The Black List’s new AI service ScriptBook already seems to have huge problems

UPDATE: It now appears as though the blog post announcing ScriptBook has been taken down. My original post follows.

Earlier today, the well-regarded site The Black List, which surfaces some of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, announced the launch of ScriptBook, a new AI service for evaluating scripts:

Who is ScriptBook?

ScriptBook is a technology company that uses machine learning and natural language processing to learn about film scripts. By analyzing thousands of produced film scripts, movies and associated data, their algorithm can analyze a film script based simply on its words. By using AI, ScriptBook can provide a more objective analysis of a film script than any single human reader.

Why are we adding this product?

Our goal is to provide writers another tool to help them analyze their work. This product does not replace the evaluation service performed by our team of professional readers — instead, it offers a new, cutting-edge way to look at screenplays. It provides objective metrics and analysis on a very subjective endeavor. Our philosophy is that machine learning combined with real human taste and intuition can help us understand the world better than either alone. Increasingly, these tools are being used by studios and production companies to make decisions, so we want to offer such a tool to writers at the lowest price point possible.

For $100, ScriptBook will provide a 4-page analysis of your feature length script. The site provides a sample report for the Denzel Washington film Fences to show what a typical analysis might look like.

There are obviously lots of challenges with reading a script and offering useful suggestions for improving it. The idea that an AI could perform this analysis accurately feels pretty far-fetched. And apparently it is! Because even ScriptBook’s own analysis of Fences seems wildly off.

Film producer Keith Calder tore into ScriptBook on Twitter. I don’t think I have anything to add to this:

I have a problem with literally every paragraph and chart in this Blacklist blog post about ScriptBook. https://t.co/jKeEa0Z4YI

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

WTF is this chart? Look at the bizarre “creativity score” metric they invented. HEAT is significantly less creative than THE IRON LADY? pic.twitter.com/EAzRKXfrFW

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

Not only is this budget chart nonsensical, the idea that they are assigning “probability” to budget ranges is especially ludicrous. pic.twitter.com/QRke6ztjuu

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

“Hi, a computer said my budget is $10-20m with a 67% probability. And 34% probability it’s $5-10m. But also it can’t round numbers properly”

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

“Of the four canonical film genres of drama, crime, sport, and music my screenplay is 99% drama and 0% crime, 0% sport, and 0% music.” pic.twitter.com/WNgnmwVw0D

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

Back to the audience rating chart… Am I really supposed to believe THE AVENGERS has a lower “audience rating” than G.I. JANE? What audience? pic.twitter.com/T5FMSj3uVr

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

The sample charts are all for the FENCES screenplay. Which means ScriptBook thinks the teenage son in FENCES is only 24% likable… pic.twitter.com/4oDkEtJI1t

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

I have to wonder how it’s even possible that August Wilson was able to write “Fences” without the help of ScriptBook’s “objective” analysis.

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

But for real… The mother and son in FENCES are both under 30% “likable” but Troy (one of the least “likable” protagonists ever) gets 55%

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

If I had to create fake charts to make fun of ScriptBook, it would be hard to outdo the real FENCES analysis charts they’re actually using.

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

And how much does it cost for this 4-page shitty robot analysis of your screenplay? Only $100!

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

To be clear, I’m not opposed to using modern technology to try to improve analysis of fields that previously relied on subjective expertise.

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

For example, check out this recent story about AI beating doctors at predicting heart attacks. https://t.co/XGRmhY7rhM

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

Or the recent stories about top Go players talking about how much they’ve learned from watching the playing style of Google’s Go AI.

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

But ScriptBook is obviously snake oil garbage masquerading as an “objective” tool. Writers and execs, please give this a hard pass.

— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) April 19, 2017

It is possible to re-cut ‘Passengers’ to be a much better film

Nerdrwriter’s video essay this week is a fascinating exploration of Passengers’ script, and how re-arranging it to be from Jennifer Lawrence’s character’s perspective might lead to a much better film.

See also: Peter Sciretta’s piece on how Passengers’ script evolved, which is referred to in the video.

How Netflix treats great indie films

David Ehrlich, writing for Indiewire, on what it means to have your film on Netflix:

I don’t know if Netflix has the power to kill the movies, but the last few months have made one thing incredibly clear: Netflix certainly has the power to kill their movies, and it’s doing that with extreme prejudice. It’s not a distributor; it’s a graveyard with unlimited viewing hours. Netflix doesn’t release movies, it inters them.

