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The past Sunday’s L.A. Times had a special section devoted to all the movies that are coming to theaters in the next three months, and a list of sure-fire loglines that go with them! It’s a great preview of what we can expect and a really great job by the Times.
Anytime I read a good logline, I start to think of my own pitches and my own movies I’m creating.
And I get excited!
I want to play, too! That’s the thought that comes to mind when I see what other movies are on tap. (I have this same reaction at the Coming Attractions — the best part of going to the movies.) It revs my creative engines thinking of how I can concoct a logline as good or better than what’s “Coming Soon.”
Like the loglines I read in the Times this Sunday, those that grab me follow the rules we discuss in Save the Cat! Funny, but it works every time!
The basic components that must be included in a successful logline are:
- A type of protagonist (meaning adjective-hero)
- A type of antagonist (meaning adjective-opposing force)
- A conflict (and it better be sparking!) and
- An open-ended question (what will happen?)
I also added further spice to this basic need by requesting four more components:
- A sense of irony (that’s what a “hook” really is)
- A compelling mental image ( I always say that “A good movie pitch is like dropping a flare into a diamond mine; when you say it, my mind bursts with ideas, drama, and images that dazzle)
- Audience and cost (Who is this for? Does it make economic sense?)
- A killer title! (Please don’t pitch anything called Redemption or For Love or Money!)
Believe it or not, I have four new guidelines that I will be writing about in Save the Cat! Strikes Back and previewing in my talk at Great American Pitchfest in June here in Los Angeles. That’s right. More secret weapons– more ways to fine tune your logline writing skills, that’s what we’re about!
I hope to have this 4 x 4 x 4 (4 basic logline needs x 4 enhancements x 4 superchargers) as part of our Beat Sheet class as well. The Beats Weekend is proving to be legendary for writers who come in with an idea and walk out with a solid 15-point outline that weekend. How do we do it? (Amazingly well, thank you very much.) And the logline writing skills we teach are a huge part of what makes those weekends sing.
Meantime… shall you… dare you? I’d like to hear pitches from those brave souls who’d like to match wits with the amazingly diverse and exciting summer slate coming our way. Please use the Comments section to briefly pitch your best idea and let’s see that fastball, slider, and curveball with a little pepper on it.
We’re in the shank of the Golden Age of creativity at the movies! Be it a summer tentpole movie, quirky Indie, or homemade doc, there are more opportunities out there for us now than ever before.
Let’s play, too!
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May 5th, 2008 at 9:07 am
A down-on-her-luck tween’s money-making schemes run afoul of a bitter billionaire’s plans for expansion in a conflict that divides the town along class lines. With billions on the line who will fold first? Find out in an all-new family comedy, “Haley Walks Dogs.”
(Will the billionaire find redemption or will Haley have to choose between moeny and love?)
May 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am
A National beer sweepstakes called “March Mascots” proves to be a call to arms for a pair of middle-aged game-day warriors whose blood still runs the faithful school colors. After a quick tune-up at “Mascot Boot Camp”, the duo leads their Alma Mater to the Final Four basketball tournament - eventually drawing heavy fire from rival mascots in the winner-take-all, high-stakes world of School Spirit.
May 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
A 34 year-old “old fogey” is kicked out by his girlfriend because of his boring lifestyle. He quickly takes a lucrative job in a nearby city to win her back, but can only afford to live in a shared house with 5 college students.
My working title is “34″. I’ve also considered “Vree” since his last name might be Vreeland and it’s very close to the word free.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
APE/MAN - A glitch in an experimental brain implant causes a mind/body switch between a caged gorilla that wants freedom, and a shy computer genius, who has designs on the ape’s sign language teacher.
Imagine a young Jim Carrey type walking around in LA, controlled by an adult male gorilla’s mind… while back in the research compound, the computer guy’s mind is stuck in the gorilla’s body, trying to communicate the mix-up to humans before the freed ape/man gets himself killed for acting on his primal instincts.
Too over the top? Note: there are brain implant experiments being done that make this scenario plausible!
May 5th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Hey Hornschemeier, that 34/Vree concept is quite terrific. On first read it grabbed me. The comic possibilities are enormous. For my tastes, I would raise the stakes and make the guy married and his time in the city would be more of a “trial separation” type of deal. Just a thought. Love it, either way.
