How do you find an official summary or plot synopsis for a movie?
Running a movie blog can be tricky since not everyone knows about the movie the blogger is covering. One way to get around this is to have a short summary of the movie in the post. I like to put an official movie plot synopsis because it saves me from having to describe every movie I cover in a quick and easy to read package.
So why don't I use any random synopsis or write my own? First, I'm not very good at writing them, but movie studios are. In fact, movie studios are professional at it. They know how to write quick, easy to read descriptions of a movie without giving spoilers. Plus, there's the added benefit that the good ones will list the director, the main actors and who they play. So, I like them.
I already said that IMDb is useless, but I'll use them as an example of a bad place to get an official summary.
IMDb has summaries, but they tend to have spoilers. On the other hand, some are written by people who know nothing about the movie. They're terrible. For example, the summary for Iron Man 2 says:
Notice that the grammar is horrid and it gives away major plot points.
Here's the official synopsis:
Notice that it's exciting, interesting and gives the main plot points without giving anything away. Sure it's got those annoying promotions for the studio, but you can always cut those out.
So how do you find an official synopsis? Hit the jump to find out four ways to find an official movie summary for any movie.
1) Google "Official Poster Synopsis"
If a movie has been released within the last five years, the first thing I do is Google the movie title and "official poster synopsis." The reason I use the word "poster" is that, more often than not, the studio releases the plot summary along with the poster. I've gotten PR eails from Warner Bros that have a summary, history of the film and all the major cast. It's part of the standard press kit and it's great.
Here's a warning though: Sometimes the summary will change, so you have to find the most recent one. For example, here are the old and new synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness.
Old:
New:
2) Amazon
Running a movie blog can be tricky since not everyone knows about the movie the blogger is covering. One way to get around this is to have a short summary of the movie in the post. I like to put an official movie plot synopsis because it saves me from having to describe every movie I cover in a quick and easy to read package.
So why don't I use any random synopsis or write my own? First, I'm not very good at writing them, but movie studios are. In fact, movie studios are professional at it. They know how to write quick, easy to read descriptions of a movie without giving spoilers. Plus, there's the added benefit that the good ones will list the director, the main actors and who they play. So, I like them.
I already said that IMDb is useless, but I'll use them as an example of a bad place to get an official summary.
IMDb has summaries, but they tend to have spoilers. On the other hand, some are written by people who know nothing about the movie. They're terrible. For example, the summary for Iron Man 2 says:
"Tony Stark has declared himself Iron Man and installed world peace... or so he thinks. He soon realizes that not only is there a mad man out to kill him with his own technology, but there's something more: he is dying."
Notice that the grammar is horrid and it gives away major plot points.
Here's the official synopsis:
"Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the highly anticipated sequel to the blockbuster film based on the legendary Marvel Super Hero Iron Man, reuniting director Jon Favreau and Oscar® nominee Robert Downey Jr. In Iron Man 2, the world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the armored Super Hero Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James Rhodey Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces."
Notice that it's exciting, interesting and gives the main plot points without giving anything away. Sure it's got those annoying promotions for the studio, but you can always cut those out.
So how do you find an official synopsis? Hit the jump to find out four ways to find an official movie summary for any movie.
1) Google "Official Poster Synopsis"
If a movie has been released within the last five years, the first thing I do is Google the movie title and "official poster synopsis." The reason I use the word "poster" is that, more often than not, the studio releases the plot summary along with the poster. I've gotten PR eails from Warner Bros that have a summary, history of the film and all the major cast. It's part of the standard press kit and it's great.
Here's a warning though: Sometimes the summary will change, so you have to find the most recent one. For example, here are the old and new synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness.
Old:
In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes "Star Trek Into Darkness." When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
New:
In Summer 2013, director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
They're pretty much the same, but if you want to keep the message of the studio intact, you'd use the second one.2) Amazon
If it's an older film you won't find an official synopsis anywhere on Google. So, here's a technique I stumbled onto recently. Look for the DVD or Blu-Ray of the movie in Amazon and find the "Product Description" (or "Editorial Reviews"). You'll want to avoid the main description since it might be written by someone else. You want the one written by the studio, which is usually the boilerplate for the back of the box. If the movie has been released less than 5 years ago, the studio will often use the official summary as the product description.
On older films, over a decade old, it takes a few searches to find a good one. Usually the DVD or original release don't have a summary. But a re-release or "special edition" will usually have one. They tend to have a lot more details about the history of the film and the importance of the DVD. So, it's not perfect, but it's still written with the same informative style as modern movie summaries.
3) Wikipedia
Wikipedia summaries are nice, but they're very dry and technical without giving a plot. It's extremely rare, but sometimes Wikipedia will include the official summary. I'm assuming for copyright reasons they often cut it into pieces and omit sentences.
4) Google Snippet
This one is a real stretch, but I've had to use it a few times. If you're not sure if the synopsis is the official one, do a Google search for the official movie site and look in the snippet under the search link. Sometimes it will have the first sentence of the official synopsis. When you get to the site, you usually won't find it, but it'll let you know if you're on the right track. Just take the first sentence and search for it.
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Arek - Thursday, October 24, 2013
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