And the problem is getting worse, because the movies that Netflix is buying — and funding — are getting better. When the company first got into the original features game with Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation,” the tepid response wasn’t much of a concern; the roll-out was a mess, and most theaters refused to play a movie that was premiering day-and-date with a streaming service, but the assumption was that Netflix would learn from their mistakes and better serve their filmmakers.

Cut to: Sundance 2017, when Netflix rolled up to the festival with several of the program’s most exciting titles already in its back pocket. One such title was Macon Blair’s giddily good “I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.,” which would go on to win the coveted Grand Jury Prize, joining the ranks of films like “Whiplash” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” Not only did the victory lend the streaming giant some much-needed credibility in the indie universe, it also gave them the opportunity to champion Blair as a major talent, and build some momentum for his next collaboration with “Green Room” director Jeremy Saulnier (which the streaming giant will eventually release). Surely they would make the most of it, right? Of course not. Netflix quietly uploaded the movie onto their platform in the middle of the night like it was a new episode of “Fuller House.”

I’m really torn about Ehrlich’s piece. On the one hand, I agree with his overall point: Netflix is buying up great movies and doing very little to promote them. And while being on Netflix might make you financially whole, it’s questionable what it may do for your career or for your movie being seen.

On the other hand, he makes numerous points I disagree with. For instance, he writes:

In fact, Netflix recently took steps to make it even more difficult for customers to find what they crave or stumble upon new delights, as the company made the myopic decision to replace its somewhat worthless star ratings with a completely worthless “thumbs up / thumbs down” approach. Good luck finding your way around that buffet when all of the food is divided into “good” and “rotten.”

Five star ratings are awesome for people who are really into movies and like refining their preferences. But the vast majority of people don’t give a crap about that, and just use one star or five stars. Not to mention there is wide disagreement about what the star ratings even mean. From a piece on The Verge about Netflix’s decision:

Switching to a binary thumbs-up / thumbs-down system might seem less granular than offering five stars, but [Netflix VP] Yellin said there’s an implicit understanding with thumbs-up / thumbs-down that people are doing it to improve their own experience rather than trying to rate it for the rest of the world. And at the end of the day, it’s really about just getting more people to rate things.

“What’s more powerful: you telling me you would give five stars to the documentary about unrest in the Ukraine; that you’d give three stars to the latest Adam Sandler movie; or that you’d watch the Adam Sandler movie 10 times more frequently?” Yellin said. “What you do versus what you say you like are different things.”

Later, in Ehrlich’s piece for Indiewire:

If a movie premieres on Netflix, is it still even a movie? In an age where the word “film” is often a misnomer and content is classified less by the intent of its production than by the means of its distribution, it could be said that movies — at least for the time being — are simply things that play in movie theaters. It may seem like a matter of semantics, but I think we’re talking about qualitatively different experiences. When Netflix buys a movie, it guarantees that the vast majority of people will never get to see it in its full glory. It’s the equivalent of a museum buying a work of art, locking it in a vault, and making photocopies so widely available that people lose sight of the fact that they’re missing out on the real thing.

In the era of peak TV, I can certainly agree that there is a lot of fluidity in the division between TV and film right now. But I also think the implication that the theatrical experience is an essential part of making something a “film” is a somewhat privileged viewpoint.

If Netflix never existed, the vast majority of Americans probably never would’ve seen Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore in a theater. They may never have even had a chance to. That film might never have even played in a theater outside a film festival or special event. But today, over 40 million Netflix subscribing households in the US can pull it up on their TV and access it instantly. The fact that most of them will not is a problem I think Netflix (and its filmmakers) will need to contend with. I don’t see how that makes it no longer a film, though.

Watch Hans Zimmer’s spectacular Coachella performance

Hans Zimmer performed a set at Coachella that blew the roof of the place yesterday(it’s already on Reddit’s front page this morning). Those of us who weren’t there live could watch on Coachella’s live stream.

Unfortunately, Coachella only uploaded a small portion of the 60+ minute performance (seen above). That being said, here’s a list of the full set:

Inception – Half Remembered Dream
Inception – The Dream is Collapsing
Inception – Mombasa
Pirates of the Caribbean – One Day
Pirates of the Caribbean – Up Is Down
Pirates of the Caribbean – He’s a Pirate
The Lion King – Circle of Life
The Lion King – Under the Stars
The Lion King – This Land
Gladiator – The Wheat
Gladiator – The Battle
Gladiator – Elysium
Gladiator – Now We Are Free
Freedom
The Dark Knight – Why So Serious
The Dark Knight – Fear Will Find You
Aurora
Inception – Time

If you want to see Hans Zimmer live, there’s still a chance! Check out the tour dates on his website.

