http://www.talentville.com

The aspiring screenwriter community becomes a pay service in 2012.

I upchucked Zombie Playground to kick the tires of their services.
Probably sign up for a few reviews to earn some "cash".

Anyone tried out the service?
I've seen Mr. Seeley on there now and again.

Please share your thoughts on the website here. Thanks!

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer http://www.talentville.com The aspiring screenwriter community becomes a pay service in 2012. I upchucked Zombie Playground to kick the tires of their services. Probably sign up for a few reviews to earn some "cash". Anyone tried out the service? I've seen Mr. Seeley on there now and again. Please share your thoughts on the website here. Thanks! Regards, E.D.

Nothing but good things.
I also noted that Babz popped in there a few times in the discussion rooms. Dave Trottier writes a few articles, and Ben Cahan is getting Script Pipeline involved, a handful of industry pros etc.

I been honored to help wiith some of the Beta testing as well.

Quoted from DarrenJamesSeeley Nothing but good things. I also noted that Babz popped in there a few times in the discussion rooms. Dave Trottier writes a few articles, and Ben Cahan is getting Script Pipeline involved, a handful of industry pros etc. I been honored to help wiith some of the Beta testing as well.

Hey DJ!

Mucho thanks for the friend request over there!

What would you say is the best use of my time on the site?
I was thinking of signing up for some reviews.
How can we, as SS buds, help each other on Talentville to make some noise? ;D

Regards,
E.D.

While Ben admits that the groups section needs to be worked on in the future, recently, the "Logline Hospital" could be a benifiet to some. Script Pipeline will help "patients" with long winded logs and condense them accordingly - but only those "voted on" to be fixed by the Citizens. It's kind like a 'contest'. With the 99 dollar citizenship kicking in January, there will be a discount on the usual SP logline rewrite fee. (the price quoted is $24.99)

I asked in the forums at Talentville for more specifics on what the fee will cover.

Quoted from Ben Cahan, (Talentville founder and Final Draft creator) The other thing is that as our General Store comes on line in a few weeks, we will be giving really big discounts on things to our Citizens.  So, if you want to enter a screenwriting contest (Script Pipeline, Scriptapalooza, many more coming soon), it will be cheaper if you buy it through Talentville as a Citizen, and we will also be giving a few Talentdollars with most purchases, depending on the price of the product or service.  We hope to be selling everything from Final Draft to various screenwriting books and even seminars and other events, and the best deals will all be for Citizens, with Tourists getting no TalentDollar bonus and paying what amounts to retail. - From the Talentville msg board.

Unlike SS, Talentville is like a Trigger model as in reviews are assigned. Currently, all citizens can select genres on what to be assigned if they like. Once the site goes pay, I think this may be restricted to paid citizens and that tourists won't have the options w/ exception of Screenplay - Short Script- Drama and Sitcom.

Cahan wants to have the biggest site with a script library; not just quanity but quality. Reviews are encouraged to be more in-depth than the usual around...here. There's a slider bar rating system as well as written. There's an opt out button. ("remove assignment")

There's some scripts of mine that are over there that are not over here; others are slightly revised, as it's easier to upload revisions. Older reviews for that script will remain for a period of time, however.

And I been making noise over there for nearly two years now, sure, most of it was static and hogging up the billboards, but still...

Quoted from DarrenJamesSeeley Unlike SS, Talentville is like a Trigger model as in reviews are assigned. Currently, all citizens can select genres on what to be assigned if they like. Once the site goes pay, I think this may be restricted to paid citizens and that tourists won't have the options w/ exception of Screenplay - Short Script- Drama and Sitcom.

Do you have to "pay" for a review to be on that list generated for readers?
Or, do all scripts get a chance to be assigned?
Is it a matter of "paying" to increase your odds of getting a review?

E.D.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer Do you have to "pay" for a review to be on that list generated for readers? Or, do all scripts get a chance to be assigned? Is it a matter of "paying" to increase your odds of getting a review? E.D.

My best understanding :

No.
Yes.
Yes.

Quoted from DarrenJamesSeeley My best understanding : No. Yes. Yes.

So, what's your basic strategy for getting reads?
Is there a big difference in the level of feedback if you pay for reviews?

E.D.

