Screenwriting : What are some of your favorite movie/TV titles? by Beth Fox Heisinger

I'll start... LEGALLY BLONDE. I didn't care for the film so much, but I love the title. It could have been so bad, "Barbie Goes to Law School" or something like that. Ironically, the title smartened up the film.

Another one... ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Fantastic title. "Flew" could mean death. "Cuckoo's Nest," well that's self explanatory. :)

Oh, one more, sorry, I can't help myself... THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Talk about creating an expectation. What a great film too. Loved the slow burn of building tension.

The Usual Suspects, for the meta movie reference. (And the award for weirdest meta movie reference: There Will Be Blood, for cribbing the title for an Oscar-bait prestige picture from a torture porn cash-grab sequel.) And Legally Blonde, as you said.

Silver Lining's Playbook, The Devil Wears Prada, Saving Mr. Banks and Back to the Future. My vote for most off the wall/genius title: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

I really love, "Red Dragon". You visual got the understanding of that title. It was perfect. It was even on the back of the antagonist.

I was going to say The Devil Wears Prada also, that's a classic. Also: White Men Can't Jump Death Wish 12 Angry Men Silence of the Lambs Treasure of the Sierra Madre The Lost Weekend Scarface A Nightmare on Elm Street Blame It On Rio The Taking of Pelham 123 Dude, Where's My Car You're Next Snakes On A Plane Best title for a sequel ever has to be Aliens - one letter more than the original and it conveyed so much Some bad titles: The Descendants Michael Clayton We're The Millers The Reader Big Night The Way Way Back The Shawshank Redemption

I forgot this gem: Kramer v. Kramer

Great titles! However... SNAKES ON A PLANE? Huh? To me that is just straight up physical description, no real intrigue there, especially for such an obvious, ridiculous film. And, I also disagree, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION is a great title! Sure, you could argue it is pure description too. However, it is very intriguing. It begs further attention... Redemption? How does he achieve it? Yes, THE DESCENDANTS, for such a good film with so many emotional turns, the title is rather... blah. :)

@Beth, certain titles speak to your target audience. For some of us the title Snakes on a Plane sounds packed with exciting possibility. Similarly, I'm sure some people could hear a title like "A Walk in the Rain" and think, wow, sounds lovely. Whereas I'd stay far away. Gotta allow for target audiences in this discussion. Sharknado, anyone?

Great point Kerry! :) Yes, of course, all of this is subjective and just fun to discuss. With that said, there is criteria for determining whether a title is good or not -- just like a log line. I'm really just looking at titles and pondering whether they do or don't work for a film. Personally, I thought they could have come up with a better title for SNAKES ON A PLANE. :)

Oh yes Beth! "There Will Be Blood" was incredible. I forgot about that one. That has to be on a all time great list there.

Beth, I think that was kind of the point with Snakes On A Plane... Like we're not even going to pretend this is anything more than snakes on a plane lol. which is a good strategy for a B-movie. I also love the title Maniac Cop for that same reason.

"Ghostbusters". Says it all.

Oh, and just saying... I think SHARKNADO is a way better title than SNAKES ON A PLANE. ;)

Okay I get it Beth you hate the title Snakes On a Plane....sheesh :) the movie was shit though so i'm with you on that

Sure, Dave, of course! I know. Obviously that's the point! ;) Oh, and I love B movies, by the way. However, I still think they could have come up with something better for a great B title... Something more. It's just my opinion. Weren't the snakes put on the plane as a bizarre attempt for a gangster to kill a key witness? Right?

