This article is very very helpful. After reading it, I already scratched some of the ideas I was considering for my submission. They survived some of those tests, and failed in the others. Please, keep those articles coming till the deadline. They're really helping.

By the way, can you give us an example to show us how a logline of a well known movie survive all this tests. I'll take a stab at it, but I'm not sure I got it right: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception. Grab:"dream invasion"/"inception" It speaks for itself. Indicator:"a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption" So not only dreams invasion is possible, there are actually professionals who make living doing it. The narrative is going toward a heist. Big enough: "toughest job to date" So this not just another "day in the office" for the hero, it's actually something way more challenging than what he has ever done before. To plot something like that, and actually set it in motion, will definitely make 90/120 mins of entertainment. Audience: It's about action in the world of a dream -The matrix- where a heist -Italian job/Ocean's eleven- take place into someone's mind. There is already a huge fan base for both concepts. Also every sci-fi fan would love to see people manipulating someone's dream. Just my first understanding of those four tests. And someone, please, contact Christopher to tell us about the answer for the fifth. :D

As for "Does the resonate with me on a personal level" I find that some of my story concepts that are the most personal to me are not the most high concept ideas though and I'm not sure how well they would sell.

That's a challenge, Ian, and something for you to work on in advance of working in Hollywood. If you are the type of writer who would plan to go up for OWA's [open writing assignments], sometimes you do end up vying for and getting gigs on projects that may not be your cup of tea. In those cases, part of the thing is for you to find SOMETHING in the story with which you can resonate. For me, it was easy: For the first 5 years or so, I wanted to write anything so I could work on learning the craft, so the actual writing itself was compelling to me. But even at that, I found that I had to make a connection with at least one key character, see the story universe through their eyes in order to be personally linked to the story. In terms of spec material: I can't say to you only to write high concepts, especially if you don't resonate with them. And I can't say to you only write stories that are personally meaningful to you because they may not translate into a movie. You have to work this out, I think, on a case by case basis, depending on the story concept, your feelings for it at the time, what's going on in the marketplace, and so forth. Some writers, it's easy: They're action writers. Or comedy. Or thrillers. That's what they do, that's what they're passionate about. Great. Makes life simple. But if you're still in a position of determining who you are as a writer, haven't locked down a genre, then why not explore different stories. Think long term. You're trying to feed yourself as much 'stuff' to grow as a person, then write as much 'stuff' to grow as a writer. The more you do of all that, the better off your are. So long-winded answer, you figure out script by script. But when in doubt, write.

as a novice, it occurs to me that the key thing about a script is that at some point before you start writing you have to "immerse" yourself into the world in which the story is taking place. What resonance means to me is that you have to be able to build your story world so that it makes perfect sense and as you pull on the narrative threads, events and their responses emerge logically, almost as if there's a principle of least surprise at work.

When will you begin to send out notifications for those of us who did/did not make the cut?

Scott, I'm curious about your process for even beginning to tackle 850+ loglines. Do you print them out or do you just go through all your emails? Do you do it YES/NO/MAYBE? Or just YES/NO? In prep for this, I have been reading random loglines and have discovered that some concepts require "unpacking", almost like they're a .zip file. Do you put some loglines aside because you know they'll require further exploration? Thanks for the blog post regarding Halliwell's. I was wondering about something like that the other day.

Immersion is a key word, pliny, and you'll see me use it often. A writer has to make that world and those characters come alive, however they can do it. Even for dumb comedies or genre pieces, a writer must participate in that universe to translate that dynamism onto the page. Hence: Go INTO the story.

I am targeting June 11, but as the number of submissions is advancing toward 1,000 [perhaps 1,250-1,500 individual loglines] and I have promised to review each of them personally, I may have to push back that date.

