High Concept

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 Texas Film and Media Studies Series
Thomas Schatz, Editor

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 High
JUSTIN WYAT T

Concept
Movies and
Marketing in
Hollywood

University of Texas Press, Austin

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 Copyright © 1994 by the University of Library of Congress
Texas Press Cataloging-in-Pnblication Data
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America Wyatt, Justin, date
High concept: movies and marketing
Fifth paperback printing, 2006 in Hollywood / Justin Wyatt. - lsted.
p. cm. - (Texas film studies
Requests for permission to reproduce series)
material from this work should be sent to: Includes bibliographical references and
Permissions index.
University of Texas Press ISBN-13: 978-0-292-79091-9
P.O. Box 7819 ISBN-10: 0-292-79091-0
Austin, TX 78713-7819 1. Motion pictures—United States—
www. utexas.edu /utpress/about/ Marketing. I. Title. II. Series.
bpermission.html PN1995.9.M29W9 1994
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® The paper used in this book meets the
minimum requirements ofANSI/NISO
Z39A8-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of
Paper).

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 To Jeff and to the memory of Lindie Leigh

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THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
 Contents

Acknowledgments i\
1. A Critical Redefinition:
The Concept of High Concept 1
The Entertainment Industries on High Concept 8
The Critics on High Concept 13
Economics, Aesthetics, and High Concept as
"Post" Classical Cinema 25
Micro- and Macro-Analysis: Style, Marketing, and
Differentiation of Product 16
"The Look, the Hook, and the Book" 20

2. Construction of the Image

and the High Concept Style 23
Advertising as an Influence on Style 24
"YouVe Got the Look": Perfect Images in High Concept 26
Stars and Style 31
Music as an Element of Style 36
Excess in High Concept: The Promotional Music Video 44
The High Concept Image: Character Types and Genre 53
Style, Classical Hollywood, and the Art Cinema 60

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 Viii High Concept

3. High Concept and Changes in the

Market for Entertainment 65
The Marketplace and Traditional Definitions 65
Conglomeration and Film Content: The Roadshow,
The Youth Picture, The Blockbuster 69
Uncertainty in the Marketplace: The Development
of the Contemporary Industry Structure 81
Differentiation of Product 94
High Concept as Product Differentiation 104
4. Marketing the Image: High Concept
and the Development of Marketing 109
Changing Distribution Patterns 110
Awareness Marketing: High Concept in Print 112
Maintenance Marketing: Selling through Music and Product 133
Merchandising and Ancillary Tie-ins 148
5. High Concept and Market Research:
Movie Making by the Numbers 155
The Growth of Market Research 156
The Model of Market Research within the Film Industry 158
Case Study: Determining Boxoffice Revenue 161
Theorizing the Positive Influences on Boxoffice Gross 162
Specification of the Model 164
Estimation of the Model and Results 167
Manipulation, Control, and High Concept 172
Factors Influencing the Decline of Market Research 176
6. Conclusion: High Concept and the
Course of American Film History 188
The Transformation of the Auteur 190
Television and the Ideological Agenda of High Concept 194
The Alternatives to High Concept 198
Notes 203
Index 227

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 Acknowledgments

As this book has developed from

doctoral research at UCLA, I would like to thank those faculty members
who helped shape the initial project: Steve Mamber, Trudy Cameron,
Howard Suber, Kathryn Montgomery, Carol Scott, and particularly Janet
Bergstrom. Prior to UCLA, several teachers and professors fostered my
interest in film, economics, and the intersection between the two:
Erwin Diewert, Shelagh Heffernan, John Mills, A. J. Reynertson, John
Weymark, and Joanne Yamaguchi.
I am also grateful for the generous feedback and encouragment which
I have received over the years while developng high concept. Randy
Rutsky, my co-author on an initial article in Wide Angle ("High Con-
cept: Abstracting the Postmodern/' Wide Angle 10, no. 4 (1988): 42-49),
has been especially supportive. I also must thank many other colleagues
for their comments and suggestions: J. M. Clarke, Jon Lewis, James
Naremore, Victoria O;Donnell, Donald Mott, Bruce Austin, Kenneth
White, Hamid Naficy, Nina Leibman, and Joanne Yamaguchi. At the
University of North Texas, I have been blessed with wonderful col-
leagues, including Steve Fore, Don Staples, and Gerry Veeder, an im-
pressive chairman, John Kuiper, and a tireless research assistant, Yosh-
iko Nabei.
Several members of the film and television industries graciously
shared their views on matters related to high concept, including Peter
Guber, Jerry Bruckheimer, Diana Widom, Maggie Young, Perry Katz,
Peter McAlevey, Sid Kaufman, Adam Gold, Hilary Estey, Rob Jennings,
and the late Mardi Marans.

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 X High Concept

The company and caring of friends have enabled me to write this

book, and I am indebted to many, including Juan Morales, Rhona Ber-
enstein, Alison Lloyd McKee, James Spottiswoode, Constance Meyer,
Woods Gleason, Francis Gargani, Eric Prokesh, Todd Haynes, David
Griffin, Steve Fore, Bob Helstrom, and Myra Walker.
Luke Ryan photographed stills and one-sheets for this book. A por-
tion of Chapter 3 appears in an earlier version in "High Concept, Prod-
uct Differentiation, and the Contemporary U.S. Film Industry/' Current
Research in Film: Audiences, Economics, and Law, vol. 5, ed. Bruce A. Aus-
tin (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1991): 86-105. Re-
printed with permission from Ablex Publishing Corporation.
At the University of Texas Press, Betsy Williams and Frankie West-
brook have been wonderful with their enthusiasm and measured advice.
Above all, I wish to thank my inspirational editor, Thomas Schatz,
for his kindness, criticism, perseverance, and intellectual rigor.

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 High Concept

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 1
C H A P T E R

A Critical
Redefinition:
The Concept of
High Concept

Consider two musicals from the late

1970s: Grease (1978), critically lambasted and adored by millions of
teenagers, and All That Jazz (1979), critically lauded and admired by
members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (to the
tune of nine Oscar nominations). While the films fit the musical genre,
to the extent that both feature singing and dancing, differences in con-
tent, marketing, and reception between the two films illuminate one of
the most significant forms of production in contemporary Hollywood.
More to the point, these films embody the contrast between "high con-
cept'; and "low concept/'
Grease was firmly within the mainstream of contemporary Holly-
wood. The potent marketing assets of the film easily distinguished it
from other musicals, such as All That Jazz. These assets were driven first
and foremost through Grease's star power: John Travolta, directly af-
ter his rise to stardom in Saturday Night Fever (1977); pop star Olivia
Newton-John; and, to attract an older audience, a host of media stars
evoking the film's period of the '50s, including Frankie Avalon, Ed
"Kookie" Byrnes, Eve Arden, and Sid Caesar. Of these media icons, Tra-
volta was the most significant. Indeed, he was perhaps the industry's
hottest star at that time. With Grease released only six months after Fe-
ver's debut, the association with Saturday Night Fever was fresh. In ad-
dition, with a recent nomination as Best Actor, Travolta was validated
critically.
The mixture of elements within the star "package" explains the ratio-
nale behind Grease's marketing formula, which could be articulated as

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 High Concept

Marketing through star power: John Travolta

and Olivia Newton-John (Grease, Para-
mount, 1978).

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 A Critical Redefinition

Frankie Avalon in the Beauty School Drop-

out number: tapping an older audience seg-
ment (Grease, Paramount, 1978). Copy-
right © MCMLXXVII by Paramount Pictures
Corporation.

a focus both on the young, drawn to Travolta and the subject of teen
romance/music, and on the older audience segments, drawn to the
nostalgia. Critic David Ansen identified this double focus in comment-
ing, 'The success of Grease with teen audiences, who often dance on
their seats as if at a concert, can have little to do with '50s nostalgia.
The movie, like Saturday Night Fever before it, is a Dionysian celebra-
tion of middle-class values."1 Each element of the marketing package
served this formula of young and old. For instance, the merchandis-
ing—T-shirts, tie-in novels, posters — normally reserved for the young,
also attempted to appeal to an older crowd. ''Remember the music, the
gang, the feeling? Grease is Paramount Pictures' smash hit musical that
captures the life and times of the '50s You can share in the nostalgia
too!" enthused a merchandising insert to the double-album sound-
track. The nostalgia suggested in the promo extended to the soundtrack,
which included several songs by retro-'50s band Sha-Na-Na, along with

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 4 High Concept

"Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" and "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee"
(an icon certainly lost on the youth of 1978). The hit singles from the
film, such as "You're the One That I Want" and "Hopelessly Devoted
to You," however, had a "contemporary" '70s sound, and were, in fact,
added to the original Broadway score for the film. Both decades co-
alesced in the new theme "Grease," sung by Franki Valli, and written
and produced by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, the most popular group at
the time, thanks to their disco songs in Saturday Night Fever. The mix
between old and new even influenced the visual style of the film, with
director Randal Kleiser commenting at the time of the release, "Stylis-
tically, the actors will stop and break into song—that's old—but we are
using all the '70s film techniques we can muster, like split screens and
high-powered sound."2
In addition to the stars, the music, and the merchandising, Grease
also had the marketing advantage of being a pre-sold property, based
on the long-running musical (playing a run of 3,388 performances on
Broadway).3 The film's producers, Robert Stigwood and Allan Carr, dis-
carded half of the "strictly ; 50s" Broadway score, choosing to entice a
younger crowd to the film.4 In a move that certainly enhanced the film's
marketability, the dialogue in the sometimes rough theatrical musi-
cal also was pared down, and the setting moved from the urban inner
city to a more innocuous Southern California locale. The result was a
Disney-like musical with the traditional "bad guys" (i.e., the hoods and
greasers) as heroes.
Finally, the film was represented throughout the media —in the one-
sheet, soundtrack, novelizations, trailer, and other marketing forms —
with an identifiable logo: a small car containing the word "GREASE"
written in a fluid, grease-like style. The logo served to identify the film
visually in large part since the marketers were consistent in using this
logo at every possible opportunity. All these marketing assets permitted
a wide opening, at that time, of 902 theaters and a strong opening
weekend gross of $9.31 million. The film continued to play very well
across the summer, eventually garnering rentals to Paramount of $96.3
million.5
On the other hand, All That Jazz, while still ostensibly a musical,
could hardly be described as having the same marketing assets as Grease.
Bob Fosse's film borrowed heavily from the art cinema, particularly Fel-
lini's 8V2 (1963), to tell the strongly autobiographical tale of an over-
committed director whose personal and professional lives are derailed
by a series of heart attacks, culminating in the director-protagonist's
death. Such a "difficult" subject seems unlikely fare for a musical and,
indeed, the film clearly was interested in examining and deconstructing

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 A Critical Redefinition

Roy Scheider as Fosse-like choreographer Joe

Gideon and Bob Fosse, co-author, director,
and choreographer of AW That Jazz (All That
Jazz, Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia,
1979).

this genre.6 Richard Dyer;s analysis of Fosse's first film, Sweet Chanty,
aptly summarizes Fosse's approach in All That Jazz: "[Sweet Chanty] uses
every trick in the cinematic book to embody the musical qualities of
rhythm, melody and tone, and uses its total visual, aural, and choreo-
graphic musicality to express a cynically wise view of the limitations of
the musical genre."7 All That Jazz actually inverted several cornerstones
of the musical, including the movement toward unification and com-
munity within the world of the film musical.
Fosse was clearly aware of the manner in which his film strayed from
the traditional genre and, in fact, he stated at the time of release, "It
doesn't fit into any category. You can like it or not like it, but it isn't a
copy of anything else, and I'm proud of that." 8 The commercial impli-
cations of "not fitting into any category" were numerous. Even during
production, the financial risk of the film scared the distributor, Colum-
bia, to the extent that a co-distributor, Twentieth Century-Fox, was
added when Fosse exceeded his original budget by more than $4 mil-
lion.9 Both distributors understandably were concerned, since the film
had low marketability. While leading actor Roy Scheider had appeared

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 High Concept

Low marketability and deconstruction of the

musical genre (All That Jazz, Twentieth
Century-Fox and Columbia, 1979). Copy-
right © 1979 20th Century-Fox Film).

in financially successful films, such as The French Connection and Jaws,

his name alone certainly could not "open" a film at the boxoffice. Apart
from the lack of star power, the diverse themes and complex narrative
defied translation into a simple marketing approach. Indeed, the one-
sheet for the film lacked a focus: the graphic showed the film's title in
lights and the copy offered variations on the theme, "All that. . ." (All
that work. All that glitter. All that pain. All that love. All that crazy
rhythm. All that jazz.) The ad is problematic, since it conveys little about
the film's plot in its attempts to suggest the diversity of the film. Tell-
ingly, the novelization released in conjunction with the film used a dif-
ferent title graphic and copy ("What makes Joe Gideon dance? Power,
sex, and . . . All That Jazz"), thereby breaking continuity in the market-
ing and public identification with the film. In terms of the soundtrack,
the film featured standards such as "Bye, Bye, Love" and "After You're
Gone,;; hardly marketable in the age of the Bee Gees and disco. Conse-
quently, the film had no marketing hooks, except for its high quality
credentials which would place the film commercially into the margin-
alized "art house ;; category. As Fosse biographer Kevin Boyd Grubb

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 A Critical Redefinition 1

commented on the commercial performance of the film, "Not surpris-

ingly, All That Jazz fared better with European audiences and critics than
it did in America/'10 Even classic musical fans could be alienated by the
film's generic deconstruction, not to mention the frank language, nu-
dity, and suggestiveness.
Whereas All That Jazz was produced despite the lack of inherent mar-
keting opportunities, Grease, with its target of young and old, could be
defined by its marketing possibilities. The latter film's marketing hooks
are numerous and strong. In addition, the dependence of Grease on
marketing through stars, a pre-sold property, music, merchandising,
and a single image has become increasingly significant as a marketing
approach. This approach can be succinctly described in a "pitch" or a
one-line concept: "John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John star as the
;
50s greaser and the 'good girl' in the screen adaptation of the hit stage
musical Grease." In contrast, the disparate themes and complexity of All
That Jazz cannot be reduced readily to a concept or a single ad-line.
These differences might be articulated by describing Grease as a rela-
tively high concept project, while All That Jazz would fall into the low
concept category. This classification offers an entry point into an un-
derstanding of a significant focus for mainstream studio motion picture
production. The term "high concept" originated in the television and
film industries, but it was soon adopted by the popular presses, who
seized the term as an indictment of Hollywood's privileging those films
which seemed most likely to reap huge dollars at the boxoffice. Clearly
the studios are most interested in those films with an increased likeli-
hood of a solid return, and high concept has been used as one catch
phrase to describe any number of commercial projects. I propose to of-
fer a more precise definition of high concept through tracing the his-
torical, institutional, and economic forces which have helped to shape
this particular kind of commercial filmmaking. Through an awareness
of these forces, high concept can be considered as a form of differenti-
ated product within the mainstream film industry. This differentiation
occurs in two major ways: through an emphasis on style within the
films, and through an integration with marketing and merchandising.
Positing high concept as a kind or style of filmmaking in the contem-
porary film industry has implications for understanding not only the
determinants of commercial filmmaking, but also film historiography.
Indeed, in terms of film history, the period of "classical Hollywood" is
marked by the mature studio system and a style of filmmaking centered
on continuity; however, the traits of the "post-classical" period (i.e.,
after the postwar disintegration of the studio system and the concurrent
rise of television) have been suggested, but not formalized. Most fre-

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 8 High Concept

quently, a "post-classical" period is aligned with the "New Hollywood"

of the ;60s and '70s, a period characterized by auteurs and the media
conglomeration of the film industry. High concept can be considered
as one central development—and perhaps the central development —
within post-classical cinema, a style of filmmaking molded by eco-
nomic and institutional forces. Through high concept, the diverse man-
ner through which economics and aesthetics are joined together can be
understood, and even appreciated, at one particular time in American
film history.

The Entertainment Industries

on High Concept
According to the folklore of the en-
tertainment industry, high concept as a term was first associated with
Barry Diller, during his tenure in the early 1970s as a programming ex-
ecutive at ABC.11 Diller received much credit for bolstering the net-
work's poor ratings, partly through the introduction of the made-for-
television movie format.12 Since Diller needed stories which could be
easily summarized for a thirty-second television spot, he approved those
projects which could be sold in a single sentence. This sentence would
then appear in the advertising spots and in TV Guide synopses. The re-
sult produced television movies, like Brian's Song (1971) and That Cer-
tain Summer (1972), whose themes and appeal were immediately obvi-
ous. Thus the demand for a marketable theme or plot became associated
with the term high concept.
Instead of crediting Diller, Disney president Jeffrey Katzenberg, on
the other hand, attributes the term high concept to Michael Eisner.13 Ac-
cording to Katzenberg, Eisner used high concept while working as a cre-
ative executive at Paramount to describe a unique idea whose originality
could be conveyed briefly. Similarly, Columbia Pictures Entertainment
President Peter Guber defines high concept in narrative terms. Rather
than stressing the uniqueness of the idea, Guber states that high con-
cept can be understood as a narrative which is very straightforward,
easily communicated, and easily comprehended.14
The emphasis on narrative as the driving force behind high concept
masks another aspect to the usage of the term within both the film and
television industries.15 While the idea must be easily communicated and
summarized, the concept must also be marketable in two significant
ways: through the initial "pitch" for the project, and through the mar-
keting, the "pitch" to the public. Clearly there are many films which
might be summarized briefly, yet which would not be described as high
concept within the film industry. Consider, for example, the concepts

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 A Critical Redefinition

Miami Blues: a concept lacking broad-based

appeal (Miami Blues, Orion, 1990). Photo
by Zade Rosenthal, © 1990 Orion Pictures
Corporation.

which might be used to pitch Everybody's All American (1988: a football

star and his glamorous wife face the difficulties of life after the fame
fades), Shirley Valentine (1989: bored housewife starts a new life by run-
ning away to Greece), or Miami Blues (1990: charismatic, yet psycho-
pathic, ex-con impersonates a detective to pull off some heists). All
three films suggest concepts which lack broad marketability through
being too limited in audience appeal: Shirley Valentine and Everybody's
All American would appeal primarily to an older audience segment (par-
ticularly mature females), while Miami Blues lacks broad-based appeal
since it is not substantively different from other cop television shows
and films.
Indeed, the connection between marketability and high concept
seems to be very strong in the entertainment industries. Brandon Stod-
dard, president of ABC Entertainment, suggests that a one-sentence high
concept is nothing more than the ad line that would show up in a mar-
keting campaign.16 Former Columbia Pictures president Dawn Steel also
stresses a simple, marketable theme as central to high concept: "[The
movie business in 1978] was all about capturing the spirit of the times
with high-concept pictures geared to the youth audience — movies

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 10 High Concept

Everybody's All American: the dramatic

and domestic problems for a couple after the
fame has vanished ('Everybody's All Ameri-
can, Warner Bros., 1988). Copyright© 1988
Warner Bros. Inc.

whose themes could be explained in a sentence or two. These were mov-

ies like Saturday Night Fever that were, as they were called at the time,
critic-proof, so that they could bypass all the old ways of thinking/' 17
Following this premise, those films which are high concept could be
matched by marketing campaigns that accurately represent their con-
tent, while marketing for low concept films would be more problem-
atic, since the marketing, which inevitably operates through a reduction
of the film's narrative, misrepresents the film as a whole.
Star power is one way through which a project might develop a
broader marketability. In fact, another aspect of high concept within
the industry is the linkage of a star's persona with a concept; for ex-
ample, Clint Eastwood in a crime thriller implies a high concept project.
As a qualification to this principle, it is not always true that a star en-
sures that a project will be high concept. When a star's persona is di-
rectly linked with a genre and the project under consideration adheres
to this genre, then the film generally falls into the high concept cate-
gory. For example, Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen as a seasoned cop

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 A Critical Redefinition 11

and trainee in The Rookie (1990) would undoubtedly be described as

high concept, while Clint Eastwood as an eccentric and obsessive film
director in Africa in White Hunter, Black Heart (1990) would not. As a
condition of this principle, a star working directly against his image may
also suggest high concept. For instance, consider the possibilities of
tough guy Arnold Schwarzenegger as the tooth fairy as described in this

Star power and high concept: Clint Eastwood

and Charlie Sheen in The Rookie (The
Rookie, Warner Bros., 1990). Copyright©
1990 Warner Bros. Inc.

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 12 High Concept

announcement from Variety: "Norman Lear's Act III Communications

and Columbia Pictures are developing Sweet Tooth, a so-called high-
concept comedy, as a starring vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger is being primed to play the tooth fairy in the script
crafted over the past two years by writer Holly Sloan —with input from
Lear — for Act III Communications/'18
Following a similar line of argument, Diana Widom, former Senior
Vice-President of Publicity and Promotion at Paramount Pictures, de-
fines high concept through star persona with her description of a ficti-
tious film based on this concept: "Eddie Murphy (as Axel Foley) meets
Prince Charles." The juxtaposition of Murphy with royalty immediately
sets up a series of oppositions which define the concept: the difference
between rich and poor, America and Britain, black and white, brazen
and reserved. All these oppositions develop from the simple one-line
concept. Also, as the example indicates, the concept places a familiar,
commercial element —in this case, a star working within his genre
(comedy) — in a slightly altered context. This play of familiarity and dif-
ference seems essential to many definitions of high concept.
A final aspect to the usage of the term high concept is the tendency
to describe such projects as dealing with timely or fashionable subjects.
Since high concept often describes the most commercial type of film,
the term necessarily has become connected to projects which offer sub-
ject matter "in vogue." This factor sometimes results in cycles of films
which deal with similar high concepts. Consider, for example, the con-
secutive releases of Raising Arizona (1987), Three Men and a Baby (1987),
Baby Boom (1987), and She's Having a Baby (1988) which led critics to
label the trend combining yuppies and babies as high concept. Alter-
nately, the "switching bodies" films (Like Father, Like Son [1987], Vice
Versa [1987], Big [1988], Dream a Little Dream [1989]) have been treated
as variations on a single high concept. A clear example of a film whose
concept depends upon a trendy issue would be the John Travolta/Jamie
Lee Curtis film Perfect in 1985. Seizing upon the health club phenome-
non of the early 1980s, the film was motivated almost entirely by the
notion that health clubs have become the new singles bars. However, as
Stuart Byron and Anne Thompson astutely comment, the film is also a
perfect example of a "dated-concept movie," since the fashionable sub-
ject had been completely exhausted through news and the popular
presses by the time of the film's release.19
Therefore, within the film and television industries, high concept
most frequently is associated with narrative and, in particular, a form
of narrative which is highly marketable. This marketability might be
based upon stars, the match between a star and a premise, or a subject

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 A Critical Redefinition 13

matter which is fashionable. In practice, the locus of this marketability

and concept in the contemporary industry is the ''pitch/' In fact, in
order to pitch a project succinctly the film must be high concept; con-
sider Steven Spielberg's comment: "If a person can tell me the idea in
25 words or less, it's going to make a pretty good movie. I like ideas,
especially movie ideas, that you can hold in your hand."20 Spielberg's
opinion relates well to the vision of high concept expressed by other
Hollywood representatives: a striking, easily reducible narrative which
also offers a high degree of marketability.

The Critics on High Concept

Although narrative is still a focus,
high concept suggests another set of meanings to the popular presses
and analysts of Hollywood. These meanings are summarized aptly by
Richard Schickel, who points out that with the term high concept,
"high" is actually a misnomer: "What the phrase really means is that
the concept is so low it can be summarized and sold on the basis of a
single sentence."21 During the past decade, high concept has appeared
with ever increasing frequency in the popular discourses of the indus-
try: trade journals such as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Boxoffice, Paul
Kagan newsletters, and the entertainment sections of leading news
magazines. Frequently the term is used as ammunition in an indictment
against the contemporary industry, suggesting a bankruptcy of crea-
tivity within Hollywood. Whereas creative executives such as Katzen-
berg would stress the originality of a high concept idea, media critics
would suggest that high concept actually represents the zero point of
creativity.
As opposed to developing new ideas, critics describe high concept as
relying heavily upon the replication and combination of previously suc-
cessful narratives. In the extreme, critics describe high concept films as
merely combinations of other films; the Los Angeles Times, for instance,
presented a High Concept Match Game in which RoboCop was defined
as Terminator meets Dirty Harry and Harry and the Hendersons as Gentle
Ben meets E.T.22 To a lesser extent, this replication can involve "revital-
izing" past successes through a star or shift in emphasis. At the time of
release for Flashdance (1983), Jon Peters remarked that he was certain of
the boxoffice success of the film since Flashdance was, in essence, a
Rocky (1976) for women.23 Of course, this replication and recombina-
tion has a strong economic motive: audiences have a point of reference
for the new film due to their familiarity with the other sources. A film
recombining other financially successful films possesses built-in mar-
keting hooks. This privileging of the marketing apparatus is viewed by

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 14 High Concept

the media as Hollywood focusing on commerce rather than art, placing

an emphasis on marketable stories rather than "original" stories.
Consequently, critics describe high concept as Hollywood crassly
privileging business over any consideration of creativity or artistic ex-
pression. While some critics sympathetically attribute high concept to
concerns of fiscal responsibility and accountability, the majority simply
utilize the term to denigrate contemporary Hollywood.24 In fact, the
term has gained such a negative connotation that high concept is often
associated with the most sensationalist material. Consider critic Michael
Wilmington's condemnation of the term in his review of Nice Girls
Don't Explode (1987): "In an era of witless, tasteless high concepts, the
one in Nice Girls Don't Explode ought to be eligible for some kind of
award: maybe the Golden Bomb as Terms of Endearment collides with
Carrie/'25
Inherent in the media's usage of the term is the importance of not
just summarizing, but also selling the film through the concept. In fact,
Timothy Noah foregrounds this aspect in his definition of high concept:
"The 'high concept' approach is favored by the seller —say, a producer
trying to convince a studio to put up money for his movie —because it
renders a proposal misunderstanding-proof. High concept proposals are
by definition easily grasped by the studio executives on the run and,
further down the road, by the movie audiences, who are given only a
week or two from a film's opening to determine whether it will stay in
theaters."26 This "shorthand" form of communication between indus-
try and audience occurs through the marketing of the high concept,
which is aided by the simplicity and directness of the concept. Conse-
quently, these films are designed to be sold; as critic Owen Gleiberman
describes in his review of the John Goodman film King Ralph (1991),
"This is the sort of high-concept comedy in which the jokes seem to
have been designed primarily for use in the film's trailer."27
The understanding of high concept among the media critics actually
parallels usage within the industry in many respects. Both the critics
and the industry "practitioners" emphasize marketing and narrative in
their definitions of high concept. But whereas the industry focuses on
the uniqueness and originality of the concept, the media critics stress
its creative bankruptcy. In effect, the industry utilizes high concept in a
prescriptive manner —one "rule" toward a financially successful proj-
ect—while the media uses the term in an evaluative sense, with high
concept inevitably synonymous with being aesthetically suspect or
tainted. Undoubtably as a reaction to the negative connotation of high
concept within the media, the creative community of Hollywood dis-
tances itself, in a self-serving manner, from all projects which might be

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 A Critical Redefinition 15

termed high concept. In a 1987 article about the development of United

Artists, Jack Matthews states that' 'eighteen months ago, UA executives
were talking about making high concept films that can be made with
fiscal responsibility/' Pointedly, Matthews claims that (now former)
United Artists chairman Tony Thomopolous talks less about concepts
(''It's High Noon in outer space"), and more about executing good sto-
ries.28 One studio production executive, who wished to remain anony-
mous, recalled that the term high concept had been used frequently
within the industry in the early 1980s, but has since been seized upon
and utilized in a pejorative manner by critics: "People are amused by
the algebra and vocabulary of the industry. 'High concept' is now used
by some effete critic to describe a movie he doesn't like."29

Economics, Aesthetics, and High Concept

as "Post" Classical Cinema
At the most basic level, high con-
cept can be considered as one result of the tension between the eco-
nomics and aesthetics on which commercial studio filmmaking is
based. All mainstream Hollywood filmmaking is economically oriented,
through the minimization of production cost and maximization of po-
tential boxoffice revenue. However, the connection between economics
and high concept is particularly strong, since high concept appears to
be the most market-driven type of film being produced. This relation
can be conceptualized in two different forms. First, as Douglas Gomery
and Robert Allen suggest, production practices within the film industry
are influenced by shifts in the industrial structure of Hollywood. Go-
mery and Allen describe the relationship between an industrial mode of
production (i.e., the methods through which the human, technological,
and aesthetic "raw materials" are transformed into film) and the cul-
tural product, film, in the following terms: "Each mode of production
produces its own set of production practices: normative conceptions of
how a particular kind of film 'should' look and sound."30 Historically,
as the forces forming the mode of production change across time, so
does the product of film, privileging a certain "look and sound" within
filmmaking. This new "look and sound" is evident in the style of the
high concept picture. Second, the relation between economics and high
concept exists at the level of marketing: the high concept film is de-
signed to maximize marketability and, consequently, the economic po-
tential at the boxoffice. This marketability is based upon such factors as
stars, the match between a star and a project, a pre-sold premise (such
as a remake or adaptation of a best-selling novel), and a concept which
taps into a national trend or sentiment.

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 16 High Concept

This relationship between economics and aesthetics, which I am pos-

iting as integral to an understanding of high concept, also possesses an
important temporal dimension. High concept can be considered as a
style of filmmaking which developed at a particular point in the history
of postwar Hollywood. More specifically, high concept represents one
strand of post-classical Hollywood cinema: a style with strong ties to
the classical cinema, yet with some significant deviations in terms of
composition. Theories of the classical Hollywood cinema have been a
significant recent development in the field of film studies, and film
scholars have utilized many different methodological and theoretical
approaches to the subject. Certainly one of the most influential ap-
proaches has been the work of David Bordwell, Janet Staiger, and Kristin
Thompson, who develop classical Hollywood cinema as a particular sty-
listic system with clear economic and aesthetic determinants.31 Charac-
terizing the style of classic filmmaking as the result of several intercon-
necting causal factors, the authors are able to provide a substantial
argument for the classical Hollywood cinema as a period with distinct
breaks from primitive cinema. Understandably, given their focus, Bord-
well, Staiger, and Thompson do not consider the influence of economic
and institutional changes since 1960 —many of which have irrevocably
altered the forms of product from Hollywood. High concept addresses
how these economic and institutional changes — including the con-
glomeration of the film industry and the rise of television, new market-
ing methods, and changing distribution strategies — have extended and
modified some significant traits of the classical model.