I recall Nancy Travis criticizing the title of her (hilarious) move So I Married an Axe Murderer. She said something to the effect of: "it's as if they named Jurassic Park 'So I Went to See Some Dinosaurs'". That's for you, Beth. That said, I still love the title Snakes on a Plane. :)

Here's a nifty one but I think it may have actually worked in reverse, not sure. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. From the title you would think this was a cheesy low-budget production. In actuality it was a pretty eloquent high budget (69m) and entertaining movie. Was it blasphemous and silly? sure. Was it entertaining, hell yeah. And of course Wall Street is exactly what you'd expect. I wonder if a title just running on Abraham Lincoln's notoriety such as Abraham Lincoln's Unknown Mystique would have had a bigger audience draw? Hard to say because Twilight made Vampire's and the genre' explode yet just running on Lincoln's notoriety who knows? It still nearly doubled at just the box office with 116-117m

Sheesh is right, Dave! Too funny. Thank you Kerry! I love it! That's exactly what I was saying, or trying to say about the Snake/Plane title. I was NOT judging the movie, nor its audience, nor those who love it. Although, I'd have to agree with Samuel L Jackson, CJ. His title is much much better. :)

Hey Mitchell, yes, I like the title "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" too. The movie was based on the book with the same name. The book's author, Seth Grahame-Smith, explained he was on a different book tour when the idea for the Lincoln/vampire book struck. He was spending a lot of time sitting around in book stores at the same time TWILIGHT was being promoted and it just happened to be the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. So, he's sitting there with all this vampire stuff on one side of the book store and Lincoln biographies on the other. Hey, why not mash up these two completely different subjects?! His intention was never meant to be blasphemous, but rather appreciative. What better historic American hero than Lincoln to be celebrated as a superhero against the evil supernatural. :) I enjoyed the film. I thought it was great fun.

James Bond 1, James Bond 2 :) ... there's a lot of creative direction in finding a name that is not 'point blank' which suggests thought has been placed in the entire movie. Vice versa :) My favourites are James Bond titles, especially The World Is Not Enough and Skyfall. x

My favorite UNproduced script titles include "The Gary Coleman/Emmanuel Lewis Project," "Gay Dude and Fat Chick," "I Wanna F*ck Your Sister," and "I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I'd Like to be Your Class President." And one of my favorites for all the wrong reasons might have been "Judge Judy Presides Over the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" - Yes, that was a REAL script! Gues what it was about?

Is it lore or true that the studio want to rename Snakes on a Plane to "Flight 123" or whatever and Sam Jackson threatened to pull out unless they kept the original title? Seem to remember hearing that, anyway.

Loved the title Melancholia, but hated the film.

"Ice Cold In Alex".. "Look Back In Anger".. "For Whom The Bell Tolls".. Not too shabby to use lines from the script as the title... (Just three that made an impression)

The original draft the Weitz Brothers sent out for AMERICAN PIE was titled something like A LITTLE COMEDY YOU CAN MAKE FOR $10 MILLION THAT IS GUARANTEED TO GROSS $100 MILLION By Paul and Chris Weitz.

Okay Shaun, that's a crappy movie title but a kick ass marketing ploy! :)

Blazing Saddles

Last month my movie group viewed Snow Cake - a 2006 Canadian indy film with Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver. Perfect title (to me) but not for the others. Go figure.

Orange is the New Black.

And on the opposite end of the scale - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is one of the crappest, most-constructed titles ever.

Alden, have you seen the 2nd and 3rd seasons? Eesh.

Titles on TV are usually related to theme, lead character, their profession, or the world/setting. They should be short or at least easy to remember.

Homeland is a great title, but best TV show? The first season was riveting, the others... not so much. I grew so tired of the over-the-top-everyone's-an-enemy-of-freedom-paranoia shtick.

Breaking Bad is a great title, sums it all up in 2 words.

