BIZ TIP TUESDAY:

TAGLINES


My 20th film debuts on Tubi on Friday Octomber 13...

The night before jetting off to the Austin Film Festival a few years ago, I saw my 18th film, CROOKED, at a screening on the Warner Bros. lot. This was one of the handful of times I had not been on set for the shoot, and I had no idea what the film would look like. Actually, I had a clue - they had shown me the trailer which had many differences than the screenplay. I expected a few changes...

But never expected that they would have changed everything. They even changed the *concept* of the script! The script (online here, somewhere) is about a pair of homicide detectives who must guard the only person to ever see the mob's #1 hitman and lived. Except in the film she doesn't witness a mob hit, and the mob's #1 hitman isn't part of the story... and the two detectives and witness are nothing like they are in the script - completely different characters! The only thing they didn't change was the tagline I'd put on the title page of the script: "Two Cops. One Witness. One Hundred Hitmen. You Do The Math." That tagline was on the film's poster and on the huge wall-sized banner they had at American Film Market.

It sucks

So when I arrive at Austin and sit on my first panel, the moderator introduces me with a quick bio that ends with his excited reading of the tagline for CROOKED. He thinks it's great, and every time I'm on a panel that he's moderating, he can't wait to say that tagline. In fact, on the last panel he said "This is Bill Martell and the only thing you need to know about his 18th film is: Two Cops. One Witness. One Hundred Hitmen. You Do The Math." That tagline!

So you may be wondering "What is a tagline"? It's not the same as a logline.

A tagline is that sentence on the poster: "In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream". "Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Water." It's kind of a slogan - a catchy piece of ad copy designed to sell the film.

The logline is a 1-3 sentence synopsis of your story (usually 1 sentence). Usually when they ask for a logline, they just want to know what the heck your story is about without reading the script. You want your logline to contain the essence of the story *and* trigger the imagination (so that they want to read your script to find out the details of what happens). In Hollywood a script with an interesting, unique, involving idea is gold - so decisions to buy a script are often made on logline alone. They can always hire someone to rewrite a bad script, but a brilliantly written script with a dull idea can't be "fixed". Of course, what you want is a brilliantly written script with a great idea.

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But once they buy the script and make it into a film, the marketing department is going to try to come up with an amazing tagline to put on the poster in order to sell the film. As writers, we can be our own marketing department and use taglines to sell our scripts. For over a decade I've been coming up with taglines for my scripts and putting them on the title pages... and 99% of the time those taglines end up on the movie poster after they make the films!

Eric Swartz at Tagline Guru .com surveyed 500 advertising and marketing professionals with an initial list of 1,500 movie taglines whittled down to 300, and these were voted the Top 100 Movie Taglines of all time.

The Top 100 Movie Taglines:
1. In space no one can hear you scream. - Alien (1979)
2. Houston, we have a problem. - Apollo 13 (1995)
3. They're back. - Poltergeist II (1986)
4. We are not alone. - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
5. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. - Jaws 2 (1978)
6. Who ya gonna call? - Ghostbusters (1984)
7. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... - Star Wars (1977)
8. Be afraid. Be very afraid. - The Fly (1986)
9. The list is life. - Schindler's List (1993)

