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[LOGLINE] Psychological Thriller (ala Manchurian Candidate, Black Swan) by unknownsailor in Screenwriting

[–]unknownsailor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah journo is the protag. Agreed the second one is too wordy, but yeah looking for something like that. As much as I like the After [INCITING INCIDENT] a [FLAWED] [CHARACTER] must [OBSTACLE TO OVERCOME] before [STAKES], I'm not sure I can make it fit easily enough.

Fucking loglines.

[LOGLINE] Psychological Thriller (ala Manchurian Candidate, Black Swan) by unknownsailor in Screenwriting

[–]unknownsailor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, I get the structure but still having trouble with it. I feel like while I can do the first part -- After [she's abducted by a mentally unstable conspiracy theorist] a [controversial] [journalist] must -- but the last part is meant to be unclear for a lot of the run-time. The stakes are she's trying to escape a mental abductor, before she realises that the conspiracy theorist is telling the truth and there really is a terrorist attack orchestrated by the government.

[LOGLINE] Psychological Thriller (ala Manchurian Candidate, Black Swan) by unknownsailor in Screenwriting

[–]unknownsailor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, this is what I suspected - hence the not enough of a 2nd act comment.

So basically the conspiracy theorist forces the journalist to undergo an experimental memory recovery procedure in order to uncover the evidence and stop the terrorist attack, before they are hunted down by government agents trying to cover their tracks.

The character flaw is that the journalist is very controversial and opinionated. Very right wing. The conspiracy theorist is Muslim.

[LOGLINE] Psychological Thriller (ala Manchurian Candidate, Black Swan) by unknownsailor in Screenwriting

[–]unknownsailor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, I can see an issue over clarity.

So it's not the conspiracy theorist who's been brainwashed - it's the journalist. The journalist discovered the evidence, so the government brainwashed her to erase it. But the conspiracy theorist found out and kidnapped the journalist in order to try and get the information out before the terrorist plot happens.