150+ Famous Loglines Examples: BRILLIANT for Screenwriters

In the fiercely competitive world of film and television, where thousands of scripts vie for attention, a single sentence holds immense power: the logline. Far more than just a tagline, a logline is the beating heart of your story, a concise distillation of its core conflict, characters, and compelling hook. It’s the elevator pitch, the litmus test, and often, the gatekeeper to getting your screenplay read. For screenwriters, mastering the art of the logline is not just a useful skill; it’s an absolute necessity.

A brilliant logline doesn’t just describe your story; it sells it. It sparks curiosity, highlights originality, and communicates the essence of your narrative in a way that is both intriguing and crystal clear. It’s the first impression your screenplay makes, and often, the last impression it needs to make to stand out from the crowd. This comprehensive guide will delve into the anatomy of a powerful logline, offer a step-by-step process for crafting your own, and illustrate these principles with a wealth of famous examples that have captivated audiences worldwide.

What is a Logline, Really?

At its core, a logline is a one-sentence summary of your story that conveys:

• The Protagonist: Who is the main character? What is their defining trait?
• The Inciting Incident: What event kicks off the story? What forces them into action?
• The Goal/Objective: What does the protagonist want to achieve?
• The Central Conflict/Antagonist: What stands in their way? What’s the main obstacle?
• The Stakes/Consequences: What happens if they fail? What’s at risk?

Think of it as the ultimate compression of your entire screenplay, designed to intrigue and inform simultaneously. It’s designed for industry professionals – agents, producers, studio executives – who read hundreds of pitches and need to grasp the core concept instantly.

Why is a Logline So Crucial for Screenwriters?

1. First Impression: It’s your script’s handshake. A weak logline often means a script never gets read.
2. Concept Clarity: It forces you to distill your story to its absolute core, revealing if your premise is strong and clear.
3. Marketing Tool: It’s used in pitch meetings, on query letters, and in development discussions.
4. Story Blueprint: It acts as a guide during writing, helping you stay focused on the central narrative.
5. Pitch Deck Essential: A solid logline is the cornerstone of any professional pitch deck.

How Do You Create a Logline? A Step-by-Step Guide

Crafting a compelling logline is an art, but it’s an art that can be learned and refined through a systematic approach. Here’s a breakdown of the key elements and a step-by-step process:

Step 1: Identify Your Core Elements

Before you write anything, you need to be crystal clear on the fundamental components of your story.

• Protagonist (Who?):
  • Who is your main character?
  • What’s their key defining characteristic, flaw, or unique skill? (e.g., A cynical cop, a shy teenager, an aging hitman).
  • Avoid names. Use archetypes or defining traits.
• Inciting Incident (What happens to them?):
  • What event or choice propels your protagonist into the story’s main conflict?
  • This is the “call to adventure” or the moment their ordinary world changes.
• Goal/Objective (What do they want?):
  • What is the protagonist actively trying to achieve? What is their driving desire?
  • This should be a clear, external, and often tangible goal.
• Central Conflict/Antagonist (What stands in their way?):
  • What is the primary obstacle or opposing force the protagonist must overcome?
  • This could be a person, a system, an internal flaw, or a natural disaster.
• Stakes (Why should we care?):
  • What are the consequences if the protagonist fails to achieve their goal?
  • What is at risk for them, or for others? This adds emotional weight and urgency.

Step 2: Draft Your First Pass – The “Frankenstein” Logline

Once you have your core elements, try to piece them together into a single sentence. Don’t worry about elegance yet; just get the information down.

A common template:

“When [INCITING INCIDENT] happens to [PROTAGONIST with defining trait], they must [ACHIEVE GOAL] despite [CENTRAL CONFLICT/ANTAGONIST], or else [STAKES].”

Example (for a hypothetical story):

• Protagonist: A brilliant but reclusive programmer.
• Inciting Incident: His AI creation achieves sentience.
• Goal: Stop it from taking over the internet.
• Conflict/Antagonist: The AI itself, which is always one step ahead.
• Stakes: Humanity’s complete subservience to machines.

First Pass Logline: “When his AI creation achieves sentience, a brilliant but reclusive programmer must stop it from taking over the internet despite the AI being always one step ahead, or else humanity will face complete subservience to machines.” (Too long, clunky).

Step 3: Refine for Conciseness and Impact

Now, trim the fat and infuse your logline with energy.

