Is high concept holding you back?
So I made this long drive to Phoenix yesterday and during that drive, I was working out some story elements on my rewrite but I also kept going back to this high concept debate.
Then it dawned on me…
98% of screenplays are shit and while I cannot with any degree of certainty SPEAK for all of Hollywood, I can tell you that I’ve read a hell of a lot of scripts within the last year and a half and EASILY, 98% — NO, scratch that… 99% of those screenplays were shit.
Okay, maybe SHIT is too harsh a word. How about BULLSHIT?
Easily, at least 90% of those screenplays that I personally read (over a hundred) were flawed with the following…
Clichéd characters… Tons of exposition. Typos. Formatting problems. Extremely long dialogue passages… One of them went five pages!
You know…
The usual.
I think we can all agree that if your screenplay has a significant amount of the above, you shouldn’t even bother sending the damn thing to anybody.
But now that I think back… Only ONE of those screenplays had a high concept and remember what a high concept is:
- The story idea is unique.
- The story idea appeals to a wide audience.
- The story idea can be said in ONE SENTENCE and you can INSTANTLY visualize the entire movie in your mind’s eye and that alone would entice you enough to go see the movie.
Tall order? It must be since over 99% of the scripts I read didn’t even come close to hitting these three elements. And, according to other producers, directors, and readers, this same fact SEEMS to hold true for the most part.
Got one? Got two? Cool but you need all three.
So, let’s go back to the 10% of the screenplays that didn’t have all the usual problems. Why did we pass?
No high concept. Plain and simple.
They were definitely stories that held my attention. I somewhat cared about the characters but I also remember that I didn’t feel like I was on a “ride.†However, the biggest problem was that there was nothing new here. Just snapshots of life about characters that we already know pretty well.
One screenplay that I did like but couldn’t recommend was about a guy who finds his wife in bed with his best friend when he gets home early one day. Inciting incident… I can buy that. Seen it before but this writer handled it DIFFERENTLY. Cool. From there, the poor guy has a string of bad luck.
I guess you’d call it a black comedy and yeah, some parts of it were pretty funny but the main problem I had with the script was that the string of bad luck JUST WASN’T BAD ENOUGH.
Every bad luck situation was small and really didn’t keep building to an overall climactic piece of bad luck before things went well for the guy. Just a lot of little incidental snippets of bad luck here and there. Some of the bad luck we’ve seen before… Not good. Sometimes the bad luck was supernatural i.e., IT JUST HAPPENED for no good reason. There was no action on the part of the Protagonist that caused this piece of bad luck… No explanation.
But I liked the script and saw its potential so I called the writer up and said, “We had to pass but hey, if you’re willing to make a few passes on the script and ramp certain things up and tie certain things together, I would be happy to read it again.”
The writer was really happy to hear that and assured me that I would get a new draft within 90 days… Cool.
It’s been over a year and I’m still waiting… LOL.
Interesting too because like in the previous discussion here, this particular screenplay was well written. The characters all had their own voices. The dialogue was snappy and original. Format was SPOT ON. Good page count. Could be done for a low budget. You could almost say that it was actually worth buying and THEN have the screenwriter do a rewrite or hire someone else to rewrite it.
Almost.
Aye, there’s the rub.
It was that little bit EXTRA that we didn’t see that made us PASS. Now, over a year later and no word from the screenwriter, I’m glad I made that decision because it’s very likely that we’d still have a similar screenplay and end up hiring someone to ramp it up.
So why didn’t we do that? Because there’s just too many screenplays out there! Granted, you’ve gotta go through a lot to get down to those precious few but hey, that’s what readers are for, right?
By the way, I’m NOT a reader. I’m a producer. These are screenplays that ALREADY HAD COVERAGE so that should give you some idea of the level of writing we’re dealing with. These are readers with a lot of experience and granted we ended up looking at a lot of scripts that the reader gave a PASS on but because the logline and concept READ WELL, we wanted to see if there was something salvageable there.
Nope. The readers got it right for the most part. Out of roughly 3 recommended screenplays and 8 barely recommended writers, we got nothin’.
