I’ve been following the awesome Alexandra Sokoloff‘s pre-Nanowrimo workshop on her blog. If you haven’t checked her out yet, do. She’s got tons of great information on her blog, especially if you are a plotter. So far, we’ve made a list of ten movies that are somehow related to our Nanowrimo ideas, and we are now writing premise lines for all 10 of those movies. I just finished mine, so I thought I’d post them here. I used Netflix to get me going, so some of these are lifted almost word-for-word from Netflix because they were really good! (Others from Netflix were awful and I pretty much had to start from scratch.) So, here are my master list and premise lines. (See if you can figure out what I might be working on for Nanowrimo!)

1. The Time Machine (1960)

On the eve of the 20th century, December 31, 1899, a scientist invents a time machine that allows him to travel to the distant future, which he hopes will be a peaceful utopia, only to find that earth’s future harbors a more sinister evil than he could have imagined.

1b. The Time Machine (2002)– This one’s a bonus because I felt like I should do a different one for each movie, since the motivations were so different.

A heartbroken Victorian-era scientist invents a time machine to save his fiance from death, but finds that he cannot save her, and the reason can only be found in earth’s dark, distant future, in the caves where a sinister evil rules.

2. Kate & Leopold (2001)

A jaded ad executive’s ex brings a 19th century nobleman-cum-inventor through a time portal to present-day New York City, and the modern career woman discovers she just might need more 1896 in her life.

3. The Time Traveler’s Wife (book– I haven’t seen the movie.)

Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare.

4. The Little Mermaid (1989)

Impetuous mermaid princess Ariel falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and bargains everything in a deal with Ursula the Sea Witch for a chance to have her prince.

5. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

To prevent a world war from breaking out, famous characters from Victorian literature band together to do battle against a cunning villain known as the Fantom.

6. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

English aristocrat and adventurer Lara Croft battles a sinister secret society in search of a relic that holds power over time… and life.

7. Bruce Almighty (2003)

Unfulfilled “human interest” television reporter Bruce prays after a very bad day and receives God’s divine powers to do with as he will, but Bruce soon finds that even the greatest power won’t get him the thing he wants most in the world.

8. Return of the Jedi (1983)

The ragtag band of galactic rebels, now led by Jedi Luke Skywalker and his friends, return for a last stand against the evil Empire, giving Luke one last chance to find the man, his father, within the evil more-machine-than-man Darth Vader.

9. Star Trek: Generations (1994)

Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise must save a planet from destruction by a mad scientist, hell-bent on returning to an energy field called the Nexus; but when Picard himself enters the Nexus, he must overcome the desire to stay in his personal paradise in order to complete his mission.

10. Van Helsing (2004)

Vampire hunter Van Helsing’s hunt leads him to a mysterious region of Eastern Europe to track down and kill Count Dracula, but will the price for vanquishing this evil be too high?