Yeah, that's a great idea, Alden. Hmmm, what's currently got my attention... I enjoyed "Penny Dreadful." I thought it was fun. It was like a mash up of films "Van Helsing" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." I usually don't care for Eva Green, but thought this role fit her really well. She was fantastic. I loved seeing Timothy Dalton and Josh Hartnett. It's been a while. Other shows... "Game of Thrones;" looking forward to the second season of "The Bridge;" the forth and final season of "The Killing;" the second season of "Orange is the New Black;" and fifth and final season of "Boardwalk Empire." Then, there's all the foreign TV shows I watch on Netflix. ...I fit all this stuff in by not sleeping. Seriously, I don't sleep. ;)

Wow, Alden, I've gotta majorly disagree. I think Homeland had no plan at all and went off the rails in an awful way the second season and the 3rd season was awful. How did Breaking Bad not make sense to you? It's far and away a better show than Homeland, and so was Sopranos. The creators of Homeland had planned on killing off Brody at the end of season 2 but then didn't which caused them to come up with a whole new storyline for S3 which felt forced and unnecessary. Loved the first season, but I don't really care to watch season 4. I find Claire Danes and Damian Lewis often too painful to watch, and not in a good way. I tried getting into Penny Dreadful, but I just couldn't. It's not my thing.

Alden, Walter didn't just die from a gun shot, he died because he was shielding Jessie from the bullets and took one himself instead of Jessie. So even in the end, he was the good guy. No one wanted to see Jessie die! He sacrificed himself, and I think we had all seen him suffer enough with the cancer - that would not have been climatic in a hospital room? I loved the ending - I loved every episode, I cried because I didn't want it to end. But we all knew it had to. :-(

My favorite titles off the top of my head: Get Shorty, Some Like It Hot (there was a third one, but right now I"m blanking! If I think of it, I'll be back)

@Alden. Yup, I'm quite good at multitasking!

Blacksnake Moan (LOL)

Cape Fear, True Grit

TED, HERO (China), The Intouchables (France), Justified (FX), Hart of Dixie (The CW), Arrow (The CW), MAS*H, Spellbound, Northern Exposure (CBS), Eureka (ScyFy), Battlestar Galactica (SyFy), Taxi (ABC), Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (ABC), V (NBC), Star Trek (DESILU), Maverick (ABC), 77 Sunset Strip (ABC), Gunsmoke (CBS), Have Gun Will Travel (CBS), A Fistful of Dollars, Moonstruck

'Casablanca' says it all... as does 'Toy Story', 'Breaker Morant', 'Psycho'...ah, so many damn good titles.

Breaker Morant? Really? I have no idea what that one is trying to convey. Is that a person's name (I haven't seen it)?

@Kerry Douglas Dye - yes, Breaker Morant is the name of the title character (nickname, actually). Probably not a really "gotcha" title but as a historical character piece, I'm guessing it really wasn't going for the 18-24 demographic anyway. It's an excellent film though.

Where Eagles Dare, Scent of a Woman.

Hi, Beth - good question. I remember a breakout session at some festival where they were pitching "titles that are also loglines," like, say, SNAKES ON A PLANE. To me, a hint of mystery or the unusual can work good if the story lends itself to that--maybe, BLACKSNAKEMOAN... or UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES. What say you? Brian

Hello Beth, Got to be " Blue Jasmine", gives you the "feel" straight away. My script is called " Divine Solution".

Brian, Yup, I would have to agree. A hint of mystery does create intrigue. Generally, I prefer intrigue over straight forward descriptive titles. :) Valerie, "Blue Jasmine" is a great title, although I have not seen the film. "Divine Solution" sounds heavenly. I wish you the best with it. :)

Not a movie, but a book just grabbed my attention: "Have a nice guilt trip" - mother/daughter writers. Funny, right? Take a common phrase "Have a nice trip" heard daily, then a twist.

My favorite title...we just completed "108 Stitches." Baseball comedy... since there are 108 Stitches on a baseball and stitches/laughter go hand-in-hand... We are also proud that we made the front page of The Hollywood Reporter today: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trailer-baseball-comedy-108-stitch...

Awesome, David.

My partner worked on a film last year about a 16 year old assassin who wants to live a normal life, called "Barely Lethal."

Ha! Awesome, Lisa. In 20 years when everyone's forgotten that I heard it here, I'm stealing that.

