Last week, I presented loglines from the WGA’s 101 Greatest Screenplays (collected from the internet) and, whoa did I got a positive response.
I also got criticism. In using IMDB and Amazon as sources, I was reminded that we don’t know for sure if the loglines posted were actually the true loglines written by the writer; sentences posted on these sites could’ve been drummed up by the studio’s marketing and publicity departments (or whomever). Designed to compel a mass audience to purchase/view the film, what’s found on Amazon and IMDB may incorporate elements that fledgling screenwriters should shy away from in their loglines (i.e., mentioning a star’s name, etc).
It got me thinking…what if we were to compare loglines created by/for more of an industry audience to those designed for the mass market?
How would, given different audiences, the descriptions change? (Or not?)
So…I did a little digging. I looked at loglines for produced scripts that appeared on The Annual Black Lists and then compared them to the blurbs found on Amazon/IMDB. I’ve posted what I found below.
Here are some of my findings…
Argo (appeared on The Black List 2010)
- The Black List: The true story of how the CIA, with help from Hollywood, used a fake movie project to smuggle hostages out of Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis.
- Amazon: Based on real events, the dramatic thriller “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis.
- IMDB: Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Crazy, Stupid, Love (appeared on The Black List 2010)
- The Black List: Straight-laced, fortysomething Cal Weaver is living the dream – good job, nice house, great kids, and marriage to his high school sweetheart – but when Cal learns that his wife, Emily, has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his ‘perfect’ life quickly unravels.
- Amazon: Fortysomething Cal Weaver has the perfect life…until his wife Emily asks for a divorce. Now Cal has to navigate the single scene, but his heart keeps leading him back to where he began.
- IMDB: A middle-aged husband’s life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.
Django Unchained (appeared on The Black List 2011)
- The Black List: A freed slave named Django is trained as a bounty hunter by a German dentist named Schultz, and the two men set out to find Django’s enslaved wife.
- Amazon: A former slave joins forces with the German bounty hunter who freed him and helps hunt down the South’s most-wanted criminals, all in the hope of finding his long-lost wife.
- IMDB: With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
The Imitation Game (appeared on The Black List 2011)
- The Black List: The story of British WWII cryptographer Alan Turing, who cracked the German Enigma code and later poisoned himself after being criminally prosecuted for being a homosexual..
- Amazon: Benedict Cumberbatch shines as real-life war hero and pioneer of modern-day computing, Alan Turing, who saved millions of lives by cracking Germany’s so-called unbreakable code during WWII.
- IMDB: During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
Jackie (appeared on The Black List 2010)
- The Black List: Jackie Kennedy fights to define her husband’s legacy in the seven days immediately following his assassination.
- Amazon: Natalie Portman stars in this powerfully stirring drama as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, whose faith and strength see her through the death of President John F. Kennedy.
- IMDB: Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband’s historic legacy.
Jojo Rabbit (appeared on The Black List 2012)
- The Black List: After being severely hurt by a grenade at Hitler youth camp, a prideful and nationalistic ten-year old boy discovers that his mother is hiding a fifteen year old Jewish girl in their house.
- Amazon: In Taika Waititi’s inventive satire, a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis) discovers his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic.
- IMDB: A young German boy in the Hitler Youth whose hero and imaginary friend is the country’s dictator is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
The King’s Speech (appeared on The Black List 2009)
- The Black List: George VI, also known as Bertie, reluctantly takes the throne of England when his brother, Edward, abdicates in 1936. The unprepared king turns to a radical speech therapist, Lionel Logue, to help overcome his nervous stutter and the two forge a friendship.
- Amazon: A speech therapist helps King George VI overcome his stammer.
- IMDB: The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
Looper (appeared on The Black List 2010)
- The Black List: In the present day, a group of hitmen are sent their victims from the future.
- Amazon: A mob hit man realizes that his target is his older self.
- IMDB: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits – someone like Joe – who one day learns the mob wants to ‘close the loop’ by sending back Joe’s future self for assassination.
May December (appeared on The Black List 2020)
- The Black List: Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
- Amazon: N/A
- Netflix: This “sly, unnerving” story of scandal and denial from Todd Haynes has “three knockout leads” in Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton (NYT).
- IMDB: Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
(Oh, and you can also read my analysis of the film here)
The Post (appeared on The Black List 2016)
- The Black List: Before Watergate, there was the Pentagon Papers. This is the true story of how Washington Post scion Katherine Graham and legendary editor Ben Bradlee overcame their differences to publish the story that would change their lives.
- Amazon: Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks team for the first time in this thrilling film based on a true story about a government cover-up and the fight over civil liberties.
- IMDB: A cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country’s first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.
Selma (appeared on The Black List 2007)
- The Black List: The story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaign to convince President Lyndon Johnson to enact the voting rights act and the march from Selma to Montgomery that came as a consequence.
- Amazon: The unforgettable true story of the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition.
- IMDB: A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.
Up in the Air (appeared on The Black List 2008)
- The Black List: A ruthless human resources executive, whose job is to fire people, looks forward to the only joy he has in life, his millionth frequent flyer mile, a goal he pursues with zeal as the rest of his life falls apart around him because he is constantly on the road.
- Amazon: Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in this dramatic comedy as a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just when he’s on the cusp of achieving his frequent flying dreams. Also stars Anna Kendrick.
- IMDB: Ryan’s job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.
Whiplash (appeared on The Black List 2012)
- The Black List: Under the director of a prestigious but borderline abusive instructor, a young college student begins to lose his humanity in his quest to become the core drummer of the top jazz orchestra in the country.
- Amazon: Winner of 3 Academy Awards®, WHIPLASH tells the story of an ambitious student drummer (Miles Teller) and his ruthless teacher (J.K. Simmons) who will stop at nothing to achieve perfection.
- IMDB: A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential.
Open to your thoughts…