Viewfinder: The Black List For Aspiring Filmmakers
Though it started as a very insider thing, The Black List has recently become more popular and mainstream. For those who may not know, it's an annual list of the year's best unproduced screenplays as voted on by about 300 Hollywood development executives and high-level assistants. We recently posted the 2010 list and looking back at some previous years (2007, 2008, 2009), films such as Recount, The Beaver and The Social Network all sat near the top of the list. Skim over any of them and you'll see names of films that are out, are coming out and more. It's a big deal.
This year, a new Black List of sorts has come out. Dubbed Viewfinder, it's supposed to do for directors what The Black List did for screenwriters. Viewfinder is a compilation of "the top commercials, shorts and/or music videos of 2010." Several of the directors on the list already have deals or are in production on films. We've even written about a few of them on /Film. For others, though, this could be their big break. After the jump, check out the full list and link to the page where you can watch all the videos including the #1 film on the list, Ricardo de Montreuil's The Raven, seen above.
Thanks to Deadline for the heads up. If you head over to the Viewfinder Tumblr you can watch each of these videos mentioned and read more about the list in general.
MENTIONS: 12
THE RAVEN by Ricardo de Montreuil
Short
Agent(s): Billy Hawkins / CAA
Manager(s): Oliver Obst, Josh McGuire / Underground Management
MENTIONS: 11
PIXELS by Patrick Jean
Short
Agent(s): Rob Carlson, Jerome Duboz, Simon Faber, David Karp / WME
Commercial Production Company: Mothership/Digital Domain (US territory)
MENTIONS: 10
THE GIFT by Carl Erik Rinsch
Commercial (Philips)
Agent(s): Jay Baker, Todd Feldman / CAA
Manager(s): Missy Malkin / Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Commercial Production Company: RSA Flims
MENTIONS: 8
AZUREUS RISING by David Weinstein
Short
Agent(s): Craig Brody, Stuart Manashil / CAA
MENTIONS: 8
WRITE THE FUTURE by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Commercial (Nike)
Agent(s): Bryan Lourd, Beth Swofford / CAA
Manager(s): Dave Morrison / Anonymous Content
Commercial Production Company: Anonymous Content
MENTIONS: 8
ARCADE FIRE – "THE WILDERNESS DOWNTOWN" by Chris Milk
Music Video
Agent(s): Rob Carlson / Danny Gabai WME
Manager(s): Keith Redmon / Anonymous
Commercial Production Company: Radical Media
MENTIONS: 6
CAROUSEL by Adam Berg
Commercial (Philips)
Agent(s): Billy Hawkins / CAA
Manager(s): Darin Friedman / Management 360
Commercial Production Company: Blake Powell / Stink TV
MENTIONS: 5
SAMURAI by Jerry O'FlahertyAgent(s): Craig Kestel / WME
Manager(s): Jeremy Bell, Peter J. McHugh / Gotham Group
MENTIONS: 4
BING BANG BIG BOOM by BLU
MENTIONS: 4
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON by Dean Fleischer-CampAgent(s): Sharon Jackson, Doug Lucterhand / WME
Manager(s): Tucker Voorhees, Brian Steinberg / Principato Young Entertainment
MENTIONS: 2
M.I.A. – "BORN FREE" by Romain GavrasAgent(s) Elia Infascelli-Smith / WME
Music Video Representation: Director Bureau
MENTIONS: 2
CUP OF TEARS by Gary ShoreAgent(s): Spencer Baumgarten, Benjamin Kramer, Hylda Queally, Matthew Rosen / CAA
Manager(s): Keith Redmon / Anonymous Content
MENTIONS: 2
WORDS by Will Hoffman & Daniel MercadanteMENTIONS: 2OK GO – THIS TOO SHALL PASS by James FrostAgent(s): Rob Carlson, David Karp / WME
Commercial Production Company: Zoo Films
MENTIONS: 2
MARK RONSON – "BANG BANG BANG" by Warren FuManager(s): Naren Desai / Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Music Video Representation: Partizan
MENTIONS: 2
PANIC ATTACK by Federico AlvarezAgent(s): Todd Feldman, Stuart Manashil / CAA
Manager(s): Keith Redmon, Bard Dorros / Anonymous Content
Hollywood is already well aware of the top three directors on the list. A feature length version of The Raven is already in development with Mark Wahlberg attached and its director, Ricardo de Montreuil, is also developing a movie called Lowriders. Director Edgar Wright tweeted, and we posted, about the brilliance of Pixels by Patrick Jean and now Happy Madison and Sony and developing a feature length version. Finally, Carl Erik Rinsch's The Gift started a bidding war, and Rinsch was attached to Logan's Run and the Alien prequel before starting preproduction on 47 Ronin with Keanu Reeves.
And that's just the top three. For some reason Alejandro González Iñárritu is on the list, even though he's already well established with 21 Grams and the upcoming Biutiful. Still, his Nike commercial was amazing. As was the Arcade Fire interactive video by Chris Milk and on and on.
Do you think this is a valuable tool for Hollywood executives? Do you see it blowing up like The Black List did?