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Every year, The Black List publishes a list of the most notable unproduced screenplays in Hollywood. (They take pains to note their picks should not be looked at as the “best” screenplays; instead, they describe them as the “most liked” scripts, based on a survey of various executives from throughout the world of movies.)
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the first Black List, which was assembled by development executive Franklin Leonard. In the decades since, the Black List has become an annual event anticipated by the entire movie business. Literally hundreds of screenplays that have appeared on the Black List has been made into movies (and, to a lesser extent, TV shows).
Some of those films didn’t quite pan out — sometimes a script went unproduced because it was too challenging or too bold, and when it was finally adapted, those appealing edges were sanded down. But a large percentage of Black List screenplays that became films turned out pretty darn well. Four Black List scripts have even won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A couple of those movies appear on the list below, my picks for the 15 best movies made from Black List scripts. (There are ten more honorable mentions below that — like I said, a lot of good Black List movies had been made in 20+ years.)
The Best Black List Movies
The best films made from scripts that appeared in the annual “Black List” survey up unproduced screenplays.
Honorable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order): Arrival, Blockers, Booksmart, Burn After Reading, Easy A, Edge of Tomorrow, Michael Clayton, Slumdog Millionaire, Take This Waltz, Whip It
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The New York Times Picks for the Best Movies of the 21st Century
Critics and filmmakers voted and chose the top films of the century so far.
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