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

by Blake Snyder

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

In identifying the ironic elements of your story and putting them into a logline, you may discover that you don’t have that.

The second most important element that a good logline has is that you must be able to see a whole movie in it.

The point is that a good logline, in addition to pulling you in, has to offer the promise of more.

Another thing a good logline has, that is important in attracting studio buyers, is a built-in sense of who it’s for and what it’s going to cost.

Like the irony in a good logline, a great title must have irony and tell the tale.

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.”

It must satisfy four basic elements to be effective: Irony. It must be in some way ironic and emotionally involving — a dramatic situation that is like an itch you have to scratch. A compelling mental picture. It must bloom in your mind when you hear it. A whole movie must be implied, often including a time frame. Audience and cost. It must demarcate the tone, the target audience, and the sense of cost, so buyers will know if it can make a profit. A killer title. The one-two punch of a good logline must include a great title, one that “says what it is” and does so in a clever way.

Finally, this is all about intriguing the audience, so a good way to road test an idea is to get out from behind your computer and pitch it.

EXERCISES Pick up the newspaper and pitch this week’s movie choices to a friend. Can you think of ways to improve the movie’s logline or poster? If you are already working on a screenplay, or if you have several in your files, write the loglines for each and present them to a stranger. By pitching in this way, do you find the logline changing? Does it make you think of things you should have tried in your script? Does the story have to change to fit the pitch? Grab a TV Guide and read the loglines from the movie section. Does the logline and title of a movie say what it is? Do vague loglines equate with a movie’s failure in your mind? Was its lack of a good “What is it?” responsible in any way for that failure? If you don’t have an idea for a screenplay yet, try these five games to jump-start your movie idea skills: GAME #1a: Funny _________ Pick a drama, thriller, or horror film and turn it into a comedy. Example: Funny Christine — The haunted dream car of a teenage boy that ruins his life now becomes a comedy when the car starts giving dating advice. GAME #1b: Serious _________ Likewise, pick a comedy and make it into a drama. Serious Animal House — Drama about cheating scandal at a small university ends in A Few Good Men-like showdown. GAME #2: FBI out of water This works for comedy or drama. Name five places that a FBI agent in the movies has never been sent to solve a crime. Example: “Stop or I’ll Baste!”: Slob FBI agent is sent undercover to a Provence Cooking School...