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10. Earth. It was fun while it lasted. - Armageddon (1998)
11. An epic of miniature proportions. - A Bugs Life (1998)
12. They're here. - Poltergeist (1982)
13. You won't believe your eye. - Mosters, Inc. (2001)
14. Things are about to get a little hairy. - An American Werewolf in Pairs (1997)
15. Love is in the hair. - There's Something About Mary (1998)
16. The horror...the horror. - Apocalypse Now (1979)
17. The ultimate trip. - 2001: A Space Odyssy (1968)
18. An adventure 65 million years in the making. - Jurrasic Park (1993)
19. They're young...they're in love...and they kill people. - Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
20. The classic story about a boy and his mother. - Psycho (1998)
21. The mission is a man. - Saving Private Ryan (1998)
22. You'll believe a man can fly. - Superman (1978)
23. The true story of a real fake. - Catch Me If You Can (2002)
24. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free. - Shawshank Redemption (1994)
25. Buy the ticket, take the ride. - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
26. The coast is toast. - Volcano (1997)
27. Are you in or out? - Ocean's Eleven (2001)
28. The biggest mother of them all. - Mommie Dearest (1981)
29. One nation under the gun. - Bowling for Columbine (2002)
30. This is the weekend they didn't play golf. - Deliverance (1972)
31. A tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, and seafood. - A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
32. This is Benjamin. He's a little worried about his future. - The Graduate (1967)
33. Five good reasons to stay single. - Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
34. Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get. - Forest Gump (1994)
35. He's having the day of his life...over and over again. - Groundhog Day (1993)
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36. This time, it's personal. - Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
37. This ain't no chick flick. - Chicken Run (2000)
38. Garbo laughs. - Ninotchka (1939)
39. Even a hit man deserves a second shot. - Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
40. Fifty million people watching but no one saw a thing. - Quiz Show (1994)
41. The first casualty of war is innocence. - Platoon (1986)
42. There's something about your first piece. - American Pie (1999)
43. Nice guys finish last. Meet the winners. - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
44. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl. - Wayne's World (1992)
45. Nice planet. We'll take it! - Mars Attacks! (1996)
46. Get a grip of yourself. - Spanking the Monkey (1994)
47. See it with a bud. - Dazed and Confused (1993)
48. Don't get mad. Get everything. - First Wives Club, The (1996)
49. Eight legs, two fangs, and an attitude. - Arachnaphobia (1990)
50. Have a wonderful time, wish I was here. - Postcards from the Edge (1990)
51. Family isn't a word. It's a sentence. - The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
52. Does for rock and roll what "The Sound of Music" did for hills. - This is Spinal Tap (1984)
53. Catch it. - Saturday Night Fever (1977)
54. A comedy from the heart that goes from the throat. - As Good As It Gets (1997)
55. Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. - Army of Darkness (1992)
56. Meet the Marquis de Sade. The pleasure's all his. - Quills (2000)
57. Eternity is closer than you think. - Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
58. What's eating you? - Jeepers Creepers (2001)
59. No actual Europeans were harmed in the making of this film. - EuroTrip (2004)
60. He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove. - Napolean Dynamite (2004)
61. The bitch is back. - Alien3 (1992)
62. This might hurt a little. - Sicko (2007)
63. His story will touch you, even though he can't. - Edward Scissorhands (1990)
64. These women are serious about their taste in men. - Cannibal Woman of the Avocado Jungle of Death
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65. Yule crack up. - Christmas Vacation (1989)
66. Success didn't go to his head, it went to his neighbor. - Envy (2004)
67. If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards. - Tommy Boy (1995)
68. A man went looking for American and couldn't find it. - Easy Rider (1969)
69. Everyone has one special thing. - Boogie Nights (1997)
70. Every dream has a price. - Wall Street (1987)
71. Great trilogies come in threes. - Scarey Movie 3 (2003)
72. Thank God it's only a motion picture. - Airplane! (1980)
73. From the brother of the director of Ghost. - Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
74. ...and remember, the next scream you hear may be your own! - The Birds (1963)
75. Check your soul at the door. - Club Vampire (1998)
76. He's been humiliated, kicked, and spat on...and it's only 10:00 am. - Swimming With Sharks (1994)
77. After a night they can't remember comes a day they'll never forget. - Dude, Where's My Car? (2000)
78. Ding dong. You're dead. - House (1986)
79. Friends are the people who let you be yourself...and never let you forget it. - Waiting to Exhale (1995)
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80. Exorcise your rites. - The Craft (1996)
81. No mercy. No shame. No sequel. - Scarey Movie (2000)
82. Get an Afterlife. - Casper (1995)
83. Nothing is as simple as black and white. - Pleasantville (1998)
84. Part mystery. Part thriller. Part missing. - Lake Placid (1999)
85. Evil has an upgrade. - Jason X (2001)
86. Wanna date? - Frankenhooker (1990)
87. Good girls want him bad. Bad girls want him worse. - Cry-Baby (1990)
88. There is no gene for the human spirit. - Gattaca (1997)
89. Buy a bag, go home in a box. - Popcorn (1991)
90. What's a little sex between friends? - Kate's Addictions (1999)
91. From zero to hero. - The Mask (1994)
92. What the one doesn't have, the other is missing. - Dumb and Dumber (1994)
93. One dream. Four Jamaicans. Twenty below zero. - Cool Runnings (1993)
94. M*A*S*H gives a D*A*M*N - M*A*S*H (1970)
95. Bernie may be dead, but he's still the life of the party! - Weekend at Bernie's (1989)
96. Love Kills. - Sid and Nancy (1986)
97. Vietnam can kill me, but it can't make me care. - Full Metal Jacket (1987)
98. This Christmas, the snow hits the fan. - Santa Clause, The (1994)
99. Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Is there a problem here? - Clueless (1995)
100. He charges $10 but he's willing to negotiate. - Duece Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)