Visualizing the ‘Fast and Furious’ movies

Bloomberg has an incredible data visualization of every Fast and Furious movie (excluding the eighth):

The Fast & Furious blockbuster franchise unfolds over nearly 14 hours so far—and that’s before an eighth movie in the $4 billion series, The Fate of the Furious, arrives in theaters on Friday. The newest film will speak in a lucrative language that audiences have learned to crave: gear shifts, engine revs, car chases, angry banter about cars, and sips of Corona. Exactly how fast and how furious is the Fast & Furious cinematic universe? The family at Bloomberg decided to meticulously analyze all seven movies to track their evolution. We counted just about everything that could be turned into a meaningful metric, even screen time for men’s biceps.

Here are some of the biggest findings in my opinion:

The movies have grossed over $4 billion but it’s really Fast Five ($626MM), Fast and Furious 6 ($789MM), and Furious 7 ($1.5B) that sent the series’ box office receipts into the stratosphere.
As time has gone on, the movies have focused on cars and racing less and less, with less than one minute occupied with racing in Furious 7, compared to a luxurious 15:10 of racing screentime in Tokyo Drift. This makes sense, as the movies have shifted towards more of a heist model, compared with the undercover police intrigue from the first three films.
In contrast, the number of action scenes have significantly increased over time. Number of car action scenes, hand-to-hand-combat scenes, and explosions have all gone up dramatically from Furious movies 3-7.
Remarkably, despite how schlocky and unrealistic the series has gotten, reviews of the films have trended upwards over time, with Furious 7 receiving the highest RottenTomatoes score of all of them, 79%.

Check out the full rundown at Bloomberg’s site.

‘Fast and Furious’ movies with Corona being consumed averaged $87 million more box office than those that don’t

Reddit user LundgrensFrontKick has a fascinating analysis correlating Corona consumption in Fast and Furious movies with an increase in critical positivity and box office receipts. Those that feature Corona being consumed average $250 million domestically and have a combined 63% IMDB/Rottentomatoes score, while those that don’t average $163 million domestically and have a 57% IMDB/Rottentomatoes score:

“You can have any brew you want, as long as it’s a Corona.” With these beautiful words The Fast and the Furious announced its glorious partnership with Corona. Corona saw its zenith in The Fast & The Furious, but it got a massive push in Furious 7 when Dom famously turned down delicious Belgian beer in favor of a bucket of Corona. Corona and the Fast world have become synonymous with each other and have built a beautiful world in which nobody gets drunk or gains weight due to excessive drinking. However, after rewatching all the films I’ve come to realize Corona doesn’t play that big of a role in the Fast world. In my mind, the entire team are always incorrectly chugging bottled beer while cruising around the earth engaging in shenanigans. I am 100% serious when I say I was surprised when I compiled the numbers of Corona sightings.

[Thanks to Drew Wallner for bringing this to my attention]

Diving deeper into ‘Ghost in the Shell’

I wanted to share a few more pieces about Ghost in the Shell (aside from the one I posted the other day) that I’ve found to be particularly helpful in shaping a productive debate on the new film:

Firstly, I spoke about Ghost in the Shell in my /Filmcast review of the film, and examine some of its more controversial racial elements in last week’s Gen Pop.
From 2016: Why it matters that Ghost in the Shell is Japanese and Scarlett Johansson isn’t
The Hollywood Reporter invited four Japanese actresses to dissect the film.
Justin Chiang and Jen Yamato discussed the dangers of Whitewashing for The LA Times.

IFFBoston 2017 announces full lineup

The Independent Film Festival of Boston has announced their full lineup for the year (viewable here). When I lived in Boston, IFFBoston was an amazing experience, run by friendly people who had a passion for great film. I’d highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.

Their full press release is below. Ty Burr from The Boston Globe has a rundown of highlights from this year’s program.

***

Boston (April 10, 2017) – The Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston) announced today the full lineup of films that will be screened at the 2017 festival. The fifteenth annual festival will take place April 26 – May 3, 2017. Tickets are on sale for the general public beginning on Tuesday, April 11^th.

With over 100 films screening this year, IFFBoston will take place at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, and at UMass Boston. Events will include filmmaker Q&A sessions, panel discussions, visiting filmmakers, and parties as part of an overall event that showcases the best in current American and International cinema.

