Scripts

This year's Black List, a ranking of hot screenplays that have not yet finished principal photography, honors scripts about the NFL draft, the early life of Dr. Seuss, and a 40-year search for three siblings taken from an Australian beach. The list is compiled by former production executive Franklin Leonard, who said more than 290 film executives contributed their 10 favorite scripts of the year. To be eligible for inclusion in the list, the scripts had to receive at least six mentions from inside the Hollywood development community.

BET, which in the last few years has moved forward with its first scripted comedies and a drama, is now moving into the miniseries arena. The cable outlet will produce a six-part miniseries, "The Book of Negroes," a historical drama based on the prize-winning novel by Lawrence Hill. The project will star Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis Gossett Jr. and Aunjanue Ellis. PHOTOS: Stories that leapt from big to small screen (and vice versa) The miniseries will revolve around Aminita Diallo, an 11-year-old girl living in a West Africa village who is kidnapped and sent to South Carolina as a slave.

I am writing in response to the continuing Hollywood lament that there are no good scripts, as echoed again by MGM Chairman Alan Ladd Jr. in "Money Woes Make Script for MGM a Tragedy" (Business, Oct. 27). He says good scripts have dried up throughout the industry, adding that everyone he talks to at the studios agrees that "there seems to be no really good material around right now." Many scripts have journeyed through my word processor, most by well-known career writers. Add to this the number of scripts typed by other services and the number of scripts typed by writers themselves.

The Golden State Warriors choked. One of them did, anyway. Klay Thompson was talking to reporters after the game when he accidentally inhaled the deodorant spray Draymond Green was using two lockers away. Thompson's eyes watered and he coughed for a bit as he touched his throat. It was a momentary setback, nothing compared to what the Clippers experienced in a 109-105 loss Saturday to Golden State in a playoff opener. The Warriors were supposed to get beat without shot-blocking rebounder Andrew Bogut.

An online catalog to help people locate more than 30,000 motion picture scripts spanning 95 years of filmmaking was launched Thursday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Motion Picture Scripts Database lists scripts from 1910 to the present housed at six Southland libraries -- the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library, American Film Institute's Louis B.

Why is it I think Hal Jepsen (Calendar Letters, July 6) would be a model producer on the order of a Jon "I don't need to read a script" Peters? His theory works great for the car dealer selling those beautiful sleek convertible sports cars that wind up in the shop more days than on the road. However, he would feel differently if he bought one of those lemons (I know several people that have). My guess is he doesn't attend many movies. But he's probably right--I mean "Pulp Fiction" would have been no different written by someone other than Quentin Tarantino.

Sarah Ruhl, a Santa Monica playwright who received notice last year for her stage version of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" at the Actors' Gang, has won the $10,000 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her unproduced script "The Clean House." The annual prize is for an outstanding new English-language play by a woman. Among the past winners are Caryl Churchill, Marsha Norman, Wendy Wasserstein, Naomi Wallace and Paula Vogel, under whom Ruhl studied while earning a master's at Brown University.

Director Steven Spielberg, star Harrison Ford and executive producer George Lucas have signed off on David Koepp's script for a fourth "Indiana Jones" movie, representatives for Paramount Pictures and Spielberg confirmed Tuesday. Koepp's credits include "Spider-Man," "Jurassic Park" and "War of the Worlds."

The creator of computerized scripts that Los Angeles firefighters use to assess medical emergencies during 911 calls is threatening to cut off the service. The warning came Tuesday in response to a decision by city leaders to direct the Los Angeles Fire Department to begin developing its own series of questions to judge how best to respond to victims. Last month the LAFD announced that it would create a structured program of questions for call takers that are tailored to the department's specific needs.

Quite a chasm, I suggest to Anna Waterhouse, between teaching English comp at Orange Coast College and rubbing elbows with the Hollywood elite as a script doctor. All modesty aside, she is forced to agree. In Hollywood circles, she's been in the homes of people who have private jets (Tom Cruise's producing partner). At Orange Coast, well, there's faculty parking. She knows of showbiz people who not only have their own home theater, they have their own projectionist.

It seems strange to recall that just a few years ago, the scripted drama was on a death watch. Threatened by premium cable, falling ratings, reality television and the omnipotent menace of "the Internet," the hourlong nighttime drama seemed on the way of the variety show. Now, of course, everyone with a network is seeking to rebrand itself with some highly produced historical drama or another. "Salem," which debuts Sunday, is Tribune-owned WGN America's maiden voyage into the roiling waters of scripted drama.

