GLAAD and The Black List Enlist Netflix, Ryan Murphy, and More to Support LGBTQ Writers
Submissions are now open for the 2021 GLAAD list, which highlights the best unmade LGBTQ-inclusive screenplays. The 2021 honorees will benefit from the official support of six top Hollywood studios that have signed on to support the initiative’s mission of discovering underrepresented talent and LGBTQ-inclusive content. The inaugural “Founder’s Circle” includes Berlanti Productions, Hello Sunshine, MGM/Orion Pictures, Netflix, Ryan Murphy Productions, and Village Roadshow Entertainment Group.
Now in its third year, the GLAAD list is a collaboration between GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, and The Black List, the screenwriter-focused entity named for its annual list of the best unmade screenplays.
“We’re thrilled to be joined in this important work by so many of the production companies whose work I’ve admired for as long as they’ve been doing it,” said Black List founder Franklin Leonard. “It’s been an honor and a joy to work with GLAAD on an initiative that in two short years already has films in post and pre production despite the pandemic. They’re the first of many, many more.”
In addition to charitable donations that will cover submission fee waivers for a select number of writers, representatives from the six participating studios will also read and provide input on shortlist selections in both film and TV. Executives from each company will meet one-on-one with at least 10 GLAAD List finalists this fall, and will have the opportunity to offer script deals to one or any number of GLAAD List feature or pilot writers.
At least six scripts, or 30 percent, from the first two years of The GLAAD List have been optioned and are in some stage of production currently. They include Billy Porter’s directorial debut, “What If?”, which was recently acquired by Orion Pictures and begins production this month in Pittsburgh.
Writers who are part of the LGBTQ community and those who are writing about LGBTQ experiences are invited to submit their scripts for consideration to be a part of The 2021 GLAAD List. Submissions for The 2021 GLAAD List will be open from July 20 to September 20, 2021. Filmmakers and content creators are invited to submit a script for consideration by uploading it to The Black List website during this period. Finalists will be announced in the winter of 2021-2022. For the first time, both feature film and original pilot submissions will be considered.
