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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Reviews    Script Reviews  ›  My Blacklist Evaluation Moderators: bert
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  Author    My Blacklist Evaluation  (currently 10424 views)
eldave1
Posted: October 21st, 2015, 11:28am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Equinox
Just got back the evaluation for 'Seekers'. It's a 6/10 but compared to the other one, which took the reader over a week from 'Reading in Progress' to write the evaluation, this one was read and evaluated in a single day.

I think the reader read it completely, but I'm not sure if he/she got the point of it.

The pilot involves people travelling back in time in order to investigate historical events (and the hidden truth behind them). In the pilot, it's the JFK murder they're visiting. How the reader came to the conclusion, this is a derivation of the X-Files keeps me puzzled. Then another key 'rule' in the series is, they are able to travel back in time, but they can't change it, they are only 'observers' or 'time detectives' if you want. The reader points this out as a weakness, saying time travel makes no sense if they can't change anything. Feels a bit like saying cops hunting a killer doesn't make sense if they don't arrest him in the end.

I think the coverage is a solid effort, and a 6 isn't that bad, but it reads a bit biased in my opinion.

Can be found here:
Seekers @ The Blacklist


A lot of it depends on the reader you get. I submitted a script (Beginning of The End and The End) years ago and one reader gave it a 7 and the other a 3. In addition the comments were polar opposites - e.g., you have a strong female protag - the other - the protag is underdeveloped.

I think the trick is not to be overwhelmed by the positive or discouraged by the negative - try to seek the truth is both with one caveat - stick to your guns when you disagree.

In your example, the comment regarding they must be able to change things if they go to the past is absolutely inane in my view and your premise is dead on correct. And yours still allows for reaction - e.g., what would change in the future if one day we discovered that Kennedy was killed by........ To me that is far more interesting. In other words - stick with your guns.


My Scripts can all be seen here:

http://dlambertson.wix.com/scripts
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Equinox
Posted: October 21st, 2015, 12:39pm Report to Moderator
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Hey eldave,

I know it's all subjective and that's fine. It's his/her opinion to say time travelling without being able to change anything sucks, so that's fine.

What bugs me more are the plain 'wrong' statements there.


Quoted Text

Though the group encounters mysterious agents that chase them out of the subway station, not enough information is provided about the antagonists, when it seems an explanation of some sort would be the next logical piece of intel i.e. the phrasing "there's no time for explanations" does not suffice.


Those agents just fired a gun at them and a bullet barely missed them. So I think it is obvious why "there's no time for explanations" at that point.

And then that comparison to the X-Files. In case I didn't miss a few episodes where Mulder and Scully turned into time travellers and began investigating cases in the past, I think the only 'similarity' to X-Files is both protagonists are FBI-agents.


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Equinox
Posted: October 22nd, 2015, 4:40am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from CJ Walley
Welcome to the casino that is the Blacklist.

Hope this leads to something for you, but remember the house always wins.

If you feel the review is poor, complain. They hand out free evaluations to quell customer complaints and retain subscriptions like they're candy.


I don't think it does any good to complain, even if you get a replacement evaluation, I'm sure the complaint would have an influence on the rating

Maybe I'll just order another one after the next rewrite. There's some things in the script I'm not quite happy with myself at the moment, so I'll have to rewrite it anyway.


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MarkRenshaw
Posted: November 4th, 2015, 9:58am Report to Moderator
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I tried the Blacklist once earlier this year for a TV comedy horror pilot I wrote called The Monster Chronicles. It was a weird experience. The script got 3 out of 10 which I was gutted over but then the comments didn’t seem to reflect the score. The only thing the reviewer seemed bothered about was that Vampires are saturating the market at the moment and therefore hard to sell.

After giving up on the script, I then get an email a few weeks later saying it had reached the finals of the Eerie Horror Film Festival. I’d forgotten I’d entered it, so that cheered me up again lol. It didn’t win but ended up in the top 5 of their short screenplay competition.

So I’m not sure if I’d use the Blacklist again.

Oh yeah and also, a friend of mine submitted a pretty decent feature length script to the Blacklist and got 6/10. So he took everything the reviewer said on board, re-wrote it and I helped. We spent ages on it! Re-submitted.....it got 6 out of 10 again lol!


For more of my scripts, stories, produced movies and the ocassional blog, check out my new website. CLICK

Revision History (1 edits)
MarkRenshaw  -  November 4th, 2015, 10:24am
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eldave1
Posted: November 4th, 2015, 11:34am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from MarkRenshaw
I tried the Blacklist once earlier this year for a TV comedy horror pilot I wrote called The Monster Chronicles. It was a weird experience. The script got 3 out of 10 which I was gutted over but then the comments didn’t seem to reflect the score. The only thing the reviewer seemed bothered about was that Vampires are saturating the market at the moment and therefore hard to sell.

After giving up on the script, I then get an email a few weeks later saying it had reached the finals of the Eerie Horror Film Festival. I’d forgotten I’d entered it, so that cheered me up again lol. It didn’t win but ended up in the top 5 of their short screenplay competition.

So I’m not sure if I’d use the Blacklist again.

Oh yeah and also, a friend of mine submitted a pretty decent feature length script to the Blacklist and got 6/10. So he took everything the reviewer said on board, re-wrote it and I helped. We spent ages on it! Re-submitted.....it got 6 out of 10 again lol!


Exactly. I joined Blacklist several years ago mostly to be able to review highly rated scripts - some were - oh - I get it - that was solid, but far too many were WTF??? I also agree with CJ here - my gut is that some get artificially rated  to put you right on that cusp of - oooh - if I buy another evaluation I might get it to the recommended level.


My Scripts can all be seen here:

http://dlambertson.wix.com/scripts
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DustinBowcot
Posted: November 4th, 2015, 11:47am Report to Moderator
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It's a business that profits from hopes and dreams.

