To celebrate the #BlackList2025 release, we're dropping a loaded bonus episode with Black List founder Franklin Leonard.

Twenty-one years after its inception, the Black List has become Hollywood's most influential survey of unproduced screenplays - launching careers, reshaping industry gatekeeping, and proving that meritocracy can be an engine for diversity. As the 2025 list drops, we sit down with founder Franklin Leonard for an unflinching conversation about what's changed, what hasn't, and what comes next.

Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Franklin Leonard⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠BlueSky⁠ and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠

Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Hill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I⁠nstagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠X⁠, ⁠TikTok ⁠and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Useful Links:

⁠Franklin on Substack⁠

⁠The Black List on Substack⁠

⁠The Annual Black List Archives⁠

Episode Sponsor:

Hit the link ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ for 10% off Story and Plot's pro digital screenwriting courses, MASTERING STRUCTURE and IDEA TO OUTLINE.