Two reasons why you might want to come up with taglines for your scripts:

1) A variation of Know Thy Enemy - if you start to think like a producer, really try to figure out how your story can be advertized and sold to the ticket buyers, you will have a much better idea how to sell your script to producers. We're creative types, and often have trouble thinking like businessmen. The problem is, we won't see our scripts on screen without those businessmen. We need producers! So we need to be able to talk to them, and it helps us if we know how they think. Putting on the "producer's hat" is something I frequently do to make sure my script not only meets my needs as storyteller but the producer's needs as a businessman. I want to write a script that a producer will want to buy and an audience will want to see.

2) I get a little more control over the marketing of the film made from my script... and often help sell my script by showing the producer how they will sell the film. "I don't know how we can sell this script?" "Here's how!" If you provide the answer, you're closing the deal. You're doing some of the work for the producer, but that allows you some control in the way they market your film.

Some of my taglines:
"You can't escape your past... life."
"Man's best friend has just become man's worst enemy."
"He knows where you live... He knows when you're home... He has the keys to your apartment."
"Every family has secrets... This one has teeth."
"Seeing is no longer believing."
"Sometimes the best lie is the truth."
"Four cameras. Four angles. Four different killers?"
"The deeper you dive... the darker it gets."

So, your assignment for today is to write taglines for all of your scripts. Imagine the poster... and imagine what the tagline on that poster says. It may help you to go to imdb.com an read the taglines for some of your favorite movies. Once your script is sold and becomes a movie, how will they sell it? If you don't know the answer (and you created the story) how do you expect some marketing guy at the studio to know?

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I WRITE PICTURES!

*** VISUAL STORYTELLING *** - For Kindle! (exclusive)


Show Don't Tell - but *how* do you do that? Here are techniques to tell stories visually! Using Oscar Winning Films and Oscar Nominated Films as our primary examples: from the first Best Picture Winner "Sunrise" (1927) to the Oscar Nominated "The Artist" (which takes place in 1927) with stops along the way Pixar's "Up" and Best Original Screenplay Winner "Breaking Away" (a small indie style drama - told visually) as well as "Witness" and other Oscar Winners as examples... plus RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book!

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DESCRIPTION & VOICE Blue Book.

IS HALF OF YOUR STORY IN TROUBLE?

Most screenplays are about a 50/50 split between dialogue and description - which means your description is just as important as your dialogue. It just gets less press because the audience never sees it, the same reason why screenwriters get less press than movie stars. But your story will never get to the audience until readers and development executives read your script... so it is a very important factor. Until the movie is made the screenplay is the movie and must be just as exciting as the movie. So how do you make your screenplay exciting to read? Description is important in a novel as well, and the “audience” does read it... how do we write riveting description?

Only $4.99 and no postage!


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PRO DIALOGUE TECHNIQUES!

