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

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

    Franklin, when will the stats be posted?
    http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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

      Originally posted by SundownInRetreat View Post
      In fact, American Idol is the perfect example. Your scripts are auditioning. End of. If you fail to impress, the judge will check out.
      I must have missed the part where contestants fork out 50 or a 100 bucks for the judges to hand down their verdict.
      If you're paid to read a script, read it.

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

        Originally posted by Atlas View Post
        The link is a bit hard to find. It's on the signup page.

        https://blcklst.com/faq/
        Thank you for pointing out that this is hard to find. We will be making it more readily visible from the landing page in the very near future.

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

          Originally posted by LIMAMA View Post
          Franklin, when will the stats be posted?
          Early next week. The first month ended today and we've got to crunch the numbers and then make it pretty.

          Not to give too much away, but they'll be released along with some very exciting news.

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

            Your environment at the time of reading has a big effect on how you read. Screenplays are designed to be read quickly which can "help" you to read too quickly.

            If you are under pressure, over worked, have just read something awful - or even amazing, where you head is at etc

            There are far more factors that will effect the reader then what is on the page in front of them and it's a fact, a sad fact but a fact none the less.

            But is true there are an ocean of bad scripts out there written by people who think it is easy when we all know it is an art form that takes a lot of work and sacrifice to perfect. + this effects the readers environment also.

            + congrats GhostWhite your scripts sounds solid.
            Writing bio: http://seanryanmovies.blogspot.ie/2012/09/my-bio.html

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

              Hey, Franklin -- Will there be any sort of effort made to make the "month" that you pay for start on the same day that the actual script rating is given?

              Because, let's be honest -- reader ratings are what industry people are responding to. So to use up two/three weeks of your month just to "HOST" a script that industry people really aren't going to read until its rating comes in makes no sense whatsoever.

              That's the only thing keeping me from doing this at this point.

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

                Franklin, do you plan on making the search parameter stats available to the writers? It would be interesting to see how the searches from industry pros on BL compares to pitch and sale stats in the Scoggins report, for example.
                Vancouver Screenwriters Meetup Group

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

                  Originally posted by figment View Post
                  Hey, Franklin -- Will there be any sort of effort made to make the "month" that you pay for start on the same day that the actual script rating is given?

                  Because, let's be honest -- reader ratings are what industry people are responding to. So to use up two/three weeks of your month just to "HOST" a script that industry people really aren't going to read until its rating comes in makes no sense whatsoever.

                  That's the only thing keeping me from doing this at this point.
                  Please read this thread. There will not be an effort made in that direction. For many reasons. I have detailed them at length here.

                  And while it's true that industry folks are responding to reader ratings, at least a few of our writers have found ways to use our platform to solicit industry reads before they receive their reader ratings (if they purchased them at all).

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

                    Originally posted by ReneC View Post
                    Franklin, do you plan on making the search parameter stats available to the writers? It would be interesting to see how the searches from industry pros on BL compares to pitch and sale stats in the Scoggins report, for example.
                    This is an interesting suggestion. While I'll admit that it's not currently a priority, it's definitely something we'll add to the list of information to provide when we roll out the initial features we're working on making available.

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

                      Originally posted by FranklinLeonard View Post
                      Thank you for pointing out that this is hard to find. We will be making it more readily visible from the landing page in the very near future.
                      Just want to point out that the FAQ is now linked on our landing page at the end of our intro letter. Should be a bit easier to find now for newcomers. Thank you for the suggestion.

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

                        Originally posted by GhostWhite View Post
                        ... I decided to query people directly with the rating in the subject line. I was able to get reads at some of the top management companies, including a huge agency, and even queried a few managers who previously gave me silence on the script. One of those managers agreed to read it...
                        Same story here, slightly different though. My script is very commercial but I haven't ordered a read yet from BL. My strategy was to query first and see how that goes using the link to the BL.

                        I used another service advertised on DD to send out queries and in my query I pointed to the listing on BL, advising that they could read it there. I've had about 15-20 requests. I've sent the script and/or the BL link to 12 of them. At least 8 are serious players (managers and prod. co.) having sold/repped several specs/writers within the last 12 months.

                        Surprisingly, a rep. from one major management firm didn't have his login yet, so Franklin, I guess he'll be coming your way.

                        It's a strategy I'm finding succes with. I've been at this for 8 years and I've never queried a production company directly and now I have 4 currently reading so I'm a little excited.

                        Franklin, is the access to BL global, based on the firm or the individual manager/agent?

