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

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

    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

  • #2
    Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

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

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

      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?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

        Originally posted by Joe Unidos View Post
        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.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

          Originally posted by Alfred Parker View Post
          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.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

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

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            • #7
              Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

              Originally posted by LIMAMA View Post
              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.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

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

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                • #9
                  Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

                  Originally posted by lordmanji View Post
                  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.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

                    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

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                    • #11
                      Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

                      What does it mean if your script is listed on the black list website database? And how does it get on there?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

                        When executives pass on a script (loved it but couldn't make it at their company), do you see them still voting for it? So if a script goes out one year, gets good all around marks, can it appear on the Black List the following calendar year?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

                          Originally posted by EJ Pennypacker View Post
                          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
                          I've considered that idea but decided against it for two reasons.

                          1. The Black List is meant to highlight the most liked screenplays that haven't yet been released as feature films. Period. No additional restrictions. In so doing, we capture a fair number of unsold scripts and newly represented writers. Those scripts and writers are better served by being on a list of the "most liked screenplays period" than they are by being closer to the top of a list of "unsold screenplays." My favorite example of this is Chris Weekes's THE MUPPET MAN placing #1 and Aaron Sorkin's THE SOCIAL NETWORK placing #2. Sorkin's script went on to win the Academy Award, and Weekes's script is all the more legitimized for it.

                          2. I decided to get a bit more ambitious conceptually. Keep an eye on the website.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

                            Originally posted by Deion22 View Post
                            What does it mean if your script is listed on the black list website database? And how does it get on there?
                            It means that one of our members added its information (same information we publish on the yearly list) to our database, where it has the potential to be included in our real time Black List (based on the ratings of industry professionals) or recommended to other industry professionals via our recommendations algorithm.

                            We do not make screenplays available to our members unless the rightsholder has uploaded it and signed a waiver indicating that they are the rightsholder.

                            We assume that our industry professional members have the ability to contact a writer's representation to get a copy of the script or acquire it via other means once they have been made aware of it via our site.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Black List founder Franklin Leonard answers your questions about the Black List.

                              Originally posted by AlexNoa View Post
                              When executives pass on a script (loved it but couldn't make it at their company), do you see them still voting for it? So if a script goes out one year, gets good all around marks, can it appear on the Black List the following calendar year?
                              Yes, absolutely. I suspect that many Black List votes are exactly that, scripts an executive loved but for whatever reason couldn't make at their company.

                              We try to limit Black List inclusion to the calendar year when the script went out. Of course, there are exceptions though. A spec that circulates in late November during Black List voting, for example, could show up on the next year's list.

                              We do our best to standardize our process, but judgment calls are sometimes necessary.

                              Comment

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