New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

[entlassen]

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

Do readers know how a script has been scored previously? Can they look it up themselves? I ask because if a script got a 9 and then another reader was assigned it and was expecting a masterpiece, and ended up thinking, "it's good but not THAT good," he might rate it lower than he would have otherwise. Of course the opposite could happen as well.

The FAQ states this:

No, readers will not look at previous reviews or ratings of the script before reading and evaluating.

So does that mean that readers are unable to see previous reviews, or they're just told not to look at them?

[Danibobani]

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

Thanks, Bruce!

[Bruce Rose]

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

I would take that as one pro viewed the script and downloaded it on 3 separate occasions. The first download would be unique and the next 2 downloads would be non-unique.

[Danibobani]

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

Thanks!

[discrazy]

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

Quick question: I recently uploaded a script to the BL and received 1 Pro view, 3 Pro DLs and 2 Non-Unique DLs. How does a pro download a script without viewing it first?

Thanks!

If I'm correct in understanding your question, the download is probably based on your logline and what you check to define your script ie)budget, genre character ages etc.

[Danibobani]

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

Quick question: I recently uploaded a script to the BL and received 1 Pro view, 3 Pro DLs and 2 Non-Unique DLs. How does a pro download a script without viewing it first?

Thanks!

[mrl72]

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

I ordered on 11/20 and haven't received as of yet. So it is running longer than 2 weeks.

Oh wow, that's almost 3 weeks for you. On their help page it says 15 day average but no idea when they update their website. Don't think it's a live status update.

I wonder if Thanksgiving had a knock on effect.

[Anointed]

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

I ordered on 11/20 and haven't received as of yet. So it is running longer than 2 weeks.

[HarryDee]

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

Anyone know roughly how long the reviews are currently taking on TBL? I'm approaching week two now and curious if it's taking much longer?

You should email them. I once got a review in two days. More than two weeks sounds like a long time for them but things may haved changed I haven't used the service recently.

[mrl72]

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

Anyone know roughly how long the reviews are currently taking on TBL? I'm approaching week two now and curious if it's taking much longer?

[bmcthomas]

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

Okay, that's enough potshots at the new guy. His question has been answered, let's move along.

[canela]

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

Question:

I've had my script listed for two months now and I've only gotten four views, only one of which was a professional view, and not one single download.

So is this the entire Black List experience? Or is my case some sort of rarity? Because to this point, this site has seemed like a total waste of money...

It probably is a waste of YOUR money, yes. Real success is what's rare. Also, when ads for Final Draft say "Just add words" they can't promise success, either. Or even a comprehensible screenplay.

[kintnerboy]

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

Question:

I've had my script listed for two months now and I've only gotten four views, only one of which was a professional view, and not one single download.

So is this the entire Black List experience? Or is my case some sort of rarity? Because to this point, this site has seemed like a total waste of money...

Since this is your first post, let me say Welcome to the board!

Now that that's out of the way, your question has probably been answered a dozen times or more in one of the previous Black List threads.

The fact that you were either too lazy or too impatient to search it out on your own does not bode well for your career as a writer, where patience, perseverance and the ability to seek out your own way into the business are your biggest assets.

Even still, lets say you're posting this from a hospital bed, where you have a brilliant script and only a month to live. You could have worded your question in a way that didn't seem designed to paint the BL in a negative light.

[bmcthomas]

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

Question:

I've had my script listed for two months now and I've only gotten four views, only one of which was a professional view, and not one single download.

So is this the entire Black List experience? Or is my case some sort of rarity? Because to this point, this site has seemed like a total waste of money...

That's pretty much the blacklist experience. Did you purchase any reviews? Without a paid review score of at least eight, there's no point, imo, of having a listing at all.

The people who do get traction are the rarities.

[EdFury]

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

Question:

I've had my script listed for two months now and I've only gotten four views, only one of which was a professional view, and not one single download.

So is this the entire Black List experience? Or is my case some sort of rarity? Because to this point, this site has seemed like a total waste of money...

I must have missed the part where The Black List guarantees results. Seriously, there does come a point in the quest where you need to step back and realize the The Black List is just that, a list of scripts rated on their site by assigned numbers, numbers given arbitrarily by human readers. After that, anything that happens with your script is out of their hands. It's up to the "pros" whether they download or read.

Your logline, your genre, your script itself needs to be something they're looking for on top of everything else. And then, your script needs to hit a bullseye. Something that doesn't happen all that much. So relax, regroup, maybe write another script or two, and next time go the query route or try The Black List again, knowing exactly what it is and what it does. There is success to be found on it. But I'm willing to bet the percentage of success versus the number of scripts posted is very very low. Because that's what the entire industry is like.