Screenwriting : POTUS - One-Sheet by Anthony Moore

I love it. The graphic is strong(already looks like a movie poster) and the log line is solid. Remember that there is a back side to that one sheet. Use it to create a couple teaser paragraphs defining the antagonist, protagonist, and how the antagonist plans to use the virus to take the presidency. And polish your pitch. Your pitch is what will get them to ask for the one sheet. Good luck.

Thanks. Its the look I was going for. I'm working on the pitch.

First off, Potus is the name of the fictional president in the HBO show Veep. Second, though the logline is adequate, I think you can make stronger. Best of luck with your screenplay.

POTUS is actually the acronym for President Of The United States. And in my screenplay it refers to the name of the virus, not a person. The virus was named after the office since becoming President was the antagonist's main goal. Thanks for taking a look.

Anthony: Oh, I get it. That makes more sense. Obviously why Veep uses it too. Thanks for educating me on that acronym.

Does look good, though I feel the log line could use a little more zing. Something like: "A maverick scientist must unravel the mystery of a deadly virus before an insidious cabal uses the crises to highjack the office of the presidency."

Thanks. The genetic researcher (hero) isn't a maverick though, he's just a regular joe who get caught up in a world of cloak and dagger. I like "insidious cabal"...I may use it.

Please do! Very marketable concept.

Great concept, take Kelsey Grammar out. Unless he's attached to your project, it's poster casting and it will only hurt you in the long run. Put up an unknown random face, not a known actor. (and fyi, I teach one-sheets and that is one of my no-nos)

Thanks. I'll try to find one. In reality that's who I saw being cast as the villain while I was writing it. He was my inspiration for the character after seeing him in "Boss". I'd love for him to at least give it a read.

Anthony, to create more zing, sometimes it helps to switch words around and try several variations of your logline. I took a few minutes to play with your existing logline and came up with this: “To thwart a group of powerful conspirators, an unwitting scientist must race against time to unravel the secret to a deadly virus being used to seize the Presidency.” It’s less than 30 words, creates a little more urgency in your two line summary. Note a word like Presidency allows you to say “The office of the President” in one word instead of five. Economy of words is essential in creating a sexier logline.

Problem is, Kelsey Grammer doesn't mean anything in the feature world, so casting him would basically kill your movie. He's a solid supporting player - not a lead. Unless this is a TV pilot. Then that's different.

The character that Kelsey Grammar would play (in my imagination) would be the Senator who causes the whole conflict (a supporting player). The real villain is the chief geneticist and leader of the organization that the Senator started. And honestly, I just want to tell the story. Casting is best left to those who do it for a living. The right cast can make or break any medium, whether TV, movie or stage play. My job is to tell a good story. And most people seem to like the concept even if they haven't read the script. Means a step in the right direction. Thanks for your input Danny.

Alle - PTUS...LOL. No they leave the "of" in to make a good acronym. If that was the case they'd leave out the "the" too and then it would be just PUS. Which is just plain nasty. Just like FLOTUS, First Lady Of The United States. Which was going to be my sequel but I decided against it.

New POTUS logline: "In the future, a geneticist must unravel the mystery behind a spreading plague that only kills stupid people."