2009 has seen a boom at the box office.
And it’s been a lesson for anyone interested in what “high concept” means.
The movies that have done well satisfy everything we imply by this term. Take a look at the $100 million+ hits (all except one which just opened) that have “surprised” so many since January 1.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Taken, Monsters vs. Aliens, Fast and Furious and17 Again are movies that have different tones, fall into different genres and target audiences — but also have a lot in common:
Original ideas — Some screenwriter, or team thereof, sat down and thought it up. And though Fast and Furious is the fourth in the franchise, it too started life as an original not based on any other source.
Says “what it is” — These movies each tell us in the poster and the title what each movie is “about.”
Easy to explain — Whether we like the idea or not, each has a premise we can pitch.
The term “high concept” is still unclear to me. I first heard it in relation to Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney in the early ’80s. The term meant that such a movie was “easy to see” and understand from its poster. And one thing I think “high concept” has is what I coach filmmakers about:
Primal — Bruce Snyder, Distribution President at Fox, used this very word in a recent interview to help explain why Taken was a hit. Someone took my daughter. I have to get her back. “Primal.” Got it.
Fresh — “Die Hard in a Mall.” That’s my pitch for Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Creators gave us “the same thing only different,” just when I thought the last Die Hard in a ________ movie had been made. Guess again.
Two Worlds in Collision — It’s there in the title of Monsters vs. Aliens. One thing that catches our attention as an audience is conflict. The bigger the better. And when we see worlds in collision, best!
During my first trip to the UK (my third trip to London is coming up and my weekend is selling out fast), I saw that the BBC had a website that allowed viewers to listen to the albums of “100 Unsigned Rock Bands.” So when I dipped into the list, “dropping the needle” on song after song, what was I listening for?
I was listening for a ‘hook” — something that made me want to keep listening! We can learn a lot from this and from “High Concept.” No matter what our story, we have to start by getting attention. The means of getting our stories out there is easy — but will anybody “drop the needle” on us — and stay?
Our job is to make sure they do by creating concepts we can tell, that intrigue, that “travel” because their themes are universal. For studios, writers, and creators who love “high concept,” it is our time to shine.
p.s. One of the movies I saw recently that I liked a lot was Fighting, produced by Kevin Misher. Really interesting performances by Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum, and several standout cameo roles. What’s the pitch? It’s Rocky for the millennium, with a little bit of Midnight Cowboy thrown in. Good stuff.
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If I had to define a “high concept” I’d refer to analogy with setting up a business. Because what’s the single most important factor of success when starting a new firm?
Innovation.
It doesn’t necessarily mean an original concept nobody has invented before. It can be an innovation in the scope of organization, service, know-how, design and so on. Of course your business doesn’t have to be innovative to success, but some form of innovation certainly increases your chances.
When it comes to screenwriting, I think the analogy is obvious. Innovative plot, twist, characters, set up, background, or any of their combinations is what makes the project stand out from the crowd and grab our attention. And that’s why it sells so well.
However, there is also a kind of dark side of a high concept ideas. They grab our attention but also push up our expectations, and thus the right execution is crucial if we want to satisfy the audience, not just sell the tickets.
Blake and some of you may not agree with me, but I will risk a thesis that a hook and a good trailer are often enough to create a box office hit despite of major story flaws.
“Mall Cop” is an excellent example. Apart from innovative combination of neat idea, hilarious hero and funny trailer moments, what itself makes watching this movie an enjoyable experience, many aspects of this story’s execution are rather weak.
Bad guys are not bad at all, perhaps a bit naughty, and definitely lacking charisma or comic aspect. A lot of action and characters’ behavior doesn’t have much sense and some things just happen simply because plot needs them to happen (e.g. How a hero’s daughter could enter a surrounded building not being noticed neither by the cops nor by the terrorists, or even not noticing herself anything bad happening around? Is it because the building wasn’t surrounded?)
Of course it’s a comedy so we should give realism a little break, but for me it’s always a little disappointment to see a juicy concept movie not squeezed to the bone.
Alex, I agree 100% with the risks of “high concept” Recently I posted the “Ten Commandments of Screenwriting Excellence” the main thrust of which is we must keep demanding more of ourselves as writers and constantly push the art forward. I think we can have both: Great ideas… well told. Great ideas… with meaning. Great ideas… that deliver on the “promise of the premise” in all brand new ways. I recently read an excellent article in Harvard Business Review about the Pixar creative model. One of the things that struck me is what a Pixar director said that a great movie isn’t just one great idea but a thousand great ideas. That really home with me! But being a good communicator is partially just about being considerate. You the audience don’t know what’s in my mind, so I have to invite you into my world. That’s the poster and concept. An invitation to a great party. We still have to throw the party! Great comment, Alex!
Alex, how wonderfully ironic that the definition of, “High-Concept”
can be found in a single word: INNOVATION. Nice.
Blake, you just completely removed the panic I feel about pitching.
Now, I’ll just stroll into the room like I’m about to invite
everyone to the most innovative party they ever heard of.
I think “high concept” is really just a way of saying “clear concept”.
Amy, it’s not enough for the “concept” to be clear. It also
has to be innovative, in a way that makes you say, “Jeeze, I
wish I’d thought of that!”
Sorry. I didn’t think that actually needed to be articulated.
“One of the things that struck me is what a Pixar director said that a great movie isn’t just one great idea but a thousand great ideas” — oh yeah, that’s so true. Funny thing is, this one sentence holds more than one interpretation and each of them is equally valid.
It can mean that a great movie doesn’t rest solely on a great motif but thousand of sub-great ideas which make the execution just right.
It can also mean that one excellent movie has a potential to inspire a thousand new excellent ideas. To be a mine of innovation. Fuel for our imagination.
But the closest interpretation to screenwriter’s heart is probably this one; a great idea brings along a thousand fascinating paths we could follow but unfortunately have to pick only a few. Even if it means a Sophie’s Choice…
I saw Fighting this weekend, and I think it was pretty good, too. Terence Howard, Channing Tatum, and Zulay Henao were great. The story was very visceral and connected with me (and probably everyone else who saw it) on a basic emotional level. The film felt like it was missing a few key scenes to help us connect more with the lead character in the beginning, but it kind of made up for it with the exposition a la research that the leading lady was doing. Anyway, I agree it was a good story well performed.
Hmmm, have to take issue with the idea that “17 Again” is innovative. It might have been high concept and innovative once – about 30 years ago – but the pitch for “17 Again” was obviously an exec saying “you know those bodyswap movies in the ’80s we always used to pitch? One of them”. Not so much high concept as an old concept.