When you review there, you are given "talent dollars" these are credit points that you assign to your script(s). These aren't actual dollars. You'll get x amount of points depending on the length of the script you review. Short script reviews could be five points (talent dollars) and features anywhere from 12 to 15.

Assign the script (s) which will put them into the rotation que. You can do this however many times you want so long as you have the points (talent dollars) to do so.

In real cash, that's free.

Now, when the membership fee kicks in, those "talent points-dollars" will be worth a little more and you can save up those points to buy up "bulk" reviews. This will increase your chances of being reviewed on that script you assign points to.

In other words, there's a bigger advantage, and that's my understanding of it.

So far this month, I've reviewed two feature scripts.
And I've "bought" two reviews for ZP. But they haven't been assigned as of yet.
I wonder how long it takes before an active member accepts the review offer?

As to the reviews themselves, not impressed with the script quality thus far.
I had to use lines like:

A slug is a location, not an elevation. 11,000 feet high where?

That's gotta be one heck of a glove compartment to house a sex doll.

Did the resurrected cockroach somehow start a biblical plague?

It's a little far fetched to get a working life support system into a car, even a pimp Cadillac.

Seems a tad dumb for a villain to release a plague in a city where his comatose daughter resides.

It's hard to suspend disbelief with hang gliding ninja squadrons zipping around.

I'll try at least one more, so I can get ZP up to three reviews, so it'll get a rating.
But the first two reads were supreme slogs.

E.D.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer That's gotta be one heck of a glove compartment to house a sex doll. It's a little far fetched to get a working life support system into a car, even a pimp Cadillac.

I hope these two are in the same story. Sounds awesome!  :)

Quoted from B.C. I hope these two are in the same story. Sounds awesome!  :)

LOL, yes they were, actually.
It was a modern urban twist on Sherlock Holmes a black detective in Chicago.

Talentville has sweetened the yearly membership deal.
Instead of $99 for 12 months, it's now $75 for 15 months.
And you get bonus services, like picking which script you're assigned to review.
Which could mean there's less scripts like Sherlock Homie in my future.

Finally got a review of Zombie Playground assigned to a member.
So, we'll see how that goes before I make a final decision.
Getting good reviews means free Scriptapalooza coverage.

E.D.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer ...a modern urban twist on Sherlock Holmes a black detective in Chicago...Sherlock Homie...

What a shame the script was no good -- as that concept paired with that title sounds like a million bucks.

I remain pretty dubious of a pay-to-play service like that.  You guys keep us posted.

I have just joined up but i am not yet sure why. Seemed worth a try.

I want to be open minded but some sites are probably more useful at different stages of a writers experience/career and i am still starting out.

I keep looking around for versions of SS to widen my experience but - other than Movie Poet, which is different but effective - i don't seem to find them.

As i have mentioned recently, one other site has promoted a culture of feedback and sharing but it doesn't work out that way. I have a script posted there but for the four reviews i have received i have provided around 25! Of those four reviews one gave me the lowest mark possible (wholly against every other review) and then had to admit they have never written script and had a "bad night!!" At least they apologised but alas they can't remove the review. Lucky me.

I keep logging back into SS thinking this is the best i have found so far, for all it's quirks.

Looking forward to 2012 with all the folk here.

Mind you, i've always been loyal!!

Quoted from Electric Dreamer Talentville has sweetened the yearly membership deal. Instead of $99 for 12 months, it's now $75 for 15 months. And you get bonus services, like picking which script you're assigned to review. Which could mean there's less scripts like Sherlock Homie in my future. Finally got a review of Zombie Playground assigned to a member. So, we'll see how that goes before I make a final decision. Getting good reviews means free Scriptapalooza coverage. E.D.

The 75 deal expires at the end of the month. Then its 99.
I've put in already. But about those "good reviews". I should mention that you have to factor in the reviews you actually get.

As with any site, you will get some of good quality and those not so good.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer So far this month, I've reviewed two feature scripts. And I've "bought" two reviews for ZP. But they haven't been assigned as of yet. I wonder how long it takes before an active member accepts the review offer? As to the reviews themselves, not impressed with the script quality thus far. I had to use lines like: A slug is a location, not an elevation. 11,000 feet high where? That's gotta be one heck of a glove compartment to house a sex doll. Did the resurrected cockroach somehow start a biblical plague? It's a little far fetched to get a working life support system into a car, even a pimp Cadillac. Seems a tad dumb for a villain to release a plague in a city where his comatose daughter resides. It's hard to suspend disbelief with hang gliding ninja squadrons zipping around. I'll try at least one more, so I can get ZP up to three reviews, so it'll get a rating. But the first two reads were supreme slogs. E.D.

