The New Black List

[cshel]

Re: The New Black List

So, you could pay $50.00 to get however many of your reader evaluations that you want, but can you choose only to post the evaluations you like?

Also, though, you're saying that every time somebody in your HW database reads it, they give it an evaluation, too - and does that stay with it forever, or can the writer choose not to have those on there, if they are bad? Or is that one of the basic points of this? So others in your database can avoid your script?

Obviously, if all of your evaluations from either source were bad, you should probably just take your script down altogether.

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

It's interesting, because you could easily get rid of 90% of the material with a single reader who was tasked with simply determining if any script in question achieved a basic level of competency. Once you do that, then you lean on classifications, and the interactive nature of the system, i.e., industry participants indicating preferences over time which generates a Netflix like "recommend" list. Ultimately, you could conceivably end up with a manageable pool of material that would be put in front of folks who have already indicated a desire for it.

That's essentially what we're doing, but instead of culling out the 90% instantaneously, we're giving everyone a legitimate shot at being seen.

The reality is that most scripts are going to receive poor reviews. Screenwriting is difficult and great screenwriting is rare.

We encourage people who receive bad reviews to remove those scripts from our site and stop paying us to host them there. It's bad for them (as they're paying to chase a dream that our site will not help them realize) and it's bad for us (as our site is only as valuable as the quality of the material on it and the filters that we use to identify that quality.)

[Chief]

Re: The New Black List

I'd actually prefer if the readers got a 'Finders Fee' when getting a script sold. It gives them more motivation to find a sell able script, no?

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

Per linked article: "....The script will be evaluated by professional script readers, and, depending on its evaluation(s), read by as many as 1,000 film industry professionals who are currently a part of the membership site..."

So,I 'd want to know more about this aspect -- evaluated how -- skimmed? The first ten pages read? What would get you ten reads as opposed to a thousand?

And how many months would you have to keep a script up -- if it was hightly rated by an industry professional -- to ensure you were getting those reads? One month? Six? A year? That could really add up.

Our readers are required to read each script in its entirety and understand the sacred nature of the duty with which they have been entrusted. We will not hesitate to end the service of any reader we believe is not taking his or her job seriously.

As this service is brand new, I don't have the data on what differentiates between a script getting ten reads and one getting one thousand, but I can speculate reasonably well. A microbudget horror movie with middling to good reviews may attract the interest of only a few, but it will be people who are interested in making microbudget horror movies or helping a writer who writes them. A broad comedy with a starring role for an A-list actor that can be produced at a budget and receives raves is likely to attract far more reads as that is typically of greater interest to the Hollywood community at large.

I similarly don't have any data yet on "how long it takes." What I can say though - and this wasn't mentioned in any of the news coverage today - is that writers have the ability on our site to monitor the volume of traffic to their script generated by the site. # of views of their script page. # of downloads. # of ratings from our membership, etc. Ultimately, it's our belief that it is the writer's prerogative when to remove the script from our database and seek out access to our membership and their equivalents elsewhere.

[Rhodi]

Re: The New Black List

Couple of critical questions:

1. There should be some ballpark indication of the current turn-around times for an evaluation. If it takes a month to get one (not saying it does), then essentially your first month's fee would be wasted.

2. How does the system handle multiple evaluations? Does it average the scores or is each evaluation independent?

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

I'm confused. Isn't it still going to be the same pro Black List as before?

It sounds like this is just a separate service for amateurs that wouldn't have anything to do with the original Black List. Unless in some rare instance it led to a great script getting discovered that then went on to get on the Black List.

Is it a bad thing because they are taking advantage of new writers by charging them? Or are you saying it would diminish the importance of being on the Black List in some way?

There will still be the annual Black List created in the same way that it has over the last seven years.

This is meant to be a separate but related service that is able to identify great scripts from outside Hollywood and provide a system whereby those scripts can be shared with as many people as possible inside Hollywood.

Yes, there is a fee associated with this service. We encourage you to compare it with services that are offering far less and charging much more.

[Chief]

Re: The New Black List

The fee is a good way to make sure only serious people send their material.

What we need to see is an example of the coverage provided!

I don't want to pay 50 bucks just for a guy to read the first few pages and say it's not worth it because he'd rather watch the LA Lakers game.

[Geoff Alexander]

Re: The New Black List

Okay, so now you're saying it's best to get more evaluations, at $50.00 a pop, in order to get read. Or at least keep trying until you get a good one? But one might not be enough? Yikes. This IS getting expensive.

This is a really important question--can you pay for more than one read in the hopes of boosting a script's rating? And if so, is there a limit to how many reads you can purchase?

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

More reading fees.

There's a reason the WGA bans agencies from charging them, and it's not because they're a wickedly good idea for writers.

