Learn & Become A Better Screenwriter
Here’s an example of turning a mediocre logline into a great logline:
Mediocre Logline: A cop comes to L.A. to visit is estranged wife when he discovers that she’s been cheating on him with another man.
Great Logline: A foul-mouthed, wisecracking NY cop comes to L.A. and must rescue his estranged wife and her coworkers when their office building is taken over by terrorists. (Die Hard)
4 Christmases - A just-married couple must spend Christmas at each of their four divorced parents’ homes.
Liar Liar - On the eve of his biggest case, a pathologically lying lawyer is forced to the tell the truth for 24 hours after his son’s magical wish comes true.
Pirates Of The Caribbean –In the Caribbean Sea in the 17th Century, a roguish yet charming captain joins forces with a young blacksmith to rescue the Governor of England’s daughter and reclaim his ship from his former pirate allies.
Ratatouille – A Parisian rat teams up with a no-talent wannabe chef to battle convention and the critics to prove that anyone can cook and open their own restaurant.
Titanic – A poor young artist and an upper-class young woman promised to an arrogant aristocrat fall in love aboard the historic, ill-fated voyage of the Titanic.
My Big, Fat Greek Wedding – A put-upon Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek guy and struggles to get her overbearing traditional family to accept him.
The Hangover – Three groomsmen wake up to find they have lost the groom during a memory-erasing drunken night in Las Vegas and must retrace their steps from the night before in order to find him.
Arrow (1 hour TV) – Five years after his yacht goes missing and he is presumed dead, a billionaire playboy returns to his city, determined to clean up crime as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.
The Big Bang Theory (1/2 hour TV) – Four nerdy scientists’ lives are changed when a hot blonde woman moves in next door to two of them.
24 [Season 1] (1 hour TV) - Over the course of 24 hours, a Counter Terrorist Unit agent must stop a presidential assassination while trying to find his kidnapped wife and daughter and also trying to determine if a coworker is behind it all.
High Maintenance (web series) – A marijuana dealer meets a range of interesting clients as he delivers his product around the city of New York.