Use caution! I read a sp there that had a writer who threw me a curve using the latest slug trends. INSIDE and OUTSIDE sort of stuff. Also be aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Quoted from Reef Dreamer As i have mentioned recently, one other site has promoted a culture of feedback and sharing but it doesn't work out that way. I have a script posted there but for the four reviews i have received i have provided around 25! Of those four reviews one gave me the lowest mark possible (wholly against every other review) and then had to admit they have never written script and had a "bad night!!" At least they apologised but alas they can't remove the review. Lucky me.

Ouch. Can't you contact a mod and have them fix that for you?
I mean, the reviewer admitted it was a mistake.
There must be something that can be done.

E.D.

Quoted from DarrenJamesSeeley Use caution! I read a sp there that had a writer who threw me a curve using the latest slug trends. INSIDE and OUTSIDE sort of stuff. Also be aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I hear you, loud and clear.
Believe me, I wasn't even being close to picky.

It was pretty irksome when the author lectured me on how to write proper critiques.
Apparently, he didn't think I should say much unless I had more good things to write.

I suppose these "Talent Bucks" make some folks feel entitled to what they want.
I'm sure the next round will be better.

I've had a couple reviews assigned, but they dropped after a couple days.
Haven't been able to get a single review in the first month.

Wouldn't mind scoring a free round of coverage from Scriptapalooza though.
We'll see!

E.D.

Progress Update:

This month has been filled with positive momentum on Talentville.

I think the ZP banner playhing all month helped my scripts get some attention.
ZP is poised to receive a "ranking" once the third assigned review comes in.
I also attached a "snippet" of paid coverage for the script.
I think that's a neat way to entice readers, they can check out that linked PDF.
A little bonus that tickles me is the script specfic avatars you can choose.

http://www.talentville.com/index.php?content=sub&id=1281

In addition to ZP, I uploaded a new draft of Lie Detector to the site.
That has already gotten enough assigned reviews to be ranked:

http://www.talentville.com/index.php?content=sub&id=1406

Debuting in the top 10% was pretty sweet.
And your score grows a bit depending on the number of assigned reviews you garner.
So, if the script maintains a quality score, it still naturally progresses its rank.
And I enjoyed finding an appropriate Lie Detector avatar as well.
The ranking system is pretty exciting for a stat guy like me.

Talentville does excel at how it's presents submissions to members.
However, their educational forums don't hold a candle to SS. Not even close, IMO.

Regards,
E.D.

Status Update:

Zombie Playground made the Weekly Top Ten list! ;D

http://www.talentville.com/hof/1
(you may have to refresh the link to see the chart)

Hopefully this will lead to more citizens taking on assigned reviews.
If I can keep up the mojo, I could land $200 worth of free coverage for the script!
So, I need to try and be one of the top three scripts for the month of February.

Being a paid citizen is the way to go, IMO.
I bought in during a special sale, so it came out to $5 a month for me.
Picking my assignments has led to some pretty decent features to read.
I wish more of them were posted over here.
But our educational forums leave their site in the dust.

But I'm a sucker for those leader boards.
Which are a luxury a pay site like that can put out there.

Regards,
E.D.

It's been an interesting couple of weeks on the site.

The theme du jour seems to be... one of polarizing opposites.

Lie Detector is currently the number one ranked script on the site.
That is very nice, but there's a caveat...

Short scripts don't get any rewards for their ranking, unlike features.
So, the script can't even be posted on the weekly Top Ten lists, etc.
It's merely integrated into the overall ranking system.
So, I get no recognition/bonus links, like the feature scripts do.

Zombie Playground was progressing nicely, got up to 7th place.
Then someone that hates zombie movies was assigned my script.

Instead of opting out of the undesirable assignment (you can do that once a day)...
He chose to review my script and tell me why zombie movies all suck.
And say things like, "I try to offer constructive advice, but this script is beyond help."
It's offensive to put it in the same category as The Goonies, it's nothing like it, etc.
He went on to say it sorta works for what it is, but it's definitely not for him.

Now here's where the rub comes in...

