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RANT: HIGH CONCEPT vs. yawn...

Unknown Screenwriter

Unknown Screenwriter

I thought I would attempt to solicit some IndieTalk opinions about a subject that is near and dear to me...

The topic is screenplays overall with an emphasis on screenwriting contests... I have a friend who's an A-LIST screenwriter and over the last few weeks, we've been on the phone till the wee hours of the morning discussing this business of screenwriting...

The following is my opinion only and for ME... In this business, it keeps ringing true on a day by day basis...

Here we go...

First of all... I know a lot of people that want to write a SPEC script and use it as a way of breaking into the business... They may ultimately want to be directors or producers but that being said... One of the very best ways to break into this business is to write that BREAK-OUT spec script that blows everyone away.

Let me also define "the business" a little further...

I'm talking about writing spec scripts for Hollywood. Not necessarily Indie films with little or no budget... I'm talking about writing something that gets your foot in the door with the big boys of Smell-A.

My opinion, as discussed with my A-List friend, is that everywhere we go, we have NEGATIVE OBSTACLES getting in our way... I'm not talking about the usual obstacles i.e., not knowing anyone, needing an agent, etc...

No...

I'm mostly talking about entrepreneurs... i.e., screenwriting contests, screenwriting books, screenwriting magazines, screenwriting gurus, etc.

I've been able to peek through the Hollywood barrier more than a few times since I've been writing... I've had some success and have even gotten a job or two but admittedly, I'm not an A-List writer... However, the little I've been able to access other working writers, producers, directors, etc., one thing stands clear above and beyond everything else...

HIGH CONCEPT SCREENWRITING.

Again... For clarification purposes... I'm not talking about indie low budget, Avant-Garde or experimental films... I'm not even talking about stuff like David Lynch would write... Charlie Kaufman yes, but not Lynch. I'm talking strictly about scripts that get sold to Hollywood and made into a film...

Everywhere I turn, I see screenwriting contests, books, gurus, etc., telling the proverbial wanna-be to write what they know, write what you feel, etc... From much of these recommendations, I see lots of screenwriters winning contests with historical stories, quirky character stories, etc... In fact, many a contest seems to be won with smaller type NON HIGH CONCEPT screenplays.

This would be fine as long as the screenwriters aren't trying to break into the business... And, I no means have any data or information to back this up but out of the some 75,000 PLUS screenplays that get written every year, the majority of the people that write these ARE IN FACT attempting to get noticed, discovered, a job, or better yet, SOLD.

Which takes me back to the problem...

It seems to me... With my limited observations with screenwriters/filmmakers that most are missing one very important factor... HIGH CONCEPT.

I schlep my way through at least 10 to 15 spec scripts a month for friends, for money, for coverage, etc. and at least 99% of these scripts suck. Poorly written, no structure, no real story, no real protagonist or antagonist, etc.

The 1% that do make the grade are RARELY high concept. Don't get me wrong... They are well written scripts. Clear characters and decent storytelling but one huge problem... WHO CARES?

Over the last 10 plus years, we seem to be somehow endorsing everyone and their brother to write these cute, quirky, character driven, scripts... Which they do and do very well but these very same scripts fail to make the grade in Hollywood. This would be fine as long as the writer doesn't want to try and break in but my unofficial survey tells me different. My unofficial survey tells me that 99% of the people I know that write screenplays DO IN FACT WANT TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD or the HOLLYWOOD SYSTEM.

If you're lucky, one of these cool little scripts might get you some meetings but as usual, I know many many people that DIE in these meetings when asked what other material they are working on... As soon as they SPEAK about their projects, big group YAWN.

Please don't misunderstand me...

I am not telling anyone to quit writing those cool little quirky scripts... What I am saying is that to break into the Hollywood system or maybe I should say to maximize your chances of breaking into the system, you really need to have a high concept story. I would even go so far as to ask yourself the following question about your story, "WOULD I PAY $10 TO GO SEE THIS STORY AT A THEATER?"

Better yet...

A better question might be to ask your next door neighbor, your teenage brother, your sister's boyfriend, etc., if THEY would pay $10 to go see your story at a theater... Chances are (if these people are AVERAGE movie-goers) the answer will be NO.

I guess my complaint is this...

I see a ton of thoughtful and dedicated work on a monthly basis... Almost all falls short of its eventual goal i.e., to break someone into the business because the story is flat... Not important. Not something that will make you sit up and wonder about it.

I feel that contests, books (not all books mind you, but a large portion), gurus, and magazines do would-be future Hollywood screenwriters a huge injustice when they pick these quirky little scripts that rarely sell as winners... I feel that contests should be somewhat like the minor leagues of baseball... They need to prepare the hopeful screenwriter of what and how they should be writing.

