Re: Franklin Leonard
the black list is not a competition. it's a resource for finding 'good' material. you are not competing against anyone else. you are competing against an industry expectation. your script stands on its own merit.
when a pro is looking at your script they're not saying i'm looking at ALL the scripts and the best one gets the job. they're looking for the material that speaks to them. they are not looking for the best written one.
the reviews give the writer legitimacy, that what you're about to read isn't from a hack. if writers better understood the black list and the potential opportunity they could use it to help themselves. that's my opinion.
i see a lot of, well i got a 5 and it placed in the quarters at Nicholl. they complain that they didn't get an 8 because they thought they were going to get an 8. that's where a writer might be misguided in their own abilities. and instead of rewriting it, to improve it, they complain that they system is rigged.
if you get four 5s on the black list, guess what, maybe consider it needs a rewrite. when i received 8s and 9s i still rewrote it because i agreed with the review. but that's not the general sentiment of most new writers.
they're pissed off they didn't get an 8.
because they believe they deserve an 8. but they don't understand the rating and what it means. it's about how producible (or market ready) that reader feels the script is. we've heard for years that readers recommend like, 1% of all the scripts they read. the black list is using what they feel are industry standards.
the top lists represent about 5% of the total scripts on the black list. are some reviews inaccurate? probably. but not all of them.
an OWA would be considered a contest as well. but we don't call it that do we? it's dangerous to misrepresent something as if it's something else. a studio is looking for a thriller script, well they're not going to buy at a rom-com script, right? no, they're going to go to resources that has the genre they're looking for to find the right writer for their project.
it's akin to saying that the scripts that an agent has is a competition. it's not. they're a resource, too.
agreed. yes, you have to be selected-- the very definition of contest. you win something tangible.
and let's not forget that the traditional contests limit their entries to non-professional writers ($20k and below).
the only scripts that matter, for the most part, are the ones on the top lists. the black list gives attention to those whose average exceeds the community average.
it doesn't matter what 95% of the scripts are. that's not the point of the site. if a writer gets 4s and wants to pay to host their script on the website, it's not up to the black list to kick them off. they do make recommendations on removing it and rewriting it. at least they did in the FAQs. it's not the black lists's responsibility to tell a writer what to do.
nor is it the black list's fault if a writer continues to host their script. i mean, there are writers who host their script and have 0 reviews. that's someone who doesn't understand how something can work for or against them.
and a big difference is that professional writers host their specs on the site.
right and when you send out 300 query letters and 25 people request a read, that's a competition, too, the way you put it, everything is a competition.
my point, which you're diluting, is that the black list is different from a competition and when a writer understands the differences and what it can do for them, they will be able to exploit is to help their script get noticed.
if i got four 5s on the black list, i'd either tank the script or rewrite it.
with all due respect, maybe you should dig into what it is before you formulate an opinion on Imagine Impact. the writers that are selected aren't newbie writers. they are, for the most part, professional writers working in the industry, or similar industries that have chops. they are writers that haven't yet hit it big.
the big difference is that the entrants for Impact 2 are professional working writers. they have no restrictions on who can apply. Cornue sent out a tweet saying, "all pro writers..." summoning them to this Imagine Impact opportunity.
they are trying to change the development process in the industry.
i believe you said you were currently unrepped, isn't that correct? Imagine Impact is perfect for you if you have a script that falls within their objectives.
they aren't going to pay 20 people a $40,000 stipend each for 8 weeks of work just for ****$ and giggles. you'd do it wouldn't you? rewrite a spec you have and get paid $40,000? and the possibility of finding a home for it? getting it made? selling their feature or pilot.
of course, you can see it anyway you want. you want to lump them all into the same bucket, okay.
sure, grocery shopping is a contest, too. right? if you're the first one in line, you get the pick of the best rack of lamb. winner!
my suggestion is that anyone who is really serious about finding outlets for their work, that they do their due diligence and learn as much about each opportunity in order to exploit it for your career.
the better you understand these resources or any for that matter, the better it can help you achieve your goal.
don't take my word for it. don't take Bono's word for it. research it yourself. find what will work for you. just make sure you understand what a thing is. and what it isn't.
your career depends on you developing a proper strategy.
