Let's Run It By Marketing

Been thinking about an element from a John August post a couple months ago. I didn't say I'd been thinking quickly.

His post is a recap of a WGA panel discussion, in which one of the panelists weighed in on how amazingly important the title of a script is.

"If you can pitch and understand it as a title, it’s gigantic. If you can sell it with a logline, great. If you need a paragraph, you’re in trouble."

Can you understand the movie as a title? Can I get my chickpea sized brain around the story simply by seeing the poster? Do I get it?

Which got me thinking about movies that have -- based on that criteria -- nailed their titles.

Knocked Up. I get it. I know what it's about. Someone got pregnant. And it's funny.
40-Year-Old Virgin. Dude's forty. And he's a virgin.
Wedding Crashers. Dudes go to weddings. And they weren't invited. I need to see that.
Lassie Come Home. Lassie's not home. We want her home. Heartstrings. Tugged.

By contrast, there are titles that require me to sit through an entire movie just to decide if I want to see the movie. Like I have time for that.

A Bridge Too Far. Then start with something closer. Duh.
From Here To Eternity. And divide by zero. Is this a trick question?
Dr. Zhivago. Dude could be a dermatologist. I don't get it.
Casablanca. Casa-what?

Bonus points if you can do it in one word.
Big
Titanic
Jaws
Speed

Points deducted if it takes you a complete sentence.

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids
So I Married An Ax Murderer
Dude, Where's My Car?
I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Which leads to the best titles of all time (that I came up with in 45 seconds).

Ghostbusters
Star Wars
Back To The Future
Planet Of The Apes. It's a planet. Of apes.

Soundtrack to the Summer

The early leader for Soundtrack to the Summer honors is going to Fanfarlo.

Sort of a less spastic Clap Your Hands Say Yeah meets David Byrne (which sort of goes without saying since Clap spliced some of David's DNA) meets Arcade Fire.

Say Hi...

Similar to my Parts & Labor scribblings, I found three or four of my own jottings mentioning the band/dude Say Hi...

Start with Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh and Elouise (play button in bottom right).