Jeff, first, let me start by saying that I really admire your work, both as a screenwriter and as an educator and advocate for and of screenwriters here and elsewhere. I fully understand that there are legitimate questions and concerns about this venture, as I think there should be. It's why I will continue to be as transparent as possible about what we're doing, why we're doing it, how we're doing it, and why we're doing it in the way that we are. It's why I went to each of the Guilds in advance of launch to begin a dialogue and incorporate their concerns into our model and maintain and ongoing conversation with them. Moreover, I suspect we'll have some announcement in the near future that will assuage some of your concerns.

I would, honored, frankly, if you wanted to host a moderated conversation here where I could address your and anyone else's concerns. In the meantime, I will begin answering frequently asked questions on the Black List blog (and people can start asking them via the comments here: http://blog.blcklst.com/2012/10/ques...list-ask-away/ or here: http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/20...enwriters.html, but that is admittedly a bit ad hoc, and I'd like make myself available to the Done Deal Pro community specifically and who better to moderate than you, someone well respected and with a healthy skepticism of this endeavor.

As for your question, unlike agencies - and many of the different, more disreputable services that try to accomplish on a smaller scale what we will - we do not take a commission on any of the business generated by this platform. We take no finder's fee. And we are not asking for or demanding an option or producer's credit on material discovered via this platform.

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

$25 a month PLUS $50 for a read?

Why not just query the people on the producers' list for free?

Well, one good thing that comes out of this is at least I won't have to be annoyed about not making the black list any more!

Lastly, the annual Black List will be created using the same process it has for the last seven years, namely surveying some 500 executives that make up the studio system executive corps (typically ~60% respond.)

This represents an extension of tools to serve the mission of helping moviemakers find great scripts to make and great scripts to find moviemakers to make them.

[cshel]

Re: The New Black List

Okay, so now you're saying it's best to get more evaluations, at $50.00 a pop, in order to get read. Or at least keep trying until you get a good one? But one might not be enough? Yikes. This IS getting expensive.

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

$25 a month PLUS $50 for a read?

Why not just query the people on the producers' list for free?

Well, one good thing that comes out of this is at least I won't have to be annoyed about not making the black list any more!

You're welcome to query the people on the producers' list for free.

Consider it another way though: imagine you've written a brilliant script. You pay $75 for a month's hosting and a single read from our readers. If it's reviewed incredibly well, word of your brilliant script is immediately communicated to now over 1200 film industry professionals ranging from agency assistants to multiple studio presidents of production (including Greg Silverman at Warner Brothers and Hannah Minghella at Sony who are on our board of advisors) and A list talent and directors.

It's not as cheap as writing 1200 query e-mails, but the upside is considerably higher, if your script is strong.

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

Franklin, certainly there is a big rush today, but about timing - How long do you expect it to take to get the $50 notes/review/rec?

Here's why I ask. It seems that one has to pay the $25 monthly fee to be listed in order to pay the $50 to be reviewed. As I understand it, you only make a review available to others if the writer agrees.

So let's say I've written the world's greatest-ever script, and yet... your reviewer finds it to be not-so-much. In that case, I might want to take it down from your site and reconsider if maybe my self-assessment wasn't quite right. I'm wondering how long that time-arc might be. Thanks.

A good question.

The timeline on our reviews will likely be ever changing depending the demand for them.

Yes, a writer must pay the $25 fee to have their script listed. And an additional $50 to have it read by one of our readers.

Also true that it is entirely the writer's choice as to whether that evaluation is made public on the site.

In the case you mentioned, you're absolutely right, you may want to take it down immediately after receiving the response, and if you think that it is not likely generate traffic to your script, you should. One thing not mentioned in any of the media coverage of our announcement today is that all writers will be able to track, in real time, the volume of traffic to their script. Views of their script page, # of downloads, # of ratings from industry professionals, etc., which I think, will be a good guide for people as to whether there's value in keeping their script on the site.

[FranklinLeonard]

Re: The New Black List

This sounds really cool. Very well could become a major center for finding good screenplays, and allows the writers to be more selective (which will put everyone on their game). Have a few questions:

Regarding readers: will it be possible to "request a reader or type of reader (say for genre)"?

And how many readers would it take before industry players are notified?

How are shady producers separated from legitimate smaller producers?

Scripts are routed to readers based on their genre preferences. A reader who likes Romantic Comedy, for example, would not be forced to read and evaluate a Science Fiction movie, and vice versa. Makes sense no?

Our industry professional membership can be made aware of a script with as few as one read, if the script gets a sterling evaluation. Simply put, the industry professionals express their preference about what they want to hear about. Some may want to hear about big budget comedies that are well reviewed. Others may want micro-budget horror. They're made aware of all good scripts based on their preference, but for obvious reasons, multiple good evaluations are better than one. More evaluations are particularly valuable in that they enable us to better make targeted individual recommendations using our recommendations algorithm.

Our industry professional membership is curated. We've done our best to prevent "shady producers" from joining altogether, and if we get notice that members of our site are behaving in a way inconsistent with the Black List's values, they will be expelled from our membership.

[sc111]

Re: The New Black List

I'm confused. I saw a posting on Lockhart's Inside Pitch Facebook group. It says this has nothing to do with the Black List that comes out once it a year.