Pop Quiz: Movie Lingo

[woodwardiocom]

Going strictly by what you have in your head, what does "high concept" mean when describing a movie?

('Cause I think this is like "livid" where people think it means "red".)

Comments

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

A movie that seems to believe that how it tells a story is as important,if not more, than the story itself

[beowabbit]

Dude, that would be like, you know, a movie about getting high, like maybe Cheech and Chong.

On a more serious note, I don’t know what movie people mean when they say that, but what I would assume is that it is a movie about ideas, where there’s some thought or some stretching of your mind required to understand the movie. Not necessarily a good movie, but a movie with some ideas that are out of the ordinary and somewhat original, like Pan’s Labyrinth or Memento. Am I anywhere near right, or do I think “livid” means “red”?

[ckd]

My recollection is that it means "can be described in a sentence".

Something like "Jim Carrey has the Greg Evigan role in a 'BJ and the Bear' remake."

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

[ding] That would be correct, sir!

(Snakes on a Plane being perhaps the best example, since the concept is in the title.)

[be-well-lowell.livejournal.com]

What are the other possibilities? I don't remember ever hitting a usage that didn't make sense with that definition...

[be-well-lowell.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, though, I'm sure I've never hit a conversation where someone thought livid meant "red."

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

(a) A short sentence or two that convey the theme or premise of a film as a point of departure for its creation.

(b) A film whose content is strongly defined by such a theme or premise, with theme-irrelevant material being excluded.

[(Anonymous)]

That would be my understanding, too.

It's a bit of jargon that always annoys me slightly, because it sounds like it ought to mean a film with strong intellectual content, or at least serious pretensions; a movie about ideas. But in fact, in Hollywood jargon, it means pretty much the exact opposite; a movie whose ideas (and pretensions) can be reduced to a single sentence, which can be pitched in an elevator between floors.

--
Phil Masters

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

It's a bit of jargon that always annoys me slightly

Right there with ya.

Also, excellent work on GURPS Thaum, sir.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

A movie that's based on a single specific idea/trope/premise/whatever, where the entire movie is going to be made to serve that specific item. (Sometimes with an implied "At the expense of plot/characterization/plausibility/satisfaction.")

No idea if that's even close to accurate, but it's what springs to mind.

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

"She's the Pope, he's a chimp, they're cops!"

[scholargipsy.livejournal.com]

I would totally go see that.

(And how do you know you aren't the Buddha?)

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

(And how do you know you aren't the Buddha?)

No one I've meet on the road has tried to kill me?

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

I imagine an avant-garde production of some kind, like Chien Andalou.

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

That's if someone is using "high concept" to describe an entire movie. If I were PITCHING a movie, the "high concept" would be "ET meets Ghostbusters" or something.

[ectropy.livejournal.com]

Apparently it means something totally different in modern movie lingo. To my mind, Solaris (the book) is high-concept, but the LotR trilogy is not. The former makes you think about big-picture concepts ("What is reality?" "Can you trust your senses?") while the LotR is, by design, a pretty straight-up European myth.

Walter Jon Williams' Voice of the Whirlwind touches on high-concept - a great deal of the pathos comes from the beta wondering what horrors the alpha did in the last 20 years that he must hide from himself.
Same with Knight Moves and Aristoi, both touch upon some pretty high-concept ideas - "What does it mean to be human if you can live forever and wield the power of the gods?" and "How much do we owe society and humanity?"

"High concept" should be entertainment that makes you think. "Low concept" should be entertainment that passes time.

I blame moron movie producers for ruining the phrase.

[signsoflife.livejournal.com]

Something like "Liar Liar", where the "concept" drives the movie. Galaxy Quest. The Matrix. Anyone describing the movie is going to know what the "concept" is. Something with a schtick.

(I'm *pretty* sure that I got this from reading William Goldman, and so it's actually informed, but I'm not certain.)