LOVE the logline for "Predator." LOVED the movie too! Can't wait for the next installment of the francise. The creature POV shots in "Predator" really gave some cool ideas for a supernatural western thriller I wrote a few years back...

To answer your question. I'm NOT a big fan of loglines. I think can be desceptive; they can sound awesome, YET hide a dog script/story.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

The guy who really drills the importance of loglines home is Blake Snyder. His Save the Cat technique, which mostly eludes me even though I try to adhere to elements of it, pretty much uses a decent logline as the foundation for everything that comes after.

As much as I agree with this notion, I'm seldom able to pull it off successfully. When etching out a first (or even second) draft, I find it mildly crippling to have my creative notions, for better or worse, boxed in by a single marketing tagline.

Jeff, your last point is entirely understandable. And in fact, some stories and loglines just don't mix. I mean, how would you do a logline for Gone With The Wind: "The romantic ups-and-downs of a couple set against the backdrop of the Civil War." Does that really convey all that much? Or worse 2001: A Space Odyssey! Here's the current logline on IMDB: "Mankind finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, artifact buried on the moon and, with the intelligent computer HAL, sets off on a quest." That actually confuses matters.

But you can see why loglines and Hwood go hand in hand: Movies that can be summed up in such a succinct fashion lend themselves to easier marketing campaigns.

And from a screenwriting perspective, if I may, instead of feeling "boxed in" by the logline, what if you looked at it as discovering an essential truth or even the key to your story? Illuminating rather than stifling? Discovering the foundation or core essence of your narrative?

I find that the sharper the logline I've crafted prior to going to outline and then draft, the more focused and true to the premise the script becomes.