He chose to rate my script (on a ten scale) as TWO.
Almost exclusively because he just doesn't like zombie movies.

That one decision, plummeted Zombie Playground from 7th to 90th (out of 190).
The script will NEVER RECOVER from that review and be Top Ten ranked. EVER.
Ten weeks of goodwill reviews and creating the special banner. ALL GONE.
It would take a mountain of stellar reviews to undo that number.

No development staffer will give a script a look after that toxic event on the site.
All this from a kid that is the "proud owner" of the 185th place script. *sigh*

I respect Mr. Cahan's efforts. The site's work in progress, but man, that hurt.
So, ZP got hosed and Lie Detector is #1, but no one knows it.

E.D.

Geez Brett!  not sure I like a system like that  where it only takes one person to dislike your work for it to be ” gone” Forever.

Cheer up, I'm sure something good will happen soon. You sure are working hard at it and it will pay off one day. I know it.

I used to hear about things like that happening at Trigger Street -- where one jealous (or whatever) reader could completely torpedo a script.

Then they developed a "Hall of Justice" or something where you could appeal a bad review, which I guess is OK in theory, but from what I understand it was a total cluster and made things even worse than before.

Sorry to hear you got shrapnel, though.

Only increases my confidence that Don's little "no-frills" site is really the way to go.

Not perfect, but the best of other less-than-perfect options.  Every layer of complexity tends to make things worse in an exponential fashion.

Hey Brett,

Sad news but something sounds similar..

Quoted from Reef Dreamer As i have mentioned recently, one other site has promoted a culture of feedback and sharing but it doesn't work out that way. I have a script posted there but for the four reviews i have received i have provided around 25! Of those four reviews one gave me the lowest mark possible (wholly against every other review) and then had to admit they have never written script and had a "bad night!!" At least they apologised but alas they can't remove the review. Lucky me.

The whole marking thing has its problems. If you know the writer i find a reluctance to mark at the appropriate level and even i find i give a better mark than perhaps i had in mind. The opposite can apply if someone has a dislike of another.

If annoymously then its a bit of a lottery. The MP way seems sound but part of that reason is that you have decent numbers to average things out. Tricky for features i would expect.

In the statistcial world they have many ways of calculating performance other than just an average. Excluding the top and bottom marks could equal things out for example.

Otherwise, well done on LD, i must take a look at the revsied script.

cheers

It sounds like a process that won't work well for scripts. To be fairly scored, scripts would need multiple reads, many reads really. How many people are going to read a feature? And how competent are the readers? Perhaps most important, how motivated?

I am guessing people that submit scripts are assigned reads in order to participate. With 200 scripts, how many people read ZP? Probably not many. That guy that gave the poor review may not have even really read the script. He had to give a review, so he did. He went in with an attitude, took a little glimpse, left a review. Not fair to the script, maybe you should pull it.

The only way I can conceive of a ranking like this to be remotely fair is to have a system where there is a panel of qualified readers and judges. And a panel like that won't work for free. Otherwise, the process is not only going to be unfair, but likely to be manipulated and even rigged.

Don't let it get you down. I do not believe in those type of rankings. SS reviews rock. No ranking. :)

Brett, seriously mate, you would be better off entering ZP into meaningful comps, not popularity contests.
I recall when people were raving about Circlejerk...sorry, Circalit, but that seemed to die in the arse, didn't it.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Geez Brett!  not sure I like a system like that  where it only takes one person to dislike your work for it to be ” gone” Forever. Cheer up, I'm sure something good will happen soon. You sure are working hard at it and it will pay off one day. I know it.

Yeah, "gone" as in I'll never place that script where it will get any recognition.
It's the fact they gave me 2's across the ranking board that killed the potential.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I do feel like I'm getting closer. :)

I feel less upset about it now, but I'm no longer active on Talentville.
I can use my spec reading time better elsewhere... like here! ;D

Though I have to admit...
There's some good spec features over there that aren't here.

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from bert I used to hear about things like that happening at Trigger Street -- where one jealous (or whatever) reader could completely torpedo a script. Then they developed a "Hall of Justice" or something where you could appeal a bad review, which I guess is OK in theory, but from what I understand it was a total cluster and made things even worse than before. Sorry to hear you got shrapnel, though. Only increases my confidence that Don's little "no-frills" site is really the way to go. Not perfect, but the best of other less-than-perfect options.  Every layer of complexity tends to make things worse in an exponential fashion.

