I get it.
I post the 10 winning loglines. And every single writer not responsible for those 10 loglines is upset with the picks. How could you pick *that* logline when *my* logline is so much better!?!
Well, I’m going to tell you.
I’m going to take you behind the scenes and go into my decision-making process for every single logline in last week’s Showdown.
What you’re going to realize is that, when it comes to someone wanting to read your script based on the logline, there are some things that are out of your hands.
Are we ready? Let’s get into it.
Title: U-666
Genre: Supernatural Horror/WW2/Submarine
Logline: In the final days of World War II, a German U-boat tasked with smuggling high-ranking officials and occult artifacts to Argentina faces chaos when the captain’s son is possessed by a malevolent entity unleashed from the cursed cargo. As the possessed officer wreaks havoc, killing crew and sabotaging the submarine, the captain must confront supernatural terror and Allied forces closing in to exorcise his son, save his soul, and prevent the U-boat from becoming a tomb for all onboard.
Reason I chose it: You guys may have heard me talk about it on this site. I’m all about the next big sub movie. Hollywood’s always looking for one of these. What I liked about this idea in particular was that it added a supernatural element, which made it high concept. I liked how the writer connected the cargo to the supernatural element. And also, I liked the World War 2 connection as it allowed for even more plot possibilities. It’s a big fun movie idea and, therefore, a no-brainer.
Title: The Offering
Genre: Horror Thriller
Logline: A casual boat trip turns into a fight for survival when a young couple learns that their host is a servant to a pair of sirens and is offering them up as a feast. It’s Dead Calm meets Jaws.
Reason I chose it: I chose this one for similar reasons. For starters, Dead Calm is one of my favorite underrated films. So, maybe there’s a lesson there. There’s no harm in adding a little movie crossover at the end of your logline. I still probably would’ve picked this without the crossover mention. But maybe not. However, the main thing is that the writer took a well-known setup – people out on a boat. And then they added a supernatural twist. Also, I find sirens fascinating. They’re an underutilized monster so their addition, as opposed to werewolves or vampires, offers the concept a little extra originality.
Title: The Shot Heard Around in Time
Genre: Comedy
Logline: After traveling back in time and accidentally killing George Washington in a drunken duel, a bookish historian has to assume the identity of America’s first president and win the Revolutionary War.
Reason I chose it: I went back and forth on this one exclusively because of the title. That title sounds weird with the phrase “around in time.” But every time I read the logline, I giggled. And, for a comedy logline, that’s my main criteria. Does it elicit a response from me? Laughing is great but giggling is still good. It helps, with a comedy logline, if you can immediately imagine someone in the role. And I immediately imagined Nate Bargatze. Also, I’m a sucker for a good comedic ‘impersonation’ premise. There are so many potential comedic scenarios that can come out of pretending to be someone you’re not. Especially when the stakes are this high.
Title: Nether Cop
Genre: Action, Horror
Logline: A clandestine division of the government, Dark Ops, whose agents employ a device that kills them for three minutes at a time, allowing them to battle demons on common ground.
Reason I chose it: Someone was coming after me HARD about Nether Cop in the comments so I feel like I owe them an explanation. You guys might know that I was a big fan of the concept for Flatliners. However, the problem with Flatliners was that they didn’t have anything after the premise. Med students kill themselves for research and then… what? They see spooky shit? That’s not a movie. Nether Cop is an answer to that. If your enemy is a demon and there’s no way to fight that demon as a human, it makes sense that you would have to kill yourself in order to battle them on their ground. It’s kind of got a Matrix-y vibe to it. And I love the time limit. It creates urgency for every fight. It’s hard enough to try and kill a demon. It’s another when you only have three minutes! And, unlike other high concept ideas, the time limit is organic. You’ve got about 3 minutes before you need to be brought back to life, or else you’re dead for good. I just think it’s a really cool idea.
Title: LAND OF ENCHANTMENT
Genre: Thriller
Logline: After arresting an illegal immigrant, a border patrol guard must team up with him when a Mexican drug cartel lays siege to the border station intent on killing him.
Reason I chose it: You guys know I like the temporary team-up between the good guy and the bad guy. In screenwriting, you’re always looking for things that provide the most amount of conflict. The temporary team-up not only gives you tons of conflict but it’s effortless conflict. You don’t have to artificially construct scenes to create conflict. It’s there all the time. With that said, temporary team-ups are a dime-a-dozen in this town. So, you need to come up with a fresh situation. This logline did. I have not seen this situation before with the temporary team-up gambit. Easy choice to make the showdown.
Title: In the Crease
Genre: Sports/True Story
Logline: In an urban community torn apart by drugs and violence, a disgraced ex-Ivy League lacrosse player seeks redemption by coaching an inner city lacrosse team.
