When he enrols in a strict prep school, a rebellious teen recruits a geek to help him graduate, which makes him a target for the geek’s bullies.

BTW, to elaborate on what you previously observed:

None of the movies you mentioned in earlier threads were based solely on original spec scripts by Joe Nobodies (the likes of you and me).

They were either developed and/or written by Hollyweird players, people who, one way or another, were already established in the biz (The Dead Poet's Society, Back to the Future, Her, Groundhog Day, Before Sunrise, Something's Gotta Give, Harold and Maude, Moonstruck, My Best Friend's Wedding, Big) ...

Or they were movie adaptations from books or short stories -- the premise and basic story was "pre-sold" (The Fight Club, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, American Psycho).

fwiw

I don't believe in perfect anything. I'm only after something effective -- that gets the job done.

You gotta write what you gotta write. And it can be a learning experience even if it doesn't sell.

Best wishes.

I'm giving this one a shot. If it goes nowhere - it's practice. It's experience.

Now - bear in mind, I do agree with everything that you're saying. However - at the same time, one must always be mindful that...

Writing the "perfect" logline is unattainable. Trying to come up with the perfect logline is also - to some extent, wasteful. Trying to please everyone - impossible. It is in essence - writing for the market. A market that you can't predict.

And even if you do run it through an algorithm of some kind and hit your mark. There's a good chance it will be bloodless - and you won't be happy doing it.
That's why they say - "calculate less" and "don't write for the market".

And even when you do come up with the "perfect" hook - there's no real guarantee. Nobody knows anything - remember? What they want is unpredictable. A hook certainly helps as it gets passed around. Same time - low concept isn't exactly impossible.

I recently queried with something that has a strong hook and the guy said "we've seen it before" and "not high concept". (I honestly don't think this guy knew what he was talking about but that might just be a defense mechanism. We must remember the industry is very subjective afterall.)

Very honestly - I think the only way to win is do some kind of tightrope walk between "being calculating" and to "calculate less". To be mindful of the business side but to also remember that "nobody knows anything". (I have been at opposite sides of this spectrum and I can't help but think you have to find a happy middle ground between both.)

Lastly - if you write something you enjoy, and it doesn't go anywhere - at least it wasn't a soulless experience. At least you can stand behind it.

So...

In conclusion - a subjective need can be used as a goal if the hook is strong enough. (I'm thinking that's perhaps the only time you could consider it safe to use a subjective need in a logline.)

As for this script - I'm pushing forward with a first draft. As the odds are against each thing - I'm trying to generate as much material as possible. (As opposed to doing logline after logline. I think it's important to write, write, write. Practice. Practice. Practice.) I mean imagine if you have a great logline/concept/hook but your writing sucks. Imagine spending months and months trying to come up with that perfect logline/concept and you write the script - and it goes nowhere. You could've got more done in that time.

I imagine I'll post a new marketing logline in a couple of weeks - see if it resonates with people and if I need to tart it up.

Thank you for your thoughts.