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Script Ideas: 5 Proven Ways to Unlock Original Movie Ideas.

Release your creativity, effectively brainstorm and come up with plot ideas that’ll get your next script noticed.

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by Script Reader Pro in Concept, Story and Theme
August 6, 2018 61 comments
script ideas

Script ideas: 5 proven ways to unlock original movie ideas.

Are you the kind of writer who has notepads full of script ideas that you don’t have enough time to write? Or do you spend hours staring at your computer screen waiting for “inspiration to strike?”

Unfortunately, we’re not all gifted with the ability to come up with good movie ideas at the drop of a hat. So how do you do it? How do you write a script if you don’t have a solid idea of what you want to write about? At all.

In this post, we’re going to show you the best way to brainstorm and come up with great movie ideas that you can turn into great scripts.

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1. Turn off your phone and get outside. 

This first step is one of the very best ways of coming up with great film ideas. Turn off your computer. Turn off your phone, iPad, TV and any other electrical hardware you own and make a commitment they’re going to stay off for X amount of hours.

Within this timeframe, get out the house and do some activities that give you the opportunity to let your mind wander. Go for a hike, or surfing, or sit in Starbucks and listen to other people’s conversations.

Or simply walk down a city street. Look up, take in your surroundings and interact with people and the world. You’re missing out on a million potential screenplay ideas when your head’s buried in your phone.

We recommend unplugging from technology for at least twenty-four hours, say, on a Saturday or Sunday. Really free the mind and reconnect with the present moment. You may be thinking all this sounds too simplistic. But giving your mind some time off from technology will give it the chance to roam.

Remember: Newton didn’t come up with the theory of gravity while scribbling equations on a blackboard. He was in his garden noticing an apple fall…

2. Study other writers’ loglines.

Here’s a perhaps more “screenwritery” method. One of the best ways to generate movie plot ideas is by riffing on existing ones. This will get your creative juices flowing enabling you to think more creatively about your own loglines.

Study aspiring writers’ script ideas.

Here’s a list from 2018’s annual Blacklist. Make notes. Combine elements from different loglines. Add your own protagonist to someone else’s plot, or your own plot to someone else’s protagonist.

Also, be sure to listen to Pilar Alessandra’s yearly logline contest. This is a great place to hear plot ideas and absorb as much as you can from them. In our post on the 10 Best Screenwriting Podcasts For Savvy Screenwriters, we include links to some of these logline contests.

The benefit of listening rather than reading is that you get to hear how the logline sounds when read out loud. Play around with all the different scenarios and you’ll come away with some promising new film ideas.

Study professional writers’ movie ideas.

It’s important to study loglines of produced movies too when you’re trying to come up with original plot ideas. Go to IMDb and gather together some loglines from movies in your chosen genre.

Study them. Have a think about what makes them good movie ideas. What makes you want to watch them (or not) purely from the logline alone? Try it with these examples below:

Drama script ideas. 

• A seasoned airline pilot who miraculously crash lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, saving nearly every soul on board, is hailed as a hero. But then questions arise as to who or what was really at fault and what really happened on the plane. (Flight)

A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential. (Whiplash)

After the dissolution of her marriage, death of her mother, and years of destructive behavior, a woman decides—with absolutely no experience—to hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. (Wild)

Comedy script ideas.

• In New York in 1928, a struggling playwright is forced to cast a mobster’s talentless girlfriend in his latest drama in order to get it produced. (Bullets Over Broadway)

A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery when the shady brother of one of them is seemingly kidnapped by dangerous gangsters. (Game Night)

When a seventy-year-old widower discovers that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, he seizes an opportunity to get back in the game by becoming a senior intern at an online fashion site. (The Intern)

Action movie ideas.

• A talented, young getaway driver relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss, he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom. (Baby Driver)

An ex-con reunites with his estranged wayward 17-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her. (Blood Father)

A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims. (Jack Reacher)

Thriller movie ideas. 

After getting in a car accident, a woman is held in a shelter with two men, who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack. (10 Cloverfield Lane)

A mysterious outsider’s quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family. (Blue Ruin)

A young African-American visits his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend, where a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined. (Get Out)

Horror movie ideas.

Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind. (The Blair Witch Project)

Hoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of young thieves break into the house of an old blind man who isn’t as helpless as he seems. (Don’t Breathe)

A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon. (Oculus)

As in the previous section, reading other people’s loglines should inspire you to come up with better film ideas yourself.

3. Plunder real life.

There’s often no real reason to bang your head against a wall trying to come up with movie ideas from scratch. Instead, plunder real life.

Real-life examples. 

(500) Days of Summer. Writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber wrote down every bad relationship experience they’d ever had on index cards and turned them into the screenplay for this downbeat Comedy.

Alpha Dog. Nick Cassavetes based the script to this film on the real-life kidnapping of a fifteen-year-old kid by his older brother’s drug dealer.

Zodiac. James Vanderbilt and Robert Graysmith based their script on the lives of the journalists and investigators involved in the real-life serial killer case: the Zodiac Killer.

Become a research fanatic.

Keep up with the news. Keep a notepad with you at all times and jot down interesting screenplay ideas from local newspapers and the national TV news.

Subscribe to a news channel for daily updates. Watch documentaries in the genre you want to write a screenplay in. Get into the habit of hitting “Random Article” on Wikipedia and seeing what comes up.

Also, listen to the Scriptnotes podcast. John August and Craig Mazin often include a section in which they take some real incidents and see how they could be developed as good movie ideas.

Finally, have a think about your own life. Has something happened to you or to someone you know that’d make a good story? Or maybe you could loosely base some of your characters on actual people in your life. This is an effective way of helping them feel “real.”

screenwriting mentor

4. Focus on what moves you. 

Are you passionate about skateboarding? Or astrophysics? Or wiener dogs? What puts a fire in your belly? What subject would you really love basing the plot or theme of your script around?

Often this is a great way to come up with movie script ideas because you’re starting from a point of passion. And this will come across in your writing and bring a level of authenticity to your work that’s lacking in many aspiring writers’ specs.

Have a think about some of your favorite protagonists. What are they passionate about? What skills do they have? What knowledge do they impart to the audience?

For example, in Sideways, we’re impressed by Miles’ expert knowledge of wine. It makes him relatable and believable. In Everest, we really feel the climbers’ passion for mountaineering. In Whiplash, Andrew’s love of drumming is palpable.

In each case, the writer has simply injected their own passions into their protagonists. And you can do the same.

5. Forget “what if?” and relax. 

You may have heard the advice that when trying to come up with good movie ideas you should ask yourself “what if?” The theory goes that you come up with a character or a situation ask “what if?” and then “see what happens.”

What if a guy was walking to work and suddenly gets kidnapped?

What if all the food in the world ran out?

What if a chauvinist could hear women’s thoughts?

The problem here is that essentially there’s not much difference between asking “what if” and just brainstorming trying coming up with a logline. You have to think “what could happen next?” when you’re thinking about screenplay ideas anyway and this often leads to a build of pressure and writer’s block.

A better way to come up with movie script ideas is to take the pressure off as much as possible. Rather than sitting there in front of a blank page, take a leaf out of Hitchcock’s working method. It’s relayed here by one of his cowriters.

Hitchcock’s script idea method.

“When we came up against a block and our discussions became very heated and intense, he would stop suddenly and tell a story that had nothing to do with the work at hand. At first, I was almost outraged, and then I discovered that he did this intentionally.

He mistrusted working under pressure, and he would say, ‘We’re pressing, we’re pressing, we’re working too hard. Relax, it will come.’ And of course if finally always did.”

If your plot ideas aren’t flowing as well as you’d like, the first thing to do is to take a step back. Relax. Don’t beat yourself if things aren’t panning out as you’d like right now. They probably will.

Script ideas FAQs. 

Below you’ll find answers to some commonly asked questions we get at Script Reader Pro about creating good movie ideas.

1. Can I use a movie idea generator?

Firstly you may be asking “what is a movie idea generator?” (Also known as a “film idea generator” or “script idea generator.”)

These are websites which generally consist of a single form that asks you to choose different responses to various questions in a drop-down menu. For example, is your protagonist a retired cop or a circus performer? Is their goal to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring or rescue a pet hamster? Is the movie like The Shining or Ratatouille?

