Nicholl 2021

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  • Originally posted by DaltWisney View Post
    Seems possible they could be sending e-mails this afternoon.

    Early next week at the latest?
    I don't think they'll do it this afternoon. Then they'll be there all night dealing with entrants complaining that they didn't get their notification email -- when it's probably in their spam folder. .

    I think they'll give themselves the weekend to gear up, and announce next week.

    I wonder how far this sets back the reader comments release?

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    • Originally posted by figment View Post

      I don't think they'll do it this afternoon. Then they'll be there all night dealing with entrants complaining that they didn't get their notification email -- when it's probably in their spam folder. .

      I think they'll give themselves the weekend to gear up, and announce next week.

      I wonder how far this sets back the reader comments release?
      FWIW, they released results on a Friday in 2015 and 2018.

      In 2015 it was at 7 PM PST!

      So there's precedent.

      It's actually very rare for them to release results early in the week. The last 7 years have all been Wed-Fri, except a Tuesday in 2017.

      Precedent is out the window this year though, so there's really no telling. I think it's just clear that will be relatively soon.

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      • Originally posted by DaltWisney View Post

        FWIW, they released results on a Friday in 2015 and 2018.

        In 2015 it was at 7 PM PST!

        So there's precedent.

        It's actually very rare for them to release results early in the week. The last 7 years have all been Wed-Fri, except a Tuesday in 2017.

        Precedent is out the window this year though, so there's really no telling. I think it's just clear that will be relatively soon.
        Oh. Apparently, I don't know what I'm talking about. Per usual. Haha.

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        • Got my annual "you suck" e-mails a few minutes ago. Bricked with all three of my entries, including my Black List 8 script that's been top 15-25 on that site for a few months. Mildly surprised/disappointed after all the hand-wringing, but ultimately not too bothered about it. Good luck to those who advanced.

          They only picked 360 QFs out of 8,191 entries, which is ~4.4% of all entries. I think they're usually closer to the 5% mark, so this is likely the toughest first round to survive in recent memory.

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          • And... I'm out.

            Ironically, a script I entered last year that wasn't polished or even completed had somehow snagged a top 20 percent -- THIS YEAR, that finished, shiny, revised script got... nothing.

            The script I entered at the last minute this year, that I am currently revising and am horrified I sent it in the shape it was in -- just got a top 10 percent.

            The lesson -- don't polish, refine, rewrite, or care so much?

            Eh.

            Congrats to anyone advancing!!

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            • Originally posted by figment View Post
              And... I'm out.

              Ironically, a script I entered last year that wasn't polished or even completed had somehow snagged a top 20 percent -- THIS YEAR, that finished, shiny, revised script got... nothing.

              The script I entered at the last minute this year, that I am currently revising and am horrified I sent it in the shape it was in -- just got a top 10 percent.

              The lesson -- don't polish, refine, rewrite, or care so much?

              Eh.

              Congrats to anyone advancing!!
              Still great... You were Top 820 out of 8200 entries basically beating about 7380 scripts along the way.

              I think the lesson is don't reenter the same spec in the same contest the next year. Just new stuff. That's my takeaway...

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              • Originally posted by figment View Post
                And... I'm out.

                Ironically, a script I entered last year that wasn't polished or even completed had somehow snagged a top 20 percent -- THIS YEAR, that finished, shiny, revised script got... nothing.

                The script I entered at the last minute this year, that I am currently revising and am horrified I sent it in the shape it was in -- just got a top 10 percent.

                The lesson -- don't polish, refine, rewrite, or care so much?

                Eh.

                Congrats to anyone advancing!!
                Always remember, that 99.999999999% of the pro writers in Hollywood did not come close to winning the Nicholl either. It's just one way in, not the only way. Keep pushing.

                Comment


                • Originally posted by figment View Post
                  The lesson -- don't polish, refine, rewrite, or care so much?
                  I know Cyfress might not agree with me here, but there's a lot of subjectivity involved.

                  If you write something truly incredible then I think it will advance almost regardless of any luck, but for most stuff luck does matter.

                  For my best horse this year, I ordered three evals from two different review services. Those came back as follows:

                  WeScreenplay: top 39%, top 10%, top 2%

                  Black List: 6 (top 50%), 7 (top 20%), 8 (top 5%)

                  This isn't a very big sample size, but there's a pattern with this script where about 1/3 people love it and 1/3 think it's very "meh".

                  The way Nicholl works, you get two reads guaranteed and a third read if one of your first two scores is high.

                  If you pull the bottom range of your reader variance in those first two reads, you can easily crash out in the first round with something that might advance in another year.

                  That may sound like sour grapes or a weak excuse. Obviously the goal is always to write something so strong that it's reader-proof. To win, you probably need that type of script. And ultimately, winning or making the final 10-50 is the real goal, not being one of the 360 QF scripts. I don't think you need a perfect script to advance past the first round though. I think you just need something competitive that lands with the right people. Goal should always be to make your stuff the strongest that it can possibly be, but at the same time we can't treat one competition in one year as the perfect barometer of merit.

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                  • Not much isn't subjective in life and of course with reads of creative work. Of course I don't think a bad script will make it to the top, but I think good-great scripts can not win vs other good-great scripts because of simple human subjectivity. A reader prefers comedy over horror, you wrote a horror... vice versa. The reader's kid was yelling at them while they read your spec...

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                    • I only entered one this year and it got top 15%. Better than nothing I guess. I didn't think I'd get into the QF but all the hype in this thread was pretty exciting. I've pretty much given up on the three scripts I have anyway. I've got one more in the pipeline that I feel good about but if nothing comes of it I'll probably just focus on novels. I'm not moving back to LA (that is unless they somehow offered me stupid money, which is a stretch, and I'd still split my time) .

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                      • It's been a while since I made Quarters so it would have been nice... for a change. Entered three scripts: (1) Dramedy (Top 10%), (2) Grounded sci-fi family drama (Top 10%), and (3) Psych Thriller (Next 100). Kinda sucks, but not much can be done. I can certainly intellectualize all the comments made here about subjectivity cause of course it's all true (say it like Harrison Ford in the Star Wars movie... whatever one that was... "that mumbo-jumbo is all true."). So yeah...

                        Regarding subjectivity (and something someone said about polishing their script only to see it not advance the following year):
                        I once re-submitted a script that was a Finalist the previous year (can't recall what changes I made), but it either didn't advance or maybe got to the Quarters. Can't recall, but it was underwhelming.

                        Subjectivity.

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                        • I’m out as well. Got top 10%. With that and two sticks I’d be able to start a fire on a deserted island. Damn you Nicholl Fellowship! Don’t you have any appreciation for mediocre execution anymore?

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                          • Entered two, struck out with both. My latest, a black comedy. Not the sort of thing they usually go for. And a Western inspired by true events that seem to interest no one but me.

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                            • I think this was the year to write a socially conscious script. Something about Covid or racism or sexism.

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                              • My buddy made QF and his was a fun animated movie like Wreck it Ralph, so happy for him.

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