Nir Shelter, not all cinema is about stories and not all narratives are story-driven and plot is definitely not king. You have a mainstream outlook on movies which is fine but don’t impose it on others like some kind of religious zealot. There’s already enough misguided religion in the world. You need to broaden your horizons. Check out some European art films or some good old Cassavettes.

dpg, the thing is – the big budget Hollywood movie is a fantasy for most writers. So why limit ourselves by following their rules? So we can sell ten screenplays that never get made? Are we exploring the human condition or are we writers of video games?

I know, I’m preaching to the choir.

In Europe and the rest of the world we know it’s futile to try and compete with Hollywood or try and do what Hollywood does best. And, there have always been alternatives to mainstream cinema. The good news is that social media and VOD along with specialist or niche audiences now easily reached online means that we as writers have more freedom to engage and entertain.

And yes, even in this ‘brave new world’ loglines or plot summaries are still a necessity. I’m just personally against non-Hollywood writers who are not targeting that marketplace having their loglines criticized for failing to measure up to Hollywood standards.