As you can imagine, using a film ideas generator is pretty limiting. We don’t really recommend it if you want to come up with compelling plot ideas for feature or short scripts.

Rather than spending time on a movie idea generator, follow the methods we’ve outlined in this post and you should do just fine.

2. Do I have to copyright my script ideas?

No, it’s impossible to copyright an idea for a movie. The truth is, an idea is just an idea. It’s the execution of that idea that holds value. Not the initial idea itself.

3. Are producers looking for movie ideas?

Unfortunately, no. There’s nowhere to submit movie ideas and producers aren’t looking for movie ideas in themselves. What they’re looking for is the finished article. In other words, a feature screenplay or short script based on a great movie idea.

4. Can I get Paid for script ideas?

If you run an internet search on “how to sell a movie idea” and find yourself on a website that claims it’s possible to do so, get out of there as quickly as possible.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, there’s no real market for selling just film ideas. You’ll need to write a spec yourself or collaborate with another writer and then try and sell it.

5. So why do you advise that we write film ideas as loglines?

This is a great exercise in order to make sure your concept is rock solid before you start writing the script. And can potentially save you months of rewrites. It’s also handy to have a logline of your script ready as an elevator pitch or to add to a query letter. Here’s the step-by-step guide on How to Write a Logline: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide.

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How to come up with great script ideas: conclusion.

We hope this post will help you generate some great script ideas. However, it’s not enough to just come up with script ideas, they have to be original. Ultimately, there has to be something within the conflict of your story that marks it out as different in some way.

We recently produced some script coverage on a writer’s script about a middle-aged woman who lives with a foul-mouthed talking Sindy doll. When we pointed out the similarities between her script and the movie Ted, she replied, “Okay, but imagine Ted hadn’t been made. How would my story stand up then?”

But the problem is Ted has already been made. Audiences have already seen the whole thing with an adult talking to a childhood toy, so this idea just didn’t cut it in the originality stakes.

The case of The Hangover. 

Before The Hangover, had you ever seen a comedy about three guys who wake up from a bachelor party to discover the groom’s missing and they have no idea why?

Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s script was a spec, and one of the primary reasons it got bought and got made is the originality of the concept. This is key to coming up with plot ideas that get turned into effective features and short films.

Overall, if your film ideas are cliched you’ll need to rethink them. Our post How to Write a Logline: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide will give you a full breakdown on how to make sure it’s ready to be written.

Turn off your phone and get outside. Read other writers’ script ideas. Check your plot ideas against those on IMDb. Plunder real life for movie ideas and focus on what you’re most passionate about. But most important of all: be original.

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How do you come up with loglines and script ideas for your projects? What do you think of our suggestions? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

script coverage

Liked this post? Read more on how to generate great script ideas…

High Concept: What It Is and How to Apply It to Your Story Idea

How to Write a Script Outline That Will Save You Months of Rewrites

How to Use a Script Analysis Worksheet to Bulletproof Act 1

[© Photo credits:
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61 Comments
  1. TRAVIS says:

    Robocop 2 Future Crime. Opening seen. Picture it’s the middle of the day in NYC. There’s a very busy bank open for business. One of the customers notices there’s a armored drone hovering outside the window. As he stares closely he discovers that it is silently drilling a hole into the window. Shocked from what he is witnessing, frozen in the moment the drone inserts an explosive device. Boom! Drone enters the bank equipped with 5 pounds of C4 and the operator makes his demands threw his multiple lensed warbot friend. Everything from robbery,drug dealing, to Human trafficking. THE future of crime. Who will stop the criminals as the crime rate soars? Robocop is there only hope of the city not turning into a desolate wasteland. From our World of corruption to our day of self Distruction? I would love to watch this one day if it was a movie or a TV series. Maybe Robocop Future Crime if it was turned into a tv series.

  2. Iris says:

    I want to be a filmmaker but it’s hard to put the idea into practice. I was very stressed about this. Luckily, I found this article of yours. It really helped me a lot. I don’t feel alone on my journey. Thank you

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks for reading, Iris – glad it helped 🙂

  3. Iris says:

    I want to be a filmmaker but it’s hard to put the idea into practice. I was very stressed about this. Luckily, I found this article of yours. It really helped me a lot. I don’t feel alone on my journey. Thank you

  4. Jeff Carbine says:

    I loved it when you said that unfortunately, we’re not all gifted with the ability to come up with good movie ideas at the drop of a hat. My cousin wants to become a filmmaker. I will share this post for him to have the knowledge on how to become a good filmmaker and be one in the industry.