Yeah, I've heard mention of a "drop one review" that Talentville is considering.
But it doesn't change the fact that how much the honor system affects the ranking.
Or lack thereof, more specifically.

Talentville has bells and whistles, but they can get annoyingly loud at times.
In recent weeks, I read a dozen pretty solid spec features over there.
If we had those scripts here, then SS would be the all around champ.

All things considered, the less frills/rankings the better it seems.

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from Reef Dreamer Hey Brett, Sad news but something sounds similar.. The whole marking thing has its problems. If you know the writer i find a reluctance to mark at the appropriate level and even i find i give a better mark than perhaps i had in mind. The opposite can apply if someone has a dislike of another. If annoymously then its a bit of a lottery. The MP way seems sound but part of that reason is that you have decent numbers to average things out. Tricky for features i would expect. In the statistcial world they have many ways of calculating performance other than just an average. Excluding the top and bottom marks could equal things out for example. Otherwise, well done on LD, i must take a look at the revsied script. cheers

Hey Reef!

Well, now i know how you feel.

Yeah, I did look into this reviewer's recent history.
The night before he blasted me, he got a scathing review on something of his.
Then he lambasted Zombie Playground the following morning.

Coincidence? Maybe, but it certainly begs the question though.

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from leitskev I am guessing people that submit scripts are assigned reads in order to participate. With 200 scripts, how many people read ZP? Probably not many. That guy that gave the poor review may not have even really read the script. He had to give a review, so he did. He went in with an attitude, took a little glimpse, left a review. Not fair to the script, maybe you should pull it.

I see what you're saying.
But there is a "opt out" button to remove assignments.
You can remove one every 24 hours. So, there was no reason he had to review it.
This guy chose to review a script in a genre he dislikes.
And rated my script based upon his personal distaste for the subject matter.

You may be right about not reading it at all.
There's very little in the written review to suggest he read the script.
It's by and large vague criticisms, no character names mentioned, etc.

Who knows? All I do know is I've backed off on my Talentville presence.

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from Mr.Ripley Don't let it get you down. I do not believe in those type of rankings. SS reviews rock. No ranking. :)

Quoted from stevie Brett, seriously mate, you would be better off entering ZP into meaningful comps, not popularity contests. I recall when people were raving about Circlejerk...sorry, Circalit, but that seemed to die in the arse, didn't it.

Thanks for the well wishes, Gabe!
I've moved on, too busy to let it stop me for long. ;D

Stevie, I hear you about the popularity stuff.
I liked the idea of the free coverage for the monthly top three.
Scriptapalooza runs it, which means I would get into their system as a ranked script.
And they can be a gateway to agencies through their resources.
Provided, you get a high consider or better.

I'm putting Talentville in my rear view mirror for a while.

Regards,
E.D.

Don't give up on it entirely. Hopefully you'll get more reviews that will bring it up. But that's strange how one negative review brought it way down. What type of ranking is that? lol. You are still paying for the services on the website. Use it to your advantage.


Gabe

It has been my experience in life that the world is often filled with bitter and resentful people who don't want to see others succeed. The script world seems to be even more plagued by this, which I have encountered on another forum where there are a lot of frustrated writers. I'm not saying everyone has to love your script, but I am fairly certain that guy really didn't read it, and probably leaves reviews like that for all the scripts he reads, and he just reads the minimum requirement.

I briefly joined a site like that, I forget the name. It was a film artist collaboration type thing. I never submitted a script, because when I started reading reviews, they struck me as snarky little hit and run jobs that people did just to earn points.

I don't think there's a way to set something like that up that will work, unfortunately. It's good that you leave no stone unturned, so you are to be commended for trying it out. But I also don't think you need it. You're in a position now to get reads, meet people who need work done. Just keep writing, and you're on the right path.

One idea that I no longer believe has any merit is the notion that finding success in this field is like winning the lottery. I don't believe that at all. It may feel like that, but it's not.

Let's look at Pia. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, she's had two feature films made. But it was no accident. She's been writing for years; she's had many shorts produced, so has worked with producers and directors, collaborated; she lists her work on a website, I think, or something like that; and she's active here. All of those things worked together to make it more likely someone would eventually see her work, and when they did would think not only is the feature something they wanted, but the writer was someone they could work with.

