Film Courage: For a writer who's never submitted to The Black List, how does that work?
Christian Elder, Screenwriter: The Black List I think it's important to to point out is
you you upload a screenplay to their website and the website more or less is a collection
of screenplays that are written by anybody anybody can upload a screenplay or a tv pilot
to The Black List it doesn't doesn't matter who you are or where you are in the world
you can go ahead and do so and those scripts are evaluated now the the one thing is though
you're going to be paying a monthly fee and that is I think the monthly fee is 30 for
for that script to be hosted on the site and for each evaluation you must pay a $75.00
fee now if you have the money to do that which for some that can be a little tight to afford
but if you have the money to do that it's very much worth the while because The Black
List is probably the main it's the central access that you will have to the the the film
industry on these days specifically if you're not in Hollywood and you don't have an agent
or some kind of representation that can submit your work and get you meetings if you don't
have an access to a representation agent or a manager that can submit your scripts or
get you meetings so it's worthwhile to to post your script on The Black List the other
thing that's really wonderful about The Black List is that the readers there provide coverage
for your scripts.
Now this coverage is is good in and of itself of of its own to to promote the what what
a concise understanding is of your story on your on your Black List page but it also is
a great tool for you to know where the flaws are in your script so you can you can use
it as a balance sheet as to where you need to fix areas that may not be communicating
well if you if you are a new writer and you are you you have trouble taking critic critique
or receiving critique it's a great it's a great um baptism by fire this is the the the
other thing in regards to The Black List this is invaluable.
As you develop your skills as a writer you have for you right there at your disposal
a barometer through which you can you can you can understand how how strong your work
is so if you are getting recognition on The Black List and certainly if you're getting
recognition regularly on The Black List you know that you're ready to go out into into
the field or to march out into the field so to speak so if you are trepidatious about
a screenplay that that you are going to submit to an agent or a producer if you are a little
unsure or uncertain about something that you want to pass on for consideration to to anybody
try and see if you can pass mustard on The Black List see if that script can get get
you a score of an eight or above if you are getting an eight or above score on The Black
List then I think you can be entirely confident that you that your script has has legs at
that point so I think that's what also makes it a wonderful tool. It's a very good site
because what it does is it it bridges the gap between the industry and and pretty much
anybody anywhere it doesn't it doesn't exclude you out of the process whoever you are and
wherever you are before on The Black List existed we had this this arcane version of
that and that simply meant that you had to be somewhat in the know or working at some
in some strata of the industry to be able to get your scripts read by a reader at a
production company or an agency or what have you instead now you can just go online pay
the fees and have a reader produce coverage for you that way in the old days in fact you
know they they sometimes if you were submitting your script to a producer they'd ask to see
your coverage instead of your script itself so that they could get an overview of your
script and you go oh well I have some coverage here let me let me send that on on to you
you can have a look here on on The Black List they can simply go onto the blacklist read
your coverage and then download your script so it's great and and and and Franklin Leonard
is a he's a really really really really fascinating inspiring character with what he's done here
with his with his website and also his his his advocacy and support of people in all
areas of the writing field and his his strong stance on inclusion so I can't say anything
but good things about him and his and what he's done for for the community what kind
of feedback have you gotten on some of your work that's made it onto The Black List well
I’ve been lucky enough to score high a couple times yeah that's I've had some good feedback
I think that as a writer you you it's incumbent upon you to run that gauntlet that you need
to you need to go on there and score high on The Black List you I mean this is this
is where this is where my pride will come out or let's say my ego as a writer where
is like I need to knock I need to see this script this story whatever knock it out the
park somewhere so it's it's got to knock it out the park on The Black List it's got to
knock it out the park on on the on a on a a spot on the nichols fellowship it's got
to knock it out the park on on say austin I've never placed on austin but I'm just going
to say that it's got to knock it out somewhere once it's done that then I'm like okay well
I'm pretty sure it's a good script you know or I'm pretty sure it it will impress somebody
somewhere so these are our tools today that we have at our disposal at our fingertips
literally in front of us on our screens that we can use as barometers for how good our
work is so you know they should be used you know you should use them and not be not be
afraid you know it's I know it it can be really daunting to to receive criticism and to allow
others to look at your work but this is the thing is that first of all you learn not to
take criticism personally that it doesn't mean that you should necessarily change anything
that you're doing it it only offers you one thing it's perspective that's it criticism
gives you perspective now now what does that mean well what that means is that I can judge
the distance between what I am going for and what lands.
That's what that means so if I'm hitting with something that where I was going for a target
and I know it's hitting and I'm getting that feedback from somewhere else an objective
source I'm getting that feedback.
Then I know I'm on to something you know that that's perspective if you if you're getting
something that's a little off to the side if someone's going I’m seeing this as something
else if someone's misunderstanding it entirely then you you might want to step back and adjust
you might want to go oh okay wait I’m gonna change how this you know how the second act
sort of moves right here or I'm going to adjust you know this aspect about the b story or
I'm going to give this character a you know a long-lost sister you know it's all these
things can mean the difference between a good script and a great script perspective will
give you that perspective will imbue you with that and when you have that experience you
never you never take criticism personally in fact you invite it and you want to know
and you're curious about people's criticism even if they if they're not even if they are
to a certain degree misguided criticism even misguided criticism can enlighten you as a
writer and make you a better writer. Film Courage: Say I'm a screenwriter and I upload
my script to The Black List and I pay my 75 dollars am I just getting a one-time feedback
some notes or is that script now accessible to anybody yes that is the case anybody can
read the script on The Black List what's cool about that is the designated readers that
you that you pay for or hire to read your scripts will provide you with feedback but
also the people that or the industry folks that go on there and may stumble across your
script or see your log line and just appreciate your along line also have the option to to
download your script and they also have the option to offer you coverage so that's a cool
thing I think it's rare that that ever happens because I've never received coverage from
someone that have just has just been perusing my script or just downloading it off of the
off The Black List now more than likely what does happen though is that you you you get
a high score on The Black List and that's when you actually get attention from from
from industry readers and they'll and they'll download your script in numbers but and that's
what you want to try and do you want to you know it can you know let me tell you it can
be expensive if you're paying 75 dollars pop as you revise your script to try and make
it better and better so you get some kind of attention you know that can add up after
some time but if you do I'm i'm you score high you know that can be offset by the fact
that you're going to have you know a lot of a lot of people downloading your script because
I just said did you get any feedback and you said you scored high I don't know if we went
into if there was any negative feedback and maybe we don't want to go there well yeah
I mean yeah there's negative feedback but that's a part of what what screed writing
is you know you need to get negative feedback at some point you know you're not if you someone
is not going to like something that you've written somewhere you know for some reason
the what you need to know is why that's it you know you need to know is why there you
there's a there's a meme that's circulating right now that by by um that's that features
Jordan Peele and Jordan Peele says how you handle criticism this is how you handle criticism
when I have a screenplay and I send it out there and someone says you know there's a
scene in there it's just way too violent you know I just it took me out of the screenplay
you know I think you should do something about that he's like I don't go home and take that
scene out of the screenplay no what I do is I go back and I work on that screenplay and
find the thread that substantiates that violence and I and I make that I express that in a
more succinct and better way that's that that that's you know that's what he says and I'm
paraphrasing but that's basically what he is is expressing and you know that's my say
my exact same attitude you know negative negative feedback sometimes is your best feedback sometimes
it gives you the best you get breakthroughs you know from negative feedback yes absolutely.
Question For The Viewers:
Has your experience with 'The Black List' been mostly positive?