The New Black List

[Hamboogul]

Originally Posted by Deion22

Never in my short career have I had to put together a logline to get someone a script. My reps normally do my loglines. And if I put one together it's not great. BDZ is right f*ck loglines -- a great script is all that matters.

I've read lots of great loglines and then the script sucks.

I feel the opposite. I craft the logline because I want to have full control over my script and how it's presented.

But the logline that my reps use the most is--

"Per our convo, see attached."

[Mossbraker]

If you have a good script, the logline can really screw you over. If you have a bad script, it can really help you out.

In the ideal world, good script = good logline and bad script = bad logline. In the real world, it's probably all over the place and a million inbetweens.

[halloweenjak]

Originally Posted by Deion22

Never in my short career have I had to put together a logline to get someone a script. My reps normally do my loglines. And if I put one together it's not great. BDZ is right f*ck loglines -- a great script is all that matters.

I've read lots of great loglines and then the script sucks.

Agree. And my script is just the opposite.

It has a horrible logline, as Lowell pointed out. My logline sounds like a bad Scooby Doo episode, and if I posted in on the Black List site would get ignored. It won only 11 of 28 premise wars on Amazon. It got virtually no hits on Inktip.

Carson Eads wouldn't review it for his Amateur Friday.

No one read the thing. Except for some Nicholl judges who then voted it into the Quarter finals two of the last three years, the top twenty per cent last year, and top 15% three years previously. They had to read it though.

It's hard to blame people in the industry though. They're inundated with requests by people who can craft a logline selling more often than not snake oil. Glossy, shiny loglines like ads on Craigslist selling cars which end up being lemons.

Great scripts should be the only thing that matters.

Of course when there are only so many movies studios can make each year, with such a disproportionate number of people trying to write them, they can pick and choose as they please.

And in a business where connections mean so much, those vetted individuals will scarf up most of the jobs, because new scares. Unknown entities bring with them the possibility of failure and collateral damage, exposing any individual associated with that writers advocacy as a co- conspirator in a case of fraud.

But even if the script turns out to be good, that's also a bad case scenario for people in the business trying to get their own works into production. So with new writers comes the threat of competition, or the possibility of exposure as an outsider. Harvey Weinstein was powerful enough to survive his unwarranted advocacy of Troy Duffy.

Tom Hanks is powerful enough to weather his advocacy of Nia Vardalos when she writes a Larry Crowne.

Low level agents and mail screeners don't have that luxury.

Tyler Marcecca, Nia Vardalos, Oren Peli, didn't break in based on a logline.

Susan Boyle didn't break into singing based on her looks. She broke in based on her talent.

But would she have had the chance were it not for an open competition. No.

If they based her audition on her looks alone, she wouldn't get to sing in front of Simon Cowell.

There's a lot of scripts that don't have the appearance of promise based on the logline that are being ignored I think. And it does the industry a great disservice to use loglines as the factor which gets them in the door.

I don't think this Black List service takes into account the Susan Boyle scripts floating around out there.

[Jules]

Originally Posted by halloweenjak

Susan Boyle didn't break into singing based on her looks.

Yet I'd **** her just because she's famous.

[Manchester]

Originally Posted by Hamboogul

"Per our convo, see attached."

Hey, that's my logline! I's been robbed! See you in court.

[Twofingeredtypist]

Originally Posted by halloweenjak

I don't think this Black List service takes into account the Susan Boyle scripts floating around out there.

Prossibly not, but then that's what the various competitions are for. A brilliant script will place. In the meantime...

There's a ton of people who are stuck with having to concoct log lines simply because there aren't enough high-profile competitions in order to discover these SuBo scripts. People are mailing reps with loglines in the hope of getting a read.

This new Black List seems to be working on the same principal. The difference is industry folk are checking in to read these logs instead of having them appear in their inbox, coupled with the fact that the scripts WILL be covered, meaning the quality of the script has been assessed, as opposed to just the logline.

In the end, it'll all still rely on how good the script is. A SuBo script will rise...

[halloweenjak]

Originally Posted by Twofingeredtypist

Prossibly not, but then that's what the various competitions are for. A brilliant script will place. In the meantime...

There's a ton of people who are stuck with having to concoct log lines simply because there aren't enough high-profile competitions in order to discover these SuBo scripts. People are mailing reps with loglines in the hope of getting a read.

This new Black List seems to be working on the same principal. The difference is industry folk are checking in to read these logs instead of having them appear in their inbox, coupled with the fact that the scripts WILL be covered, meaning the quality of the script has been assessed, as opposed to just the logline.

In the end, it'll all still rely on how good the script is. A SuBo script will rise...

lol.

I love the term "SuBo script".

At fifty bucks a pop, one would only hope that first reader doesn't have a tin ear.

[Twofingeredtypist]

Originally Posted by halloweenjak

lol.

I love the term "SuBo script".

At fifty bucks a pop, one would only hope that first reader doesn't have a tin ear.

[Geoff Alexander]

Originally Posted by JeffLowell

It's an interesting idea. My guess is that most people will just read scripts that get great coverage. I can't see busy CEs giving themselves homework by entering in their detailed reaction to scripts. But maybe...

It's just a one to ten rating, so it takes only a few seconds to rate scripts you've read on that scale. I rated about thirty last night in approximately an hour. So, it's easy for CEs to do. But, I agree that it requires a lot of people to buy into the idea and it remains to be seen if that happens.

[Geoff Alexander]

Originally Posted by stainjm

Being a reader, can you recommend a way for us to get attention for our scripts? Is it just the logline, or are you looking at coverage, or... ? Is it in bad form to go out and find people that are on there and ask them to take a look?

Do you mean get attention for your script on the BL or elsewhere? If it's on the BL, then it's not something you can control, outside of getting a good rating from a reader or good ratings from people that have read your script. I don't know how many people will read scripts that have been uploaded based on seeing a logline. Some may, but very few, I think, it would be too much work. The whole idea of the site is that it actively pushes material to you.