Figel, I don’t think that’s too over the top at all, as long as you don’t get too sloppy with the pathos, y’know? APE/MAN is the type of comedy we don’t see much of these days and I feel is sorely missed. But then I was raised on Jerry Lewis movies so I’m probably too biased.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Here’s one my next projects:
ME AND THE MONA LISA
The Mona Lisa, tired of being stared at, escapes from her own painting and hooks up with a straight-laced, reclusive American writer of travel guides. As he proceeds to show her modern day Paris, she proceeds to teach him about life, while at the same time trying to avoid the bounty hunter sent to track her down and bring her back.
The poster is the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre, without Mona in it.
This is going to be one of the best movie summers in a long time. Hope to see all your movie trailers in the multiplex one day soon.
May 5th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
PRIOR SINS
When a young couple buys The Priory, a bed and breakfast in rural California, they find dozens of skeletons under the rose bushes, a town that has been covering up homicides for decades, and a killer who wants them to be the next set of bones under the roses.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
IN THE HEAT OF THE DEAD OF NIGHT
A charmingly compulsive necrophiliac attempts to subdue his own impulses when he and his redneck buddies must contend with the very community they are trying to save– a Southern town scarred by racism, religious intolerance, and William Faulkner– while defending it from an infestation of bloodthirsty zombies.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Nude Descending a Staircase:
A young woman must confront a powerful celebrity attorney when she “liberates” the lawyer’s artist son from exploitation, and in the process seizes the opportunity to take revenge for a past transgression.
A Superhero comedy/drama.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Actually was working on this very topic tonight with the author of the book I am working to transition into a screenplay. He wants to maintain the title of his book as the title of the movie and I have worked to weave it into the logline … problem is the title of the book is long - seven words. Killer title and length of title - what is the correlation? Industry thoughts?
May 6th, 2008 at 2:28 am
PLOT TWIST
While teaching at a prestigious university an acclaimed mystery writer struggles to prove his innocence after being framed for the murder of a beautiful co-ed he was having an affair with by an obsessed former student of his who thinks he can out plot his teacher.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:21 am
THICKER THAN WATER
A high profile, family centric businessman struggles with a life-altering decision when the schizophrenic father who abandoned him 25 years earlier after a family tragedy reappears and asks him to donate his kidney for a life saving kidney transplant.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Sci-Fi Fantasy Comedy Drama
Title:- Living in the Afterlife
Slug-Line:- A paramedic dies, now he can save lives from the other side… A reluctant Hades; the designated abode of the dead, is out to stop him. No one has come back to tell us… until now.
Edd
May 7th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
FIRST CRACK
Logline: A wimpy tech geek-cum-rookie journalist under the gun gets thrust into investigating a psychotherapy cult guru with a taste for his young female acolytes. Emboldened by the group’s techniques, he risks career, his new community, and maybe even life and limb, to finally give the errant leader a taste of his own medicine.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:44 am
LOVERS LEAP - A comic romance
Two desperate mid-30’s identical twin brothers — one a wildly irresponsible ladies man, the other an obsessive compulsive, anal-retentive gay guy - are dumped by their lovers and realize the only way to win them back is by swapping places, pretending to be the other brother, and seducing them into loving them again.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:49 am
BUTTERFLY EXPRESS - An animated adventure comedy
An anxiety-ridden country caterpillar must venture into the big city to rescue her lone colony of nearly extinct butterflies from a ruthless collector intent on making sure his collection is the last of it’s kind.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:21 am
THE LIGHT OF KALAR - sci-fi superhero
In a future where the government rules with an iron fist, a cynical young woman from the streets holds a legendary weapon inside her and struggles against a powerful tyrant to prevent the forces of darkness from turning the world to shadow. After a discouraging defeat, she must awaken five epic warriors to aid her.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:29 am
CAPTURING HOPE - A Young Aduld Drama/Suspense (PG-PG13)
The past and present collide when an urban teen journeys to the Deep South in search of her family history. A story of forbidden love, racial violence and the brutal murder of her grandmother on a winter night in 1960, unfolds as the truth is finally revealed.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Title: The Wifman Conspiracy
Genre: Whydunnit (Political Whydunnit)
Logline: A burned out alcoholic cop, haunted by the death of his wife, heads a special task force and struggles to locate a lethal assassin; in the process he uncovers a conspiracy involving the President that hits more closely to home than he ever thought possible.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Space Cadet
A clumsy astronaut-dreaming NASA janitor accidentally gets launched into space aboard a ship with a crew headed on a earth-saving mission to stop a hostile alien force.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
CHERRY PICKING, a raunchy teen/adult sex romp about the misadventures of horny high school virgins who try to nail ugly chicks. It’s hard out here for a virgin. Nobody’s getting laid, not even their parents.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Title: W.M.D.
