Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

by Blake Snyder

In Hollywood parlance it’s called a logline or a one-line. And the difference between a good one and a bad one is simple. When I pick up the trades and read the logline of a spec or a pitch that’s sold and my first reaction is “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Well… that’s a good one. At random I’m going to select a few recent sales (from my Web source: www.hollywoodlitsales.com) that made me jealous. They’re in my genre, family comedy, but what we can learn from them crosses comedy, drama, whatever. Each of these was a big, fat spec sale in the six-to-seven figure range:

Log line and sources of movie script sales

A newly married couple must spend Christmas Day at each of their four divorced parent’s homes – 4 Christmases

A just-hired employee goes on a company weekend and soon discovers someone’s trying to kill him – The Retreat

A risk-averse teacher plans on marrying his dream girl but must first accompany his overprotective future brother-in-law — a cop — on a ride along from hell! – Ride Along (Please note: Anything “from hell” is always a comedy plus.)

The number one thing a good logline must have, the single most important element, is: irony.

A cop comes to L.A. to visit his estranged wife and her office building is taken over by terrorists – Die Hard

The other great part about road-testing your logline is that you have the experience of all-weather pitching. I pitch to anyone who will stand still. I do it in line at Starbucks. I do it with friends and strangers. I always spill my guts when it comes to discussing what I’m working on, because: a. I have no fear that anyone will steal my idea (and anyone who has that fear is an amateur) and… b. You find out more about your movie by talking to people one-on-one than having them read it. This is what I mean by “test marketing.” When I am about to go pitch a studio, when I am working on a new idea for a movie, or when I can’t decide which of four or five ideas is best, I talk to “civilians.” I talk to them and I look in their eyes as I’m talking. When they start to drift, when they look away, I’ve lost them. And I know my pitch has problems. So I make sure that when I pitch to my next victim, I’ve corrected whatever slow spot or confusing element I overlooked the first time out. And most of all, it’s really fun to do.

Test marketing a log line idea

This, to me, is the perfect set-up and one that I repeat with all age groups, in all kinds of situations, all over Southern California — but especially with the target audience of whatever I’m working on. This kind of test marketing is not only a great way to meet people, it’s the only way to know what you’ve got. And a “pitchee” who is thinking about being somewhere else is the perfect subject. If you can get his attention, if you can keep his attention, and if he wants to know more about the story you’re telling, you’ve really got a good movie idea.

Test drive your ideas

And if you come up with a really good logline for a family comedy, here is my e-mail address: bsnyder264@aol.com. I’d be happy to hear a good one… if you think you’ve got it.

And if you want to seriously debate the value of Memento in modern society, please go ahead and contact me at the e-mail address provided in Chapter One. But be ready for one hell of an argument from me!! I know how much Memento made.

When each scene opens, you must know what the main conflict of that scene is and who is bucking against whom. Each person, or entity, has an agenda. What is it? And how does it collide with the person or entity he or she must get past? The symbol >< on the bottom of each card must be filled in with who each of the players is in each scene of conflict, what the issue is, and who wins by the end.

If it’s more than one person or issue, you’ve got a muddy conflict. And your scene is probably muddy, too. Only one conflict per scene, please. One is plenty. And whether it’s a large issue or a small one, something physical or something psychological, it must be there. Every scene. Every time. If you can’t find a conflict, figure out a way to create one.

The reason having conflict is so important and must be in every scene is, once again, very primal. (There’s that word again.) And thinking primally, by having conflict in every scene, guarantees that you will keep the audience’s attention. Why? Well, we like to see people in conflict. Conflict gets our attention. Why is wrestling the longest running drama on TV? I...