Schrodinger’s Strait of Hormuz

Watch an in-depth conversation about all things screenwriting with @franklinleonard.bsky.social and @leejessup.bsky.social here: buff.ly/Ksoakrj

Calling all Authors Guild members! Join @franklinleonard.bsky.social and Randy Winston for a FREE virtual event with @authorsguild.org on April 14 at 4PM PT/7PM ET. Learn more here: authorsguild.org/event/the-bl...

The Black List (@theblcklst) on Threads Eight years ago, we brought @benjy.schwartz’s 2011 annual Black List script THAT KIND OF A WAR (fka HOME BY CHRISTMAS - BOB HOPE IN KOREA) to the BlackListLive stage TheMontalban! @pattonoswalt, @al...

Eight years ago! Gah! I wrote a script about Bob Hope that was on @theblcklst.bsky.social, and we did a live read with an amazing cast assembled by said Black List. My many thanks to @franklinleonard.bsky.social and everyone invovled. www.threads.com/@theblcklst/...

2025-2026 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Announced! Writer names, script titles, loglines - all detailed here. I've interviewed every Nicholl fellow since 2012. Look forward to this year's in-depth screenwriting conversations! www.patreon.com/posts/153779... #screenwriting

New data study available over on @theblcklst.bsky.social's Substack: The Anatomy of a Score - Part 1. open.substack.com/pub/blcklst/...

Congratulations to the fellows and finalists selected for the 2025-2026 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting! Read more about their projects in The Hollywood Reporter: www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

The Black List referred 50% of the Top Ten - 5 scripts - despite only 25 overall referrals from the site

Punching above their weight!

Film Academy Awards Five Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting The talent development program supports non-professional screenwriters.

5 of the top 10 were recommended by the Black List.
5 of the 25 that the Black List recommended were finalists or fellows. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

Everyone say thank you @franklinleonard.bsky.social!

Actor-Turned-Director Will Ropp on Tackling Mental Health Issues in ‘Brian’: ‘The Comedy and Tragedy Is All Mixed Up in a Smorgasbord’ Actor-turned-director Will Ropp talks about tackling mental health in his directorial debut "Brian" ahead of its SXSW premiere.

I cannot endorse Black List password sharing even when it has a very happy ending (and an SXSW premiere starring William H Macy, Natalie Morales, Randall Park, and Edi Patterson is definitely a very happy ending.) variety.com/2026/film/co...

Alysa Liu shares the political issues she cares about most:

“Climate, election things, Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, ICE protests... More empathy needs to happen, for sure.”

Interview: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Oh yes! Let's talk about this!

"A reasonable conclusion is that most screenplays submitted to the Black List website are competent but not exceptional, and those that are exceptional are quite rare (which roughly mirrors what most of us know instinctively if we’ve read a lot of screenplays)."

"A reasonable conclusion is that most screenplays submitted to the Black List website are competent but not exceptional, and those that are exceptional are quite rare (which roughly mirrors what most of us know instinctively if we’ve read a lot of screenplays)."

It’s time to MEET THE JUDGES of the 2026 #UnpublishedNovelAward! We’re kicking things off with Jordan Hill and Lauren Knowles, who will be judging our Speculative Fiction and Children’s & Young Adult categories for the Unpublished Novel Award.

Why We Write is BACK on Substack!

Read the first piece from 2023 Black List Lab alum Christopher Hwisu Kim now: blcklst.substack.com/p/why-we-wri...

Curious about how Featured Projects get selected on blcklst.com?

Open this: blcklst.substack.com/p/best-pract...

So yes, and 8 is rare and difficult to get.

AS IT SHOULD BE.

Because if The Black List started spotlighting a bunch of middling scripts that need Page One rewrites, it would cease to be a useful site pretty quickly.

You not getting an 8 for a script your friends like isn't a grand injustice.

Pretty much a standard bell curve with maybe an exception. There is no magic to the outcomes.

AN 8+ SCORE IS RARE (AS IT SHOULD BE.) 128,020 evaluations. Five years. Here's what the score distribution actually looks like.

How rare is an 8+ overall score from a Black List website reader? Quite rare. (As it should be.)

New data study. open.substack.com/pub/blcklst/...

Ryan Coogler & Franklin Leonard on How ‘Sinners’ Became the Director's Most Personal Film Yet YouTube video by The Ankler

Had a conversation with this guy Ryan Coogler on behalf of @theankler.com youtu.be/4IZ8xJUEhlQ?...

Ryan Coogler & Franklin Leonard on How ‘Sinners’ Became the Director's Most Personal Film Yet YouTube video by The Ankler

Had a conversation with this guy Ryan Coogler on behalf of @theankler.com youtu.be/4IZ8xJUEhlQ?...

Great news, writers: We’re partnering with Tubi to discover a NEW HORROR SCRIPT to be produced and distributed by Tubi! Read more about the program, exclusively @deadline.com.

deadline.com/2026/02/tubi...

Great news, authors: The 2026 Unpublished Novel Award is now OPEN for submissions! Four writers will receive a $10,000 grant to support their manuscript on its journey to publication.

Learn more here: blcklst.com/programs/202...

I’ve seen the videos of kids throwing snowballs at NYPD officers in Washington Square Park.

Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving.

Treat them with respect. If anyone’s catching a snowball, it’s me.

It’s publication day for Isabel Booth’s THEN HE WAS GONE, the first manuscript to be published after being discovered on blcklst.com!

Grab your copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/then...

Unreal press conference strategy from new IOC president Kirsty Coventry where she repeatedly turns to her PR team off stage and personally blames them for not making her aware of various Olympics controversies, saying that “maybe someone needs to be dismissed”

Once a math team captain, always a math team captain.

Once a math team captain, always a math team captain.