Franklin Leonard
Founder & CEO | The Black List & Film Innovation
About
Franklin Leonard is the founder and CEO of The Black List, an innovative platform that champions undiscovered screenwriting talent. As a former studio executive and cultural commentator, he has a unique vantage point on the film industry.
Leonard's work has been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, and NPR, and he is a professor at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. His keynotes explore how emerging technologies are transforming the creative process and shaping the future of film and media production.
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How I accidentally changed the way movies get made
How does Hollywood choose what stories get told on-screen? Too often, it's groupthink informed by a narrow set of ideas about what sells at the box office. As a producer, Franklin Leonard saw too many great screenplays never get made because they didn't fit the mold. So he started the Black List, an anonymous email that shared his favorite screenplays and asked: Why aren't we making these movies? Learn the origin story of some of your favorite films with this fascinating insider view of the movie business.
How to challenge conventional wisdom -- and change any industry
| Event | Year | Location |
|---|---|---|
| TED | 2021 | 🇨🇦Vancouver, Canada |
| TEDxVeniceBeach 2017 | 2017 | 🇺🇸Venice Beach, United States |
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