So, the blacklist has been up for a bit over a week now. I was actually expecting to see a thread on this pop up here, but it hasn't.

I've finished 4 scripts on there right now. Started a few others, but closed all of those rather early. I'll probably read a few more then call quits on it. - no spoilers below on the 4 I finished (as long as you've read the loglines):

The Babysitter - This was weird, different... and interesting, and uh, pretty good, I think. IMO it was trying way too hard to be clever and witty for the first 30 pages and I was just about to press X after seeing a bolded "what the fuck?" action line covering the entire page, but it kicked off from there onwards and I'm glad I stuck around. It was entertaining, the script, the writing style, all of it was out there ridiculous, in a good way and it was a fast read in overall. But too much profanity in the action lines for my taste. I thought the writer had definite talent, this line for example from page 4 - I really like this line:

Quoted Text JEREMY is the leader. He�s fourteen. So he�s cool as shit. Don�t even worry about his friend�s names. They�re not important, because they�re not Jeremy.

I think a "Home alone" on drugs comparison would be spot on here. I do wonder if the "magic" of the screenplay would be the same on the screen, though.

Gifted - A pretty average feel-good movie. I liked it, though and I actually cared for the outcome of the characters.

Tau - Some creepy stuff and the artificial house character and angle was really interesting, definite highlight of the script. All the human characters are messed up (especially one) and along with that it just has an interesting and consistent atmosphere. There were aspects of the execution that I thought didn't work and two pretty big aspects that I felt were just lazy, but I really liked the premise and the ideas on display. A few very memorable scenes. Worth the read imo.

The Wall - Some very interesting themes there (e.g reading a person based on how they speak, their word selection) and some really good lines, but I kind of felt they were far and few. I think the mind games/dialogue didn't work as well as it could have. This also featured my favourite screenwriting pet peeve... a dozen times. The protagonist was thinking out loud way too much. Most of the plot development, I thought, was well done, which is hard for a contained thriller, keeping things interesting, changing. At the end of the read though, eh, I didn't like it.

Think I'll read Catherine the Great next. Has anyone else been following the blacklist? Any recommendations on what to read/not read?

Thanks DS for the link.

It seems bold slugs are throwing a helluva party right now. Rejoice bold slug proponents!

Great link.

I want to check a few out.

All the best folks

Bold slugs and, 'We sees' are having a helluva party as well. Plus typos galore - just goes to show once again 'story is key' and you'll be forgiven a lot if you've got something 'original'.

I was most interested in reading Matriarch - have a look at this:

http://www.tracking-board.com/launch-pad-writer-eric-koenigs-matriarch-sells-to-paramount/

-- sold for mid-six figures and slated as a hybrid Silence Of The Lambs/Seven.

When I read this I thought bummer, it was similar to an idea I did for the 1+6OWC http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-OWC0714/m-1404621297/s-new/  

Of course he finished his final draft, and I'm yet to finish a draft I'm happy with but still I was excited to read it based on all the hype and thought it might teach me a few things. Suffice to say I was left feeling very underwhelmed by the story and the writing, and as a result kinda optimistic about my own prospects - dare I say.  

This one below is interesting:

YELLOWSTONE FALLS

Daniel Kunka

After an apocalyptic event, a mother wolf is separated from her mate and the rest of the pack, and has to protect her cubs from swarms of mutated humans.

http://www.blcklst.com/
For a full list of titles and synopsis of each.

P.S. Good of you to post the link DS - I picked it up on ScriptShadow the other week but thought for sure it would be temporary. Let's hope it stays - get in fast I reckon.

Does anyone know how to download all of the links/separate files collectively?

Thanks for the link DS.

i've got a lot of reading and writing to learn.

Quick update: I agree with LS. Story is king. And I want to add that as long as you get that story across to the right person mind you, you got a shot. lol.

Thanks so much DS! Will give that a go.

Even though the scripts are readily available online, you got to be careful with that link. Remember what happened to that woman who got sued by Fox for $15M for circulating scripts that were still in development? Best to keep it shared via email, IMHO.

Yeah, you're right, Angry Bear.

I started reading Matriarch, but the dialogue didn't work for me at all and I closed it fairly early. Around page 20, I think.

Yellowstone Falls looked interesting to me, too. Read somewhere that it sold for 6 digits. I'll read it after Catherine The Great.

Quoted from LC Bold slugs and, 'We sees' are having a helluva party as well. Plus typos galore - just goes to show once again 'story is key' and you'll be forgiven a lot if you've got something 'original'.

I'm reading a script right now that uses a lot of 'we sees' and you know what?  It's pretty damn good.  Been reading some pro scripts lately and wondering why the fuck I stopped in the first place.  I fly right through them.  I actually want to read them.  I want to see what's gonna happen next.  

Definitely taking a break from SS after SC so I can read as much as possible.

Quoted from dead by dawn I'm reading a script right now that uses a lot of 'we sees' and you know what?  It's pretty damn good.

I read a good script the other day too, with lots of 'we see' and 'we follow' and it didn't faze me at all - the reason being it read professionally.

I think 'we see' rankles in particular when the rest of the script reads poorly. It's a bit like combining a posh accent with bad grammar.  

I'm still not overly fond of 'we see' but I was able to ignore it cause the rest of the story was so good.

Yeah, I've never been the kinda guy to let "technical" BS get in the way of a good story -- unless the script just blatantly screams retarded amateur...then I'll tune out completely.  I care more about story & character.  I don't go out of my way hunting down typos and probing for all of the formatting issues.  Fortunately, the scripts I have been reading are fairly clean and I've just totally been engrossed with the story & characters.

The Babysitter. It must get made. Wow! I never left the story, once.

Don

Can someone PM me the link. assuming it's still up?

Thanks

Anthony

Quoted from AnthonyCawood Can someone PM me the link. assuming it's still up? Thanks Anthony

Me too, if possible.

Thanks

Quoted from Don The Babysitter. It must get made. Wow! I never left the story, once. Don

I took a look at it based on your recommendation. I quit around page 60. Didn't see anything that struck me as interesting or original. I'll give it credit for being compactly written and the guy tried something new. Most of the dialogue was good. But the set up was too generic for my taste and most of the ideas and themes seemed familiar.