Golden Globe Goals
January 17, 2006
Geoffrey Hamilton
TV's award show again demonstrates how films with
clear goals get all the winnings.
"The essence of high concept is that it is both brief and provocative." says
Robert Kosberg regarding how Hollywood movies need to be sold both to producers
in the pitching stage, and when the idea is a finished product to a TV audience.
But there is at least one other area where the idea of 'high concept' needs to work and
that is at the awards show.
Last night the Golden Globes once again demonstrated the high concept in action.
We had winners who all offered a high concept. George Clooney got fat.
Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix, and Philip Seymour Hoffman imitated well
known public figures. Felicity Huffman played a man and
Rachel Weisz really lived with the real dirty people she acted with. All these are games which are easily
seen and identified. The judges, whoever they are, need that kind of easy-to-spot
criteria to feel confident to make a vote. Just think of the long history
of acting prizes and other film awards and it's all about getting to the high concept.
Robert De Niro got fat and won. Meryl Streep used an accent and won.
Charlize Theron got ugly and won. Hilary Swank played a girl playing a
boy, and later a girl
acting like a boy and won twice. Robert Redford, Warren
Beatty and Kevin Costner win at directing because they are actors
and Peter Jackson wins because of the challenge and effort involved in shooting
the whole of Lord of the Rings. The list is endless, but not perfect
because sometimes there is no easy high concept to choose from that year, so
it goes to
the least unlike the high concept - they pick someone with an english accent.
If it wasn't for these high concept ways of doing things in the world
(it's not just in Hollywood where this is done) we would be wasting time
noticing that things are not as good as we thought, and we might start to
lose hope. So keep the up the good work Hollywood, we need you
to lead us well into the future.
GRH
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