I think if someone has the talent, writing is in demand. And that demand is actually growing, with the emerging world markets, most of whom have English as a second language. If someone can produce quality work, quality marketable work, it's only a matter of time. And I say this based on reading dozens of interviews with writers who have recently made it. They will usually be the first to tell you, though they may have been writing for years, generally their work was not ready until they actually made it.

Just stay the course, Brett. You're on the right path.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer Though I have to admit... There's some good spec features over there that aren't here.

that may be true, however, one thing I have learned lately is that writers and producers/directors do not look at scripts the same way. At least that's what it seems like to me.  What may seem like a great script to us writers, may not look that good in the director's eye. And what may sound good or even great to producer or director may seem like complete clichĂ© garbage to us writers. You just never know. :)

Quoted from Electric Dreamer Zombie Playground was progressing nicely, got up to 7th place. Then someone that hates zombie movies was assigned my script. He chose to rate my script (on a ten scale) as TWO. Almost exclusively because he just doesn't like zombie movies. That one decision, plummeted Zombie Playground from 7th to 90th (out of 190). The script will NEVER RECOVER from that review and be Top Ten ranked. EVER. Ten weeks of goodwill reviews and creating the special banner. ALL GONE. It would take a mountain of stellar reviews to undo that number. No development staffer will give a script a look after that toxic event on the site. All this from a kid that is the "proud owner" of the 185th place script. *sigh* I respect Mr. Cahan's efforts. The site's work in progress, but man, that hurt. So, ZP got hosed and Lie Detector is #1, but no one knows it. E.D.

That's not exactly how it works, Brett. Your script will recover.
It takes a lot more than one tourist to tank a script that has been highly rated on the site. You forget-- as you correctly stated before, the short scripts (and TV dramas/sitcoms, for that matter) all factor in the 193 spots (for scripts of any length that have gotten four or more reviews, increased since your post here)

Yes, that review you gotten was a turd. It would be one thing if he didn't like it, but it's something else when he outright trashed it and says 'well, i don't like zombie films'

But my question to you is this - one bad apple out of the whole basket gets you ready to riot? You wisely weigh it against what is said so far, and deduce that the fella really missed the boat.

I wondered what would have happened if we swapped reviewers. With this guy, I would have been charged with a felony with Rancorium, locked up and the guard swallowed the keys. (alas, I'm usually getting the other side of the coin...not those who hate horror/zombie films...but those that like 'em) but for the most part, even the good reviews have a few oddities. Here's one from my script (Rancorium) from earlier this month:

Quoted Text I think your Act breaks are off balance considering you've written 95 pages. Act 1 seems to end at page 31. That is a little too long in the story to end the Act.

Think about that for minute.
It wasn't a review that tanked the script, the person had many positive things to say. But that line borders on WTF. In other eyes, that quip would be a high compliment. Hey, at least I nailed that ol' Syd Field paradigm!

By the way look in the top ten list for the week, and tell me what you see still hanging in there. Hang in there, Brett, you're not done yet.

Quoted from electric dreamer It's by and large vague criticisms, no character names mentioned

Just be thankful it wasn't Ryan Heppe or his cronies who used to hang around Zoetrope. Trust me, Brett, you got off easy.

Quoted from ajr I'm going to now say publicly what I've tried to get you and others to understand privately - that you should not expose anything you're shopping seriously to that level of scrutiny from someone you don't know. A bit different here because we take care of our own - however if I had a feature with a seven figure budget that I had started to send around to Hollywood? There's no chance that I would give free reads away by posting it here (sorry Don!).

Isn't that what you did with GA?

Brett,

I signed up for T-ville to see what was grinding your gears and the review ticked me off, too.  The review is just a bunch of generic statements about why he doesn't like zombie movies.  The only specific thing he mentions in regards to the script is on page frickin' 1.  That's enough to tick anybody off.  I don't know if this will have any effect, but I rated it poor.  I can't stand that kind of nonsense.  Pretending he read it just to trash it and leave a "full" review is bullshit.  Oh yeah, his bio is also written in the third person.  Go figure.  

We're all going to have critiques. Have to get use to them because they're not leaving any time soon. What's important is getting exposure to find that person who says "Yes, I will make your movie". That's all.

