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Eric Heisserer‘s Bird Box came out on top of the 2014 Blood List, the horror genre’s version of the Black List of best unproduced screenplays.
Bird Box is Heisserer’s adaptation of a manuscript by Josh Malerman, the frontman of rock group The High Strung, and tells the story of a woman protecting her children after the world is invaded by monsters. The script tops the annual list released every Halloween of the best 13 still unproduced dark genre screenplays as voted by 100 top executives, managers and agents. It was created by independent manager Kailey Marsh.
Dimension picked up last year’s winner Zak Olkewicz‘s Ink and Bone well before the film topped the 2013 list, but the film is still in development. 2012’s top script was The Disciple Program with Mark Wahlberg attached to star but it is also still in development. There’s better news for 2011 winner The Boy Next Door that landed at Universal and stars Jennifer Lopez with a release set for Jan. 2015.
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To honor its sixth year, the Blood List has added additional lists for Top 6 TV pilots as well as Top 6 horror books and also a New Blood contest, presented with Stage 32.
The full 2014 Blood List Top 13
1. Bird Box by Eric Heisserer
Logline: A woman tries to lead her children to safety after the world is invaded by monsters who turn you insane upon sight. The tale has echoes of Stephen King‘s The Stand and captures a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveling.
Genre:Sci-fi thriller
Agent(s): Rich Cook, Lindsay Dunn, Jason Spitz, & Cori Wellins (WME)
Manager(s): Julie Bloom (Art/Work Entertainment)
Status: Set up at Universal, with Bluegrass Films and Chris Morgan Productions attached to produce.
2. The Gardener by Alyssa Jefferson
Logline: In the 1950s, a neurotic florist’s strict routine is derailed after stumbling upon a murder and finding himself at the center of a conspiracy.
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): Lee Stobby (Silent R)
Status: Available.
3. Tau by Noga Landau
Logline: A woman held captive in the futuristic smart house of a serial kidnapper realizes that her only hope of escape lies in turning the house’s sentient computer against its creator.
Genre: Thriller
Agent(s): Dana Harris, Ryan Feldman, Meyash Prabhu
Manager(s): Adam Marshall (Caliber)
Status: Russell Ackerman is attached to produce
4. Into the Deep by Tony Jazwinski
Logline: A young woman who has recently lost her mother is surfing in an isolated area when she gets stranded on a buoy, and a gigantic great white shark is between her and the shore.
Reps: David Boxerbaum, Chris Licata, Valarie Phillips (Paradigm)
Manager(s): Ashley Berns & Lawrence Mattis (Circle of Confusion)
Genre: Dark Drama
Status: Set up at Columbia pictures.
5. Possession: A Love Story by Jack Stanley
Logline: Edward and Bethany Martin are young, beautiful, rich, and in love. But their enviable lifestyle is upended when Bethany begins exhibiting strange and alarming behavior. As her condition worsens and doctors grow increasingly baffled, it seems as if something supernatural might be responsible. But the truth is far more shocking…and will force Edward to confront a terrifying choice in the name of love.
Genre: Psychological Horror
Agent(s): Jay Baker, Jon Cassir, John Garvey (CAA)
Manager(s): Jewerl Ross (Silent R)
Status: Russell Ackerman, Jewerl Ross, & John Schoenfelder are attached to produce.
6. Scarecrow by Michael Spinell
Logline: Set at a remote lake house, revolves around a mother and her two young daughters who must fight for survival after falling into a terrifying and bizarre nightmare conceived by a psychopath.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Agent(s): Geoff Morley
Manager(s): N/A
Status: Set up at Screen Gems with Bryan Bertino & Adrienne Biddle (Unbroken) attached to produce
7. The Bringing by Brandon Murphy & Phillip Murphy
Logline: In the vein of The Shining and The Conjuring – based on true events, a private investigator is hired to investigate a mysterious murder at a downtown Los Angeles hotel and uncovers it’s dark supernatural history.
Genre: Horror
Agent(s): Rich Cook, Solco Schuit & Theresa Kang (WME)
Manager(s): Langley Perer (Mosaic Media)
Status: Set up at Sony with Matt Tolmach & Daniela Cretu attached to produce
8. Bullies by Michael Grebb
Logline: An outcast teenager’s revenge plot against high school bullies quickly spins out of control, blurring the lines between bully and victim as his obsession sets off a deadly chain reaction.
Genre: Revenge Thriller
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): Jeff Portnoy (Heretic Literary Management)
Status: Available
9. Leatherface by Seth M. Sherwood
Logline: In this prequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a young nurse is kidnapped by four violent teens who escape from a mental hospital and take her on a road trip from hell. Pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge, one of these teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that will destroy his mind, molding him into the monster we now call Leatherface.
Genre: Horror
Agent(s): Charles Ferraro & Peter Dodd (UTA)
Manager(s): Kailey Marsh (Kailey Marsh Management)
Status: Set up at Millennium Films. Carl Mazzocone and Les Weldon are attached to produce. Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman will serve as executive producers, and Beth Bruckner is co-producing.
10. Dead Animals by Sawyer Perry
Logline: When a young woman’s estranged uncle comes back into her hometown, she finds herself strangely attracted to him while at the same time suspicious that he might be involved with a series of grisly murders.
Genre: Horror
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): Sarah Smith (Fake Dare Productions)
Status: Ross Putman is attached to produce.
11. Unsettled by Jesse Wheeler
Logline: Cole Tanner, one of the millions buried in debt they’ll never be able to pay off, is used to harassment by collection agencies. But nothing has prepared Cole for his new debt collector, Ray Loomis, a man dead set on getting what he’s owed – one way or another.
Genre: Thriller
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): Marc Manus (Manus Entertainment)
Status: Available
Genre: Contained thriller
Agent(s): Solco Schuit (WME)
Manager(s): Brooklyn Weaver (Energy Entertainment)
Status: Set up at Addictive Pictures13.
13. The Wildness by Evan Dickson
Logline: A hard partying ski instructor finally gets his dream job in Aspen only to find the town threatened by a malevolent force that must be tamed.
Genre: Horror/Action
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): N/A
Status: Available
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