The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced today that 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 live and in person on Monday, December 2, 2024 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

The Anniversary Tribute was created by The Gotham in order to recognize the major milestones and storied commitments of entertainment’s 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.”

“With 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,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “So many of Hollywood’s most beloved films, such as “Juno,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “The King’s 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.”

First established as an annual survey of Hollywood’s 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 List’s 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. Some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films that were produced after appearing on the annual Black List include “Juno,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The King’s Speech.” 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.

Winners of the 34th Annual Gotham Awards will be honored at the awards ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, December 2, 2024. The Premier Sponsor of the 2024 Gotham Awards is Vanity Fair.

About the Gotham Film & Media Institute
The Gotham celebrates and nurtures independent film and media creators, providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition. The organization, under the leadership of Executive Director and award-winning producer Jeffrey Sharp, fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Gotham Week, Gotham International, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Awards, Gotham EDU, Owning It, and Expanding Communities.