Screenwriting : Loglines by Vinson Perkins

The basic elements of a logline shouldn’t change regardless of what you’re pitching. “A dirty cop must undermine an internal affairs investigation before an anonymous tipster brings down his career.” That incorporates the elements you discussed without having to re-invent the logline format.

That sort of logline is hard. I’ll send you something

As Stephen pointed out, evil/villain protagonists have goals that can be expressed like any other longline. But free info is hard to pass up.

There do seem to be a lot more 'bad people that kill even badder people, thus making them easy to relate to' protagonists than purely evil protagonists out there.

Good and Evil are in the eye of the beholder.

Your evil is my justification. Everyone is a hero in their own mind.

Hey @Vinson We do not have to LIKE your protag/main character and the rule of thumb for log line, is exactly the same as for a "Goody Two Shoes/Innocent" protag.

Who are they? What are their wants verses their true needs and what obstacles are in way of their goals? Also give them an internal conflict (something they do that hurts themselves) apart from the conflict with antagonist. An Antagonist not yet seen is a COOL concept. Suspense might be generated by Protagonist not knowing from where the foul play stems but when the revelation finally comes out, answer must suspend disbelief. Eg Antagonist may be a total surprise, entertaining to audience yet enough small seeds must have been sown in script prior to reveal. Keep us posted, your project sounds fun.

What you're essentially describing is the anti-hero. Broken, not a good person (inside or outside), but they have a job to do for society. Sometimes you need a bad person to deal with a bad situation.

sounds more akin to anti-hero -oh wait, Chris Phillips just said that.

This sounds like my award winning Thriller - The Chameleon.

"An attractive animal rights activist must stop a serial killer, while avoiding becoming his next victim, to prevent an infatuated cop from discovering her dark secret."

Her dark secret is that she is also a serial killer. So she wouldn't really be considered a good person. The antagonist is basically unknown until the third act, when she dates and kills him. The secondary issue, which becomes the main issue in the third act, is that the infatuated investigating detective becomes overly protective, gets too close and discovers her secret a wee bit too late.

On the topic of mystery thrillers, if you have to withhold vital plot information from your logline to create an air of suspense it’s not really a logline because it’s not a summary upon which an investor can make an informed decision. Just tell us what your story is about. If the plot doesn’t work without a gimmicky twist, it probably doesn’t work WITH the twist.

Hi Vinson,

You're not alone in the "overthinking" process. But remember - that one sentence is the sum of your concept and premise of your story.

So go back to those. Who is your main character? What is that character trying to achieve? What/who is the primary obstacle? What is at stake if the goal is reached or not reached?

We know there are twists and turns, but just give it to us straight. :)

I didn't quite "get" if your hero is an "anti-hero" from your brief statement, of if the antagonist is good/evil/both. You can easily describe an anti-hero with just a few word - like, "a corrupt cop", "a lying husband", "a remorseless double spy", etc. etc.

Don't overthink it, and don't make it overly complex. Go back to your concept and premise, and give it to us straight.

Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Vinson!

Anthony, is female protagonist a psychopath?

I want to thank everyone for all of the information provided. I appreciate it. I'm a total rookie when it comes to writing.

My main character is a Psychic conman that preys on the desperate and bereaved.

The catalyst. He gives a psychic reading that has unintended consequences, leading to his life being turned upside down by an unknown force.

He needs to figure out who is tormenting him. Is it a person bent on revenge, is it something supernatural, or is it all in his head. This is what I want the viewers to be asking themselves.

“When a sham psychic awakens an unseen tormentor, he must find help from a real medium to get his life back under control.” Something like that?

... A psychopath does not love animals.

Your logline doesn't need to mention anyone but your protagonist unless the unknown antagonist is the main conflict in your story. This might help http://storyplaymedia.com/blog/

Absolutely, Anthony!. Below are two loglines for the same script. One took two sentences.

RIGGED:

A recovering amnesiac FBI agent accepts an assignment to interrogate a traitorous government chemist who knows the location of a deadly nerve agent controlled by terrorists. The agent soon learns that she is the one being interrogated to uncover the weapon's secret chemical formula locked within the depths of her own mind.

Query Letter: Dear Robert,

RIGGED

An FBI interrogator must learn the location of nerve agents set to be released in New York by a white supremacist group, but struggles with her unreliable, fractured memory after an injury, until she begins to realize it may be her FBI colleagues, and not her memories that are unreliable.

Absolutely, Anthony!. Below are two loglines for the same script. One took two sentences.

RIGGED:

A recovering amnesiac FBI agent accepts an assignment to interrogate a traitorous government chemist who knows the location of a deadly nerve agent controlled by terrorists. The agent soon learns that she is the one being interrogated to uncover the weapon's secret chemical formula locked within the depths of her own mind.

or...

An FBI interrogator must learn the location of nerve agents set to be released in New York by a white supremacist group, but struggles with her unreliable, fractured memory after an injury, until she begins to realize it may be her FBI colleagues, and not her memories that are unreliable.