“STUMPED” directed by Robin Berghaus will open the 15^th annual festival on April 26th at the Somerville Theatre. This documentary is a portrait of Will Lautzenheiser, a filmmaker and educator who became a quadrilateral amputee after suffering from a life threatening bacterial infection. It follows his extraordinary journey and recovery from forays into stand-up comedy to being the third patient to undergo double arm transplantation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“BAND AID”, directed by Zoe Lister-Jones will close the festival on Wednesday May 3rd at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. It stars Lister-Jones, Adam Pally, Jessie Williams and Fred Armisen.

Other notable films screening at the festival include:

Centerpiece Documentary Spotlight is THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY directed by Errol Morris. New England Premiere
Centerpiece Narrative Spotlight is THE HERO directed by Brett Haley. New England Premiere. Starring Sam Eliott, Laura Prepon and Nick Offerman.
Documentaries by local filmmakers include LETTING GO OF ADELE directed by Melissa Dowler; ANGELO UNWRITTEN directed by Alice Stone; OYATE directed by Dan Girmus
PATTI CAKE$, starring Bridget Everett and Danielle McDonald.
Joshua Z Weinstein’s critically acclaimed film, MENASHE.
Janicza Bravo’s LEMON, starring Brett Gelman, Judy Greer and Michael Cera
LANDLINE directed by Gillian Robespierre, and starring Milton’s own Jenny Slate.
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL directed by Steve James
DEAN directed by Demetri Martin starring Martin and Kevin Kline

IFFBoston will team up with the Mass Production Coalition to present an inaugural Student Short Film Competition, whereshort films selected by local colleges will compete for a cash prize.

IFFBoston will again partner with the UMass Boston Film Series to present the 3^rd Annual The Mass. Works-in-Progress Pitch Session. This competition spotlights local filmmakers at various stages in their careers and at different stages of production with their projects. The IFFBoston/UMB Film Series’ WIP event takes place before a general audience of filmgoers, potential funders, broadcasters, festival programmers, brand partners and industry insiders. The goal of the event is to create a unique coalition of awareness and support for local filmmakers.

There will be several panel discussions during the festival. All panel discussions will be free to the public and will take place at the Somerville Theatre. Panel topics and guests to be announced soon.

Among the Official Parties: The opening night party will take place at Orleans in Davis Square, Somerville. Saturday night’s Awards Party will be at Tasty Burger in Harvard Square, and the Closing Night Party will take place at Osaka Steak House in Brookline.

Among the awards to be presented on Saturday April 29th will be the 8th annual Karen Schmeer Award for Excellence in Documentary Editing. This award was created to honor the memory of beloved Boston documentary film editor Karen Schmeer who was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident in January of 2010. This award is presented by The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship.

Xfinity is the Presenting Cable Media Sponsor of the 2017 Independent Film Festival Boston.

90.9 WBUR is the Presenting Radio Media Sponsors of the 2017 Independent Film Festival Boston.

Rule/Boston Camera is a Presenting Technical Sponsor of the 2017 Independent Film Festival Boston.

Talamas is a Presenting Technical Sponsor of the 2017 Independent Film Festival Boston.

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON (IFFBoston) 2017

Narrative Features

BAND AID directed by Zoe Lister-Jones

LA BARRACUDA directed by Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin

BEACH RATS directed by Eliza Hittman

CHUCK directed by Philippe Falardeau

COLUMBUS directed by Kogonada

DARA JU directed by Anthony Onah

DAYVEON directed by Amman Abbasi

DEAN directed by Demetri Martin

GOOK directed by Justin Chon

HEDGEHOG directed by Lindsey Copeland

THE HERO directed by Brett Haley

HIGH LOW FORTY directed by Paddy Quinn

THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES directed by Jim Strouse

LANDLINE directed by Gillian Robespierre

LEMON directed by Janicza Bravo

THE LITTLE HOURS directed by Jeff Baena

LOST IN PARIS directed by Dominique Abel & Fiona Gordon

MENASHE directed by Joshua Z Weinstein

PATTI CAKE$ directed by Geremy Jasper

POLINA, DANSER SA VIE directed by Angelin Preljocaj

SYLVIO directed by Kentucker Audley & Albert Birney

THE STRANGE ONES directed by Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein

TORMENTING THE HEN directed by Theodore Collatos

TRIP TO SPAIN directed by Michael Winterbottom

YOUTHMIN directed by Arielle Cimino & Jeffrey Ryan

Documentary Features

ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL directed by Steve James

ANGELO UNWRITTEN directed by Alice Stone

THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY directed by Errol Morris

