Movie geeks (and screenplay wonks in particular) have become increasingly aware of The Black List over the past few years, the annual “survey” of hundreds of film industry professionals who vote on their favorite unproduced screenplays. While inclusion on the list doesn’t necessarily guarantee a script’s quality, it does carry with it a certain cache value and respectability. But the Black List isn’t the only survey in the game, with Kailey A. Marsh’s Blood List picking up the genre slack and utilizing a similar style and method to recognize the “most-liked unproduced screenplays in the horror, thriller, sci-fi and dark comedy/drama genres.” Just in time for the year’s spookiest holiday (forgive us for that one), Marsh has revealed the top 13 scripts on this year’s Blood List.
Unsurprisingly, the top vote-getter is Tyler Marceca’s The Disciple Program, which was snapped up by Universal back in May. The project is already set to star Mark Wahlberg and will be directed by Headhunters helmer Morten Tyldum. Described as “a Manchurian Candidate-style thriller,” the film will center on Wahlberg’s character who, after his wife dies, “discovers it was no accident.” The rest of the list is rounded out by a nice mix of different genres and tropes (yup, there are aliens, vampires, demons, and serial killers aplenty), and it certainly includes projects for just about every film fan’s tastes (personally, we’d love to see Country of Strangers right now). Check out the full list of Blood List winners (and their current status) after the break, thanks to Variety. Want to pick up a new genre script to produce? Today could be your lucky day!
The Disciple Program by Tyler Marceca
25 Votes
Logline: A Manchurian Candidate-style thriller in which a man’s wife dies and upon investigating, he discovers it was no accident.
Agents: Rich Cook & Phil d’Amecourt (WME)
Managers: Bard Dorros & Michael Sugar (Anonymous Content)
Status: Mark Wahlberg attached to star and produce for Universal, with Morten Tyldum attached to direct.
Stephanie by Ben Collins & Luke Piotrowski
19 Votes
Logline: Psychological horror film described as Paperhouse meets Carrie that concerns a young girl whose strange powers seem to doom her to a world of lonely solitude.
Agent: Emerson Davis (UTA)
Manager: Nate Matteson (Gotham Group)
Status: The Gotham Group producing with Bryan Bertino and Adrienne Biddle of Unbroken Pictures. Jonathan Van Tulleken (Off Season) directing.
Lockdown at Franklin High by Joe Ballarini & Gregg Bishop
17 Votes
Logline: A girl and her brother must break-out of their locked down high school while a monster stalks the halls.
Agents: David Boxerbaum, Ida Ziniti & Tanya Cohen (Paradigm)
Managers: George Heller (Apostle) reps Ballarini, while Andy Cohen (Grade A Entertainment) and Cindy Cowan (Cindy Cowan Entertainment) rep Bishop
Status: Set up at Sony with Benderspink and Platinum Dunes producing.
Story of Your Life by Eric Heisserer
16 Votes
Logline: Sci-fi drama about alien crafts landing around the world and Louise Banks, a linguist expert recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat. As Louise learns to communicate with the aliens, she begins experiencing vivid flashbacks which become the key to unlocking the greater mystery about the true purpose of their visit.
Agents: Barbara Dreyfus & Jon Huddle (UTA)
Manager: Julie Bloom (Art/Work Entertainment)
Status: Set up at 21 Laps.
Country of Strangers by Sean Armstrong
13 Votes
Logline: Based on true events, thriller follows an inspector during his 40-year search for three siblings taken from an Australian beach in 1966.
Agents: Bill Weinstein & Rob Herting (Verve)
Managers: Peter Dealbert & Susan Solomon (Principato/Young)
Status: In negotiations with unnamed buyer.
February by Osgood Perkins
13 Votes
Logline: Horror pic about an unidentified young woman who makes a pilgrimage to the site of a demonic possession at an all-girls boarding school in the dead of winter.
Managers: Scott Halle (Gramercy Park Entertainment)
Status: Bryan Bertino and Adrienne Biddle of Unbroken Pictures producing.
Interstate 5 by Seth Sherwood
11 Votes
Logline: Described as Jacob’s Ladder meets Natural Born Killers, this psychological thriller follows the son of an infamous serial killer and the daughter of one of the victims who go on the road in hopes of tracking the killer down, only to find themselves haunted by demonic forces intent on driving them mad.
Manager: Kailey Marsh (Station 3)
Status: Available.
Somnia by Mike Flanagan & Jeff Howard
9 Votes
Logline: Horror pic about a couple who recently lost their son and take in a young boy as a foster child. They soon discover that the boy’s dreams manifest themselves in the real world when he sleeps.
Agents: Sheryl Petersen, Debbie Deuble & Chris Ridenhour (APA)
Manager: Nicholas Bogner (Affirmative Entertainment)
Status: In negotiations with unnamed buyer.
Darkfall by TS Faull
8 Votes
Logline: Supernatural thriller about a group of residents who must survive the night in their apartment complex as they slowly learn that Darkfall (the rising of demons to take over the Earth) is upon them.
Manager: Michael Botti (Industry Entertainment)
Status: Available.
Viral by Dustin T. Benson
8 Votes
Logline: A thriler with action and sci-fi elements described as I Am Legend meets Outbreak. Told from the first-person point-of-view via the helmet cam of a bio-safety suit, story follows a scientist who joins an extraction team through quarantined areas of Manhattan while secretly searching for her missing daughter.
Agents: Ramses Ishak & Mike Sheresky (UTA)
Manager: Brooklyn Weaver (Energy Entertainment)
Status: Adrian Askarieh (Prime Universe) attached to produce with Weaver and Energy Entertainment.
The Importance of Blood by James Breen
7 Votes
Logline: Horror pic about the mute servant of a modern-day vampire who returns home to her estranged family 20 years after her disappearance. As she grows closer to her family, her loyalties to her master are finally tested.
Managers: Jarrod Murray & Allard Cantor (Epicenter)
Status: Available.
Shut In by T.J. Cimfel & David White
6 Votes
Logline: Horror-thriller about an agoraphobic woman who must fend off a home invasion while she protects a dark secret.
Manager: Marc Manus (Manus Entertainment)
Status: Available.
Peste by Barbara Marshall
5 Votes
Logline: Sci-fi/horror pic about a 16 year-old girl who begins to record her life for her high school media class just as a terrifying virus begins to spread.
Agents: Debbie Deuble & Lee Dinstman (APA)
Manager: Ava Jamshidi (Industry Entertainment)
Status: Set up at IM Global with Sherryl Clark producing.
For more information about the 2012 Blood List, visit its official website, right HERE.
