Nicholl 2019

[GucciGhostXXX]

Originally Posted by Hernan Giaggio

Aw damn, I already jumped...

Ha! Dang it. I'm always late to the party.

[Madbandit]

Originally Posted by DarkKnight(OfTheSoul)

$20 cheaper?

They should be more expensive. The readers should get paid more. It might translate to even better notes.

If you can't invest $20 in your career then maybe it's not that important to you. $20 is nothing. It's a movie ticket. It's a little gas. It's a t-shirt.

Every extra cent you should reinvest into your career. If you're serious.

Not to preach or anything. Just my thoughts.

But $20 is a lot of money, if you're financially strapped. I had a bunch of lousy temp jobs that made me save money than spend. Don't begrudge people for not having the same financial outlook you have.

[Bono]

For half the price I’ll tell you to quit screenwriting too.

[Bono]

Btw these aren’t helpful notes. They are what I call horoscope feedback. You can fill in the blanks. Take out specifics and these readers are probably using same reviews for more than one script. I’ve been on the other side and you’re just trying to fill 100 words or whatever the minimum is so the person will feel good and renter the contest next year.

[Bono]

Real feedback is your script made it to the top of the contest. Rest is waste of time and money.

[finalact4]

i'm not really sure why anyone would pay to received "brief notes" other than to possibly stoke your ego. it's not like they can give you any great insights, can they? it's personal opinion.

two interesting things from their website that i think addresses two of the biggest questions-- 1) do good scripts get passed on and 2) does Nicholl have a "preference?" the answer to both is a resounding, yes, imo.

i also don't particularly believe that it's because a disproportionate number of scripts are dramas... just because there are more dramas doesn't meant they are all of equal quality.

Q: IN THE COMPETITION, DO GOOD SCRIPTS GET PASSED OVER?
A: Not intentionally, but there’s no way around it. The whole reading enterprise is incredibly
subjective. That’s why every script is read at least twice in the first round. If the first reader just
doesn’t connect with a script, the second read gives the script another chance to find a champion.

We hope that our readers aren’t swayed by their personal tastes, but they’re human, too.

To further the Academy’s commitment to encouraging and valuing diversity in the industry, the
Nicholl Fellowships Program takes measures to ensure that our selection process is as fair as
possible and without bias.

Throughout the competition we direct scripts to readers who might have an affinity for them. We
ask our readers about their genre likes and dislikes. If one says, “I love horror and science
fiction,” that reader will receive relatively more scripts in those genres. If another says, “I hate
horror and science fiction but love historical dramas,” that reader will receive more historical
dramas and as few horror and science fiction scripts as possible.

By adding a second read for every script during the first round, we have eliminated the possibility
of a good script being knocked out by a single reader.

WINNING SCRIPTS
Q: WHAT ARE THE GENRES OF THE SCRIPTS THAT HAVE WON THEIR WRITERS ACADEMY
NICHOLL FELLOWSHIPS?

A: Genres of Nicholl Fellows’ Entry Scripts (1989–2018) 149 total

action-adventure – 11
animated comedy – 1
comedy – 9
romantic comedy – 5
comedy-drama – 13
coming-of-age drama – 12
drama – 49
romantic drama-fantasy – 2
horror – 3
science fiction – 3
thriller / crime / caper – 23
war / terrorism – 12
Western – 3

these are the results in 29 years. if you don't think there's a bias to a certain "type" of script, i think you're kidding yourself. 32% in one single drama genre. and if you add coming-of-age and comedy drama (all of which should be in "drama," imo,) the percentage is 49.6% for the drama genre.

and i absolutely don't buy that the reason for this is that there is a disproportionate amount of drama scripts which are are submitted. good writing is good writing. that's like saying all scripts have the same quality by genre-- which is ridiculous.

and this is not meant as a dig at the Nicholl, this is from their website, so they are being somewhat transparent. i commend them on that.

think about those numbers. let's say, there are 5,000 scripts (it's an example i realize fewer might have been submitted in the older past) submitted a year they're saying that out of 145,000 scripts only 3 each in science fiction, western and horror were worthy of a Nicholl fellowship in almost 30 years? sorry, that's hard to believe.

i would think they might want to look into that. i mean, if they're receiving a disproportionate number of drama scripts maybe someone might consider WHY that is? i'm sure this isn't a shocker, but i'm guessing there are a lot of writers out there that would love to submit their features for horror, sci-fi, western, and fantasy to the Nicholl if they thought the had a fair chance. there are a hella lotta successful screenwriters that haven't written an Oscar winning script-- that doesn't mean they aren't amazing writers, too. the reality is that $$ drive hollywood. all those beautiful dramas get made because of the draw from all those high-grossing sci-fi, fantasy, action-thrillers that the studios make.

bottom line is this is the academy's contest and they run it the way they feel offers the best opportunity to writers.

[DDoc]

Originally Posted by finalact4

it's not like they can give you any great insights--

I didn't think it was unreasonable to assume that they could, considering they're readers for the most popular screenwriting contest. Clearly I was wrong though (or they just didn't even if they could have).

[finalact4]

Originally Posted by DDoc

I didn't think it was unreasonable to assume that they could, considering they're readers for the most popular screenwriting contest. Clearly I was wrong though (or they just didn't even if they could have).

i guess my concern is the description as, "brief notes." i don't know the totality of the kind of notes that are received, so i admit i am assuming to a degree, and with ignorance. my apologies.

i mean, is it a single paragraph? does it give strengths and weaknesses or is it just that reader's opinion? idk? i couldn't find WHAT they charge for these notes, only that you can receive the notes for a fee. maybe it's visible WHEN you submit a spec? maybe i missed it? and based on the diametrical feedback one writer received for the same script regarding their characters, i guess, you need to take the feedback with a grain of salt, right?

for me, it's more important to know the weaknesses, something i can address to make it better. always trying to make it better.

[finalact4]

Originally Posted by Strangerthanfiction

This is a question for those that paid for Nicholl's comments, and who also host their scripts on the Black List with visible evaluations.
Have you noticed any correlation between your Nicholl’s comments and Black List comments?
The reason that I ask this is I have noticed every year when I enter the Nicholls within a few weeks I get views on the Black List, even when I haven’t had any views in months. It happens every year. I'm starting to suspect some readers look up the scripts. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.
This happen to anyone else?

i'm certain there's a correlation.

[DDoc]

Originally Posted by finalact4

for me, it's more important to know the weaknesses, something i can address to make it better. always trying to make it better.

I agree 100%. It would also be helpful if they release a number breakdown with the notes. I assume they use that internally.