Event Details
Thursday February 22, 2024 9:00 amWGAE Office
250 Hudson Street
NYC, 10013
Learn what these changemakers are doing to get stories that diverge from the mainstream into the cultural marketplace.
Join Franklin Leonard, founder and CEO of the Black List, and Dr. Jennifer E. Turner, EVP, TriStar Television/Sony Pictures Television for breakfast and conversation.
Learn what these changemakers are doing to get stories that diverge from the mainstream into the cultural marketplace. They’ll unearth the opportunities that exist for new perspectives to be championed, from the Black List to contests and fellowships to the big and small screens.
Franklin Leonard
Founder & CEO, the Black List
Franklin Leonard is a film and television producer, cultural commentator, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of the Black List, a company dedicated to identifying and supporting remarkable screenwriting and screenwriters through its annual survey, online marketplace, grants, labs, and fellowships. To date, over 500 scripts from the Black List’s survey have been turned into feature films, resulting in more than $30B in global box office and 300 Academy Award nominations and 50 wins, including four Best Pictures and nearly half of the screenwriting Oscars awarded since 2007.
Dr. Jennifer E. Turner 
EVP, TriStar Television/Sony Pictures Television
Working on both the business and creative sides of television, Dr. Jennifer Turner has been leading and managing divisions within large media companies such as Disney, NBCUniversal, and Sony for over 20 years. Jennifer is currently EVP and head of TriStar Television, the boutique label of Sony Pictures Television. She is responsible for developing and producing bold, new stories from diverse perspectives, and championing underrepresented stories driving cultural conversations airing on premium cable and streaming platforms. In addition to creative oversight of the label, Jennifer is responsible for setting TriStar’s overall strategy and leading and managing TriStar’s operations.