So why did I read all those fuckin’ screenplays? Hey, needle in the haystack, Baby… Diamond in the rough.
Do most prodcos do that?
Uh… No.
We went the extra mile because we’re a prodco that consists of screenwriters, one director, and one hell of a lawyer.
We like writers… We want their screenplay to be GOOD. We want to buy it.
But hell, take anything that has a lot of competition in it… Take figure skating. I know absolutely NOTHING about it but it sure as hell seems like there’s a lot of people competing with each other for those very chosen few spots that could take you to the Olympics, World Championships, etc.
No different than football or baseball players… They fucking PRACTICE and PRACTICE and PRACTICE day in and day out and most of them never make it to the big leagues and, at some point, these people quit. Most likely, they quit because of injuries or age but they quit. They might HAVE to quit… They might be FORCED to quit but the bottom line is that they quit.
Screenwriters don’t have to quit! That’s what’s so cool about this profession. Didn’t get it right? Do it again. Didn’t get it right? Do it again.
From where I’m standing, we don’t have quitters that are forced to quit from injury or age…
They just quit.
They just quit because they didn’t sell something or win a prize.
Probably a good thing because that’s just one or more less bullshit scripts we gotta go through. Point being is that you’ve got to find the high concept in your story and then put it on the page.
You don’t like the phrase, HIGH CONCEPT?
No problem… Call it something else if that’s what it’ll take to get you off your ass and find it.
It could be the very thing HOLDING YOU BACK.
More to follow…
Unk
Tags: high concept screenplay script reader The Unknown Screenwriter Unknown Screenwriter spec script market spec script
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It’s posts like this, that bring me back here everyday.
Getting this kind of incite into the producer’s POV is just solid gold.
They other thing is, I LOVE the fact that 99% of scripts are bullshit — because it means I’m only in competition with 1% of the market.
That is cool!
But, what I can’t afford to do is just rest in the warm glow of my own marvelousness — what I really get from this post is that I have to keep challenging my own work — keep on learning and most importantly — keep on pushing out uber high concept movie ideas.
This what keeps me in the game — the fact that I KNOW that it’s possible for me to be one of the winners, if I just keep on working at it.
What’s so sad about this is that you really liked someone’s script and he never reworked it and sent it back to you. This is another way writers shoot themselves in the foot.
The thing is, if a producer or editor takes the time to tell you what’s wrong, it’s a good thing. A VERY good thing. It means you’ve captivated them on some level and they want YOU to captivate them even more. You should never throw an opportunity like this away.
I’ve met writers who truly believed the interested professional was “just being nice.” Uh, no. They don’t have time to just “be nice.” Like Unk they’re reading hundreds of scripts a year. Being nice to the writer for no reason doesn’t get pencilled into their dayplanner.
When a producer or editor asks you to rewrite and resubmit, DO IT! This is your chance. It’s an engraved invitation because the producer saw something in your script. So get crackin’!
There. I’ve done my good deed for the day ;)
Good stuff, Unk. As Clive said, it’s great to get a window into the mind of decision makers such as you.
Keep up the informative posts…
So what does one do, if one knows of a script that fits that 1 percent you mentioned? Can one get you or someone like you to even go to a blog that mentions such a script? I did not write this script, I am only helping to publicize it to the production companies, producers, you name it. What would grab your attention, how would we get this fabulous story to you, to see if the 1 minute intro to the script is everything you say it should be?
Unk! So completely inspiring! You are my bootstraps today, I swear. I spent half my lunch hour slumped over, pulling cat fur out from my laptop keyboard with a toothpick because of the thwartedness malaise. But you totally nailed it: do it again. Do it better. Do it right. That’s incredibly powerful. Hurray!
Unk, was that last paragraph directed at me? ;) You’re right, I’m more hung up on the phrase HIGH CONCEPT than I am your expression of it.
But seriously, I agree with everything you say - though mayhap I might take issue with your definition of wide audience (how can that necessarily be measured? What’s considered wide or acceptable? Isn’t it enough that the movie HAS an audience, be it a niche film or blockbuster, and that making the film will mean we’ll find them?) but I don’t want you to get the idea I’m only here to pick fights because I love what you say too much - though I have heard horror stories from established directors about reader fallibilty, I’m not an authority on it - I only know two readers, and I’d be willing to bet if you find the right reader for you, it’s a great thing.
