For every script that gets considered and eventually greenlit for production, there are hundreds of new scripts that never even make it to the reading table. Out of these scripts that are supposed to be either thrown into the wastebin or filed in some rich producer's archive, never to see the light of day, there are a few which are reviewed and deemed worthy of a second chance and this includes "Blonde Ambition."
This year, seventy three scripts made the 2016 Black List, a collection of Hollywood's best unproduced screenplays. "Blonde Ambition" by Elyse Hollander topped this year's list by garnering 48 votes coming from more than 250 film executives.
In order to qualify, the script must not be in the principal photography stage of production for the year 2016. "Blonde Ambition's" simple pitch was: "In 1980's New York, Madonna struggles to get her first album released while navigating fame, romance and a music industry that views women as disposal."
The recognition is significant as that previous scripts in the Black List such as "Spotlight" had gone ahead and won an Academy Award after having been produced. Other contenders that are in the running this awards season such as "Arrival", "Hell or High Water" and "Manchester By The Sea", which were all included in the Black List previously before they were greenlit.
In the top of the list along with "Blonde Ambition" are Dan Fogelman's "Life Itself," Tony Tost's "The Olympian" and Liz Hannah's "The Post." It's a three-way tie for these three movies as they all got 35 votes each. You can get the complete roster of 73 with their respective synopses here. Here's Madonna in all her 80's glory in her "True Blue" music video: