I would be interested in hearing other writers' thoughts on the Black List being the only way indie writers can now enter the Nicholl.
Side note: IF you're enrolled in a school or program from this list https://www.oscars.org/official-nicholl-partners then you can enter the Nicholl through that program.
The rest of us now have to go through Black List -- which has a very checkered past and can potentially cost much more to enter than the traditional Nicholl cost.
Perhaps the good folks at Nicholl were receiving too many scripts and didn't have enough readers? I'm at a loss as to why something as prestigious as the Nicholl would align with Black List which has a very checkered past re: their services. You buy (multiple) reviews and hope you get a good enough score to be added to the Black List. There are many threads online where you can read about their practice, including this older one that is chock full of details: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/The-Blcklst-Scam
Please share your experience or thoughts on the Black List and Nicholl here. Thanks so much.
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I gave up on the BL once I realized that many others were also getting 8 or 9 ratings, and then the exact same script would get a 2 or a 3... this happened a few times to me (a few times too many, but it was early days and I didn't know better) but I soon moved on. I was also a Nicholls QF with one of my scripts. I will not go near the BL any more, and Nicholl's is welcome to them. Their prestige just got lowered a few notches in my book.
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I think it's crap. When I saw the change I wrote them to clarify what was going on. I said it sounded like they really devalued the award when only a select few could enter. They didn't respond to my email.
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As far as I'm concerned, the Nicholls are dead. They've sold out. They've tarnished their brand. I feel like the Academy in general is losing stature.
I vividly remember Greg Beal and Franklin Leonard duking it out ten years ago on DoneDealPro over the fundamental differences in their platforms. To see such a solid, artistically sympathetic process now handicapped by such a flawed and cynical one is absurd. We have to ask ourselves how we have gotten here.
Reddit's r/screenwriting is losing its mind over the new rules. The community is unusually Black List obsessed, with posts about the platform made pretty much daily: https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/comments/1kfeyuo/nicholl_blacklis...
Within that Reddit thread, someone claiming to have inside knowledge, is saying that they've been told there were no issues within Nicholl and that the new CEO simply doesn't think they're important: https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/comments/1kfeyuo/comment/mqtas0e
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Sounds like a money grab.
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Sorry to hear that. Seems a bad move for the Nicoll’s contest
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Some are saying that this is simply the Nicholl going back to its roots by focusing on University submissions. While that may be the intent -- they are completely missing the mark by partnering with the BL. No doubt "charmed" by their other fellowship programs. But "Frankly" this is another example of writers being treated with no regard and no voice.
A friend of mine summed it up like this: I think that even capping entries at 5,500 — previously, they used to get 7,000-8,000 or more — Nicholl got weary of its readers having to weed through all the shitty scripts to get to the quarterfinalists. These partner organizations will now do that, and Nicholl will receive a rung or two below the cream of the crop (how's that for a mixed metaphor?) as the quarterfinalists. I can't imagine all 33 partners will submit 25 scripts, especially places like TIFF and Berlin that don't have screenwriting competitions. Even if all do, that's still only 825 scripts for Nicholl to read. I also can't imagine the quota of 25 from the Black List was not previously agreed upon by both parties.
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I agree. I just looked to see when 2025 opens for submissions and when I read about BL, I decided it wasn’t worth it.
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Sounds like the new submission process will result in a misfire. I foresee the Nicholl having to reopen the contest past the deadline to the general public. This seems to be a prevalent theme this contest season with many other competitions.
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Does anyone else remember a time when good movies and scripts were also commercial? It seems we are living in a polarized age where a movie is either one or the other.
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Deb Havener I'm guessing they have struggled getting through & weeding out a lot of not-so-good screenplays, so I see this as a strategic move to elevate the quality a bit prior to submission. I can't say it's the correct move, but if I'm right then it makes some sense to me. Even so, I'm surprised on The Blacklist is the only avenue for indie writers.
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Though disappointing, it makes sense to move in this direction. The last year Nicholl had open submissions they received over 8000 scripts. They tightened open to the first 5500 a few years ago. Those poor, poor readers. Cases of Visine.
With the new system, the outcome should be the same: 300 QFs, 100 SFs, 10 finalists with very little of the overhead for AMPAS. The reading/recommending chores fall to a wide swath of people. It's always been about the creme de la creme.
The downside is Blacklist taking only the first 2500 submissions from which they select 25. As calculated elsewhere, that's 1%. Maybe 250 or 500 scripts should be considered. After all, the scripts are pre-read for the competition. It's little more work for Blacklist. 8s and 9s will most likely move forward as the 25. However, I guarantee there are a lot of very fine scripts with 7s.
C'est la guerre.
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E Langley I'm pretty sure the script I submitted was the final straw.
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The Nicholl stood alone as this shining screenwriting competition on a hill, above the toxic clouds of profit, personal connections and AI evaluations. Some Academy members decided to blow it up.
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As mentioned, and linked to, people close to those within Nicholl are stating that there was no issue with strain, so we should not let that assumption solidify and let that be their justification.
When we had that big exposé on screenwriting competitions back in 2018, the root issues should have been addressed rather than simply firming up the narrative that Nicholl was the only competition worth entering. Instead of pushing screenwriters away from relying on competitions to break in, it clearly just funnelled them all toward one. Now those people are having some sort of existential crisis.
My gut tells me the cultists will just move on to believing some other avenue is the answer. I'm already seeing Script Pipeline getting touted on Reddit, and AFF is back out of the sin bin.
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I-know-a-guy-who-knows-a-guy-who-said on Reddit is hardly documentary and should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
Logic dictates that if an organization hires and supervises a number of 1099 contractors, even if subcontracted to another firm, it's overhead. Offload that completely and it's not.
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For what it's worth, my assumption is that they are overloaded too. Even limiting entrants just makes it a bun fight, rather than focusing on the "best" out there.
I just don't see the benefit in concluding anything at this stage, especially when people known to be reliable sources say otherwise.
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small update- Nicholl will receive in total from all partners fewer than 90 scripts. The BL is submitting the largest batch at 25.
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Next step is for one money grabber to call their competition The Screenwriting World Championships.
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Hey Deb, Great Topic... and I’m juuuuuuust cynical enough to think this move wasn’t accidental.
Not a glitch. Not a volume issue. It's an ef fin filter.
Easy... push indie writers straight into a higher-cost, muddy process—and boom: fewer entries.
Not because they’re less talented, but because fewer can navigate the hoop-jump.
Less chaff, maybe. But also less surprise, less risk, less unknown.
The message feels less like “we’re overwhelmed” and more like “we’d rather not read you unless you’ve been pre-filtered.”
Sleepless in Orange County.
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There's an abundance of reliable sources skulking about on the internet. Who vets them. Who vets the vetter.
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It's all about controlling the narratives. Indie films CHANGE the narratives. Mainstream movies are often used to support the powerful media narratives. JMHO. I'd love to see a movie titled YOU CAN'T SAY THAT.
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You're right, Jon. Indie does change the narrative and it scares the living hell out of Hollywood that has been a maniacal control freak from the day it was born. Hollywood created and controls the WGA, which is a double edged sword. A writer can't join WGA until they're produced and producers won't look at a writer who does not belong to the WGA.
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The forerunner of the WGA was the Screen Writers Guild (SWG) founded by screenwriters who in 1921 were angered by wage reductions announced by major film studios. Workers v. management: a common reason why unions form.
How likely is it Hollywood controls a Union that went on strike against Hollywood.
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The strike was resolved but it didn't change the control lever of Hollywood producers and directors using only WGA writers who are burning out repeating the same formats over and over for the large franchises.
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Sure, why not. Whatever that means.
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For me, I think there are other ways to get attention from Hollywood beyond the blacklist. Be it contests or other opportunities you discover.
I also just view writing as something beyond just creativity and success. It's about the human experience in a way. Seeking connection with other people with a similar passion. Especially since all of these things are interwoven in one way or another.
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Just want to mention the Black list has opened for Nicholl entries and folks seem to be snapping up the available spots. Not sure if I'd call it a mad rush but something seems to be happening.