When an assassin, who can control the actions of others, discovers his recent missions were actually un-sanctioned hits, he must now hunt down his mysterious employers who have now made him their top target.

I've tossed up between the two, terms of time frame. The technology required seems to lean more towards something set in the future, but when I make notes, I tend to lean more towards a hidden technology in today's world, which, I feel, would have more of impact of an audience...that I can tie these premises into real world situations.

In terms of Genre. I guess thriller / action like a combo of Bourne and Inception, so there is potential for action set pieces, but I want characters driving the story.

If you want to mix all those different themes (technology going mad, omnipresent surveillance, loss of privacy, loss of personal control on one life, ...) you may be better off as a mini s?rie.
TV s?rie or serialised comic book.
As a comic book, you could have 3 volumes.
Volume 1: the training and discovery of the new technology.
Volume 2: the mission
Volume 3: the rebellion
As a TV s?rie, you may start with 12 episodes each focusing on a specific theme, but in every episodes relating the current rebellion you can interject flashback referring to the training and past missions.

The idea that somebody can physically control somebody else's body is so powerful and so visceral, it may be very difficult to fully explore that and all the other themes in just 90 minutes or 110 pages.

I forgot to ask, in which environment do you intent to write your story. Today or very near future a la Enemy of State or science fiction a la Blade Runner.
Also do you want to write a drama, a thriller or an action movie?

Knightrider1984:

FYI: emerging developments to make the brain "transparent", that is, able to be read and manipulated. Might provide you with some scientific jargon to make your premise more credible, give it a hook to real life developments in neuroscience.

But the most important takeaway you might want to consider for your story is the irony of benign motivations leading to bad consequences: the road to hell being paved, as usual, with good intentions. The backstory in your movie could be that what was developed as a tool for therapy became an instrument of despotism.

fwiw.

Thanks for the info, it defo seems to share a lot of the same concepts. I would, hopefully, want to use some modern day themes of mass survalliance and living in a world where even the person themselves can be hacked and have their deepest secrets revealed.
So the world, despite seemingly more open than ever, is actually the least trusting it perhaps has ever been, people are scared questioning what others may know about them.

I have just found the name of the science fiction book on the subject that has been bugging me for hours.
"A plague of pythons" by Frederik Pohl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plague_of_Pythons
I remember reading that book years ago during my childhood, and it scared me. I was afraid that somebody was going to take over my body.

A movie plot is supposed to have one dramatic hook or theme. The hook-theme of your story seems to be behavior control. In the most crudest sense, the ability to manipulate people as if they were puppets.

So, in keeping with the hook-theme, the issue your protagonist would seem to be confronted with is whether he who can use others like puppets is himself being used as a puppet. And if so, who is the ultimate puppet master -- who is really pulling the strings -- and why, and what is he going to do about it? What can he do about it? ("The Matrix Reloaded" come to mind where the relationship between Neo and Trinity pivots on a question of free will, albeit your story seems to be exploring free will from another angle.)

Probl?me avec le login.

When an assassin given an implant allowing him to control other people body starts questioning his superiors, he must uses all of his skills and his new ability to evade and kill his more powerful former associates.

When an assassin given an implant allowing him to control other people body starts questioning his superiors, he must uses all of his skills and his new ability to evade and kill his more powerful former associates.

In a sense. Except it has always been used as a means to perhaps destabilise a nation by having the Vice President shoot an extremist president, or make someone drive too fast so they die in a car crash.

However, throughout the story he'll discover more about his past, and I will hopefully play on the idea that he starts to worry he too is being controlled, kinda a who can you trust when you can't trust yourself angle.

This is all played out as those he works for attempt to kill him before he can expose the fact his employers have discovered a way to not only monitor thoughts, but perhaps manipulate them on a mass scale - So imagine need 10 000 troops for a war, at the push of a button a device could release certain signals in the brain that every time a army recruitment ad plays you feel good, positive, confident and every time a story about your potential target plays signals released make you feel anger, disgust generate an urge to do something. Is it then controlling free will?

So, the story is about the ability to use people as puppets.

Yeah, basically he works for a black-ops team who can 'hack' the brain and cause others take actions beyond their control, like killing. They can't control thoughts, merely action like they take over musicle stimulation.

So he'd be on the run from others who can do what he does, so they'd be able to make someone take an action against their will - I would probably make it, that two or more mind controllers fighting to control one other person would cause harm or death, hence why he perhaps is more willing to run than kill innocent people.

Thanks for your advice, I will see if I can change the logline to improve its impact.

One last thing, the 'mind-control' will not be an 'super-power' so to speak, I actually want it to be tech based, that society is more melded with technology and the ethics and dangers that can pose when that technology is abused.

Just curious, After reading your logline I am unclear who was being extracted.
-----
Was the assassin being extracted and because the attempt failed he is now stuck?

Or

Was the Assassin sent in to extract someone from this world and failed, now he's stuck.
-----

It's important because if the Assassin failed to extract someone (Let's say, the President's daughter), then a possible overall goal might be to complete the mission (Save the girl), even though his way back now seems to be closed.

Anyway I was just curious which it was. Good luck!

Do you mean that the assassin who normally would be able to use mind control over somebody else to commit the crime is now the prey? He can't rely on anybody else, because everybody can be suddenly taken over to kill him.
The idea that everybody can be be taken over and use for nefarious activity, that remind me of the scene in "Fallen" with Denzel Washington where Azazel passes from person to person.

Your logline does not do justice to your concept.
Who are the bad guy? Why is our h?ros suddenly the bad guy?
You need to explain why baddies can't just take over his body and commit suicide.
Well executed, I can see a script ? la "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie.

When an assassin with mind controlling ability starts questioning his superiors, he must uses all of his power to evade and kill his more powerful former associates.

It does. Thanks.

I don't understand: if he's a "mind controlling assassination" then where's the jeopardy with everyone being a potential killer? He's faced with a nuisance, but not to worry. He can control their minds. End of problem.

In fact, I don't see what "mind controlling" has to do with anything in the logline or story.

And while it's not clear to me what his objective goal is. The statement of an objective goal should not be negative or passive or in reaction to the objective goal of the villain-- like killing him. The statement of an objective goal should be positive and proactive. He wants to, he must do....what?

It's also not clear who the antagonist is. "Anyone can be turned into a potential killer" -- turned by who?

Sorry I meant extraction. Hopefully that clears things up as well.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess you could see this as the Internal and External plots.

I will rework the logline, but the basic premise is: His team are sent in to capture someone they believe are selling secrets, during the kidnap attempt our protagonist discovers that this guy isn't all that he seems, and is told that he himself isn't all that he appears to be. The target is taken out, but our hero is now left questioning who he is, his life. However, these, as it turns out are dangerous questions and makes him a target for those not wanting a bigger truth uncovered.

I will have a tweak to see if can alter it make it clearer.

Hi Knightrider1984.

Please define extraggation. A Google search of the word was not very helpful.

The stakes are clear in your logline--the psy-assassin's life is at stake in a world where anyone could be the killer.

It wasn't clear what action the psy-assassin must take in order to save himself.

Would it be correct to call the main character a mind control expert instead of a psy-assassin to save having to define the term in your logline?

You note that an extraggation attempt goes wrong and the psy-assassin discovers a truth that puts him in danger. It sounds like there are two inciting incidents. If the main character hadn't discovered the truth would the extraggation attempt gone wrong in and of itself have set the events of the story in motion?