"What is a high-concept movie? In short, it is three words: look, hook, which means that there is a good appearance, that is, a beautiful woman and a handsome guy, hook means that the plot is exciting, can be fascinating, and arouses the interest of the audience; book refers to the film's sophisticated shooting techniques, reasonable storyboarding, and clear narrative logic. ”

"In the words of Mr. Barry Diller, it is to use one or two sentences to explain the plot of the whole movie. Many people are questioning whether the concept of high-concept films, which once dominated Hollywood in the 80s, doesn't seem to work in the 90s, especially in the new century? ”

"Titanic" is the love story of a noble girl and a poor boy shipwreck; "Spider-Man" is the story of an ordinary boy who incarnates a superhero to save New York and preside over justice, and "Saving Private Ryan" is a value discussion ...... that saved one life with ten lives after the Normandy landings."

On the PPT slide behind Donn, more than a dozen movies that have been selling well in recent years appeared, "See? Whether it's "Independence Day", "Changing Face", or "Star Wars", "Mission Impossible", these movies put aside special effects, they still conform to the theory of high-concept films, look!hook!book!"

"So here, I want to tell you that high-concept films have not been eliminated, this is still the golden rule of commercial films, and it is a topic that all filmmakers and film school students must study seriously! ”

"I know that many academic teachers and students scoff at high concepts, thinking that they are too simple, too stupid, and lack ideas. I've even heard that New York University's film school calls this type of film kiss_movie. Don't get me wrong, it's not about kissing movies, it's the four acronyms K-I-S-S, which are Keep_It_Simple_Stupid!"

As soon as these words came out, they immediately attracted laughter from the audience.

Don glanced at the first row of the audience and found that Cameron, Lucas, and the others were all laughing heartily, except for Michael Eisner, who was sitting upright with a flat face, completely uninterested in Don's remarks.

After a little relaxation, Don continued: "But I hope that everyone can understand a concept, if you want to play with depth and philosophy, please make an art film, and the high concept is oriented to commercial films! What is a commercial film? Commonly known as a commodity! Commodities do not have the responsibility to popularize art to customers, and the value of the existence of commodities is to attract customers to spend money to buy them!"

In other words, if your interest is in commercial films, congratulations, you have a chance to make a fortune. Needless to say, compared to art films, commercial films have more market value and can make more money! There are many artists who scoff at the word 'money' and think that it is a blasphemy against art, but I want to tell you——"

At this time, Don pressed the remote control pen, and the PPT behind him immediately presented the next picture, on which a rather shocking sentence appeared.

Tang En read it out loud: "Making money legally is the most dignified way of life in this era!"

Suddenly, the audience burst into thunderous applause again!

This is the cry of a plutocracy!

It is also the theoretical basis for many aspiring young people to pursue their careers.

Donn glanced at the front row again, these were the elite from Hollywood, and their attitudes had to be paid attention to.

This time, even Michael Eisner applauded and expressed strong agreement.

"So, do you understand? Making money is not a shame, it's an honorable mission, and of course, the premise is that your income is legally taxed. ”

Tang En paused for a moment and continued to change the slides, "So when shooting commercial films, your project must not be of artistic value, and you are not obligated to create art! On the contrary, in order to make money, what filmmakers often have to do is to create art, create history, and create some kind of extraordinary effect." ”

"If you want to make money, you have to attract an audience, and if you want to attract an audience, you have to have an original, imaginative concept for the film, and a low budget can never be a reason for a lack of script, and that's ...... It is the practical demonstration of high-concept theory. Here, let us thank the forerunner of film theory, Mr. Michael Eisner, with a round of applause!"

Michael Eisner was a little shocked when he didn't expect Donn to suddenly mention his name.

But when he heard the surging applause, he still stood up excitedly, waved to the guests, teachers, and students at the scene, and his face couldn't help but show a little pride.

……

Does Don understand film theory?

, of course.

Donn's speech was drafted by Bill McNick himself and revised by a number of industry insiders in the production department.

Of course, this is the "secret" of Donn's commercial films after all, and it is a unique weapon, and it must be through foresight and foresight, and some production concepts of commercial blockbusters that will be popularized in the future must be added to show the originality of the speech.

High-concept films are popular, well-established commercial film concepts. For example, the characters with distinct personalities, obvious conflicts and resolutions, these three easily recognizable "paragraphs", and the themes that can be summarized in one or two sentences, have always been the production formula of later Hollywood commercial films.

Don's speech used "high concept" to introduce the topic, which can quickly drive the audience.

After Michael Eisner sat down with a full round of applause, Donn's speech continued—

"I repeat, high concept is important, it's the foundation of commercial cinema, it's as important as the foundation of the George Lucas building. ”

Donn tried to make his presentation as interesting as possible, and of course, it was all designed.

"But here's the problem, some producers use high-concept thinking to make movies and succeed, and some producers use this thinking to create but fail, what's the problem?"

As soon as this rhetorical question came out, it immediately aroused the curiosity of everyone in the audience.

Including the first row, these big names in Hollywood, all of them opened their eyes wide and listened carefully.

They wanted an answer, a Donne Walker-esque answer.

Tang En smiled slightly, pressed the remote control pen, changed the slide again, and a background picture of "George Lucas Teaching Building" appeared on the big screen, and the scene was slightly restless.

George Lucas was naturally quite proud, "This Don is really good at putting gold on the faces of his peers!"

Tang En said: "Let's take the building as an example, as I just said, the high-concept theory is only the foundation of the George Lucas Building, and it also needs the building, decoration and teaching equipment to make this teaching building put into use." So everyone is also clear that the foundation of the movie relies on high concepts, but if the movie wants to be profitable and sell well, it needs more elements. ”

"In the 80s, Mr. Eisner led Paramount and Disney back to life twice, and 90% of the movies he invested in were profitable. He promoted the theory of high concepts, but what conditions did he set?"

This was originally a question from Tang En, but I didn't expect some enthusiastic students at the scene to answer: "Low cost!"

Donn smiled and held out a thumbs up, "That's right, as I said earlier, Mr. Eisner strictly controls budget costs. On the basis of high concept, the cost is reduced, and the success rate of the film is greatly increased. Through this logic, we can solve many problems. ”

"Why is "Alien 2" a big hit? It is a combination of high concept and special effects and science fiction, why is "Mission Impossible" a big hit? it is a combination of high concept and superstar, fast editing, why is "Batman 1" a big hit? it is a combination of high concept and brand, "Jurassic Park" is a combination of high concept and big production, star director, special effects, brand and other multiple concepts, which will create a box office miracle. ”

Later "Independence Day", "Titanic", "Men in Black", "Star Wars Prequel 1: The Ghost Man Menace", "Spider-Man", "Unsinkable" and so on, are all similar results. On the basis of the high concept, the bricks and tiles are added, and the elements are enriched, so as to achieve great success. ”

"There are some films...... I won't give examples here, I don't want to offend people. Hehe, some movies are beautifully decorated, with superstars joining, a team of top producers and directors, huge investment, and big production scenes, but they still fail, why?

"Of course, the topic of today's lecture is not to find fault with others, but to elaborate on some of my personal film ideas. Many people have asked me this question, why do the movies I make always sell at the box office? And they are super hits! I think this question is not only of interest to many students, but also to many peers in the industry. ”

Don paused, glanced at the audience listening carefully, this feeling is really good.

"So, what exactly do I do to make the film a big hit?"

Tang En sold a pass and smiled slightly, "The answer is complicated and very simple, on the basis of high concepts, I want to propose a new concept - the explosion effect!"

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