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

                          Originally posted by Anointed View Post
                          Same story here, slightly different though. My script is very commercial but I haven't ordered a read yet from BL. My strategy was to query first and see how that goes using the link to the BL.

                          I used another service advertised on DD to send out queries and in my query I pointed to the listing on BL, advising that they could read it there. I've had about 15-20 requests. I've sent the script and/or the BL link to 12 of them. At least 8 are serious players (managers and prod. co.) having sold/repped several specs/writers within the last 12 months.

                          Surprisingly, a rep. from one major management firm didn't have his login yet, so Franklin, I guess he'll be coming your way.

                          It's a strategy I'm finding succes with. I've been at this for 8 years and I've never queried a production company directly and now I have 4 currently reading so I'm a little excited.

                          Franklin, is the access to BL global, based on the firm or the individual manager/agent?
                          Access to the site is based on both the firm and the individual. Typically, employment at a highly reputable company is enough to confirm membership, but there are individuals outside of those companies who for any number of reasons can merit inclusion as well.

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

                            Me thinks the guy who wrote MCCARTHY is going to be part of the announcement next week. Just a guess since it looks like he updated his profile with the letters CAA

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

                              Feature Request:

                              The script I have posted on the Black List, I wrote with a low budget in mind. It's a drama, present day, no visual effects, small cast, limited locations. You could shoot it with a skeleton crew. I've been on both sides of the industry long enough to know what low budget is. The first paid review I received reflected that.

                              However, the second paid review listed my script as a "high budget" production. This is inaccurate, and for me, really calls the credibility of the rest of the review into question. An experienced professional reader would know that this script is certainly not a "high budget" production.

                              So the feature I propose is the ability to remove a review and rating entirely. If I decide to pay for a review, I should also have the option to delete it and remove the score from my average rating, as if I had never requested it in the first place. This should be my right, since I paid for it. This would be advantageous for reviews that are wildly inaccurate or reviews that I don't agree with, especially since the script in question has been given favorable professional reviews outside of The Black List. And to be clear, I do not expect a refund, just the ability to maintain an accurate average rating. It’s my script and I should have the option to present it in the best way possible. I would think this falls under the "do no harm" provision Franklin set forth from the beginning.

                              Thanks.
                              All the best,
                              Lee
                              __________________________________
                              I'm not just a screenwriter...
                              I also write and illustrate picture books!

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

                                Originally posted by LFGabel View Post
                                Feature Request:

                                The script I have posted on the Black List, I wrote with a low budget in mind. It's a drama, present day, no visual effects, small cast, limited locations. You could shoot it with a skeleton crew. I've been on both sides of the industry long enough to know what low budget is. The first paid review I received reflected that.

                                However, the second paid review listed my script as a "high budget" production. This is inaccurate, and for me, really calls the credibility of the rest of the review into question. An experienced professional reader would know that this script is certainly not a "high budget" production.

                                So the feature I propose is the ability to remove a review and rating entirely. If I decide to pay for a review, I should also have the option to delete it and remove the score from my average rating, as if I had never requested it in the first place. This should be my right, since I paid for it. This would be advantageous for reviews that are wildly inaccurate or reviews that I don't agree with, especially since the script in question has been given favorable professional reviews outside of The Black List. And to be clear, I do not expect a refund, just the ability to maintain an accurate average rating. It's my script and I should have the option to present it in the best way possible. I would think this falls under the "do no harm" provision Franklin set forth from the beginning.

                                Thanks.
                                Lee, since you've chosen to make the content of your direct communication with me public on this forum, I will share my response as well.

                                We will not providing the option to delete a rating, and we will not be doing it for two reasons:

                                "1. First and foremost, your having paid for a review does not entitle you to remove it from existence on our site. We provide plenty of recourse for you to keep it (and its consequence of your rating) private, and in the event that there is legitimate cause for a review to be withdrawn we do so, happily, always granting a free read in its place.

                                2. It would create a culture where people just pay for reads until they get the ones they want, keeping only those. It's the equivalent of encouraging a slot machine approach to the service that I simply can't endorse, both for reasons of integrity and public perception."

                                Lastly, I have connected with the reader who delivered this review. The description of the budget as high was the result of the inclusion of a high speed train as part of an action sequence and frequent gunplay. While you may have had a lower budget vision for the film, the vision imagined based on the read was a different one. This is not uncommon in Hollywood, which is exactly why we include that section in our evaluations.

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