The Black List was founded in 2005 by Franklin Leonard, who had been working for Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company. Leonard felt that he wasn’t finding many good scripts to recommend to his bosses, so he asked his peers in the industry to send him a list of their favorite scripts that went unproduced – thus giving way to The Black List. The annual survey publishes a list of commendable scripts not produced, giving a platform for both established and unestablished writers to have their work adapted to the screen by interested producers.

The list has become a way for industry leaders to find screenplays that have not yet been picked up. Meryl Streep remarked that “there is this list I gather that travels around through all the office in Hollywood…it’s The Black List.” Everyone filmmaker’s goal is to find a powerful script that can be turned into an even more powerful movie, after all. With that in mind, here are ten major films that actually began on The Black List.

Don’t Worry Darling (2021)

The screenplay written by Katie Silberman, based on an original script by Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke, Oliva Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling first appeared on The Black List in 2019 before going into production in 2020. The film features a stacked cast including Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, and Gemma Chan, and it is a psychological horror that follows the story of an unhappy housewife and her husband in the 1950s. Filming began in September of 2020 in Los Angeles, though there is currently no confirmed release date beyond a late 2021 estimate.

The Half of It (2020)

The screenplay for Alice Wu’s coming-of-age comedy-drama appeared on The Black List in 2018 and was later released in 2020 on Netflix. The story centers on teenager Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), who ghost-writes love letters for her friend Paul (Daniel Diemer) to win over a girl he - and later, Ellie - likes.

The film scored positive reviews amid a pandemic-era streaming platform boom and won the coveted Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. The Half of It is only Wu’s second-ever feature film after Saving Face in 2005.

Queen & Slim (2019)

2019’s Queen & Slim appeared on The Black List in 2018. It was written by Lena Waithe and directed by Malina Matsoukas. The romantic crime drama follows the story of Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) who go on a Bonnie-and-Clyde runaway after a stand-off with a police officer at a traffic stop.

The film was Matsoukas’ feature directorial debut, which earned her a number of awards, including the BET Award for Best Movie and the Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Emerging Director.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Manchester by the Sea was on The Black List in 2014 and released two years later in 2016 with an overwhelmingly positive reception (96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.8/10 on IMDb). The story centers on Lee Chandler (Affleck) who takes over as the sole guardian of his recently deceased brother’s son Patrick (Lucas Hedges). As Lee returns to his hometown fishing village of Manchester-by-the-Sea, he confronts the consequences of his past and his present.

Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, the film won the Academy Awards for Best Screenplay and for Best Actor (Casey Affleck).

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Some might be surprised that Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, which came out in theaters in 2019, actually began on The Black List in 2012 before producers later hopped on. One of the year’s most endearing films, the black comedy is about a 10-year-old Hitler youth Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) and his imaginary best friend Adolf HItler (Waititi), all while his mother (Scarlett Johansson) hides a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. The story is based on the 2008 book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens.

The Imitation Game (2014)

The 2014 thriller about Alan Turing written by Graham Moore was number one on The Black List in 2011, which helped the film gain footing for production. In an interview with CBS News, Moore said, “We’d try to go around town and pitch it to people…you say ‘Oh, and it was number one on The Black List,’ it’s, ‘Oh, okay. I’ll read it.’” In fact, star Benedict Cumberbatch already read the script before being approached for the role because it had been circulating around The Black List.

The Fault In Our Stars (2014)

John Green’s YA novel that became an instant sensation among teenagers when it first came out in 2012 landed a 2014 on-screen adaptation starring Shailene Woodley as cancer patient Hazel Grace Lancaster and Ansel Elgort as Gus Waters.

The coming-of-age romance script appeared on The Black List in 2012, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. Directed by Josh Boone (Stuck in Love), the film swept the 2014 Teen Choice Awards and scored a worldwide box office total of $307.2 million against a production budget of $12 million.

The King’s Speech (2010)

The screenplay by David Seidler for the British historical drama was pushed forward on The Black List in 2009. Based on a true story, it stars Colin Firth as the future King George VI, who works with Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to manage his stammer and deliver his first wartime speech on national radio declaring war on Germany in 1939. The film was one of the earliest major screenplays from The Black List to sweep the Oscars, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director (Tom Hooper), and Best Actor (Firth).

500 Days of Summer (2009)

In 2006, 500 Days of Summer appeared on The Black List, written by The Fault in Our Stars writers Neustadter and Weber. The romantic-comedy-drama screenplay utilizes a nonlinear narrative structure and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

The film began as an independent production directed by Marc Webb that was later picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight Pictures and premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Considered a “sleeper hit” in the industry, the movie gained a gradual following and won the Spirit Award for Best Screenplay.

Juno (2007)

While The Black List has featured many works by notable screenwriters, most of the work on the list is actually by unknown screenwriters. Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody is one such case, when the screenplay rose to second on the list in 2005. The 2007 coming-of-age drama follows teenager Juno (Elliot Page) as she faces an unplanned pregnancy and the life that follows. The cast also featured Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman. The film won the Oscar and BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and became the first film from Fox Searchlight Pictures that grossed more than $100 million.