Franklin Leonard: How I accidentally changed the way movies get made
Franklin Leonard: Cómo cambié accidentalmente la forma de hacer películas
Franklin Leonard is a film producer, cultural commentator, professor, activist and entrepreneur. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
in the United States
around the world,
or they'll take public transportation
el transporte público
they don't know
alguien que no conocen,
and they'll watch a movie.
y verán una película.
about aliens or robots,
about what it means to be human.
qué significa ser humano.
they knew several hours prior.
conocían hacía unas horas.
will look at the world
than they did when they went in.
lo hacían cuando entraron.
or a mosque or a church,
a la mezquita o a la iglesia,
a sacred ritual.
es un ritual sagrado.
tras semana tras semana.
between the years of 1996 and 1990,
fines de semanas entre 1996 y 1990,
in Columbus, Georgia.
mi infancia en Columbus, Georgia.
that somewhere between then and now,
momento entre entonces y ahora
part of the conversation
parte de la conversación
se llegan a hacer.
in an office high above Sunset Boulevard,
despacho en lo alto de Sunset Boulevard,
production company Appian Way.
de Leonardo DiCaprio.
with how the film industry works,
funciona la industria del cine,
de las pocos detrás de la persona
one of a few people behind the person
behind and in front of the camera,
que está detrás y delante de la cámara
recognize than mine.
mejor que el mío.
producer who does the unglamorous work
que hace el trabajo poco glamuroso
of producing a movie.
de producir una película.
directores y actores
and directors and actors
that you want to will into existence;
para las películas que quieren hacer;
y sus representantes,
and their representatives,
para una futura cita.
for some future date.
convertirse en películas,
that might become movies,
convertirse en películas,
convertirse en películas,
that might become movies,
convertirse en películas.
that might write the adaptations
puede que escriban la adaptación
of the articles,
guiones con los que ya trabajan.
that you're already working on.
el próximo bombazo
the next big thing
que pueda ofrecer algo
who can deliver something
the next big thing.
sean los próximos bombazos.
at Leonardo's production company.
en la productora de Leonardo.
from the representative of a screenwriter
representante de un guionista
all of those conversations did:
todo ese tipo de conversaciones:
that his client had written,
su cliente había escrito,
de la industria del petróleo
threatens to leave him
amenaza con dejarle
al calentamiento global.
to global warming.
that's been brought to a head
forming in the Atlantic
de Maria desde Maine hasta Myrtle Beach.
from Maine to Myrtle Beach.
this impending break up,
about the hurricane
sobre el Atlántico,
across the Atlantic,
inactivo pero que ahora está activo
though now active volcano
al ojo del huracán
into some sort of chemical weapon
en un tipo de arma química
'Leo versus the toxic superstorm
'Leo contra la supertormenta tóxica
it sounds ridiculous."
that I had the guy send me the script,
que le permití que me enviara el guion
that it was as bad as I thought it was.
de que era tan malo como pensaba.
is certainly an extreme example,
aren't as easy to dismiss as that one.
guiones se rechazan con tanta facilidad.
about a high school senior,
chica en el último curso de instituto
with an unplanned pregnancy,
un embarazo no deseado
regarding her unborn child.
respecto a su futuro hijo.
at the worldwide box office,
los Oscars, una victoria.
Bombay que creció entre chabolas
who grew up in the slums
on the Indian version
la versión india
"Slumdog Millionaire."
million worldwide,
Oscars y 8 victorias.
Michael Jackson.
legendario Michael Jackson.
by Taika Waititi,
as a development executive
ejecutivo de desarrollo
from the "Slumdog Millionaires,"
los "Slumdog Millionaires",
the writers who write "Superstorm"
que escriben "Supertormenta"
"Slumdog Millionaire."
is to read all of the scripts,
de hacerlo es leyendo todos los guiones
is that the Writers Guild of America
Sindicato de Guionistas de EE.UU.
of material every year,
de material cada año
is about 5,000 of them
agencies, management companies,
empresas de gestión,
at the production company
whether they can become
que hacen los grandes estudios
that are released by the major studios
into a members-only bookstore
exclusiva para miembros
organizado de cualquier manera
is just organized haphazardly,
portada sin descripción.
nondescript cover.
entrar a esa librería
the best and most profitable books there.
los libros mejores y más rentables.
to address these problems.
para afrontar estos problemas.
si hay un gran talento en el mundo,
that if there's great talent in the world,
de llegar a las agencias,
their way to the agencies,
estructurales que existan
that actually exist
agencias en primer lugar.
in the first place.
comparando notas entre ellos
notes among themselves
is the best, most wired
sea el mejor y más conectado
but that's, again, impossible.
una vez más, es imposible.