It should be released later this year or early next year! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1731701/combined

Looks great Lisa.

Oh, that's a serious movie. First I've heard of it. No hope stealing that title now. Shoot. If I could think of a title that good, I'd be a millionaire. Is "Lethally Blonde" taken yet?

"No Country for Old Men", the Coen brother's have always great ideas for titles :-)

Um Jakob... as great as the Coen's are... I think Cormac McCarthy can take credit for No Country for Old Men...

ok probobly you are right :P

As good as everybody say No Country for Old Men was, I think it has major flaws in it. I just don't see where it is so great.

The title say nothing about topic of movie and is mistery for the hole time so i think it is at least interesting

Question: I saw Two Faces of January at the Seattle International Film Festival last month and have no idea what the title had to do with the movie - anyone happen to know? Thanks in advance!

Hi Gail, I didn't see the movie, but according to Wikipedia, it's based on the novel. So I would look into the Highsmith novel for the meaning of the title.

I like titles which do not contain the word "the".

One other film, whose title perfectly "nailed it" was "Vertigo". Despite initial critical and box office failure, "Vertigo" usually makes almost every authoritative lists of "100 Best American Films". Why not? From the very opening scene to the conclusion, "Vertigo" plays like a dream, in which neither the protagonist nor the viewer can be certain what is "real" and what is not.

I like titles which do not contain the word "transformers".

Good one Kerry! Me too!

An old classic.. Double Indemnity.

I love titles that add another hook to the film. Some examples: Basic Instinct, Schindler's List, Do The Right Thing, Apocolypse Now, Usual Suspects, 9 1/2 Weeks. If the title itself makes you even more intrigued about what is the essence of this story then you, done a great job (all you have to do is make the film live up to it).

Catch me if you Can , Back to the future, a little intrique but doesnt give away the script

I really liked All You Need Is Kill before they changed it from the original novel's title to Edge of Tomorrow -- It was a bit unusual and I think Edge of Tomorrow is pretty standard hollywood

Back Draft, Star Wars, True Lies, Avatar, Polar Express, Green Mile, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Gross Pointe Blanks, Pretty Woman, 50 First Dates, Gandhi, Titanic, How To Train Your Dragon, Stand By Me, ET: An Extra Terrestrial, Matrix

Knocked up, set it off, the omen, the birds

Many of them. Franca, Se7en, The Night Of, Dexter, Gattaca, Vinyl, Rubicon, The Island, True Detective 2, Girlboss, The Thing, Flesh and Bone, The Strain, Taboo, ... and several my new ones)))

I like the various types of titles - literal, metaphorical, and symbolic - and I'm just going to include some of the recent films or previes that I've seen, and the only TV shows that I watch regularly. I guess liking the title means I like the show/film, which I do.

TV - Modern Family, My Cat From Hell, Family Guy, The Simpsons

FILM - The Hate U Give, Bad Times at the El Royale, A Simple Favor, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Night School, The Nun, Kinky, and Lady Bird

All those shows/films simply state what it's about. No struggling with coming up with a clever title. That's it.

Just to plug The Hate U Give a bit.....that film to me is easily the current front-runner for major 2018 awards. I'm so sad to know that Audrey Wells passed away THE DAY BEFORE IT OPENED after a long battle. Man...I had to take a long walk in the dark when I read that the other night. From her first story to her last story she was such a great writer, filmmaker, person, humanitarian, speaker, citizen of the planet...you name anything good, and she was it, x 10. No...x 100.

She was and always will be a bright light for the world and for cinema, and in so many different ways. I will always love Audrey Wells and everything she did, stood for and was about, and hope her life and body of work will continue to inspire, educate, and entertain forever.

(RIP Audrey Wells April 29, 1960 - October 4, 2018)

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0920108/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Trainspotting. Haven't seen the movie and I don't know what it means, but if it means what I think it means...

