Category: Save the Cat Sundays

Logline of Being John Malkovich: A frustrated puppeteer discovers a secret portal into the mind of a famous actor, an experience he mistakenly shares with his animal-loving wife and a frosty, attractive coworker. Writer: Charlie Kaufman Director: Spike Jonze Genre: Comedy  Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener Release Date:…

Logline of All About Eve: Broadway star Margo takes the seemingly naive aspiring actress Eve under her wing but before long, it becomes clear that Eve is a manipulative conniver who cold-bloodedly uses Margo and everyone around her to rise to the top of the theatrical heap.  Writer: Joseph L….

Logline of All the President’s Men: Reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon’s resignation. Writer: William Goldman based on the book All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein Director: Alan J. Pakula Genre: Biographical Political Drama Thriller Starring:…

Logline of When Harry Met Sally: Harry and Sally meet on a trip to New York after graduating. As their lives and careers grow separately, their paths cross over and over again, causing them to consider a romance with each other.  Writer: Nora Ephron Director: Rob Reiner Genre: Romantic comedy-drama…

Logline of Rocky: A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect. Writer: Sylvester Stallone Director: John Avildsen Genre: Sports drama Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers,…

Logline of Groundhog Day: A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day. Writer: Danny Rubin Director: Harold Ramis Genre: Fantasy Comedy Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott Release Date: February 12, 1993 Script Can Be Found Here As part of a weekly series, I’m…

Logline of American Beauty: A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter’s best friend.  Writer: Alan Ball Director: Sam Mendes Genre: Black comedy-drama Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher Release Date: September…

Logline of Thelma and Louise: Two best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two girls escape for the crimes they committed. Writer: Callie Khouri Director: Ridley Scott Genre: Action road dramedy Starring: Susan…

Logline: High school teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown.  Writer: Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale Director: Robert Zemeckis Genre: Science Fiction Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover Release Date: July 3,…

Released in 2005, Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! is a relatively simple screenwriting framework that boils down any typical Hollywood movie into 15 beats/plot points. Much like an actor hitting his mark in front of the camera, a movie attempts to hit all of the 15 beats below.  What are…