500 screenplays in a year,
of what's out there.
porcentaje de lo que hay.
caer en la sabiduría convencional
you tend to default to conventional wisdom
dealing with reproductive reality
que lidia con la realidad reproductiva
isn't viable in the domestic marketplace
es viable en el mercado doméstico
outside of India.
is a very narrow groups of writers
es un grupo muy reducido de guionistas
to living and working in Hollywood,
un hueco en Hollywood,
representation in the business,
representantes del negocio
band of stories.
historias muy limitada.
that that's where I found myself in 2005.
ahí es donde yo me encontraba en 2005.
above Sunset Boulevard,
sobre Sunset Boulevard,
anonymized bookstore,
anónima y metafórica
but bad scripts for months.
malos durante meses.
finding good scripts,
encontrar buenos guiones,
de mi madre preguntando
weekly phone calls,
facultad de derecho seguía valiendo
entrance exam scores were still valid
debía prestar más atención.
pay more attention to.
irme de vacaciones
on vacation for two weeks,
cuando es tu trabajo,
when it is your job,
at my office, I made a list
comido, cenado o tomado algo
lunch, dinner or drinks with
and I sent them an anonymous email.
y les envié un email anónimo.
of your favorite screenplays
sus guiones preferidos
will not be in theaters
guion no estará en los cines
about the screenplay this year.
fueran a ser los siguientes blockbusters,
that would be the next great blockbuster,
that will win the Academy Award,
fueran a ganar el Oscar,
that their bosses loved
que sus jefes amaran
para que la gente diera su opinión
for people to speak their minds
is increasingly rare.
I emailed anonymously responded.
escribí de manera anónima respondieron.
escribieron al email anónimo
actually emailed to participate
have the jobs they claimed to have.
tuvieran los trabajos que decían tener.
into a spreadsheet,
lo exporté a PowerPoint
output it to PowerPoint,
from that anonymous email address
during the anti-communist hysteria
carreras con la histeria anticomunista
had a negative connotation.
tiene una connotación negativa.
I pulled out a chair by the pool,
una silla hasta la piscina,
para mi sorpresa y alegría,
and found, to my shock and joy,
were actually quite good.
una semana de vacaciones
del hotel para mirar mi email.
business center to check my email.
un mundo pre iPhone.
that I had created anonymously
creado de manera anónima
several dozen times,
varias docenas de veces
that everyone had said that they loved,
la lista de guiones que todos amaban,
loving them themselves.
that I can't actually say here,
realidad no puedo decir aquí,
about their scripts
sobre los guiones
del silencio no escrita en Hollywood
Hollywood rule of omertà
la gente lo intentara antes
away from doing that before
demasiado ingenuo para conocerla,
it being so early in my career.
that A: I would never tell anybody
A: no contaría a nadie
something even more bizarre happened.
algo todavía más extraño.
from another writer's agent.
agente de otro guionista.
to the call about "Superstorm":
similar a la llamada de "Supertormenta":
en que acabó la llamada.
was the way the call ended.
then told me, and I quote,
y cito literal,
on really good authority
sé de buena mano
on next year's Black List."
en la Lista negra del año que viene".
me quedé a cuadros.
this thing that I had made anonymously
negra, que yo había hecho anónimamente,
included on a list of beloved screenplays.
incluído en la lista de guiones amados.
sort of staring out the window,
en mi despacho y miré por la ventana,
and general giddiness.
that I had created
eso que había creado
buenos guiones para leer en vacaciones.
to read over the holidays.
as the person who had created it --
la persona que la había creado,
I've done it every year since 2005.
todos los años desde 2005.
this agent was exactly right.
ese agente tenía toda la razón.
of a script's value,
la prueba del valor del guion
had previously anticipated.
había anticipado.
cuyos guiones estaban en la lista
whose scripts were on that list
that violated the assumptions
violaban las suposiciones
and "Little Miss Sunshine"
y "Pequeña Miss Sunshine"
sobre el chimancé de Michael Jackson.
about Michael Jackson's chimpanzee.
that I pause here for a second
haga una pausa aquí un momento
for the success of any of those movies.
esas películas es mérito mío.