Micro- and Macro-Analysis:

Style, Marketing, and
Differentiation of Product
The analysis of high concept will
begin at the "micro" level of the film, isolating and identifying the
traits of the high concept film. The abstracted images which are the
basis for the extensive marketing campaigns are derived, at least par-
tially, from the unique style of the high concept films. This style be-
comes codified across successive films, so that one can identify the ways
in which the style offers several modifications from the classical Holly-
wood cinema. More specifically this style is based upon two major com-
ponents: a simplification of character and narrative, and a strong match
between image and music soundtrack throughout the film. In the high
concept film, the narrative frequently is composed of stock situations
firmly set within the bounds of genre and viewer expectation. In fact,
with the high concept film, one can see the movement of the narrative

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 A Critical Redefinition 17

from the single-sentence concept. So, for example, "Top Gun (1986) in
race cars" aptly describes the narrative trajectory of Days of Thunder
(1990): the concept encapsulizes the establishment, animation, inten-
sification, and resolution of the plot structure, as well as the star, the
style, and genre of the film.32 Conversely, a description for a film which
is not high concept fails to offer a fair representation of the narrative
trajectory. Terms of Endearment (1983) could be described as "the tur-
bulent, but loving, relationship between a mother and daughter across
three decades/' but this concept fails to offer the viewer a sense of the
film's overall narrative development. Consequently, the film cannot be
captured by a single image through the marketing campaign in a man-
ner similar to the selling of the high concept films.
Perhaps the most important component of this style is the relation
of the image to the soundtrack, since frequently a major portion of
these films is composed of extended montages which are, in effect, mu-
sic video sequences. These musical sequences serve as modular set
pieces which fragment the narrative. The soundtrack also accompanies
a set of formal techniques which often hamper or actually halt the
narrative progression: these techniques include extreme backlighting,
a minimal (often almost black-and-white) color scheme, a predomi-
nance of reflected images and a tendency toward settings of high tech-
nology and industrial design. Consider just one of the "modules" from
Flashdance: Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri wandering hand-in-hand
through an abandoned railway yard set against the song "Lady, Lady,
Lady." The song matches the action only in its romantic mood, and the
image of the striking couple in the perfectly lit industrial wasteland en-
courages a contemplation completely unconnected to the ostensible
narrative. This tendency is bolstered also by the superficial narrative
and characters. In some cases, the style of the productions seems to seep
through onto the narrative; issues of style or image become crucial to
the functioning of the characters and the development of the narrative.
Consider, for example, the importance of style in performance to Flash-
dance, style in aviation to Top Gun, or personal style to American Gigolo
(1980). The narrative of each film relies on style in order to progress:
Alex's unique dancing style places her outside the world of both the
strip clubs and the ballet, Maverick's renegade flying style causes his
disciplinary problems with his superiors in Top Gun, and Julian Kay's
choice of clothes and image separates him from all the other gigolos in
Los Angeles. Furthermore, the reliance on bold images in the films re-
inforces the extraction of these images from the film for the film's mar-
keting and merchandising. The reduced narrative and emphasis upon
style, which often has a potent visual representation, permit, even en-

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 18 High Concept

Style in the narrative, style in the production

(Flashdance, Paramount, 1983). Copyright
© MCMLXXXIII by Paramount Pictures
Corporation.

courage, the extensive reproduction of these key images from the film
in mass marketing.
If high concept can be described as a style of filmmaking at a particu-
lar point in film history, there are causal mechanisms creating and de-
marcating this period. The larger structural changes within the indus-
try—such as conglomeration, the development of new technologies,
and the rise in marketing and merchandising —operate to privilege
films which can be summarized and sold in a single sentence. These
structural changes one-by-one cannot be assigned causation of the high
concept films, however. While these changes can be correlated with the
development of high concept, high concept as a style of filmmaking is
created by myriad forces, including important aesthetic ties to the clas-
sical cinema. Perhaps it is best to consider high concept as only one
aesthetic and economic way in which cinema has developed after the
classical period.
The analysis of the aesthetic qualities of high concept leads into the
larger "macro'' factors molding this style of filmmaking. At the broadest
macro-level, the high concept film has been influenced greatly by
changes in the marketplace for film during the past twenty years. An

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 A Critical Redefinition 19

examination of the reconfigured marketplace anchors my investigation

of high concept. Following one of the basic tenets of industrial organi-
zation theory, firm behavior is affected by market structure. Therefore,
as Gomery and Allen demonstrate, the film "product'' invariably is
shaped by the changing marketplace in which it is produced and con-
sumed. High concept is definitely connected to two forces which have
shaped the market for film powerfully in recent years: the develop-
ment of new media (such as home video and cable) and the concurrent
ownership changes within the film industry. These forces have mini-
mized the boundaries between economic agents and their separate do-
mains, splintering the marketplace for film. Two of the principal meth-
ods through which the most successful studios have responded to the
changing marketplace have been the differentiation of product and the
entry into the market created by new delivery systems. High concept
can be seen as one of the major forms of product differentiation within
the current industry. By producing high concept films, studios have
been able to identify and exploit particular market segments. In this
fashion, the changing economic parameters of the marketplace have
helped to configure the high concept film.
High concept functions as a form of differentiated product primarily
through two routes: through an integration with marketing and mer-
chandising and through an emphasis on style. The connection between
high concept and marketing begins at the level of the pitch. Recall that
a pitch for a high concept product should be summed up and sold in a
single sentence. The emphasis on marketing also extends through the
entry of the film into the marketplace: the high concept films are ac-
companied by strikingly graphic print and television advertising cam-
paigns, with many films also accompanied by merchandised product
derived from the film. High concept films lend themselves to merchan-
dising and marketing by their abstraction of a key image from the film
(e.g., the hot rod forming the Grease logo) and through the manipula-
tion of this image to extend the "shelf life'' of the motion picture. The
image, which is replicated through the advertising materials and prod-
uct tie-ins, can be seen as the expression of the most commercial ele-
ments of the high concept film.
In addition to the reliance on striking images and their replication in
marketing and merchandising (product tie-in) campaigns, other inno-
vations in marketing blossomed at the same time as high concept. Con-
sider, for example, the movement toward saturation releases utilizing
television commercials, the widespread adoption of marketing research
as a pre- and post-production tool, and the utilization of music sound-
tracks as a primary marketing focus. All these marketing methods be-
came common practice throughout the 1970s and '80s, correlating with

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 20 High Concept

the development of high concept. Again, Grease can be seen as a para-

digm for the marketing possibilities offered through high concept —the
wide (and successful) opening of Grease was completely dependent on
the strong marketing potential built into the film. It is impossible to
overestimate the importance of marketing to the operation of high con-
cept. High concept films, which could be described as the most market-
driven projects in Hollywood, are narrated as much by their marketing
as by their ostensible story. In this regard, Janet Staiger and Barbara
Klinger have offered persuasive arguments for the importance of pro-
motion (which includes both marketing and merchandising) to the
content, style, and reception of the Hollywood film.33 The relationship
which they posit among promotion, the film text, and reception would
seem to be even more pivotal to the market-driven high concept films.
Since high concept films are conceived as highly marketable, one
might wonder about the actual commercial performance of these films
within the marketplace. After my investigation of the marketing strate-
gies in the high concept films and their impact upon the films' recep-
tion, the links between this commercial style of filmmaking and their
actual popularity at the boxoffice will be investigated. A statistical
model accounting for boxoffice revenue will be developed, with an eye
toward explaining the commercial success or failure of the high concept
films. This project also reflects the increased role that market research
(including forecasting) has played in the contemporary film industry, a
factor which reinforces the development of high concept. Barry Lit-
man's study, "Predicting Success of Theatrical Movies: New Empirical
Evidence/' offers a model for such an analysis.34 As part of this analysis,
the relationship between boxoffice revenue and the subset of films fit-
ting the criteria for high concept will be analyzed. Given their market-
ability and the reliance upon past successes, it is probable that the high
concept films would be more popular than other films. In addition,
given their modularity and ''recycled'' quality, statistical modeling,
based upon coding the film into several constitutive variables, might be
able to predict their boxoffice performance with more precision than
that for the 'Tow concept" films. If high concept functions as product
differentiation, as I have posited, the financial success or failure of this
differentiation in the actual marketplace is a significant aspect of high
concept in practice to be accounted for.

"The Look, the Hook, and the Book"

High concept can be conceived,
therefore, as a product differentiated through the emphasis on style in
production and through the integration of the film with its marketing.

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 Table 1. The Spectrum of High Concept
This table lists some examples of high concept, that is, films which illustrate
allegiance to one or more traits ("the look, the hook, and the book") of
high concept. This is not intended to offer an exhaustive accounting of all
high concept films over the past three decades, but rather merely a sugges-
tion of the diverse set of films which could be supported as high concept.

Jaws (1975) Ato? Max beyond Thunderdome (1985)

The Omen (1976) We/rdSdercce (1985)
King Kong (1976) To /jve tfraJ Die in L.A (1985)
Star Wars (1977) 9% Weeks (1986)
The Deep (1977) Quicksilver (1986)
Saturday Night Fever (1977) 77*eF/y(1986)
Grease (1978) American Anthem (1986)
Superman (1978) Manhunter (1986)
The Main Event (1979) Howard the Duck (1986)
The Jerk (1980) Pretty in Pink (1986)
The Blues Brothers (1980) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Caddyshack (1980) Ruthless People (1986)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Top GWH (1986)
Urban Cowboy (1980) Tfre Lost Boys (1987)
American Gigolo (1980) Dragnet (1987)
Flash Gordon (1980) 77*e Witches ofEastwick (1987)
Superman 7/(1981) Mannequin (1987)
Endless Love (1981) 77ze Untouchables (1987)
772/^(1981) Fatal Attraction (1987)
Cat People (1982) Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Cocktail (1988)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) D.0.A (1988)
Blue Thunder (1983) 7wms (1988)
Flashdance (1983) Coming to America (1988)
Return ofthejedi (1983)
Trading Places (1984) Batman (1989)
Staying Alive (1984) Harlem Nights (1989)
Indiana Jones/Temple Doom (1984) Days of Thunder (1990)
The Terminator (1984) Flatliners (1990)
The Natural (1984) 77ze //Hrtt /or ited October (1990)
77ze Keep (1984) D*cfc Tracy (1990)
Footloose (1984) Pretty Woman (1990)
itedfes (1984) Total Recall (1990)
Thief of Hearts (1984) Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
Purple Rain (1984) Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Streets of Fire (1984) 7/oofc (1991)
Gremlins (1984) flofcm T/ood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) TheAddams Family (1991)
Ghostbusters (1984) Wayne's WorM (1992)
St. Elmo's Fire (1985) Batman Returns (1992)
Commando (1985)

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 22 High Concept

This definition encompasses several aspects of high concept; to gathei

these aspects together in an appropriately high concept fashion, om
can think of high concept as comprising "the look, the hook, and th(
book." The look of the images, the marketing hooks, and the reducec
narratives form the cornerstones of high concept. High concept car
be described most fruitfully as a spectrum based upon these three pa
rameters: all Hollywood films fall along the scale, some falling towan
the low end of the spectrum (the low concept films), while some fal
toward the high end of the spectrum (the high concept films). Few film
would actually fall at either end of the spectrum — either purely lov
concept or purely high concept. Following from this model, films coul<
be classified more accurately in relative, rather than absolute, terms
for example, although both projects are star-driven, the straightforwar<
comedy Coming to America (1988) is more high concept than the dark!
comic satire The War of the Roses (1989).
The attempt to construct this model of high concept should neithe
be viewed as an academic spin on the critics' condemnation of con:
mercial filmmaking, nor as an attempt to glorify the popular. Rathei
the project addresses the initially curious supposition that Grease, alon
with Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), and Saturday Night Fever, is of muc
greater significance to American film history than the critically an
institutionally recognized films of the period, such as All That Jaz
Network (1976), One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and Kramer v
Kramer (1979). While this statement may alarm "canon" builders a
ready periodizing the last three decades of American film, I believe th<
through understanding the commercial recipe and economic determ
nants of a film like Grease, one can gain a true appreciation of the coi
temporary landscape of American film —a landscape which has nu
tured and privileged the high concept film.

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 2
H A P T ER

Construction of
the Image and the
High Concept Style

High concept films are differenti-

ated within the marketplace through an emphasis on style and through
an integration with their marketing. These two factors are not mutually
exclusive. The tie between marketing and high concept is centered on a
concept which is marketable (i.e., that contains an exploitable premise
or pre-sold properties, such as stars). The marketability of the concept
must possess a visual form, presentable in television spots, trailers, and
print ads. The high concept films therefore depend upon the visual rep-
resentation of their marketable concepts in advertising. Advertising is
key to the commercial success of these films through representing the
marketable concepts of the films, but, more basically, advertising as a
medium of expression is fundamental to the very construction of the
high concept films. Indeed, the style of the films reflects, in many re-
spects, the graphic design and print layouts associated with contempo-
rary consumer goods advertising.
By style, I am referring to the usage of techniques within the film
that become characteristic of the film. Extending the common usage of
the term, which relates to cinematic techniques and capabilities, I am
also including as style those elements within the film (such as stars and
music) which are central to the film's operation (and marketing). Style
is a defining characteristic of high concept, and its importance to an
understanding of both the aesthetics and economics behind these films
cannot be overestimated. The style shared within high concept cuts
across a wide range of genres. In this manner, the high concept style

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 24 High Concept

parallels the conception of film noir as a style of filmmaking evident not

just in the crime or gangster genres, but also in the melodrama or the
musical.1 The high concept style has several components: a high con-
cept "look" (through the production design and cinematography),
stars, music, music tie-ins, character, and genre all form patterns in the
high concept films. While every film exhibits aspects of the style, it is
rare for all traits of the style to be present in a single film. Generally, the
aspects of the style foregrounded in the film depend on how the style
can be integrated into the marketing and merchandising. For instance,
a light comedy-drama driven by its star (e.g., Cocktail [1988], with Tom
Cruise) foregrounds the mix of star and music within the film, which
can then be exploited through music videos and advertising. On the
other hand, the science-fiction thriller The Terminator (1984) benefits
more through stressing the film's high concept look, the genre narra-
tive, and the visually striking Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This chapter examines the construction of the high concept style
through an analysis of the style's five major elements: the high concept
"look," stars, music, character, and genre. The juxtaposition of these
components occasionally "exceeds" the narrative of the film, leading
to moments which seem excessive given the story's development. These
are the moments which tend to be extracted and used for advertising
due to their striking aesthetic quality. Since each of the style's compo-
nents is ultimately driven by the film's marketing, before an analysis oi
the high concept style, I will consider the diverse ways through which
advertising has influenced this style of filmmaking.

Advertising as an Influence on Style

With the marketable properties o
the high concept films, the films already have a certain pre-sold iden
tity, such as "the new thriller starring Clint Eastwood" or "the nev
action-adventure from Steven Spielberg." The function of advertising
is to establish this identity with the public by the time of opening. Th(
pre-sold nature of high concept permits an advertising approach whicl:
frequently utilizes simple and graphically striking image and copy; th(
simplicity of the ad aids recall by the moviegoer. In advertising terms
many of the high concept campaigns follow the design specifications o
corporate communications, in which the designer seeks to create an<
maintain consistent identities across advertising campaigns for corpo
rations.2 The designer fulfills this task through economical and un
adorned graphics, sometimes with an accent which suggests movemen
or change. Consider the many striking graphic representations of higl
concept: the laser bars which form the word "ALIEN" set against ,

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 Construction of the Image 25

throbbing futuristic egg, say, or the extraordinary campaigns for the

John Hughes films which depend on the title matched with a simple
logo. The Hughes campaigns even seek to define the films on a second-
ary level, reducing Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) to "FBDO" or Some
Kind of Wonderful (1987) to "SKOW" in print ads through replicating a
distinctive graphic design and logo from the ad campaign.
If the advertising campaigns for the high concept films might be de-
scribed as graphically bold and stylish, these qualities reflect the con-
tent of the actual films. Indeed, style is central to many of the high
concept films. To be more precise regarding the function of this style,
recall Stuart Ewen's description of style as a social factor: "We see that
style is about beautiful, mouth-watering surfaces, but we see more. Be-
yond displaying surfaces, the uninterrupted message of the television
programme is that style makes up a way of life, a Utopian way of life/' 3
Ewen's analysis is especially apt for considering the high concept films.
On the one hand, high concept can be identified through the surface
appearance of the films: a high-tech visual style and production design
which are self-conscious to the extent that the physical perfection of
the films' visuals sometimes "freezes" the narrative in its tracks. Match-
ing the surface perfection of the films' style, these films also privilege
style as a way of life; many of the high concept films are driven by the
style exhibited by the characters as each moves through the narrative.
This style exemplifies a lifestyle, an approach to life, or "a way of life/'
in Ewen's terms, which, while not Utopian perhaps, certainly replicates
the superior, upscale lifestyles promised in many ads.
Fashion layouts and ads are designed to manipulate the consumer
into buying not just a product, but also a lifestyle into which the prod-
uct permits entry. This slippage from the selling of a product to the
selling of a lifestyle depends, in part, on the physical perfection of the
ad images — a perfection which encourages an appreciation beyond its
organization around a particular product. Consider Janet Bergstrom's
"reading" of a Calvin Klein ad which examines three androgynous
models (two male, one female) strewn across a bed.4 Bergstrom dem-
onstrates that the image encourages multiple interpretations. Focusing
on the image within the ad, the colors, textures, and design suggest a
lifestyle centered on sexual attraction and seduction. Even further, it is
important to note that the ad powerfully underlines Bergstrom's at-
tempt to trace the development of androgyny in the contemporary me-
dia. Associated with this reading of the image, the models of the ad
function inherently as models of behavior. The models live in the
imaginary world constructed by the fashion and advertising industries.
Especially considering the lack of copy directly advertising the product,

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 26 High Concept

the ad more potently suggests a way of living rather than how a product
might change one's life.

"You've Got the Look":

Perfect Images in High Concept
These qualities of the advertising
image —the physical perfection, the attempt to sell both a product and
a lifestyle —parallel the style of the high concept films. The connection
between the style of the films and the style of advertising is not coinci-
dental, however. Many of the directors most often associated with this
high-tech style (e.g., Adrian Lyne, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, and Hugh
Hudson) began their careers directing television commercials, with
many working in Europe, where television advertising often guides
mass and popular culture.5 The impact of these advertising-oriented di-
rectors on high concept is most significant. Consider, for example, the
career of Tony Scott. After directing television commercials in partner-
ship with brother Ridley, Tony Scott directed The Hunger (1983), a hor-
ror movie set in contemporary New York about vampirism and immor-
tality starring Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, and David Bowie.
This one-line synopsis seems woefully inadequate, however, to convey
an impression of the film, since the movie actually functions as a com-
bination of visually arresting images which overwhelm their narrative
function. Appropriately, perhaps, Howard Kissel of the fashion maga-
zine Women's Wear Daily sensed that the film's narrative was actually
a slave to these images: 'Tony Scott's The Hunger is supposed to be
about such themes as death, immortality, violence and love, but it's
really about art direction — the way blood looks splattered elegantly
against a page of music; the way Catherine Deneuve's face looks lit
from underneath by flames; the way a very fine lens can capture a tear
moving slowly down her cheek; the way David Bowie and Susan Saran-
don can be photographed to resemble each other; the way Sarandon can
be reflected on the smooth surface of an immaculately polished pay
phone." 6
Considering the commercial failure of The Hunger, it is somewhat
surprising that Scott was assigned by producers Don Simpson and Jerry
Bruckheimer to direct the big-budget, high-profile Top Gun. Simpson
and Bruckheimer's choice was motivated by their conception of the
film in primarily visual terms. After seeing photos in California maga-
zine showing supersonic aerial combat at the Miramar Naval Air Station,
the producers decided to develop a motion picture to match the images
of the jets and flyboys in combat.7 For Bruckheimer and Simpson,
Scott's visual style in The Hunger and his background in television ad-
vertising made him a logical choice to direct Top Gun.

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 Construction of the Image

The Hunger: Catherine Deneuve and David

Bowie... "It's really about art direction"
(The Hunger, MGM/UA, 1983).

The appropriation and adaptation of advertising aesthetics by film-

makers create moments within the film which seem to work against the
developing story, encouraging an appreciation for the film's formal
composition. This tendency could be described in terms of "excess"
within the film. Following Kristin Thompson's conception of the term,
style is composed of techniques which are repeated and become char-
acteristic of the film, whereas excess can be understood as those tech-
niques which do not form specific patterns across the film.8 While style
tends to be justified by the viewer through understanding the film as
the work of an artist —or, to use Thompson's term, through composi-

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 28 High Concept

tional motivation — excess cannot be reconciled in a similar manner.

Excess implies a gap in the motivation of the work.9
On the level of formal composition, the high concept films are
linked by a set of production techniques composed of extreme back-
lighting, a minimal (often almost black-and-white) color scheme, a pre-
dominance of reflected images, and a tendency toward settings of high
technology and industrial design. At times, these techniques combine
to freeze the narrative, creating an excess within the film. Consider, for
example, the opening of Flashdance. The credits are set against the Irene
Cara song "Flashdance . . . What a Feeling," which conveys a vaguely
inspirational message, telling the viewer "to take your passion and
make it happen." In addition, the song initiates the situation of Alex
(Jennifer Beals) using her dancing to change her life, as the lyrics de-
scribe, "now I'm dancing for my life." The song plays over the image
of a young woman, Alex, cycling along a bridge in long shot. Just as the
song segues into a hard-driving instrumental backbeat, the scene cuts
to a construction yard — although the location is hardly recognizable as
such due to the extreme backlighting which extends the shadows of the
figures within the frame and which creates high contrast in the images
within the frame. In fact, the entire scene of industrial machinery, con-
struction site, and workers appears to be black-and-white, except for the
occasional red warning lights on the periphery of the frame. The look
of the scene makes an everyday, banal sight aesthetically pleasing or at
least aesthetically striking. This transformation is, at first, disorienting,
causing the viewer to contemplate the strangeness of the image, rather
than how the image fits into the developing story.
This type of image — aesthetically bold, often in a setting of high
technology or industry—can be located through many of the high con-
cept films. For instance, images in the thriller Flatliners (1990) fulfill a
function similar to the one from Flashdance. The film, which is centered
on a group of medical students inducing and experiencing near-death
experiences, places much of the major action in a cavernous building
undergoing construction, supposedly close to the medical school on
campus. The huge building is largely bare —except for its gothic archi-
tecture and abandoned ornamentation, such as the large, sculpted head
of a goddess. Light enters through windows cut like slits, creating in-
tense backlighting reminiscent of Flashdance. The lighting is manipu-
lated to create a black (or dark blue) and white scheme for all action in
this building. The image is accompanied by a heavenly choir on the
soundtrack. The effect of the lighting, production design, and sound-
track is to create an other-worldly environment appropriate for the
"flatlining" medical students (a reference to the steady line on the EKG

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 Construction of the Image

The university building setting for the Flat-

liners experiments: stylized and formal f Flat-
liners, Columbia, 1990). Copyright © 1990
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc

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 30 High Concept

showing the onset of death). Compared to the realistic depiction of the

students' living environments, the scenes shot in the medical experi-
mentation room seem stylized and formal. These scenes are excessive,
since the look of the operating room sequences overwhelms their nar-
rative function. In a fashion similar to Flashdance, Flatliners aestheticizes
the environment through its "excessive" images.
Both of the environments in these scenes —the construction site
and the renovated medical building — illustrate the allegiance of the
high concept films to settings of high technology. The high concept
films tend toward sleek, modern environments mirroring the post-in-
dustrial age through austere and reflective surfaces. Consider the high-
tech dance club Mawby's in Flashdance, the spare, white apartment
owned by Kiefer Sutherland in Flatliners, the conservative, monochro-
matic business worlds of 9V2 Weeks (1986), Baby Boom (1987), and Wall
Street (1987), the Rodeo Drive art world of Beverly Hills Cop (1984), and
the neon-drenched apartments and renovated warehouses turned into
young yuppie homes in St. Elmo's Fire (1985).10 The environments func-
tion also on the level of style within the narrative, with the modern
architecture and interiors most frequently associated with urban, up-
wardly mobile characters.
A sleek, visually stunning "look" alone does not suggest that a film
is high concept, however. While the look may aid the film's represen-
tation through the advertising, a look cannot sell a film if separated
from the other aspects of high concept. Indeed, the image of the film
must be connected to a concept that is marketable and exploitable. Two
commercial "experiments" with strikingly different looks illuminate
this lesson. Francis Coppola's One from the Heart (1982) offers Las Vegas
completely re-created in all its neon splendor on Coppola's Zoetrope
soundstages. This "Las Vegas of the mind," as described by former Zoe-
trope executive Lucy Fisher, depended on an elaborate theatricality in
constructing an environment overwhelmed by sensuous colors, flash-
ing lights, and neon.11 Clearly Coppola's revival of the artificial mise-
en-scene associated with classic musicals distinguished his film at the
time of release. Still, the film did not foreground any other assets that
could be marketed: the romantic plot was routine, the major players
were not stars, but character actors, and the soundtrack was done by the
commercial mismatch of gravelly voiced Tom Waits and country siren
Crystal Gayle.
Although hardly utilizing a high concept look, Warren Beatty's Dick
Tracy (1990), like Coppola's film, was also marked by an eye-catching
look, inspired by its comic book source. The film's controlled color
scheme and artificial sets were derived from the comic book source:

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 Construction of the Image 31

''Encouraged by Beatty to stick to the vibrant primary colors of the Sun-

day comic pages, costume designer [Milena] Canonero proposed that
the movie's entire palette be restricted to red, yellow, orange, blue,
green, fuchsia, purple, cyan, black and white/' 12 Unlike One from the
Heart, though, the look of Beatty's film is augmented by several strong
marketing hooks: the comic book property, stars (Beatty, Madonna, Al
Pacino, and guest cameos), and a coordinated merchandising campaign
(including the release of three albums associated with the film). The
result is a high concept film which is marketable primarily due to fac-
tors other than the look of the film.

Stars and Style

Apart from the formal composition,
other factors within the high concept films, particularly pre-sold as-
pects, also generate excess within the films. Perhaps the most significant
pre-sold property from a commercial standpoint is the human capital,
the star, which is attached to a project. Economically, stardom can be
conceived as the patent on a unique set of individual human character-
istics. These characteristics would include purely physical aspects, with
many stars defined first and foremost through their beauty. The unique-
ness of the star can similarly motivate moments which are excessive
within the films.
Consider Jack Nicholson's function in the high concept Batman
(1989). While Nicholson's persona need not overwhelm a film (recall
his understated supporting performance as Eugene O'Neill in Reds
[1981] or his naturalistic performance in The Border [1982]), many of
the more recent Nicholson performances operate in just the opposite
direction. To a certain extent, Nicholson's star persona is the iconoclast,
the nonconformist whose energy and mischievousness are infectious
and appealing. While this image was formed in the 1960s and 1970s in
such dramas as Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Last Detail
(1973), Chinatown (1974), and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), by
the 1980s this image had become so established that Nicholson could
offer self-parodies in supporting roles in films such as Terms of Endear-
ment and, in particular, The Witches of Eastwick (1987). The Shining,
Stanley Kubrick's horror film released in 1980, can be considered as a
transition in Nicholson's career in which the tendency toward self-
parody begins to undermine a coherent, naturalistic leading perfor-
mance. Pauline Kael's evaluation of Nicholson in The Shining locates
this tension between Nicholson as star and Nicholson playing a role:
"Nicholson's acting, though, suffers the most, because there are so
many shots of him looking diabolic —and so many echoes of his other

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 High Concept

A curious match between Nicholson-as-star

and Nicholson-as-character: Jack Nicholson
as Jack Napier, the Joker (Batman, Warner
Bros., 1989).

freaks in Carnal Knowledge and The Fortune and Goin' South. . . . The
tone of Nicholson's performance seems too grinningly rabid for the
movie he's in: axe in hand and slavering, with his tongue darting about
in his mouth, he seems to have stumbled in from an old A.I.P. pic-
ture."13 While many scenes are played by Nicholson with a reserved
naturalism, his persona fractures the world of the film at other times,
suggesting a level of meaning beyond the fictional character. Indeed,
the most memorable scene from the film—Nicholson coos "Here's
Johnny" while axing down the bathroom door to attack his wife —
works primarily due to the humor and self-deprecation associated with
Nicholson's "bad boy" persona.
This excessiveness is especially evident in Batman, which fore-
grounds Nicholson's star persona. Recall that Nicholson's character, the
Joker, is actually Jack Napier, and thus characters are constantly refer-
ring to Nicholson within the film as "Jack." The effect is a curious
match between Nicholson-as-star and Nicholson-as-character which

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 Construction of the Image 33

maximizes his star status. In the dour, oppressive world of Batman,

Nicholson destroys the unity of each of his scenes: partly through his
garish costuming (mixing purples, blues, and oranges) and his makeup
(the permanent smile of his disfigured face as the Joker), but primarily
through his broad, ostentatious acting, strongly dependent on gesture,
which contrasts dramatically with the more naturalistic performances
of the other cast members. This acting style also relies heavily on our
identification with Nicholson's star persona, which gives a context to
his "bad boy" actions as the Joker.
Typical of Nicholson's appearance in the film is his introduction to
Vicki Vale. After arranging to meet Vale at the Gotham City art gallery,
Jack and gang arrive, dancing to Prince's "Partyman," defacing the art-
works with spray paint. After introducing himself as a "homicidal art-
ist," Jack responds to Vale's questions in an off-the-cuff fashion (e.g., V:
"What do you want?" J: "My face on the $1 bill"), utilizing wildly ex-
pressive gestures ("What do you know about . . . ," followed by Jack
sucking in his cheeks and making small flying motions with his arms,
thus referencing Batman). Even for a character named Jack, Nicholson's
actions seem too grand, too self-consciously amusing. The encounter is
capped with Vale trying to escape from Jack by throwing water in his
face; Jack crouches, crying out "I'm melting" like the Wicked Witch in
The Wizard of Oz (1939).14 When Vale goes to comfort him, he cries
"Boo" and laughs uproariously. While this series of actions would seem
wild from any actor, the close fit between Nicholson's star persona, the
role of the Joker, and the ostentatious mode of acting ruptures the co-
herence of the story and character. In the high concept films, therefore,
excess may be motivated through the pre-sold elements, such as the
stars, as much as through the perfection of the film's composition.
Like Nicholson, certain comedy stars —particularly Bill Murray and
Eddie Murphy—function as excess at points within their films by ap-
pearing to be detached in a cynical and wry manner from the rest of the
film. Murphy's performance in Beverly Hills Cop breaks the develop-
ment of the story at several occasions due to Murphy's extraordinary
"transformations." In order to gain access to information, Murphy,
playing Detective Axel Foley, assumes strikingly different identities:
from an irate Rolling Stone reporter to a dedicated floral delivery man
to an effeminate gay lover. Each of these transformations is accom-
plished solely through Murphy's acting: through his speech patterns,
gestures, and manner of presentation, rather than through physical dis-
guises. The abruptness with which Murphy assumes each new character,
along with the apparently arbitrary choice of persona, serves to break
the world of the film. Murphy's performance, composed of these psy-

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 34 High Concept

chological transformations, explodes the banal detective story at these

points, taking precedence over any narrative development.
The excess within high concept differs from the heavily coded mo-
ments of excess identified within the classical family melodramas from
directors such as Douglas Sirk and Nicholas Ray. Consider Ray's 1956
melodrama Bigger Than Life, detailing the disastrous effects of a new
"wonder drug" (cortisone) on one man and his family. As Ed Qames
Mason) begins to unravel, the film's style matches his delusions of gran-
deur. A key scene in which Ed bullies his son while the boy solves a
math problem is shot from a very low angle, creating a "bigger than
life" image for Ed and a huge shadow which symbolically engulfs the
boy. The excess suggested in the image corresponds to the plot and
character development in this case. Whereas Sirk and Ray created mo-
ments of excess in the visual style which directly related to the repres-
sion evidenced in the melodramatic plots, the excess in high concept
cannot be reconciled in a similar fashion. Similarly, the style of the high
concept films differs from the excessive style of the "New Hollywood"
directors, such as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg,
and Robert Altman. While the new Hollywood directors have been ac-
cused of derivative style (e.g., De Palma's appropriation of Hitchcockian
narrational devices in Obsession [1976] and Dressed to Kill [1980]), the
style of these directors has been unified and patterned across successive
films and, even more significantly, sewn into the fabric of the films'
narrative: consider, for instance, Altman's innovative, realistic, and
overlapping sound responding directly to the director's desire for veri-
similitude in his characters' world.15
With high concept, however, the excess fostered by advertising cre-
ates films which illustrate the "danger" to traditional classical-realist
aesthetics of unmotivated style or excess. Peter Lloyd's description of
the 1960s Hollywood protest films (such as The Strawberry Statement
[1970] and Medium Cool [1969]) is certainly applicable in this context:
"No engagement with the subject-matter can be possible if the 'style' is
directed towards such superficial ends, without any sense of structure
or the organic relation of every frame to the total conception of the
movie itself."16 Richard T. Jameson extends Lloyd's position even fur-
ther, suggesting that excessive style indicates a lack of personal vision
on the part of the filmmaker: "No forms have been imposed here, no
stylistic tradition invoked to cover for a lack of stylistic conviction
on the part of the filmmaker. Style is absolute, personal and direct."17
Since the excess represented in the high concept films is not driven by
a personal vision, the logic of the marketplace is clearly the author of
the style. The excess encourages extraction from the film for marketing

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 Construction of the Image

The style of Douglas Sirk: James Mason and

Barbara Rush in Bigger Than Life ("Bigger
Than Life, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1956).
Copyright © 1956, 20th Century Fox Film
Corp.