Reason I chose it: One of the things I’ve tried to make clear in my search for great scripts is that I’m looking for MOVIES – scripts that have a template that studios can market because they’ve made those movies before. The true sports movie has been a staple in Hollywood for decades. They love making these movies. So, from there, you just try and find a sports combination that hasn’t been done before. Enter “In the Crease.” It’s perfect. What better irony are you going to get in a sports idea than a bunch of inner city kids playing in the upscale white collar sport of Lacrosse? I think it’s a gangbusters idea. But I knew it wouldn’t get a lot of votes. People who love movies don’t tend to like THESE movies. THESE movies are more about the family in Iowa who goes to the theater four times a year and watches a bunch of Netflix. They would love In The Crease.
Title: 221C BAKER STREET
Genre: Action-Comedy
Logline: When Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go missing, the city’s only other detective duo finally get their shot at glory just as a criminal mastermind launches a plan to bring London to its knees.
Reason I chose it: I’m always looking for fun spins on old IP and this is one of the better ones I’ve come across . Cause I’ve seen EVERY Sherlock Holmes idea you can imagine. But an “Other Guys” spin on Holmes and Watson? Where they’re trying to solve the disappearance *OF* Holmes and Watson? That’s genius! I can see the scenes in my head of this bumbling duo, barely able to tie their shoes, trying to solve the case. So much comedic potential there. The only thing I’m worried about is that it would make you think of that Will Ferrel bomb, Holmes & Watson. So you would need to imagine it in a way where it doesn’t feel like that film at all. Oh, and the title of the movie needs to be the names of the replacements. Like, “Clodsworth & Jones.”
Title: I’m With Cupid
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Logline: When an unlucky in love schlub finds out that his roommate used be Cupid, he coaxes him out of retirement to help him win the woman of his dreams… Only for a rusty Cupid to shoot himself in the foot and fall for the same girl.
Reason I chose it: Maybe you’re seeing a trend here. I’m looking for ideas that realistically could be MOVIES. Cupid is a movie character. Everybody knows who he is. Building a romantic comedy around him feels like a sure-thing. However, I do come across a lot of Cupid rom-com ideas. So it’s about finding a fresh one. And this is the first one I’ve read in a while that I’ve liked enough to feature on the site. The kicker for me was roping Cuipd into a love triangle. Love triangles are packed with conflict, since the conflict extends to three different relationships. I just think there’s something here.
Parasail (winner) – See my review
Title: Burner Phone
Genre: Found footage/Thriller
Logline: When a teenage drug dealer fails to trash a burner phone after a deal gone
wrong got an undercover cop killed, he has only one hour to retrieve it and erase
an incriminating video before his boss cut all the loose ends (including him). Told
in real time from the POV of the phone screen.
Reason I chose it: In retrospect, this logline was probably a little too sloppy to include. But you know I love a good real-time concept and when, in addition to that, the logline was capped with “told from the POV of the phone screen,” I thought, “That’s too fun to pass up.” So I included it.
Title: FORGIVE ME, FATHER
Genre: Thriller
Logline: A priest’s illegitimate son uses his father’s confessional to extort money from the wealthy congregation, but when he hears a confession that implicates a hitman in a string of high-profile murders, he attempts his most lucrative and dangerous extorsion yet.
Reason I chose it: This is an example of me liking the first half of the logline so much that I maybe didn’t pay enough attention to the second half. That happens to me RARELY but it does happen. I just loved the idea of taking advantage of confessions. I could imagine someone really doing that and yet I’d never heard of the idea before. Blackmail people for their secrets. Now, if you heard a hitman say he killed a bunch of people, I’m not sure you wanna mess with that guy. Maybe that’s the one guy you don’t extort? Then again, it could be interesting what happens when he tries to dance with the devil.
Title: Seven Minutes in Kevin
Genre: Comedy
Logline: When a group of misfit high schoolers discover a closet that acts as a portal into the body of Kevin, their school’s popular golden boy, they must navigate his perfect life while trying to keep their secret—and their sanity—intact.
Reason I chose it: Best title of the year and it will probably retain that title for the entirety of 2025. But what’s great about this idea is that even beyond the clever title, it still works. Who, back in high school, didn’t want to experience the world through the eyes of the most popular kid in school? And a bunch of nerds fighting to experience that and the shenanigans they cause as a result seems like it would be comedic bugaloo. My only worry is that 7 minutes isn’t a lot of time. But maybe, if the movie took place within a limited time-frame (the day of the biggest party of the year)? Then 7 minutes could work.
And there you have it!
Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do next Thursday. I’m going to go over 10 of the loglines that DIDN’T make it. And I’m going to ask you guys for help on what those 10 loglines should be. I noticed there were several loglines posted in the comments that commenters liked. So, if there were any popular loglines, I want the writer to post their logline in the comments. And if any of those get 5 or more up-votes, I’ll include them.
Also, if you’re just someone who thought you had a worthy logline and didn’t get picked, put it up for competition in the comments and the same rules apply. If it gets 5 up-votes, I will include it in the list.
Otherwise, I’ll choose the ones that I want to break down.