Logline: A NYC firefighter returns home a battle-fatigued war hero and uncovers a conspiracy involving private military contractors, only to discover he’s their human “dirty-bomb” set to explode during his homecoming celebration, where the liberal President-Elect will attend.
Genre: Dude with a Problem
May 10th, 2008 at 1:35 am
MCKOOL
An ex-soldier returns home seeking peace, only to fight the battle of his life when an apocalyptic gangster shoots his best friend and kidnaps the woman he loves.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:16 am
Blake’s books and teaching are a concise road map for the journey, with the reality checks only a successful screenwriter can bring to the craft.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Chasing Shadows
Dysfunctional TV ghost hunters try to escape an otherworldly maze ruled by malevolent spirits.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
BIG HIT AND LITTLE MISS
After finding her mother dead, an irresponsible teen pretends to be an adult to keep her four siblings safe from the clutches of an over-ambitious and crooked social worker.
May 15th, 2008 at 11:56 am
These are completed specs:
Blind Man’s Bluff (comedy)
A guy pretends to be blind to date a supermodel who wants to be loved for her inner beauty.
Check-a-Mate (comedy)
A P.I. falls for the girl he’s hired to background check and creates horrible lies about her so her jerky blue-blood fiancé will dump her.
Killer Body (supernatural teen thriller)
The class fat girl kills the prom queen, takes over her body, and uses her newfound status to punish the kids who tortured her.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Okay, Amy, I especially want to see Blind Man’s Bluff. Excellent concept!
May 15th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Title: Big Record Stardom Convention
Genre: Institutionalized
Tragically mainstream rich girl yearning for adventure returns home from a summer in Europe with detailed plan to escape her small southern town and lead a life of excitement. Her plans are thrown off course when she meets a sexy, hipster musician who introduces her to an underground music scene which is on the verge of exploding into the mainstream spotlight while the locals struggle to maintain their Indie-cred.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Loretta, this sounds an awful lot like DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD. Sorry.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:03 am
All are specs in progress. Which jump out at you?
1) Title: Chick Magnet
Genre: Out of the Bottle
A hideously repulsive teen magnetizes himself to attract females to get a prom date.
2) Title: Big Poser
Genre: Fool Triumphant
An overweight underacheiver pretends to be a plus-sized model to impress his old crush at his high school reunion.
3) Title: She’s A Real Looker
Genre: Fool Triumphant
A teen who’s gotten through life based solely on her appearance hides as a student at a school for the blind after witnessing a murder.
4) Title: Coming Soon!
Genre: Dude With A Problem (?)
In order to leave a donation and get paid, an unemployed porn-addict must remain completely abstinent on the weekend of a huge porn convention.
May 18th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
When a wealthy old recluse mistakes a young woman on the street for her long-lost granddaughter, the girl is happy to keep up the pretense in order to leave her hardscrabble life for a new one of wealth and privilege–until her conscience, and the real granddaughter, catch up with her.
I would love input on title ideas. (It takes place in New York City.) I have several titles for this: “Crosstown Bus”, “East Side Story” and “Courtney on the East Side”.
PS: Ian think “She’s a Real Looker” has great potential!
PPS: Amy, I like Blind Man’s Bluff and also Check-a-Mate and the cool titles are a real plus. Check-a-Mate sounds vaguely like a ploy used slightly in “There’s Something about Mary.” Making it full-blown could be a fun movie (and hopefully make at least as much money as “Mary”!)…
May 18th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
**PJ says:
Loretta, this sounds an awful lot like DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD. Sorry.**
~
The bottom line is PJ, there is nothing new under the sun. We have to live with that fact. However, as writers we have (hopefully) the creative ability to…
Make that “nothing new”…DIFFERENT.
Among other things, what’s different about BIG HIT AND LITTLE MISS (a working title) from DTMTBD is a really great twist.
Another difference is, my protag uses her dead mother’s identification.
The more I think about it PJ, my story has so many differences…it’s hardly like DTMTBD at all. You’ll see
May 18th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE SCAM
Comedy
An imaginative but unsuccessful gambler has one week to pay off his debts to a psychotic loan-shark. A local UFO sighting inspires him to fake a “close encounter” and scam an insurance company over an alien abduction policy. It’s perfect - or would be, until the “abduction” is mistaken for a real alien incursion.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Thanks Jennifer! For your title how about “Putting on Heirs” or something like that?
May 19th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Ian, that’s brilliant!! Thanks!
May 20th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
No problem. Just give me title credit when you sell it haha
May 28th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
LUCKY BOY LUCKY - Drama - Carl Faustus, a 25-year-old up and coming actor has the world by the balls until cancer forces him to undergo medical castration.