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 36 High Concept

purposes, as is the case with Tony Scott's images in The Hunger and
Top Gun.
Certainly the physical design or "the look" of the film can be viewed
as excess which can easily be replicated in the high-tech trailers or tele-
vision commercials. Similarly, the high concept films are perfect for the
publicist: the physical design matched with the characters as models
and adherence to genre allow for publicity stills which, on the one
hand, are aesthetically striking and, on the other hand, accurately rep-
resent the film. Unlike the still for Ivan the Terrible (1943) which com-
mands the attention of Roland Barthes with its promise of a "third
meaning," a level of discourse beyond the dramatic meaning of the still,
the stills from high concept films encourage a singular reading.18 Con-
sider the posed "glamour" still from Top Gun as dark, masculine Tom
Cruise strikes a macho pose against a jet, while blonde, voluptuous Kelly
McGillis hangs from him. The image encapsulates the sexual dynamics
and genre (adventure with romance), both marketing focuses for the
film. In a parallel fashion, a still from the 9lh Weeks press kit also works
strongly as a marketing tool through representing the excess within the
film: Kim Basinger looking submissively downward, while hiking her
lingerie up her thigh and clutching the edge of a wall, which is split
into light and dark. The still in its physical perfection and its strong
sensuality in the figure of Basinger equals upscale sex; the excess of the
film creates a still which could just as easily be "read" as a lingerie ad
from an upscale fashion magazine as the representation of a motion
picture. As a contrast to the stills from high concept films, consider a
still from The Sheltering Sky (1990), a film which certainly falls outside
the category of high concept due to the lack of marketing hooks and to
the complexity of the narrative and its themes. With John Malkovich
comforting a weary Debra Winger, the still seems to suggest a myriad
number of possible storylines: Winger's haunted look and Malkovich's
gaze to the outside suggest a troubled romance, or maybe an attempted
seduction or someone helping a sick friend. The ambiguity of the image
recalls Barthes's reading of the Ivan the Terrible still; unlike the high
concept films, a movie such as The Sheltering Sky cannot be reduced to
a publicity still. The style of this film does not permit its reduction to a
tool of marketing.19

Music as an Element of Style

While the physical design and stars
of the film can be represented visually, with ease, within the marketing,
perhaps the most significant element of the high concept films' style
for marketing/merchandising purposes is the music within the films.

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 Construction of the Image

Sex and genre in publicity (Top Gun, Para-

mount, 1986).

The commercial applications of music within film (e.g., music video,

soundtrack) aid their separation from the rest of the film's elements. As
Kristin Thompson suggests, the sound/image relationship, particularly
the combination of image and music, is an especially disruptive ele-
ment to the unity of a film: "Music has a great potential to call attention
to its own formal qualities apart from its immediate function in relation
to the image track/'20

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 High Concept

The excess of the film: Kim Basinger in 9lh

Weeks (9Vi Weeks, MGM/UA, 1986).
© 1985 Jonesfilm.

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 Construction of the Image

Low concept, ambiguous images: Debra

Winger and John Malkovich in The Shelter-
ing Sky (The Sheltering Sky; Warner Bros.,
1990). Copyright © 1990 Warner Bros. Inc.

In the era of post-classical Hollywood, music has become an increas-

ingly significant marketing focus. As Alexander Doty notes, "Perhaps
Hollywood's growing awareness of a large and monied 'youth market'
finally led industry publicists to fully recognize the potential for music-
and-movie exploitation implicit in the conglomerate entertainment
networks/'21 There are several examples of films after the classical era,
but before high concept, which utilized music within the film and
within the marketing. For instance, The Graduate (1967) and American
Graffiti (1973) illustrate the different forms of integration between mu-
sic and film in this period. The Graduate offers an amazing juxtaposition
of story and soundtrack so that Simon and Garfunkel's songs (such as
"The Sounds of Silence/' "Scarborough Fair," "Mrs. Robinson") not
only comment on the action, but also lead the action through suggest-
ing interpretations of the images. Indeed, the final shots of Ben and
Elaine in the bus, after running from the wedding, suggest a strong
sense of melancholy mainly through "The Sounds of Silence." In this
sense, the songs are integral to the development of the narrative and
the viewer's reception of the film. At the other extreme, American Graf-
fiti uses music as a constant background to the main action, without

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 40 High Concept

having songs integrated directly into the story. With forty-one vintage
rock songs in the film, most heard on car radios tuned to the Wolfman
Jack station, the music is most significant in creating a sense of verisi-
militude. Nevertheless, the songs remain largely separate from the nar-
rative, present mainly as an anchor to a specific historical period.
These examples differ from the usage of music in high concept
mainly in terms of context. With the high concept films, the music is
matched to a marketable concept behind the overall film. In addition,
high concept is marked not only by music and a marketable concept,
but also by the other traits of the style (i.e., the particular look and the
other pre-sold elements, such as stars and narrative with marketing
hooks). This configuration of elements distinguishes music in high con-
cept, reinforcing the inherent marketability of placing music in the film
which other post-classical films have realized.
The most obvious examples of high concept films driven by music
are films such as Flashdance, Footloose (1984), Purple Rain (1984), Staying
Alive (1983), and The Bodyguard (1992). With these music movies, the
excess created by the conjunction of music and image creates a module
separate from the narrative, working against the sequential structuring
of the film. Due to the importance of music to these films' marketing
and merchandising, the songs are presented in a fairly complete man-
ner within the films. The difference between this structuring and the
classical musical, which also relies on set pieces separate from the main
action, derives from the high concept films' emphasis on frenetic edit-
ing, rather than continuous action in a low number of shots, and a lack
of dramatic purpose to the musical numbers. In Flashdance, the set
pieces are centered around Alex dancing: at Mawby's Bar (set to "He;s
a Dream" and "In the Pocket"), in her apartment ("Maniac"), at the
audition ("Flashdance . . . What a Feeling"), and with her friends ("1
Love Rock'n;Roll"). The songs may vaguely comment on the narrative
(e.g., the theme song), but more often connect to the lifestyle of hei
friends ("I Love Rock;n;Roll'; is an obvious anthem; "Maniac" tells oi
a "maniac" on the dance floor; "He's a Dream" and "In the Pocket'
spin tales of male/female seduction).22 Significantly, the majority of the
songs are only peripherally associated with the film's central enigmc
(i.e., whether Alex can be successful as a legitimate dancer).
Since Flashdance was marketed as a musical, albeit a modern, rod
musical, viewers might expect moments of excess, in which character:
are able to transcend their mundane circumstances through music anc
dance as a form of expression. Clearly, in this respect, Flashdance is simi
lar to the classical musicals. As Rick Altman points out, the excess withii
these musicals does become structured almost on a secondary textua

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 Construction of the Image 41

level: "Unmotivated events, rhythmic montage, highlighted parallel-

ism, overlong spectacles —these are the excesses in the classical narra-
tive system that alert us to the existence of a competing logic, a second
voice." 23 So, in some ways, the excess of the music and production
"modules" can be reconciled by the viewer's previous experience read-
ing musicals.
Many high concept films cannot appeal to the musical genre as an
explanation for their excess. Indeed, some high concept films utilize
music without being typed generically as musicals. The relationship of
the soundtrack to the image is different in these cases, compared to the
musical set pieces, since the viewer still tries to follow the narrative,
despite the excess suggested by the music. In these cases, the music
is not patterned throughout the film, but rather acts as an explosion
which only momentarily disturbs the equilibrium of the film. Such mu-
sical "explosions" are present in many post-classical Hollywood films —
both high and low concept —across the decades; consider The Black-
board Jungle (1955), Easy Rider (1969), Coming Home (197S), The Big Chill
(1983), and My Own Private Idaho (1991). However, the high concept
films tend to privilege these moments to a greater extent than other
post-classical Hollywood films; recall significant musical scenes, repli-
cated in the selling of the films, from such high concept movies as Bat-
man, Pretty Woman (1990), Risky Business (1983), Cocktail (1988), and
Wayne's World (1992).
The songs frequently occur in the openings of films, either over the
credits or over the first scenes. Narrative information is usually highly
concentrated in these opening moments regardless; as David Bordwell
comments, "Credit sequences are very important narrational gestures.
These extra fictional passages usually present information in a highly
self-conscious and omniscient fashion."24 Paul Schrader's American
Gigolo (1980) offers a textbook example of this strategy. Basically the
first scenes of the film illustrate the day-to-day existence of Julian Kay
(Richard Gere), a high-priced gigolo in Los Angeles. Set against the song
"Call Me" by Blondie, the scenes become resonant: shots of Gere driv-
ing in his Mercedes, buying clothes, and escorting older women are
energized through the synthesized Giorgio Moroder/Blondie song, with
lyrics that could be interpreted as the pleas from an admirer of the
gigolo. In fact, the lyrics outline the protagonist in detail; the line "you
speak the language of love" from the song actually becomes a signifi-
cant narrative point, with Julian's command of several languages, in-
cluding the language of love, centering his first encounter with the
film's heroine Michelle.
Similarly, the credits for Pretty in Pink (1986) illustrate the day-to-day

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 42 High Concept

existence of the film's heroine, Andie (Molly Ringwald). Against the Psy-
chedelic Furs' "Pretty in Pink/' in extreme close-up, Andie dresses and
makes-up in the morning. Her clothes, accessories, and sense of style
are integral to the development of the plot (these items separate her
from the other characters), and the song comments directly on this dif-
ference ("Walking around in this dress that she wore"). In sum, in these
high concept films, along with others such as Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop,
and Breathless (1983), music functions to create an excess in the open-
ing, which traditionally has always privileged self-conscious and con-
centrated narrative information.
Outside the opening, music can reappear in the high concept film in
a localized sense: a song accompanies a sequence, with the music cre-
ating a distinct sequence in the film. In practice the degree of interac-
tion between the music and the narrative varies from film tofilm.Eyes
of Laura Mars (1978), for example, utilizes songs only under the scenes
of photographer Laura shooting her violent and sexual images: with two
models dressed in lingerie catfighting against two burning cars in the
streets of New York, the viewer hears "Burn," by Michalski & Ooster-
veen, a quasi-punk song describing the beauty of a fire burning. The
song, with its anarchic and shrill vocals and rhythm, thus matches the
intense visual imagery. Similarly, as Laura sets up an elaborate shoot
juxtaposing murder and high fashion, director Irvin Kershner scores the
scene with the disco song "Let's All Chant" by the Michael Zager Band.
Unlike the previous case, though, the song relates to the images only in
a thematic sense: the disco beat and "party" lyrics (consisting of differ-
ent chants set to the disco rhythm) mirror the high spirits and dancing
of the models in the scene.
However, music can be integrated into the narrative in these lo-
calized segments, with the song actually breaking the diegesis of the
film. Consider Brian De Palma's Body Double (1984), a thriller centered
around the seamy world of underground pornography. In the middle of
the film, the hero, Jake (Craig Wasson), acts in a hardcore movie to meet
porno actress Holly Body (Melanie Griffith). After Jake auditions for the
role, De Palma cuts directly to Jake standing on the landing of an opu-
lent club. The viewer is left unanchored in space and time given the
preceding action. Jake is greeted by a sinister escort—Holly Johnson,
the lead singer from Frankie Goes to Hollywood, singing "Relax," a
song with thinly veiled sexual connotation. Through the singing, John-
son is able to lure Jake into the club, where Jake is exposed to a wide
variety of deviant sexual practices. At the end of the sequence, however,
Jake is revealed to be filming a scene from a hardcore video. A motiva-
tion for the song and vivid imagery (such as Jake's imagination or hal-

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 Construction of the Image

The "Relax" number in Body Double cul-

minates in Melanie Griffith's seduction of
Craig Wasson (Body Double, Columbia,
1984). Copyright © 1984 Columbia Pictures
Industries, Inc.

lucination) is not offered by De Palma. Indeed, the segment most re-

sembles a music video in its construction.
Beverle Houston, in ''Music Video and the Spectator: Television, Ide-
ology and Dream/' defines music video as combining performance, a
subordinate narrative, and, most significantly, visual fragmentation dis-

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 44 High Concept

rupting temporal and/or spatial unity.25 The "Relax'' sequence in Body

Double clearly adheres to this formula. Given Holly Johnson's partici-
pation as host, the element of performance is important, while the se-
duction of Jake in the club forms the nominal narrative, and time/space
in the sequence is certainly broken. While the "Relax" video that actu-
ally aired on MTV was not this particular clip, De Palma originally in-
tended to use this sequence from the film as the promotional video.
Perhaps this factor influenced the actual construction of the clip: the
formal elements conspire to separate the video from the rest of the film.
The viewer's recognition of the clip as music video represents the most
significant form of distancing. Expectations from the sequence are
clearly different due to its construction as music video.
In a fashion similar to the "Relax" clip, Pretty in Pink also utilizes
music within the narrative. Andie's friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) attempts
to impress Andie through lip-synching and dancing to "Try a Little Ten-
derness." Clearly, though, the song has a personal meaning to Duckie,
since his "interpretation" involves feverish, hypnotic, and almost ac-
robatic dancing to the tune. However, the song is anchored in time and
space, unlike the Body Double example. The intensity of Duckie's inter-
pretation, along with the lack of motivation for the song within the
developing story, leads to its separation from the rest of the film. John
Hughes, the author of Pretty in Pink, clearly has a strong affinity for
these sequences within his films: consider Ferris Bueller's lip-synching
to "Danke Schoen" and "Twist and Shout" in Ferris Bueller's Day Off or
John Candy's rendition of "The Flintstones Theme" in Planes, Trains
and Automobiles (1987).

Excess in High Concept:

The Promotional Music Video
If these high concept films are
marked by a modularity in design created through an excess in the pro-
duction, stars, and especially the soundtrack, this modularity is
strengthened even further through the "flip side" of the music video
sequences within the films: the promotional music videos. These music
videos fulfill a double function: to promote the song for album sales
(soundtrack or otherwise) and to promote the film which utilizes the
song. In performing these functions, the music video usually, in fact,
undermines the unity of the film through disintegrating the narrative
in certain respects. As Barbara Klinger adroitly comments, the promo-
tional apparati of a film tend to multiply the meanings from the text in
order to increase the audience base: "Promotional categories will often
tend to diversify the text by addressing several of its elements, including

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 Construction of the Image 45

subject matter, stars, and style. But this particular type of inter-textual
zone cannot be settled within the textual system; rather, it raids the text
for features that can be accentuated and extended within its social
appropriation." 26
Part of this "raiding of the text" involves the fictional world of the
high concept film expanding beyond the film and into the promotional
music video. This type of cross-referencing is practiced often in televi-
sion, where characters from one program appear in different programs,
creating a "dense textual network," to use Mimi White's description. 27
With the music video, this referencing usually involves creating a space
for the music artist through which the artist may "interact" with the
fictional characters represented in clips from the film. Consider, for in-
stance, the music video for "Danger Zone" from Top Gun. Wearing dark
sunglasses, singer Kenny Loggins lies on a bed in a room dominated by
the intense backlighting and minimal color scheme so strongly pat-
terned within the film. Loggins acts both as a commentator on the ac-
tion from the film, in effect "narrating" the flying sequences, and as a
musical stand-in or double for star Tom Cruise. More specifically Log-
gins also encourages a reading of the song in sexual terms; whereas the
film plays "Danger Zone" over the opening flying shots, the video con-
nects these shots and other clips to Loggins languorously sprawled
across the bed. The effect is to reposition the song, and the viewer's
interpretation of the overall film, in sexual terms: the romance between
Cruise and Kelly McGillis offers the real "danger zone" for the lead
character Maverick.
This cross-referencing sometimes develops beyond merely integrat-
ing film clips and singer: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny
DeVito act as backup singers for Billy Ocean in the video "When the
Goin' Gets Tough" from The Jewel of the Nile (1985); Madonna, the
singer, gazes longingly at Madonna, the comedienne/actress, in clips
from Who's That Girl (1987) in the promotional music video for the
film. More elaborate examples of a fictional character's entering the
world of the music video occur with the Aretha Franklin video for
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) and the Guns N' Roses video "You Could Be
Mine" for Terminator 2 (1991). Unlike the Top Gun video, the fictional
characters from both Jumpin' Jack Flash and Terminator 2 actually enter
the world of the video. Starting with a chase scene from Jumpin' Jack
Flash, Whoopi Goldberg seeks refuge in an ominous building. As she
enters, the space is revealed to be a studio where Aretha Franklin and
Keith Richards are recording the song "Jumpin' Jack Flash." In an at-
tempt to blend into the surroundings, Whoopi acts as one of the backup
singers for Franklin. The Guns N' Roses video integrates action clips

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 46 High Concept

from the film, the band's performance of the song, and new footage,
just for the video, of Arnold Schwarzenegger (as the Terminator) tra-
versing the wild concertgoers to reach Guns N' Roses on the stage. The
turn of events in both videos actually illuminates another aspect of the
high concept style: the destruction of the diegetic unity through a re-
configuration of the film's narrative in media such as the promotional
music video. If the excess within the film seeks to destroy the unity of
the filmic system, then this process is strengthened by the extra-diegetic
promotion, such as the music video, which reshapes and even recon-
ceives the narrative.
This rewriting of the narrative in the promotional music video fol-
lows the economic orientation of the high concept style. Seeking to
maximize the audience's points of contact with the film, the promo-
tional material multiplies the possible meanings from the narrative.
This multiplication is integral to the long-term maintenance of these
films in the marketplace. Indeed, the music video functions not just as
an emblem/icon of the film, but also as a method which complicates
the narrative. This process seems very much connected to the pleasure
associated with repeat viewing of the high concept films, a pleasure
based on the play between familiarity (of story, characters, music in
the original film) and discovery (of the story, characters, and music as
refigured in the promotional music video). The plurality of the text
encouraged by the disparity between the music video and the overall
film centers this play and encourages a re-reading of the film. Roland
Barthes's description of the joy from '"re-reading" is especially appli-
cable as an explanation of the method through which the promotional
music video encourages a return to the original text: "Re-reading is no
longer consumption, but play (that play is the return of the different).
If then, a deliberate contradiction in terms, we immediately reread the
text, it is in order to obtain, as though under the effect of a drug (that
of recommencement, of difference), not the real text, but a plural text:
the same and new."28 This plurality is multiplied even further in the
case of high concept through the contradictory nature of the relation-
ship between the film and its supporting media, such as the promo-
tional music video.
The contradictions in the construction of narrative between music
video and film have been noted by, among others, Diane Shoos, Diana
George, and Jon Lewis. As Shoos and George demonstrate, the music
video for 'Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun "misrepresents" the
narrative through juxtaposing the scene of Charlie (Kelly McGillis)
walking into the class to Maverick (Tom Cruise) turning his head, "ap-

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 Construction of the Image 47

parently overcome by her beauty."29 In fact, this gesture is motivated

within the film by Maverick's surprise at Charlie's being his professor
after he had attempted to seduce her during the previous night. Simi-
larly, Lewis analyzes the two TV video versions of "When the Doves
Cry" from Purple Rain, "both of which contain clips from the film and
both of which are different from the Video' of the song as depicted in
the film."30
This process of rewriting the narrative through the promotional
video is presented with the Bryan Ferry video "Kiss and Tell" from the
film Bright Lights, Big City (1988). Derived from Ferry's solo album Bete
Noire, the song was appropriated by director James Bridges as the em-
bodiment of the sophisticated New York club scene which is central to
both novel and film. Indeed, the music video is designed to stress the
connection between song and film: at several points in the video, the
lyrics directly represent or comment on clips from the film. Further,
the connection of these clips with Ferry singing in an amorphous neon
club/recording studio space presents Ferry as the figure of narrational
authority, composing the song and, in effect, composing the film
which accompanies the song. The connection between song and film is
strengthened through several direct references in the lyrics: the opening
"Ten cents a dance, it's the only price to pay" is matched to scenes of
Jamie (Michael J. Fox) dancing at the New York club Odeon; "Flash
photograph; it's the only light you see" is juxtaposed with Jamie's wife
Amanda (Phoebe Cates) modeling high fashion clothes while photog-
raphers capture her image; "Dreamer-stealer of sighs" accompanies
Jamie waking up and rubbing his eyes.
The music video moves forward through the alternation of three
separate spaces: Ferry and his band in the ersatz neon studio, three fe-
male models dancing to the song in a similar, but separate, location,
and the diegetic world of the film Bright Lights, which is selectively ref-
erenced by the video. The video's particular combination of image and
music does, in fact, form a narrative. The lyrics describe a particularly
jaded romanticism in which love is treated as an exchange akin to
money ("Money talks —it never lies. Kiss and tell, give and take —eye
for an eye"). Illustrating these lyrics, the clips from the film present the
apparently fast-paced, nocturnal activities of the protagonist Jamie. We
see the various women with whom he becomes romantically involved,
shots of Jamie drinking, dancing, and roaming the "big city" of the
film's title.
The second half of the video focuses on Jamie and Amanda, identi-
fied in the film, but not in the video, as his estranged wife. Amanda's

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 High Concept

Filmic narrative vs. music video narrative

(Bright Lights, Big City, United Artists,
1988).

career as a model is mirrored in the video through cutting her scenes to

the anonymous models posing in the neon recording studio space. The
Jamie/Amanda scenes are derived from the few encounters between the
two in the film; in particular, the scenes of Jamie climbing onstage to
be near Amanda and of his subsequent rage in the bathroom are con-

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 Construction of the Image 49

nected in the video, suggesting cause and effect. Even further, the video
includes in this section a scene from the film in which Amanda noncha-
lantly greets Jamie after he has spent weeks trying to see her. Jamie's
reaction in the film is disbelief and outrage, he berates Amanda loudly.
The video concludes with a playful amorous encounter between Jamie
and Amanda, followed by a scene of Jamie hailing a cab — returning to
the big city after his romantic liaison.
The narrative suggested by the music video — a series of romantic en-
counters dominated by the Jamie/Amanda coupling set against the New
York club scene — offers a movement toward happiness and a romantic
union. This movement is clearly a radical alteration of the filmic narra-
tive, which concludes with the final separation of Jamie and Amanda
and the suggestion that Jamie will leave the New York club world. This
deviation is solidified not just through reordering the clips from the
film, but also through joining shots within scenes which alter the en-
tire meaning of the scenes. For example, the shot of Amanda greeting
Jamie at the party is matched with a shot of Jamie raising his eye-
brows and smiling impishly. The latter shot actually occurs in an earlier
lunch scene; the music video elides Jamie's exasperated reaction with
Amanda, which acts as a climax in the film. In effect, through the mon-
tage, the music video restructures the narrative of the film. For those
viewers who have seen the film, this restructuring impacts the reading
of the original narrative — multiplying the possible meanings and levels
of interpretation — and thereby serves to further fracture the unity of the
film. For those who have not yet seen the film, the restructuring sug-
gests a ''reading" of the film which is not in consonance with the actual
filmic narrative.
Of course, other promotional media support for film, such as the
soundtrack album and the tie-in novelizations, function to encourage
multiple readings in a fashion similar to the promotional music video.
The appropriation of the film clips within the promotional music video
creates a potent force in destabilizing the unity of the film. A more re-
cent tendency in some high concept films operates just as forcibly in
rewriting the filmic narrative: soundtrack albums which include music
not within the film, but rather "inspired" by the film. Consider the
implications for the reception of two films definitely within the cate-
gory of high concept: Batman and Dick Tracy. In both cases, separate
soundtracks were issued: one including primarily the instrumental
score, the other centered around a music artist associated with the pro-
ject (Prince for Batman, Madonna for Dick Tracy).
With the Prince album for Batman, only two songs of nine were fea-
tured within the film ("Batdance" and "Partyman").31 The remainder

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 50 High Concept

Jack leads "Partyman" in Batman (Batman,

Warner Bros., 1989). © 1989 DC Comics
Inc.

of the songs on the album were inspired by characters and situations

within the film. The tie between film and song is fostered by Prince's
attributing each song to a particular character within the liner notes.
For example, "Partyman" has "lead vocal by the Joker/' while "Lemon
Crush" has "lead vocal by Vicki Vale," although both are obviously
sung by Prince. Prince creates a fresh narrative which operates in a fash-
ion parallel to the basic narrative of the film (i.e., Batman saving
Gotham City and Vicki Vale from the evil Joker). Just as the film opens
with the decayed urban environment of Gotham City, the album opens
with "The Future" detailing a similar bleak world ("I've seen the future/
And boy it's rough"). The album continues with songs describing the
Joker's dementia ("Electric Chair"), the developing romance between
Batman and Vicki ("Vicki Waiting," "Lemon Crush," "Scandalous"),
and the Joker's attempts both to destroy Batman and gain control of
Vicki ("Trust," "Partyman"). The effect of these songs is to resituate the
original narrative of the film from the perspective of Prince's pop per-
sona, emphasizing the style and sexuality of the characters, rather than
focusing on the adventure and action in the filmic narrative. Similar to
the promotional music video, this resituation possesses a strong eco-

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 Construction of the Image 51

nomic motive based on multiplying possible points of connection with

the film.
Similarly, the Madonna album for Dick Tracy includes only three
songs from the film ("Sooner or Later/' "More," and "What Can You
Lose"). The remaining songs are predominantly novelty numbers
matching the late-'3Os period of the film; some of these songs relate to
the characters within the film, others seem unconnected. For instance,
"He's a Man," describing a tough guy in romance and crime-fighting,
could easily be read as a description of Tracy himself, while "Cry Baby,"
with Madonna affecting a Betty Boop voice telling of her wimpish boy-
friend, seems separate from the film. In songs like "Cry Baby," along
with "Hanky Panky" and "I'm Going Bananas," Madonna creates car-
toonlike characters which complement the characters within the strip
and film Dick Tracy. While Madonna succinctly presents the romance
between Breathless Mahoney (her character in the film) and Tracy in
many of the songs, her Betty Boop and Carmen Miranda characteriza-
tions derail the narrative of the film, creating another set of female char-
acters largely based on the concept of female desire. In this fashion, the

Madonna as Breathless Mahoney, and as

many other characters on her album for
Dick Tracy (Dick Tracy, Disney, 1990).

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 52 High Concept

Dick Tracy soundtrack offers an even more radical shift than the Prince
soundtrack in terms of destabilizing the reception of the original film.32
In addition to this structure of parallel narratives, both soundtracks
further undermine the diegetic narrative through sampling —i.e., the
excerpting and rearranging of "found" sounds on records.33 Indeed,
Prince's "Batdance" is composed largely of samples from the film. The
Joker's catch phrases — "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moon-
light?" "Stop the press" "I got a live one here" —are "stolen" from the
film by Prince, repeated throughout the song, and juxtaposed to phrases
from Batman and Vicki Vale. Prince orchestrates the song, responding
to the samples and interacting with the characters. For example, to the
phrase "She is great, isn't she?", which Bruce Wayne says to his butler
Alfred about Vicki Vale, Prince responds in "Batdance," "Ooh yeah, ooh
yeah/I wanna bust that body." Similarly, in "Now I'm Following You"
from the Madonna album, Madonna samples several distress calls for
Tracy (e.g., "Come in, Tracy/Do you read me, Tracy"), to which the
singer responds. To be expected, perhaps, given her persona, Madonna
also offers endless samples on the word "dick" in the song. The samples
in both songs clearly influence readings of the filmic narrative, with the
words and phrases of the samples becoming overdetermined within the
films. The stress on these words and the varied manipulations offered
through the samples become another force encouraging excess within
the narrative of the film.
The effect of these promotional forces on the structuring of the nar-
rative extends beyond the "re-narrativizing" posited by Barbara Klinger,
in which specific textual elements are placed within other narratives;
indeed, the film and promotional music video are clearly interdepen-
dent in terms of narrative.34 This interdependence derives from the
modularity within the film, which allows the music video, functioning
as excess, to be extracted and marketed. This modularity is bolstered
even further in high concept by the restructuring of the narrative in the
music video and related promotional material. The inclusion of these
elements in a consideration of "reading" the high concept film text
places this activity in territory much closer to theories governing the
reception of television. Recall that terms such as distraction, interrup-
tion, and fragmentation have been utilized by, among others, Tania
Modleski, John Fiske, and Raymond Williams to describe the act of
watching television.35 If the reception of these films encourages a dis-
tracted state of reception, the distraction is driven less by the social
situation of the moviegoer than by the media structures creating contra-
dictory sets of meanings within a text while working toward the same
economic goal of maximizing profit.