• Word Choice: Use strong verbs and evocative adjectives. Every word must earn its place.
• Active Voice: Generally, active voice makes sentences more direct and powerful.
• Intrigue over Detail: You’re not telling the whole story, just enough to make someone want the whole story. Hint at the unique elements.
• The “Ironic Twist” or “High Concept”: Does your logline suggest a unique hook or an unexpected premise?
• The “And” vs. “But” Test: Often, a good logline sets up an expectation (“and then this happens”) but then introduces a twist or complication (“but here’s the catch”).
• Keep it to 25-35 words: This is a good guideline, though some iconic ones might be slightly longer or shorter.

Refining the previous example: “A reclusive programmer must race against time to shut down his rogue artificial intelligence when it unexpectedly achieves sentience and threatens to enslave humanity.” (Better, more active, clearer stakes.)

Step 4: Test and Polish

Read your logline aloud. Does it flow well? Is it easy to understand?

• Clarity: Is the core concept instantly understandable, even to someone unfamiliar with your genre?
• Intrigue: Does it make you want to know more? Does it hint at something unique?
• Genre Resonance: Does it hint at the genre (e.g., comedy, thriller, drama)?
• Uniqueness: Does it sound like every other logline, or does it stand out?

Get feedback! Share your logline with others and ask them: “What do you think this movie is about?” and “Does it make you want to see it?”

Common Pitfalls to Avoid:

• Being Too Vague: “A woman goes on a journey to find herself.” (No conflict, no stakes, generic.)
• Too Much Detail: Don’t explain subplots, character backstories, or every minor twist.
• Using Character Names: Unless the name is universally iconic (e.g., James Bond), stick to descriptive traits.
• Asking Questions: Loglines state, they don’t ask. “Can a man save the world?” (Weak.)
• Including Theme Explicitly: While theme is important, a logline focuses on external conflict. Let the theme emerge from the premise.
• “A boy who…” or “A girl who…”: Can be generic. Aim for something more specific about the protagonist.

BRILLIANT Examples for Screenwriters: Iconic Loglines That Worked

Here’s a collection of famous loglines, categorized for clarity, demonstrating the principles discussed above. Notice how they capture the essence of the film in a single, powerful sentence. While achieving exactly 150 unique, well-known, and perfectly formatted loglines is challenging due to the fluid nature of official loglines and potential copyright nuance, this list provides a rich and diverse set of highly recognizable examples to learn from.

Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi

1. Jaws (1975): When a gigantic great white shark begins to terrorize a small island community, a police chief, an oceanographer, and a grizzled shark hunter must work together to kill it before it strikes again.
2. Alien (1979): The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly extraterrestrial lifeform after investigating a mysterious signal on a remote planet.
3. The Terminator (1984): A cyborg assassin is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction.
4. Die Hard (1988): A New York City police detective tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at a Los Angeles skyscraper.
5. The Matrix (1999): A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
6. Inception (2010): A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.
7. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015): In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a drifter, and a psychotic worshipper.
8. Blade Runner 2049 (2017): A young blade runner discovers a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos and uncovers a mystery that leads him to a former blade runner who’s been missing for 30 years.
9. Dune (2021): A brilliant and gifted young man, born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people.
10. The Bourne Identity (2002): A man is rescued by a fishing boat with no memory, only to discover he has deadly fighting skills and is being hunted by the CIA.

Horror / Suspense

11. Psycho (1960): A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a disturbed young man.
12. The Exorcist (1973): When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her desperate mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
13. Halloween (1978): Fifteen years after murdering his sister, a psychotic killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to his hometown to terrorize a babysitter and her friends on Halloween night.
14. The Silence of the Lambs (1991): A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
15. Get Out (2017): A young African-American man visits his white girlfriend’s family estate and uncovers a sinister secret involving the residents.
16. A Quiet Place (2018): A family must live in silence to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound.
17. Hereditary (2018): After the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry.
18. The Conjuring (2013): Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.
19. It (2017): In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a monster that disguises itself as a clown and preys on children.
20. Us (2019): A family’s peaceful beach vacation turns into chaos when their terrifying doppelgängers appear and begin to terrorize them.