I agree that real writers keep writing and never stop. it’s why I write plays, novels and screenplays. I love telling stories.
But hearing you share this story gives me hope as well, because I know that’s what I’m doing with my scripts, I know that’s why I just had one optioned and I feel confident that the scripts I’m going to write will be even better than the ones before.
In fact, I got three high concept ideas in my head right now . . . soon as I finish my novel, they’re next on board.
Thanks for telling us all this, Unk!
Quick question, and I’m not trying to be smart, I truly want to know - what would be the one sentence story idea of THE MATRIX?
“So what does one do, if one knows of a script that fits that 1 percent you mentioned? Can one get you or someone like you to even go to a blog that mentions such a script? I did not write this script, I am only helping to publicize it to the production companies, producers, you name it. What would grab your attention, how would we get this fabulous story to you, to see if the 1 minute intro to the script is everything you say it should be?”
There are two resources you can use to get your script out there:
Inktip and Script Pimp (google them)
Inktip is a service where you upload your script and your high concept logline — production companies search for scripts that match their current needs.
Script Pimp is a service that provides a comprehensive list of agents/production companies who are seeking spec scripts.
Once you’ve drawn up you list of target companies, you send out query letter and wait for the script requests to come in.
Now, when you think that the query letter and logline are the first filter between you and even getting read — the question of “should it be high concept” isn’t even an issue — because deep down we’re all selling on loglines and loglines force us to think in terms of high concept.
Unlike many of the scam operations on the net — both of these sites offer a legitmate service.
Clive… I appreciate that.
Ann… Yeah, you’d think I would have gotten a better draft EVENTUALLY. You’d be surprised at how many people actually end up doing the exact same thing which always makes me wonder if they REALLY want to be a screenwriter.
Scoot… Much appreciated!
Lisa… In addition to what Clive has outlined above, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting your own HOLLYWOOD CREATIVE DIRECTORY account online:
http://www.hcdonline.com
I don’t nearly believe in trying to get an agent as much as I do trying to get a producer to read your screenplay. Query them with an email… Before I became a producer, I had outstanding success getting producers to read my stuff simply by sending them a short, concise email.
The interesting part here is that MANY of the producers that weren’t interested in my logline or script were nice enough to reply back. I then hit them up for referrals i.e., “Do you know another producer I should be trying to show the script to?” “Can you recommend a good agent?” “Do you know a good entertainment lawyer?”
I ALWAYS ASK these questions and am amazed at how EASY it is to get answers.
The books and the workshops never seem to tell you this stuff… LOL.
Josh… LOL. Not at all. I figured we’re more or less on the same page… You should just see all the fuckin’ email I keep getting from non-believers. Non-believers who haven’t sold anything yet. Not saying it can’t be done… Just saying it can be done a different way… And, probably a little easier. It’s already such a numbers game anyway, WHY INCREASE THE ODDS?
Oh there’s definitely reader fallibility… Why do you think I went ahead and read so many extra scripts? LOL.
Hmmm. THE MATRIX. First of all, making up loglines is not my thing. Of course I do it for my own stuff but I rarely give it much of a thought when it comes to other films… Having said that…
A compliant programmer by day and formidable hacker by night is recruited by a rebel army to lead them on a perilous mission only to discover he’s been living in a virtual reality where people are used as batteries for power and together, they must free mankind by annihilating the machines that imprison them.
Okay, that’s just off the top of my head… You could easily cut that down if you had to but you get the idea.
Unk
unk
Thank you very much for the reply to my questions, I will take what you said and go for it, you have given me hope.
Thanks Unk - good stuff, man . . . and I sent ya an email just so you have one from a believer . . .
What Clive said. You’d better be careful … you are starting to give producers a good name ;-) Seriously, thanks for the always thought-provoking creative kicks to the posterior. I sent today’s post to 32 of my favourite writer pals as inspiration and/or reality check.
