The New Black List

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  • Re: The New Black List

    One blip does not disproof anything. I'm not gonna point out the endless numbers of films that stars did not salvage. We all know of examples.

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    • Re: The New Black List

      Originally posted by haroldhecuba View Post
      You're absolutely right, halloweenie...since your script can't be 'pitched' in less than a sentence or two, it's Hollywood's fault.

      And you still miss the point that it doesn't matter what the logline for PULP FICTION is...as long as you've got a couple of optioned screenplays under your belt, and your first directorial effort was a critical and commercial success, you're going to be given a little bit longer leash to follow it up with a movie that only has one star.

      HH

      This is Monday morning quarterbacking on your part.

      Using Tarantino's history is not fair to the premise of the hypothetical.

      Saying he's an exception because he was a success, isn't fair to the hypothetical.

      If the cards hadn't aligned with "Reservoir Dogs" and Tarantino had been working in that video store when he wrote "Pulp Fiction" and didn't have any connections, that's the hypothetical.

      Would a logline have sold that script. Based strictly on the logline.

      Please tell me now how he's a special case, and I'm not Tarantino, nor are there any other budding Tarantinos outside the fortress gate.

      I still have yet to see any of you concoct a suitable logline. ( not a short pitch. )

      It's a great script. Sell it in a sentence.

      Comment


      • Re: The New Black List

        I think people are missing what HALLOWEENJAK is saying. or maybe I'm misunderstanding. Let's take Tarrantino's history out of the convo. What I think he is saying, if an average JOE queried with a script that was like PULP FICTION, execs would pass reading on the script. Because it doesn't really have a concise logline.

        For example a script that rocks and sold for a million dollars, PRISONERS doesn't not have a really compelling logline. But the script is f*cking awesome. I think the point he is trying to make and kind of what BDZ said, there are a lot of scripts that have great loglines that suck. There are also scripts that don't have compelling loglines that are awesome scripts. HEAT is a perfect example.

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        • Re: The New Black List

          Here's the thing, Jak: many great scripts go unrepped, unsold and unmade. And Pulp Fiction could very well have been one of them.

          It was made because Tarantino had already proven his ability as a solid, bankable director. If he hadn't, PF probably would not have made it.

          And rightfully so. No one spends millions to a make a movie they're not sure will make money. But Tarantino was/is bankable. As is Terrence Malick or Nicolas Refn or Wes Anderson or Paul Thomas Anderson or whoever else.

          Pulp Fiction was made because of Tarantino. Tree of Life because of Malick. Drive because of Refn. Moonlight Kingdom because of Anderson. The Master because of PTA.

          These are not examples that disprove the necessity of a solid concept. These are examples of talented people earning the right to bet their careers on not-so-marketable ideas.

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          • Re: The New Black List

            Originally posted by halloweenjak View Post
            This is Monday morning quarterbacking on your part.

            Using Tarantino's history is not fair to the premise of the hypothetical.

            Saying he's an exception because he was a success, isn't fair to the hypothetical.

            If the cards hadn't aligned with "Reservoir Dogs" and Tarantino had been working in that video store when he wrote "Pulp Fiction" and didn't have any connections, that's the hypothetical.

            Would a logline have sold that script. Based strictly on the logline.

            Please tell me now how he's a special case, and I'm not Tarantino, nor are there any other budding Tarantinos outside the fortress gate.

            I still have yet to see any of you concoct a suitable logline. ( not a short pitch. )

            It's a great script. Sell it in a sentence.
            I don't have to. Again, just to be clear: I don't care about your hypothetical 'cause it's got nothing to do with the reality: he was a proven commodity.

            I think TRUE ROMANCE was his first sale/option, and one can probably come up with a decent/interesting logline for that one. Whether one likes it or not, those of us outside the walls pretty much have to come up with a decent logline.

            HH

            ETA: cross-posted with ATB, but, yeah, what he said

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            • Re: The New Black List

              I guess I could try querying my latest script with, "Just cast Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington, and either Kristen Stewart or Jennifer Lawrence -- guaranteed blockbuster!"

              But I think studios are going to need a little more to go on before they drop $100+ million on it.
              Patrick Sweeney

              Comment


              • Re: The New Black List

                Originally posted by Deion22 View Post
                I think people are missing what HALLOWEENJAK is saying. or maybe I'm misunderstanding. Let's take Tarrantino's history out of the convo. What I think he is saying, if an average JOE queried with a script that was like PULP FICTION, execs would pass reading on the script. Because it doesn't really have a concise logline.