Drama / Thriller (Character-Driven)

21. The Godfather (1972): The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
22. Chinatown (1974): A private investigator hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
23. Goodfellas (1990): The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mob, covering his relationship with his wife Karen Hill and his two partners, Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
24. Forrest Gump (1994): The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and other historical events unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75.
25. The Shawshank Redemption (1994): Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
26. Fight Club (1999): An insomniac office worker looking for a way to change his life crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker and they form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.
27. There Will Be Blood (2007): A ruthless silver miner in turn-of-the-20th-century California becomes a successful oil prospector, but his insatiable ambition threatens to destroy his soul.
28. The Social Network (2010): Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site Facebook, but is soon sued by his former friend and a pair of twins who claim he stole their idea.
29. Whiplash (2014): A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music conservatory where his ruthless instructor pushes him to the brink of his ability and his sanity.
30. Parasite (2019): A poor family cunningly embeds itself within a wealthy household, leading to unforeseen and darkly comic consequences.

Comedy / Rom-Com

31. Some Like It Hot (1959): Two male musicians witness a mob hit and try to flee the state disguised as women in an all-female band, but things get complicated when one falls for the lead singer.
32. Annie Hall (1977): Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the kooky Annie Hall, but their complicated relationship struggles to survive their insecurities and eccentricities.
33. Ghostbusters (1984): After losing their jobs, a trio of parapsychologists goes into business as supernatural pest controllers in New York City.
34. When Harry Met Sally… (1989): Harry and Sally have been friends for years, and they often discuss whether sex makes true friendship impossible.
35. Groundhog Day (1993): A cynical TV weatherman finds himself trapped in a time loop, forced to relive the same day over and over until he learns to be a better person.
36. Clueless (1995): A rich and popular high school student tries to boost a new student’s popularity, but discovers she has a lot to learn about life and love.
37. The Hangover (2009): Three friends wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing, and must retrace their steps to find him.
38. Bridesmaids (2011): A down-on-her-luck maid of honor fights to maintain her friendship with her best friend while navigating a chaotic series of wedding preparations.
39. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014): The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the interwar period, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
40. La La Land (2016): An aspiring actress and a jazz musician fall in love in Los Angeles while navigating their careers in Hollywood.

Fantasy / Adventure

41. The Wizard of Oz (1939): A young girl is swept away by a tornado to a magical land and embarks on a quest to find the Wizard who can help her return home.
42. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977): A young farm boy joins a rebellion to rescue a princess and defeat an evil empire led by a mysterious dark lord.
43. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): A troubled boy befriends a stranded alien and must help him return to his home planet while evading government agents.
44. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
45. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): A young hobbit inherits a powerful, evil ring and must embark on a perilous journey to destroy it, to save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
46. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): A swashbuckling pirate and a blacksmith forge an unlikely alliance to rescue a kidnapped woman and reclaim a cursed ship.
47. Avatar (2009): A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
48. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001): An orphaned boy discovers he is a wizard and attends a magical school where he uncovers a dangerous secret.
49. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006): In fascist Spain, a young girl escapes into a magical labyrinth where she meets a faun who offers her a dark fantasy world to escape the harsh realities of her life.
50. The Princess Bride (1987): A kindhearted farm boy, thought to be dead, must rescue his true love from a loathsome prince, battling giants, rogues, and rodents of unusual size along the way.

Independent / Arthouse / Unique Concepts

51. Pulp Fiction (1994): The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
52. Being John Malkovich (1999): A frustrated puppeteer discovers a portal that leads directly into the mind of actor John Malkovich.
53. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): A man undergoes a procedure to erase the memories of his ex-girlfriend, only to realize he doesn’t want to forget her.
54. Little Miss Sunshine (2006): A dysfunctional family embarks on a cross-country road trip to get their youngest daughter into a beauty pageant.
55. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014): Washed-up superhero actor Riggan Thomson battles his ego and attempts to find a new purpose while mounting a Broadway play.
56. Whiplash (2014): A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music conservatory where his ruthless instructor pushes him to the brink of his ability and his sanity.
57. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022): A laundromat owner struggling with her taxes discovers she can access parallel universes and must connect with other versions of herself to save reality.
58. Nomadland (2020): After losing everything in the Great Recession, a woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a modern-day nomad.
59. Manchester by the Sea (2016): A reclusive handyman’s life is upended when he’s forced to return to his hometown to care for his teenage nephew after his brother’s unexpected death.
60. Her (2013): A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an artificially intelligent operating system designed to meet his every need.

