Why Hollywood Can't Find Good Scripts episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 1, 2026 · 22 MIN

Why Hollywood Can't Find Good Scripts

from The Journal. · host The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios

How to get discovered in Hollywood has been a decades-old struggle. For screenwriters, that game started to change when Franklin Leonard launched the Black List, an annual ranking of the “most liked” but not-yet-produced screenplays. Since 2005, more than 500 of those scripts have become feature films, including several Best Picture Oscar-winners. Ryan Knutson interviewed Leonard about how to fix some of Hollywood’s other challenges at our live show in Los Angeles.   Further Listening:  - Hollywood Jobs Are Disappearing   - Inside the Nasty Fight to Take Over Hollywood - The Journal. - For Riz Ahmed, Life is a Spy Thriller  Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to get discovered in Hollywood has been a decades-old struggle. For screenwriters, that game started to change when Franklin Leonard launched the Black List, an annual ranking of the “most liked” but not-yet-produced screenplays. Since 2005, more than 500 of those scripts have become feature films, including several Best Picture Oscar-winners. Ryan Knutson interviewed Leonard about how to fix some of Hollywood’s other challenges at our live show in Los Angeles.   Further Listening:  - Hollywood Jobs Are Disappearing   - Inside the Nasty Fight to Take Over Hollywood - The Journal. - For Riz Ahmed, Life is a Spy Thriller  Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why Hollywood Can't Find Good Scripts

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This episode was published on June 1, 2026.

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How to get discovered in Hollywood has been a decades-old struggle. For screenwriters, that game started to change when Franklin Leonard launched the Black List, an annual ranking of the “most liked” but not-yet-produced screenplays. Since 2005,...

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