Franklin Leonard Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterThe Black List, an annual ranking of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays, has unleashed its 2021 ediiton — a smattering of delicious pop biopics, true crime and even a psychodrama about Mickey Rourke appearing on “The Masked Singer.”Founded in 2005 by Franklin Leonard, the list surveys top studio and development executives asking them to share the scripts they adored but haven’t yet greenlit.

Starz has named Kathryn Busby as its new president of original programming.Busby replaces Christina Davis, who left the job back in June.Busby comes over from Sony Pictures Television, where she led TriStar Television.

When Franklin Leonard took to Twitter on Tuesday night to decry a recent film casting, Ben Stiller shot back in a spirited conversation about whether people got Hollywood gigs on the basis of their abilities or if nepotism played a role.

Deadline, Sean Penn’s son Hopper had joined the project, which was co-directed by Spielberg and Stephen King’s son Owen King.A heated debate consequently arose between producer Franklin Leonard and Ben Stiller on the advantages that nepotism can bring within the film industry.“Hollywood’s a meritocracy, right?” Leonard wrote in a sarcastic tweet regarding the casting update.Hollywood's a meritocracy, right? https://t.co/jELCVujYyB— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) July 28, 2021Stiller, who is

A back-and-forth Twitter discussion between producer Franklin Leonard and Ben Stiller has opened up a discussion about nepotism in Hollywood.

A tweet from Ben Stiller kicked off a discussion on nepotism during Thursday’s edition of “The View”.

Ethan Shanfeld Ben Stiller and Destry Spielberg, filmmaker and daughter of Steven Spielberg, took to Twitter to refute Hollywood nepotism in a debate with The Black List founder Franklin Leonard.On Tuesday, Leonard responded to a tweet announcing the cast of the short film “The Rightway,” which features Hopper Penn, an actor and the son of Sean Penn, and actor Brian D’Arcy James.

Ben Stiller is getting some feedback on social media.

Black List founder Franklin Leonard responded to a Tuesday report from TheWrap about how the organization rejected studio and network requests for press conferences on multiple Black-led projects, including “Girls Trip,” “Queen & Slim” and Rhimes’ hit Netflix series “Bridgerton” — all of which were later overlooked for Globes nominations.“HFPA rejected our press conference,” Rhimes tweeted to her 1.9 million followers on Tuesday.

Natalie Oganesyan editorLeading Black filmmakers, producers and writers opened up about what inspired them to enter cinema and the importance of capturing the Black diasporic experience on screen during a virtual panel co-hosted by the American Cinematheque and the African American Film Critics Association.In celebration of Black History Month, the “Black Identity Through Cinema” panel featured Cynthia Erivo, Philippe Lacôte, Franklin Leonard, Ekwa Msangi and Euzhan Palcy, as well as Shaka King

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard kicked off the virtual Sundance panel “ARRAY 10: A Decade of Disruption” by chatting with ARRAY founder and Emmy-winning Ava DuVernay, President Tilane Jones and VP of Public Programming Mercedes Cooper about the origin of the narrative change collective which puts shine on creators and artists of color as well as women filmmakers.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsAmerican Cinematheque’s Chairmen of the Board Rick Nicita announced Monday that producer Stephanie Allain, WME head of talent Esther Chang and Black List founder Franklin Leonard will serve as new board members.“We are thrilled and honored to announce the election of Stephanie Allain, Esther Chang and Franklin Leonard to the Board of Directors.

Gregg Goldstein If 2020 has proven anything, it’s that nothing is certain — and that’s never been truer in the film business.

Also Read: 'Indignation' Review: Logan Lerman Carries Philip Roth's Study in StubbornnessProducing the project are Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman and Peter Cron, The Black List’s Franklin Leonard, and Schamus through his Symbolic Exchange banner.

With production grinding to a halt in the face of the novel coronavirus crisis, the entertainment industry has found itself navigating uncharted territory. To offer a better sense of how, The Hollywood Reporter is running a regular series that focuses on how Hollywood's top writers, actors, directors, executives and others are living and working in these challenging times.

By Dino-Ray Ramos

By Amanda N'Duka