American architect of the Civil Rights Movement and right hand man to Martin Luther King, Jr..
What If?, by Alvaro García Lecuona – An unassertive 17-year-old turns his high school on its head when he asks out his crush, a transgender girl.
Your Boy, by Matt Whitaker – Home for the summer on Long Island, a shy black college student comes out to his oldest and closest friend. But after an internship in Manhattan leads him to an exhilarating gay social scene, the 21-year-old is caught between his newly confident lifestyle and the unpopular straight friend who once knew him best.
