Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

    Originally posted by TessG
    I only uploaded one script on Friday and had two downloads by this morning. By this afternoon off that one read I have a meeting with CBS films on Wednesday.... it works. I'm a fan.
    Can you tell us more? What's the genre? Log line?

    Congratulations!

    Comment


    • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

      Originally posted by TessG
      So after a few weeks of being hosted on the blacklist I got a manager and now he is coming with me to sign with a reputable agent on Friday. I've been told they want to take it out after a rewrite.

      I would tell people to give it a shot for a month and get a read but only if you can afford it.

      Best of luck,
      Congrats! Email us and let us know the story so we can share it too (though obviously, you're entirely welcome to keep it to yourself.)

      Either way, CONGRATS!

      Comment


      • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

        Originally posted by TessG
        So after a few weeks of being hosted on the blacklist I got a manager and now he is coming with me to sign with a reputable agent on Friday. I've been told they want to take it out after a rewrite.

        I would tell people to give it a shot for a month and get a read but only if you can afford it.

        Best of luck,
        Wow, this must be the fastest success story yet! I bet your movie will be out by the end of the year Congratulations!!
        "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

        Comment


        • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

          Good luck tomorrow, Tess!

          Comment


          • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

            Originally posted by TessG
            Thanks!

            I will wait until after the meeting tomorrow before spilling anything but I appreciate the kind words!

            Hope you all have a lovely day,
            What score did you get on the BL?
            "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." -[/SIZE] James R. Cook

            Comment


            • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

              Originally posted by TessG
              Only an 8! Just happened to have something that the manager and then the agent had been looking for.
              Would love to hear who you signed with and the story behind it. Obviously, your prerogative to keep it to yourself, but please do email if you're open to sharing.

              Comment


              • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                Just signed my first option today after my script scored an 8 on BL.

                Comment


                • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                  Originally posted by entlassen View Post
                  Just signed my first option today after my script scored an 8 on BL.
                  Congrats! Lots of good news on this thread.

                  Comment


                  • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                    Originally posted by entlassen View Post
                    Just signed my first option today after my script scored an 8 on BL.
                    Please email us with the details. We'd love to hear about it.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                      I signed a manager (and had another request to hip-pocket me) based on:

                      1st paid rating: 7/7/8/8=7 (worst problem noted was length - 149 pgs)

                      2nd paid rating: 8/7/9/8=8 (still too long, but down to 132 pgs)

                      *got manager interest at this point*

                      pushed my luck and got 3rd paid rating: 4/4/5/6=5 (at 119 pgs)

                      Ouch on the last one. Not sure what to make of it, other than the reviewer was just overly critical. I guess the moral is, hope for some luck and expect results that come back like the full range of moviegoer reviews at a movie. Overall, got slightly better results than about 20 hours of query-letter time. If you factor in opportunity cost, less than $200 for a manager seems pretty well worth it.
                      Last edited by OCeeBee; 05-06-2013, 12:56 PM.

                      Comment


                      • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                        Someone just posted this on AS:

                        Warner Bros. Hires Screenwriter from Black List Service, What Does This Mean for the Rest of Us?

                        "Earlier this week, both Deadline and The Wrap reported news that Warner Bros. hired new screenwriter Richard Cordiner for a two-film blind deal. The first script Cordiner will write for the studio will be Spacesuit, based on the book by Nicholas de Monchaux that tells the true story of bra designers from Playtex who designed the spacesuit for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to walk on the moon (which leads to the natural realization that, yes, all you MTV Music Video Award winners, your trophies were essentially designed by Playtex). What is more interesting about the Warner Bros. deal with Cordiner is the writer was discovered and signed by his agent and managers via The Black List service after his uploaded script The Shark Is Not Working about the making of Jaws made the rounds in Hollywood. This is great news for Cordiner and The Black List service, but what does it mean for the rest of us?"

