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can one of you college types tell me exactly what high concept means?

"High Concept" is a story which can be expressed in one or two sentences, which by themselves will make the hearer want to see the picture.

In other words, it's an idea (logline) for a movie, but an idea which is so fascinating in itself that you don't have to hear plot or character details.

JG

High concept is just that. The concept is the major driving force behind the film. It's a concept that is so compelling that it captures the audience's interest without hearing the plot. Usually these concepts are kept to a one-liner or log line presentation.

Here's a section from Robert Kosberg's "How to sell your idea to Hollywood" Many people credit the derivation of the one-liner caption for high concept to Barry Diller and Michael Eisner. In the late 60's they were at ABC working to promote the TV "movie of the week". To get forty million people to tune in to a TV movie without the familiar faces and story formats that viewers were used to watching on the regular shows, Diller and Eisner had to devise a way to grab attention in a TV Guide listing with just one or two lines. That's how the term high concept originated. To capture an audience, that one scentence had to convey just how exciting, sexy, provocative, and entertaining the moive is going to be to watch.

: A DEEJAY IS TERRORIZED BY A WOMAN WHO HAS FALLEN IN LOVE WITH HIM. FEELING BETRAYED, SHE DECIDES TO MURDER HIM. -- Play misty for me. / Fatal Attraction type film.

You get the idea. I hope this helps. Jay