How to challenge conventional wisdom -- and change any industry | How to Be a Better Human

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode explores how Franklin Leonard used The Black List to challenge Hollywood’s conventional wisdom, elevate overlooked screenplays, and prove that diversity and quality are both morally and commercially valuable. Leonard argues that many industry assumptions are bias-driven, that better scripts make better movies, and that audiences and individuals can drive change by seeking quality, modeling values, and questioning inherited norms.

Main Topics: The Black List as a merit-based intervention (Priority: 5/5): Leonard explains The Black List as a platform for identifying, celebrating, and supporting great screenwriting through surveys, feedback, workshops, partnerships, and production. Challenging Hollywood conventional wisdom (Priority: 5/5): The conversation centers on how industry assumptions about race, gender, and marketability often function as bias rather than wisdom, shaping what gets made and who gets seen. Diversity as both ethical and profitable (Priority: 5/5): Leonard argues that inclusive films perform as well financially when supported equally, and that the Black List helps create a more genuine meritocracy. Audience power and cultural change (Priority: 4/5): Listeners are encouraged to use reviews, critics, and viewing choices to support better content and broader representation, even outside the film industry. The social impact of movies and storytelling (Priority: 4/5): The episode emphasizes film as a communal, almost sacred experience that shapes identity, worldview, and social attitudes—sometimes positively, sometimes harmfully. Personal responsibility and self-interrogation (Priority: 3/5): Leonard reflects on modeling kindness, checking his own biases, and building a more honest mirror for himself in both work and life.

Key Arguments: Hollywood is not short on imagination; it is constrained by inherited conventional wisdom that often reflects bias rather than evidence. The Black List created a new pathway for scripts to gain attention by aggregating trusted industry taste around quality alone. Diversity is not just a moral imperative; when films with diverse casts and stories receive equal support, they perform similarly at the box office. Starting with a great screenplay increases the odds of making a great and profitable movie. Industry gatekeeping has historically given massive advantages to white, upper-middle-class, straight cis men, while others must overcome extra barriers. Audiences can help change the ecosystem by following critics they trust, using review aggregators, and exploring adjacent work by creators they already like. Modeling kindness and speaking up in everyday moments can shift culture even without formal power. Movies matter because they shape how people understand themselves and others, for better or worse.

Data Points: Blacklist history: 15 years, coming up on 16 years - Leonard describes the organization’s longevity and impact Harvard Business School study result: 90% more in revenue - Movies made from Black List scripts outperformed those not on the list, controlling for other factors Netflix viewership: 78 million people - Leonard cites Netflix reporting on Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Old Guard Oscar inclusion rules: Minimum diversity and inclusion requirements - Referenced as the Academy’s new eligibility standards for films Industry support finding: Equal support yields equal money - Leonard cites USC professor Stacey Smith’s research on diverse films Audience behavior: Two hours - He notes viewers often regret spending two hours on a bad movie

Pivotal Quotes: "conventional wisdom about screenwriting merit, where it was and where it could be found, was wrong" — Franklin Leonard: Explaining the core insight behind The Black List and its challenge to Hollywood assumptions "conventional wisdom is more often than not convention and not wisdom" — Franklin Leonard: On why organizations and individuals should interrogate inherited heuristics "if you start with a great screenplay, you have a better chance of making a great movie" — Franklin Leonard: Summarizing the business and artistic logic behind The Black List

Implications: Listeners are urged to question default assumptions, support quality and inclusion, and recognize their own influence as consumers and citizens. For media industries, the episode argues that equity and profitability can align when access and taste are broadened.