BlackList, Inktip, SellaScript, etc, question

[driverrodeshotgun]

Hi everyone,

I had a question about feature screenplays sites like the Blacklist, Inktip, SellaScript, and the list goes on. I know the risks and small percent possibility of them leading somewhere once you post a logline and feature screenplay.

My question is...do most people that put their work on these sites have representation already? I assume not, but just curious.

Also wondering if the risks of stealing ever worries anyone, even if it's copyrighted? I know it's part of the game, anyone can steal anything and rework it as their own legally. Part of the risk we take.

 

[Jack Lynt]

1. I can't answer that. But I was just kind of reading about Blacklist the other night and from its site. Didn't it start as that dude's compilation of scripts that had been floating around Hollywood that his friends wished would get produced? In that case, in the case of Blacklist, at least initially, I'm guessing that those initial writers were. Is that right? But it also sounds like what it has become, no, I'm guessing many do not. But again, I'm not very familiar with them.

2. It seems to me that the advice usually given on this board by most of those who post in regard to this question is that you shouldn't worry about theft. I remember a reasonable sounding user or more posting that it actually rarely happens.

And as you know, it's important to either register your screenplay the WGA or copyright it with the government.

As for someone stealing your idea, I think it's as you say...part of the risk we take in sharing. But, not necessarily taking a position myself, commenters on this board who answer this question, which comes up regularly, usually dismiss the fear of having an idea stolen.

Though maybe it can happen. I was recently re-watching Tales From the Script. In it, the writer of Deep Impact tells the story of how the producer(?) of Armageddon "stole" or lifted his ideas for (Deep Impact) after having told him about them over lunch(?).

In Save the Cat, Blake Snyder says that it's amateurish to worry about sharing your screenplay ideas or their being stolen. He says that he shares his ideas freely with friends and with strangers. But, I don't know if he meant to include sharing them on the world wide web. He doesn't describe doing so himself.

But at least if you copyright your screenplay, no one will get away with the outright theft of your screenplay. And, my guess is, generally, you'll be poorer for not sharing and getting the help and feedback that can come from it. Unless maybe you have some IRL friends who make good screenplay bouncing boards. Then again.... =)

 

[Liv]

Hi everyone,

I had a question about feature screenplays sites like the Blacklist, Inktip, SellaScript, and the list goes on. I know the risks and small percent possibility of them leading somewhere once you post a logline and feature screenplay.

My question is...do most people that put their work on these sites have representation already? I assume not, but just curious.

Also wondering if the risks of stealing ever worries anyone, even if it's copyrighted? I know it's part of the game, anyone can steal anything and rework it as their own legally. Part of the risk we take.

Not sure about the other sites, but I know the blacklist is pretty legitimate. Franklin Leonard himself said that the success of the blacklist lies in the fact that absolutely anyone, regardless of whether you're a newbie living in rural Kansas or a hotshot produced director, has a fair shot at the blacklist. This is because the blacklist only works if it's completely fair and credible. Production companies trust that when they look at blacklist recommend scrips, they'll only find the best of the best. As soon as hacks start paying their way through the blacklist or established actors/directors use their clout to get a script on the list (regardless of whether it's any good), people will take notice of the decline in quality, and thus the program will become useless (and if it's useless, there's officially no point in people taking advantage of the site). I'm almost certain this level of trust and quality extends to privacy policies; I'm guessing that if you do have a script on the blacklist, not many are going to try and steal it, because the fact that that script has been immortalized on the site is proof enough for copyright infringement

 

[geckopelli]

The Black List started as a compilation of the most read (yet unproduced) screenplays circulating in the industry in general.

If you have an agent worth his salt, you don't need to post scripts anywhere.

But for the rest of us, Inktip, etc., are very worthwhile, or so I'm told by friends who are working producers. Apparently, a lot of up-and-coming types search for a breakthrough project on these sites.
But make sure it's professional quality.