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 Construction of the Image 53

The High Concept Image:

Character Types and Genre
The perfection of the image and
soundtrack within the high concept films is matched by characters pre-
sented strongly as "types": defined through a small number of charac-
teristics, with physical appearance most significant to the definition of
the characters. While Hollywood has always privileged the presentation
of clearly definable, consistent characters, high concept relies even
more strongly than previous Hollywood films upon character typing,
rather than character exposition. This tendency also responds to the
orientation of the high concept films in advertising terms: the charac-
ters within these films are offered frequently as models, selling the film
and, more significantly, the lifestyle to which the film offers entry.
Consider, for example, the lead characters J. C. Wiatt (Diane Keaton)
and Doc Cooper (Sam Shepard) in Baby Boom. The film opens with a
voice-over narration by Linda Ellerbee concerning the plight of the
high-powered working woman (dual commitments in home and work-
place, new role models and new equality) which leads into a description
of the fanatical schedule of investment banker J. C. Wiatt. In this way,
the film's heroine is aligned clearly with the larger social category of
"the working woman" who must sacrifice her personal life to her ca-
reer. Of course, the film also constructs J. C. as the result of all the so-
cially imposed constraints of the working woman. In an early scene in
which she is given a promotion while being warned that a working
woman "can't have it all" (meaning a successful marriage, family, and
career), J. C. replies that she "doesn't want it all." This slippage contin-
ues throughout the film, with a social "type" being most significant as
a way of defining the character. Secondarily, J. C. Wiatt is also aligned
strongly with New York —the fast paced, big-city life which accompa-
nies a leading business career. The movement of the plot is driven by
this typing of the lead character: the trouble created for a driven urban
working woman by a baby and a relocation to the country moves the
plot forward. Similarly, the character of Doc Cooper is defined almost
entirely by his country-style, small-town characteristics. Indeed, the
contrast between the rural, rustic doctor and the curt, sophisticated ur-
ban business woman motivates the second half of the plot. The film,
therefore, operates to construct its lead characters as types, embodying
certain lifestyle choices which will be immediately obvious to the
viewer.
Star persona reinforces this character typage by limiting the bounda-
ries between which a character may be defined. Stars are, to some ex-
tent, predicated on style —a particular set of physical characteristics,

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 54 High Concept

Character typing: Diane Keaton in Baby

Boom (Baby Boom, United Artists, 1987).

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 Construction of the Image 55

demeanor, and attitude. This emphasis often overwhelms the character

being portrayed so that the character is identified more strongly with
the star than as an integral part of a unique story. Stardom, which has
such a strong economic basis regardless, further encourages the move-
ment to character typing. Consider, for instance, the brothers portrayed
in Twins (1988). The film is centered around the difference between
the two genetically engineered twins. The vast majority of the action,
however, is centered solely around the physical difference between the
twins, a factor reinforced by the casting of Danny DeVito and Arnold
Schwarzenegger. The physical size and persona (DeVito: smart ass;
Schwarzenegger: tough guy) of each actor and the stark difference be-
tween the two motivate the humor and narrative action in the film.
The physical contrast between the two, especially given their fraternal
relationship, dovetailed with the marketing for the film, with the ads
featuring Schwarzenegger identified as DeVito and DeVito as Schwarze-
negger with the tag line of two brothers so identical "even their mother
can't tell them apart/' 3 6 Again the lines between marketing, star per-
sona, and character become blurred, with the economic motive driving
this erosion of boundaries and the traditional development of character.
The movement toward character types has been fostered also
through generic transformation. Considering that genre can be con-
ceived as a pre-sold property and basis for the viewer's identification,
high concept relies very heavily on a familiarity with genre. With the
development of the genre film from classical to revisionist forms, ge-
neric iconography has been utilized increasingly as an "economical"
means of transmitting information. While part of the result of this ge-
neric transformation is the placement of generic icons in altered con-
texts offering burlesque, as John Cawelti suggests, within the genre
films themselves, characters and other icons can be telegraphed with
broader and broader brush strokes. Walter Hill's Streets of Fire (1984)
offers a clear example of this strategy. Hill's film places specific western
and film noir genre conventions and characters in a purposely vague
new wave world (the film opens with the title card, "Another time, an-
other place"). 37 The film constructs a veritable catalogue of generic
characters: from the stoic western hero, his wild and free-spirited girl,
the "good girl" back home, to the grizzled and jaded sidekick. Little
motivation is offered for any of the characters, apart from their physical
appearance and generic typology.
This tendency is replicated in several of the Sylvester Stallone films.
Stallone is adept at locating specific generic icons and placing them
in slightly altered contemporary contexts. Apart from the Rocky and
Rambo series, the Stallone-directed high concept Staying Alive strongly

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 56 High Concept

functions through an increased reliance on intertextual motivation. In

this sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Tony Manero Qohn Travolta) at-
tempts to juggle two romantic relationships while pursuing his dream
of being a Broadway dancer. Reworking the "understudy gets a big
break" plotline from 42nd Street (1933), Stallone recasts this theme in
terms of the Rocky vision of redemption through physical perfection.
The mixture of these two generic plotlines allows Stallone to utilize spe-
cific generic characters with little development: the hungry, naive dan-
cer, his steadfast girl back home, and the exotic vamp who tempts him.
While these types are instantly recognizable as derivative of standard
musical-drama characters, Stallone then reformulates the characters
through Rocky: Tony is equated with Rocky Balboa, Jackie (Cynthia
Rhodes) follows Adrian, and the exotic otherness of villains Apollo
Creed and Mr. T can be found in the British vamp Laura (Finola
Hughes). The process is astutely described by Nick Roddick as "the latest
stage in Sylvester Stallone's quest to remake American cinema in his
own image."38 Of course, the other textual level to Staying Alive is its
status as a sequel so that, at the very least, Tony and his family are al-
ready developed as characters.
Similarly, Reckless (1984) operates as a teen rebellion film offering the
misunderstood tough guy Rourke (Aidan Quinn) and the constrained
middle class girl Tracey (Daryl Hannah) attracted to him. The character
types are so familiar, from Rebel without a Cause (1955) and The Wild
One (1954) down through Saturday Night Fever and Grease, that the film
can present the lead characters with little explanation of motivation or
desire. Indeed, in one of the only scenes devoted to character exposi-
tion, when questioned on "what he wants to get out of life," Rourke
responds, "More." Given the strong generic roots of the character, such
an explanation is enough for the audience. While both Streets of Fire
and Reckless received little attention, either critically or at the boxoffice,
many financially successful high concept films, such as Top Gun, The
Untouchables (1987), and Sixteen Candles (1984), utilize a similar form
of character typage.
The lack of character development in the high concept films leads to
a greater investment in the physical aspects of the characters, including
their appearance and demeanor. Indeed, many high concept films fore-
ground the importance of style to the lead characters and their defini-
tion. Flashdance offers a strong example of this tendency. Indicative of
this form of character (non) development is the scene of foreman Nick
meeting Alex. Alex is listening to her Sony Walkman and reading
French Vogue. When Nick questions her about reading the French fash-
ion magazine, she replies, "I just look at the pictures." Similarly, the

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 Construction of the Image 57

film constructs Alex primarily as a model, with a focus on her outward

appearance and style. Indeed, Alex's wardrobe of baggy sweats and in-
dustrial fatigues became a fashion staple in the mid-1980s.39 Alex is also
defined through her dancing style: flashdancing. This dance style falls
somewhere between stripping and breakdancing and was conceived
originally as representative of a new dance craze. As screenwriter Joe
Eszterhas recounts, though, the flashdance style actually had to be cre-
ated for the film: "We tracked it [the dance style] to Toronto, and, in
fact, flashdancing didn't exist. There was one girl in a Toronto club who
did a stylized kind of stripping, but that was all. Paramount thought it
was a phenomenon sweeping the country/' 40
Similarly, American Gigolo also offers a paradigm for this form of one-
dimensional stylish characterization. A gigolo, whose livelihood de-
pends upon his style and demeanor, would, of course, lend himself to
this mode of character construction. Most striking, however, is how the
major characters exist in a void, with little motivation or background.
Director Paul Schrader severely limits an explanation of Julian's back-
ground; one learns only that he lived in Europe at one time and that he
was previously employed by Madame Anne. Instead of character moti-
vation or exposition, Schrader offers several scenes displaying the im-
portance of style to Julian: Julian matching shirts, suits, and ties from
his wardrobe; Julian appraising antiques at an auction; Julian charming
women by speaking French; and Julian being groomed and manicured.
Even within the film's ostensible "mystery" plot, the investigating po-
lice detective is defined in terms of style: a lengthy scene between Julian
and Detective Sunday is centered on Sunday's lack of fashion sense,
with Julian eventually giving him tips on style and fashion.
Consider how significant style is to the lead characters of such high
concept films as Cocktail (Tom Cruise redefines style in bartending with
his daring, spinning-in-the-air liquor bottles), Planes, Trains and Auto-
mobiles (based upon the difference in manner and demeanor between
upscale executive Steve Martin and blue-collar salesman John Candy),
Less Than Zero (1987; offering an image of the Beverly Hills teens years
before 90210), and Pretty Woman (with the plot centered on the physi-
cal transformation of Julia Roberts, supposedly also transforming the
character from hooker to Beverly Hills companion). The characters in
these films, as in the majority of high concept films, really function as
(fashion) models — constituted through a look, an image, and a walk
before the movie camera instead of before fashion photographers.
Another factor within high concept working against character devel-
opment is the system of referencing which structures many high con-
cept films. Foregrounding their existence as film, these high concept

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 High Concept

Style and character definition: Richard Gere

as the American gigolo (American Gigolo,
Paramount, 1980). Copyright © MCMLXXX
by Paramount Pictures Corporation.

films offer a vast network of references to other films, television shows,

and forms of mass media. This self-conscious referencing occurs in
many contemporary films; this tendency, identified as intertextuality,
has been associated frequently with postmodern texts.41 While some of
these works could be classified outside the boundaries of high concept
(e.g., David Lynch's referencing in Blue Velvet [1986], the television se-
ries Twin Peaks [1990], and Wild at Heart [1990]), high concept relies
more heavily on this intertextuality from an economic standpoint due
to the audience's point of recognition. These references function as
a "shorthand" method of transmitting information.42 Since the core
moviegoing public share a common body of media knowledge, film-
makers have been able to appropriate this knowledge in the construc-
tion of narrative and character.
Perhaps the most striking usage of this referencing system occurs in
the John Hughes oeuvre, particularly with Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's
Day Off, She's Having a Baby (1988), and Home Alone (1990). Most signifi-
cantly, Hughes constructs his characters as products of the mass media;

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 Construction of the Image 59

their lives and experiences are both formed and filtered through the
mass media. A character such as Ferris Bueller offers the end point of
this tendency, with the character defined almost entirely by his taste in
music (Bryan Ferry, MTV, John Lennon and the Beatles, New Order,
10,000 Maniacs) and his references to television and movies (Alien
[1979], Dirty Harry [1971], and I Dream ofjeannie). Hughes reinforces the
media-oriented world through placing various popular movie theme
songs in the film. For instance, a low-angle shot of a Ferrari speeding
across Chicago is scored to the Star Wars theme, while "villain" Ed Roo-
ney is set to the Inspector Clouseau Pink Panther theme during his in-
vestigation of Ferris. By using the media as reference points for the char-
acters, Hughes is able to sketch the characters in very broad strokes.
Characters' motivations are explained, at least partially, through this
intertextual referencing. The result is a leveling of the psychology of the
characters and diminishment of real-life motivational forces behind
their actions.43
Director Etienne Chatiliez's comment—"To sell a car you have to sell

Ferris Bueller in his media-referencing bed-

room ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Paramount,
1986). Copyright© 1986 by Paramount Pic-
tures Corporation.

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 60 High Concept

a form of existence'; — applies just as readily to high concept as to auto

sales.44 The cumulative effect of the films' physical look, stars, music,
and devalued characters is to offer the viewer an entry point into a life-
style, in much the same manner as lifestyles are suggested by advertis-
ing. Indeed, high concept's basis in advertising fosters this suggestion
of a method of living for the viewer. In addition, the emphasis on style
in the construction of the characters also frequently embodies a certain
lifestyle advocated by the film. For instance, high concept films such as
St. Elmo's Fire, 9V2 Weeks, and Fatal Attraction, through the style of the
production and the characters within the narrative, offer visions of var-
ious lifestyles (e.g., prosperous East Coast college grads, high-tech New
York banker, and upscale modern family life, respectively).
The particular configuration of "excess" on the one hand, and
drained characters and genre on the other, suggests the manner in
which high concept differs from other mainstream Hollywood films.
Perhaps the most striking result of the high concept style is a weakening
of identification with character and narrative. The modularity of the
films' units, added to the one-dimensional quality of the characters, dis-
tances the viewer from the traditional task of reading the films' narra-
tive. In place of this identification with narrative, the viewer becomes
sewn into the "surface" of the film, contemplating the style of the nar-
rative and the production. The excess created through such channels as
the production design, stars, music, and promotional apparati, all of
which are so important to high concept, enhances this appreciation of
the films' surface qualities.

tye, Classical Hollywood,

and the Art Cinema
From an economic perspective, the
high concept style is a form of product differentiation connected to the
rise of industry conglomeration. Indeed, the many connections in high
concept between style and marketing no doubt, on some level, appeal
to the conglomerates eager to maximize the marketability of every me-
dia product. A film with marketing assets sewn into its aesthetic con-
struction lowers the inherent financial risk of commercial filmmaking.
From an aesthetic perspective, the high concept style has ties with both
the classical Hollywood cinema and the art cinema. David Bordwell and
Janet Staiger suggest that the only claim for an alteration in classical
Hollywood style in the "post-classical" era is inspired by the art cinema:
"The strongest argument for a New Hollywood rests upon the claim that
the directors' works constitute a non-classical approach to narrative and

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 Construction of the Image 61

technique.... As the 'old' Hollywood had incorporated and refunction-

alized devices from German Expressionism and Soviet montage, the
'New; Hollywood has selectively borrowed from the international art
cinema/'45 I would posit not only that the art cinema has altered the
auteur-driven "New Hollywood/' as Bordwell and Staiger suggest, but
that some traits of the art cinema have been assimilated into main-
stream Hollywood cinema in the form of high concept.
In contrast to the norms of classical Hollywood, the art cinema
foregrounds realism and authorial expressivity in the system of the
film.46 The self-consciousness of high concept suggests that some force
("the author"?) is constructing the style —the configuration of perfect
images, stars, music, narrative, and genre —which has become coded
across these films. "Authorial expressivity" is inadequate as an expla-
nation, though, since, as I have suggested, the style exists separate from,
and excessive to, the apparent narrative. Rather than being motivated
by the vision of a single author, the strong commercial orientation of
the style suggests a designation of "industrial expressivity" as a mark of
high concept.
The movement between the art cinema and high concept can be
charted through Jim McBride's Breathless, a 1983 American remake of
the art house classic, Jean-Luc Godard's A bout de souffle (1959). In tell-
ing of a slick hustler's doomed romance while fleeing the police, Mc-
Bride foregrounds the importance of style in and of itself; as one Breath-
less character comments, "How many times have I told you that style
counts." Illustrating its allegiance to high concept, Breathless juxtaposes
music, pop culture, and the star performance of Richard Gere to create
moments that are excessive: the patently artificial driving scenes, in the
desert, with Gere crooning "Great Balls of Fire" against a red "movie"
sunset; on the run from the law, Gere and Valerie Kaprisky make love
in a movie theater balcony against the film noir classic Gun Crazy (1949);
the finale in which a supposedly tense standoff between Gere and the
police is broken by Gere dancing to Jerry Lee Lewis's "Breathless" play-
ing on the soundtrack. These moments exceed their narrative signifi-
cance, self-consciously privileging style, and the overtness of these mo-
ments echoes the narration of the Godard film. In terms of referencing,
though, the commercial ties between high concept and the art cinema
are minimal. The audiences drawn to Breathless were motivated by
Gere, directly after his romantic blockbuster An Officer and a Gentleman
(1982), rather than by the American reworking of a French classic.
The Godard/McBride match also illustrates the complexity of isolat-
ing and identifying narrational styles, whether in the art cinema or in

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 High Concept

The high concept remake of an art cinema

classic (Breathless, Orion, 1983). Photo
by Herb Ritts, © 1982 Orion Pictures
Corporation.

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 Construction of the Image 63

high concept. Breathless (high concept) is based on A bout de souffle

(Godard-> French New Wave—»art cinema), which in turn draws heav-
ily from film noir and the American B-movies. Godard even dedicated
his film to a B-movie studio, Monogram Pictures. In preparing for the
American remake, McBride and writer L. M. Kit Carson sought to emu-
late not only Godard, but Godard's source material. As Carson describes
the film's preproduction, "We're writing and screening movies: Gun
Crazy, Kubrick's first movie, Killer's Kiss. [Mike] Medavoy [head of Orion
at the time] runs High Sierra, the ending of which Godard lifted whole
to make the ending of A bout de souffle."47 In this manner, high concept
is joined not only to the art cinema, but also, in a very direct way, right
back to classical Hollywood.48
If the art cinema is an influence, the self-consciousness of the high
concept style also extends from those moments of excess within clas-
sical Hollywood cinema. Indeed, as a style of filmmaking, high con-
cept can be defined by its very overt narrational qualities. The connec-
tion of these techniques to the art cinema does explain the aesthetics
of the style; high concept filmmakers such as Adrian Lyne and Paul
Schrader even explicitly acknowledge the connection. Schrader utilized
Ferdinando Scarfiotti, designer for many Bernardo Bertolucci films, as
"visual consultant" on both American Gigolo and Cat People (1982).49
Schrader's choice of Scarfiotti was motivated by the self-conscious style
of Bertolucci's The Conformist (1970): "The Conformist was a very im-
portant film for my generation, because it was a film that reintroduced
the concept of high style. Movies used to have high style in the thirties
and forties and then gradually, through the fifties and sixties, they be-
came more realistic, less production-designed, and The Conformist be-
came a real sort of rallying cry."50 Similarly, Flashdance cinematogra-
pher Don Peterman links Adrian Lyne with Bertolucci's "high style":
"The director and cinematographer also viewed Bertolucci's The Con-
formist twice and Last Tango in Paris. 'He [Lyne] called Bertolucci "the
man,"' says Peterman. 'Whenever we got into a difficult shooting situa-
tion, he would say, "How would the man handle this? He wouldn't play
it safe. He would go for it." And then we would go for it.'" 51 The huge
aesthetic difference between The Conformist and Flashdance illustrates
the economic basis of Lyne's film and of the high concept style in gen-
eral: the inherent goal is to appropriate the (art cinema) style and apply
it to a marketable and highly exploitable premise. In this manner, high
concept fuses marketing and style together yet again.
Regardless of the connection to classical Hollywood or the art
cinema, the most significant aspect of the high concept style in the mar-
ketplace is its commercial orientation. This orientation derives from

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 64 High Concept

the manner in which the elements join together to form an image (or
images) which are extracted for the marketing and merchandising of
the film. Ultimately it is the process —the coherent and repeated struc-
turing of a film and its elements around the marketing possibilities in
the project—that distinguishes high concept from other forms of pro-
duction within both the American and foreign film industries.

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 C H A P TE

High Concept
and Changes
in the Market
for Entertainment

With strong ties to marketing, the

high concept picture can be considered the most direct response to the
demands of the marketplace, with such films configured to be highly
commercial. High concept has its roots in the economic history of the
American film industry. This style of filmmaking has been molded by
several major structural and economic shifts which have occurred in the
post-World War II market for film. These shifts —both within the struc-
ture of the film industry and within the market for film as an entertain-
ment product —have served increasingly to privilege high concept as a
focus for the mainstream Hollywood industry. As this marketplace is
intimately connected to the development of the film industry in previ-
ous decades, I will sketch the major historical changes which estab-
lished, and serve to maintain, this period of industrial and aesthetic film
history. These institutional changes include the breakdown of the stu-
dio system, the rise of television, and, especially relevant for an under-
standing of high concept, the conglomeration of the film industry. As a
background to these changes, I will characterize the overall marketplace
for film in which high concept operates, and, more significantly, the
ways through which industrial changes in this market influence film
content.

The Marketplace and Traditional Definitions

An analysis of the film marketplace
depends on several central assumptions of economic theory, many of
which fall under the field of industrial organization. Industrial organi-

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 66 High Concept

zation analyzes the structure of each marketplace and the effects of

various markets upon economic agents (i.e., buyers and sellers). Gen-
erally a market is defined as any area in which buyers and sellers nego-
tiate the exchange of a well-defined commodity. The central hypothesis
of industrial organization economics is that company behavior will
be affected by the structure of the market. In other words, the struc-
ture of the marketplace for a product will influence the behavior of
the buyers and sellers within that marketplace. Therefore, the price
and quantity established for a product within the market are deter-
mined, in large part, by the market structure. Market structure is a fairly
loose term used to describe all those attributes of the market that influ-
ence the nature of the competitive process: the size distribution of
firms, barriers to and conditions for entry, product differentiation,
firm cost structure, and the degree of government regulation. Many
analyses consider the effect of market structure on the conduct and per-
formance of firms: an approach which attempts to explain how deci-
sions within a market are shaped by the major characteristics of that
market. My analysis of the contemporary film industry will draw upon
the study of market structure, and, in particular, will focus on the ways
in which both the market for film and the ''product'; film can be
conceptualized.
In terms of market structure, the motion picture industry in the
"Golden Age" of the studio system has been described as a mature
oligopoly: a market controlled by a small number of firms, each with
a fairly large market share. By 1930, those studios referred to as "The
Big Five" (Warner Bros., Loews/MGM, Paramount, RKO, and Twentieth
Century-Fox) were vertically integrated, responsible for all facets of
production, distribution, and exhibition. This arrangement possessed a
clear economic rationale, since the ownership of theaters acted as an
insurance policy for the majors: the companies were always assured of
a minimum market for their product due to their ownership of the up-
scale first-run houses. This relationship frustrated, among others, the
independent theater owners, who accused the majors of preferential
treatment for their own movie theaters, as well as discriminatory prac-
tices, such as blind bidding and block booking. Eventually the govern-
ment responded to these charges, via an antitrust suit filed in Manhat-
tan on July 20, 1938, against the eight major producers (the Big Five and
the Little Three — Columbia, Universal, and United Artists—who, unlike
the Big Five, did not own theaters), twenty-five affiliated companies,
and 133 officers and directors, charging price fixing and attempts to
monopolize trade in film through theater ownership.1 Ten years later,
the Justice Department ruled for an "arm's length transaction" between

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 67

the majors and the theater chains. The majors were given five years to
divorce themselves from their theater chains.
The so-called ''Paramount Case;; drew attention to the oligopolistic
structure of the industry, with the landmark victory for antitrust speci-
fying the termination of all pooling agreements among the Big Five and
the divestiture of all theaters operated in pools. Although this decision
was formulated to encourage renewed competition within the industry,
the majority of industry analysts believe that, since the Paramount con-
sent decree, the industry has remained a "bilateral monopoly": a two-
sided market in which the sellers (the distributors) and the buyers (the
large theater chains) are each part of close-knit monopolies.2
The structural changes introduced by the Paramount Case occurred
at the same time as several other major factors — particularly the rise of
television and postwar consumerism —were refiguring the studio sys-
tem. All these influences have been cited as depressing domestic box-
office revenues for the Hollywood studios, although their relative influ-
ence is difficult to assess. After an initial decrease during the early
Depression, boxoffice receipts in the U.S. increased steadily, reaching
an apex of $1,692 million in 1946. During the fifties and sixties, how-
ever, boxoffice receipts spiraled downward, so that in 1961,fifteenyears
after the peak, receipts had dropped over 43 percent to $955 million.3
The commercial expansion of television, which began in 1948,
reached the 90 percent penetration level by the end of the next decade.4
After an initial period of treating television as a bothersome novelty, the
major studios began to respond to the development of television as a
possible means of regaining their lost revenues. This response tran-
spired in three different forms. First, the studios attempted to differen-
tiate their product from television. Techniques such as 3-D, increased
color production, and the institution of the various widescreen tech-
niques (Cinerama, Cinemascope, Vista Vision) represented methods in
the mid-1950s to offer viewers an experience unlike television. With
the exception of the move to widescreen and color, which became the
norm for virtually all feature films by the mid-1960s, these experi-
ments held little lasting appeal to motion picture viewers. Second, the
studios actually entered into the market for television by producing
filmed programming for the home viewer: in 1955, the majors began
"producing series with their names in the titles such as The MGM Pa-
rade/ The Twentieth Century-Fox Theater/ and 'Warner Brothers Pre-
sents/" 5 The advantages to collaboration were many: the studios could
use their own largely idle lots and facilities to produce the shows, tele-
vision possessed a voracious appetite for programming in the early days,
and the studios could advertise their forthcoming theatrical pictures on

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 68 High Concept

television. Third, the studios realized the value of their film libraries as
a source of programming for television. Since pre-1948 films could be
offered for sale in perpetuity, these features became the initial focus for
the studios. Contracts with actors and directors after 1949 contained
clauses for residual payments, thereby reducing potential revenues to
the studios. By the '60s, films would become a staple for prime-time
television scheduling, with all three networks devoting at least one
night per week to "at the movies." The three strategies of involvement
with television anticipated the ways in which the two media would be-
come increasingly interdependent.6
Another possible explanation for the fall in attendance and revenue
is the rise in postwar consumerism. During the years 1947-1961, fami-
lies increased by 28 percent, disposable income increased by 60 percent,
as did the purchasing power of the consumer.7 The changes in income
represent a shift or redistribution of wealth: while the top income
bracket remained relatively stable, the middle and upper-middle brack-
ets increased substantially. With more goods available in the postwar
period, the substitution of other goods and activities for motion pic-
tures simply illustrated a readjustment in light of the greater array of
goods. This substitution away from motion picture attendance might
have been augmented by the issue of public taste. There is some evi-
dence that postwar feature films failed to appeal to the public as
strongly as earlier films. For example, a March 1949 Fortune survey
found that 38 percent of moviegoers felt that there had been a decline
in the quality of movies in the past two years.8
The lowered demand for motion pictures, added to the Paramount
Case, aided the dissolution of the mature studio system and the move-
ment toward "the package-unit system" of production. Janet Staiger de-
scribes the package-unit mode as follows: "Rather than an individual
company containing the source of the labor and materials, the entire
industry became the pool for these. A producer organized a film proj-
ect: he or she secured financing and combined the necessary laborers
(whose roles had previously been defined by the standardized produc-
tion structures and subdivision of work categories) and the means of
production (the narrative 'property,' the equipment, and the physical
sites of production)."9 With projects existing on afilm-by-filmbasis, the
economic "cushion" of the studio could no longer offset the downfall
created by a risky commercial project. Accordingly, films with the great-
est inherent chance of returning their investment became more signifi-
cant in this era. This attempt to foreground projects with inherent mar-
ketability can be viewed as the beginnings of high concept films, which
depend entirely on their marketing assets.

