Franklin Leonard

[Bono]

Re: Franklin Leonard

The completed script is new. And it's MARVELOUS!

Good job. Hope to hear more about it soon. And hope you try to get it out there in some way.

We all should go back to our real jobs of writing -- scripts. Not posts.

[JoeNYC]

Re: Franklin Leonard

I'm afraid to ask -- is it new???

The completed script is new. And it's MARVELOUS!

[JoeNYC]

Re: Franklin Leonard

i wasn't automatically assuming, joe. that's the difference joe. i'm talking from experiences, you're not. you are assuming.

This is why you exhaust me. This will be my last post to you on this topic. No guarantees about future topics.

finalact4, you say, “What you want to use for your purposes and take it out of context in doing so, imo.”

You stood up on the Done Deal pedestal and boldly announced: “so i’m here to retract previous glowing reviews of TBL website. Not afraid to admit when i’m wrong.”

You’re making a sweeping generalization that TBL, as a whole, has incompetent reviewers and that their scoring criteria is flawed.

Now, you may say I’m taking what you’ve said out of context -- again. You may say you never said you’re talking about TBL as a whole, but sorry, that’s what your statement implies.

What analysis and research did you use to make this bold statement? You heard a few writers complain about the difference in the range of their scores? You did your own personal test by submitting a screenplay?

Jeff Lowell pointed out that Franklin said scores “that diverged by more than 2 points only accounted for 4% of submissions.”

I don’t know how many hundreds or thousands of scripts TBL receives over the year, but considering, don’t you think 4% ain’t bad.

finalact4, you say, “When we look at reviews and rating I’d expect that a well written script, at the most could maybe receive a disparity of maybe 2, but mostly one rating difference. There should be an established set of standards, criteria, and guidelines. It seriously can’t or shouldn’t be what ever the **** the reader thinks that day.”

What you’re looking for is perfection, but you’re forgetting an important equation: Humans are not computers where you could punch in a program. Humans are not cloned to be alike. There unique with their own essence, thoughts, etc.

The point of all of this comes down to one word: subjectivity. A writer may not like the outcome of someone’s subjectivity, but that’s what it is.

An extreme example of this subjectivity is where I mentioned in my “rejection” thread, which sc111 pooh-pooh when I was making this point earlier, that when Quentin Tarrantino turned in his future Oscar winner for Best Screenplay, “Pulp Fiction,” to Columbia he was told, “This is the worst screenplay that this film company has ever been handed.”

finalact4, yes, I selected you as a reviewer, then you pissed me off, where I promptly unselected you, but after I cooled off, I thought just because you exhaust me in threads like the “BOLD” thread, the “Betsey Ross Flag thread in the ONE ON ONE forum, this thread, etc., it wasn’t fair of me to carry that over about swapping feedback.

[Friday]

Re: Franklin Leonard

minmum? $105 gets you one month of hosting and one review. if you get an 8 or above you'll get an offer to take on a free eval. but if you get an 8 you'll hit the weekly newsletter, get on the top list for the month and quarter. you'll get attention but will prolly have to continue to host your script. if you get a "reader recommendation" it shows as a blue badge on your script list. if you receive enough positive reviews they may offer you, FREE, to be on their Featured Script and they will team you up with a graphic artist to help you design your movie "poster."



you have to host your script even while you're waiting for your eval to come in. you might keep hosting your script if it's on the list--> weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. as long as your average is above the community average which is 6.12 right now.

evals can take three weeks. if it takes more than 3 weeks TBL will give you a month of free hosting. a score of a 7 can also have 8s in the categories, so a 7 can be good, too, it just depends.

as long as you're on the lists the better chance you have a getting downloads.

the contacts i received that offered to option two specs happened in the first couple of months.


pro members are actors, directors, agents, managers... there could be interns for companies signing on, and other industry people but you NEVER know WHO is downloading your script. you receive an email telling you an industry pro downloaded it. that's all you get.

with any of it, it's a hit or miss. i think that's fair. if you go onto the black list you can look at all the top scripts and see how many are contest place winners. i also posted these numbers earlier today, and feel they are worth considering...



not sure if you saw that. hope some of this helps.

Thanks for unpacking all this. For the uninitiated who know about the Blacklist, but never used it, all the little ins and outs about hosting, newsletters is a little confusing.



So, if you get an 8, wouldn't it be better just to stand pat....not risk another review where a reviewer could give a lower score? Of all those listed, I'd probably only want managers and their assistants to be downloading. I don't think any big name actors are really downloading stuff, neither are big name directors.

[Rantanplan]

Re: Franklin Leonard

I don't know what anyone's point is, but you are all making certain people very, very rich.

[finalact4]

Re: Franklin Leonard

So, what's the minimum amount you can spend on the Blacklist and still get a good result?

minmum? $105 gets you one month of hosting and one review. if you get an 8 or above you'll get an offer to take on a free eval. but if you get an 8 you'll hit the weekly newsletter, get on the top list for the month and quarter. you'll get attention but will prolly have to continue to host your script. if you get a "reader recommendation" it shows as a blue badge on your script list. if you receive enough positive reviews they may offer you, FREE, to be on their Featured Script and they will team you up with a graphic artist to help you design your movie "poster."