                        http://nofilmschool.com/2013/05/warn...-list-service/
                        "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                        Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

                        Comment


                        • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                          Originally posted by OCeeBee View Post
                          I signed a manager (and had another request to hip-pocket me) based on:

                          1st paid rating: 7/7/8/8=7 (worst problem noted was length - 149 pgs)

                          2nd paid rating: 8/7/9/8=8 (still too long, but down to 132 pgs)

                          *got manager interest at this point*

                          pushed my luck and got 3rd paid rating: 4/4/5/6=5 (at 119 pgs)

                          Ouch on the last one. Not sure what to make of it, other than the reviewer was just overly critical. I guess the moral is, hope for some luck and expect results that come back like the full range of moviegoer reviews at a movie. Overall, got slightly better results than about 20 hours of query-letter time. If you factor in opportunity cost, less than $200 for a manager seems pretty well worth it.
                          Got a 4th and final review (offered at heavy discount due to the weird 3rd review): 7/7/8/8=7. Kinda annoyed getting shafted twice on the rounding down instead of up crap, but the words of the review were really positive, and the fixes were really simple.

                          Stats thus far are: 196 views, 43 downloads.

                          Comment


                          • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                            Originally posted by OCeeBee View Post
                            Got a 4th and final review (offered at heavy discount due to the weird 3rd review): 7/7/8/8=7. Kinda annoyed getting shafted twice on the rounding down instead of up crap, but the words of the review were really positive, and the fixes were really simple.

                            Stats thus far are: 196 views, 43 downloads.
                            What's your logline? I too suffer from page length issues. One of the reviews recommended shedding the heart-stopping final act, cutting the script from 140 to 115. But in doing so, all trace of "epic" flew right out the window.

                            I mean, imagine if the space battle from Return of the Jedi was cut due to time issues. Talk about a snooze-fest.

                            In fact, rarely does a fantasy film become epic in under 120 min. If The Fellowship of the Ring was cut from 180 min to 115, all trace of epic would bleed right out of the film, and it would've been just another Dune debacle.

                            P.S. ROTK needed to shed 20 min, mostly from the end.
                            I'm never wrong. Reality is just stubborn.

                            Comment


                            • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                              ^
                              Here's my logline:

                              "A hitman tasked with killing his lover crosses paths with a Mexican on the run from the Colombian Cartel."

                              Fortunately, my script was pretty well-reviewed at 149 pages (which was cut down from original 166). I then cut it to 132, 129, and 114, before eventually settling at back 122 (114 was worst received!). I've since had some feedback which leads me to believe 122 is in fact not terrible.

                              IMO, there are the only two types of long scripts... One has dialogue that is fast/rapid-fire, and the reader quickly gets a sense of that and cuts the writer some slack if it's good. The other, and more problematic, is the too-many-events and exposition script.

                              Scifis are often the second kind, because - let's face it - you have to do so much. You have to tell a regular story AS WELL AS set up a fictional world with serious differences from our own contemporary reality.

                              The other challenge at play here is that we all grew up in a time when movies were longer than they are today. So the model for what we believe is great writing comes from something that is thought of as far too long now.

                              The only way to reconcile all this is to write the best script you possibly can, within the confines of what's accepted by the industry for first-time writers.

                              Remember, once you're in the door, you will find the page-count limit is relaxed. For instance, Django is 168 pages, and what most people don't know is that script is cheated with wider dialogue margins and 10-pt font.

                              I know it seems hard to differentiate yourself with the sparse writing style mandated by a 120ish page count, but just do the best you can, because for every writer who tries and finishes at all, about 500 fail to get past Act I before they give up and move home or get a real job.

                              Edit: Two oft repeated tricks to cut pages from any script are:
                              -no adverbs... none! (this trick is really hard to do for a new writer)
                              -no exposition over 4 lines per block

                              Comment


                              • Re: Black List - Any Success Stories Yet?

                                Honestly, not personally impressed yet. There's a script that I know of that went up (no, not mine)...very solid script, quirky unique characters. Very good hook. The person went in for two reviews - got a 6, and (as a recall) a 4. IMHO - in no way, shape or form was the script less than a 7. Yes, that's my opinion - but I like to believe I'm not particularly biased in this. But it leads me to not pursue Blacklist myself.

                                On the positive side, the tag system that they use is absolutely superb!

                                --J (Pitchblack)

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X