New Black List Thread - Franklin Leonard answers your questions

[CColoredClown]

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

Franklin --

How will you pick the scripts to recommend to Warner? 8+? 9+? Other criteria?

Roughly what is the pool of theoretically eligible scripts (without knowing how many people are "diverse")?

Any rough guess about what % of those eligible scripts have "diverse" writers? (I'm guessing maybe 20-30%??)

How many applicants have you gotten already?

(I know, I know... again with the numbers...)

Really looking forward to the answer on this one.

[Levenger]

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

The guy who got that blind deal earlier, I bet he wasn't asked if he had made $25K in screenwriting. Because it's stupid! It should ONLY be about the writing.

Are you talking about Cordiner? He wasn't asked because his script wasn't championed to WB as part of a program where that was one of the guidelines. WB thought his script was just plain awesome, they weren't specifically searching for new voices, like they are here.

You can't just compare two things as equal because "blind script deal" is in the description.

You don't want the 25k cap? Fine. Say hello to your next winners Matt Lopez, John Ridley etc...

[falcon18]

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

+1... While I believe diversity issues raised here is of critical importance, I look here to this thread for Franklin's replies to a wide range of Blacklist questions. Thus, a whole thread on diversity seems totally appropriate.

Just my humble opinion...

That's cool with me. But I was asking Franklin the question. I figured he'd have a unique and insightful take.

[Kowalski]

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

Franklin --

How will you pick the scripts to recommend to Warner? 8+? 9+? Other criteria?

Roughly what is the pool of theoretically eligible scripts (without knowing how many people are "diverse")?

Any rough guess about what % of those eligible scripts have "diverse" writers? (I'm guessing maybe 20-30%??)

How many applicants have you gotten already?

(I know, I know... again with the numbers...)

I'd like to know this as well, especially the first question.

[MJ Scribe]

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

Surprise! I'm not Franklin, but i want to chime in here.

Do we really want to turn this thread into a discussion of race and gender?

Maybe Falcon, you can start a NEW thread about race and gender inequality so we can rehash all the OLD arguments.

+1... While I believe diversity issues raised here is of critical importance, I look here to this thread for Franklin's replies to a wide range of Blacklist questions. Thus, a whole thread on diversity seems totally appropriate.

Just my humble opinion...

[LIMAMA]

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

Diversity in this case includes (in addition to writers of color and women) pre and early baby boom writers who haven't yet made more than $25K in their screenwriting careers.

Please do check out the WGA Writers Report on the site for a further discussion on exactly what underrepresented communities means within the screenwriting community. (either via the script upload process or via your my account page.)

Good idea in theory, but again you're limiting--I can certainly envisage writers of color and women in their 40's, 50's, 60's who over the course of a lifetime have made more than $25K from options and writing assignments. Oh, no, you want pre and early baby boom writers, or writers of colors. We get it.

The guy who got that blind deal earlier, I bet he wasn't asked if he had made $25K in screenwriting. Because it's stupid! It should ONLY be about the writing.

IMHO (which nobody cares about anyway), I would have loved to see $25K in the past five years.

[LauriD]

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

Franklin --

How will you pick the scripts to recommend to Warner? 8+? 9+? Other criteria?

Roughly what is the pool of theoretically eligible scripts (without knowing how many people are "diverse")?

Any rough guess about what % of those eligible scripts have "diverse" writers? (I'm guessing maybe 20-30%??)

How many applicants have you gotten already?

(I know, I know... again with the numbers...)

[MacGuffin]

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

I don't see what all the hubub's about. It's only four slots. I say more power to 'em. If I were a generation or two less removed from my Cherokee roots I'd apply too.

Same for me (Blackfoot roots, however). I am female, and a baby boomer, but my script (that I just removed from The Black List), did not have a very high rating, so not throwing my hat in the ring. Good luck to those who apply. It is nice to see some outreach for diversity going on.

[JoJo]

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

Very big news, particularly for diverse screenwriters.

We've partnered with Warner Bros to identify diverse screenwriters to receive a two-step WGA minimum blind scriptwriting deal.

Details via Deadline: http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/warn...-served-demos/

I'm in.

Franklin, today, for so very many reasons (8!), I could kiss you! <mwuah>

[FranklinLeonard]

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

Hey Franklin I'm curious about your opinion on why there are so few minorities succeeding as writers. Are their stories less commercial? Do they simply lack certain skill sets? Or is there some underlined prejudice that exist?

I remember a discussion about James Bond and the potential of hiring a Black man to play Bond (Idris Elba) I believe. And some people were intense, like Bond can't be Black...

This is a great question and one that is far to complicated to address here in a Done Deal forum (no offense to Done Deal.)

I will probably write something at some point in the not too distant future addressing exactly that question, but I'm not quite ready to do so yet.

[nativeson]

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

I don't see what all the hubub's about. It's only four slots. I say more power to 'em. If I were a generation or two less removed from my Cherokee roots I'd apply too.

[WaitForIt]

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

I won't argue it, I just don't get it. And I'm more talking the male/female thing.

Have these scripts won contests and been rated high on The Blacklist, and still can't get anywhere because they were written by a female or minority? I don't know. That could happen, sure, but seems odd. Even if I was a bigot (sp?), I can't see myself not wanting money, if there is an audience for it and the script rocks.

I think you (and I, earlier) might be looking at this specific idea from the wrong angle. The missing variable is the size of the "diverse" portion of the pool of writers. It seems to me that this is seeking to increase it -- to encourage people to dip their toes in who might otherwise actively choose not to, for whatever reason (say, because they think there's no point because they perceive the odds as being stacked against them, no matter how good they are at what they do).

[mgwriter]

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

Hey Franklin I'm curious about your opinion on why there are so few minorities succeeding as writers. Are their stories less commercial? Do they simply lack certain skill sets? Or is there some underlined prejudice that exist?

I remember a discussion about James Bond and the potential of hiring a Black man to play Bond (Idris Elba) I believe. And some people were intense, like Bond can't be Black...

Surprise! I'm not Franklin, but i want to chime in here.

Do we really want to turn this thread into a discussion of race and gender?

Maybe Falcon, you can start a NEW thread about race and gender inequality so we can rehash all the OLD arguments.

[falcon18]

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

Hey Franklin I'm curious about your opinion on why there are so few minorities succeeding as writers. Are their stories less commercial? Do they simply lack certain skill sets? Or is there some underlined prejudice that exist?

I remember a discussion about James Bond and the potential of hiring a Black man to play Bond (Idris Elba) I believe. And some people were intense, like Bond can't be Black...

[TBEagle]

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

I won't argue it, I just don't get it. And I'm more talking the male/female thing.

Have these scripts won contests and been rated high on The Blacklist, and still can't get anywhere because they were written by a female or minority? I don't know. That could happen, sure, but seems odd. Even if I was a bigot (sp?), I can't see myself not wanting money, if there is an audience for it and the script rocks.

Unless you've gone through it, you really won't be able to understand the problem. And that goes for the Rich, the Poor, Blacks, Whites, and everything that makes people different from each other except human in similar situations.