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 69

Conglomeration and Film Content:

The Roadshow, The Youth Picture,
The Blockbuster
After the move to the package-unit
system, the studios were no longer vertically integrated; in fact, the stu-
dios became primarily distributors of film after this time. The studios'
loss of power as autonomous economic agents was illustrated through
several mergers with larger conglomerates. The 1960s are often referred
to as 'The Go-Go Years'' —a coy reference to the extreme upheaval
within the industry in terms of company ownership, as well as to popu-
lar dancers of the era. Weakened by the fall in revenue and the largely
unsuccessful attempts to regain their market, four of the major distribu-
tors (Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros., United Artists) merged with
or were shadowed by conglomerates, most of which had little direct
connection with the film industry. As Tino Balio suggests, the studios
were attractive to the conglomerates primarily due to their film librar-
ies, which could be exploited in television, their real estate, and their
capital assets, and due to the suspicion that their stocks were underval-
ued because of a sluggish boxoffice in the early 1960s.10 These mergers
were characterized not as hostile takeovers, but rather as diversification
of risk for the conglomerates through an increased capital base. While
the autonomy of the studios might have been threatened by these take-
overs, the conglomeration of the studios actually benefited some stu-
dios, particularly Paramount and Warner Bros.; in these cases, the take-
overs served to strengthen substantially the market position of the film
companies.
Since the media mergers in the 1980s shaping high concept were
caused partially by the mixed assets available in the film conglomer-
ates established during the first "wave" of mergers two decades previ-
ously, I will briefly outline these earlier ownership changes in the major
companies. Universal became the first company to undergo conglom-
eration, merging to form MCA/Revue Productions in 1952. MCA, de-
veloped by Lew Wasserman, initially began as a music talent agency.
Given the advent of television, Wasserman combined his company with
Revue Productions: the premise was to place MCA clients into television
packages, which Revue would then produce. When the Justice Depart-
ment opposed the integrated agency and production unit, MCA di-
vorced itself from the talent agency business in 1962.11 Deciding to ex-
pand into motion picture production as a compensation, MCA bought
Universal Pictures. MCA already had ties with the film company —in-
deed, MCA had purchased Universal City, the studio facility, several
years before buying the film company.12 As a conglomerate, MCA has

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 70 High Concept

been extremely active in television programming, and this success has

been difficult for MCA to duplicate with its theatrical features.13 Unlike
other conglomerated film companies, such as Paramount or United Art-
ists, Universal's film and television operations have contributed a large
share of MCA's revenue (59 percent in 1980). In this manner, MCA can
be seen as a paradigm for those conglomerates focused on media during
the '80s. Indeed, Wasserman may well be the earliest proponent within
the film industry of "syriergy," a term popularized by the media to de-
scribe the commercial possibilities of mutually interlocking commercial
ventures. MCA also engages in recorded music and music publishing,
book publishing, retail and mail order sales, recreation services, finan-
cial services, and data processing.14
Paramount Pictures merged with Charles Bludhorn's Gulf & West-
ern Industries in 1966. The conglomerate, developed almost single-
handedly by Bludhorn, had a diverse portfolio including over three
hundred subsidiaries in manufacturing, consumer and agricultural prod-
ucts, natural resources, apparel products, paper and building products,
automotive replacement parts, and financial services divisions.15 While
Paramount's films had been performing dismally at the boxoffice, Gulf
& Western was attracted to the extensive library of films owned by Para-
mount: even considering only the more recent titles, their estimated
worth was placed at $200 million. The next years saw two important
structural changes within Paramount. Through supplying its features to
television (via MCA) and through developing original television pro-
gramming, Paramount diversified heavily into television production,
eventually becoming a major supplier of programming. Its position
within the television market was strengthened through acquiring De-
silu Productions for $17 million in 1967.16 The other major structural
change was the appointment of Robert Evans as production head in
1967. Evans, in the next several years, would be responsible for de-
veloping and supervising such Paramount blockbusters as Love Story
(1970), The Godfather (1972), and Death Wish (1974), as well as the criti-
cally acclaimed Serpico (1973), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather,
Part II (1974), and Chinatown (1974).17 More importantly, offering a
means of long-term stability, Paramount became part of Gulf & West-
ern's Leisure Time Group, which included Famous Music Corporation,
Simon and Schuster Publishing House, a sports arena, and Famous Play-
ers Limited (the second largest theater chain in Canada). The entire Lei-
sure Time Group garnered only between 11 and 15 percent of Gulf &
Western's revenue; therefore, minuses in Paramount's yearly balance
sheet could easily be offset by pluses from numerous other companies
within Gulf & Western.18

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 71

Unlike Paramount, which became a small part of Gulf & Western,

Warner Bros, became a large component of a conglomerate. In March
1967, Warner Bros, merged with Seven Arts productions, a Canadian
distributor of films to television, becoming Warner Bros./Seven Arts
productions. Despite concern within the industry that Warner Bros,
would move completely into the domain of television production, the
studio continued producing films. Two years later, the company merged
with the conglomerate Kinney National Service, under the direction of
Steven Ross. Ross eventually formed Warner Communications, Inc., a
large entertainment conglomerate with an emphasis in the music busi-
ness, television and film entertainment, consumer electronics and toys,
and publishing.
In the same year as Warner's second merger, United Artists was sold
to Transamerica Inc., known primarily as a major insurance company.
As Steven Bach describes in his book Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in
the Making of Heaven's Gate, United Artists seemed to be an attractive
subsidiary for Transamerica, since the sluggish Transamerica stock, in
theory, would be revitalized by a glamorous subsidiary in the movie
business.19 UA's Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin were attracted by
both the stability of Transamerica and the opportunity to expand pro-
duction, helped by the large financial cushion of the parent company.
The remaining three majors (MGM, Twentieth Century-Fox, Colum-
bia) remained unaffiliated with conglomerates through the mid-1970s.
With these ownership changes in place by the end of the 1960s, struc-
turally the industry remained fairly stable through the next decade.
As expected, the companies affiliated with conglomerates generally had
a larger market share than the other distributors. This result can be
gauged through the average of the market shares for 1970-1980 for
the majors: Warner Bros. 14.5 percent; Paramount 14.0 percent; Fox
14.0 percent; Universal 13.9 percent; United Artists 11.5 percent; Co-
lumbia 10.6 percent; MGM 5.8 percent.20 Of the unaffiliated companies,
only Twentieth Century-Fox showed strength (partly due to the phe-
nomenal success of Star Wars in 1977, which boosted Fox to a first-place
19.5 percent market share in that year). The structure of the industry
resulting from the first wave of mergers established the importance of
both conglomerate control as a method of long-term stability and an
emphasis on the market opportunities of exploiting films in affiliated
media in the conglomerate. Both strategies served to develop high con-
cept as a style of filmmaking in the subsequent decades.
The conglomeration of the industry was accompanied by changes
within the ''product'' of the industry. After the success of an increasing
number of large-scale films during the 1950s, in the early '60s, the stu-

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 72 High Concept

dios began to focus on the large-scale, roadshow picture as the anchor

of their distribution schedules. In many respects, the roadshow picture
can be seen as another attempt to present film as different from tele-
vision — or, to be more precise, as bigger, grander, and more spectacu-
lar than television. Roadshowing, with the advance, reserved seating,
limited showings, and "epic" film subjects, attempted to shift the
act of moviegoing into a special occasion: an event. Frequently these
films were musicals (Camelot [1967], Funny Girl [1968], Star! [1968],
Hello, Dolly! [1969], DarlingLili [1970]), or epics (Spartacus [1960], Law-
rence of Arabia [1962], Doctor Zhivago [1965], Battle of Britain [1969],
Ryan's Daughter [1970]). While the emphasis on spectacle produced
some large-scale hits such as The Sound of Music and Doctor Zhivago, by
the end of the decade, this type of production became increasingly
problematic. As Darryl Zanuck, then head of Twentieth Century-Fox,
commented in 1968: "We've got $50 million tied up in these three mu-
sicals, Dr. Dolittle, Star!, Hello, Dolly!, and quite frankly if we hadn't had
such an enormous success with The Sound of Music, I'd be petrified."21
Zanuck's fears were justified as Fox, along with the other majors, suf-
fered large losses from expensive projects which failed at the boxoffice.22
As Hollywood was bemoaning the death of the roadshow picture, the
youth film was gaining popularity: the trend can be traced back to such
films as The Graduate and Bonnie & Clyde in 1967, Easy Rider and Mid-
night Cowboy in 1969. This movement was driven by the yet-to-be-
named "baby boom" generation, at that time in their teens and early
twenties, who were eager to respond to media which mirrored their dis-
enfranchised state. Studios began to rethink their production slates and
distribution practices, and by the end of the decade, the large-scale and
roadshow picture had become the exception, rather than the rule, for
the major distributors. From an economic perspective, as an established
method for attempting to maximize boxoffice revenue proved faulty,
the majors began to investigate other possibilities. This investigation
created an incredibly rich period of American film history; in many
ways, the years 1969-1975 can be characterized as a period of extensive
experimentation in industrial practice, film form, and content.23 As pro-
ducer Peter Guber, who in the first half of the 1970s was head of world-
wide production at Columbia Pictures, commented in an interview,
"The early 70s [were] when young filmmakers made their inroads,
where you saw Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show, Marty Scor-
sese's Taxi Driver, Hal Ashby's The Last Detail, Bob Rafelson's Five Easy
Pieces . . . where you saw all the young filmmakers begin to emerge with
smaller films and more daring subjects."24 Interestingly, all the films
mentioned by Guber were made at Columbia, recognized as one of the

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 73

first studios during this era to finance movies targeted specifically at

the youth market.25 Apart from the films already mentioned, other
noteworthy films during this period of targeting the youth market
through narrative and formal experimentation include Alice's Restau-
rant (1969), Medium Cool (1969), M.A.S.H. (1970), Carnal Knowledge
(1971), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), American Graffiti (1973), Blume in
Love (1973), and Phantom of the Paradise (1974).
An emphasis on the auteur filmmaker is another unifying character-
istic of the product in this era. During the period of formal experimen-
tation, directors such as Robert Altman, Paul Mazursky, and Hal Ashby,
while still being funded by the majors, were given extreme latitude in
the composition of their films. This liberating period of experimenta-
tion is especially striking in the case of Altman. Even though his films
made little or no profit since M.A.S.H. in 1970, Altman continued to
work continuously through the decade, even signing an exclusive con-
tract with Twentieth Century-Fox in 1977.26 After freedom in the early
seventies, one can see how the mainstream film industry closed its
doors to the auteur. By the end of the decade, the period of auteurism
and formal experimentation had ended. Airman's demise was also evi-
dent: amazingly, after Popeye in 1980, Altman has been unable to work
for a major distributor. His only film for a major studio since that time
(O.C. & Stiggs) was made in 1983 for MGM, released in a handful of
theaters four years later, and then released directly to home video.27
Since his estrangement from the majors after the experimentation pe-
riod, Altman has been forced to work in other media (cable for The
Laundromat [1985] and Tanner '88 [1988], network television for The
Room [1987], The Dumb Waiter [1987], The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
[1988]) and for independent studios (Cinecom for Come Back to the Five
and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean [1982], United Artists Classics for
Streamers [1983], Cannon for Fool For Love [1986], New World for Beyond
Therapy [1987], Hemdale for Vincent and Theo [1990], Fine Line for The
Player [1992] and Short Cuts [1993]).
This period seems to have grown, in part, from a gradual recognition
of the younger audience segment on the part of the industry. This rec-
ognition, though, was accompanied by a confusion regarding how this
audience segment might be reached. The confusion allowed for an in-
credibly rich period of filmmaking which, while still responding to the
economic imperative of the film industry (i.e., to maximize boxoffice
revenue), failed to constrain the filmmakers substantially. As Gerald
Mast points out, 'The iconoclastic, antimyth films, which cost near or
less than the 1970 industry average of $3 million, made consistent, if
modest profits/'28 Typically, these films are considered, after the fact, as

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 74 High Concept

Nashville: critical sensation, modest profits

(Nashville, Paramount, 1975).

being more financially successful than they actually were. Industry ana-
lyst Stuart Byron describes this situation with Robert Altman's Nashville.
Byron admits that the film made a small profit, but warns about the
perception that the film was a boxoffice success: "[I]t is still amazing to
me that the impression was so prevalent in the cultural reaches of Man-
hattan that Nashville was one of the year's commercial blockbusters
rather than, as it was, the twenty-seventh highest-grossing film of the
year. . . . It should be stated again and again that New York is a unique

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 75

market, one in which a handful of sophisticated movies get the crowds

which don't go to, say, W. W. and the Dixie Dance-Kings or The Other
Side of the Mountain/'29
J. Hoberman states that the period of experimentation concludes in
1976 with One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the year's biggest commercial
and critical hit.30 On one level, the period's demise responded to a real
economic incentive: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest notwithstanding,
the experimental films became less and less able to recoup their costs,
and the negative costs were also greatly expanding in the inflationary
era. Several films heralded the end of the era and the accompanying
disillusionment in the film industry with the auteurs: Peter Bogdano-
vich's Daisy Miller in 1974, At Long Last Love in 1975, and Nickelodeon in
1976; Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory in 1976; and particularly William
Friedkin's Sorcerer and Scorsese's New York, New York, both in 1977. The
greatest —or, at least, the most widely publicized — auteurist debacle,
however, was Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, several years in the mak-
ing, and finally released in 1980.31
James Monaco aptly describes the case of Sorcerer, which could apply,
to a lesser extent, to the other films listed above: "Sorcerer (1977), the
gift he [Friedkin] convinced two major studios [Paramount and Univer-
sal] to give him for hitting the bell with The Exorcist, cost upwards of
$18 million [n.b.: Variety estimates the cost at $22 million], but it is
more restrained than Billy's earlier films, even if the sum effect is a
grandly naive gesture of self-indulgence. The kid, growing old, wanted
to remake his hero Clouzot's Wages of Fear. It took him years; he shot
on four continents (the trips are becoming a Friedkin trademark); and
the film when released was a total writeoff."32 Similarly, New York, New
York (1977), a pastiche of classic musicals starring Liza Minnelli and
Robert De Niro, could be viewed as another nail in the coffin for the
experimental era. With three well received and financially mediocre stu-
dio films (Mean Streets [1973], Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore [1974],
Taxi Driver [1976]) under his belt, Scorsese was given free rein by United
Artists to direct a $14 million musical which reflected the already estab-
lished Scorsese themes and obsessions, albeit filtered through a loose
musical framework. The film earned domestic (U.S.-Canada) rentals of
only $6 million and was widely attacked by the critics for its over-
indulgence.33
Unfortunately, this lesson was not sufficient for United Artists; three
years after the Scorsese film, the studio experienced an even greater di-
saster with Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate. United Artists announced
Cimino's epic western as a project in November 1978. Based on the
success of his Oscar-winning The Deerhunter, United Artists budgeted

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 76 High Concept

New York, New York: the mix of Scorsese

and musical revisionism proved commer-
cially unappealing (New York, New York,
United Artists, 1977). Copyright© 1977,
United Artists Corporation.

$7.5 million for the film, and production began in April 1979. In Au-
gust, UA seized fiscal control of the film, which was still in production;
the cost had risen to $21 million, with $30 million projected as the final
cost figure.34 United Artists justified the extra expenditure given the his-
tory of The Deerhunter. Cimino had exceeded the budget on that film,
EMI had considered replacing him as director, but the film eventually
won five Academy Awards and grossed over $55 million domestically. A
year after filming began on Heaven's Gate, Cimino completed principal
photography —the cost had reached almost $35 million.35 On Novem-
ber 18, 1980, the film opened in New York to unanimously vitriolic
reviews. The Los Angeles and Toronto premieres were canceled, and
Cimino returned to the editing room to cut a shorter version of the
picture. The revised version opened in April 1981 to damning reviews
and dismal boxoffice returns. After six months in general release, the
film garnered only $1.5 million in domestic rentals on a cost which
eventually expanded to $43 million.36 Cimino's film can be seen as an

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 77

addendum to the experimental era. More generally, though, while di-

rectors like Ashby, Bogdanovich, Friedkin, and Arthur Penn continued
working, one could argue that their most interesting and provocative
works were produced during this period of aesthetic and accompanying
financial experimentation.
The end of the experimental period was heralded by a return to the
large-scale, grand filmmaking, which had been Hollywood's modus
operandi in the mid-to-late 1960s. Unlike the roadshow era, however,
Hollywood did not fixate primarily on musicals and epics; by the mid-
1970s, the roadshow had transmuted into the blockbuster. The block-
buster can be appreciated through Peter Guber's description of this
period of filmmaking: "[The banks] wanted pictures with an 'upside
potential' which meant roughly, Robert Redford and Paul Newman to-
gether, with Barbra Streisand singing, Steve McQueen punching, Clint
Eastwood jumping, music by Marvin Hamlisch, all in stereo, on the
wide screen, going out as a hard-ticketed road show where you have to
book your seats, based on a #1 bestseller which was #1 for sixty weeks
and a television show which was #1 for at least a season."37 Guber's

An opulent set piece from dmino's film: the

Heaven's Gate roller rink (Heaven's Gate,
United Artists, 1980). Copyright© 1981 by
United Artists Corporation.

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 78 High Concept

rather hyperbolic definition is useful, since it inventories the compo-

nents of the blockbuster: a pre-sold property (such as a best-selling
novel or play), within a traditional film genre, usually supported by
bankable stars (operating within their particular genre) and director.
Paramount fostered this trend with the phenomenally successful
Love Story (total rentals: $50.0 million) and The Godfather (total rentals:
$85.7 million).38 Both of these films were marketable, connected to
bestsellers, and supported by catch phrases which became part of popu-
lar American culture.39 In addition, the following films also solidified
the blockbuster era: Airport (an adaptation of Arthur Hailey's bestseller,
featuring an all-star cast; 1970; rentals: $45.3 million), The Exorcist
(William Peter Blatty's horror novel directed by William Friedkin, who
had won an Academy Award for The French Connection; 1973; rentals:
$89.0 million), Papillon (Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman in epic
adventure tale; 1973; rentals: $22.5 million), The Towering Inferno (all-
star cast, including McQueen and Paul Newman, in an adventure/disas-
ter film which was financed by both Twentieth Century-Fox and War-
ner Bros.; 1974; rentals: $52.0 million), and Jaws (Steven Spielberg's
breakthrough film based on Peter Benchley;s pulp bestseller; 1975; ren-
tals: $129.5 million). Of course, the pre-sold elements of the blockbuster
do not always attract strong boxoffice. Paramount's The Great Gatsby
(1974; rentals: $14.2 million) and King Kong (1976; rentals: $35.8 mil-
lion) both received an extraordinary amount of pre-release publicity
and yet, while viewer awareness was obviously high for both films, nei-
ther performed according to expectations.
Why did Hollywood turn toward the blockbuster as a means of eco-
nomic salvation? On one level, the decision was extremely conservative
economically. Films which are packaged and composed of financially
''proven'' components would seem to have a greater chance of attract-
ing an audience.40 This argument is also fueled by the increasing cost of
production. In 1975, the average cost to produce and market a film was
$3.1 million. This figure rose steadily to $14.4 million by 1984.41 In-
creasingly, the rise in production costs marked a decline for the small,
experimental picture. As the break-even point moved upward, the ma-
jors became interested only in the large revenues possible through the
blockbuster films. Occasionally a schedule would be balanced by some
"prestige" films, which, while possessing limited boxoffice potential,
fostered the reputation of film as art and solidified relationships with
the critics and exhibitors. For instance, in 1976, Paramount's release
schedule was anchored by such potential blockbusters as King Kong,
Marathon Man, and The Last Tycoon. The studio completed its release
schedule with some films which obviously would have limited appeal

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 79

Table 2. Number of Releases by Major

Distributors, 1970-1978
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978

Columbia 28 37 27 16 21 15 15 10 14
MGM 21 20 22 16 * * * * *
Paramount 16 21 22 26 23 11 18 15 14
Twentieth
Century-Fox 14 16 25 14 18 19 18 14 7
United
Artists 40 26 20 18 21 21 22 14 19
Universal 17 16 16 19 11 10 13 17 21
Warner Bros. 15 17 18 22 15 29 22 24 28
Total 151 153 150 131 109 95 97 84 93

* After 1974, films released through United Artists.

Source: Motion Picture Association of America.

at the boxoffice, yet which might attract critical attention for the stu-
dio: Ingmar Bergman's intense psychological drama Face to Face, Elaine
May's quirky crime drama Mikey and Nicky, and Roman Polanski's bi-
zarre tale of paranoia, The Tenant. Nevertheless, the emphasis shifted to
the more marketable, easily packaged film, so that studios actually cut
their release schedules to divert money into the more extravagant pro-
ductions. This trend toward more limited release schedules can be seen
in Table 2, which shows the number of new releases from the majors
for 1970 to 1978. From a peak of 153 films in 1971, the total drops to
only 84 films in 1977. The brunt of these cutbacks occurred with the
small, personal films which had thrived earlier in the decade. As James
Monaco remarked in 1979, "Increasingly we are all going to see the
same ten movies/' 42
Furthering the limited number of releases were two other factors: the
effect of diversified risk upon the studio and the growing importance of
foreign markets. As each studio was sold to a conglomerate, the studio's
identity as an entity separate from the other subsidiaries within the con-
glomerate became more muted. For example, in 1970, United Artists
suffered a large pre-tax loss which was not written off across a three-year
period, as had been customary, since the sum was offset by a surplus
from Occidental Life Insurance, another Transamerica company.43 In
this manner, the growth of the entire conglomerate is favored over ex-
traordinary growth in any one subsidiary. Consequently, although com-
panies such as Transamerica wanted their film subsidiaries to show a

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 80 High Concept

profit, most of the conglomerates discouraged aesthetic experimenta-

tion and expansion of production. In fact, cost minimization almost
dictated that the studios should lower the number of releases to maxi-
mize profits.
Traditionally the foreign markets supplied a small percentage of total
boxoffice revenue, yet with the postwar decline in domestic boxoffice,
these markets became increasingly important to total revenue. By the
late 1960s, export rental income accounted for about one-half of total
rental revenue.44 Perhaps due to cultural difference, the "personal"
American projects of the early-to-mid 1970s did not sell as well overseas.
As industry analyst Joseph Phillips notes, foreign audiences seem to pre-
fer adventure films and blockbusters to personal dramas: "One formula
that seems to possess a high probability of market success is the adven-
ture story, often involving a disaster of enormous proportions. This for-
mula appears to have great international audience potential. It calls for
'blockbuster' treatment involving investment of great lumps of capital,
which, of course, the major U.S. film companies are best able to pro-
vide."45 This factor has added to the increasing emphasis upon the big-
budget, packaged film.
The sum of these institutional changes—principally the Paramount
Case, the rise of television, and the conglomeration of the industry—led
to a tightening or contraction within the motion picture industry. This
contraction involved not only the number of releases from the majors,
but also a tightening of the economic risks involved with filmmaking.
Conglomerates entering the field, often with no prior experience with
entertainment or film, sought to minimize the risks of motion picture
production through making those films with built-in audience appeal
(i.e., the roadshow and later the blockbuster) and through an attempt
to tap the youth audience during Hollywood's auteur period. The mid-
1970s can be seen, therefore, as a period of consolidation for the film
industry. The conglomeration during the previous decade at first per-
mitted, then extinguished, diversity in American filmmaking. The so-
lution to the conglomerates' concern over their marketplace was the
blockbuster, which represented an attempt to differentiate one film
from others by virtue of components which were pre-sold. With the rise
of the blockbuster era, the films which became more and more typical
fell back upon traditional genres and modes, with an emphasis upon
the spectacular (for instance, the disaster films such as The Poseidon Ad-
venture [1972] or Earthquake [1974]). The aesthetics of the blockbuster,
along with the accompanying economic forces which served to pro-
duce this form, create the genesis for high concept. Indeed, high con-
cept can be viewed as a progression from the blockbuster. High con-

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 81

cept shares the emphasis on pre-sold components, yet modifies the style
and narrative of the blockbuster. These variations on the blockbuster
grew, in part, from major structural changes in the industry during the
late 1970s.

Uncertainly in the Marketplace:

The Development of the
Contemporary Industry Structure
The changes within Hollywood and
in its product created through the conglomeration of the industry dur-
ing the 1960s were still being worked through when a potentially much
greater force was recognized by the industry. By the mid-1970s, the
"new" television technologies — cable television, pay TV, and home
video—were on the horizon. The film industry responded to these tech-
nologies with an attempt to enter and control these new markets. This
strategy was not without precedent. Just as Hollywood tried to enter the
burgeoning television market through investing in television tech-
nology, theater television, subscription television, and television sta-
tion ownership nearly four decades earlier, the consistent response to
the new technologies seemed to be movement into these markets.46 As
Douglas Gomery comments, "A party (or parties) has reasoned that
great profits lie in the future for a major movie production company
which can properly be maneuvered into supplying the 'new' television
technologies."47 The primary economic rationale for this strategy was
the reduction of risk which could be obtained through control of the
affiliated (and connected) markets. Through the control of these mar-
kets, the film industry hoped to conquer any fall in demand at the the-
atrical "window" (the industry term for the different venues in which a
product might be shown) through an investment in the subsequent
windows of a film's release.48 High concept, as a focus for the main-
stream industry, was strengthened by these new markets. The style and
marketing hooks of high concept, designed to establish the image of
the film clearly, allowed the film to "play" across all the different re-
lease windows.
After the introduction of Sony's Betamax in the mid-'70s, the majors
attempted to secure a market position within home video. Long-term
success in this market for the majors was dependent heavily upon two
factors: ownership of a distribution system, and a correct estimation of
the elasticity of demand for their product. The most powerful majors
possessed an in-house home video operation, thereby coordinating the
marketing, sales, and distribution of the video within their own com-
pany.49 On the other hand, the weaker studios and mini-majors had to

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 82 High Concept

license their films to outside video distributors at a much lower profit

rate: for example, Tri-Star signed deals for home video rights with both
RCA and CBS in 1984, while Orion has released many videos through
HBO/Cannon video.50 Until the development of Orion Home Video in
1986, Orion, in particular, suffered from this strategy, having to release
blockbusters, such as Platoon (1986), through other labels.
A more important key to long-term financial success for the majors'
involvement with home video concerned the pricing of videos. Ini-
tially, movies on tape sold for well over $50, and the ratio of sales to
rentals was dismal: "For every videocassette sale, there are about 10 tape
rentals, bringing the total for 1983 to 100 million."51 The minimal sales
to the home market were broken by Paramount Home Video through a
series of pricing experiments which served to refigure the home video
market. Completely against the traditional pricing scheme of $5O-$7O,
Paramount released Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on video at a retail
price of $39.95 in late 1982. Sales volume doubled at this lower price.52
Following within the next year were the extraordinary video successes
of An Officer and a Gentleman, Flashdance, and Raiders of the Lost Ark; all
were priced at $39.95, and all shipped record numbers of units.53 At the
end of the first full year of low pricing, Paramount also instituted a
Christmas promotion dubbed "25 Great Gifts Under $25." This move
further reduced prices and sold units to capacity through the entire pro-
motion.54 The Paramount Christmas promotion clarified that the maxi-
mum revenue would come from "the sell-through potential" of a par-
ticular video (i.e., the purchase of the video directly by the consumer,
rather than by the video store owner).
Other companies soon followed Paramount's lead: MCA cut 50 per-
cent off selected prices, Disney instituted "7 Limited Golden Edition"
video volumes at the price of $29.95, and Media Home Entertainment
started its price list at $19.95.55 Given the strong interest generated by
boxoffice hits, the sell-through pricing can generate a great deal more
revenue than the steeper price. Allan Caplan, chairman of the Applause
video retail chain, explains the arithmetics of the sell-through pricing
in these terms: "An 'A' film capable of selling 400,000 units at the usual
retail price, $89.95, generates $22-million wholesale to its supplier . . .
but at a $24.95 suggested retail, and selling 3-4 million units, the total
skyrockets to $42-58 million."56 Even with unsuccessful films, though,
profit still may be forthcoming: Disney received over $1 million each
from the video sales of Tex (1982), Running Brave (1983), and Something
Wicked This Way Comes (1983), all of which performed dismally at the
theatrical boxoffice. By the mid-1980s, therefore, home video revenues
were becoming increasingly important as a window in the industry.

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 83

Whereas in 1980, only 3.0 million pre-recorded tapes were sold to either
the home market or rental firms, 57.7 million were sold in 1985, and
this figure tripled to 161.4 million in 1988.57
The story of the majors' involvement with pay cable virtually col-
lapses into a story of their interaction with Home Box Office (HBO),
America's largest pay-cable television service, started as a local pay-
television service in 1972 by Chuck Dolan.58 By being the first cable
supplier, HBO was able to extract preferential licenses from the studios.
Rather than fight the development of the technology, Columbia bene-
fited from an exclusive distribution arrangement with HBO, signing a
deal in 1981 for five years of movies on an exclusive basis.59 To reward
this commitment, and in consideration of the fact that most studio
deals were only for one year rather than five, HBO paid Columbia pre-
mium rates for its product. Two years later, Paramount gave Showtime
an exclusive deal on its next eleven films — a decision made in large part
by Barry Diller to dilute the strength of HBO by supporting its major
rival.60 Subsequently, Universal and Warner Bros, both signed multi-
year exclusive deals with HBO.61 Meanwhile, HBO also gained a large
advantage over its competitors by receiving a ten-year access to the en-
tire 4,700-title MGM/UA library, the largest and most lucrative movie
vault.62
The strategy utilized by the studios in response to the power of HBO
and the possible profits of cable extends beyond exclusive contracts. In
1979, Columbia, Paramount, MCA/Universal, Twentieth Century-Fox,
and Getty Oil developed a cable network named "Premiere" which
would have exclusive rights to the partners' films.63 This venture was
met with hostility by both HBO and Showtime. The Justice Department
filed an antitrust suit in August 1980, describing Premiere as an "illegal
conspiracy" which would, in effect, monopolize the cable market.64 Pre-
miere was successfully blocked by HBO only two days before its airdate.
Basing its objections upon the size of the theatrical film industry con-
trolled by the partners, HBO won the suit on antitrust grounds, and
Premiere never aired.65
The only major to have an interest in a cable company prior to the
abortive Premiere venture was Warner Communications. Warner in-
vested early in cable, and has controlled a large percentage of Show-
time/The Movie Channel (American Express is the other major part-
ner).66 This structure changed in January 1983 when Warner joined with
Paramount and MCA Incorporated to become equal partners in the
Movie Channel. The majors stressed that exclusivity would not be part
of the arrangement and that access to the partners' films would not be
denied to competitors, including HBO. Again this move was designed

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 84 High Concept

to lessen the power of HBO, whose subscriber base represented a virtual

monopoly over the cable market (in 1982, HBO had 11 million subscrib-
ers, followed by Showtime with only 3.5 million).67 By that time, HBO's
control was credited with securing films for less than their market value.
The Movie Channel agreement marked the first major collusive activity
by the majors to secure a piece of the pay cable pie and to protect the
value of their film libraries.68
Analysis of the majors' institutional development since the advent of
the new media leads to several conclusions. In general, the companies
which have been consistently strong throughout the 1980s are distin-
guished by the following characteristics: (1) control since the 1960s by
one of the conglomerates focused on media, (2) a stability of manage-
ment, and (3) diversification and innovation into other delivery sys-
tems. These three characteristics coalesce, with the strongest conglom-
erates (Gulf & Western, Time Warner) focusing on the synergy between
film, the new delivery systems, and their related media companies.
One measure of success is the market share garnered by the com-
pany. As Dennis Mueller points out, ''Several recent studies have found
that market shares are positively related to profitability, and market
share is a frequently cited objective of corporate management/'69 Con-
sidering market shares during the 1970s and '80s, one can see that Para-
mount consistently has dominated the marketplace. Figures 1 through
3 show average market shares for feature film rentals from U.S. and Ca-
nadian theaters for the majors during different time periods. Figure 1
considers the average market share for the 1970s. Although Paramount
(15 percent) leads the studios, Warner Bros., Fox, and Universal are each
within 2 percent of Paramount's figure. The adage of "sharing the mar-
ket'; does seem apt to describe this period. Figures 2 and 3 show the
development of the market shares in the 1980s. Figure 2 covers the en-
tire decade (1980 to 1989), while Figure 3 shows only the last four years
(1986-1989).70 Figure 2 shows the beginning of a more differentiated
pattern of shares. Apart from the introduction of Tri-Star and Orion, the
only drastic change in individual share is with MGM(/UA), which falls
from 12.3 percent to 7.7 percent of the market.71 In Figure 3, however,
the pattern becomes much more pronounced: Paramount clearly stands
above the other studios, garnering 18 percent of the total market, fol-
lowed by Disney (14.5 percent) and Warner Bros. (13.7 percent). The
remarkable performance of Disney in the latter part of the 1980s con-
trasts with its lackluster revenue in the 1970s. After Disney and Warner
Bros., the next closest competitor is Universal (11.5 percent), while the
remaining studios each controlled less than 10 percent of the rental
market. How can one explain this marked shift in the market—par-

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 85

Average of Rental Market Shares: 1970-1979

Paramount Fox MGM/UA Disney

Warner Bros Universal Columbia
Figure 1. Average of rental market shares:
1970-1979.

ticularly the rise of Paramount, Warner Bros., and Disney—within the

past two decades? Paramount, Disney, and Warner Bros, are the studios
most often associated with high concept. Part of their strategy has been
to focus on diversifying not just into different media, but also in the
film marketplace through high concept.
Paramount's position within the contemporary industry grew under
the supervision of Gulf & Western's Charles Bludhorn, who appointed
Barry Diller as the chairman of Paramount in 1974. Diller, whose back-
ground was in television at ABC, reorganized the studio and made a
relentless effort to focus on story in the Paramount films.72 Along with
Michael Eisner, Diller supervised a long list of hit films, including Or-
dinary People (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Flashdance.73 Par-
amount's salient trait might well be its need to maintain close control
over and attention to every project. The desire to treat each project on
an individual basis, rather than as merely part of a large release sched-
ule, separates Paramount from the other studios. Tony Schwartz's inves-
tigation of the Diller regime at Paramount includes a quote from an
independent (anonymous) producer: "Are they smarter than the execu-

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 Hi^/i Concept

Average of Rental Market Shares: 1980-1989

18
16.2
15.1
2 14.5
14
«22
11.9
12
10.1
10

7.7
s
•s

Paramount Universal Columbia MGM/UA Orion

Warner Bros Fox Disney Tri-Star
Figure 2. Average of rental market shares:
1980-1989.

tives at other studios? The answer is yes. Are the movies better for thei:
input? Probably. But who wants to work all the time in a bunker at
mosphere, under the constant threat of the guillotine?"74 Interview:
with many of the key marketing and distribution executives produce J
completely different perspective. Mardi Marans, former Senior Vice
President of Marketing, whose experience at Paramount followed J
thirteen-year tenure at Warner Bros., discussed Paramount^ manage
ment style in the following terms, distancing herself from the assertioi
that Paramount requires extremely close control over every project: "It;
like a family environment. The filmmaker goes out and makes hi
movie, and he's out there on his own. More than anything, it's [Pare
mount's interest] not the need to have hands-on involvement, as mud
as it is to be a support system. He has to have his creative right, and w
do whatever we can to make the environment so that he makes the be<
movie possible. When they come back with it, we ask what can be don
if he needs help to make it better and then to bring it to market."75
Gulf & Western's founder and chairman, Charles Bludhorn, die
suddenly of a heart attack in 1983. His replacement, Martin S. Davi

