TIFF Long Take

Franklin Leonard is the founder and CEO of 'The Black List', an annual survey that compiles the "most liked" unproduced screenplays of the year. Since the list's creation in 2005, over 300 Blacklist scripts have been made into theatrical films, with 4 of them going on to win a Best Picture Oscar. Franklin joins Rob and Geoff to talk about the early days of The Black List (2:35), how he's managed to "industrialize" the screenwriting process (5:55), and why, despite his love of data, he has trepidations about applying an analytical lens to an artistic form (8:50). The three also discuss the difference between a "liked script" and a "good script" (11:50), how growing economic pressures have changed what kind of films get made (15:30), why biopics might be the safest bet for aspiring screenwriters(18:20), and why Franklin can't wait for a script about the David Bowie and Iman love story to come across his desk (hint hint, writers).

Is putting together a perfect Oscar ballot really all in the numbers? On the inaugural episode of 'TIFF Long Take', Rob and Geoff sit down with Walt Hickey, FiveThirtyEight.com's Chief Culture Writer, to find out how you can use data to predict the winners on Sunday night. The three discuss the data model that Walt has built to find the probable winners (3:55), why the Golden Globes aren't a great indicator of Oscar success (6:45), why 'La La Land' is a shoe in for Best Picture (10:35), what categories are primed for an upset (17:00), and why an Oscar nomination doesn't always translate to box office success (23:40). Theme Music By The Passion HiFi http://www.thepassionhifi.com