Don't worry Brett. Raise your chin up man.

Gabe

Quoted from Grandma Bear that may be true, however, one thing I have learned lately is that writers and producers/directors do not look at scripts the same way. At least that's what it seems like to me.

Agreed, big time!
Working with feature producers with credits decimated my preconceived notions.
I've been playing catch up with them since we met last fall.
Learning how they view things does reinvigorate me in the end.
But I'm a loon that way! ;D

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from Mr.Ripley Don't give up on it entirely. Hopefully you'll get more reviews that will bring it up. But that's strange how one negative review brought it way down. What type of ranking is that? lol. You are still paying for the services on the website. Use it to your advantage. Gabe

Hey Gabe.

Thanks for being a voice of support. You're a good egg! ;D
I hope subsequent reviews are more about constructive criticism than personal taste.

But, in lieu of junk like that, I'll scale back my Talenville presence.
There are better ways to use my spec reading time, like here!

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from DarrenJamesSeeley That's not exactly how it works, Brett. Your script will recover. It takes a lot more than one tourist to tank a script that has been highly rated on the site. Yes, that review you gotten was a turd. It would be one thing if he didn't like it, but it's something else when he outright trashed it and says 'well, i don't like zombie films' But my question to you is this - one bad apple out of the whole basket gets you ready to riot? You wisely weigh it against what is said so far, and deduce that the fella really missed the boat.

Yeah, it was a gut kick from someone who doesn't respect the craft, for sure.
I know the script may work it's way back up eventually *IF* I buy lots of reviews.
No, I'm not rioting, I haven't sent a NastyGram to the Admin or anything.
This all happened while reporting back here about my Talentville experience.

Quoted from DarrenJamesSeeley By the way look in the top ten list for the week, and tell me what you see still hanging in there. Hang in there, Brett, you're not done yet.

The Weekly Top Ten is recalculated every Sunday.
When I placed 7th on the weekly chart, ZP was ranked #22 overall.
This Sunday, ZP will be off that list and likely stay off it.

I don't mind getting dinged based on the quality of my work.
But asshattery like that review tweaking my career prospects boils my clams.

But I will hang in there. And I hope you do the same!

Regards,
E.D.

Quoted from greg Brett, I signed up for T-ville to see what was grinding your gears and the review ticked me off, too.  The review is just a bunch of generic statements about why he doesn't like zombie movies.  The only specific thing he mentions in regards to the script is on page frickin' 1.  That's enough to tick anybody off.  I don't know if this will have any effect, but I rated it poor.  I can't stand that kind of nonsense.  Pretending he read it just to trash it and leave a "full" review is bullshit.  Oh yeah, his bio is also written in the third person.  Go figure.

Hey Greg,

Thanks for the post. I appreciate you checking it out.
At my angriest, I thought about posting snippets or the entire review here.
Of course, after some libations, I came to my senses about that.

I appreciate you posting your thoughts on the review.
For wholly personal reasons, today is very tough for me.

So, seeing your post helps me remember that most folks aren't like that.
It hurts to wake up first thing and see that review in your mailbox.

I love my ZP kids as much as you care about The Scorsese Club members. :)
To see them trashed like that, got to me a little.

Thanks for the thoughts! Greatly appreciated.

Regards,
E.D.

P.S. Send me that spec of yours if you're still soliciting opinions.

Sorry to hear that, Brett. I wouldn’t worry, though. As Pia said, people in the industry don’t look at scripts the same way. They’re looking for material they can sell or produce.

No one who matters cares. So keep your chin up. :)


Breanne

Quoted from Breanne Mattson Sorry to hear that, Brett. I wouldn’t worry, though. As Pia said, people in the industry don’t look at scripts the same way. They’re looking for material they can sell or produce. No one who matters cares. So keep your chin up. :) Breanne

Hey Breanne,

Thanks for the kind thoughts.
And I totally agree with you. It's not how producers look at scripts.
I know that now more than ever, doing spec drafts for a feature producer.
The way he looks at things, I'd never have guessed it at all! ;D

It was just in the moment, that the review really caught me off guard.
After three months of goodwill there, I was starting to get a little comfy.

Then that prig besmirched my zombie kids unjustly!
It's all good, and at the very least, it all serves as a learning experience for our site.

Hope this round of send outs for you yields some heat!

Regards,
E.D.