Every time one of these cute little heartwarming scripts wins a contest, other hopefuls see this and figure, "Hey, I have a story like that..." Again, I'm not putting these kinds of scripts or stories down in any way. I've read lots of them in fact... What I am saying is that when one of these scripts wins a contest, it creates a lot of false hope in the minds of other screenwriters.

I will be the first one to say that Hollywood is losing ground with it's cookie cutter, sequel, built-in audience, book adaptation formulas of movie-making.

They suck. Just go watch SAHARA... LOL.

What I would like to impress upon those of you who really know how to write and WANT TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD is to take that great writing of yours and turn it into a HIGH CONCEPT story and when you finally get to that A-List mountain top, go ahead and divert your attention to those cool little screenplays you once churned out and won contests with.

WHY?

Because I think that's the only way we're going to see a real improvement in the films we see... This weekend, I really wanted to go to the movies... In fact, going to the movies USED to be something I looked forward to on the weekend...

Not anymore.

Just one look at the myriad of slop playing here locally gets me back to work on my own script(s).

So what's the difference between the slop and the quirky, cool little scripts? HIGH CONCEPT, pure and simple. No more -- No less.

Almost all use similar structure but the idea just isn't BIG ENOUGH!

I know there's a lot of us out here that have some compelling, character driven story inside of us waiting to get out... That's cool. Do it. Just don't expect that kind of story/screenplay to get you into the system. Take that same technical expertise you have and attach it to a HIGH CONCEPT, and now we're talking... Once you're in the system, then you can make changes to it... i.e., Robert Rodriguez. He went against the grain of Hollywood and made his SpyKids films as well as Sin City... All high concept but done his way. That's how you change things in this world. You can't change shit in Hollywood by writing cool little stories that nobody cares about... I would recommend writing a book with stories like those because I think you would still stand a much better chance of getting your work made if someone publishes it into a book first.

You gotta have a big story. Without it, nobody in Hollywood will care. They KNOW what sells. Small stories rarely do and when they do, they rarely make money.

Like I said... If you're just into making your own films from your own work... No problem. This rant isn't meant for you but if you want to break into Hollywood... Make enough money to start making your own films your own way so you can make some improvements to the system, write HUGE! Come up with those HUGE ideas and write them the same way you write those small, compelling stories you do so well...

filmy
 
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Okay, I've got a couple versions of a high concept (I hope) I'd like some opinions on, puhleezeeeeeeee. Thank-you, much!

1. Jaded filmmaker struggles to bring her masterwork to fruition before she goes blind.

or...

2. Battleworn newsreelist struggles to see her swan song completed before she goes blind.

Do you think I need to add the 'why' of her going blind?
 
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bird said:
Okay, I've got a couple versions of a high concept (I hope) I'd like some opinions on, puhleezeeeeeeee. Thank-you, much!

1. Jaded filmmaker struggles to bring her masterwork to fruition before she goes blind.

or...

2. Battleworn newsreelist struggles to see her swan song completed before she goes blind.

Do you think I need to add the 'why' of her going blind?
Click to expand...


...how about:

"Jaded filmmaker struggles to bring her masterwork to fruition before 'enter your affliction' takes her sight."

or

"Battleworn newsreelist struggles to see her swan song completed before 'enter your affliction' takes her sight"

...you can kind of just say why she is going blind... :)

--spinner :cool:
 
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Good article about HIGH CONCEPT...

High Concept Defined Once and For All
by Steve Kaire

High Concept is a term that’s been confused, misunderstood and misused by writers for decades. The common belief is that it’s any movie that can be pitched in one sentence. A man who battles his wife for custody of their children is one sentence, but it’s a million miles from being High Concept.

Others define it by describing it as “one film crossed with another film.” In Robert Altman’s The Player, the writers pitch their project to a producer as Out of Africa meets Pretty Woman. That is not what a High Concept film is. What they used is a framing technique that is given prior to pitching your project to prepare the listener for what’s coming. You cross two well known films that touch upon the material you are about to pitch so the producer has some idea where you’re going with your pitch. That is an example of a common pitching technique and not what defines High Concept.

Story ideas, treatments and screenplays can all have High Concept premises. But only High Concept projects can be sold from a pitch because they are pitch driven. Non-High Concept projects can’t be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to be read to be appreciated and their appeal isn’t obvious by merely running a logline past someone. This is the reason why films like “Pulp Fiction,” “Star Wars” and “Sideways” could never be sold from a pitch.

In defining High Concept, we talk about the premise of your story, not what happens in Acts 1, 2 and 3. The premise or logline is the core of High Concept. My comprehensive definition of High Concept is comprised of five requirements, each of which is mandatory. The five requirements are in descending order of importance. Therefore, numbers one and two are the most important as well as the most difficult to attain. But meeting only several of the requirements is not enough. All five requirements have to be met for success in achieving the “slam dunk” project everyone is looking for.