I am going through them, email by email. First and foremost I am looking for something that grabs me. A title, a unique element, a hook, a high concept, a character. In 25 years in the business, I have read thousands upon thousands of pages of scripts, treatments, synopses, loglines, so I guess in a way I'm like a typical buyer, wearing an "I've seen it all" lens through which I read everything. The second level of assessment is more general and instinctual: Is there something there of interest, some - again - unique aspect that might be the basis of a further conversation. Based on that and that alone, I am creating a master list with loglines I might possibly consider, then passing on all the rest. I will keep everyone's name and email address on file to manage the free course I am offering to all applicants. I know this is not a perfect process. Some stories are really hard to describe well in a logline. Some writers may not be adept at writing loglines, but may be incredible writers. I may very well miss out on some perfectly great stories. But I'm not a big huge production company with a slew of development execs and interns at my disposal, this is a personal process: me and you. So I'm banking on you to put forward your best creativity. As I said before, I am only going to pursue projects I feel have a strong commercial viability. That is totally subjective, I admit that, but it's the best I can do this first time around. The simple fact is, as I noted in a previous post, a strong story concept can be readily apparent in a logline. Here again is a list of loglines from some spec scripts that have sold in the last year or so: Stash House: A couple finds the perfect starter home, but upon moving in, a group of dangerous men arrive who will stop at nothing to get what’s locked inside the house. Brotherhood of Scavengers: After their adventurous father dies, three brothers who’ve been estranged discover that in order to collect their inheritance, they will have to go out on a scavenger hunt to find treasure he left behind. Sex Tape: A married couple who get a night off from their kids, get adventurous and decide to spice up their lives by making a sex tape. When they wake the following morning, the tape is missing, and they must find out who took it and how to get it back. Bastards: Fraternal twin brothers find out that their mother’s been lying to them for years about their allegedly deceased father. The twins set out to find their real dad. Virgin Territory: In a race to stop his 16 year-old daughter from losing her virginity? on spring break, an overprotective Dad is forced to team up with a ?high school geek who happens to be in love with her too. Expiration: An ex-CIA operative-turned-hitman is poisoned on his final job. With 20 hours to live, he is determined to find out who poisoned him, and settle the score before he dies. Grim Night: Once a year globally, people lock themselves at home and fend off the senseless and random attacks by Grims. Tonight’s that night. Cardiac: A father has six hours to find the criminals that have stolen a heart intended for his daughter’s transplant surgery. El Tigre: An action comedy about a family vacation gone wrong when the father is mistaken for Mexico’s most ruthless drug lord, El Tigre. Dear Satan: A 7-year-old girl accidentally misspells “Santa” and instead invites Satan to bring her a toy for Christmas — and he does. My Owner’s Wedding: A dog will go to any length to make sure its owner ends up making the right choice between two eligible young women. I would consider each of those a strong story concept and they are, more or less, what I am looking for. If someone sent me a logline as clean and obvious as any of those, I would jump at the chance to talk to them further re "The Quest."

...and find the animals :)

I agree completely Pliny, but I do caution myself against allowing causes and effects to emerge TOO logically -- it's made some of my drafts too linear and predictable. Sometimes throwing a detour sign up in a story is a great way to keep it exciting and put some drive behind the reader.

Let me give you an analogy: it's like all that crazy stuff someone you know does suddenly makes complete sense when she becomes your girlfriend.

"Most of them didn’t click for me and some of them were wide of the mark in terms of what constitutes a logline." Just as you predicted a while back. Will be interesting if the entries you receive this week will be of a higher caliber, what with your recent posts re. the Quest. Have to say, I've been trying to think of a great buddy-cop-80s-style concept, but nothing is coming to mind. I just keep getting the same mock, in-game radio advert from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City leaping into my brain: Announcer: This fall, a new hard-hitting police drama is coming to Friday night. He was a well to-do cop, transferred to a trouble precinct Downtown. His new partner is a space traveler, with a passion for justice. It's Yuppie and the Alien. Captain: Look! You may vaporize dissidents in Alpha Centauri, but in this precinct, we do things by the book! Yuppie: I'm so terribly sorry, captain. Gogan: Nah. Gogan sorry! Announcer: Don't miss this one of a kind police drama. They're fighting crime the hard way, in designer clothes, with a quarter of a million dollar sports car, and a UFO. Yuppie: Partner, let's go cruise in the car and look moody. Announcer: One tough Downtown precinct, two outsiders, doing things their way, Yuppie and the Alien, on VBC.

