Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.

500 Days of Summer

13 reviews

Dkpough1 Summitry · 18,095 pts

"Not enough there to give any hook."


As mentioned before on this thread, the hook is simple. It's just a deviation from the normal "Boy meets girl. They both fall in love." , because the girl doesn't. It's enough of a hook to get Hollywood interested.

Judah Ray Samurai · 546 pts

Not enough there to give any hook. I have a logline like this I am working to broaden. Otherwise, it's just the same ol story that's been done 100000000000000 times.

Dkpough1 Summitry · 18,095 pts

"But is it always central to the hook for the purpose of a logline?"
I'm not sure. The hook and the goal are often different. Perhaps the hook often helps form the goal, or something the characters use to achieve that goal.
The hook of many fantasy stories is often the magic itself. What if the Greek gods were alive and people among us were their children? What if there was a detective in Chicago who was a real wizard? Things like that.
Other examples include things like, in the movie Hancock, the hook is pretty much "Drunken Superman" and his other characteristics which differentiate him from Clark Kent.
But yes, sometimes the hook is just as simple as a twist on a familiar plot.
Groundhog Day? Yeah, the hook is the situation.