Time is running out to get your loglines in for The Five Loglines Showdown!
As the last entries stream in for the 5 Loglines Showdown…
What: 5 Loglines Showdown
When: Friday, January 31st
Deadline: Thursday, January 30th, 11pm Pacific Time
Submit: 5 loglines, each with a title and a genre
Where: carsonreeves3@gmail.com
….I was reflecting on the kinds of movies that make it to the big screen these days and, like a lot of writers, I thought, “Oh man. It’s all IP and recycled movies.” I momentarily thought, “Why even bother writing a script? Barely any make it to the big screen so who cares??”
Luckily, rational minds prevailed.
First of all, that’s a silly way to look at it. Every movie you see at the box office has a screenwriter – usually several of them – who wrote it, and all of those screenwriters started out writing their own stuff, got noticed with those scripts, and then moved their way up to a place where they could write those studio films.
So don’t get it twisted.
But, the more promising news comes in the form of what I’m about to tell you: Streaming is the new playground for spec script writers. And it’s not like you’re settling that much. Some of these streaming movies have 9 digit budgets. So, instead of crying that theatrical movies based on spec scripts aren’t realistic anymore, take advantage of this new avenue that your screenwriting forefathers never had.
From just 2024, here are 75% of the movies made for streamers (all American – I didn’t include the British ones). And while not every single one started off as a spec, all of these could’ve been written on spec. This is what the streamers are looking for. They don’t care as much as studios do about if it was a comic book, novel, or video game. They just want to make movies.
So, here we go….
NETFLIX
Carry-On – High-concept thriller about a TSA agent who must follow the orders of a terrorist.
Don’t Move – Thriller about a woman crippled by a paralyzing agent from a serial killer. She must escape somehow.
It’s What’s Inside – Body swapping 20-something horror comedy.
The Union – A normal dude must team up with an old flame, who happens to be a secret agent.
Back in Action – Another 2-Hander spy thriller except the two main characters are a married couple.
Atlas – Sci-fi flick that focuses on a rogue robot.
Trigger Warning – A former Special Forces agent must defend her recently deceased father’s bar against a local gang.
Damsel – Die Hard in ancient times with a dragon.
Lift – Big broad Kevin Hart airplane heist action-comedy.
Uglies – Young Adult post-apocalyptic movie about how everyone must get surgery at 16 to become pretty.
Incoming – A comedy about what it’s like to be an incoming freshman in high school.
Lonely Planet – Adult Romance where an older female writer starts a relationship with a young man while on vacation.
His Three Daughters – Three adult daughters return home to take care of their ailing father.
A Family Affair – Strangely enough, another movie about an older female writer who has a relationship with a younger man. This one is more of a comedy, though.
Irish Wish – A woman makes a wish while on vacation in Ireland and becomes the bride in the wedding she’s attending.
HULU
Hold Your Breath – Psychological horror film about a woman living in a house during the Dust Bowl while a dangerous man roams the countryside nearby.
Prom Dates – A high school coming-of-age movie about two girls trying to go to prom.
Quiz Lady – A broad comedy about a serious woman obsessed with a quiz game show who gets a chance to be on the show.
AMAZON
Canary Black – CIA agent on the run.
Brothers – Dark Comedy where two brothers who hate each other embark on a heist road trip.
Killer Heat – A movie about twin brothers where one of them dies and an investigation ensues.
Jackpot – Big comedy where, in a Purge-like future, if you win the lottery, anybody who kills you on that first day takes the prize.
Space Cadet – Legally Blond at NASA.
The Boys in the Boat – Real-life sports story about a rowing Olympics medal in the 1930s, I believe.
Ricky Stanicky – An update on The Hangover template.
Role Play – A man realizes he is married to a secret assassin.
Foe – A hard-drama sci-fi movie about an unhappy marriage and a man called into space to work on a ship.
APPLE
Fly Me to the Moon – A romantic comedy about a woman helping a NASA director beat the Russians and get America to the moon.
Blitz – A World War 2 movie about a kid trying to get back to London while it’s being bombed by the Germans to be with his mom.
Wolfs – Two fixers get stuck on the same job. They despise each other.
The Instigators – Two knucklehead criminals get caught up in a job way bigger than them and must somehow survive the skilled people trying to kill them.
Fancy Dance – A very heavy drama about a Native American woman trying to find her missing sister.
The Family Plan – About a family who must go on the run due to the dad being a former secret assassin.
Are you catching what I’m throwing here? As you look through all these ideas, what do you see? The streamers are pretty much looking for everything! You’re not limited to very narrow parameters like you are when you’re writing spec scripts for studios.
There are a few main trends I noticed though. Streamers love secret assassins. They love two-handers. And they love action-comedies. So you’ll probably have a little more success with them if you’re writing one of those genres.
Okay, keep those loglines coming! As of the time I’m putting this post up, 5:00pm Pacific Time Wednesday, you have 29 hours to get your five loglines in!
Good luck!
