But he also paid for two readings and got two ratings. A 9+ which gets him on the "shotgun loglines to producers" list, and a 6 which gets you nothing.
He did get the "discounted third read" offer the BL sends out when someone complains about getting disparate scores. No one knows how often* that happens, but it is a recurring theme in posts by former BL users: the inconsistency of the ratings.
Mr. Lowell seems to think his experiment means everyone should be posting to the Black List:
Bottom line first: if I were breaking in, the Blacklist would be a no-brainer to try.Let's rewind here and look at this not from the perspective of an experienced industry professional, but from the POV of the nascent screenwriter without much money. Let's posit they submit the same script Mr. Lowell did. But they only buy one read. And they get back a 6. 9 or 6 is a coinflip in this case. And quite possibly the difference between success and failure.
What is the sincere and determined screenwriter going to do? Rewrite what is, I am sure, a wonderfully written script into ... something decidedly less wonderful. They have little choice if they want to use the BL unless they are prepared to experiment with their money and buy several more reads and try to luck into an 8 or 9.
Because, without that high score, they will pay month after month for the BL to host a script that no one is going to look at. You have to get the score. So they rewrite because they are new and unsure and someone on a forum told them it was the way to go, resubmit and get - a 5!
But there was nothing wrong with the script in the first place. How badly mangled will it be if they rewrite again?
Mr. Lowell's experiment seems to this blogger to only confirm what so many already know: the BL might be a fine venue for insiders and pros, but for the inexperienced writer, it's a Black Hole.
*Franklin Leonard has commented that these results only happen a small fraction of the time. There is no objective evidence to support or refute this claim.
I get your point, but you're implying that any rewrite somehow makes a script worse. It might be better than the possible 6 rating suggests, but a rewrite should still make it better. That's the point of rewrites...
ReplyDeleteI didn't imply that at all. The scenario is: you have a perfectly fine 9 but you only buy one read and get a 6. You don't know your script is a 9, you don't know your reader is too inexperienced to judge the work. So you try and "fix" what isn't broken. That will make a script worse.
ReplyDeleteNormally, writing is rewriting, as we all know. In this case, it's overwriting.
what the Jeff Lowe'll Black List 3.0 experiment proves is that the the inexperienced writer needs to write as well as Jeff Lowell to compete with Jeff Lowell in the industry (which has always been true, before the Black List, and will always be true whether it exists or not.
ReplyDeletejust write better
I agree with that 100%!
ReplyDelete