pliny, that sounds like the conceit of an interesting indie drama-comedy. Guy loathes certain qualities in girls he dates, then finds a girl who has ALL of them, and falls in love.

Sean, I would SO love someone to send in a great action-comedy high concept. Maybe even take an 80s concept, then make it post-modern. It's one thing Producer Scott and I totally agree on: The time is ripe for a great action-comedy franchise.

Well, I'll keep plugin' away at it, Boss.

"Announcer: One tough Downtown precinct, two outsiders, doing things their way, Yuppie and the Alien." Is it wrong that I would totally watch this? I mean, what's not to like about "Yuppie and the Alien"? It's got cops, aliens, lightning-quick repartee. There are probably doughnuts and their alien equivalent in there too. It's got everything you could possibly want in a buddy comedy. Throw in a shady drug dealer and you have yourself a movie ticket buyer!

Scott, should I take that as a hint ?

I like the idea. Not sure about Producer Scott. He'd probably want some other twist in it. In any event, it's what is known as an 'execution piece,' meaning it all comes down to the execution of the characters and plot. In contrast to The Hangover, for instance, in which a studio would scoop that up figuring the concept is so strong, the story will virtually write itself. Not that that's true, but that's the strength of a great high concept like The Hangover.

Just wanted to say thanks for the brain jostle. I brainstormed using "original action-comedy" as my starter for 20 minutes and came up with a pretty great concept. Don't know if it is franchise material, but it's original and it's something I'd want to see (and almost as importantly, want to write). So once again, thanks for the kick.

I gotta say Scott...I want to see almost none of those movies. Except Dear Satan and Sex tape. Does that make me weird? Or is the demographic of those films 25-year-old Asian females?

Sabina, I hear you. It's not like I want to race out to see some of those movies either. Personally my favorites are indie adult-dramas / drama-comedies. But that's Writer Scott talking. Producer Scott, on the other hand, looks at that list and starts to tear up because what he sees are stories that have sold and actually have a chance of getting produced. I am happy to provide whatever inspiration and information on GITS to support every writer who chooses to work on their passion projects, that may or may not be mainstream movies, but "The Quest" is about working with writers who have a strong, commercial story concept and writing skills that can craft screenplays that actually have a reasonable chance of SELLING to Hollywood buyers. That list I posted is a reference point for anyone interested in "The Quest" or for that matter writing any spec script they hope to sell to Hollywood. That list represents the type of stories Hollywood is buying. How do we know this? Because they BOUGHT those scripts! Again it pretty much all boils down to something I posted last month: Write what they're buying or sell them your dream.

Maybe in The Quest: Part Deux Writer Scott and Producer Scott will merge into one, find that great character-driven indie dramedy script, get financing and produce it himself. If that happens, count me in :)

That could very easily happen. And frankly, Teddy, if someone hits me up with an incredible story idea for a Little Miss Sunshine type of indie movie, I may be able to convince Producer Scott, if not this time, certainly next time. If nothing else, Producer Scott is a passionate guy and a movie lover, so if you hit him just right, he can catch the dream.

Scott, the material you have provided leading up to The Quest has been an education in itself. I've been refining my loglines for the past week and some have gotten better, some I gave up on. Applying the guidelines from this particular article is really thinning the herd. Having a story that resonates with me personally is probably cutting the list in half. I started with about 18 ideas, trimmed those to about 10. And as great as some of the ideas are, I don't really have any interest in writing those stories.

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