Franklin Leonard and his company, the Black List, the platform dedicated to nurturing written storytelling and empowering writers to maximize their professional potential, will receive The Gotham Anniversary Tribute at the 34th annual Gotham Awards ceremony, taking place on Monday, December 2, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
The Anniversary Tribute was created by The Gotham Film & Media Institute in order to recognize the major milestones and storied commitments of entertainmentโs most influential individuals. With the Anniversary Tribute, The Gotham will honor the 20th anniversary of the Black List, which has been dedicated to identifying and celebrating exceptional storytelling since it was first established by Leonard in 2005. Most recently, Mariska Hargitay received the Anniversary Tribute at the inaugural Gotham TV awards for her outstanding run on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
โWith the Black List, Franklin Leonard has undeniably reshaped Hollywood by elevating talented writers and remarkable projects. His commitment to nurturing emerging screenwriters and lowering barriers to entry for talent is one that resonates deeply with The Gotham and our values,โ said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. โSo many of Hollywoodโs most beloved films, such as Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Kingโs Speech, were all given a singular platform by the annual Black List that helped them get made. We are honored to present Franklin and the Black List with the Anniversary Tribute.โ
First established as an annual survey of Hollywoodโs most-liked unproduced screenplays, the Black List has since grown into a comprehensive resource for the film, TV, publishing, and theater worlds, serving thousands of writers, agents, managers, showrunners, producers, financiers, directors, actors, and theater industry professionals. To date, more than 400 scripts from the Black Listโs annual survey have been produced as 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. In September 2024, the Black List announced its expansion into fiction, allowing fiction writers to use blcklst.com to create a free profile to showcase their completed novels.
Beyond serving as CEO of the platform, Leonard is also a film and television producer, having worked in feature film development at Universal Pictures and the production companies of Will Smith, Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Monica Albuquerque Joins Telemundo Studios As SVP Of Content and Development
Monica Albuquerque has been appointed sr. VP, content and development for Telemundo Studios, part of the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprisesโ family. In this newly created role, Albuquerque will be responsible for overseeing the development of content for all linear and streaming platforms reporting directly to Javier Pons, executive VP at Telemundo Studios.
Albuquerque will work closely with Pons as Telemundo Studios continues to expand its content offering under the new leadership of Ronald Day, president of entertainment and chief content officer. She will lead the development and content strategy for the award-winning studios, in alignment with teams across production, marketing, sales, research, and audience analytics. With more than three decades of experience in media and entertainment, she brings a wealth of expertise spanning scripted and unscripted content development, casting, talent management, and marketing for Spanish-language programming.
โMonica is an outstanding media executive with a remarkable ability to identify and develop compelling content. Her vast experience in Spanish-language media, combined with her artistic vision and strategic insight, makes her the perfect fit to elevate Telemundo Studiosโ offerings,โ said Pons. โShe has delivered exceptional results at every step of her career, and we are excited to have her lead the next phase of our growth, continuing to develop premium programming for Latino audiences in the U.S. and around the world.โ
โIโm honored to join the talented team at Telemundo Studios in this exciting new role,โ said Albuquerque. โTelemundo has long been at the forefront of groundbreaking content, pushing boundaries with bold, innovative programming. I look forward to contributing... Read More