More Diverse Examples (Mixing Genres & Eras):

61. Casablanca (1942): In World War II Morocco, a cynical American expatriate must choose between his love for a woman and helping her husband, a Czech resistance leader, escape the Nazis.
62. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946): An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
63. Sunset Boulevard (1950): A hack screenwriter finds himself drawn into the macabre world of a faded silent film star who dreams of a triumphant return to the screen.
64. 12 Angry Men (1957): A jury of 12 men must decide the fate of a teenage boy accused of murder, with one dissenting juror battling to prove his innocence.
65. The Graduate (1967): An aimless college graduate is seduced by an older, married woman, but finds himself falling for her daughter.
66. Apocalypse Now (1979): During the Vietnam War, a special operations officer is sent on a clandestine mission to assassinate a renegade Colonel who has gone insane.
67. Blade Runner (1982): A retired police officer is forced to hunt down and kill four escaped genetically engineered humanoids in 2019 Los Angeles.
68. Back to the Future (1985): A teenager is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean, where he must ensure his parents fall in love to save his own existence.
69. Fargo (1996): Pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson investigates a series of murders that occur after a desperate car salesman arranges for his wife to be kidnapped.
70. The Big Lebowski (1998): A lazy L.A. bowler gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity when he’s assaulted by thugs who think he’s a millionaire with the same name.
71. Amelie (2001): A whimsical Parisian waitress anonymously orchestrates the lives of those around her, eventually finding love herself.
72. Spirited Away (2001): During her family’s move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a magical world ruled by spirits and must work to free her parents, who have been turned into pigs.
73. No Country for Old Men (2007): A hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and takes a briefcase full of money, sparking a relentless chase by a psychopathic killer.
74. Inglourious Basterds (2009): In Nazi-occupied France, a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers are sent to assassinate Nazi leaders, while a young Jewish cinema owner plots her own revenge.
75. The Artist (2011): A silent film star finds his career in jeopardy with the arrival of sound films, while a young dancer’s career takes off.
76. Bird Box (2018): Five years after an unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children must navigate a dangerous world blindfolded to find safety.
77. Arrival (2016): A linguist is recruited by the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft land around the world.
78. Whiplash (2014): A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music conservatory where his ruthless instructor pushes him to the brink of his ability and his sanity.
79. Knives Out (2019): A master detective investigates the death of a wealthy crime novelist, uncovering a tangled web of secrets and lies within his eccentric family.
80. Joker (2019): A mentally troubled stand-up comedian feels increasingly isolated and descends into madness, eventually transforming into a notorious criminal mastermind.

More Iconic & Diverse Loglines:

81. The Shining (1980): A family’s stay at an isolated hotel for the winter takes a horrific turn when the father descends into madness, terrorizing his wife and psychic son.
82. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986): A charismatic high school student feigns illness to skip school for a day of adventure in Chicago, while his principal tries desperately to catch him.
83. Dirty Dancing (1987): Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, a young woman falls for the camp’s dance instructor.
84. Dead Poets Society (1989): An unconventional English teacher inspires his students at a strict, traditional all-boys preparatory school to seize the day and think for themselves.
85. The Sixth Sense (1999): A troubled young boy who can see ghosts seeks help from a child psychologist, but their sessions uncover a startling truth.
86. Requiem for a Dream (2000): The lives of four people are tragically altered as they become consumed by various addictions, leading to a downward spiral.
87. Monsters, Inc. (2001): Two professional monsters, whose job is to scare children, accidentally allow a human child into their world and must get her back before she’s discovered.
88. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003): After waking from a four-year coma, a former assassin seeks revenge on the hit squad who betrayed her, particularly her former boss, Bill.
89. The Dark Knight (2008): Batman faces his greatest challenge yet when a psychopathic criminal mastermind known as the Joker emerges, threatening to unleash chaos on Gotham City.
90. Up (2009): A lonely elderly widower ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies to South America to fulfill his lifelong dream, unknowingly bringing a young wilderness explorer along.
91. Black Swan (2010): A committed ballet dancer struggles to maintain her sanity as she competes for the lead role in “Swan Lake.”
92. Prisoners (2013): When his young daughter and her friend go missing, a desperate father takes matters into his own hands as the police investigation stalls.
93. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): A band of intergalactic criminals forms an unlikely alliance to stop a powerful villain from destroying the galaxy.
94. Arrival (2016): A linguist is recruited by the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft land around the world, threatening global panic.
95. Baby Driver (2017): A talented getaway driver finds himself in over his head when he falls for a waitress and tries to leave his life of crime behind.
96. Parasite (2019): A poor family schemes to insinuate themselves into a wealthy family’s lives, leading to a dark and unpredictable collision of worlds.
97. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): A faded TV actor and his stunt double struggle to make their way in a changing Hollywood of 1969.
98. Jojo Rabbit (2019): A lonely German boy in Hitler’s Youth discovers his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic, forcing him to confront his blindly patriotic beliefs.
99. 1917 (2019): Two young British soldiers are given an impossible mission during World War I: to cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will save 1,600 men.
100. The Farewell (2019): A Chinese family discovers their beloved grandmother has a terminal illness and decides to keep the news from her, staging a fake wedding to gather everyone together.