*** DIALOGUE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

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Expanded version with more ways to create interesting dialogue! How to remove bad dialogue (and what *is* bad dialogue), First Hand Dialogue, Awful Exposition, Realism, 50 Professional Dialogue Techniques you can use *today*, Subtext, Subtitles, Humor, Sizzling Banter, *Anti-Dialogue*, Speeches, and more. Tools you can use to make your dialogue sizzle! Special sections that use dialogue examples from movies as diverse as "Bringing Up Baby", "Psycho", "Double Indemnity", "Notorious", the Oscar nominated "You Can Count On Me", "His Girl Friday", and many more! Print version is 48 pages, Kindle version is over 175 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


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WHAT IS A SCENE?

*** SCENE SECRETS *** - For Kindle!

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What is a scene and how many you will need? The difference between scenes and sluglines. Put your scenes on trial for their lives! Using "Jaws" we'll look at beats within a scene. Scene DNA. Creating set pieces and high concept scenes. A famous director talks about creating memorable scenes. 12 ways to create new scenes. Creating unexpected scenes. Use dramatic tension to supercharge your scenes. Plants and payoffs in scenes. Plus transitions and buttons and the all important "flow"... and more! Over 65,000 words! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 210 pages!

Only $4.99 - and no postage!


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SUBPLOTS?

*** SUPPORTING CHARACTER SECRETS *** - For Kindle! (Exclusive)


Expanded version with more techniques to flesh out your Supporting Characters and make them individuals. Using the hit movie BRIDESMAIDS as well as other comedies like THE HANGOVER and TED and HIGH FIDELITY and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and many other examples we look at ways to make your Supporting Characters come alive on the page. Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is around 170 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


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ACT TWO SOLUTIONS!

*** ACT TWO SECRETS *** - For Kindle!


Expanded version with more techniques to help you through the desert of Act Two! Subjects Include: What Is Act Two? Inside Moves, The 2 Ps: Purpose & Pacing, The 4Ds: Dilemma, Denial, Drama and Decision, Momentum, the Two Act Twos, Subplot Prisms, Deadlines, Drive, Levels Of Conflict, Escalation, When Act Two Begins and When Act Two Ends, Scene Order, Bite Sized Pieces, Common Act Two Issues, Plot Devices For Act Two, and dozens of others. Over 67,000 words (that’s well over 200 pages) of tools and techniques to get you through the desert of Act Two alive! Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is well over 200 pages!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


BRAND NEW!!

All About Rewrites!

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Rewriting In Waves?

*** REWRITES Blue Book! - For Kindle!


The end is just the beginning! You’ve finished your story, but now the rewriting begins! This 405 page book shows you how to rewrite your screenplay or novel to perfection. Everything from Character Consistency to Shoeboxing to How To Give And Receive Notes to 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Long! and 15 Solutions If Your Script’s Too Short! to Finding The Cause Of A Story Problem to Good Notes Vs. Bad Notes to Finding Beta Readers to Avoiding Predictability to Learning To Be Objective About Your Work to Script Killer Notes and Notes From Idiots to Production Rewrites and What The Page Colors Mean? and a Complete Rewrite Checklist! The complete book on Rewriting Your Story!

ONLY $4.99 - and no postage!


All About Endings!

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GRAND FINALES Blue Book!

The Perfect Ending For Your Story!

The First Ten Pages Of Your Screenplay Are Critical,
But What About The Last 10 Pages?

Creating the perfect ending to your story! This 100,000 word book shows you how to end your story with a bang, rather than a whimper. Everything from Resolution Order to Act Three Tools to Happy or Sad Endings? to How The Beginning Of Your Story Has Clues To The Ending (in case you were having trouble figuring out how the story should end) to Falling Action to How To Avoid Bad Endings to Writing The Perfect Twist Ending to Setting Up Sequels & Series to Emotional Resolutions to How To Write Post Credit Sequences to Avoiding Deus Ex Machinas, to 20 Different Types Of Ends (and how to write them) and much more! Everything about endings for your screenplay or novel!

Only: $4.99


NO KINDLE REQUIRED! Get the *free* app (any device, except your Mr. Coffee) on the order page on Amazon!


All About LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING!