We could all go there... well, some of us... take advantage of our fellow writers, try to profit out of them. Sell them our version of what makes a great script, or start a competition. The reason most of us don't (aside from having better things to do) is because it would be wrong. A fool and his money are soon parted and all is fair in love and war, but it can't be healthy for the (metaphorical) soul to be the one taking advantage.
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eldave1
Posted: November 4th, 2015, 12:40pm Report to Moderator
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Quoted from DustinBowcot
It's a business that profits from hopes and dreams.

We could all go there... well, some of us... take advantage of our fellow writers, try to profit out of them. Sell them our version of what makes a great script, or start a competition. The reason most of us don't (aside from having better things to do) is because it would be wrong. A fool and his money are soon parted and all is fair in love and war, but it can't be healthy for the (metaphorical) soul to be the one taking advantage.


Agree. When I see sites that promise of offer something that they can't deliver on then I smell money suck. Blacklist charges $50 per review and requires a $25 monthly fee just to be a member and have your script listed. The false promise is that somehow they have a better path to fulfill your dreams of selling a script. I would respect the site a lot more if (a) membership was free (b) reviews were free and (c) they received a small percent of each script optioned through their site. That way their incentives would be aligned with the writer's best interest.

I recently paid for a pro review of one of my scripts. I was quite happy with the process. No promises of success - only that for XX dollars I will review your script and provide feedback in these specific areas. That is a business exchange rather than a predatory practice that many of the sites like blacklist rely upon.


My Scripts can all be seen here:

http://dlambertson.wix.com/scripts
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Pale Yellow
Posted: November 4th, 2015, 3:49pm Report to Moderator
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Really good news and really great score. Crossing fingers for you ... GREAT WORK>
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Bogey
Posted: November 4th, 2015, 4:37pm Report to Moderator
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The first feature I wrote (3 years ago) received a 7/10. The script was so bad it was laughable, so I consider the evaluation a gateway rating.

Flash forward, a few months ago I submitted a feature that was a Tracking Board Launch Pad Top 25 in 2014, and won the grand prize at the 2015 Carmel Int'l Film Festival. It received a 4/10.

$75, or as I like to say, 16 holes of golf I'll never get back. Save your money. The feedback on SimplyScripts is far more thoughtful, and it's free.
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Cameron
Posted: August 21st, 2016, 11:36am Report to Moderator
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Lols, the Blacklist experience.

I whacked in my Box 467 effort a while ago, sat back and waited...and waited some more. Basically they were jammed so I got a free month hosting and then came the feedback. First feedback gave it a six or a seven, I forget, but it didn't look like they'd read half the script (they'd missed some fairly major plot points).

Anyway, I complained. A few emails later I had this evaluation redacted, another free month and a fresh evaluation that gave it a 4 or a 5. I wasn't paying much attention to the score at this point, but the feedback on this evaluation was really fast, detailed, helpful, professionally done and I'm actively implementing it at the moment.

Doubt I'd do it again as it seemed really random, but if you got lucky with the latter reviewer it serves a really valuable purpose. My advice would be just enter the Page awards and get their feedback, 2 for 1 in the sense you're in a competition and get your work evaluated for the same price, plus again the feedback for this one (Dick Jokes) was great.
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SAC
Posted: August 21st, 2016, 1:54pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


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Dick Jokes is a good script. I'd love to see the rewrite after revising with the notes given!


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Cameron
Posted: August 22nd, 2016, 12:55am Report to Moderator
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Hey Steve, cheers mate, glad you liked it. I'd love to fix it but the only problem is they wanted to update all the jokes as they felt out of date, but I ain't no stand up! It could be a while...apart from that they seemed to really like it
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SimonM
Posted: August 22nd, 2016, 1:47am Report to Moderator
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The thing is - who are these Readers? What sets them apart from, say, anyone on Reddit?

If you pay money then you should have some expectation that the Reader is someone who knows what they are talking about and has some actual interest in reading your work. Otherwise what's the point?

Over the years I've had one to one meetings and written feedback from professionals - BBC script editors, Directors, Screenwriters, Producers - and I've never had to pay a penny to anyone. Perhaps I've been lucky this way?

When it comes down to it, everything is subjective - everyone has an opinion but that doesn't make every opinion valid.


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DustinBowcot
Posted: August 22nd, 2016, 2:04am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Cameron
Hey Steve, cheers mate, glad you liked it. I'd love to fix it but the only problem is they wanted to update all the jokes as they felt out of date, but I ain't no stand up! It could be a while...apart from that they seemed to really like it


So you got sold a well written bunch of bullshit and you ate it up. They don't have a clue what they're talking about. If they did, they'd be doing it themselves.

Old jokes are a great way to ease into the comedy and we, as viewers, can take comfort in them. The odd one may make us groan, but it's in a good way.

I watched Black Dynamite yesterday afternoon, a parody of the blaxploitation films of the 70s. Full of cheese and old jokes... but great... just great.

If you find it funny, then so will other people. Write for yourself and you can't go far wrong. Unless they've paid you, then they haven't got a clue what's going to work and what isn't because they don't have any interest in producing it. Don't work hard to please one idiot reader unless you're being paid.
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Cameron
Posted: August 22nd, 2016, 11:42am Report to Moderator
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Hey Dustin,

Nah I ain't touching Dick Jokes (Page feedback) unless a comedy genius can enhance it, it did divide opinions on the comedy front anyway so probably valid. It's in a few other competitions though so we'll see how it goes elsewhere.

The revised Blacklist feedback was really helpfull in telling me to iron out the timeline and make it linear for Box 467, as it is all over the place. The first Blacklist feedback was pretty useless though, and I wouldn't have implemented any of it.
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