“The number one thing a good logline must have, the single most important element, is irony. […] The second most important element is that you must be able to see a whole movie in it. [There should also be] a built-in sense of who it’s for and what it’s going to cost.” – pg. 6
“To be a screenwriter is to deal with an ongoing tug of war between breathtaking megalomania and insecurity so deep it takes years of therapy just to be able to say ‘I’m a writer’ out loud.” – pg. 11
“I want you to think a little bit about the question after ‘What is it?’ - and that’s ‘What is it… most like?'” – pg. 23
“True originality can’t begin until you know what you’re breaking away from.” – pg. 42
“I think the ‘who’ has to serve the ‘what is it?’ – not the other way around. And once you have that golden idea, […] it’s time to go to work to enhance the idea with the right characters.” – pg. 49
“The motivation for the hero to succeed must be a basic one.” – pg. 54
“It has to be, first and foremost, about a guy who… we can root for.” – pg. 61
“The logline is your story’s code, it’s DNA, the one constant that has to be true.” -pg. 63
“When you have a semi-bad guy as your hero – just make his antagonist worse!” – pg. 122
“Come up with new ways to bury the backstory.” – pg. 125
“Audiences will only accept one piece of magic per movie.” – pg. 126
“Good dialogue tells us more about what’s going on in its subtext than on the surface.” – pg. 147
“If your script feels one-note emotionally, go back and flesh it out.” – pg. 153
I’m changing this quote log into a “notes log” for this portion. Thank you for understanding.
Types of Genres (pg. 25)
- Monster in the House – It’s about being primal: Don’t get eaten. ie: Paranormal Activity
- Golden Fleece – A hero goes ‘on the road’ in search of one thing and winds up discovering something else – himself. ie: The Wizard of Oz, Billy Madison
- Out of the Bottle – Exploits wish fulfillment fantasies [or explores] the curse aspect of wishing. Shows that there’s something in the characters worth saving. ie: Liar, Liar
- Dude with a Problem – How are you, the ordinary guy, going to handle [the problem]? ie: Die Hard
- Rites of Passage – Everybody’s in on the joke except the person who’s going through it. ie: Ordinary People
- Buddy Love – At first the buddies hate each other. […] But their adventure together brings out the fact that they need each other: the are, in essence, incomplete halves of a whole. ie: Due Date
- Whydunit – It’s not about the hero changing, it’s about the audience discovering something about human nature. ie: Uncut Gems
- The Fool Triumphant – Further examination reveals him to be the wisest among us. ie: Forrest Gump
- Institutionalized – Asks who’s crazier: me or them? ie: American Beauty
- Superhero – An extraordinary person finds himself in an ordinary world. The film stresses the pain that goes hand-in-hand with having these advantages. ie: A Beautiful Mind
Beat It Out (pg. 72)
- Opening Image – Sets the tone and mood of the film
- Theme Stated – A question or statement is posed (not by main character) that gets at the overall theme
- Set-Up – introduces every character in the A Plot and shows “6 things that need fixing” for any callbacks or running gags.
- Debate – Asks a question of some kind: Should I stay or should I go? What’s my choice? Stay here?
- Break Into Two – Hero makes the decision to go into Act II. He cannot be lured or tricked.
- B Story – Carries the theme of the movie or “the love story.” It’s the upside-down of characters in Act I, or a timeout from the A Story.
- Fun and Games – Delivers the promise of the premise. We see what the idea is about! (this is where buddies in “buddy love” do the most clashing. ie: Stepbrothers)
- Midpoint – The threshold between two movie halves. Fun and games are over, and the hero gets a false victory. It’s never as good as it seems to be at the midpoint.
- Bad Guys Close In – The forces working against our hero tighten their grip.
- All is Lost – The hero suffers a false defeat. This is the place where mentors go to die. It’s never as bad as it seems to be.
- Dark Night of the Soul – How does your character feel about it?
- Break Into Three – the A and B stories intertwine, and an idea to solve the problem emerges.
- Finale – There is a creation of a new world
- Final Image – We see proof that the world has changed
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