BURDEN directed by Timothy Marrinan & Richard Dewey

CASSETTE: A DOCUMENTARY MIXTAPE directed by Zack Taylor

CITY OF GHOSTS directed by Matthew Heineman

THE CREST directed by Mark Christopher Covino

DEALT directed by Luke Korem

DINA directed by Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles

DOLORES directed by Peter Bratt

EDGAR ALLAN POE: BURIED ALIVE directed by Eric Stange

FINDING KUKAN directed by Robin Lung

FOR AHKEEM directed by Jeremy S. Levine & Landon Van Soest

THE FORCE directed by Peter Nicks

FURUSATO directed by Thorsten Trimpop

INTENT TO DESTROY directed by Joe Berlinger

LETTING GO OF ADELE directed by Melissa Dowler

MAINELAND directed by Miao Wang

THE MODERN JUNGLE directed by Charles Fairbanks & Saul Kak

ONE OCTOBER directed by Rachel Shuman

OYATE directed by Dan Girmus

RAT FILM directed by Theo Anthony

SPETTACOLO directed by Jeff Malmberg & Chris Shellen

STEP directed by Amanda Lipitz

STREET FIGHTING MEN directed by Andrew James

STUMPED directed by Robin Berghaus

SWIM TEAM directed by Lara Stolman

TROPHY directed by Christina Clusiau & Shaul Schwarz

WHOSE STREETS directed by Sabaah Folayan & Sabaah Jordan

Narrative Shorts

BAD DOG directed by Tom Putnam

CALL YOUR FATHER directed by Jordan Firstman

CLOUDY ALL DAY directed by Dylan Pasture

CTRL-Z directed by James Kennedy

CUBS directed by Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir

CYCLES directed by Joe Cobden

DOGS AND TACOS directed by Steve Bachrach

EINSTEIN-ROSEN directed by Olga Osorio

A FAVOR FOR JERRY directed by D.W. Young

GAME directed by Jeannie Donohoe

HUNT directed by Sean Temple

HUNTER directed by Jane Geisler

I’M IN HERE directed by Willy Berliner

ICARUS directed by Tom Teller

LAWMAN directed by Matthew Gentile

MEGAN’S SHIFT directed by Zeke Farrow

NIGHT directed by Joosje Duk

(OUT)CASTE directed by Shilpi Shikha Agrawal

THE PRIVATES directed by Dylan Allen

SLEEP TIGHT directed by Ani Simon-Kennedy

THE SNOW GIRL directed by Mixtape Club

SO IT GOES directed by Justin Carlton

STRAYS directed by Lance Edmands

THE SUB directed by Dan Samiljan

THEY CHARGE FOR THE SUN directed by Terence Nance

THRESHER directed by Alex Clark

WHEN JEFF TRIED TO SAVE THE WORLD directed by Kendall Goldberg

Documentary Shorts

BLIND SUSHI directed by Eric Heimbold

CIRCUS CITY, USA directed by Adam Wright

THE COLLECTION directed by Adam Roffman

CONFESSIONS OF A CANNABIS CONSULTANT directed by Mark Dugas

DETECTED directed by Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller & Jeremy Newberger

ELIAS’ STAND directed by Jyllian Gunther

FIBA ALLOW HIJAB directed by Tim O’Donnell & Jon Mercer

FOR YOU, ALEXIS directed by Douglas Gordon

THE GLORIOUS FUTURE directed by Laura Longsworth

GUIDED directed by Bridget Besaw

GUT HACK directed by Mario Furloni & Kate McLean

HAFE: THE STORY BEHIND directed by Sam Ketay

IF I DIDN’T MAKE IT directed by Casey Toth

IMAGINE KOLLE 37 directed by Michele Meek

JUANA directed by Navarro & Morales

LAVOYGER directed by Rachel Bardin

THE MEMORIES STATION directed by Derek Frank

NO HARM NO FOUL directed by Cheng Zhang

NOTHING COMPARES directed by Melissa Dowler

PIZZA BIRDY BATH WATERFALL directed by Tim O’Donnell

PREPARATIONS FOR THE FOREST directed by Daniel Mooney

RICH MAN DAN directed by Amy Augustino

SWIM FOR LIFE directed by Lise Balk King

TROLL: A SOUTHERN TALE directed by Marinah Janello

UBERMENSCH directed by Jesper Dalgaard

THE WATCHMAKER directed by Marie-Cécile Embleton

THE WIZARD OZ directed by Danny Yourd

WORKING STIFF directed by Sarah Hanssen

THE WORLD’S OLDEST MIME: A LIFE IN THREE ACTS directed by Riley Hooper & Noah Wagner

ZAIN’S SUMMER directed by Joshua Seftel