Requirement #1:

YOUR PREMISE SHOULD BE ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE

A logline is generally one to five sentences, with the average being three. Therefore, you have to pitch your material in a compressed, economical manner which captures the essence of your story and showcases its originality. Most of my pitches are one or two sentences long. Every writer should practice pitching his or her work by boiling down their story into only one sentence regardless if their story is High Concept or not.

In seeking originality, we are not talking about reinventing the wheel. We can take traditional subject matter that’s been done before and add a hook or twist to it which then qualifies the material as original. Using the kidnapping plot, there have been dozens of films which covered that subject area before. In the film Ransom, Mel Gibson plays a wealthy businessman whose son is kidnapped. That story in itself offers nothing new. The hook of the movie which makes it original is that instead of paying the ransom, Gibson uses the ransom money to pay for a contract hit on the kidnappers. That twist makes the film original and therefore High Concept.

Staying with the same kidnapping genre, the comedy Ruthless People follows the same pattern. Danny Devito plays a wealthy man whose wife, played by Bette Midler, gets kidnapped. Challenging convention, Devito refuses to pay the ransom because he hates his wife and sees this as the opportunity he’s been waiting for to finally get rid of her. Now the bungling kidnappers are stuck with an impossible woman that they have no idea what to do with. Again, it’s that unique hook that makes this a High Concept film.

Requirement #2:

YOUR STORY HAS TO HAVE MASS AUDIENCE APPEAL

That means it’s possible to meet Requirement #1 by creating an original story that’s never been done before. But that story may be so odd or strange that the appeal exists only in the mind of the writer who created it. No one else.

An example would be if a girl woke up one morning, turned into a butterfly, and flew to the land of Shangri-La. That’s never been done before but who cares? Mass appeal means that nine out of ten people who you pitch your story to would say that they’d pay ten dollars to see your movie first run based solely on your pitch. You have to decide either you’re writing for your own enjoyment or you’re writing to sell. If it’s to sell, then you have to take the marketplace into account.

Requirement #3:

YOUR PITCH HAS TO BE STORY SPECIFIC

That means that within your pitch, you have to have specific details which make your story different and adds color and depth. Let’s take the bank robbing plot. If you came up with a story about three people who want to rob a bank by digging a tunnel underneath it, the response would be, “So what?” A twist on that genre is the movie Going In Style. It’s about three senior citizens who attempt to rob a bank. The wheelman has had his license revoked, the lookout is visually impaired, and the brains of the operation is 75-year-old George Burns. Those specific details enhance the story and keep it from being stale and generic.

Requirement #4:

THE POTENTIAL IS OBVIOUS

If you’re pitching a comedy, then the potential for humor should be obvious within your pitch. People should smile or laugh when you tell it. If you’re pitching an action movie, the listener should be able to imagine the action scenes in his head as your pitching. I sold a project to Miramax called My Kind of Town with the Wayans Brothers attached to star. It is about two guys who want to make a new start in life. They pack up their car and take off with no particular destination in mind. Entering City Hall in some tiny Southern town to get a map, the roof collapses on them and they sue. They win the lawsuit but the town can’t afford to pay them so they’re given the town. The potential for humor is obvious when the Wayans Brothers are given a Southern town to do whatever they please with it.

Requirement #5:

YOUR PITCH SHOULD BE ONE TO THREE SENTENCES LONG

Most pitches should be this length although some set-ups may be more, but you shouldn’t go over five to six sentences. You are not telling what happens in Acts 1, 2 and 3 unless you’re asked to do so later. You’re giving the premise of your story. I’ve spent days shaping my loglines to include as much information in as few words as possible.

I’ve had thousands of projects pitched to me in over twenty years and writers mistakenly think that the longer the pitch, the better the story. No one wants to listen to a pitch that’s a half hour long when I could read the script in less time. I tell writers “Pitch me your story in a couple of sentences.” Most cannot because they don’t know what the five requirements are and lack the practice in condensing and fine-tuning their pitches in advance.

When you’re pitching, you are telling what your story is about, not what happens in the story. You don’t want to begin your pitch with, “My story is about a 26-year-old woman named Jill, who lives in Chicago. She’s unhappy with her life. She goes to her office where she confronts her boss. She quits
and goes home where she fights with her boyfriend.” That is not pitching. That is a boring unfolding of the story which you want to avoid at all costs.

The reaction you want to hear when you pitch is “Wow! Why didn’t I think of that?” or “That’s so good why hasn’t somebody made that movie before?” When the faces in the room light up after you deliver your pitch, you know you’ve got them. That’s the sought after “slam dunk.” That’s what High Concept is all about.
 
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