I've already gotten 26 downloads but no reviews yet. Just curious what people think about my rev. Yes, I know it's not funny, so you don't need to tell me that.... But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the script? ;)
its not funny.
oops!
just wondering, lauri... did you read mine? what do you think?
just checked:
i got 20 downloads
and 46 of my trailer
i'm hearing crickets
not that there's anything wrong with that.
I haven't read anyone's yet, other than a couple of pages of a few. Might read the ones that make the semis. Not looking for a detailed review, just curious why those 26 people downloaded and what they thought.
Who has time to read? Seriously, I think, like yourself, most people are just skimming a few pages. I skimmed a few of yours but not enough to form an opinion. Let's just hope the AS judges/readers give each script due diligence.
Lauri, I'll trade a read and review.
Mine is a lowbrow (come on, a screenplay about Franklin had to have fart jokes), bawdy, farcical treatment, but I can appreciate a serious one.
I've read about a third of yours, I wouldn't mind reading the entire thing.
301 downloads for my Ben Franklin Trailer #2.
55 for Trailer #3 (which is a copy of the same as above, just hasn't not deleted) Add them.
7 downloads of my Draft#2 script.
KPS -- i just think you should have used Ben Franklin dialogue, not GW for the trailer.
I've downloaded only two so far. 1st one was so far from script format (helvetica font anyone?) that I couldn't read it. After reading 100s of scripts over the years, it was too hard. Thus, only gave it one star. Felt bad, but if someone sent that to a producer it will get tossed after page one and future scripts won't even get that far.
Thus, next script had right font, but the dialogue width had been expanded! Probably because so much dialogue was added that that was the only way to keep it around 100 pages. Since I'm new to this website and entered this contest, I would love to give back feedback, but the feedback would be not so kind again and I am not sure what the unsaid rules are - better off not reviewing than being just? And do I risk getting unfair revenge reviews against my work?
I have no problem getting blunt feedback and appreciate it, but that's because I know that we are talking about a script (an object w/o feelings) and not me. But, a lot of writers cannot separate themselves enough to handle the truth and use it to become better writers.
So, what should I do? Give honest feedback on scripts in this contest or not?
thx,
Jon
I noticed a lot of scripts using odd fonts or simply stating "changes on every page" and not listing what pages contain notable changes. I doubt AS has the time to read 97 entire screenplays.
@ Ryan
Well, since every page of my A.B.F script has notable changes--new dialogue, descriptions, scenes, etc.--I certainly hope that AS would read the entire script. The rules simply state that any pages with changes should be noted on the first page, and if ALL pages have changes, why wouldn't I write "changes on ALL pages"?
Also, maybe 10 or 15 scripts say they have changes on all pages, some only have changes to a few pages. So they don't have to read 97 entire scripts...it various from author to author.
And, I believe there were more than 120 entries in the Zombies Vs. Gladiators contest, and they had to read all of those scripts. Still, if a script is terrible, they would probably stop reading after 15-30 pages, because they'd know it's not what they're looking for. And, if a script is great, I'd imagine that they would WANT to read it all the way through.
If they didn't have the time to read the scripts, they wouldn't have created the contest.
The great thing about the America's Ben Franklin contest is that everyone did something different. Some punched up only a certain part of the story, others added bits here and there, while others started gave a complete overhaul.
I did a big overhaul, because this was the only way I could make the script as funny as I wanted it to be.
But, yeah, I think AS will read all the scripts....and how much they read depends on the quality of the work, not on the number of pages changed.
A Participant says:
Well, nobody will say it so I will:
Lauri, people are scared shitless to post a review of your work. They remember the (accurate) hammering you gave the fellow competitors in the ZVG contest and don't want to be in your sights.
There's no rewriting now. You won the last time out so you're a contender already - hence the curiosity.
That's what's up!
@ Jacob, that is a likely explanation.
Maybe people like it and don't want to add to its allure by giving it a good review; it is after all a competition.
but it's not funny. she didn't go that route. and if she advances then it should be a huge mistake b/c she didn't stick to the guidelines of the challenge. imo she's not a contender in the idealistic sense.
btw:
i gave lauri a few notes on her ZvG script and said the salt cure was the one thing that really didn't work -- a huge part of the story imo. well, now she's saying that AS asked her to change the salt cure thingy in a rewrite.
back to BF:
i noticed some did not do any page notes... maybe they forgot, but will they be disqualified? i doubt it, for one simple reason -- it was a ridiculous part of the rules that i brought up in a thread a while back. if you alter the opening pages then the remainder of the script pages will be altered. and the rtf version has kooky formatting for some with page numbering way out of whack. if you can't control the parameters then it can't be used against you.
i and some others wrote out what they changed on each page as oppose to just listing the page numbers. gives more sense to the practice.
but also, i noticed that you can do a word search and skip right to a particular part of the script. i didn't read a bunch of scripts all the way through but i searched out Sam just to see what people were doing to that character. AS could do that for any particular scene they wanted punched up. but that won't be a good tool for people who really altered the script.
ok, i'm done babbling on this.
exactly, DD. i'm a big fan of Top Chef and i can't tell you how many times i've seen a cheftestant ask another cheftestant to taste their dish. and that opposing cheftestant says, it's okay. and then tells the camera, that was way too salty! lol! salt does not cure everything!!! ;)
On the topic of page notes, just in case some scripts advance that don't have those and some might think that's unfair since they didn't stick to that rule, which I felt, like Lisa, was impossible because one change can easily alter all of the following pages. But it was part of the rules.
I noted on my rtf that all pages had been revised, but I forgot to list that on my PDF. I had to manually make a title page for the rtf and I remembered to note that. I just forgot when I made a PDF. So for anyone opening my PDF, they might think I forgot to do it overall. But it is noted on the rtf.
Just to be safe, I asked AS about that. I always hear they only use the rtf in judging, but I didn't want to do all of that work and be disqualified over something so minor. They confirmed they only use the rtf draft so I was fine. It could be that way with some of the others who are missing the revision note on their PDF.
@ Jacob - I don't give revenge reviews. And everyone knows by now that reviews don't count for anything. I'm just curious what people thought -- not looking for detailed notes or anything. And some other scripts are getting reviews.
but lauri, DD was talking about revenge reviews. have your ever given recognition to anything you thought was better than yours or do you choose to omit them for the sake of your own stake in the competition?
I don't know why anyone worries what fellow writers think of their BF drafts because we don't own them. We're not going to revise them since there's no point. The only opinion that matters is the judges'.
Sure, it would be nice for fellow writers to tell us our drafts rocked so we have high hope of advancing in the contest, or it would suck if readers hated them because then we don't feel like we have a chance. But it's all extremely sub-jective, especially with comedy, so those things really don't matter anyway.
The semis's will be announced in less than two weeks. Reviews just seem kind of pointless to me.
@Vicky - I was thinking the same thing too. That's why I haven't bothered to read anybody else's work. Reviews are pretty pointless at this stage, unless, of course, you want to boost somebody's ego or mess up their day .
@ Lisa - I have said a number of positive things about other scripts here. If I read one I thought was great I'd say so.
Lisa and Lauri could review each others. Game on!
ha! you boys would love some kind of silly catfight, but i already stated what i thought of lauri's script... even though i only skimmed it... seeking out the funny which i did not find. and she already said she's not reading any scripts until AS tells her which ones. lol! she's a true industry executive in the making. ;)
I, for one, am completely confident that you ladies can resolve this minor misunderstanding amicably. But just in case you do turn this into a catfight, please remember to post sexy pictures of yourselves first. Sorry if that sounds sexist but it's standard rules. Ask anyone.
