Re: Black List Reader Gave Me A 5 - Now What?
Over the years, the one thing that I've come to accept is subjectivity in this business. It's just the way it is. And I think this is especially true in genre scripts. I actually think there's less variation in evaluations of dramas, in particular, biopics. If the writing is solid, generally speaking the material is often quite interesting whenever it's about a person who actually existed.
It's a matter of luck if the person on the other end is someone who resonates with your script.
I like the BLACKLIST but it's not for me. My highest rated script, with some 8s and 9s and an overall 7, got no pro downloads. That was a colossal waste of money -- for me.
Another script (a contained ensemble thriller) got an overall 4, but went on to win a major contest (not one of the big four, but a respected one) and early this year it was optioned and is currently in production (and, yes, I've been paid). One of the actors -- a name actor -- said it's the most fun he's had in years, that he's tempted to spit his vitriolic lines, but he's managing to rein himself in in order to portray contained menace.
The director likes it, the cast likes it; I'm happy BUT I don't think that the Blacklist reviewer was wrong. He/she said some nice things but slammed it with the scoring. That was the reviewer's subjective AND professional opinion. I gotta respect that as it's clear he/she read the script and gave it some thought. As there was nothing I could use in the weakness section of the review to make the script any better (other than, say, burn it), I simply ignored the "weaknesses" and pasted the "strengths" remarks into my original query letter. That got me reads that eventually lead to the option. My favorite line in the review said "It's not a very commercial or marketable property". Well, ha ha ha.
But it's not just the BlackList reviewer -- my own manager -- who's opinion I value -- read another contained thriller/horror I wrote and he said he hated it. That the main character was completely unlikeable, and that it wasn't worth sending anywhere. That floored me, actually, because the main character is an extremely likeable guy who's drawn a bad hand. He tries to do the right ting as the story goes on. Well, that one came in second in another contest, got reads, got a producer on board, then a director and a pretty famous actress. It goes into production in June.
The above is not to prove I'm right and they're wrong. I'm not right, I'm lucky. I knew I had something with these two scripts and I'm fortunate that I found like-thinking individuals.
So through this process I've learned that the BlackList is not for me; and that my manager and I have a more limited shared viewpoint than I had first imagined. Indeed, both the reader and my manager may well be smarter than I am in terms of the business... but a good script doesn't need a consensus to be proven to be worth doing, it just needs that one "yes".
That's what I learned.
Over the years, the one thing that I've come to accept is subjectivity in this business. It's just the way it is. And I think this is especially true in genre scripts. I actually think there's less variation in evaluations of dramas, in particular, biopics. If the writing is solid, generally speaking the material is often quite interesting whenever it's about a person who actually existed.
It's a matter of luck if the person on the other end is someone who resonates with your script.
I like the BLACKLIST but it's not for me. My highest rated script, with some 8s and 9s and an overall 7, got no pro downloads. That was a colossal waste of money -- for me.
Another script (a contained ensemble thriller) got an overall 4, but went on to win a major contest (not one of the big four, but a respected one) and early this year it was optioned and is currently in production (and, yes, I've been paid). One of the actors -- a name actor -- said it's the most fun he's had in years, that he's tempted to spit his vitriolic lines, but he's managing to rein himself in in order to portray contained menace.
The director likes it, the cast likes it; I'm happy BUT I don't think that the Blacklist reviewer was wrong. He/she said some nice things but slammed it with the scoring. That was the reviewer's subjective AND professional opinion. I gotta respect that as it's clear he/she read the script and gave it some thought. As there was nothing I could use in the weakness section of the review to make the script any better (other than, say, burn it), I simply ignored the "weaknesses" and pasted the "strengths" remarks into my original query letter. That got me reads that eventually lead to the option. My favorite line in the review said "It's not a very commercial or marketable property". Well, ha ha ha.
But it's not just the BlackList reviewer -- my own manager -- who's opinion I value -- read another contained thriller/horror I wrote and he said he hated it. That the main character was completely unlikeable, and that it wasn't worth sending anywhere. That floored me, actually, because the main character is an extremely likeable guy who's drawn a bad hand. He tries to do the right ting as the story goes on. Well, that one came in second in another contest, got reads, got a producer on board, then a director and a pretty famous actress. It goes into production in June.
The above is not to prove I'm right and they're wrong. I'm not right, I'm lucky. I knew I had something with these two scripts and I'm fortunate that I found like-thinking individuals.
So through this process I've learned that the BlackList is not for me; and that my manager and I have a more limited shared viewpoint than I had first imagined. Indeed, both the reader and my manager may well be smarter than I am in terms of the business... but a good script doesn't need a consensus to be proven to be worth doing, it just needs that one "yes".
That's what I learned.
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