Increase in A.D.D + Good Weed = High Concept Movies

First let me apologize for not posting sooner. It’s been a crazy couple weeks, but ive got some great blogs set up for the next couple weeks… And let’s start with a new theory I’ve come up with….

 

I’m pretty sure the term high concept was hatched years ago by studio execs that were completely stoned out of their head and didn’t have the attention span to read a whole paragraph, so they called their preference to only read one-liners the “high concept.” 

 

And with the ridiculous number of adults “struggling” with Attention Deficit Disorder these days, I’m not surprised that this trend has become the only way a project gets sold. The levels for reported A.D.D. increased about 1000% in the last 15 years, so can you imagine what’s going to happen 10 years from now when all of those children are running the business world? Bedlam. That’s what.

 

Now I’ve smoked a good deal of pot in my day. And by my day, I mean last week. And I know that when I’m baked, there’s nothing better than sitting down and watching a mindless comedy or horror movie and laughing my ass off while eating something crunchy…and cheesy…and chocolaty…mmmmmm….But do we really have to aim our whole industry at servicing the stoners and the ever growing population of people who suffer from A.D.D.?

 

I have worked for at least one person, if not a few, who suffered from horrible A.D.D. or ADHD and let me tell you – it’s not fun. Having a meeting or hearing a pitch with someone with A.D.D. is like trying to get the attention of an 8 week old puppy who needs to be taken for a walk. It’s impossibly frustrating. I once had a development meeting where I went through pitching a list of 20 projects I had read that week while my boss literally cleaned his ears – with his finger – and then looked at me like he just discovered I was in the room and said, “What did you say?”

 

And this is the type of person this industry has decided to promote to a place where they have the power to greenlight a project. So is it any surprise why so much shit gets made these days?

 

I’m not a huge fan of high concept projects on principle. Why? Because usually that’s all these scripts have – a big concept. A great logline. A commercial one-liner. And from great, experienced writers, I expect more. Any idiot can write ONE good line and as the many pitchfests I have attended have proven, any idiot can come up with a good concept. And then it becomes the development exec’s problem and task to make sure the script cashes in correctly on the brilliant concept and pitch. The problem is that these “high concept” scripts aren’t usually supported by great characters, emotions, or stories that really connect with an audience. They may attract or grab an audience, but they don’t connect with them – and there is a difference. One’s visceral and one’s personal.

 

High concept blockbusters are the filmmaking and literary equivalent of putting something big and shiny in front of a baby’s face and going – Look! Look! Coochie Coo! And audiences turn their heads at the shiny object as they giggle and go “Oooohhhhhh” and we don’t notice that we are being made dumber by that very automatic attraction we have to it.

I’m not saying I’m not a fan of mindless tent pole blockbuster movies – in fact – I love them! Superheroes, disaster movies, big action, explosions, Michael Bay…okay well…maybe not Michael Bay. But seriously, I enjoy all of this stuff. What I don’t like is how all other types of projects are being pushed aside in this town in favor of these. Studios are only interested in Oscar winners and Tent poles, and that attitude trickles down to the companies who have deals with the studios, and then down to indie companies trying to sell anything in a brutal market, which trickles down further to the writers who are trying to impress upon any company they can that they know how to write something commercial.

 

This means that it is increasingly harder for production companies to set up projects, and all those great little non-high concept projects are being relegated to DVD releases, if that. Sure there are smaller, character driven movies being made, but not many by studios. And if you notice, these days most of the “indies” out there are being directed or written by big names, have even bigger stars attached, and are made for much more than the million dollars that used to be considered an indie film. Today, there are $60M indies being made. I don’t think that’s what the Spirit Awards had in mind.

 

I had a teen comedy I was trying to sell a while back. One that had a star, had director interest, and could be made for about $10M. I was told by a few studios that it’s not worth their time, because even if it made $50M at the box office, it’s not worth the money when you factor in $15-20M for P&A. So apparently, making $20-30M in profit isn’t worth a studio’s time. So what are we left with being forced to sell? Shit like “Knowing” and “Poseidon” and “Watchmen” and whatever was shat out of Seth Rogen or Kevin James’s ass this week. Perhaps if a few more of these mindless movies failed, studios would realize audiences can handle smarter material. The problem with that theory? Audiences, by and large, can’t. And why not? Because most of them are too hopped up on the same damn A.D.D/ADHD medication that the studio execs are on to concentrate on anything where the main character doesn’t say “WHOA” 20 times.

 

And that my friends, is how good weed and parents who would rather load their own kids up with drugs because they are too proud to call them dumb, have ruined the movie business. Thanks, Mom!