Rueben's Ramblings

Gifted Program

The Black List, a collection of Hollywood’s best screenplays that have yet to be produced or picked up by a production company or studio [not to be confused with the NBC TV series of the same name], conducts at least a few staged readings a year. The goal of those readings is to get the screenplays (aka scripts) made into features (aka box office films).

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a staged table reading of Gifted with Armie Hammer (from the box office movies The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Social Network) and Gina Rodriguez (from Jane the Virgin) as the leads. Just this year, that screenplay was finally released in the theatres, starring Chris Evans (Captain America himself) and Saturday Night Live alum Jenny Slate.

Left to Right: Cooper Thornton as Narrator; Gina Torres, Gina Rodriguez, Armie Hammer, Mckenna Grace, Frances Fisher and Michael Beach

What’s most interesting about a film that comes out of The Black List is how a virtual table read can still feel intimate, but once the film is made, emotions come out in different ways.

With Gifted, the story is about a young girl with a mathematical mind who is pushed into a normal elementary school to learn to socialize. The movie has an emotional punch without action, but with the action, it’s more haunting.

When I first “saw” Gifted at that table read, I don’t remember crying, but as I watched the film the other week, it was a waterworks from beginning to end.

Gifted was released in theatres on April 12 and was written by Tom Flynn. The film also stars young actress Mckenna Grace (she plays the daughter of President Tom Kirkman on Designated Survivor), Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and Lindsay Duncan (Sherlock and Under the Tuscan Sun).