Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List

[FranklinLeonard]

What the title says.

Hello everyone.

Fire away.

Don't know what the Black List is? Get thee here:

The Black List
Go Into The Story
Screenwriting Tips... You Hack

[Joe Unidos]

What is the plan for the new Black List stuff, distinct from the actual list?

[Alfred Parker]

Demographically speaking... How would you break down your roster of voters?
i.e. the number of agents/managers vs. execs vs. who all else exactly does get to vote?

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by Joe Unidos

What is the plan for the new Black List stuff, distinct from the actual list?

Not quite ready to unveil everything, but suffice it to say that we're working on extending the mission of the Black List - helping people who make movies find great scripts and helping people who write great scripts find people who make movies - further than it has yet been extended.

Keep a close eye on our website in the month of October for announcements. Or, if you'll be at the Austin Film Festival, come by the Stephen F Austin, Assembly Room at 10:45 AM on Friday.

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by Alfred Parker

Demographically speaking... How would you break down your roster of voters?
i.e. the number of agents/managers vs. execs vs. who all else exactly does get to vote?

Agents and managers are not allowed to vote.

Each year, the eligible voters are the executives at studios, major financiers, the production companies with deals at them and a select group of production companies who have had films with at least moderate sized releases in the last few years.

This group typically numbers somewhere between 550-600 people. Typically between 300-325 of them vote.

[LIMAMA]

Franklin, I've sent two requests to be placed on the wait list and have heard nothing back. Is there a backlog?

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by LIMAMA

Franklin, I've sent two requests to be placed on the wait list and have heard nothing back. Is there a backlog?

There is a very large backlog, but we try to get industry professionals approved quickly, certainly within seven days. It is also possible that the issue is our membership qualifications.

Currently membership is limited solely to industry professionals whose full time job in the film industry revolves around their access to great screenplays, and we use a very narrow filter within that definition.

If that describes you, please do email us with a more complete explanation of your industry professional status, and we'll get you approved as soon as our process allows.

If it does not and you are, say, an aspiring screenwriter, keep an eye on our website in October. Big things coming.

[lordmanji]

Do the execs nominate the screenplays, or does the Blacklist? How many titles does an exec usually "vote" for?

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by lordmanji

Do the execs nominate the screenplays, or does the Blacklist? How many titles does an exec usually "vote" for?

We do not pre-select the scripts from which the execs vote.

Each voter is simply asked for a list of up to ten screenplays that meet the following criteria:

1. They love the script.
2. The script was written in or is somehow uniquely associated with that calendar year.
3. The filmed version of that script will not debut in theaters prior to December 31 of that calendar year.

Over the last three years, there's been a steady average of approximately 6.6 scripts per exec.

[EJ Pennypacker]

Cool idea to post here, Franklin.

Have you considered releasing another version of the Black List that is just pure unsold material? Thus help to highlight stuff that perhaps can get sold (again).

EJ