I am not too clear on all the jargon about quarterly lists, waiting for your review, while hosting.... Wouldn't you only host if you get an 8 or above and just do it for a few months? For anything below, you just discontinue?

you have to host your script even while you're waiting for your eval to come in. you might keep hosting your script if it's on the list--> weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. as long as your average is above the community average which is 6.12 right now.

evals can take three weeks. if it takes more than 3 weeks TBL will give you a month of free hosting. a score of a 7 can also have 8s in the categories, so a 7 can be good, too, it just depends.

as long as you're on the lists the better chance you have a getting downloads.

the contacts i received that offered to option two specs happened in the first couple of months.

Other questions, people who haven't used the blacklist are: Who's downloading your scripts? Sometimes, you don't want to approach someone who might have already read your script anonymously on the Blacklist. Also, for the top contests, if you do really well in one top contests, usually you'll land in another top contest. What's the consistency of a high contest placer doing well on the Blacklist? Just trying to get a gauge of their judging.

pro members are actors, directors, agents, managers... there could be interns for companies signing on, and other industry people but you NEVER know WHO is downloading your script. you receive an email telling you an industry pro downloaded it. that's all you get.

with any of it, it's a hit or miss. i think that's fair. if you go onto the black list you can look at all the top scripts and see how many are contest place winners. i also posted these numbers earlier today, and feel they are worth considering...

so, here are the actual stats from the black list site of all 3256 scripts hosted:

2 have financiers attached
66 have agents
124 have managers
34 have both agents and managers
130 have producers attached

#of scripts on the top lists
167 for the QTR - requires min of 2 ratings above 6.12 (community average)
196 for the YEAR - requires 4 ratings above 6.12 (community average)

and we all KNOW that writers with reps have an advantage because their rep can go onto the site, download the script and rate it a 10. happens all the time. so even if they get a good review and a shitty review they stay way on top.

with that in consideration, how many of those top scripts have a manager, agent, and/or producer? one could assume that the majority of the scripts on the top list for the quarter would be within the "repped" category, no?

not sure if you saw that. hope some of this helps.

[finalact4]

Re: Franklin Leonard

Unless things have changed, this is how Nicholl first round reading works:

Every script is read twice. Those scripts receiving at least one strong positive score (typically the cut-off is 80 or just above 80) are read a third time.

For instance, let's say the strong positive read cut-off for a given year is 80. That means all scripts receiving an 80 as one of their first two reads will receive a third read, no matter what the second score is. If a script does not receive at least one 80, it will only be read twice.

The best two scores of the three reads are used to determine the quarterfinalist scripts.

In this example, it would be possible for a top 10% script to garner scores such as 78-78 and not receive a third read.

It would be possible for a top 20% script to be read three times with scores such as 80-65-60 (though most top 20% scripts would only receive two reads with scores similar to 73-72).

thanks, Greg, i wasn't sure how it all works-- just heard someone's experience.

[Hernan Giaggio]

Re: Franklin Leonard

Thank you so much for explaining how it works, Greg. The Nicholls experience just hasn't been the same without you.

I'm out of the loop. Has it been markedly different? It seems like he established something that has been carried through, but maybe I'm wrong.

[Hernan Giaggio]

Re: Franklin Leonard

I Miss Gucci

Where'd he go?

[finalact4]

Re: Franklin Leonard

I don't care whether or not she agrees with me. She just exhausts me.

I haven't been writing. Personal and business stuff has been sidetracking me.

I finished a script a little over a month ago where I wanted to get into the feedback process, but I haven't found the time, which is frustrating.

the feeling's mutual, joe.

btw,congrats on finishing the script.

it's funny that even though you're critical of my comments, which is fine, and i exhaust you, and you "don't care whether i agree with you or not," you did select me as "one of the three writers" you wanted to read your script and offer notes.

what's even more ironic is that you asked me to read your script after you withdrew your offer to read my script, which i did not even solicit, you offered it freely then recanted when i you didn't like a comment i made about your post.

you know, i make mistakes. and i admit them freely and wholeheartedly. i learn from them. i don't hold a grudge, but i do move on. my opinion can and does change, but what i don't like is when someone pretends to be something they're not. it's disingenuous.

[finalact4]

Re: Franklin Leonard

Usually you're a funny dude, Bono, but I'm not finding you very funny right now.

Point: Subjectivity.

Don't automatically assume the reviewer is not component, or the scoring criteria is flawed. I don't know why none of this was not comprehensible.

Maybe I'm not as articulate as I thought.

i wasn't automatically assuming, joe. that's the difference. i'm talking from experiences, you're not. you are assuming.

[finalact4]

Re: Franklin Leonard

I have no idea what your point is either Joe.

9-3 = 6, does that solve anything?

made me smile.

[finalact4]

Re: Franklin Leonard

finalact4, you keep saying I miss your point, I miss your point. I think the problem is that you don't know what your point is. I gave my opinion on the disparity between 9 and the 3, which you had issue with also.

I think you just look for any reason to type "War and Peace" type of posts.

the problem is you take part of what is said. what you want to use for your purposes and take it out of context in doing so, imo.

if you don't like my opinion block me. i'll be happier for it. if you don't get what i'm saying, that's not my problem. i'm not here to please you. i'm offering an opinion based on my experience. this is a site for writers. i'm one. you're one. you want to be abrasive, fine. i can ignore it.

[Bono]

Re: Franklin Leonard

I Miss Gucci

[Bono]

Re: Franklin Leonard

You should ask FA4 for a read... just kidding.

You exhaust people too Joe. And I know I do (see this thread).

But good on you for finishing something. I'm afraid to ask -- is it new???