I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

    wait....?? is this Scary movie and Gameboys Craig Mazin??
    • Go and do likewise gents..

    Comment


    • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

      Got another pro review and it must have been an 8... So I'm back in the top 15... hopefully for longer this time.

      "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

      Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

      Comment


      • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

        Originally posted by LauriD View Post
        Got another pro review and it must have been an 8... So I'm back in the top 15... hopefully for longer this time.

        LOL! hi Lauri, thought you were taking a break for a bit?? gonna let things develop..remember? I just picture you sitting at your computer hitting refresh refresh refresh. funny.
        • Go and do likewise gents..

        Comment


        • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

          Originally posted by ChristopherCurtis View Post
          LOL! hi Lauri, thought you were taking a break for a bit?? gonna let things develop..remember? I just picture you sitting at your computer hitting refresh refresh refresh. funny.
          I did take a break - went and watched Downton Abbey. Hey - YOU were the one who wanted updates!

          (Or did you mean, like, real world stuff...?)

          "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

          Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

          Comment


          • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

            Congrats Lauri! Here's hoping for at least 20 minutes in the Top 15! And more important than ratings, here's hoping for a sale!

            Comment


            • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

              Originally posted by Craig Mazin View Post
              There's another point I want to make about all of this Black List stuff that I didn't on the podcast, so consider this a special addendum for all you.

              There are two kinds of useful buzz for a screenplay.

              There's the VOLUME buzz... lots and lots and lots of people start talking about a script, or showing a script some sort of measurable approval (e.g. a high rating on BL). That's nice. It indicates that the patient has a pulse, but as we've all repeated, it doesn't mean the patient is going to wake up or start walking around.

              Then there's INDIVIDUAL buzz. Certain people in this town have opinions that matter more than those of a thousand aggregated reviewers. If one of those people really likes your script, you're going to get championed, bought and promoted.

              It's hard to prove this, but my experience tells me it's the latter approval that's responsible for the vast majority of success stories.

              We live in a time where the crowd is more present and accessible than ever, and yet it's still just the crowd. Screenwriters and screenplays need champions. They need powerful, respected people.

              I'm far from powerful, but I do think my opinion is well-regarded by enough people in town to say this: if I read your screenplay and I love it, you're getting representation, and you will be considered for gigs... with the rest, of course, up to you.

              So use these tools if you choose, but do not forget... generally speaking, it's not the crowd that makes careers. It's not the aggregation, or the score.

              Almost always, it's that one person.

              You can have an aggregate score of 2. If the one person who gave it a 10 "matters," then you really have a 10.

              You can have an aggregate score of 10. If all of the people who gave it a 10 "don't matter," then you really have a 0.

              As much as we wish to democratize opinion, we cannot. Ever.

              Some pigs are more equal than others.

              So enjoy the great ratings on these sites for what they are worth, but just as importantly, don't freak out over the less-than-great ratings on these sites.
              I'm writing this quickly because I'm currently visiting my parents and promised my mother that we'd go see GUILT TRIP, but quickly and probably less well than I'd normally write this...

              As is often the case with Craig, I could not agree more with the sentiments expressed here, especially the idea that it's not the crowd that makes careers.

              The one thing that I'd add though is that the Black List exists primarily to alert that one person, whoever it is, that there's a script out there that they may want to champion (if they read it and love it). The new site has been structured to further that mission.

              Knowing that other people like a script isn't what typically moves the needle on a sale, a decision to represent a writer, etc. It can, however, move the needle on getting a person to read a script, which is the first step in that individual becoming a champion for that script.

              This is especially true at the higher levels of the industry corporate hierarchy where individuals have greater demands on their time and more authority if they do love something to move things forward.

              And it's here where the Black List has the most value, I think. It leverages the crowd to motivate individuals to explore material that they may champion if they find that they, individually, have the same positive response.

              The new site is even more effective in this regard. Instead of needing several dozen people to raise the alarm bells about a script being worth someone's time, it only really takes one. News of that one person's enthusiasm about a script can be shared immediately with over 1400 industry professionals who may choose to read it based on that enthusiasm. The hope is, obviously, that at least one of those industry professionals becomes a champion for that script and the writer who wrote it.

