A child sex slave escapes to her native America, entering politics to become the first female President of the United States.

You know? I had no idea Breaking Bad?, Mad Men?, House of Cards?, or even Game of Thrones? were each a miniseries. Shows how much I need to watch TV more! I wouldn?t have enough for 4+ seasons, but I could definitely fill 1. Hmmm?

Series, yes, but I don't know if mini-series' have ever taken off. They're usually straight to TV and forgotten pretty soon after - but I guess I can't rule it out (given the length and complexity)...

It's more about character growth rather then just "getting over it". Landing back in the US, the culture is a lot more noisy & bombastic than Russia, so she freaks out. Naturally, she tries to reach out to her family (who kept looking after she was taken), but her mother & grandmother have since died, and her father was never listed on her birth certificate.

She marries a baseball player to anchor herself, but finds it hard to stand in his shadow and be the "wife".
They separate (which, because of his fame, the relationship is publicly scrutinised), so she builds a thick skin and sets out to find her own spotlight. She enters politics, but her trafficking past then comes up in the House campaign. She still wins, and goes on to become a Senator, which gives her a "Warrior Princess" kind of label.

By now she's got the public presence (and support) to run for President, and as things start to smooth out, she rekindles her love with the base-baller. She has an ulterior motive though, because there hasn't been a "single" or "de facto" sitting President in the last 100 years. She needs him to win, but they do grow close and fall in love again. As they're rebuilding their marriage, they spend a few nights together, thereby conceiving a child. It's called a geriatric pregnancy (where a woman gets pregnant just before the onset of menopause), and it's dubbed "bigger than Watergate". No one knows about it until she's actually elected.

OK, maybe a series is better suited ;) I just don't know how I'd go writing episodically... I imagined cutting the first film at the inauguration scene, and then the second film would deal with her being pregnant, and what that means to her Presidency & term in office.

>>>they?re less successful than feature films

IMHO, we are in a golden age for series drama. Look at the commercial and artistic success of "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men", "House of Cards" -- to name but three. Given the rich potential for conflict and complexity in your premise, is there really enough time to do justice to the character and themes you want to explore in a feature film? (Or even two. Which is not the way Hollyweird thinks in producing/marketing feature films. They think of multiple feature films only in terms of franchises.)

>>No PTSD issues ? she sorts it out through the film.

If she just "sorts it all out" what is there about her character for the audience to worry about, to sympathize with? What is her character flaw? What is there about her that creates suspense, makes the audience worry whether she's got the right stuff to succeed. What vulnerability is there for the audience to identify with?

A mini-series would be better, but they're less successful than feature films IMO. I would probably do it as two features (the first about her rise to the office, the second about her time in office). It actually came about because Hillary lost the primary in '08, so I thought "Fine! I'll make my own damn President".

Politicians are too polished for my liking though (they mostly come from affluent backgrounds, study a degree of some sort and serve in the House and/or Senate). My character also does the latter half (for credibility), but her start in life is far removed from the norm. No PTSD issues - she sorts it out through the film. I can't have a President running around like a nervous wreck! :P

Her past is leaked in the 2006 race for House of Reps (which was a bloodbath in real life anyway). The film would push 2 - 2 and half hours; I'm not making any illusions about that. Whether to keep the screenplay to the standard 105 - 110 pages is a bridge I'd have to cross - you never hear of longer screenplays selling on spec.

re: logline, I'm a bit over a barrel. She HAS to be a child sex slave, and she HAS to be President. Not much to trim out from what I've already got :(

>>it?s about all three. Right there is the beginning, middle & end

Sounds like a story better suited for a mini-series rather than a feature film. Have you thought about going that route? Also, which are you more inclined toward in regards to her past: it's all out there as public knowledge as she commences her political ascent; or it's a skeleton that falls out of the closet at the most inconvenient time?

And why of all the problem-pasts she could have -- just being a woman seems to be problematical enough to getting elected to the Presidency ;-) -- do you want to hobble her with the past as a victim of the sex trade? And is the psychic trauma (PTSD, etc.) her character flaw?

Thanks dpg. I've seen your valuable advice on other posts, so it's great to hear your feedback.

The story follows real time (because it references real political events; 9/11 etc), but the idea is to have it actually released in 2016, just shy of the election. In other words, I need to have sold it five years ago :)

I like your suggestions, and removing them from the logline makes sense. Those details are important to the story though, so they'd still be present in the overall script. I thought about leaking her past while she runs for office, but she's a congresswoman and Senator before that, so you would assume the public have found out already. Definitely contributes to the rise-from-adversity. If you've seen Forrest Gump, it follows a similar biographical pace (even though it's fiction).

Richiev: it's about all three. Right there is the beginning, middle & end. Though I think I have enough for one film - I would probably do her actual term of office in a sequel.

Thanks for the feedback guys.