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks for reading, Jeff!

  5. Srinivas says:

    Thank you for your great advice. Hope I could finish off my script without pressure

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Glad you found it useful, Srinivas!

  6. Fred kibirige says:

    Well, am much conviced with the great ideas above and am interested at becoming a great script film writer.how will i build this dream too far??

  7. Azaz says:

    Thank you.

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      You’re welcome, Azaz.

  8. Aejaj saiyed says:

    Thanks

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Glad you enjoyed it!

  9. Jeanne Gaughan says:

    Just returning from Nicaraguua, there are miles of semis awaiting to cross the border from Costa Rica to Nicaraqua. Sometimes it takes three days of waiting to cross. They need to unload everything and load everything back in for each truck. Woman deliver baskets of food to the drivers. But what else happens?!!!!! Would love to know.

  10. Steve says:

    Thanks for this article. I like the bit about forgetting ‘what if’ and just relax

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Great, glad you enjoyed the post, Steve 🙂

  11. John S. says:

    Steam. It’s Saw, but in a gay bathhouse.

  12. Neal Scarola says:

    I heard some news about Eddie Murphy. I guess on the Jimmy Kimmel show he made an anouncement. I guess he’s going to do stand up comedy again. And he’s going to be on SNL? Crazy!

  13. Anand G. Mondhe says:

    Thank you so much…. i have so many ideas in my mind about film but here Some complication and difficulties always comes and destroying my full future planing about the film, the present tips is really helpful for Me Sir/Madam !

  14. Sheila says:

    Excellent read, I just passed this onto my writing group.

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Awesome, thanks, Sheila!

    2. Lackson Habuwele says:

      I utterly support the idea of turn of your phone, iPad, computer,TV and so on…..go outside for fresh air to renew your mind. The supper hero script which am working on, I had run out of ideas were he will get the supper powers to protect the human universe against the peril which the [T3N] did outside earth. I decided to pack the book and go outside for nice air in the pouring rains. Anomaly there was a great Lightning accompanied by a great thunderstorms…… Peculiar my mind was open were he will get his supper powers…

      1. Script Reader Pro says:

        Perfect example of what we’re talking about 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Lackson.

  15. Jennifer Campbell says:

    I have a true story. Me and my family have been the victims of IDENTITY theft. They have used voice to skull and put a chemical into our home. I am military and I believe they intended tp eliminate me and my family to cover up their crimes. I have photos and documentation of this.

  16. Ronald says:

    Thank you very much for each one of the greats advises you wrote.

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks, Ronald!

      1. Mookymoo says:

        So yeah … ummmm anyone think OJ did it??

  17. Rose Bellah says:

    Wow! This are really great ideas. Thanks

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks a lot, Rose!

  18. Anina Eberhart says:

    Great instructions, some of them fit to what I already do and the others will certainly help to stick to it and keep going (in Germany everybody asks for “fresh ideas and/or new and inspiring writers”. Problem is that when it comes to a call for a script these same people ask for “at least one realized film/movie”. So I try to get every (good) advice possible to not drift into complete resignation :-). Thank you for keeping our writing spirits up!

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks, Anina! Best of luck with your writing endeavors in Germany.

  19. Petra says:

    This has been an eye opening read for me. Feel like I need to go back to my story and work on the concept from the beginning. Thank you!!

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Good luck, Petra!

  20. William Whiteford says:

    “BEING THERE” (1973, Director: Hal Ashby; Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and the others) is one of the possible but simple responses to Krista’s question – it is sufficient to be there (in a genre of comedy, at least).
    As a movie is a blend of reality and fiction, both sources of inspiration: the reality and the author’s own brain are eligible. The fictitious bomb attack on the Greenwich Observatory, for instance, is taken from the real newspaper’s announcement as in “The Secret Agent” by Joseph Conrad (1907).