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LOGLINES, TREATMENTS, and PITCHING! Blue Book!

Distilling Your Screenplay!

Loglines, Treatments, Pitching, Look Books, Pitch Decks, One Pagers, Rip-O-Matics?

You have written a brilliant 110 page screenplay, but how do you get anyone to read it? You need to distill it down into some form of verbal moonshine or story rocket fuel that will ignite that bored development executive or manager or agent and get them to request your screenplay. But how do you shrink those 110 pages into a 25 word logline or a 2 minute elevator pitch or a one page synopsis or a short paragraph? This 100,000 word book shows you how! Everything you need to know! From common logline mistakes (and how to solve them) to how your pitch can reveal story problems to the 4 types of pitches!

272 Pages - ONLY $4.99!


READY TO BREAK IN? bluebook

THE BUISINESS SIDE

*** BREAKING IN BLUE BOOK *** - For Kindle!


Should really be called the BUSINESS BLUE BOOK because it covers almost everything you will need to know for your screenwriting career: from thinking like a producer and learning to speak their language, to query letters and finding a manager or agent, to making connections (at home and in Hollywood) and networking, to the different kinds of meetings you are will have at Studios, to the difference between a producer and a studio, to landing an assignment at that meeting and what is required of you when you are working under contract, to contracts and options and lawyers and... when to run from a deal! Information you can use *now* to move your career forward! It's all here in the Biggest Blue Book yet!

Print version was 48 pages, Kindle version is over 400 pages!

$4.99 - and no postage!




hcd

MOVIE MAGIC SOFTWARE

Movie Magic Screenwriter is the best selling screenplay formatting software and the choice of Hollywood professionals. Screenwriter automatically formats while you write so you can focus on what you're writing, not where it goes on the page. It also formats for television, stage, novels and comic book scripts so you've got an all in one package for any story you want to write. Academy Award Tech Winner!

* * * Buy It!

copyright 2023 by William C. Martell


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E BOOKS PAGE

bluebook E BOOKS: New Blue Books and Novelettes!
I am expanding all of the Blue Books from around 44 pages of text to around 200 pages! Some are over 250 pages! See what is availabale and what is coming soon!Also, I've been writing Novelletes and there will soon be novels.
E BOOKS: BLUE BOOKS & NOVELLETES

ONLINE CLASSES
Furious Action Class
MY OTHER SITES

B MOVIE WORLD
Cult Films, Exploitation, Bikers & Women In Prison, Monster Movies.

FIRST STRIKE PRODUCTIONS
Producing my own scripts, investment possibilities, pipe dreams.

NAKED SCREENWRITING CDs

Naked Class The NAKED SCREENWRITING CLASS ON CD! The 2001 London Class on 8 CDs! Recorded *live* the morning after the Raindance Film Festival wrapped. The two day class on 8CDs, plus a workbook, plus a bonus CD with PDFs.
The 2 Day Class on CD!

BOOKSTORE

Every screenwriting book in the world!
SCREENWRITER'S BOOKSTORE
In Association With Amazon.com
From the latest screenwriting book to guides for finding agents and producers... all with at the Amazon.com discount!

BOOKLETS & PRODUCTS

bluebook FIRST STRIKE BLUE BOOKS
Each Blue Book is 48 pages and focuses on a different aspect of screenwriting. Dialogue. Visual Storytelling. Your First Ten Pages. Act 2 Booster. Protagonists. Great Endings.
Seventeen Blue Books now available!

THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING The Best Nuts & Bolts Screenwriting Book On The Market!

BILL'S CORNER

My nineteen produced films, interviews with me in magazines, several sample scripts, my available scripts list... And MORE!
...............................BILL'S CORNER


Available Scripts

CLASSES ON CD

Class CDs CLASSES ON CD! Take a class on CD! GUERRILLA MARKETING - NO AGENT? NO PROBLEM! and WRITING THRILLERS (2 CDs). Full length classes on CD. Now Available: IDEAS & CREATIVITY, WRITING HORROR, WRITING INDIE FILMS, more!
Take classes on CD!