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 87

Average of Rental Market Shares: 1986-1989

20
18

I
15 14.5
13.7

I 11.5

I
I
Paramount Warner Bros Fox Tri-Star Columbia
Disney Universal Orion MGM/UA
Figure 3. Average of rental market shares:
1986-1989.

desired a closer hand in the management of Paramount, and clashed

strongly with Diller.76 Lured by an attractive financial offer by Twenti-
eth Century-Fox owner Marvin Davis, Diller left Paramount in 1984.77
Almost simultaneously, Eisner left for Walt Disney Productions, as did
many of the key production executives.78 Nevertheless, after an initially
rough start, Paramount's winning streak continued under the direction
of a new chairman, twenty-four-year Paramount veteran Frank Man-
cuso.79 Paramount also has developed in the past years into other media,
in particular, a 50 percent interest in the USA Network and exclusive
rights to Showtime/The Movie Channel.80 Gulf & Western also operates
470 U.S. movie theaters (Festival, Trans-Lux, and Mann), and still main-
tains its ownership of Famous Players Theaters in Canada.81
Paramount also has benefited from the cross-fertilization possible
from its television and movie divisions: successful television series have
been developed from the Star Trek and Friday the 13th series, and lucra-
tive licensing campaigns have also been developed from these tele-
films.82 Financial analyst Christopher Dixon, of Kidder, Peabody & Co.,
compares this strategy to the establishment of brand names which can

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 88 High Concept

identify a company across a range of different products: 'They're look-

ing to create brand names with products that have a long shelf-life."83
Indeed, the synergy between the different divisions at Paramount also
is credited as one difference between Paramount and other studios. For
example, Diana Widom, former Senior Vice-President of Publicity, com-
ments, "There is a tremendous interaction between the marketing de-
partment, production and distribution. All these key departments are
working together. There's a flow of information, of ideas, and exchange
of ideas —that's what makes Paramount unique."84 Perhaps this open-
ness was one component of Paramount's creative and professional suc-
cess story over the past two decades.
Like Paramount, Warner Bros, has been able to maintain a solid mar-
ket share during the past two decades, even increasing slightly from the
1970s (14.5 percent) to the 1980s (15.1 percent). Steven J. Ross has
guided the company through several difficult events in the past decade,
including the huge losses ($536 million) from the video game/computer
division Atari and the attempted (and unsuccessful) takeover by Rupert
Murdoch in 1983.85 Still, as Robert Gustafson notes in his analysis of the
Warner conglomerate, "the principle of multiple profit centers which
reinforce each other" has served the company well.86 Warner films
generate revenues from their theatrical release, through home video
(Warner Home Video), cable (Warner Amex Cable, the Movie Channel),
television (Warner Television Distribution), and the affiliated product
tie-ins (perhaps Warner Records, Warner Books, Atari). The early inte-
gration with pay cable and the stability of Ross's chairmanship have
produced a company which appears very progressive in its approach to
the changing dictates of the marketplace. The cross between the differ-
ent media is blurred at Warner Bros., although not as extensively as at
Paramount. For instance, Warner's Superman series produced three suc-
cessful films on the level of Paramount's Star Trek series. Of course, the
marketing and product tie-ins were mounted on a phenomenal scale for
these films. These large-scale projects are interspersed with more per-
sonal, artistically oriented projects; for example, Warner Bros, has pro-
duced all the Stanley Kubrick films since 1971.
Warner's stability and the numerous associated media firms undei
WCI (Warner Communications Inc.) were responsible for the largesi
conglomerate takeover, the marriage between WCI and Time Inc. in
July 1989. The Time/Warner alliance reflects the desire of two large con-
glomerates to create an integrated worldwide corporation specializing
in media and the entertainment business: a company with a theatrica
film business, record business, publishing, cable operations, televisior
syndication, and extensive international media ownership.87 More spe

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 89

cifically, the deal enabled Warner to place its product into Home Box
Office, owned by Time and operating both HBO and Cinemax.88 The
merger was presented in the media as a strike against the takeover of
the media by foreign operations, such as Bertelsmann of West Germany,
Robert Maxwell of England, Rupert Murdoch of Australia, Giancarlo Par-
retti of Italy, and the conglomerates of Japan.89 Financial analysts were
advising that, in order to compete with large foreign corporations, the
American media companies should band together; Gordon Crawford, of
the Capital Group, commented, "I think the [Time/Warner] merger is
brilliant because it creates the biggest, best-positioned, most powerful
entertainment media company in the world. The way the industry is
tending is toward large, global, vertically integrated companies/'90
The merger was prolonged by a battle with Paramount Communica-
tions Inc., which made a hostile $12.2-billion, $200-per-share bid for
Time, basically hoping to create a similar integrated media giant.91
This move by Paramount received a strongly negative reaction within
the press and the entertainment industry. Even reclusive media mogul
George Lucas addressed the issue in a letter to the Wall Street Journal,
"Paramount's hostile attack on the union of Time and Warner dis-
rupted a strategic combination of potentially enormous and lasting sig-
nificance for the U.S. entertainment industry. . . . It has surely contrib-
uted to losing America's war in the global marketplace/'92
Although Walt Disney Productions basically was not a threat to the
majors during the 1970s, the company made great strides in the latter
half of the 1980s. Growing from a dismal 3 percent of the market at
the beginning of the decade, Disney rose to 14 percent in 1989 and to
14.5 percent for the period 1986 through 1989, placing it second only
to Paramount.93 Disney's success seems due to three principal compo-
nents: the formation of Touchstone Pictures in 1984, the arrival of the
Paramount team Eisner-Jeffrey Katzenberg in the same year, and the
entry of Disney into other entertainment ventures.94 Touchstone was
formed primarily to supply more adult-oriented films without losing
the family stamp of the Disney name.95 In its first year, Touchstone pro-
duced Splash (revenues: $62.1 million) and the less successful Country
($8.3 million). The new team's influence was not felt until two years
later with the 1986 releases of Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless
People, The Color of Money, and Tough Guys.
By the time Disney had begun to make a real dent in the marketplace,
several traits became clear within its films and, indeed, within the Dis-
ney operation. One cannot overestimate the importance of Eisner and
Katzenberg to the development. Especially significant is their emphasis
upon story, medium-budget projects, and the desire for close control

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 90 High Concept

and interaction with the filmmakers. While these traits have been inter-
nalized within Paramount, the originators (Diller, Eisner, and Katzen-
berg) have proceeded to spread their philosophy to other companies.
Following Diller;s move to Fox, Eisner and Katzenberg left Paramount
for Disney. Since Disney was not beset by the grave structural problems
of Fox, the company has been able to adapt the Paramount strategy to
the configuration of the new company. While Disney has been most
successful with upscale comedies, its production schedule has become
more varied, with forays into action/adventure (Shoot to Kill [1988], An
Innocent Man [1989]) and domestic drama (The Good Mother [1988],
Blaze [1989]). With a couple of important exceptions (Beaches [1988]
and Dead Poets Society [1989]), though, Disney has been unable to ex-
tend its successes beyond the formulaic comedies. Whether Disney will
be able to compete on a long-term basis with majors such as Paramount
is open to debate, although the substantial assets of the Disney Chan-
nel, Disney Home Video, and, especially, the Disneyland/Disney World
theme parks offer room for experimentation.96 Indeed, the theme parks
and resorts represent a large percentage of Disney's annual income, gar-
nering $785.4 million in 1989, 64 percent of the company's total oper-
ating profits.97
Apart from Paramount and Warner Bros., the other film conglomer-
ates of the '60s — MCA and United Artists — fared less well, with MCA
substantially more successful than United Artists. MCA continued to de-
velop throughout the 1970s and '80s, although its growth and diversi-
fication did not rival either Paramount's or Warner's. Its film division
was helped by an association with Steven Spielberg, responsible foi
Universal's Jaws (1975) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Seeking the
security of Time Warner, Lew Wasserman sold MCA to leading con
sumer electronics firm Matsushita in 1990 for $6.6 billion.98 Although
the deal was motivated by the desire to link the hardware produce]
(Matsushita) with the software producer (MCA), the benefits from suet
an association may be limited. As investment banker Herb Schlosse:
comments, 'The synergies are overrated. For $500 million you couk
license all the software in the world for a new system."99
In many ways, the history of United Artists in the past twenty year
underlines the potential problems of continual mergers and manage
ment changes. After Transamerica acquired the profitable company
in 1968, UA became one of the most successful distributors of the mid
1970s, posting a 16 percent market share in 1976 and 18 percent ii
1977. Soon after the takeover, a feud erupted between the Transameric
executives and UA's long-time chief executives Arthur Krim and Robei

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 91

Benjamin. Apparently, Transamerica substantially reduced expenditures

for the white collar workers at UA and installed a computerized in-
formation system for projecting profits and tracking budgets.100 This
change in management style offended the old UA regime, and pressure
from the situation caused the team of Arthur Krim, Eric Pleskow, Robert
Benjamin, William Bernstein, and Mike Medavoy to offer to buy UA
from Transamerica. After the conglomerate's refusal to sell, the execu-
tives quit and formed Orion Pictures in January 1978.
Since that time, United Artists has passed through several different
owners, with Kirk Kerkorian and Ted Turner playing a major role in
these transformations. Since 1982, there have been many changes in
top management; among those well-known executives who have con-
trolled either MGM or UA since that time are Frank Yablans, Freddie
Fields, Jerry Weintraub, Lee Rich, Alan Ladd, Jr., and Tony Thomopo-
lous.101 Numerous MGM/UA films in the late '80s were relegated to re-
gional or extremely limited releases: Illegally Yours (1987), Some Girls
(1988), The Rachel Papers (1989), True Love (1989), and A Dry White Sea-
son (1989). Most significantly, though, the internal problems within the
company have severely weakened its position within the marketplace:
MGM/UA's market share dropped from 11 percent in 1982 to 6 percent
in 1989. In addition, the company has invested little in the new tech-
nologies in terms of cable, home video, or theater ownership. The case
of MGM/UA represents the dangers of media mergers for the overall
growth and diversification of a company which is dealing constantly
with takeover bids and management shifts, and thus fails to adapt to the
rapidly changing industry.
Those companies which did not undergo conglomeration in the
1960s have been unable to withstand the development and diversifica-
tion of the current industry. Due to their narrow portfolio of assets,
both Columbia and Twentieth Century-Fox were perfect targets for
takeover bids. At the beginning of the 1980s, both companies acqui-
esced to ownership changes which, in the long run, have been detri-
mental to the growth of the film companies.102 In June 1981, Denver oil
baron Marvin Davis acquired Twentieth Century-Fox, one of the few
times an individual has actually been able to buy a film company.103
Davis replaced head of production Sherry Lansing with Joe Wizan, and
promptly began to spin off some Fox assets to ameliorate debt. In Sep-
tember 1984, Davis placed Barry Diller (from Paramount) as chairman
of Fox. In the same month Davis sold the company to the News Corpo-
ration, 46 percent controlled by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch's plan with
Fox was to create a new television network to provide programming to

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 92 High Concept

non-network stations and to the seven Metromedia stations acquired by

Murdoch for $1.6 billion.104 Part of Fox;s problem was this goal: instead
of moving aggressively into home video, cable, and theater purchases,
Fox expended a great deal of energy and finance on the development of
the fourth network.
Unlike Fox's, Columbia's merger history can be interpreted as an
attempt to deal with the new delivery systems. In January 1982, Coca-
Cola purchased Columbia Pictures for $820 million.105 This move seems
reminiscent of Transamerica's involvement with United Artists. Both
companies sought to enter the film business to stimulate their stock and
to acquire access to a valuable library of film and television program-
ming. Coca-Cola's own experience with its soft drink(s) has shown that
diversification can lead to an increased share of the market. Consider
Coca-Cola's experience with the various Coke spin-offs: Diet Coke,
Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry, No Caffeine Coke, No Caffeine Diet Coke,
etc. Coke chose to diversify the product from Columbia via the provoca-
tive move of creating an entirely "new" line of product. As Gomery
describes, Coke knew that theater owners would not want to grant Co-
lumbia's bookers twice the number of valuable Christmas and summer
booking slots.106 Therefore, as a solution, Columbia chose to become
partners in a new studio, Tri-Star. As Columbia executive vice-president
Victor Kaufman commented at the time, the move was made since
"Columbia [i.e., Coca-Cola] wants to participate in the ownership of as
many films as possible."107
In its original conception, Tri-Star, founded in December 1982, was
the ultimate consequence of the new media developments. The studio
was initially a co-venture involving Columbia, CBS Inc., and HBO. The
rationale behind Tri-Star makes complete economic sense: Tri-Star pro-
duces the films; Columbia, for a fee, handles the distribution; HBO is
granted the pay-TV run, and CBS receives the network and syndicated
television runs. As well as assuring two additional video windows for
Columbia's product, the enterprise strengthened HBO's involvement
with the film industry. A major provision of the deal was that HBO
would invest in all of Columbia's theatricals and would gain an equity
interest in excess of 25 percent.108 HBO wanted to position itself as a
player within both the film and cable industries. Similarly, CBS was at-
tempting to establish a strong place for itself in the increasingly inte-
grated media marketplace.109 In its first years of operation, Tri-Star man-
aged to produce several successful films, including The Natural (1984),
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Short Circuit (1986), and Blind Date
(1987).
After the extreme upheaval of the mid-1980s, and four production

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 93

heads (Frank Price, 1978-1983; Guy McElwaine, 1983-1986; David Putt-

nam, 1986-1987; Dawn Steel, 1988-1990), Columbia became part of a
second conglomerate — the Sony Corp. — at the end of the decade. Sony
had been expanding into the media market primarily as a means of
supplying software to match its strong consumer electronics division;
following this rationale, the Sony/Columbia merger made more eco-
nomic sense than the Coke/Columbia match, since Coke's soft-drink
operation would not benefit substantially from the entertainment com-
pany. Sony's first move into the North American market was to acquire
CBS Records for $2 billion in January 1988.110 However, the benefits of
the Columbia acquisition offered even more synergy for Sony: in par-
ticular, television and film production and distribution, or, in other
words, the software to drive hardware sales. Having paid nearly $5 bil-
lion for the studio, Sony placed Peter Guber and Jon Peters at the head
of Columbia. This management decision proved to be costly, to the
tune of nearly $1 billion, since Sony had to buy both the Guber-Peters
company, as well as appease Warner Bros., which had just signed a de-
velopment deal with the producers.111
The movement of the film industry through the past decade reveals
the increasing polarization in the marketplace. Figure 3 (covering 1986
to 1989) presents this polarization clearly in comparison with the mar-
ket share tables for the two prior periods. The most successful compa-
nies (Paramount and Time Warner) have diversified (especially into the
new delivery systems) and have actually increased their market power
through consistent and unified growth in their companies. These con-
glomerates, along with Disney, have practiced diversification within
their entertainment products, through high concept, to parallel their
diversification into allied media. The attempts to maximize the synergy
between different media were matched in these conglomerates by the
drive to focus and target moviegoers through the differentiated product
of high concept. Other majors (particularly Columbia and United Art-
ists), without such a focus, have simply lost their former stature within
the industry.
The narrowing of the marketplace indicates that the economic power
within the industry has become concentrated among very few firms,
with the previously strongest firms (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
simply bolstering their position within the industry. Have the largest
firms been able to gain market power on the basis of structural factors
alone, such as the benefits of conglomeration for the studios, or have
these companies utilized their products to gain power? One could argue
that, implicitly, part of their strategy has been to differentiate their prin-
cipal product (i.e., film) from the majority of films released in the mar-

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 94 High Concept

ket. This differentiation has often taken an aesthetic form, so that the
actual components of film are altered during development and produc-
tion. High concept is basically an extreme form of differentiation for
the majors.

Differentiation of Product
In many ways, studios have always
responded to the opportunities offered through product differentiation.
The blockbuster era can be explained in terms of differentiation; a
blockbuster is separated from the majority of other releases by the size
(budget, reputation, bankable source material) and scope of the project.
Given that film can be considered as a product with certain charac-
teristics, a film which differs from the norm potentially can increase
its share of the pie. Therefore, a blockbuster could be differentiated
through such qualities as more stars, higher budget, more exciting story.
For instance, in 1976, King Kong was marketed with the line 'The most
exciting original motion picture event of all time" set against a shot
of Kong straddling the World Trade Center. The rhetoric of the ad —
"event," "most exciting," "original," "of all time" — joined to the tow-
ering ape clearly positions the film as bigger and grander than any
other film in the marketplace. While studios attempt to distinguish
films through their own marketing, films are different: films are pro-
duced, distributed, and exhibited through different routes (e.g., limited,
tiered, and saturation release schedules) and appeal to different audi-
ences. Characterizing film as a single product with perfect substitution
amongst the different competing properties is a clear misrepresentation
of the economic market for film.
Clearly evident as forms of differentiation are such enterprises as
3-D film and the development of "boutique" or independent studios.
Perhaps as a reaction to the introduction of the new delivery systems,
the spring and summer of 1983 saw the largest output of commercial
3-D films since the 3-D boom of the 1950s. Films such as Comin' at Ya!
(1981; boxoffice gross: $12 million) and Friday the 13th Part 3-3-D
(1982; boxoffice gross: $36 million) helped to revive the cycle.112 3-D,
which expands the viewer's depth perception of film to three-dimen-
sional space, is the most obvious method to differentiate the product
of film. As was the case with the advent of television three decades ear-
lier, the differentiation involved offering an "experience" which con-
trasted with the other media forms. The resurgence was short-lived,
however, primarily due to the large exhibition costs associated with the
presentations.

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 95

The most exciting original

motion picture event of all time

KingKong
Dino De Laumntiis presents
a John Guiltermin Film

King Kong'
r:*vj Jeff Bridges CharlesGrodin introducing Jessica Lange
S MH >n\iiy by Lorenzo Senple Jr Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
• •• i» xt hjihn Guilknrmin Music Composed and Conducted by John Barn;
?, PcinavisiorV inCobr A F^raniounf Release :Jm*
.•Fiv

T^e rhetoric of marketing King Kong (King

Kong, Paramount, 1976).

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 96 High Concept

More significant as a differentiated product are films from the inde-

pendent studios. Unlike the 3-D film, the independent studio offers a
product situated somewhere between the traditional "art-house" and
the mainstream studio fare.113 Realizing the potential from targeting
an upscale, educated audience aged twenty-five to forty-five (in other
words, a segment of the baby boom market), companies have been pro-
ducing films which represent a viable alternative for the older audience.
Among the more prominent of the independent studios have been New
Line Cinema, Miramax, Hemdale Film Corporation, Cinecom Entertain-
ment Group, Alive Films, Island Pictures, and Atlantic Releasing.114 The
unifying elements among these films are an attention to theme, char-
acter relationships, and social relevance. While these traits have long
been associated with the European art film movement, the commercial
American studio film is still driven by plot and causation. The more
prominent "boutique" films of recent years include Kiss of the Spider-
woman (1985), A Room with a View (1986), The Whales of August (1987),
sex, lies, and videotape (1989), My Left Foot (1989), Howards End (1992),
and The Crying Game (1992). These films fall outside the domain of
the majors by being too small/personal (e.g., Choose Me [1984], The
Whales of August), controversial (e.g., Kiss of the Spiderwoman, River's
Edge [1987]), or unmarketable. Even though Miramax's sex, lies, and
videotape, with rentals of $10 million, outgrossed such mainstream stu-
dio dramas as Fox's The Fabulous Baker Boys, Disney's Blaze, and Colum-
bia's Casualties of War in 1989, the film's subject matter immediately
placed it outside consideration by the major studios.115 Oust imagine the
marketing team at Paramount trying to develop ad lines and thirty-
second television commercials for a movie about a man whose only
form of social interaction and sexual stimulation is taping women dis-
cussing their sex lives in explicit detail.)
Leon Falk, director of product acquisition at Cinecom, offers the fol-
lowing illuminating explanation for his company's decisions: "There's
a belief [at Cinecom] that film is not simply a marketable commodity
or a form of entertainment, but that it has tremendous values in terms
of communication and tremendous possibilities for art."116 The aes-
thetic difference of the films is augmented by a difference in finance
and funding. Due to the lower cost (usually under $7-8 million), the
producing costs are almost completely covered by pre-financing and
the pre-sale of home video and other rights before production begins.117
The result is a product quite strikingly different from the (still) largely
genre-oriented films from the majors. The films are also differentiated
by their quite specific appeal to segments of the audience largely un-
touched by the major studios. To use an extreme example, The Whales

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 97

of August, featuring a cast of veteran actors and dealing with the prob-
lems of mental illness, death, and family relationships among the el-
derly, hardly had the ability to cross over into a more broad-based au-
dience as did Universal^ On Golden Pond (1981), which dealt with many
of the same issues and concerns in a more accessible manner (partly
through the resonance offered by the real-life conflicts between stars
Henry and Jane Fonda).118
Considering film as a commodity following the laws of economics,
the demand depends upon the price of admission and a large number
of product characteristics. To be more specific, the demand for film is
a function of the individual consumer's tastes, the competing enter-
tainment offerings (such as television, cable, home video), the level of
disposable income, and many other factors. The importance of the con-
sumer's tastes as a factor influencing demand introduces the very im-
portant facet of market segmentation. Market segmentation, or the di-
vision of the whole market by demographic segments, is realized by the
film industry through targeting films at certain well-defined audience
demographics. For example, a film such as Paramount^ Flashdance ob-
viously has primary appeal to a young, female audience, and its story,
concept, development, and marketing were initially designed to appeal
to this audience.119 In contrast, Paramount's A New Life (1988; an Alan
Alda film dealing with post-marital problems) was designed to target
an older, predominantly female audience.120 How much overlap would
there really be between the two audiences for these films? The unique
demand shown by each group allows the entire market of filmgoers to
be divided into segments with distinct demand functions.121 In this way,
market segmentation appears to be a useful method to discuss the film
audience in a more specific and directed fashion.
The difficulty with considering market segmentation alone is that it
interacts with product differentiation as a market condition. The mar-
ketplace for film is divided not just by the different demand functions
(or preferences) of the viewers, but also by the differences between the
many films which appear simultaneously in the market. For instance,
in February 1984 the market for film could be divided along the lines of
films with appeal to certain demographics (e.g., Footloose would appeal
to a young female crowd, while Terms of Endearment appealed to an
older female demographic), along with films which differ from each
other by such product characteristics as genre, stars, and visual style
(e.g., Footloose is a teen musical-drama, while Terms of Endearment is
a personal/family drama). Clearly these two methods of defining the
market are intimately connected. Footloose was certainly designed as a
"product" to appeal to a teen crowd. Consider the rock soundtrack, fea-

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 98 High Concept

HE'S A BIG-CITY KID IN A SMALL TOWN.

THEY SAID HE'D NEVER WIN. HE KNEW HE HAD TO.

Footloose: designed to attract a young, teen

audience (Footloose, Paramount, 1984).

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 99

turing Kenny Loggins, Bonnie Tyler, and Shalamar; the story centering
around an alienated youth bucking the system by organizing a school
dance; and the attractive young stars (Lori Singer and Kevin Bacon) try-
ing to deal with first love. The film was designed to attract a young teen
audience, while its appeal to a middle-aged male would be nonexistent.
In other words, the differences shown between each film in the market
("product differentiation") are orchestrated to further segment the mar-
ket ("market segmentation"). Therefore, product differentiation can be
seen as a means of implementing market segmentation.122
Through what methods can products be differentiated within the
market? Product differentiation can be implemented through two dif-
ferent routes: in terms of variety and quality.123 Differentiation due to
product variety relates to the characteristics of the commodity. Con-
sumer preferences are distributed over a range of some characteristic of
the product. As the number of differentiated versions of the product
increases, so does consumer satisfaction, since the individual tastes of
each consumer may be met through the differentiated products. In this
manner, firms are able to gain certain segments of the market through
their slightly differentiated products. Considering film, product charac-
teristics could include such factors as plotline, stars, production value,
genre, social relevance, and difference/similarity to other films (origi-
nality). Additionally, factors related to the exhibition of the film clearly
are attributes important to some audience members: geographic loca-
tion, convenience, theater maintenance, staff courtesy and service, and
projection/sound quality. Therefore, an example of an increase in prod-
uct variety to achieve a larger share of the market might be offered by a
film such as Batman, which differentiates itself from both the television
series and other comic strip adventures movies (such as Flash Gordon
[1980], Superman [1978], and Dick Tracy) through its stars (particularly
the close fit between Jack Nicholson and the role of the Joker), music
(by Prince), production design (by Anton Furst), and somber approach
to the comic book legend. These unique elements could be interpreted
as product differentiation, making Batman different from both the
other comic-book movies and competing films in the marketplace. If
consumers are perceived as valuing each of these attributes more or less
equally, then the model of product differentiation collapses into varia-
tions of product quality. Otherwise, differentiation depends upon the
varied attributes inherent in the moviegoing experience.124
Variations in product quality assume that consumers value some un-
derlying attribute contained within the product. The larger the amount
of the attribute contained within the product, the greater the satisfac-
tion of the consumer. The evaluation of the film by the consumer as

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 100 High Concept

"good" or "worth seeing" relates to the perceived quality of the film.

Of course, variations in the product quality are also established before
the viewer purchases a ticket, since reviews, publicity, and word of
mouth all create an expectation of a certain level of quality. Films
which are perceived as being of a higher quality ("better entertainment
value") will garner a larger market share, other things remaining equal.
Since each viewer has a different demand and utility function, the
evaluation of quality will differ from consumer to consumer; other-
wise, in the extreme case, one film would corner the entire audience of
filmgoers.
The studios' implicit understanding of variations in product quality
and product variety as marketplace strategies can be gauged through a
film's marketing campaign. Consider, for example, the function of crit-
ics' quotes in print ads for a film. The critics' opinions substitute for the
possible reaction of the patron; therefore, a rave from a certain critic
indicates higher quality before actual attendance of the film. In fact,
certain films — particularly art-house films — depend upon a variation in
product quality as a method to gain audience interest and patronage.
Consider three ads from Paramount movies in 1978 as representative of
how studios differentiate and market movies through product variety
and quality. Perhaps to counteract any bias against the film as light-
weight and superficial, the Heaven Can Wait (1978) image of Warren
Beatty as angel was later buttressed with critical raves to suggest a film
of a higher quality than others in the market; Grease depends almost
entirely on the images of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, sug-
gesting primarily that these stars will differentiate the movie from other
teen movies and secondarily that the stars will make the film of a higher
quality than other films; Days of Heaven (1978) also operates primarily
on a variation in product variety through suggesting that the sensual
experience of the film will be quite different than the viewer's experi-
ence of any other film.
With the addition of the concept of product differentiation, the mar-
ketplace can be conceived as split into many different, smaller markets,
each catering to specific audience segments with distinct demand func-
tions. The marketplace is split, as is the "good" of film itself; film can
be conceptualized more fruitfully as a product with a large number of
attributes which can be varied to meet the needs of specific audiences.
This atomized model of the film marketplace obviously has some prob-
lems in practice (e.g., "cross-over" films, such as Rambo: First Blood Part
II and Flashdance, which transcend a single defined market segment,
would complicate the model considerably), yet it also offers some spe-
cific routes to explain the status of the current film marketplace. In

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 Product Differentiation: Paramount Pictures,
1978 (a) Heaven Can Wait: Warren Beatty
as angel, later matched by critical raves.

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 102 High Concept

John Olivia
Travolta Newton-John

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Grease: stars as differentiating factor.

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 103

Yoar eyes...
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experience.

Texas_Wyatt.pdf 115 11/2/2012 7:40:08 PM

 104 High Concept

addition, the model of market segmentation and product differentia-

tion can be utilized to examine studio products and strategies in the
marketplace. In particular, high concept can be conceptualized as a spe-
cific form of differentiated product targeted at a defined audience seg-
ment. The large-scale high concept hits, such as Batman, Lethal Weapon
(1987), and Home Alone (1990), become so potent through transcending
this one audience segment and expanding into the broad population of
moviegoers.

