The Black List has been released this year and yet again my screenplay about a puppy-wizard who travels to the future was not on the list. Don’t worry about it. I’m able to live through this rejection.

For those of you not in the know, the Black List is a list of the best unproduced screenplays of the year.

Why is it so important? Well, some notable screenplays that were once on the list went on to become Academy Award winning films. They include ‘Argo’, ‘The King’s Speech’, and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. In fact, three of the last five Oscar winners for Best Films were scripts that were on the Blacklist. Johnny Depp’s film ‘Transcendence‘ as well as ‘Django Unchained’ was on last year’s list and ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ was on the list the year before that.

Here’s a look at some of the sci-fi scripts that made the list. Pay close attention because you may see these movies playing at a theatre near you.

• A MONSTER CALLS: Written by: Patrick Ness

Synopsis: An adolescent boy with a terminally ill single mother begins having visions of a tree monster, who tells him the truths about life in the form of three stories, helping him to eventually cope with his emotions over his dying mom.

(Yeah, you had me at tree monster.)

• SOVEREIGN: Written by: Geoff Tock and Greg Weidman

Synopsis: A man goes to space to destroy the ship that, upon going sentient, killed his wife.

• REMINISCENCE: Written by: Lisa Joy Nolan

Synopsis: An “archeologist” whose technology allows you to relive your past finds himself abusing his own science to find the missing love of his life.

(I’m already grabbing tissues. Hopefully this can satisfy the sci-fi fans who happen to be hopeless romantics.)

• THE GOLDEN RECORD: Written by: Aaron Kandell and Jordan Kandell

Synopsis: The true story of how Carl Sagan fell in love while leading the wildest mission in NASA history: a golden record to encapsulate the experience of life on earth for advanced extraterrestrial life.

(I guess this isn’t really science fiction per se, but I thought the subject might be of interest. Same with the next one…)

• 1969: A SPACE ODYSSEY OR HOW KUBRICK LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LAND ON THE MOON: Written by: Stephany Folsom

Synopsis: With NASA’s Apollo program in trouble and the Soviets threatening nuclear war, a female PR operative conspires with NASA’s Public Affairs Office to stage a fake moon landing in case Armstrong and Aldren fail, the goal being to generate public excitement that will aid the U.S. in winning the Cold War. But the op is faced with the biggest challenge of all: Filming the fake lunar landing with temperamental Stanley Kubrick.

• GAY KID AND FAT CHICK: Written by: Bo Burnham

Synopsis: Two high school misfits become costumed vigilantes and take out their frustrations on the students who have bullied them throughout high school.

(Ah, sounds like a nerd’s dream come true!)

• INK AND BONE: Written by: Zak Olkewicz

Synopsis: When a female book editor visits the home of a horror writer so he can complete his novel, she finds that all of his creations are holding him hostage.

• CAPSULE: Written by: Ian Shorr

Synopsis: A young man’s life is turned upside down when he mysteriously begins to receive metallic capsules containing messages from his future self.

• FULLY WRECKED: Written by: Jake Morse and Scott Wolman

Synopsis: An R-rated talking car from the ’80s is brought back into service and teamed up with the son of his former partner, a befuddled cop looking to earn his stripes.

• EXTINCTION: Written by: Spenser Cohen

Synopsis: A man must do everything he can to save his family from an alien invasion.

• REVELATION: Written by: Hernany Perla

Synopsis: A prison psychiatrist meets a death row inmate on the verge of his execution who claims to be the only thing stopping the end of the world. As she begins to investigate his predictions, she finds them to be eerily accurate, and that she may be a central figure in the events to come.

• CLARITY: Written by: Ryan Belenzon and Jeffrey Gelber

Synopsis: What if a world woke up tomorrow to scientific proof of the afterlife?

So, what do you think of this list? Are there any stories that interest you?

Source: Deadline