                For example a script that rocks and sold for a million dollars, PRISONERS doesn't not have a really compelling logline. But the script is f*cking awesome. I think the point he is trying to make and kind of what BDZ said, there are a lot of scripts that have great loglines that suck. There are also scripts that don't have compelling loglines that are awesome scripts. HEAT is a perfect example.
                That's my point.

                If "Remains of the Day" hadn't caught the attention of James Ivory and Ismael Merchant through an award winning novel, and came to them cold...

                Well, they probably still would've produced it because they're decent discerning guys...

                But would another producer look twice at a logline that entailed a butler who can't express his feeling for a house maid? Today? In this "Avengers" climate?

                Of course if you didn't like or see "Remains of the Day" and think the world is better off with easy to encapsulate concepts and don't care for slow thoughtful movies like "Last Picture Show" or "Door in the Floor", then you're getting your wish.

                I'd love to see a sellable logline for "Lost in Translation" without a mention of Bill Murray or the name Coppola. ( since Pulp Fiction seems to be stumping y'all )

                I'm just saying this shortcut to thinking had probably caused a few gems to fall through the cracks of the system. Reading even three pages of a script will tell you whether or not someone can write. A logline won't tell you a thing other than someone has an idea for a movie.

                Of course in a world where concept is king, that's all that matters.

                Comment


                • Re: The New Black List

                  .

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                  • Re: The New Black List

                    It's a world of bullets, heroin, accidental murders, a gimp, cheeseburgers and general shenanigans in a series of stories about the bizarre characters who swirl around the badass gangster who runs Los Angeles.

                    Now can we get back to the Black List?
                    Chicks Who Script podcast

                    Comment


                    • Re: The New Black List

                      Here you go. If there's any flicks in this list where concept is not king, then you're absolutely right. They don't make flicks like that anymore. Ever.

                      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_in_film

                      HH

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                      • Re: The New Black List

                        Originally posted by emily blake View Post
                        It's a world of bullets, heroin, accidental murders, a gimp, cheeseburgers and general shenanigans in a series of stories about the bizarre characters who swirl around the badass gangster who runs Los Angeles.

                        Now can we get back to the Black List?
                        Fail.

                        Comment


                        • Re: The New Black List

                          Now you're talking about an adaptation, Jak. You're grasping at straws. And you're displaying a basic misunderstanding about how this industry works. Adaptations are so fvcking different from specs it's like another world.

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                          • Re: The New Black List

                            I'm guessing we're so far off track that it's never coming back. If you've got something to say about the Black List, say it. My finger is hovering over the "close thread" button.
                            Chicks Who Script podcast

                            Comment


                            • Re: The New Black List

                              Originally posted by ATB View Post
                              Now you're talking about an adaptation, Jak. You're grasping at straws. And you're displaying a basic misunderstanding about how this industry works. Adaptations are so fvcking different from specs it's like another world.
                              You're swearing which means you're getting frustrated by logic.

                              It's a simple question. It takes into account precisely how the industry which places such a high value on a sentence or two works, or doesn't work for that matter and lets good scripts slip through their fingers all the time because they can be distilled to a sentence.

                              Pulp Fiction, dude.

                              Give me a sellable logline or stfu about it.

                              Comment


                              • Re: The New Black List

                                Man, you keep calling upon AUTEURS.

                                Writers/directors. What's more, already in the loop.

                                You can't sell an unknown, an outsider, on the basis of his unique subtlety in matters of style and execution. You need to kick down the door.

                                Originally posted by halloweenjak View Post
                                That's my point.

                                If "Remains of the Day" hadn't caught the attention of James Ivory and Ismael Merchant through an award winning novel, and came to them cold...

                                Well, they probably still would've produced it because they're decent discerning guys...

                                But would another producer look twice at a logline that entailed a butler who can't express his feeling for a house maid? Today? In this "Avengers" climate?

                                Of course if you didn't like or see "Remains of the Day" and think the world is better off with easy to encapsulate concepts and don't care for slow thoughtful movies like "Last Picture Show" or "Door in the Floor", then you're getting your wish.

                                I'd love to see a sellable logline for "Lost in Translation" without a mention of Bill Murray or the name Coppola. ( since Pulp Fiction seems to be stumping y'all )

                                I'm just saying this shortcut to thinking had probably caused a few gems to fall through the cracks of the system. Reading even three pages of a script will tell you whether or not someone can write. A logline won't tell you a thing other than someone has an idea for a movie.

                                Of course in a world where concept is king, that's all that matters.

                                Comment

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