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  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

50 Great Unproduced Movie Scripts

Features
By Matt Maytum published 29 November 2010

The Best of the Black List

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$40,000 Man by Jonathan Goldstein and Sean Daily

The High Concept: This script has been knocking around for a while now. Think of it as a comedy remake of The Six Million Dollar Man in which the bloke in question is put back together bionicallly for a paltry sum.

Scene We'd Like To See:
The injured and repaired astronaut comes around from his coma to be told he's been bionically rebuilt. His face slowly drops as he's talked through the cost-cutting methods that went into desiging his bargain bod.

Dream Director: Todd Phillips should be able to handle to humour and the budget.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, playing against Iron Man type.

Galahad by Ryan Condal

The High Concept: This is described as a revisionist take on the King Arthur legend from Galahad's point of view. The titular knight was the illegitimate son of Lancelot, and after he is knighted he joins the quest for the Holy Grail.

Scene We'd Like To See:
The moment Lancelot brings his estranged son to the famous round table of Camelot. From a young perspective the famous knights and their leader could be shrouded in mystery and awe. And there's plenty of opportunity for macho posturing.

Dream Director: To do the tale full-scale justice, Ridley Scott would be top of our wishlist.

Starring:
Henry Cavill as the young knight, Kevin McKidd as Lancelot, and Danny Huston as Arthur.

Manuscript by Paul Grellong

The High Concept: This one concerns three ambitious young New Yorkers who are willing to do anything to see their literary aspirations realised. Could be smart and satirical as well as tense and nerve-shredding.

Scene We'd Like To See:
The three main protagonists get together to offer constructive criticism of each other's manuscripts. Like American Psycho 's business card scene, only with more snarky grammar jibes.

Dream Director: Exam 's Stuart Hazeldine

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Brody and Armie Hammer.

Winter's Discontent by Paul Fruchbom

The High Concept: An eldery widower, whose wife of 50 years has recently passed away, moves into a retirement community. Having been faithful (but sexually frustrated) in his marriage, he soon starts to enjoy "living the swinging single life."

Scene We'd Like To See:
The protagonist strutting the halls, checking out his fellow residents like a frat-boy who's just been dropped off at college for the first time.

Dream Director: Alexander Payne.

Starring: Is it even possible to imagine anyone other than Jack Nicholson in the starring role? No one can do lusty, over-the-hill swinger like him…

Wencelas Square by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

The High Concept: This script is based on a short story by Arthur Phillips. It follows the romantic liaisons between two spies working on separate Cold War missions in 1980s Prague. An extremely intriguing backdrop for a potential romantic epic.

Scene We'd Like To See: The pair both try to talk about anything other than their day jobs when they meet in a Prague bar after a particularly stressful day, each worrying that the other will suss them out.

Dream Director: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Cate Blanchett and Jon Hamm.

Union Station by Doug Jung

The High Concept: Do you remember when Pretty Boy Floyd was gunned down at the beginning of Public Enemies ? That was pretty much a direct result of his link to the Kansas City Massacre, a shootout that left four police officers dead. Based on the graphic novel by Ande Parks.

Scene We'd Like To See: It'd have to be the train station shootout itself, unfolding in gut-churning real time as Floyd and his accomplices await the arrival of the carriage holding Frank Nash and his FBI captors.

Dream Director: Michael Mann, creating a prequel/companion piece to Public Enemies .

Starring: Channing Tatum deserves a chance to flesh out the character he previously played in an almost cameo.

The Gunslinger by John Hlavin

The High Concept: A gritty, grizzly Western. An ex-Texas Ranger seeks violent retribution on the Mexican gang that tortured and killed his brother. When they take his nephew captive, he hunts them down with no mercy, while wrestling with his own demons at the same time.

Scene We'd Like To See: The ranger finds his first lead that could send him in the direction of the gang, and administers some Old West brutality in order to get some answers.

Dream Director: John Hillcoat

Starring: Josh Brolin as the vengeful ranger, and Clint Eastwood as his ageing father.

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Celeste & Jesse Forever by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack

The High Concept: A couple in the midst of a divorce try to keep things amiable as they both venture back out into the dating scene. Here's hoping for a romantic comedy with a wise, bittersweet edge, coupling the freshness of (500) Days of Summer with a more seasoned perspective on love.

Scene We'd Like To See: Out to prove that they're totally fine with the situation, Jesse and Celeste agree to take their new squeezes out on a double date. Tension, stolen glances and one-upmanship games ensue, before they've even tucked into starters.

Dream Director: Marc Webb

Starring: Screenwriter Rashida Jones has impressed in various support roles from I Love You, Man to The Social Network , so we'd be keen to see her take the lead here.

The Curse of Medusa by J. Lee and Tom Welch

The High Concept: It's basically an origin tale of the snake-haired Gorgon of Greek mythology. She's had a bit of a rough time of late, appearing in lacklustre incarnations in Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson , so it's about time she got to be a full-on badass again.

Scene We'd Like To See:
If they go with Ovid's version of the story (in which Medusa is a beautiful woman turned into a monster by jealous Athena), we'd go for the transformation scene. If not, we'd plump for the moment her first victim turns to stone just by gazing upon her, and the effect this has on the isolated monstress.

Dream Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Marion Cotillard

The Blind Rage of Peacoat Miller by Adam Penn

The High Concept: This would no doubt be marketed as The Ring meets American Pie if it were to ever get made, and for that reason alone it should be right at the top of Hollywood's to-do list. A college student returns home for the holidays to find that an internet porn video is turning all of its viewers into homicidal maniacs.

Scene We'd Like To See: The hero sets out to rescue his longtime crush, and logs into Facebook to check on her status. He's then got to battle his own rampaging hormones as he diverts his eyes from the endless barrage of pop-ups that attempt to corrupt him on his mission to find his beloved's location.

Dream Director: David O. Russell

Starring: It'd have to be Michael Cera.

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Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum
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Former Editor of Total Film magazine

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.

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