              As Craig, and others, have rightly said, it only takes one. The challenge though is to find that one person, getting the script to them, and convincing them to read it. Up to now, there's been a ridiculous amount of market friction that makes that difficult and typically quite slow.

              The new Black List exists to reduce that market friction, and thus far, it seems that it's going quite well. Over 2000 downloads of scripts by industry professionals and the few signings that we know of is a good start, but there's a lot more coming, and it won't be limited to being the proverbial hype man for great writing (though we think we do a good job of it.)

              One small example that I'm just now able to speak about: we just finalized a partnership with the Sundance Institute that has already resulted in a writer discovered through the site (and a DDP regular no less) getting a spot in their inaugural Diverse Writers Workshop.

              And that's the tip of the iceberg.

              Comment


              • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                I think your phone would be ringing 24/7 if you had a contained $1-$2 million alien like script that scored a 9.5.

                Comment


                • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                  Originally posted by Chief View Post
                  I think your phone would be ringing 24/7 if you had a contained $1-$2 million alien like script that scored a 9.5.
                  Uh oh - if that's all that's selling I'm screwed.

                  But I've got a nice big fluffy popcorn movie -- "Flight" meets "Apollo 13." Sort of a thinking person's "Armageddon."

                  It's called "Dead Reckoning" and it's on the BL and here:

                  http://studios.amazon.com/scripts/23473

                  'When a rogue "Star Wars" satellite attacks the GPS navigation network, the Space Shuttle crew must overcome the weapon's lethal defenses before thousands of planes run out of time.'
                  "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                  Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

                  Comment


                  • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                    Wow, I kind of feel bad now. I had no clue that the writer(s) see every time a "pro" downloads a script from the new Black List. I've downloaded a bunch and put them in my "maybe at some point in the future I will read this when I have no other submissions and a bunch of free time" folder.

                    Now I'm aware there's someone else on the other side of that transaction, reading meaning into the tealeaves of my download. It kind of freaks me out, to be honest. From now on I'll only download scripts that I'm serious about reading, to not artificially raise hopes.
                    Last edited by keithcalder; 01-09-2013, 12:34 PM. Reason: I stupidly forgot a word.

                    Comment


                    • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                      Originally posted by zenplato View Post
                      You did mention in one of your podcast that you liked someone's pages from the 3 page pro forum here, but that's now defunct. Perhaps, you would do the same with your 3 page reading in your podcast, but...they have to get through Stuart first.
                      I would imagine that if I had never submitted my 3 pages to the Advanced Script Pages forum on DDP, I would have submitted them to Craig and John's podcast reviews, or whatever it's called.

                      And I'd imagine that if those 3 pages wound up on a Scriptnotes Podcast and not on DDP, that Craig's response would have been the same. But I can't speak for him, obviously.

                      So I'd say he is still accessible. Just through a different platform.

                      Comment


                      • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                        Originally posted by keithcalder View Post
                        Wow, I kind of feel bad now. I had no clue that the writer(s) see every time a "pro" downloads a script from the new Black List. I've downloaded a bunch and put them in my "maybe at some point in the future I will read this when I have no other submissions and a bunch of free time."

                        Now I'm aware there's someone else on the other side of that transaction, reading meaning into the tealeaves of my download. It kind of freaks me out, to be honest. From now on I'll only download scripts that I'm serious about reading, to not artificially raise hopes.
                        No, go ahead. Artificial hope is almost as good as the kind with all natural ingredients. And much less fattening.
                        "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                        Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

                        Comment


                        • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                          Originally posted by keithcalder View Post
                          Wow, I kind of feel bad now. I had no clue that the writer(s) see every time a "pro" downloads a script from the new Black List. I've downloaded a bunch and put them in my "maybe at some point in the future I will read this when I have no other submissions and a bunch of free time."