I didn't produce them, I didn't gaff them,
no las produje, no las iluminé,
the credit for that success,
el crédito de ese éxito,
la forma en la que la gente las veía.
the way people looked at them.
if the conventional wisdom was correct.
sabiduría convencional era correcta.
en esa lista que se habrían hecho
on that list that would have gotten made
that definitely would not have.
que se lleven a producción
a lot of them into production,
guiones en la Lista negra
screenplays on the Black List
for 300 Academy Awards,
"Mejores películas"
have gone to scripts from the Black List,
have gone to scripts from the Black List.
han ido a guiones de la Lista negra.
about 25 billion dollars
of millions of people
cientos de millones de personas
fuera de sus casas,
when they leave their homes,
and the lights go down.
y se han apagado las luces.
of post-theatrical environments
los entornos fuera del cine,
honestamente, las descargas ilegales.
let's be honest, illegal downloads.
doubled down on this notion
was not where we expected to find it,
de los guionistas donde pensábamos
that would allow anybody on earth
que cualquier persona del mundo
an English-language screenplay
de profesionales de la industria.
of film-industry professionals.
cinco años desde que existe
in the five years since its launch,
han encontrado representantes,
have found representation,
últimos 3 años, incluyendo "Nightingale",
in the last three years,
psicológico de un veterano,
psychological decline,
es la única en pantalla
is the only one on screen
and two Emmy Awards.
y a dos premios Emmy.
una docena de escritores
that more than a dozen writers
on this end-of-year annual list,
tres escritores número uno.
number one writers.
sobre la calidad de los guiones,
about screenwriting merit --
because as I mentioned before,
como mencioné antes,
movies to make and making them,
para hacer y hacerlas,
on conventional wisdom.
la sabiduría convencional.
to even greater consequence.
con mayores consecuencias.
no se venden en el extranjero.
don't sell overseas.
sobre mujeres no funcionan
but men won't see themselves in women.
pero los hombres en las mujeres no.
about women over 40.
sobre mujeres de más de 40 años.
to a very narrow idea about beauty
ajustarse a una idea de belleza limitada
se proyectan a 9 metros de alto
are projected 30 feet high
in Columbus, Georgia?
en Columbus, Georgia?
nos vemos a nosotros mismos,
and for how the world sees us?
cómo el mundo nos ve a nosotros?
we all live in a state of constant triage.
vivimos en un estado de triaje constante.
to default to conventional wisdom.
usar la sabiduría convencional.
that we ask ourselves, constantly,
nos preguntemos constantemente
is all convention and no wisdom?
es convención y no sabiduría?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Franklin Leonard - Film producerFranklin Leonard is a film producer, cultural commentator, professor, activist and entrepreneur.
Why you should listen
Franklin Leonard is the founder and CEO of the Black List, the company that celebrates and supports great screenwriting and the writers who do it via film production, as well as its annual survey of the best unproduced screenplays, online marketplace, live staged script readings, screenwriter labs and film culture publications. More than 400 scripts from the annual Black List survey (30 percent of its total output) have been produced as feature films, earning 250 Academy Award nominations and 50 wins, including four of the last ten Best Pictures and ten of the last twenty-two screenwriting Oscars.
Leonard has worked in feature film development at Universal Pictures and the production companies of Will Smith, Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, and Leonardo DiCaprio. He has been a juror at the Sundance, Toronto, and Guanajuato Film Festivals and for the PEN Center Literary Awards. He was also a delegate and speaker at the White House's 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. He was one of Hollywood Reporter's "35 Under 35," Black Enterprise magazine's "40 Emerging Leaders for Our Future," The Root’s 100 Most Influential African-Americans, Fast Company’s "100 Most Creative People in Business" and was awarded the 2015 African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)'s Special Achievement Award for career excellence. He is an occasional commentator on the BBC and MSNBC on matters of culture, politics and race, an associate professor at the American Film institute, a trustee of PEN America, an advisor to Glitch, Inc. and a member of the Associates Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Franklin Leonard | Speaker | TED.com