The New Black List

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by lordmanji

So do you have to list every script each month at 25, or is it just the first script that must be listed and every script after that if you pay for the read then it will automatically be listed?

$25 per screenplay per month.

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by Geoff Alexander

To be honest, you might want to look at putting a limit on the number of reads that someone can purchase. Considering the way that you are going about launching this, i.e., doing the planning and information gathering necessary to be certain that this is a reasonably ethically driven venture, I think you may owe it to the writers to protect them from themselves. Maybe three reads would be a good limit? If someone is spending a lot of money that they don't have because they are unrealistic about their material but are trying to incrementally improve their standing, well, I think that would be really unfortunate, and not in line with your mandate.

I agree completely and that's very good advice, and I will counsel people, here and elsewhere, against buying reads for reads sake. Our algorithm is far more sophisticated than I think people realize.

That said, we see our role as empowering writers, not limiting their decisions for their own sake. So while we encourage responsible behavior, we won't be taking that decision out of users' hands.

[Deion22]

What if you have a script that is already posted on your site, and has a chance of making the OFFICIAL BLACK LIST at the end of the year. Do you think a writer is well served paying to have the script evaluated so it can get more eyes on it, so it has a better chance of making the OFFICIAL BLACK LIST at the end of the year?

What I'm asking basically, do you think this new service can also help enhance writers chances of making the official black list at the end of the year?

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by Jules

So if it's a waste of time paying the $25 listing fee if you don't/didn't intend on paying the $50 fee for a reader, wouldn't it make sense to include the reading fee into the initial listing fee (total $75) to avoid any confusion on a writer's part who thinks they may be getting something for their $25 alone.

And wouldn't it be even better to allow a writer to pay their $50 evaluation fee before choosing to list it or not, so they don't lose their $25 if their evaluation is poor, which in many cases could go either way with some scripts depending on the reader (I've seen this in coverages before, scriptshark multireader deals that had passes and recommends on the same script)

I think in many cases a writer is going to get a poor evaluation and feel they have to buy more reads to try level it out, and maybe they will, or they'll get more poor reviews and in desperation buy more read credits.

If you wanted to make the $25 listing fee without the $50 evaluation a more viable option then you could increase your search criteria in the way inktip (god bless them) do. For example giving the writer many boxes to tick be it budget, age skew, sex of the protag, story themes, setting, time period, various other content, etc. There's a huge amount of boxes to tick.

Which in turn allows a producer to search for exactly what they want, and if that's your script then at least you have a chance of getting your logline seen among the masses.

What I see happening is a lot of writers uploading because $25 seems viable, and not understanding that they're going to be wasting the money if they don't put down the other $50 for an evaluation, which for most will be a gamble anyway.

I think there needs to be more transparency in regards to this issue, I could not find a faq on your website which went into the dynamics of this.

We're going to be clarifying a lot of these issues in an omnibus post that I'll be making to the Black List blog that will be published on GITS as well. I actually really appreciate people bringing these issues to the fore so that we can address them.

I think our core ethic remains the same, however. We've creating a platform. It's up to writers and industry professionals to use their judgment about how they want to utilize it. You're right, however, that we need to be ultra transparent about how the platform functions, which is part of why I'm answer these questions here and will duplicate these answers on the Black list site, in the blog, and elsewhere.

[Jules]

At the very least a writer should have the option of suspending their listing (and with holding its fee) until after they've received their coverage, to avoid a period of script blindness on the site.

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by RobWriter

Sorry if I missed this earlier in the thread Franklin, but when you're talking about what a screenwriter can view on the site, I've seen mention made of member ratings - is that something that happens for free on the site once you've uploaded a script? Basically a "like" button for the scripts? Or are the ratings actually quantifiable based on a numeric scale (1 - 10)? So even if you don't pay for the $50 coverage, there is some method for the screenwriter to receive "feedback" on their script?

Hope my question makes sense.

Had another question - but just read through the comments and see it was answered.

So any industry pro member can download, read, and rate a writer's script. And those ratings are entirely free. They can be generated by a member stumbling upon the script via a genre (or other category) search. They can be generated by a positive review from a reader attracting that member's attention. They can be generated by an algorithmic recommendation that we make based on others who have read the script and liked it.

Those ratings are quantifiable on a 1-10 scale. It is the writer's sole decision whether to make that average rating public or keep it private.

Yes, it's theoretically possible that someone will read your script if it has not had one of our readers review it, but it is admittedly less (probably far less) likely. I think it's important to mention again that the Black List is NOT a coverage service. It is a platform for movie makers to find good material and for good material to find movie makers to make it.

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by Deion22

What if you have a script that is already posted on your site, and has a chance of making the OFFICIAL BLACK LIST at the end of the year. Do you think a writer is well served paying to have the script evaluated so it can get more eyes on it, so it has a better chance of making the OFFICIAL BLACK LIST at the end of the year?

What I'm asking basically, do you think this new service can also help enhance writers chances of making the official black list at the end of the year?

I'll be totally honest: I don't have the answer to that question, and I can imagine that it could cut both ways depending on the script and how it was evaluated.

I imagine ultimately it would depend on how risk-seeking you are, and it's entirely your decision.

Honestly, I'm inclined to say no as it just feels wrong to me to tell someone to spend more money on the site in order to chase getting on the Black List.

[Chief]

Will it be known to us if a writer sells/gets repped due to a read on BL 3?

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by Jules

At the very least a writer should have the option of suspending their listing (and with holding its fee) until after they've received their coverage, to avoid a period of script blindness on the site.

It's a worthy suggestion and one we'll definitely consider. However, script blindness is not what will be happening. As I mentioned before, we have a fair amount of functionality designed to alert our users to material that they may be interested in based on other factors.

[FranklinLeonard]

Originally Posted by Chief

Will it be known to us if a writer sells/gets repped due to a read on BL 3?

If they let us know, then yes. Since we step back after introducing the material to industry pros and don't make ourselves a part of the future business that's generated, it will be impossible for us to know exactly the influence the Black List has held. It's much like the annual Black List in that way.

We do very much hope that people who find success via the Black List will alert us to that fact so that we can celebrate with them.