Creativity Has No Expiration Date!
The Grey List showcases high-quality, production-ready screenplays from writers over the age of 40.
In an effort to spotlight talented writers over the age of forty, Daisy If You Do Productions is proud to present the inaugural release of THE GREY LIST, an annual curated list of original, high-quality, market-ready feature and pilot scripts.
Like in many other professions, ageism is an ongoing problem in the entertainment industry. It impacts writers at all points of their career, but for emerging writers still working to break in, it can be especially difficult. It is also a key under-represented community that tends to be left of many other diversity efforts.
Founded by filmmaker Brad M. Johnson, THE GREY LIST’s mission is to push back against the idea that creativity has an expiration date and provide a platform from which to amplify the voices of these writers. By opening a line of discourse on the topic, he hopes the stigma of being an older writer can be repositioned. Instead of an obstacle to be overcome, a writer’s age can, and should, be viewed as a benefit to gatekeepers and showrunners of fresh perspectives and life experiences which can be brought to bear in a feature script or writers’ room.
“The first step in battling any form of discrimination is shining a light on it, and that’s a big part of what The Grey List is trying to do,” says Johnson. “No writer should be ashamed or their age or fear that having it be known might have a negative impact on their career.”
The work represented within THE GREY LIST was compiled through a combination of an open nomination process (with more than 300 unique writers being recognized by their peers), acclaim through contests, fellowships and other forms of third-party recognition, and personal recommendations from industry professionals.
This resulted in a diverse list across lines of race, gender identity and sexual orientation. THE GREY LIST also represents diversity from a career perspective, featuring work from writers at every level from showrunners and currently staffed writers, to repped writers still looking for their break, and emerging writers just starting out on the path to achieving their dreams.
This amazing range of stories and writers is being shared both as a downloadable PDF and, thanks to the support of The Stunt List (run by writers Ash Lazer and Eric Moyer), online with a full web presence.
You can view THE GREY LIST for 2023 through the links below:
· Website
For more information on THE GREY LIST and its work to push back against ageism in the entertainment industry, contact Brad M. Johnson at brad.thegreylist@gmail.com or on Twitter at @RWWFilm or @The_Grey_List.
Top screenwriting and film publication, founded in 1989, published by Active Interest Media. Twitter: @scriptmag
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