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Last night at the Deadline-hosted celebration of the Black List 20th anniversary, founder Franklin Leonard told attendees that there was more to come.

Now that more to come is here.

Just one day after the Travis Braun-topped 20th anniversary list came out, the Black List Wednesday revealed the inaugural Adaptation List. The selection highlights 61 novels published since the first list came out in 2005 that are primed to be made into big screen and small screen projects.

“There was only one real way to celebrate twenty years of annual Black Lists, make another list that celebrates writers and in so doing makes it more likely that great film and television gets made,” Black List chief Leonard said Wednesday of the list that includes books by Jennifer Egan, Jeffrey Eugenides, and N. K. Jemisin (see the full list below). “Once it was clear that we were going to expand into fiction in September,...

While The Black List has long been the go-to platform to discover indie scripts and hot new voices, the acclaimed organization is now launching an inaugural Adaptation List to spotlight the novels that industry insiders most want to see adapted for the screen.

These days, novel adaptations have been heating up Hollywood, thanks in no small part to the rise of BookTok. Beloved BookTok authors like Emily Henry and Colleen Hoover have already been slated to have their respective books brought to film and TV, while Taylor Jenkins Reid has been building a franchise of interconnected stories, including “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” “Malibu Rising,” and “Daisy Jones and the Six.”

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard and Creative Director of Fiction Randy Winston surveyed 84 publishing industry editors and literary agents, who selected the 61 novels that they believe are poised for adaptations. All novels had to be published after 2005, when The Black List launched.

We sat down with Roger Ross Williams, Ibram X Kendi & Mara Brock Akil to talk about the importance of their new film – Netflix’s Stamped from the Beginning. Directed by Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams, based on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times best-selling book of the same name, it exposes the long-standing and powerful presence of anti-black racism in American history, using vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas.

Leading female academics and activists such as Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Dr. Jennifer L. Morgan, and Dr. Kendi guide viewers through a searing account of how racist tropes and imagery were developed and enshrined in American culture

Linda Marric asks the questions.

Stamped from the Beginning is available to watch on Netflix now.

Stamped from the Beginning Interviews

The post Stamped from the Beginning Interviews – Roger Ross Williams,...

In the spring of 2022, Ibram X. Kendi was recognized as one of the most banned authors in America. The National Book Award winner’s passionate reporting on the permeation of racist ideas throughout American history riled up conservative proponents, leading to three of Kendi’s tomes being banned in six school districts across multiple states. Now, his efforts to expose racist ideology is the subject of a new Netflix documentary, Stamped From the Beginning.

Stamped From the Beginning, based on Kendi’s 2016 book of the same name, shines a light...

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams talks to high-profile Black women in a hybrid documentary/animation based on Dr Ibram X Kendi’s landmark book

Dr Ibram X Kendi first published Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America in 2016 and it’s since had many forms, though this 92-minute film might be the most heart-poundingly persuasive yet. Alongside Ava DuVernay’s Academy Award-winning 13th and Elvis Mitchell’s delightfully idiosyncratic Is That Black Enough for You?!? it also solidifies Netflix’s reputation as a home for worthwhile Black history documentaries.

The film’s particular innovation is to privilege Black women’s perspectives on the history of American racism, and with the exception of Kendi himself, every expert commentator here is a Black woman. It’s an undeniable coup to have legendary movement leader Angela Davis included, though she doesn’t say much. More memorable are contributions...

Mike Birbiglia Sets “The Old Man and the Pool” Comedy Special at Netflix

Following a run on both Broadway and in the West End, Mike Birbiglia is bringing his comedy special “The Old Man and the Pool” to Netflix for all to see.

The new special is Birbiglia’s fifth for the streamer, starting with 2008’s “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing” and up to his most recent, “The New One,” in 2019. “The Old Man and the Pool” sees Birbiglia “take on life’s big questions: why are we here? What’s next? Exactly how much chlorine are they putting in the Ymca pool?”

The show ran on Broadway from Nov. 13, 2022–Jan. 15, 2023, followed by its run in London’s West End from Sept. 12–Oct. 7. The hour-long special debuts on the streamer on Nov. 21.

Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com “Good Burger” Sequel Releases Official Trailer

Paramount+ is finally serving up...

Following up his narrative drama Cassandro, Roger Ross Williams returned to the documentary realm for his second feature of the year with Stamped from the Beginning. Adapting Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s book, the TIFF selection utilizes vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas. Ahead of a Netflix release next month, the first trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller to the screen with Stamped from the Beginning. Published in 2016, Dr. Kendi’s National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Williams’ documentary adaptation uses an innovative animation process that blends live action with the art of the era to illuminate figures and moments both well-known and obscure, both historical and contemporary.

Netflix’s trailer for Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams’ Stamped From the Beginning features clips of female scholars discussing the connection between the United States’ history of racism and the history of power. The documentary based on Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s bestselling book will premiere on November 10, 2023 in select theaters, followed by a release on the streaming service on November 20.

“When we started looking at historians and scholars, we came up with a long list. I noticed the pattern that most of the people doing the work around racism in America were Black women,” stated director Williams in an interview on Netflix’s Tudum. “I asked them in pre-interviews, ‘Why do you do this work?’ And many of them said the same thing — that they had no choice. This was their experience and their life. And if they’re going to dedicate their life to something, it’s going...

The 2023 Montclair Film Festival, one of the Northeast’s top regional fall fests, announced Wednesday that the Nicolas Cage film “Dream Scenario” will serve as this year’s opening night feature, while new films from Alexander Payne, Roger Ross Williams, Todd Haynes, and Matthew Heineman will also screen during the annual event.

“Dream Scenario,” due out in November via A24, premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and won rave reviews for Cage. The feature will kick off the 2023 Montclair Film Festival on October 20 followed by a conversation with writer-director Kristoffer Borgli.

“Stamped from the Beginning,” Williams’ documentary, will serve as the 2023 Mff Documentary Centerpiece screening. That event takes place on October 22, and Williams will attend for a post-screening Q&a.

“The Holdovers” – Payne’s top awards contender following its splashy showing at the Telluride Film Festival and in Toronto, where it was runner-up for the TIFF audience...