  21. Raychard says:

    Write. Rewrite and rewrite again. My motto is…. I can write what ever I like. It doesn’t have to be like any other movie I ever daw

  22. Krista says:

    When reserved Shawn inherits his father’s estate, turning him into an instant billionaire, the private world he once enjoyed is now public information when the media labels him the ‘Most Desirable Man Alive’. Struggling to navigate his newfound status and desiring to stay out of the spotlight, Shawn doesn’t expect to meet outgoing Shelley, who seems genuinely interested in him, but society’s expectations for him to always cater to the media, a constant bodyguard presence, and a sudden deluge of eligible bachelorettes keep coming between them.

  23. Ola says:

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as
    though you relied on the video to make your point.
    You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be
    giving us something enlightening to read?

  24. Amlan Basu says:

    Superb ideas to follow and stick to this.

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks for reaching out, Amian!

  25. Marc Staines says:

    Thanks for this wonderful article. You put writing a logline in such an easy way I like it.

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks a lot, Marc!

  26. Edward Rutland says:

    This is hands down the best post on freeing yourself as a writer I’ve read. This site’s a freaking goldmine, thank you!!

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks, Edward, really appreciate it!

  27. Jay says:

    How do I do this in practice tho. I feel like I write and think its good but everyone read it and says its not good.

  28. Edgar says:

    Muito obrigado pelas dicas, sempre a nos ajudar

  29. Dennis King says:

    Where can I find more do you have more articles like this on being a different writer from everyone else?

  30. curtis settle says:

    Totally agree with turning your phone off and getting outside. It’s amazing what ideas you can have when you disconnect from all that crap on Facebook and Twitter Great post guys!

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks, Curtis. Yes, every writer should do it at least once a month.

  31. Paul Carroll says:

    I’m not a writer, but I would like to see someone do a remake of George Orwell’s, “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, incorporating modern technology (cell phones, home computers, social media, etc.) to accomplish the state’s objective to continuously monitor its citizens conversations, movements and even their thoughts. “Big Brother” could be similar to a cult-like president who was “elected” by the easily swayed under-educated rabble. The persuasive power of “the party”, which is actually an elite group that controls both major political parties would illicit the services of the “thought police”, taking action against “subversives” in the form of convincing the public of the dangers of independent thinking. This effort would be reinforced by the puppet talk show hosts, shaming subversives into submission. The protagonist, Winston Smith, would enter a forbidden relationship with a woman of another race or perhaps even a Muslim. The state, claiming that she is a terrorist and a danger to public safety, would begin hunting them down.

  32. Michele H says:

    Where can I find more loglines. You haven’t given enough sources. Otherwise it’s a good article.

  33. Datiya Tabet says:

    This is what sets scriptreader pro apart from other screenwriting blogs: thinking outside the box. LOVE IT.

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Thanks so much, Datiya!

  34. Bryan Rosenfeld says:

    Moive idea generator?? Do people seriously use these things??

    1. Script Reader Pro says:

      Can’t say it’s the best idea but some writers do, yes.

  35. Alfalssi says:

    How much will it cost me for you to evaluate my movie ideas? I have a lot and they’re ready for sale for Hollywood.

  36. SD says:

    Zodiac was an adaptation of Graysmith’s novel about the Zodiac Killer, not an original idea based on the Son of Sam.

  37. Aaron says:

    Thanks for suggesting new ways to finding good script ideas. I’ve been thinking about new ideas for my next screenplay for months and it’s driving me crazy. I will definitely take a no technology weekend, go offline and let my creativity flow. Hopefully that helps! 🙂

  38. Geof Spalding says:

    A fickle woman miraculously survives a fire only to discover that her fiancé never existed. Things get worse when a deranged detective believes she is a terrorist. She must work with a psychologist, with his own issues, if she wants to discover the truth.

  39. Gina Gina says:

    A man wakes up to realize his whole life has been a dream and now he must fight to get back awake before it becomes a nightmare.

    1. Loressa says:

      Who is the man? Read that first section about thumbnails and describe him. Why does the dream become a nightmare? So, if he ‘wakes up’, then why does he have to get back awake? Also, this logline needs irony.

    2. Script Reader Pro says:

      Hi Gina, as Loressa says we need much more information here about who this man is, where he’s come from and what the source of antagonism is.

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