I began writing what I thought was going to be a comedic look behind the scenes of the food truck world.
As I move forward, gather feedback, and rewrite, I've concluded that my world is a dysfunctional family drama based on the hope of second chances.
Series Logline:
A washed up, hard partying food truck owner struggles to restore his family.
Pilot Logline:
A nursing graduate returns home to help his degenerate dad run his food truck. Their reunion is quickly put to the test as they discover the food truck park is being sold, forcing them to band together with a dysfunctional group of truckers to save the land.
When you begin looking at the series as a whole, the goal changes. It's not about food trucking, nor saving the park. It's a broken man hoping for another chance to fix his family.
I encourage you all to look past the superficial conflicts and dig deeper to find the true engine of the project you might be working on.
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Love the concept Adam Brandt. Chef is the pinnacle of great food truck movies. Would love to see a series in the food truck world. It's such rich ground for a vibrant cross-cultural tapestry
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Pat Alexander It's crazy, food trucks have popped up in shows and commercials so much over the last 5 years or so. There really isn't a depiction that portrays the real life conflicts that we face almost daily.
Think "The Bear" meets "The Righteous Gemstones".
Aiming for a blend of the gritty food service world mixed with a dysfunctional family dynamic.
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Oh my gosh, now you're cooking with gasoline. I'm in on the comps alone. Already in. Two excellent shows right there. I also love food content because of all the food p*rn opportunities to get beautiful shots of sizzling eats firing up, spices flying high off the pan, ugh it's incredible. If you ever want to see some great food videography, watch almost any South Indian movie. In Malayalam cinema, they almost always go out of their way to include an epic food montage that will make audiences mouths water, just to bolster the setting of the film and ground it in their culture, even if it's not that important to the plot hahah.
Great tip, Adam Brandt. I think your series logline needs a hook and the stakes. In my opinion, your logline's bland.
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Maurice Vaughan you've probably seen the many iterations of loglines for this project the last month or two. It's surely changed, and I agree that I may have used too much "less is more" theory here.
A washed-up, hard-partying food trucker struggles to conquer his demons in order to spare himself from a life of misery, devoid of the family he chased away.
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Scott Sawitz definitely been a work in progress the last couple months. Thanks for your insight.
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It's always going to be tough when the problem is internal. The logline should try to focus on the external drama with hints of the internal struggle.
Something akin to:
A graduate student gives up his studies to help his dysfunctional dad save the family food truck business and fights to save everything from being lost to a greedy landlord.
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Sounds like you've got a grasp on the external story (food truck worker) and the internal (struggling to prove his worth to his family) so, would I be right that the stakes are - if he loses his job, he loses his last chance to be part of his children's lives? That is the meat and veg (to use a food analogy) of the logline that is missing.
Then your episodic loglines can play into the scenario with how he is either building trust or burning bridges. Tell us what the conflict is, and how it threatens the stakes
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Your logline's better, Adam Brandt. I think Scott Sawitz's logline is the best one to use. I'd add "washed-up, hard-partying" to the logline.
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Adam Harper
Leslie Lee Sr. (Lee Sr.) degenerate father, alcoholic food truck owner is surprised when his level-headed, nursing school graduate son shows up to help him. Lee Sr. looks to convince his son to stick around for the summer as a last ditch attempt to reunite his estranged family.
They quickly discover the food truck park is up for sale, forcing them to set aside their differences and join the rowdy bunch of fellow truckers in an effort to raise the money necessary to buy the park.
Season 1 highlights the personal struggles between father and son, as well as, the professional pitfalls food truck owners face while working together to save the park.
Season 2 we delve into the ex-wife and daughter connection as the professional landscape undergoes a transition. They are tasked with building a new food truck park, which comes with a slew of new and unexpected problems.
The never-ending goal of Lee Sr. is the quest to receive a second chance at reuniting his family.
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Dan MaxXx The pilot is written and has been through multiple evaluations and rewrites, thus encapsulating the need to perfect the logline as the project evolves.
It all began with an asshole food trucker trying to save a food truck park. As I went deeper into why he was an asshole, it became apparent that he yearns for the connection the family he lost along the way.
First by fixing the father/son relationship, then saving the food truck park, the asshole food trucker can see a path towards his goal. What's stopping him? He can't seem to get out of his own way...
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Dan MaxXx I agree
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Pilot logline:
After a hard night partying, a degenerate food trucker wakes to a surprise visit from his estranged son. Their attempts to reconcile are hindered as they discover the food truck park is for sale, further threatening a successful reunion.
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I like the new pilot logline, Adam Brandt. "Degenerate" needs an "a" in front of it.
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Adam Brandt Who is the real protagonist in this story? Is it the son or the dad?
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A degenerate food trucker wakes up to one world-class hangover and two nasty surprises — his furious son and a business that's rolling off a cliff.
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Christopher Phillips Main protagonist is the father's journey to recapture the family he lost.
Son, protagonist on his own journey to discover himself. He dreams of having some of his fathers charismatic qualities in order to pursue love. He wonders if nursing is his future.
Father, son, and fellow food truckers join as protagonists in season 1. They work to save the food truck park from the greedy land owner.
Main season 1 antagonist is land owner. Secondary antagonists appear standing in the way of protagonists defeating land owner.
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Kind of sounds like a mix between The Bear and Chef.
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Joyce Lee throw in some dysfunctional Righteous Gemstones family energy and you're right on!
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Thanks for sharing!!!
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Makes a lot of sense.
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Identifying theme is always a great step in developing your work. Sometimes you go out with your key themes in mind and other times the theme presents itself to you, but ultimately it is what makes your project universally accessible to an audience.