Brevity = Clarity

"If you can't write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don't have a clear idea."
_____________--David Belasco, playwright and producer

Good story conflict is simple. So simple, we should be able to sum up the conflict in a line or two. Look at how these film taglines aren't just compelling, but also suggest the whole of the film's story:

• There are 3.7 trillion fish in the ocean. They're looking for one. (Finding Nemo)
• He's having the worst day of his life... over, and over... (Groundhog Day)
• To enter the mind of a killer she must challenge the mind of a madman. (Silence of the Lambs)
• The odd are about to get even. (Open Season)
• In 141 years, there's never been a traitor in the Secret Service... until now. (The Sentinel)

Look at how very few words can get right at the meat of the thing. I'm not saying we all have to have marketing minds, but... well, those with marketing minds sure are going to be able to write their idea on the back of a calling card. Or pitch it while waiting for latte milk to steam. And it'll actually sound like a movie.

And lest you think I'm all joy and praise today, here are a few sucky and/or lazy tag lines. By not addressing the central conflict of the story, they leave us with only a vague feeling of what the movie's about, and only a vague feeling of why we should care.

• Some sacrifices must be made. (Wicker Man, 2006)
• Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. (Saw III)
• A New American Story. (ATL)

Of course, a story that taglines well doesn't necessarily make for a better movie. But being able to envision the compelling one-liner for the movie's poster-- a one-liner that actually describes the conflict of the story-- may help us envision a better and more cinematic story as we write it. Surely it's worth a try.

I know, I know, this post should've been shorter. Do as I say, not as I do, 'n' all that.