Film + TV

Hollywood goes ape for a script about Michael Jackson's chimp Bubbles

by Dan MacRae

December 15, 2015

The Black List topping script could make Bubbles the King of Popcorn.

What sounds like a wet dream conjured up by E! and Animal Planet is being celebrated as hot shit in Hollywood right now.

The Black List, the much buzzed about annual rundown of the best unproduced screenplays, features a biopic about Michael Jackson’s chimp Bubbles at the #1 spot for 2015. The Isaac Adamson penned offering beat out scripts exploring Roger Clemens, attempted space murder, and shamed Cubs fan Steve Bartman to score the peak position.

Here’s a quick summary of Bubbles (the movie):

A baby chimp is adopted by the pop star Michael Jackson. Narrating his own story, Bubbles the Chimp details his life within The King of Pop’s inner circle through the scandals that later rocked Jackson’s life and eventually led to Bubbles’ release.

That “narrating his own story” bit invites so many questions. Questions that will hopefully be answered when this thing eventually gets snapped up for big bucks. Or maybe you can hallucinate them during a bender. It’s your call!

The Black List is a bit of a big deal. Screenplays for things like Argo and Slumdog Millionaire have popped up on this thing and its notoriety can give a writer an extra glow of importance when looking to sell other works. (Plus you get to imagine everyone affiliated with The Black List wears a silly hat. That’s a big deal too.)