What Screenwriting Teaches Product Builders: A Review of 'Save the Cat!'

Amazon

In a nutshell

I’m diving into video editing this year—and hit a wall on story structure.
“Save the Cat!” offers concrete tools for shaping narratives that apply directly to product and service concepts.
Pitching scripts to directors mirrors startup sales: clarity, hook, and audience.

2020, and I’m stuck—in story structure

New year, new projects. I spent the holidays editing video.

Technically, the edits were fine. The problem? The cut was boring. Pacing felt off. The structure didn’t pull you through.

While reading the Star Wars chapter in “Hit Makers” (Derek Thompson), another book jumped out at me.

Enter “Save the Cat!” (Blake Snyder)—a Hollywood staple. Time to learn screenwriting fundamentals.

Screenplays are elevator pitches

If you want your script made, you need a logline—one crisp sentence that hooks a producer or director fast.

It’s the startup elevator pitch in another domain. If it isn’t clear, it won’t sell.

What I like about the book: it doesn’t rush you to “just write.” It insists you sweat the logline, world, and structure first. If you can’t land the logline, you haven’t clarified the story.

Great loglines signal tone, audience, and even budget at a glance:

A cop visits his estranged wife; terrorists seize the building. “Die Hard” (1988)

A businessman falls for the escort he hired for a weekend. “Pretty Woman” (1990)

Snyder’s “Beat Sheet” breaks a two‑hour film into 15 beats, with page ranges for each. Bold claim: it works for nearly any film. Skeptical? Try mapping a few favorites—you’ll be surprised.

Hollywood is a tough market

The book also peeks behind the curtain of how scripts actually sell.

In the ’90s, script auctions boomed—agents sparked bidding wars, prices soared, and many expensive scripts never got made.

In the 2000s, cable and the internet reshaped the business. Studios leaned on proven directors and packaged projects; open auctions faded. For new writers, getting an agent to champion your work became essential.

Then came the sequel/reboot era—lower risk, familiar IP. Fewer chairs, more players.

The takeaway for creators and founders is the same: sharpen the logline. In crowded markets, only a crisp hook wins limited attention—on a pitch call or on the App Store.

I picked up “Save the Cat!” for video, but it doubled as a marketing book—great for stress‑testing startup ideas and positioning.

Amazon