After the coffee. Before thinking of a good April Fools' Day joke. The Skinny: I don't want to hear any spoilers about the series finale of "How I Met Your Mother. " Although I haven't watched the show in maybe five years I've decided to catch up, so be considerate! Today's roundup includes some tough new FCC rules for local broadcasters. Also, the spec-script market heats up and "How I Met Your Mother" says goodbye. Daily Dose: Viacom, owner of cable channels MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, is still negotiating a new deal with National Cable Television Cooperative, which represents small cable operators.

The steadily affecting relationship drama "Stay" is a great example of how a film can rise above its terrible dialogue. So many phrases out of characters' mouths are as overused and flavorless as a thrice-steeped tea bag, and yet a sturdy narrative structure, increasing thematic complexity and finely detailed performances from Aidan Quinn and Taylor Schilling make writer-director Wiebke von Carolsfeld's sophomore effort an agreeably pensive experience....

As disarmingly bracing at times as the stunning Alberta mountains behind its love-frazzled characters, the romantic comedy "The Right Kind of Wrong" works often in spite of its willful eccentricities. Failed novelist turned dishwasher Leo (Ryan Kwanten) is an unwitting poster boy for marital disappointment thanks to his ex-wife's popular blog and book, "Why You Suck. " In rebounding, Leo decides feisty tour guide Colette (Sara Canning) is the woman of his dreams, despite the fact that he meets her on her wedding day. What follows is what you'd expect: a hapless dreamer's grand gestures, flabbergasted hand-wringing by the newlywed - whose bohemian mother (Catherine O'Hara)

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The two major political parties look at off-cycle congressional elections the way great powers eye wars in small lands - as a chance to test weapons and tactics they'll soon deploy elsewhere. That's why many of the ads running on television here - for a race to fill a congressional vacancy representing a swath of Florida's Gulf Coast - will probably sound familiar soon to voters in competitive districts nationwide. "Cut spending, stop Obamacare," proclaim the spots supporting Republican David Jolly . "I'll bring Republicans and Democrats together," Democrat Alex Sink promises in her ads, while simultaneously accusing Jolly of endangering Social Security, Medicare and abortion rights.

E! has greenlighted its first original scripted series, the network announced Thursday. The series, "The Royals," is an hourlong drama from "One Tree Hill" creator Mark Schwahn that is set in the present day and centers on a fictional British royal family. It will be headlined by model-actress Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena. The intersection of public perception and reality seems to be what will stir the drama -- with the aid of parties and political summits and many secrets.

As Hollywood's movie studios cut back on the amount of money they spend to buy scripts and ideas, director Ron Howard is taking a new approach to the development process. Imagine Entertainment, the production company Howard runs with producing partner Brian Grazer, has partnered with Indian media conglomerate Reliance Big Entertainment for a new "writers lab" that makes 10 screenwriters employees for a year. The writers will be paid a salary to work exclusively for Imagine writing scripts and serving as "creative executives" for each other, evaluating and giving notes on their ideas outside of the traditional studio process.

Who says NuvoMedia's Rocket eBook is just for books? Some folks in Hollywood think the portable device can make bulky paper scripts as much of a relic as silent films. The idea to turn the eBook into E-Scripts came from James Korris, the new executive director of USC's Entertainment Technology Center. Korris, a technology junkie, said he started fiddling with his eBook and his script-writing software to see if they were compatible.

The creator of computerized scripts that Los Angeles firefighters use to assess medical emergencies during 911 calls is threatening to cut off the service. The warning came Tuesday in response to a decision by city leaders to direct the Los Angeles Fire Department to begin developing its own series of questions to judge how best to respond to victims. Last month the LAFD announced that it would create a structured program of questions for call takers that are tailored to the department's specific needs.

The creator of computerized scripts that Los Angeles firefighters use to assess medical emergencies during 911 calls is threatening to cut off the service. The warning came Tuesday in response to a decision by city leaders to direct the Los Angeles Fire Department to begin developing its own series of questions to judge how best to respond to victims. Last month the LAFD announced that it would create a structured program of questions for call takers that are tailored to the department's specific needs.