High Concept / Good Concept

Bumping around the “series of tubes” that is the Internet (per Alaska Senator Ted Stevens), I found a review of a book called “High Concept: Movies and Marketing in Hollywood.” Written by Justin Wyatt and published in 1995 by the University of Texas press, this is evidently an academic look at an idea that frankly annoys many movie fans — high concept. The book concludes, rightly so in my opinion, that high concept movies became the standard in Hollywood because of financial considerations: It’s much easier to market a high concept movie with a clean, easy-to-get story premise than a low concept movie.



I have heard rumblings in the past from some of my friends who are indie movie fans, decrying high concept movies, but then what about Sideways or Juno: Those are high concept movies. Hell, so is “Romeo and Juliet.”



The problem isn’t with high concept movies, it’s with bad high concept movies. Which brings us to a question every screenwriter faces whenever they sit down to write a script: Am I working with a good story concept?



Part of the answer to that question can only be determined on a case by case basis, the core conceit itself in relation to what’s happening in the buyer’s marketplace. However, there are three elements I think that every high concept must have to have any chance of being a good story concept. They are:



* The concept has to have a grab. By that I mean the concept has to have significant narrative elements that “grab” a reader’s imagination, elicit curiosity, and arouse an emotional response.



* The concept has to have an indicator. By that I mean the concept should “indicate” to a reader the general direction the narrative will take, and that it promises to be an entertaining ride.



* The concept has to have an audience. By that I mean the concept should conjure up a distinct “audience,” one a reader can readily match to a targeted, demographic group.



Let’s apply these three criteria to the current #1 movie at the box office Eagle Eye. Here’s a plot overview from IMDB:

Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) returns home after the mysterious death of his successful twin brother. He and a single mother, Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), find out that they have been framed as terrorists, and they are threatened into becoming members of a cell tasked to assassinate a politician.

Grab: Case of mistaken identity, underdog aspect of regular civilians vs ‘evil’ government, assassination.



Indicator: Fast-paced thriller where the Protagonist and Love Interest are on the run, then have to outwit Bad Guys.



Audience: Young adults, teenagers, date movie.



Okay, so Eagle Eye may not be the greatest movie of all time (Rotten Tomatoes currently has it with a 27% rating), but that’s more about the script (credited to four writers — always a cause for suspicion) and not the core concept (which by the way is credited to Steven Spielberg who at one time was attached to direct the project). The fact is it’s at least a decent story concept, easy to market, especially with Shia LeBouf in his first adult leading man role.



So as you generate potential story concepts to write, go beyond whether it’s a high concept you can sum up in one sentence. Make sure it’s got a grab, an indicator, and an audience.