There are hundreds, but to me, when the title helps you remember the entire movie, it's a great title. Some just off the top of my head;

Memento - Brrr. Chills. I never looked at a Bic pen the same.

Pulp Fiction - It fit the whole movie.

Requiem for a Dream - IMO the title fit the whole theme of the movie.

Reservoir Dogs - Another Tarrantino masterpiece - IMO his best movie, even though it technically was a remake.

Slumdog Millionaire - Perfect title for the plot and execution of the film.

I guess a few WORST movie titles can help illustrate;

Phffft -- wtf?

The Twonky - about some weird TV set... I think.

Them! - No, Us! No, You!

...Sometimes I think schlock can go too far.

"Legally Blond" - yes, she's blond, but this time it is 'legal' -- and she's 'so' much smarter than you think she is.

"The Matrix", -- ehh- -sory, 'what is the Matrix?'...You got it!

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being"-- the petrifying concept to imagine that our lives have been and will continue to be repeated endlessly. Ohh my God, this isn't the first time I tried to be funny!

"Law Abiding Citizen", aren't we all, untill, the shit hits the fan.

"For a fist full of dollars" I...

an-auf-hinter-neben-in-über-unter-vor-zwischen- "Das Boot"-- What boot? Das boot.

"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" -- excellent!!

"Dumb and Dumber"-- Hell, I feel smart!

I always liked the titles of GONE WITH THE WIND, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, SINGING IN THE RAIN, PSYCHO and COOL HAND LUKE.

Titles I didn't like include BIRDMAN.

The best title is "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" it encapsulates everything.

Beth, I thought "When a Man Loves a Woman" nailed it...namely, what Meg Ryan (playing an alcoholic) and Andy Garcia went through together.

Yes Eric

Cool Hand Luke – is the coolest title

I Married a Monster from Outer Space – Title, logline and plot.

One Eyed Jacks – Mysterious title

Amores Perros – Great play on the ambiguity of words - Spanish poetry is like that.

Mar de plástico ( Sea of plastic ) – immediately evident why the title exists

The Insatiable Moon – reads like 20 year old scotch.

"The Mirror Has Two Faces."

Pulp Fiction, The Last Boy Scout, Dirty Dancing, Star Wars....

"You've Got Mail", "Ever After", and "Secret of the Kells"

Venus In Fur (Roman Polanski) El Mariachi (Carlos Gallardo) Pulp fiction (Tarrantino) to name but a few.

Hill Street Blues - The Blair Witch Project

Yes, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Bastard, These titles make you wonder without even knowing it.

The Great Silence.

"Three Days of the Condor.' Cool Title. Great screenplay. Awesome movies.

Basic Instinct. (Took Joe Eszterhas 13 days to write)

@Tim Joes got “Basic Impulse” up his sleeve this year. He ain’t that bad he quotes Yorkshire expression “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”

As far as crime features go, the best three I've seen/heard are: Larceny Inc., Bunny O'Hare, and Gun Crazy.

To name a few: The sum of all fears (the movie is not that good, but I love the title), Insidious, Color of night, Drag me to hell, Falling down...

To Live and Die in LA, RoboCop, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, The French Connection... a title that tells you what the story is about whilst retaining an air of intrigue and mystery is always a good one.

It’s not a great movie (even by giallo standards), but my absolute favorite title is Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key - I blind-bought this movie on that amazing title alone

Jojo Rabbit for a feature and Money Heist for a series.

Leslie: the title Money Heist in English is better the original "La casa de papel/the house of paper." But the Spanish title suggests that the lives of everyone in the was fragile/or a lie.

Actually I think paper translates to money. —as in the house of money. But paper does have a weak feeling, but I interpret it to the weak money system in Spain that can falling down

No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Mindhunter, there are so many!

And regarding La Casa de Papel, that title has a double meaning. It translates figuratively as The House of Money and metaphorically as an unstable/fragile house, in reference to the team and their plans. It's a great title that got butchered in the english translation!