                          Now I'm aware there's someone else on the other side of that transaction, reading meaning into the tealeaves of my download. It kind of freaks me out, to be honest. From now on I'll only download scripts that I'm serious about reading, to not artificially raise hopes.
                          Feel free to download my script, whether you read it or not.

                          https://www.blcklst.com/members/script/4237

                          Comment


                          • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                            Originally posted by ATB View Post
                            I would imagine that if I had never submitted my 3 pages to the Advanced Script Pages forum on DDP, I would have submitted them to Craig and John's podcast reviews, or whatever it's called.

                            And I'd imagine that if those 3 pages wound up on a Scriptnotes Podcast and not on DDP, that Craig's response would have been the same. But I can't speak for him, obviously.

                            So I'd say he is still accessible. Just through a different platform.
                            Ahh, it was you. Cool beans and congratulations.

                            For the record, I think if you have the chops you will bubble up. I'm not one who thinks Hollywood is closed off, or that I need to file a lawsuit for representation.

                            A great script will always find it's way, imo.

                            I'm fortunate in the sense that I have some amazing contacts in Hollywood and I have an open read from a story editor at WME.

                            I'm just missing the great script,

                            Ahh, but perhaps someday the muse shall show me the way. Until then...if I may quote the great Tom Scholz:

                            "I've got to keep on chasin' that dream, though I may never find it
                            I'm always just behind it."

                            Good luck with your career.
                            The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

                            Comment


                            • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                              Thank you Craig Mazin for such a spot on, insightful post.

                              Originally posted by Craig Mazin View Post
                              There's another point I want to make about all of this Black List stuff that I didn't on the podcast, so consider this a special addendum for all you.

                              There are two kinds of useful buzz for a screenplay.

                              There's the VOLUME buzz... lots and lots and lots of people start talking about a script, or showing a script some sort of measurable approval (e.g. a high rating on BL). That's nice. It indicates that the patient has a pulse, but as we've all repeated, it doesn't mean the patient is going to wake up or start walking around.

                              Then there's INDIVIDUAL buzz. Certain people in this town have opinions that matter more than those of a thousand aggregated reviewers. If one of those people really likes your script, you're going to get championed, bought and promoted.

                              It's hard to prove this, but my experience tells me it's the latter approval that's responsible for the vast majority of success stories.

                              We live in a time where the crowd is more present and accessible than ever, and yet it's still just the crowd. Screenwriters and screenplays need champions. They need powerful, respected people.

                              I'm far from powerful, but I do think my opinion is well-regarded by enough people in town to say this: if I read your screenplay and I love it, you're getting representation, and you will be considered for gigs... with the rest, of course, up to you.

                              So use these tools if you choose, but do not forget... generally speaking, it's not the crowd that makes careers. It's not the aggregation, or the score.

                              Almost always, it's that one person.

                              You can have an aggregate score of 2. If the one person who gave it a 10 "matters," then you really have a 10.

                              You can have an aggregate score of 10. If all of the people who gave it a 10 "don't matter," then you really have a 0.

                              As much as we wish to democratize opinion, we cannot. Ever.

                              Some pigs are more equal than others.

                              So enjoy the great ratings on these sites for what they are worth, but just as importantly, don't freak out over the less-than-great ratings on these sites.

                              Comment


                              • Re: I got a 9 on the Black List -- now what?

                                Originally posted by Craig Mazin View Post
                                There are two kinds of useful buzz for a screenplay.

                                There's the VOLUME buzz... lots and lots and lots of people start talking about a script, or showing a script some sort of measurable approval (e.g. a high rating on BL). That's nice. It indicates that the patient has a pulse, but as we've all repeated, it doesn't mean the patient is going to wake up or start walking around.

                                Then there's INDIVIDUAL buzz. Certain people in this town have opinions that matter more than those of a thousand aggregated reviewers. If one of those people really likes your script, you're going to get championed, bought and promoted.

                                It's hard to prove this, but my experience tells me it's the latter approval that's responsible for the vast majority of success stories.

                                Almost always, it's that one person.
                                Quoted for truth.

                                Thank you, Craig.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X