High Concept as Product Differentiation

In his analysis of the relationship
between film content and economic determinants, Joseph R. Dominick
comments that "the tighter the oligopoly and the risk, the more similar
will be the Took; of films produced by each studio." 125 Dominick argues
that the new technologies have not increased the variety of films pro-
duced; Hollywood is only producing more of the same. While the
genres of film may be the same, I disagree with Dominick's contention
regarding the aesthetics of these films.126 The most successful studios
are those which can identify and exploit a particular market segment in
their films. In particular, Paramount realizes this strategy through a sig-
nificant percentage of its release schedule. For example, in targeting the
teen audience, Paramount released Explorers (1985), Pretty in Pink, Sum-
mer School (1987), and Ferris Bueller's Day Off; while in targeting the
older male audience segment, Paramount concentrated on action films
such as The Untouchables (1987), The Presidio (1988), Black Rain (1989),
and The Hunt for Red October (1990). While Paramount is most clearly
aligned with the high concept film, Touchstone/Disney also presents a
distinctive type of project. Accordingly, in the past several years, studio
films have become differentiated through their look and style. For ex-
ample, one can talk about the "personality'' of a Paramount film: the
visual style, genre (Paramount tends to concentrate more on the teen
comedy or the "fish out of water" comedy than on drama), and mar-
keting approach. While I would not want to claim that a studio's pro-
duction schedule is uniform, there does appear to be continuity be-
tween some elements of certain studios' output.
The continuity suggests that a form of product differentiation is be-
ing undertaken by the majors. The advantages of this strategy are many.
As Edward Chamberlain summarizes, "Where the possibility of differ-
entiation exists, sales depend on the skill with which the good is distin-
guished from others and made to appeal to a specific group of buy-
ers."127 Studio manipulation of product characteristics intersects with
the category of high concept: the most financially successful studios in

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 105

the late '80s (Paramount and Disney) have been the studios most asso-
ciated with the term high concept. High concept seems to be a more
exact category of differentiation because, in several respects, there are
decisive breaks from the usual narrational and compositional structure
of the Hollywood film. In this section, I will highlight the breaks which
offer a differentiated product.
As a form of product differentiation, high concept operates through
two channels: through an emphasis on style, and through an integra-
tion with marketing and merchandising. Kenneth Clarkson and Roger
LeRoy Miller discuss style changes as a type of product differentiation
unrelated to quality or durability.128 Innovations in style result in the
obsolescence of the already existing products, with the most dramatic
examples coming from the auto and fashion industries. This strategy—
shifts in style to garner larger market shares — thereby aids the elimina-
tion of competing products. Style in the high concept films embodies
many facets: style in the production, narrative, and use of genre. The
most obvious of these traits is the high-tech look of the production.
Relying on a tradition which architectural historian Reyner Banham
referred to as "the Second Industrial Revolution'' for its emphasis
upon electronic devices and controlled environments, these films offer
a distinctive look.129 Former Disney Production Vice-President Peter
McAlevey refers to the style as "a high tech gloss." This explanation
seems useful, as it refers to the superficial rendering of high technology
which controls the films.130 The style of these films represents one con-
figuration of attributes (production, narrative, design) which serves ef-
fectively to differentiate the high concept films.
The other major differentiating factor of high concept involves pack-
aging, rather than product design. High concept films have a greater
focus upon their marketing and merchandising than other mainstream
Hollywood films. In part, this emphasis is due to these films being mar-
keted and merchandised to a particular audience segment. The majority
of the films are targeted to a certain audience in conception, thereby
making their media campaigns much more specific and directed. In
general, the films are skewed to a younger group, although the large-
scale, high concept hits do cross over into other audience segments dur-
ing their run.131 The difference between the promotion of the high con-
cept films and other mainstream Hollywood films seems to be a reliance
on the image and the replication of this image through different media.
By image, I am referring to both the figures from the print campaign
ads and the "persona" of the entire film (i.e., the connotations which
the entire campaign, including publicity and promotion, creates for the
film). The viewer's impression of the film is strengthened by the repe-

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 106 High Concept

tition of the image from the ad campaign, media buys, and, most im-
portantly, the licensing of the film through different products. While
all films are supported by ad campaigns, only a minority are based on a
concept which lends itself to this cross-fertilization of promotion. For
example, Top Gun's concept depends on strong visuals (e.g., jets cutting
across the sky, aerial combat, muscular young pilot falling in love with
beautiful blonde instructor) and a generically based story (the World
War H-era combat films) which lead easily to the film's presentation in
the media. Other Paramount films (perhaps Heartburn or Children of a
Lesser God) contain concepts which cannot be contained succinctly
through promotion, and which therefore do not operate via the same
form of product differentiation. The image-based media campaigns rep-
resent segment-based product differentiation. Through its advertising,
the company is able to appeal to particular market segments, thereby
differentiating its product from the rest of the films in the market. Fre-
quently this strategy augments the differentiation in terms of style,
which also marks the high concept film.
Of the majors, Paramount and Disney have been most successful in
practicing these forms of product differentiation. The fact that these
companies have both the most distinctive products and highest reve-
nues (1986-1989 market shares of 18.0 percent for Paramount and
14.5 percent for Disney) is by no means coincidental. Many of Para-
mount's films play into Utopian fantasies; as Tony Schwartz suggests,
"A remarkable number of Paramount's movies mine the mainstream
fantasy of struggling against odds to realize a dream."132 Just as impor-
tant is Paramount's adherence to established genre patterns. While
other studios offer films which defy genre description, Paramount
works within genre: from the musical (Footloose, Staying Alive, Flash-
dance), the adventure/action film (Raiders of the Lost Ark, 48HRS. [1982],
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom [1984], The Untouchables), the
"fish out of water" comedy (Trading Places [1983], Beverly Hills Cop,
"Crocodile" Dundee [1986], Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Crazy People
[1990]), to the teenage comedy (Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful).
Paramount does undertake cross-generic products, however. Consider
the film noir comedy The Blue Iguana (1988), the comedy-drama Shir-
ley Valentine, and most impressive, from a boxoffice standpoint, the
comedy-romance-thriller Ghost (1990). Typically, though, these films
are not integral to the company's release schedule, or, to use Para-
mount's terminology, these films are not the "tent poles" of the
schedule.133
Nevertheless, Paramount's genre films are certainly not classical
genre examples either. More than other studios, Paramount utilizes the

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 Changes in the Market for Entertainment 107

viewer's knowledge and understanding of mass/popular culture. The au-

dience's recognition of, for example, musical conventions (in the case
of Staying Alive or Flashdance), action/adventure serials (the Indiana
Jones series), television series (Star Trek, The Untouchables), and even
board games {Clue [1985]) gives the studio license to "update" the films
through the visual style and production design of the films. The studio's
style has been described as "urban, hipper, gutsier," and this evaluation
certainly grows from the surface appearance of the Paramount films.134
The fusion of this stylishness with the saturated genre narratives offers
the method that Paramount has utilized to differentiate its product. Pro-
ducer Don Simpson's assessment of Flashdance's success could well
describe Paramount's modus operandi: "I thought there was a chance
for popular art, not high art, in the concept. Flashdance had a quality
known as top spin, in which the casting, the concept and the look and
sound of the movie all come together."135
The product from Disney follows some of the same guidelines as the
Paramount films. The connection is not coincidental: Disney's crea-
tive team of Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Richard Frank all
worked at Paramount in the early 1980s under the tutelage of Barry
Diller. The connection between the two studios begins with the close
control which both have over the projects and, in particular, over the
films' budgets.136 With Touchstone, Disney solved its own diversifica-
tion problem by creating an adult-oriented film arm. Significantly, Dis-
ney did not dilute the tradition of the Disney name and its connection
with family entertainment. In a statement which indicates the impor-
tance of product differentiation for the company, Richard Berger, presi-
dent of Disney Pictures, explains the reason for the two divisions:
"People don't know who [which studio] made Star Wars or Raiders, but
they can tell you who made Tron.n 137
While maintaining Disney product, the company also produced con-
sistent Touchstone product. With Down and Out in Beverly Hills in 1986,
Touchstone began to produce films which contained many similarities,
while still remaining individual projects. The company has profited
from a series of comedies featuring established actors, directors, and
tight comic timing.138 The comedies have mainly been light-hearted
social commentaries containing larger-than-life personalities, such as
Bette Midler, Jim Belushi, or Robin Williams. The difference between
these stars' other films and their Disney films underlines Disney's
method: the films are able to contain the stars' personae, rather than
being overwhelmed by them. The comedies (such as Ruthless People,
Outrageous Fortune [1987], Three Men and a Baby, Good Morning, Vietnam
[1987], Turner and Hooch [1989], Three Fugitives [1989], and Sister Act

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 108 High Concept

[1992]) have also been balanced by more personal projects, such as the
anthology film by Woody Allen, Francis Coppola, and Martin Scorsese,
New York Stories (1989), and John Boorman's Where the Heart Is (1990).
In this way, Disney has been able to develop continuing working rela-
tionships with more famous "auteur" directors, while still having the
financial security of its comedies.
Among the other majors, it's more difficult to discern distinctive stu-
dio styles. David Puttnam's Columbia promised to offer an alternative
to mainstream Hollywood product. Working from a personal desire to
make socially relevant films, Puttnam's release slate during his brief ten-
ure included Housekeeping (1987), Hope and Glory (1987), The Last Em-
peror (1987), A Time of Destiny (1988), and The Old Gringo (1989). The
rationale behind these decisions seems to be a need to make high-
quality films, leaving the marketplace to its designs. Interestingly, there
was economic reasoning to Puttnam's mandate; the Puttnam slate
seemed designed as a shift in the quality (rather than variety) of film to
gain a larger market share. Still, at this time, only Paramount and Dis-
ney have successfully practiced in-house product differentiation (via
their high concept projects) on a sustained basis.
With the blockbuster as its point of departure, the high concept film
has been shaped by the development of the new delivery systems and
the increased concentration and conglomeration of the film industry.
High concept, differentiated through its style and integration with
marketing/merchandising, speaks to the structural changes in the in-
dustry. These films, centered on bold, marketable images, are designed
to target a specific audience and to convey a strong image carrying the
film through all the release windows. High concept can be described
most productively, therefore, as one strain of contemporary American
cinema whose style has a direct economic motive. This economic strat-
egy depends on conceiving the market for film as splintered through
product differentiation and market segmentation. Through well-defined
market segmentation and the aesthetic difference of these films, some
of the major studios, particularly Paramount, have created a space for
high concept within film history.

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 C H A P T E R

K Marketing the Image:

High Concept and
the Development
of Marketing

The ties between high concept and

marketing are both numerous and strong. On the most fundamental
level, the style of the high concept films depends on slick, arresting
images which, at times, distance the viewer from the narrative. These
images in turn drive the marketing of the high concept films through
being replicated across a variety of media (e.g., print ads, one-sheets,
television commercials, trailers) and merchandised product (e.g., book
tie-ins, soundtracks). The viewer's awareness of the film generally be-
gins and is sustained through these primary marketing images.
The high concept/marketing connection develops from several inter-
locking historical and institutional shifts in the market for film. Indeed,
as suggested previously, the "first wave" of conglomeration in the film
industry led to a contraction of the economic risk involved in main-
stream studio filmmaking, evident through the lower number of re-
leases and the development of the roadshow, the youth ii1*""1, and the
blockbuster. This tightening of the industry is also illustrated through a
shift in film distribution strategy. The move to saturation releases rather
than limited or platform releases for major studio films in the mid-
1970s onward marks a significant break in the established studio dis-
tribution pattern. This shift also fostered changes in film marketing
methods, redesigning the pattern of film marketing to support satura-
tion releases. Not coincidentally, both alterations in distribution and
marketing function most effectively with high concept films, which
foreground style and marketing hooks. Thus one can draw significant

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 110 High Concept

Billy Jack: four-wall phenomenon (1971).

Copyright © by Warner Bros. Inc.

parallels between the development of several film marketing innova-

tions in the 1970s and the development of high concept. Working from
this perspective, I will chart these innovations and describe their utili-
zation with the high concept films, with particular emphasis on the
methods through which these marketing forms privilege (or seem de-
signed to privilege) high concept.

Changing Distribution Patterns

Interestingly, the first major mar-
keting revision was introduced by an independent producer, Tom
Laughlin, whose low-budget film Billy Jack (1971) pioneered a form of
distribution referred to as "four-walling." The film received poor box-
office revenue during its initial run, yet Laughlin believed that the au-
diences would indeed respond to the pacifist-martial arts film.1 With
the help of marketer Max Youngstein, Billy Jack was reopened in May
1973 extremely widely in the Southern California area with an unheard
of one-week ad expenditure of $250,000. The producer also leased the

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 Marketing the Image 111

theaters outright throughout the entire broadcast area reached by the

television spots.2 Laughlin differentiated each television spot to appeal
to a specific audience segment: "Believing that Billy Jack is a picture that
is all things to all men, Taylor-Laughlin's spots covered all possible
angles. The spots sold love angles, milked the counter-culture, appealed
to action fans, karate cultists, youth, the middle-aged, and the non-
filmgoer."3 The response was phenomenal: the first week's gross of
$1,029,000 represented the largest boxoffice take in Southern California
film history.4 This method of distribution was repeated on a market-by-
market basis throughout the country with similar results.
The majors were attracted not only by the success of Laughlin's film,
but also by the follow-up successes of two four-walled wildlife pictures,
Vanishing Wilderness (1973) and Cry of the Wild (1974).5 Soon majors
such as Warner Bros, and Fox, and independent Avco-Embassy, were
planning to four-wall films.6 The marketing methods utilized for Billy
Jack quickly were appropriated by the majors: the reallocation of media
spending away from print and heavily toward television; customizing
the advertising campaign to appeal to the particular demographics of a
region; saturation release throughout a well-defined region; and the
leasing of theaters within the television signal region. With the excep-
tion of the leasing of theaters, the majors responded positively to these
methods. The traditional release schedule for a film had been a print-
intensive campaign and an exclusive first run in a small number of thea-
ters, finally opening up to a wider release in the suburban and sub-run
theaters. Eventually this distribution pattern, and the accompanying
marketing efforts, were revised. For those films which could generate a
high level of anticipation on the part of the public, saturation releases
with advertising campaigns centered on television became a preferred
strategy.
After Billy Jack, Magnum Force (1973; the sequel to Dirty Harry),
Charles Bronson's Breakout (1975), and, most prominently, Jaws all
opened in saturation patterns.7 While the Bronson and Eastwood films
had obvious marketing hooks, Jaws's opening was viewed as more bold;
opening in a fairly wide (at the time) 409 theaters, the film received a
saturation television advertising campaign.8 Whereas in the past, this
type of opening had been reserved for films which the studios judged
to have little playability, the opening of Jaws signified the adoption of
this release and marketing pattern for high-quality studio pictures. The
strategy worked extremely well for Jaws, which grossed $7,061 million
in its opening weekend.9
Following Jaws, high quality studio films developed even broader
saturation releases; in 1976, King Kong (with a 961 theater opening); in

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 112 High Concept

1977, The Heretic: Exorcist II (703 theaters), The Deep (800 theaters), Sat-
urday Night Fever (726 theaters); in 1978, Grease (902 theaters) and Star
Trek—the Motion Picture (856 theaters) continued to expand the pat-
tern of saturation release and intense television advertising. The broader
release pattern was solidified by the phenomenal opening grosses of
those films which had pre-sold elements. For instance, The Deep, based
on Peter Benchley's bestseller and starring Nick Nolte, Robert Shaw, and
Jacqueline Bisset, set a domestic boxoffice record for Columbia, gross-
ing $8,124 million in 800 playdates, while Grease, starring John Travolta
(following Saturday Night Fever) and pop singer Olivia Newton-John,
grossed $9,310 million in 902 theaters the following year.10 Justifying
the broader release strategy for The Heretic: Exorcist II, Terry Semel, at
the time executive vice-president in charge of domestic distribution,
cited research which indicated the film had the greatest want-to-see of
any Warner Bros, film released in the time period and that, "Exhibitors
have demonstrated the same interest. Therefore, we have booked the
film more widely than any other, enabling audiences from coast-to-
coast to see it on the same day." n
These films can be seen as the forerunners of the more mature ex-
amples of high concept, which integrate marketing and style into a co-
hesive unit. Generally, the development of this marketing and distri-
bution strategy characterizes the high concept film: the strong images
and the pre-sold elements within both the film and the marketing cam-
paigns are able to translate to the medium of television, thereby creat-
ing viewer awareness and interest. Consequently, high concept films are
likely to benefit from the saturation approach, whereas films dependent
on audience word-of-mouth require the more traditional, tiered release
and marketing approach. Writing in 1976, Stuart Byron offered this cau-
tionary note on Hollywood's move to saturation openings: "Certainly,
wide openings are not suited to all pictures; a pattern which maximizes
profits on Jaws would probably have minimized them for Shampoo."12
While valid, Byron's statement does not anticipate the ways in which
Hollywood would shift toward making more films such as Jaws with
pre-sold properties, merchandising and marketing hooks, and striking
visuals —i.e., high concept movies.

Awareness Marketing:
High Concept in Print
High concept films work well in a
saturation release because their marketing fulfills the requirements de-
manded by this release pattern. To be more specific, a saturation pat-
tern requires, first and foremost, wide public awareness and interest in

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 Marketing the Image 113

the film by its opening weekend. Even if the film suffers from poor
word-of-mouth, high awareness and want-to-see interest translate into
a healthy opening weekend boxoffice. Due to their inherent marketing
hooks, high concept films usually are able to build this awareness and
want-to-see interest. For a film to be a hit, though, this strong level of
awareness and interest must be accompanied by both solid word-of-
mouth and the continued appearance of the film in the marketplace
through marketing. High concept films can garner high awareness and
then maintain this awareness through a comprehensive marketing
approach including print, trailers, television commercials, and, to a
greater extent than for low concept films, merchandising and music tie-
ins. Of course, word-of-mouth also factors into the boxoffice success or
failure of a high concept film, but the marketing channels working for
the high concept movies offer a substantial "head start'' in the market-
place. An examination of the principles and development behind the
"awareness" marketing (e.g., print, trailers, and television commercials)
and "maintenance" marketing (e.g., merchandising and music) will il-
luminate how the diverse marketing routes work together to build the
"head start" for the high concept film.
Starting with the arena of print advertising, a useful contrast between
high and low concept print advertising can be drawn from Steven Spiel-
berg's Jaws and Robert Altaian's Nashville. In an examination of Ameri-
can film in the period of 1975 to 1985, critic J. Hoberman begins by
contrasting these two seminal films from 1975.13 The contrast is made
initially in terms of genre: "If Nashville could be said to have decon-
structed the disaster film, Steven Spielberg's Jaws gave the cycle a sec-
ond lease on life."14 The contrast between these two films exists not
only on the level of genre, however. Indeed, the films' marketing cam-
paigns reveal many of the key principles behind the print campaigns for
the high concept films. Consider the Jaws print ad: the artwork shows a
naked woman swimming, with a huge open-mouthed shark looming
beneath the surface of the ocean. The shark seems almost ready to prey
upon the unsuspecting swimmer. This image is accompanied by copy,
which varied across the campaign: "The terrifying motion picture from
the terrifying No. 1 best seller" to "She was the first...." The marketers
were attempting to encapsulate the film through a single image in the
print campaign. Appropriately, the image conveys the enormous threat
of the shark through several different means: by the relative size of the
shark within the image, by the sinister set of teeth in the shark's mouth,
by the unsuspecting nature of the swimmer, and by the swimmer's na-
kedness, which connotes a certain vulnerability. The image became
prominently featured through several different media: principally with

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 JAWS

The Jaws advertising image: a singular im-

age and marketing approach (Jaws, Univer-
sal 1975).

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 Marketing the Image 115

a "tie-in" edition of Peter Benchley;s best-selling novel and in the mas-

sive television advertising campaign. This replication eventually made
the image instantly recognizable and identifiable. Most significantly,
however, Jaws was capable of being reduced successfully to a single im-
age, since the film embodied many high concept traits: a generically
based story and characters, strong contrast between good and evil, and
arresting imagery. These components fostered the singular image and
marketing approach.
Conversely, Robert Altman's Nashville, also released in the summer
of 1975, developed a much more intricate print campaign. Former Para-
mount marketing vice-president Charles O. Glenn described the cam-
paign: "The new general market-minded ad for the film [which at the
time of the article was playing only in 249 theaters] shows Nashville's
cast of 24 characters emblazoned —patchwork style —on the back of a
denim jacket, with the film's title enclosed in a car's license plate."15
Two different copies were utilized: the first positioned the film as
"a story of lovers and laughers and losers and winners," the second
carried a series of adjectives ("Wild. Wonderful. Sinful. Laughing. Ex-
plosive."). The two lines were alternated, both accompanying the
patchwork design.
While the film received extremely positive reviews, Nashville grossed
less than $9 million in its initial release.16 The film's comparative failure
at the boxoffice seems due, at least in part, to the low marketing poten-
tial of the project which was all too evident in the ambiguous, and
therefore problematic, ad campaign. The shot of the twenty-four actors
on the denim jacket fails as an approach to market the film for two
reasons: the actors were largely unknown, with the possible exception
of Lily Tomlin and Henry Gibson (both from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-
In), and the collection of small head shots failed to reduce adequately
in newspaper and print ads. The medium of newsprint also has limita-
tions in terms of the clarity of illustration and diagram reproduction;
this factor reinforces the need for a clean, bold image, such as the Jaws
shark, which can withstand these limitations.
Additionally, with the Nashville ad, the copy attempted to convey a
wide spectrum of emotions in a small space. The film could be seen as
a comedy ("laughers"), drama ("winners and losers"), romance ("lov-
ers"), or any combination of these genres. The connection of the copy
to the ad is also ambiguous: how does this mix of genres relate to the
denim jacket (for instance, is the jacket worn by the film's protagonist?)
and the title (i.e., does the city Nashville suggest such contradictory
themes?). The net effect of the artwork and copy was a campaign which
tried to be too diverse in its appeal. This problem is replicated in the

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 116 High Concept

i f t 8 u ; > H - k r , r K - « - - " ™ — A JERRY WEINTRAUB PRODUCTIO

JTMAW FILM "NASHVILLE55 STARRING DAVID ARK1N * BARBARA BAXLEY * Hi
. f i ^ U C K * RONEE BLAKLEY • TIMOTHY BROWN • KEITH CARRADINE • GERALW
•tR; t DOOUi* SrifcLLEY DUVALL * ALLENGARFIELD • HENRY GIBSON * SCGFT {^LE}^
•: : . A ! ^ B H R A HARRIS * DAVID HAYWARD * MICHAEL MURPHY * ALLAN NICHOLL
i ' W U . PAINES * BERT REMSEN •LILY TOMLIN • GWEN WELLES * KEEiiVi VVYK
-'•..^tHb; r iViAR1IN STARGER AND JERRY WEiMTRAUB • V.'RifTEfi BV .10-
\:' ; V/UyCEU AMD DIRECTED BY 'ROBERT ALTIV1AN •MUSIC ARRAi'J--f:') -«
•: " ^ f i H j BASKIW * IN nni OR . r" — ""-*'
Nashville: not easily reduced to a single
marketing image (Nashville, Paramount,
1975).

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 Marketing the Image 117

title of the film — a documentary about the city? an expose of country

music? —which lacks the visual, distinctive quality of a title like Jaws.
Ultimately, though, the problems with the Nashville campaign illustrate
a basic problem in terms of marketing for those projects which do not
fall within the realm of high concept. Certainly, given its expansive nar-
rative and complex social themes, Nashville could not be easily reduced
to a single marketing image without severe distortion, or oversimplifi-
cation, of the film's content.17
The marketing campaign of Jaws indicates the direction which film
marketing would follow during the next decade. The reliance on strong,
reproducible images, the saturation campaign, and widespread product
tie-ins steadily became standard marketing practices after the success of
films such as Jaws. In addition, the difference between the Jaws and
Nashville campaigns illustrates some of the key principles upon which
the marketing of high concept films (represented in an early form by
Jaws) are based. Focusing on the once primary film marketing medium
of print, these differences in film marketing represented by these prin-
ciples can be located.
The first print marketing trait of a high concept film is a very close
match between the film's marketing campaign and the actual content
of the film. While this principle holds in general for all film marketing,
with the high concept film's perfect reducibility in terms of narrative
and image, the approximation can be made with much more accuracy.
An image is chosen which will remain true to the spirit of the film,
while simultaneously accentuating the film's marketing assets. Former
Polygram marketing executive Nancy Goliger describes this process, us-
ing the example of Midnight Express (1978). Goliger states that, "on the
one hand, you have a film about a kid who has dealt in drugs, and the
nightmare which he goes through. On the other hand, you have a cou-
rageous, heroic story about a young man who is incarcerated because of
a moment of weakness. Both statements are true."18 The campaign for
the film offered artwork showing Billy Hayes surrendering to the Turk-
ish police, set against a large passport stamped "CANCELLED." The
copy accompanying the image stated that this was a true story, and
viewers were advised to bring all the courage that they could to the film.
The complete print ad positions the film as an inspiring story of indi-
vidual heroism and courage; without mentioning the hero's drug smug-
gling, the ad suggests a young man, detained for some unknown (pos-
sibly false) reason, who must escape from a foreign country. Certainly
the image elides Hayes's guilt through presenting him as amenable
(surrendering to the foreign authorities) and through asking the viewer
to empathize with Hayes by bringing courage to a viewing of this

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 118 High Concept

experience of Billy Hayes

And bring all the courage
you can.
s
XXX

An ALAN PARKER Film MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

f M . PETER GUBERso,eenp,a,6y OLIVER STONE
p,*cedB»ALAN MARSHALL a™, DAVID PUTTNAM
vALAN PARKER MusKc,*db» GIORGIO MORODER

Midnight Express: accentuating the mar-

keting assets of a project (Midnight Express
Columbia, 1978).

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 Marketing the Image 119

''incredible, true" situation. Of course, the dramatic emphasis of the

film follows just the same trajectory as the ad, stressing the inequities
of the Turkish law and the "courageous" effort of a young American
lost within this system. The ad image can pinpoint this dramatization
of a "black-and-white" situation.
As high concept films are designed to appeal to a specific audience
segment, the print ad reflects this attempt to reach a target audience.
Consider the print campaign for a high concept film such as Endless
Love (1981): a close shot of Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt in the
moment before kissing, set against the copy "she is 15, he is 17. the love
every parent fears." The ad foregrounds the erotic connection between
two young people, an obsession which clearly frightens their parents.
This reading mirrors all the relevant narrative developments of the film:
the sensuality of the young love affair, the obsession (indicated by the
kiss matched to the title "Endless Love"), and the objection of the par-
ents. While the simplicity of the narrative permits its reduction to a
single advertising image, it is important to note that the ad is targeted
specifically at a teen audience, particularly to teenage girls. The ages in
the copy, the young stars, and the promise of a romance designed to
infuriate parents combine to attract a young demographic through the
advertising.
With the high concept films' emphasis on style in the production
and the narrative, some of the marketing campaigns reiterate style as a
prominent feature. Paul Jasmine's tinted photograph of Richard Gere,
featured in the American Gigolo print ad, offers a striking example of this
usage. The shot shows an Armani-suited Gere gazing sensuously across
an elegantly furnished room, with shadows from Venetian blinds falling
across his body.19 While the image conveys little of the film's thriller
plot, it does convey the extremely stylish nature of Gere's world and a
general "noir" feeling suggested by the Venetian blinds and shadows.
Since Schrader's film is mainly concerned with issues of style, the mar-
keting image, therefore, does also accurately represent the film. A large
part of the film's commercial success has been attributed to the enticing
marketing campaign; as one rival distributor commented at the time,
"It [the film] was zip commercially, but they squeezed more dollars out
of it than I would have thought possible. They positioned the picture so
people believed that it delivered —many of them even after they saw
it." 20 Because of the match between the image and the film's emphasis
on style, the audience's expectations were fulfilled. Indeed, an alterna-
tive advertising campaign which was proposed for the film would have
been much less appropriate. The original image showed Gere with a
dead body sprawled at his feet—an approach emphasizing the thriller
aspect, which the film actually downplays in its development. 21

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 120 High Concept

The simplicity of the narrative permits its re-

duction to a single image (Endless Love,
Universal, 1981).

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 Marketing the Image 121

He'sthe
highest paid
lover in
Beverly Hills;
He leaves
women __.
more alive
thnthey\e;2
everfelT •-•'fill
before* • •

Except OIK.

Style in production, narrative, and market-

ing ('American Gigolo, Paramount, 1980).
Copyright © MCMLXXX by Paramount Pic-
tures Corporation.

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 122 High Concept

The marketing of high concept films is structured also by the choice

of an image which is reducible, concise, and transferable into other me-
dia. These campaigns emphasize strong, singular images which make
an immediate impression on the potential viewer. The high concept
films usually are accompanied by campaigns featuring just such potent
images. For example, Frank Mancuso, former chairman of Paramount,
characterizes the campaign for Escape from Alcatraz (1979) as successful
partly due to strong graphics and reducibility: "We developed a strong
piece of art . . . there was one ad for the whole country—Clint with
determination and will, breaking with his fist through a piece of gran-
ite — it captured the essence of the story and it reduced very well."22
Such a simple, powerful marketing image can be traced to the cam-
paigns of Saul Bass, who is most often associated with the films of Otto
Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock. Bass's distinctive style is frequently
linked to the opening credits of certain films, which he also designed.
His most memorable images include the limp black arm for The Man
with the Golden Arm (1955), the severed body for Anatomy of a Murder
(1959), the arms raised in revolt for Exodus (1960), and the spiral con-
taining two falling figures for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958).23 In
most cases, Bass extracts from the title credits a basic symbol which is
simple in graphic design. The genius of his work, and the inspiration
for the high concept campaigns, is derived from his ability to select
simple images which both define the film's theme and make the posters
instantly recognizable and striking. In this manner, Bass's work antici-
pates the replication of key images through marketing and mass mer-
chandising so characteristic of high concept. Indeed, film marketing
had not "matured" enough to fully capitalize on Bass's work.
The type of image popularized by Bass lends itself to the alterations
in size necessary for print, and, more importantly, to the creation of an
identity for the film.24 Consider the simplicity of the two images used
to market E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The first image offers a tight close-up
of E.T.'s finger reaching out to touch the young hero Elliot's finger; in
the second, a child, in extreme long shot, rides a bicycle across the
moon, while E.T. is huddled safely in the bicycle's basket. The former
offers a very simple graphic image which nonetheless establishes the
film as the emotional story of connection between E.T. and a young
child. Most significantly, the image's simplicity creates an identity for
the film, since the graphic can be marketed through the different media
and, especially in the case of E.T., can also be merchandised. The film's
second campaign offers an image which is not as immediately identifi-
able, although, in conjunction with the first campaign, the bicycle be-
comes more effective, since the film's fantastical elements (e.g., the

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 E.T. Image: Fingers Touch ('E.T. the Extra-
Terrestrial, Universal, 1982).

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 124 High Concept

E.T. Image: Flying across the Moon (E.T. the

Extra-Terrestrial, Universal, 1982).

child's ability to fly) are highlighted.25 The fantasy connoted by the sec-
ond image complements the premise presented in the first campaign.
Additionally, the bicycle image benefits from its replication of one of
the film's key scenes, in which Elliot escapes with E.T. by cycling into
the air. While the second image was not as widely dispersed as the first,
its modesty and power no doubt helped Steven Spielberg choose the
image as the logo for his Amblin Entertainment production company.
The logo instantly recalls E.T. (and its incredible grosses), through re-
calling one of the film's most spectacular scenes, every time that a film
is produced under the Amblin banner.
In several notable campaigns for high concept films, the marketing
image has been augmented by slight variations within the ad image
across the film's run. In this way, the reader's attention is focused on
the image for two reasons: first, due to the initial graphic design; sec-
ond, by the minute differences in design week-to-week. Often these dif-
ferences are motivated by seasonal factors. As an example, consider the
initial marketing campaign for Three Men and a Baby: the shot features

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 Marketing the Image 125

t h e t h r e e bachelors (Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted D a n s o n ) look-

ing quizzical while T o m Selleck h o l d s a u r i n a t i n g infant. The Annie
Leibovitz s h o t firmly established t h e film's identity a n d t h e m e . To
m a i n t a i n interest, t h o u g h , t h e image was m a n i p u l a t e d several times;
for example, at New Year's, t h e four characters were wearing party hats,
a n d later as t h e Super Bowl approached, t h e y d o n n e d football h e l m e t s .
While t h e initial image r e m a i n e d basically t h e same, these small ad-
ditions served to revitalize t h e image a n d t h e public's interest in t h e
film. Similar strategies were also utilized in t h e campaigns for Airplane!
(1980), The Goonies (1985), "Crocodile" Dundee (1986), and The Naked
Gun (1988).
Akin to the self-consciousness of this strategy are campaigns which
recall or spoof earlier films' marketing campaigns. Several comedies
have utilized this strategy to capitalize on an already strong, recogniz-
able marketing image. Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) initially used
the tag line "Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the mov-
ies" (reference: Jaws), and a panther posed like Warren Beatty in the
Heaven Can Wait ad.26 The campaign for Rabbit Test (1978) presented
variations of the print ads for Jaws, King Kong, A Star Is Born, and Star
Wars, with rabbits replacing the usual advertising figures. Short Circuit
adjusted its advertising campaign to feature an interview with the
movie's robot hero, No. 5, who comments, "All the ads said 'No. 5 is
alive.' It was humiliating. Did the Cobra ads say 'Sylvester Stallone is
alive?'" 27 Additionally, in international markets, the comedy Top Se-
cret! (1984) featured a poster with the line "The Hero is a Berk," with
star Val Kilmer wielding a whip —an allusion to the copy and image
from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ("The Hero is Back").28
The connection between high concept and strong marketing images
may not always be present. A film can be high concept in its design,
yet without the appropriately striking marketing campaign. Innerspace
(1987) failed to have both an appropriate title and an effective market-
ing campaign. Although the film does embody many of the qualities of
high concept (e.g., an exploitable premise, strong visuals, stars), the
campaign neglected to use bold graphics. Instead, the main artwork fea-
tured a huge hand with an extended thumb on which one could barely
discern a tiny space ship and astronaut. The image lacked the strong,
bold composition most often found in the high concept campaigns.
Consequently, the image also did not reduce adequately, further limit-
ing its chances of crossing into different media.29
Along similar lines, the campaigns for the high concept films The
Hunger and Heartbreak Hotel (1988) failed to match the films' stylish
look and easily digestible narratives. The Hunger, offering bisexual

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 126 High Concept

Great rabbit movies you have known and loved:

AND NOW!
JOAN RIVERS'

II
The story of the world's
first pregnant man...
it's inconceivably funny.
Starring BILLY CRYSTAL • JOAN PRATHER • ALEX ROCCO- DORIS R M p i
and IMOGENE COCA • RICHARD DEACON • NORMAN FELLS • A U C E § i l § p
GEORGE GOBEL-ROOSEVEffGRIERrWULLYNDE-PEltRMARSlilfti
RODDY McDOWALL- SHEREE NORTH -TOM POSTON • CHARLOTTE R A E ' 1
and JIMMY WALKER -Produced by EDGAR ROSENBERG ;"
Written by JOAN RIVERS and JAY REDACK • Directed by JOAN RIVERS
Evoking marketing images from high concept
films as a selling strategy (Rabbit Test, Avco
Embassy, 1978).