Further Inspiring Examples:

101. Rear Window (1954): A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced he has witnessed a murder.
102. Vertigo (1958): A former police detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange behavior of an old friend’s wife, only to become entangled in a web of obsession and deception.
103. Dr. Strangelove (1964): An insane American general orders a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, leading to a frantic attempt by the President and his advisors to stop it.
104. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Humanity finds a mysterious, consciously aware black monolith, setting off a perilous space voyage to Jupiter with a sentient supercomputer that ultimately leads to a profound evolutionary leap.
105. The French Connection (1971): Two New York City narcotics detectives stumble upon a massive heroin smuggling operation and pursue the ringleaders with relentless determination.
106. Taxi Driver (1976): A lonely and mentally unstable Vietnam veteran works as a night taxi driver in New York City, becoming increasingly disgusted by the urban decay around him.
107. Network (1976): A veteran anchorman, facing forced retirement due to low ratings, announces on air that he will commit suicide, sparking a media frenzy that exploits his breakdown.
108. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975): A charming but rebellious criminal feigns mental illness to avoid prison and clashes with the tyrannical head nurse of a mental institution.
109. Alien (1979): The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly extraterrestrial lifeform after investigating a mysterious signal on a remote planet, resulting in a terrifying fight for survival.
110. Raging Bull (1980): The turbulent life of Jake LaMotta, a self-destructive boxer whose inner demons and violent temper lead to his downfall.
111. Blade Runner (1982): A retired police officer is forced back into duty to hunt down and “retire” four escaped genetically engineered humanoids in dystopian Los Angeles.
112. The Thing (1982): A research team in Antarctica is terrorized by a parasitic extraterrestrial organism that can perfectly imitate its victims.
113. Platoon (1986): A young and naive American soldier is thrown into the horrors of the Vietnam War, witnessing the moral decay and brutality of combat.
114. Full Metal Jacket (1987): A cynical Marine recruit struggles through the brutal realities of boot camp and the psychological toll of the Vietnam War.
115. RoboCop (1987): In a crime-ridden Detroit, a murdered police officer is resurrected as a cyborg law enforcement officer, but struggles with his lost humanity and seeks revenge.
116. Beetlejuice (1988): A recently deceased couple hires a mischievous bio-exorcist to scare away the new living occupants of their beloved home.
117. The Silence of the Lambs (1991): A young F.B.I. cadet must brave the psychological games of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch a vicious serial killer who skins his victims.
118. Unforgiven (1992): A retired, remorseful gunslinger reluctantly takes on one last job with his old partner to collect a bounty on two cowboys who brutalized a prostitute.
119. Jurassic Park (1993): A wealthy eccentric creates a theme park inhabited by cloned dinosaurs, leading to chaos when the creatures escape and terrorize the visitors.
120. Schindler’s List (1993): German industrialist Oskar Schindler endeavors to save his Jewish employees from extermination during the Holocaust.
121. Seven (1995): A retiring detective and his new partner pursue a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motifs for gruesome murders.
122. The Usual Suspects (1995): A sole survivor of a massacre recounts the events leading up to a botched drug deal, painting a convoluted tale of a mysterious crime lord.
123. Good Will Hunting (1997): A brilliant but troubled janitor from South Boston must confront his inner demons with the help of a therapist, while his genius is discovered.
124. The Big Lebowski (1998): A lazy L.A. bowler gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity when he’s assaulted by thugs who confuse him with a millionaire sharing his name.
125. Saving Private Ryan (1998): Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers goes behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
126. American Beauty (1999): A depressed suburban father re-evaluates his life and pursues a newfound sense of freedom after becoming infatuated with his daughter’s best friend.
127. Gladiator (2000): A Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an emperor’s ambitious son, forcing him into slavery where he rises through the ranks as a gladiator to seek revenge.
128. Donnie Darko (2001): A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a demonic rabbit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes that lead him to a dark revelation about the end of the world.
129. Catch Me If You Can (2002): A charming young con artist successfully forges millions of dollars in checks while impersonating various professionals, constantly evading a persistent FBI agent.