The one thing I haven’t seen addressed, is, how do I KNOW if I have a high concept. *I* think I do, but…
I don’t want to write draft after draft, perfecting a ‘low concept’ movie.
But…
How can I run the concept by people ‘in the know’ without having that perfect draft? Send them a logline of a spec movie to be written? I don’t think so.
Can you maybe make a computer program that will let me know? :)
“I don’t think so, Dave”.
“We had to pass but hey, if you’re willing to make a few passes on the script and ramp certain things up and tie certain things together, I would be happy to read it again.â€
It’s entirely possible that other sets of producers said the EXACT SAME THING, but with diametrically opposite sets of notes as to what needed work. Heh.
A little more seriously: Aspiring screenwriters hear variants of the above A LOT. As you noted you didn’t put any money on the table, you just said you’d look at it again. Since it was one of few screenplays that even got close to meeting your standards, perhaps it would have been worth putting something on the table as a demonstration of good faith. A little money might have gone a long way.
After all, what’s the maximum effective range of anything in Hollywood that doesn’t have money attached?
Matthew,
I understand what you’re saying however I do not agree. Remember, this was a script that not only a reader passed on but WE passed on as well. Having said that, I saw something in the writing and the script that “I felt” was DYING to come out if the work was put forth. I passed this on to the writer and the information SEEMED to be appreciated but who really knows for sure?
My contacting the writer was merely a kind gesture in a world where kind gestures normally do not apply. Why in the HELL would you throw MONEY at a problem like a screenplay needing to be rewritten WHEN YOU NEVER INTENDED TO PURCHASE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE? A screenplay that nobody was even considering to make? A screenplay that we passed on? I’m not even saying that we would have purchased it… I made that crystal clear to the writer. I simply said I would be willing to read it again.
What you say about faith is true but it also goes both ways… I would have been happy to help the writer get the script up to snuff i.e., steer the writer toward a development that I think would have greatly improved the writer’s chances of selling… To ANYONE.
In other words… I wasn’t that interested in the script but I saw something in the writer and wanted to lend a hand.
Why pay for that? Makes no sense to me but I get your point. However, FAITH works in both directions. LOL.
Unk
Fair enough. Your follow-up corrects some of the incorrect assumptions I was making about the situation. I certainly do appreciate the point you’re trying to make, and I understand where you’re coming from.
I’ve read maybe 200 screenplays in the last year, including 5 that my partner and I had specifically commissioned. When I was just reading for my own edification, the number of scripts I felt were “up to snuff” weren’t all that high to begin with. However, when I started thinking about scripts from the perspective of finding things we could do something with, that already low number plummeted.
Matthew,
But didn’t you get a just a SPARK of SOMETHING out of a few of those scripts? Is it possible that one of those writers got to you even if their script wasn’t up to snuff? You saw something and you wanted to help nurture it?
If not, that’s too bad. Maybe next time. That’s what I saw.
Unk
Since I am also working on a couple assignments as a writer, it has been an eye-opening experience to be on both sides of the story development equation.
Do I see sparks of genuine talent in some of the scripts I’ve read? Absolutely! And the people we approached to write scripts for us were people selected on the basis of previous work. However, demonstration of storytelling talent alone wasn’t our only criteria- We also selected people who we felt could meet our deadlines, and to our specifications. Since we focus on English language stories set in Asia (Korea, Japan and China) it was quite a challenge for the writers.
Did we achieve “up to snuff” scripts out of the process? Honestly, no… not yet. But I do feel we’re on the right track, and it’s certainly not for any lack of effort of the part of the writers.
File this under: Things that terrify me.
I figure something must be a high concept if it’s an idea that grabs me and I can’t forget, even if I never write it down. When all these writing books say to write 100 million screenplays and never show them to anyone, I can’t understand where these 100 million ideas are supposed to come from.
Probably the 2nd of the 100 million exhausts the budding screenwriter, and he just submits it, even though the idea was a throwaway. And maybe that’s where these 99% bullshit scripts come from.
Or maybe people are just delusional?
I write one thing at a time, and I write it with the intention of it being the greatest thing I’ve ever written and my ticket out of this two-horse town (or some such).