what's a low-concept writer to do?

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  • #16
    A moment of levity

    So I thought I would waste some bandwidth and tell a little 'high-concept/low-concept' anecdote.

    My wife recently received her MBA -- while she was in school, we had this long discussion about Hollywood's idea of high concept vs 'the real world' definition.

    In the business world, a high-concept idea is a more complex, harder to understand, unique idea. A low-concept idea can be summed up in a sentence and is easily digestible. (A generalization, but you get the point)

    In Hollywood of course, the opposite is true. (Again, I admit it;s a generalization) High-concept movies tend to be simple and can be summed up pretty easily in a sentence or two (by simple I don't mean stupid - a high concept movie can be very well made and smart). Low-concept movies tend to be more complex and obtuse and hard as hell to pitch in under a paragraph.

    The only real similarity we could see is that in both cases, a high-concept idea has to have a uniqueness to it.

    No matter how hard we argued, I could never convince my wife that Hollywood wasn't run by wackos. Of course, living with me pretty much just reinforces her opinions on the subject.....
    :rollin
    I now return you to your debate.....

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    • #17
      Re: A moment of levity

      And, note to Mike Samonek -- with all due respect, this is NOT a "silly thread,"
      What I meant was it's silly to obsess over terminology like high/low concept. I still believe that. But if that's what you want to spend your time doing, then so be it. My point was more along the lines of "don't worry about it, just write compelling stories."


      I've been yelled at and insulted time and again for not writing "high concept," and the term is not the same thing as a "hook,"
      I wasn't saying they were the same thing - in fact, I was saying just the opposite - that low concept scripts with a hook have a shot of getting people's attention. That's the entire point of my post. :rolleyes

      And who's doing all this yelling and insulting? Who yells at writers?

      and every screenwriting book I own and every serious screenwriter or producer I've heard from has pointed out that "high concept" is absolutely required to sell a spec script,
      Well, I've made my views on screenwriting books pretty clear over the years I've been here. And anyone who tells you something is "Absolutely required" to sell a script doesn't know what they're talking about. There is no magic bullet. There is no "must have" element to sell a script other than it being a compelling story. Regardless of the "size" of the concept.

      and anyway, how can it be a "silly thread" if it's important to me and I was asking a serious question?
      Again, sorry it came across that way. But I do still believe your time would be better served just writing what you love and not concerning yourself with what will sell. Everyone else around here says that all the time and no one gets bent out of shape. Believe it or not, I was trying to be helpful.


      Are you rich and famous?
      What does being rich and famous have to do with me having an opinion on this subject? Are you now saying that someone has to be a professional screenwriter to even chime in on a subject?


      I promise to stay out of all high/low concept discussions in the future. You guys can have it. :lol

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      • #18
        Ouch!

        Cruel but cool, CE. :lol

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        • #19
          Re: Hollywood Concepts

          I meet writers who pitch "my summer on
          Grandma's pig farm" and believe it is the
          next E.T.
          Brutally hilarious, C.E. :rollin

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