Originally posted by Bono
View Post
when a pro is looking at your script they're not saying i'm looking at ALL the scripts and the best one gets the job. they're looking for the material that speaks to them. they are not looking for the best written one.
the reviews give the writer legitimacy, that what you're about to read isn't from a hack. if writers better understood the black list and the potential opportunity they could use it to help themselves. that's my opinion.
i see a lot of, well i got a 5 and it placed in the quarters at Nicholl. they complain that they didn't get an 8 because they thought they were going to get an 8. that's where a writer might be misguided in their own abilities. and instead of rewriting it, to improve it, they complain that they system is rigged.
if you get four 5s on the black list, guess what, maybe consider it needs a rewrite. when i received 8s and 9s i still rewrote it because i agreed with the review. but that's not the general sentiment of most new writers.
they're pissed off they didn't get an 8.
because they believe they deserve an 8. but they don't understand the rating and what it means. it's about how producible (or market ready) that reader feels the script is. we've heard for years that readers recommend like, 1% of all the scripts they read. the black list is using what they feel are industry standards.
the top lists represent about 5% of the total scripts on the black list. are some reviews inaccurate? probably. but not all of them.
an OWA would be considered a contest as well. but we don't call it that do we? it's dangerous to misrepresent something as if it's something else. a studio is looking for a thriller script, well they're not going to buy at a rom-com script, right? no, they're going to go to resources that has the genre they're looking for to find the right writer for their project.
it's akin to saying that the scripts that an agent has is a competition. it's not. they're a resource, too.
There are Sundance Labs and certain things that you have to be more along to being a pro than an amateur to get selected to them -- but even then -- you're getting chosen out of many. So that's a competition. A contest.
and let's not forget that the traditional contests limit their entries to non-professional writers ($20k and below).
And just because some people on the black list may be pros, aren't 99% listed scripts by non sold writers putting their stuff up?
it doesn't matter what 95% of the scripts are. that's not the point of the site. if a writer gets 4s and wants to pay to host their script on the website, it's not up to the black list to kick them off. they do make recommendations on removing it and rewriting it. at least they did in the FAQs. it's not the black lists's responsibility to tell a writer what to do.
nor is it the black list's fault if a writer continues to host their script. i mean, there are writers who host their script and have 0 reviews. that's someone who doesn't understand how something can work for or against them.
and a big difference is that professional writers host their specs on the site.
So why you can say if just get a score, you can't win a prize, the prize in the black list "contest" would be to get your script noticed by someone that can help sell it or make it or want to rep you? So that's the prize.
my point, which you're diluting, is that the black list is different from a competition and when a writer understands the differences and what it can do for them, they will be able to exploit is to help their script get noticed.
if i got four 5s on the black list, i'd either tank the script or rewrite it.
I'm just learning about Imagine Impact from FA4 on this board -- and it sounds great -- but it's not the first of it's kind. It's very much like fellowships and sundance lab and other things writing boot camps where the goal is to find new great writers, and also for companies to make some money off those new great writers. Project greenlight had it's own way of doing it -- but that one that lanched the horror writing team of the first movie to crazy huge success. One of the more successful contest winners of all time -- Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Milton.
the big difference is that the entrants for Impact 2 are professional working writers. they have no restrictions on who can apply. Cornue sent out a tweet saying, "all pro writers..." summoning them to this Imagine Impact opportunity.
they are trying to change the development process in the industry.
i believe you said you were currently unrepped, isn't that correct? Imagine Impact is perfect for you if you have a script that falls within their objectives.
they aren't going to pay 20 people a $40,000 stipend each for 8 weeks of work just for ****$ and giggles. you'd do it wouldn't you? rewrite a spec you have and get paid $40,000? and the possibility of finding a home for it? getting it made? selling their feature or pilot.
This is how I see it. Either way it's just arguing semantics isn't it?
sure, grocery shopping is a contest, too. right? if you're the first one in line, you get the pick of the best rack of lamb. winner!
my suggestion is that anyone who is really serious about finding outlets for their work, that they do their due diligence and learn as much about each opportunity in order to exploit it for your career.
the better you understand these resources or any for that matter, the better it can help you achieve your goal.
don't take my word for it. don't take Bono's word for it. research it yourself. find what will work for you. just make sure you understand what a thing is. and what it isn't.
your career depends on you developing a proper strategy.
Comment