A self-made millionaire uses his ill-gotten fortune to win back his long lost love who has married into ‘old money’ and respectability.

The logline reflects the plot of the book from which it was adapted, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book, considered an American classic, has been adapted into a movie 5 times. The plot, such as it is, seems irresistible to movie makers. Go figure.

and then? this is awesome, just it's half the logline. Don't give away the ending, but you have to describe at least some conflict. Otherwise, so what, he has ill-begotten gains, but his new old beau is a swindler too, and they have a great time?

It's not just a hook, it telling what happens enough so someone wants to read the script. Needs more in there

I think the enduring emotional truth that fascinates and appeals is the feeling of longing for the one that got away, The regret for the frustration and failure of a passionate love affair in the past. If only we could undo the past, have one more chance to make it work, get it right.

The roaring twenties set the time of the movies, but I think that the script would work better if adapted to a contemporary setting. Something like if Stanfield of the TV s?rie "The Wire" went back looking for the love of his life after he sever all connection with the Barksdale organisation. A past "The Wire", tragic love story.
Gatsby could be one of those successful music producer with a dodgy past.
I find that in the movie, the opulence of the scenes distract from the story itself.

Let's not forget the prequel and Gatsby the video game. Tickle Me Gatsby the next big holiday must have toy for the kids? Oh boy, must be time for bed. Thanks for the chuckle.

And he lives -- if not happily ever after, at least long enough to spin a franchise out of the story :-)

Love the script doctor rewrite, dpg. Maybe you should write The Great Gatsby Redux.

>>>it bugs me that none of the characters in the logline have any character arc.

Ditto -- but isn't the way the characters are in the book? If the story were an original spec script instead of an adaptation, no doubt, script doctors would punch up the story: Gatsby falls in love with the wife of his chief bootlegging rival. The climax of the script would be a Valentine's Day shootout to determine both who gets the girl and who controls bootlegging in NYC.

Looking forward to your logline for "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".

Dear dpg,

I think the revised logline can stand alone as a good pitch for the film even without the book behind it--well done.

I agree, Nick does not belong in the logline. A logline made up solely of the "rotten Eggs" in the story is the right choice but it bugs me that none of the characters in the logline have any character arc.

The time period is probably part of the sizzle that fueled both movies. I also wonder if it may be due to the fact that the central symbols--the green light, the city of Ashes and the Spectacle advertisement--are very visual and should translate well on the screen. I think you and I are in agreement on how successful that has been.

I'm going to post a logline version of Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil in Classics in a few days. Would welcome your comments.

Good questions, almiiitey.

I slipped in "newly-minted" at the last second after I saw I could still come in under 30 words. Gatsby was a relatively newly-minted millionaire, of course, noveau riche, but the more important adjective to include was "self-made" in order to provide a contrast with the 'old money' Daisy had married into.

I never considered including Nick in the logline because he is a?supporting character. His role in the plot is to facilitate the affair through his relationship to Daisy; otherwise he serves as a one man chorus, the narrator of the story.

Whether to include the time period was a tossup. It's going to be obvious from page 1 of the script so it probably ought to be included. And, yes, it implies additional expenses for authentic sets and costumes, but on the other foot, it's a legendary period with scandal, spectacle and glamor -- the "sizzle" of the story, it seems to me, what explains why Hollywood cannot not resist making new versions of the story.

So, how about:

In the Roaring Twenties, a self-made millionaire uses his ill-gotten fortune to win back his long lost love who has married into ?old money? and respectability.

Feels like you've clarified the main spine of the story in your logline, dpg.

I just finished watching the 2013 version and read portions of the script. The script was full of sound effects in all caps with multiple exclamation points--think that explains a lot of what I saw, and frankly disliked, in the movie.

Had a couple of questions.

Would like to know more about your decision to include "newly-minted" in the logline. What does it add that is not already covered by "self-made?"

Did you ever consider including Nick in the logline?

What audience did you have in mind for this logline? Since the time period would add additional cost to the movie, I was wondering if you considered including it in the logline.

Thanks for this post, dpg.

I like your brief and effective logline but most of all I like your expertise in the usage of hyphenated words. These 3 x examples reduce the word count to 25 or thereabouts and represent a story in themselves. It's a good template to follow in articulation of brevity with impact.

That, it seems to me, is the nut of the story. The rest is wild parties and conspicuous consumption.

Despite the book's reputation I've always been underwhelmed by the movie adaptations (1974, 2013) which seem to depend more upon spectacle than plot. The book concludes with one of the most famous sentences in American literature: So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.? Which is the quote on his gravestone in the cemetery where he is buried a few miles down the road from where I am typing this.