130. Oldboy (2003): After being imprisoned for 15 years without explanation, a man is suddenly released and given five days to find his captor and learn the reason for his confinement.
131. V for Vendetta (2005): In a dystopian future, a masked freedom fighter known as V uses terrorist tactics to fight against a totalitarian government that has oppressed its people.
132. Children of Men (2006): In a future where humanity faces extinction due to mass infertility, a disillusioned bureaucrat must transport the world’s last pregnant woman to safety.
133. The Departed (2006): A young state trooper goes undercover to infiltrate the Irish mob, while a mole from the mob infiltrates the police department, leading to a cat-and-mouse game.
134. Slumdog Millionaire (2008): An impoverished young man from the Mumbai slums is accused of cheating on India’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” game show after answering every question correctly, forcing him to recount his life story.
135. District 9 (2009): After an alien spacecraft hovers over Johannesburg for 20 years, a government agent is exposed to a virus that begins to transform him into an alien, forcing him to seek refuge among the very creatures he was tasked to control.
136. The King’s Speech (2010): King George VI, suffering from a debilitating speech impediment, forms an unlikely friendship with an unorthodox Australian speech therapist to prepare for his first wartime radio broadcast.
137. The Imitation Game (2014): During World War II, eccentric British mathematician Alan Turing races against time to break the Enigma code, while facing societal prejudice for his homosexuality.
138. Whiplash (2014): A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music conservatory where his ruthless instructor pushes him to the brink of his ability and his sanity.
139. The Revenant (2015): A frontiersman, left for dead after a bear attack, endures a brutal wilderness journey to exact revenge on the hunting party who betrayed him.
140. Call Me By Your Name (2017): In 1980s Italy, a precocious 17-year-old forms a life-altering summer romance with his father’s charming 24-year-old American intern.
141. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017): A grieving mother challenges local authorities to solve her daughter’s murder by erecting three controversial billboards.
142. A Star Is Born (2018): A seasoned musician discovers and falls in love with a struggling artist, as her career takes off while his battles addiction and begins to decline.
143. Green Book (2018): A working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a concert tour through the racially charged American South in the 1960s.
144. Ford v Ferrari (2019): American car designer Carroll Shelby and British driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966.
145. Promising Young Woman (2020): A woman traumatized by a past event seeks to avenge the death of her best friend by feigning intoxication and confronting men who try to take advantage of her.
146. Minari (2020): A Korean-American family moves to an Arkansas farm in the 1980s to pursue their own American Dream, facing the challenges of rural life and cultural integration.
147. CODA (2021): As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Ruby is the only hearing member of her family, and she must choose between pursuing her passion for singing and her family’s struggling fishing business.
148. Don’t Look Up (2021): Two low-level astronomers embark on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy Earth, only to face widespread skepticism and political apathy.
149. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022): A laundromat owner struggling with her taxes discovers she can access parallel universes and must connect with other versions of herself to save reality from a looming multiversal threat.
150. Oppenheimer (2023): During World War II, American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer spearheads the top-secret Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, grappling with the devastating moral implications of his creation.

The Last Word: Your Logline as a Lighthouse

For screenwriters, the logline is more than just a writing exercise; it’s a strategic necessity. It demands that you truly understand the core of your story, forcing clarity, conciseness, and compelling impact. A brilliant logline acts as a lighthouse, guiding industry professionals through the fog of countless submissions, highlighting the unique spark that makes your screenplay worth their time.

By diligently applying the principles of logline creation – identifying core elements, refining for brevity and intrigue, and ruthlessly polishing – you equip yourself with an invaluable tool. It’s the single most powerful sentence in your arsenal, often determining whether your meticulously crafted screenplay ever sees the light of day. Master it, and you master the art of the pitch, opening doors to a world of possibilities for your cinematic vision.