New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

[entlassen]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

Not a question, just more of an observation. Apparently an e-mail gets sent out every Monday to pros listing the previous week's scripts that got an overall score of 8, though an e-mail the previous Friday was sent out to pros listing scripts that got 8s in individual areas.

Why would someone want to read a script that happened to get an 8 in dialogue but lower scores in everything else, and only got a 5 overall? This doesn't seem particularly useful.

[Hernan Giaggio]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

I looked back through the thread, but I didn't see an answer to this. Say there's a pilot called Lewis and Clark that's highly rated, but I also have a pilot called Lewis and Clark that deals with the same setting but probably (hopefully) in a different way. Is this allowed? Should I just change the name but go ahead with the same subject matter or just scrap it for a bit?

Also, funny anecdote. I uploaded a script on March 10th, so it induces a tiny heart attack when I look at it until I realize that 3/10 is just the date and not my score.

[manfredlopez]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

No, the status before it switched over to "evaluation in progress" was "reading finished".

The readers have to check in at each single stage?? This sounds like an OCD-level of micro-management. This can only contribute to driving us OCD writers nuts. I think it might be healthier if we only know when the review is done.

[nearmint]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

Could that not just mean they read it after 7 days and reviewed it immediately after? The fact it was your lowest score could just be coincidence.

No, the status before it switched over to "evaluation in progress" was "reading finished".

[manfredlopez]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

This is my first post here and am thrilled to finally being able to post (it took a while to get approval because registration was always closed at nighttime). I have been lurking for a while and have been very impressed with the people here and their willingness to help each other out.

Regarding the Black List site, I also recently uploaded a script to see how it all works. I have a feeling this time of year it will take a while longer to get a reader because it's contest season. Hopefully it won't be the 4 weeks some people are quoting.

Since I uploaded mine a few days ago, the site is telling me 4 people have clicked on the description page. I imagine it's other fellow writers. I know I have gone through a lot of other people's scripts to see what is up there.

Here is mine:

https://blcklst.com/members/scripts/view/26610

[Kilg]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

I wish BL had a more prescribed time frame. I had a situation recently where a reader downloaded one of my scripts. I noticed the next day that the status changed from "reading finished" to "evaluation in progress". The status remained at "evaluation in progress" for 7 days, until finally I emailed BL and expressed my concern that the reader might not remember my script well enough to be able to put together some coherent thoughts about it. Sure enough, the review arrived a few hours later, the lowest review that I've received for that script.

Could that not just mean they read it after 7 days and reviewed it immediately after? The fact it was your lowest score could just be coincidence.

[nearmint]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

Around 3-4 weeks at the moment. You'll get an email once the reader downloads it then it'll be 2-3 days after that usually.

I wish BL had a more prescribed time frame. I had a situation recently where a reader downloaded one of my scripts. I noticed the next day that the status changed from "reading finished" to "evaluation in progress". The status remained at "evaluation in progress" for 7 days, until finally I emailed BL and expressed my concern that the reader might not remember my script well enough to be able to put together some coherent thoughts about it. Sure enough, the review arrived a few hours later, the lowest review that I've received for that script.

[Kilg]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

Around 3-4 weeks at the moment. You'll get an email once the reader downloads it then it'll be 2-3 days after that usually.

[ricther]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

Does anyone know the turnaround time on evals?

[ducky1288]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

You can't please everyone. If no one else mentioned it then don't worry about it. When I get notes I start to worry when 3 of 4 people say the same thing.

[FoxHound]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

What exactly makes a reader having an opinion you don't agree with "angry" or "out of line"?

The argument wasn't that his age (36) was somehow inconsistent with his behavior in the script, just that modern audiences don't want to watch such "old" protagonists. He/she wrote that in the weaknesses section. But how is that a weakness of my story? That's like saying Rick Deckard being 40ish in Blade Runner weakens the story. IT DOESN'T WEAKEN THE STORY. It might affect the script's marketability, but it's not a story flaw.

[Hernan Giaggio]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

Depends on if your buddy knows anything about movies. I had 4 reviews of my action script and only one complained 36 was "too old" for a main character. Since three didn't think it was a problem, you'd think it was just an angry reader getting out of line. But given the YA craze in movies nowadays, I decided to drop his age just in case. Ideally, though, I would like to have kept him 36.

What exactly makes a reader having an opinion you don't agree with "angry" or "out of line"?

[FoxHound]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

when you guys get these bad reviews do you not ask a friend if they agree with what was said?

For instance...if a critique came back suggesting I need to drop the age of my main character by 10 or even 5 years -- I'd ask a buddy who has read the script for their thoughts: hey this idiot thinks I should make the main character younger, what do you think about that? If my buddy agreed with the suggestion, then I know it's a note worth at least entertaining.

Depends on if your buddy knows anything about movies. I had 4 reviews of my action script and only one complained 36 was "too old" for a main character. Since three didn't think it was a problem, you'd think it was just an angry reader getting out of line. But given the YA craze in movies nowadays, I decided to drop his age just in case. Ideally, though, I would like to have kept him 36.

[bjamin]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

when you guys get these bad reviews do you not ask a friend if they agree with what was said?

For instance...if a critique came back suggesting I need to drop the age of my main character by 10 or even 5 years -- I'd ask a buddy who has read the script for their thoughts: hey this idiot thinks I should make the main character younger, what do you think about that? If my buddy agreed with the suggestion, then I know it's a note worth at least entertaining.

[TitanCreed]

Re: New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

Is there any option to receive a notice when someone adds a tag to a script?

Someone (I guess a reader) pegged my project as including "Girls with Guns,- which is odd since at no point does a woman hold a gun. The project itself is actually a kid's movie with a female lead that refuses to use or let others use guns. There were a few other odd tags, like "Alien Planet,- being in there despite that not being a location.

It's not a big deal, but it would have been nice to know right away.