Texas_Wyatt.pdf 138 11/2/2012 7:40:19 PM

 ;StBven:§plil|lrg presents

A Joe Dante Film

This, summer-take a trip you'll never forget,

Innerspace A Guber-Peters production

~ . „ „ „ * . „ „ . „ , „ , ^ , u«v ^ o ^ - i O , A.S.C. Production Designer J a m e S H. S p e n

MUS.C by Jerry Goldsmith c0 produced by Chip Proser
co-Executive producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy
Executive producers Steven Spielberg, Peter Guber and Jon Peters

High concept film without the matching ad-

vertising image (Innerspace, Warner Bros.,
1987).

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 The Hunger: problematic ad (The Hunger,
MGM/UA, 1983).

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 Marketing the Image 129

vampires in a high-tech, new wave New York, opted for a print ad which
is confusing and ambiguous. The illustration shows David Bowie and
Susan Sarandon looking down at Catherine Deneuve, whose head is
thrown back, allowing her blond hair to flow across the ad. Placed
against her hair is a pendant which the vampires use to kill their vic-
tims. This ad is problematic for several reasons: the choice of the illus-
tration, rather than a photograph, seems strange, since the images of
the three stars in the drawing can barely be discerned; the pendant fails
to reproduce adequately, so that it could perhaps be interpreted instead
as a crucifix or even an earring, either of which furthers the confusion;
the tag line "nothing human loves forever" is open enough to suggest
a film about polygamy, sexual experimentation, or infidelity to a greater
extent than a film about vampirism. With The Hunger, therefore, the
design and construction of the film follows the high concept "specifi-
cations" for style, yet the marketing campaign neglects these qualities.
The narrative of Heartbreak Hotel falls clearly within the region of
high concept, with the "hook" being the kidnapping of Elvis Presley by
a young boy to rejuvenate his Midwest small town and family. With the
built-in marketing hook of Elvis Presley and his music, the marketing
campaign could capitalize on Presley, with perhaps the nostalgia and
the "fish out of water" aspect of the story as secondary marketing em-
phases. The film's print ad demonstrates that an effective high concept
campaign relies on an image, which can be replicated, rather than on
words to convey meaning. For high concept, copy in the ads should be
kept to an absolute minimum to ensure full identification with the im-
age in the ad. The print ad for Heartbreak Hotel—a Cadillac, with four
people in the front seat, and the Elvis figure lying in the back —
however, relies on many copy lines to explain the story, which, when
combined with the image of the car, makes the film look like a "road"
movie. The simplicity of the concept and its commercial attractions are
lost in the dark, ill-defined image and the lengthy plot description in
the ad. The vast majority of campaigns for the high concept films oper-
ate in the opposite direction: finding an image which matches the film's
content, while remaining basically simple in its composition.
Many of the high concept films emphasize pre-sold elements within
the film to increase the audience's identification with the material:
stars, familiar stories or situations, remakes, sequels, and series films are
prominent pre-sold elements within the film. Stars are particularly im-
portant, from an economic standpoint, as a pre-sold element. As veteran
advertising designer Tony Seiniger comments, "The hardest kind of
film to sell is a film that has no marketable cast. . . . If it's not what
everybody in production likes to call a 'high-concept' picture, the

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 The simplicity of the concept lost in the ad-
vertising image (Heartbreak Hotel, Touch-
stone, 1988).

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 Marketing the Image 131

campaign becomes very difficult/'30 While many examples of this tactic

are obvious, perhaps the combination of approaches will explain their
power in practice. Consider the campaign for the Barbra Streisand-
Ryan O'Neal film, The Main Event (1979). The primary image was a shot
by fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo of Streisand and O'Neal in
a sparring pose: Streisand wearing shorts and T-shirt, O'Neal dressed as
a boxer. The copy read "A Glove Story." The campaign works on several
levels, many of which are based upon a presumed audience familiarity.
Firstly, the shot is graphically bold: the outlines of the two bodies are
clear, as well as the difference between male and female. The sharp con-
trast between the two, and the starkness of the figures, combine to form
an easily identifiable marketing image. Perhaps the primary connota-
tion of the image is that the film concerns a "battle of the sexes." The
difference between the two figures and the boxing pose indicate that
this will be a story of a warring man and woman. Simultaneously,
though, this very difference, the mock serious fighting expressions, and
our familiarity with the stars indicate that the tale will be told as a ro-
mantic comedy. This indication is also augmented by the copy ("A
Glove Story"), a "play on words" which promises romance, fighting,
and comedy.
Perhaps the most important signifiers, though, are the pre-sold ele-
ments of the image: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, and their previous
films. Streisand represents the quintessential driven and independent
woman, while O'Neal is known for his light comedy. These personae
influence the reading of the image, clarifying the combat theme and,
with the strong Streisand against the romantic O'Neal, the match seems
just about even. Additionally, the stars had previously teamed in the
successful screwball comedy What's Up Doc? (1972), so the combination
was already familiar to audiences. Of course, this previous film also col-
ors the reader's expectations of the new film. Finally, the copy "A Glove
Story" operates, at least partially, as a reference to Ryan O'Neal's great-
est boxoffice success, Love Story. The coy twist on the title indicates that
some amusing reworking of romantic conventions is in store, while re-
minding the reader of O'Neal's status as a romantic figure. The "pre-
sold" elements (primarily the personae of O'Neal and Streisand, and
their previous films) greatly influence the viewer's appreciation and
understanding of the ad's other elements.
The principles behind the high concept print campaigns —the close
match between content and marketing, the emphasis on style, the re-
ducibility to a single image — are repeated in the visual marketing forms:
trailers and television commercials. Given the time limitations of a
trailer and even moreso a television commercial, the requirement of

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 .HI

The Main Event: presold elements as mar-

keting focus (The Main Event, Warner
Bros., 1979).

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 Marketing the Image 133

both forms is to create an image of the movie, including the genre,

premise, and stars. This image may be varied subtly from trailer to
trailer and commercial to commercial depending on the audience seg-
ment which the studio is trying to reach. Television, particularly with
the development of cable, has become increasingly significant in target-
ing these different audience segments. The ability to "narrowcast," that
is, to specifically target a well-defined audience segment, has developed
with the increase in cable channels. As Variety's Richard Gold com-
mented on the phenomenon in 1989: "The blossoming of cable TV is
enabling studio marketeers to target a fragmented audience with WIRV-
like multiplicity. The high-octane action pic that might appeal to the
ESPN viewer and the high-toned period piece that could find favor with
the Arts & Entertainment devotee can now be pitched accordingly."31
In this manner, television commercials can be utilized to shoot at ad-
ditional audience segments in addition to the basic target audience.

Maintenance Marketing:
Selling through Music and Product
Print ads, trailers, and television
commercials are crucial to building awareness for the high concept
film. While all three marketing forms also maintain an image of the
film in the marketplace after the premiere, high concept films are sus-
tained in the market through music and merchandising tie-ins. Both
became increasingly significant in the marketing equation at the same
time as high concept developed as a focus for the industry. In fact, these
marketing forms themselves matured due to their success with the
high concept movies. Economically, merchandising, in music and other
forms, is tied also to the conglomeration of the industry; many of the
conglomerates involved with film industry distribution own companies
which can produce merchandised product centered on their films. For
instance, Gulf & Western controls both Paramount, distributor of Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Pocket Books, publisher of the film's
novelization.32 So merchandising not only maintains an image of the
film in the market, but also appeals to the conglomerates' desire for
synergy between their different companies and products. The adjust-
ments in film marketing caused by the move to saturation releases are
continued through the encroachment of music and product merchan-
dising as a film marketing force through the '70s and '80s.
Although film companies have always been linked with the music
industry for promotional tie-ins, the ability to pre-market a film using
music and the cross-overs between music, film, and other media is a
relatively contemporary phenomenon. As Joel Sill, vice-president of

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 134 High Concept

music at Warner Bros., comments on this change: 'The song score has
become a marketing tool. A record not only synergizes within the film,
but reaches out to the core youth market that the film wants to at-
tract/' 33 Despite the success of the early rock musicals (e.g., the Elvis
Presley films and A Hard Day's Night [1964]), music received very limited
use as a marketing tool until the mid-1970s. For the most part, through
the end of the 1960s, music tie-ins were connected to the large-scale,
opulent musicals, such as West Side Story (1961), Mary Poppins (1964),
The Sound of Music (1965), and Funny Girl (1968). Alexander Doty cred-
its the unexpectedly high sales of youth-oriented soundtracks (e.g., Easy
Rider [1969], Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [1969], Midnight Cow-
boy [1969], Love Story) as one significant advance for the influence of
music in marketing.34 Nevertheless, these films failed to capitalize on
the music in their films as an approach to market the film before its
opening.
The connection between films and music marketing actually must be
attributed, at least partially, to three individuals who realized the poten-
tial of the music-film mix: Jon Peters, Robert Stigwood, and Peter Guber.
Guber describes the developing form of music marketing as ' 'unique
visual marketing" in which pre-selling the film with music was at-
tempted "when studios understood that films were heard, seen, and
thought about in a unique way by the youth audience."35 Guber's state-
ment does encapsulate this major marketing change, although the mu-
sic has been used as a target for many demographic categories beyond
the youth market. The development of this phenomenon and its rela-
tion to high concept can be characterized most fruitfully through an
examination of these three producers and their marketing strategies
during the 70s and '80s.
While viewed initially with amusement given his background in
hairstyling and his entry into the film business through girlfriend
Barbra Streisand, Jon Peters had established himself as one of the lead-
ing producers in the industry by the early '80s. Peters's influence as a
producer seems initially located in his shrewd ability to pre-market
a film using music and striking images. Peters's first film as producer
offers many insights regarding his method. The project was conceived
as a single-phrase line between John Gregory Dunne and wife Joan
Didion: "James Taylor and Carly Simon in a rock-and-roll version of
A Star Is Born."36 This concept immediately places the film into the realm
of high concept: a recognizable storyline made vital through place-
ment into the current era and through the potential exploitation of
music. From this concept, the film developed, and eventually Peters and
Barbra Streisand became attached to the project as producer and star,

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 Jon Peters: marketing through music and a
striking image (A Star Is Born, Warner
Bros., 1976).

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 136 High Concept

respectively. The completed film does follow the widely known outline
of the earlier films. Apart from this tie, both Streisand and co-star Kris
Kristofferson were placed in roles which perfectly matched their earlier
on- and off-screen personae: Streisand as a talented, energetic, and
aggressive pop singer on the rise; Kristofferson as a hard drinking,
cynical rock star whose career is on the wane.
Even more significantly, Peters realized the potential in the sound-
track. Instead of a simultaneous release of film and soundtrack, Peters
released the soundtrack and first single ("Evergreen") two weeks prior
to the film's December 1976 opening.37 This strategy, bolstered by Strei-
sand's musical popularity, helped to ensure that the film's single was
frequently played by the time of the actual opening, raising the level of
awareness for the film at the most crucial time.38 In addition, Peters
chose to market the film through all media with the same provocative
image: a Francesco Scavullo photograph of a naked Streisand and Kris-
tofferson in a passionate clinch. This image marketed the film through
print, television, soundtrack, novelization, and many other forms. The
combination of the music as a marketing force, the replicated artwork
in the media, and the familiarity of the project's basis and stars all evi-
denced A Star Is Bom's high concept strategy.
Peters followed this project with the thriller Eyes of Laura Mars, set in
the world of fashion photography. The film solidified many of the ear-
lier marketing methods. Although the project did not possess the pre-
sold elements of A Star Is Bom, Peters developed a remarkable marketing
campaign centered on another Scavullo photograph: an ominous shot
of white eyes staring from star Faye Dunaway's darkened face. The im-
age managed to connote the fashion and advertising visuals central to
the film and its sense of chic horror. As an image, the piercing eyes
quickly transferred into other media: through the soundtrack album
cover, novelization, fashion, and photography magazines. The ad, de-
signed by Tony Seiniger, even received the top prize at the eighth Key
Art Awards, an annual industry-sponsored contest judging effective ad-
vertising campaigns.39 Following the success of A Star Is Bom, Peters re-
leased the soundtrack for Eyes of Laura Mars before the film's opening.
The soundtrack capitalized on the burgeoning disco trend, as Peters
included songs such as "Native New Yorker" (by Odyssey), "Boogie
Nights" (by Heatwave), and "Shake Your Booty" (by K. C. and the Sun-
shine Band).40 Peters also diversified his risk on the soundtrack by in-
cluding "Prisoner (Love Theme from Eyes of Laura Mars)" — a more sub-
dued, haunting song performed by Barbra Streisand.
By the release of Eyes of Laura Mars, the marketing approach adopted
by Peters was even identified within the industry by trade paper Variety:

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 Francesco Scavullo's image for Eyes of Laura
Mars (Eyes of Laura Mars, Columbia,
1978).

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 High Concept

The chic world of high fashion photography

in a high concept film (Eyes of Laura
Mars, Columbia, 1978). Copyright©
MCMLXXVIII, Columbia Pictures Industries,
Inc.

"Peters says he'll run advertising on all his pictures much like the cam-
paign for A Star Is Born. With his current film that means billboards of
the pic's logo, a graphic design for Faye Dunaway's face, already posted
for several weeks to 'make people aware it's coming/ early release of
Streisand's tune on the airwaves and a media blitz in newspapers, tele-
vision, radio and magazines."41 While A Star Is Born developed Peters's
music marketing approach, Eyes of Laura Mars is probably more signifi-
cant as the film which helped emphasize the distinctive style of the high
concept film, since the film's chic world of high fashion photography
helped set the emphasis on style in the high concept narratives.42
Before joining with Peter Guber to form the Guber-Peters Company,
Jon Peters focused almost entirely on projects which utilized music as a
primary marketing force.43 In a move which indicates that Peters com-
prehended the importance of market segmentation, Peters carefully de-
vised an unusual music and marketing campaign for The Main Event.
While the soundtrack contained only one Streisand song (the disco
theme) in two versions, Peters realized a method to maximize the
soundtrack's presence in the marketplace. Two singles of the song "The

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 Marketing the Image 139

Main Event" were released prior to the film's opening: one seven-inch
version for radio airplay, and a twelve-inch remix version for discos. The
longer version became very popular, in part, because the film was re-
leased in 1979 at the height of the disco boom. Still, only the seven-
inch version was available on single. If listeners wanted to own the
longer version, they were forced to purchase the entire soundtrack,
which contained both versions. As Peters predicted, 'They'll eat up the
longer version, but they won't be able to get it [separately] in stores."44
Through this tactic, Peters was able to attract younger disco listeners to
a full-length soundtrack album—which, of course, featured the recog-
nizable Scavullo photograph used to market the film.
Through these three films, Peters helped to construct this new form
of marketing. The cross-fertilization between music, product, and film
made possible through this method has become a hallmark of high con-
cept. With the additional tie-ins related to the music marketing, the
film's "image," in all respects, became more apparent in the market-
place. Perhaps the attempt to foreground the conjunction of style and
marketing, through the films and the music tie-ins, had inspiration from
Peters's prior career, which also stresses the importance of selling a style
and a new look. Regardless, the implications of his marketing approach
for high concept are numerous. High concept films, based on a sim-
plicity and abstraction of images, provided the ideal vehicle through
which to market films through music. The music complemented the
image without overwhelming the familiar, generically based narrative.
In turn, the music further increased the modularity of the films, seg-
menting the film into narrative "units" set to the songs. Both of these
traits would be deepened and extended in later high concept films.
In some respects, the method of marketing films through music is
based on integrating one medium (music) with another medium (film),
while exploiting the market opportunities made possible through this
intersection. Entrepreneur Robert Stigwood deserves much of the credit
for developing these opportunities. As Stigwood commented in 1978, at
the height of his filmmaking career, "For a long time I looked at those
long lines of people at rock concerts and wondered why you couldn't
have the same kind of crowd for a movie. That kind of excitement. An
audience that's really turned on by music but loves movies too." 45 Stig-
wood was able to harness this "excitement" initially through produc-
tions based on bold, hyperbolic visuals matched with a rock soundtrack:
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Tommy (1975), Saturday Night Fever, and
Grease. These films also follow upon the marketing principles evident
in the Peters films by pre-selling through the music and an immediate
visual icon extracted from the film.
Stigwood's history illustrates his developing awareness of both these

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 146 High Concept

marketing principles and the style of the high concept film. He began
in the business as a music and theatrical manager. Stigwood;s first les-
son in the possibility of cross-over occurred early in his career. In try-
ing to sell singer John Leyton, Stigwood was unable to find a niche un-
til he cast Leyton as a pop star on a British television series, Harpers
West One.46 By persuading the producer of the series to allow Leyton to
sing "Johnny Remember Me" on the television show, Stigwood set Ley-
ton with his first hit single.47 Significantly, Stigwood succeeded only
through Leyton's exposure on a medium other than the radio, and
through exploiting the opportunities from translating an artist across
media.
While still representing performing artists, Stigwood continued his
experiments in transferring properties. In television, Stigwood sold the
rights to two British series which he controlled, and helped to pioneer
the hit American series All in the Family and Sanford and Son. In theater,
Stigwood realized the potential of Hair and transported the show to Brit-
ain.48 These cross-over efforts paled in comparison to Stigwood's mar-
keting efforts with Jesus Christ Superstar. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd
Webber composed a full-scale rock opera based on the last seven days
in the life of Jesus Christ. The authors first released the single "Jesus
Christ Superstar" and continued to work on the full album. Realizing
the potential inherent in the property, Stigwood decided to produce a
stage version of the album. As RSO (Robert Stigwood Organization) ex-
ecutive Beryl Vertue comments, "All we knew was that he had seen this
record selling, and he had this vision about turning the record into the-
ater."49 Stigwood;s extravagant staging produced a huge success in Lon-
don, while the Broadway version, costing $700,000 to stage, was consid-
erably less profitable.50 Following the movement of the property from
one medium to the next, Stigwood produced the Universal film ver-
sion. The film, directed by Norman Jewison, curiously joined the real-
ism of the locations with extreme stylization. The results were decidedly
mixed, with critical opinion lukewarm at best. Nevertheless, the project
of Jesus Christ Superstar as a whole allowed Stigwood to extend many of
his earlier marketing techniques. By producing a film transplanted from
another medium, Stigwood was able to capitalize upon the pre-sold
support of the initial projects. Since the cross-overs were occurring
with music projects, the effect was mutually reinforcing; the film sold
records connected both to the film and the stage show, while the rec-
ords bolstered interest in the film and stage shows. This process became
identified, within the film industry, as "synergy" between music and
film.51
This process continued with Stigwood's film of Tommy, a rock opera

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 Marketing the Image 141

Roger Daltrey as Tommy: a Robert Stigwood

cross-media project ("Tommy, Columbia,
1975). Copyright © 1975 Columbia Pictures
Industries, Inc.

album by the Who. With Tommy, Stigwood assembled all the elements
of the project before seeking a distributor, seeking to remain in com-
plete control of the project from its conception. Stigwood envisioned
casting the film with recognizable stars from the rock world: Elton John,
Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, and Tina Turner. Secondly,
Stigwood hired Ken Russell to direct the film. While the film of Jesus
Christ Superstar shows little emphasis on directorial style, Russell's work
had been distinguished by outrageous visual imagery in films such as
The Devils (1970), Women in Love (1970), and The Music Lovers (1971).
After raising the money for the film independently, Stigwood struck a
distribution deal with Columbia Pictures through the support of Co-
lumbia executive Peter Guber. With the new input from the "guest star"
artists, and buoyed by the Elton John single "Pinball Wizard/' the film's
soundtrack easily became a success; released in conjunction with the
film's March 1975 release, the album was certified platinum by Novem-
ber 1975.52 Perhaps more so than in previous Stigwood efforts, the film
developed the emphasis on style so evident in the high concept films.

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 142 High Concept

With the many guest appearances and the different styles of perfor-
mance, Tommy naturally developed in a modular fashion. Russell ap-
peared to be pioneering what would later be called "music video."
Critic Charles Michener's review of the film describes its similarity to
the music video: "To a prerecorded sound track utterly without spoken
dialogue and consisting entirely of the 'opera's' rock songs and sound
effects, Russell has fused a kaleidoscope of images that pulsate with the
incredible precision of a rock drumbeat in a visual counterpoint to the
music."53 Tommy reinforced the pattern of marketing through music by
expanding the collection of artists/singers (from AOR ["album-oriented
rock"] artists the Who and Eric Clapton, to soul star Tina Turner to pop
star Elton John) in the film, by developing the modular music video set
pieces which could be used for exploitation, and by strengthening the
connection between music and strong visuals, which could easily be
abstracted in the film's marketing.54
All the early marketing experiments culminated with Stigwood's pro-
duction of Saturday Night Fever, released by Paramount Pictures nearly
three years after Tommy. First, Stigwood altered the timing of music
released in conjunction with the film. Stigwood released the soundtrack
about six weeks prior to the film's opening to allow more lead time for
the first single ("How Deep Is Your Love?").55 This strategy bolstered the
single's rise to the top of the charts just as the film opened. After the
initial single, several other songs were promoted as singles: "Stayin'
Alive," "Night Fever," "If I Can't Have You." Stigwood and RSO presi-
dent Al Coury staggered these singles so that the film was represented
at the top of the pop charts for the next several months. The phenome-
nal success of this strategy helped fuel the strong repeat business for the
film and sales of the soundtrack album (25 million units —the second
biggest LP of all time).56
The film represented another successful cross-over for Stigwood,
since it was based on a New York magazine article, "The Tribal Rites of
the New Saturday Night," by Nik Cohn. More significantly, Stigwood,
realizing the potential of the actor from television's Welcome Back Kot-
ter, cast John Travolta in a role which had very strong ties to his already
established television identity and his burgeoning musical career.57 The
film's key advertising artwork also established an identity for the film
through a very striking and apt image: Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney
on the disco dance floor, with Travolta in the foreground striking a
pose pointing his right arm high in the air. This image was replicated
through all the marketing media; like the A Star Is Born image, the
Travolta image became the source for immediate visual recognition of
the film, and even a focus of parody.58 Finally, Saturday Night Fever also

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 CATCH THE FEVER
IF YOU'RE NOT SURE YOU HAVE THE FEVER NOW,
AFTER TODAY, YOU'LL SAY YOU ALWAYS DID.

...Catchit
PARAMOUNT PICTURES PRESENTS JOHN TRAVOLTA KAREN LYNN GORNEY
"SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER" A ROBERT STIGWOOD PRODUCTION
Screenplay by NORMAN WEXLER Directed by JOHN BADHAM
Executive Producer KEVIN McCORMICK Produced by ROBERT STIGWOOD
Original music written and performed by the BEE GEES
Soundtrack a l b u m available o n RSO Records

John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever: the

image became part ofAmerican popular cul-
ture, even parodied in films such as Air-
plane! (1980) (Saturday Night Fever, Para-
mount, 1977).

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 144 High Concept

The music and marketing potential of the

Beatles, Peter Frampton, and the Bee Gees
dissipated in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band fSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band, Universal, 1978). © 1978 Stig-
wood Group, Ltd.

extended the emphasis on style evident in the earlier Stigwood films,

from the visual style in the film's dance scenes to the privileging of style
within dance, dress, and demeanor.
The film represented the most commercially successful attempt, at
that time, to integrate the marketing of a film with its content and style.
The blend of marketing and film was achieved due to Saturday Night
Fever's allegiance to traits of high concept. The movement toward the
emptied characters and plotline, modular structure, and emphasis on
style within the narrative combined to create a film favoring, even en-
couraging, the integration of marketing, merchandising, and content.
This formula was replicated with Stigwood;s next two films, both re-
leased in 1978: Grease (based on the Broadway musical) and Sgt. Pepper's

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 Marketing the Image 145

Lonely Hearts Club Band (based on the Beatles album). While Grease suc-
cessfully consolidated Broadway tunes with '70's pop (Bee Gees, Olivia
Newton-John), Sgt Pepper failed to attract audiences despite utilization
of the same marketing and merchandising routes. 59 Part of the problem
with Sgt. Pepper seems to be the lack of a generically based storyline on
which to base the film. Although research proved that the film had an
unusually high level of pre-awareness, word-of-mouth was uniformly
negative. Stigwood's film possessed excellent marketability, but very
poor playability.
The Stigwood oeuvre also illustrates another change related to the
reception of the high concept films. The strong connections between
high concept, marketing, and music—the cross-fertilization of market-
ing efforts and their inseparability from the film — encourage an endless
consumption of the high concept films. Through the films and their
media representation, viewers repeatedly attend the same film. David
Ansen characterizes this trait in the following manner: "[Stigwood's]
movies have the same easily digested, stand-up-and-boogie style: they
seemed designed, like records, to be played again and again/' 6 0 Espe-
cially with these musically based high concept films, the marketing
through music seems designed to encourage this repeat viewing phe-
n o m e n o n . Indeed, the incredible success of films such as Grease and
Star Wars is not based u p o n their broad appeal to all age/sex categories,
but rather their success at achieving repeat viewings. Olen J. Earnest
studied this pattern with Star Wars, and noted the following: ' T h u s , at
the end of the traditional summer moviegoing season, n o t only had Star
Wars [which opened in May] started tapping the difficult to reach infre-
quent moviegoer, but the film was generating exceptional levels of re-
peat v i e w i n g . . . through the end of August, four out of every ten movie-
goers showing up at the boxoffice had already seen Star Wars one or
more t i m e s / ' 6 1 Therefore, the marketing of the film through music, in
a case such as Grease, might be seen as one factor building this repeat
p h e n o m e n o n , which has been so vital to the success of m a n y high con-
cept films.
The influence of Peter Guber as a marketing force seems based pri-
marily u p o n the efforts he has made to institutionalize the connection
between music and the movies during his initial tenure at Columbia
Pictures (beginning in 1968) and through his own productions. While
at Columbia, Guber championed Tommy as a project, despite the oppo-
sition of the other studio executives. Nevertheless, Guber's chief contri-
butions occurred with his move into independent production in 1975.
"Peter Guber's' Filmworks" grew out of Guber's association with Co-
lumbia; the mandate was to develop and produce films which would

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 146 High Concept

be released through Columbia. Guber's first film, The Deep (1977), ex-
emplifies many of the techniques which have been instrumental to
his success.62 As author Michael Pye states about Guber's involvement
with The Deep: "Guber turned most of the apparent disadvantages into
publicity/'63 On the one hand, Guber relentlessly produced publicity
during the making and launching of the film, focusing on Nick Nolte's
first film (after his television success with Rich Man, Poor Man), Peter
Benchley's connection to Jaws, the perilous conditions making the film
largely underwater, and, of course, Jacqueline Bisset's wet T-shirt. Si-
multaneously, Guber fostered the development of the music and mer-
chandising marketing routes.
During the filming, Guber merged his film company with Neil Bo-
gart's record company, which featured Kiss and Donna Summer. The
result—Casablanca Records and Film Works—was an organization de-
signed to exploit the synergy between records and films. In many re-
spects this move marked the logical consequence of the marketing ex-
periments from producers such as Jon Peters. An in-house recording
arm could only serve to strengthen the ties between the company's film
and appropriate musical accompaniment. With The Deep, Guber used
Donna Summer to record the theme song, ''Down Deep Inside," which
was released on the Casablanca label. The company's next project,
Thank God It's Friday (1978), represents a more extensive commitment
to the music/marketing connection. The film is centered around a
single evening at a Los Angeles disco, and features guest appearances by
Donna Summer and the Commodores. Casablanca partnered with Mo-
town Records for the film to expand the range of artists on the sound-
track. Thank God It's Friday is set to the soundtrack music at virtually all
times, creating what Guber refers to as "a kind of visual album."64
Guber followed these successes with Midnight Express, then merged
with Jon Peters in 1981 to form Guber-Peters Entertainment. The com-
pany united two of the individuals who best realized the potential of
marketing contemporary music in film. While their individual works
pioneered the high concept film through the integration of music, mar-
keting, and film, the collaborative films seem to strike a balance be-
tween high concept projects and more low concept films. Many of their
films do follow the music marketing route, though: consider Endless
Love, a film which was propelled by the Diana Ross-Lionel Richie single
during its initial run. Other music-based projects include VisionQuest
(1985), Who's That Girl (1987), and Flashdance.
One of the most interesting marketing experiments from the com-
pany has been the film Clue (1985), perhaps the only film to be based
upon a board game (until Super Mario Bros. [1993], which reconsiders

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 Marketing the Image 147

Peter Guber combines the music and market-

ing hooks of Donna Summer and the Com-
modores (Thank God It's Friday, Columbia,
1978). Copyright © MCMLXXVIII, Colum-
bia Pictures Industries, Inc.

the strategy through new technologies, adapting a video game into a

dramatic film). Clue offers a project completely driven by a marketing
and merchandising scheme, and opening weekend audiences probably
were attracted to the film primarily by their familiarity with the game.
More importantly, though, Clue suggested that Guber-Peters were con-
tinuing to develop more significant marketing experiments based upon
recognizable "cross-over" material in other media.
Considering the increasing awareness of contemporary music as a
marketing tool, music video logically extends this form of marketing.
In particular, music videos have been tied closely to the film through
the use of film excerpts, strengthening the other parts of the music-
marketing route. Guber-Peters;s Flashdance illustrates the possibilities of
this approach. The film's marketing campaign was based on the pro-
vocative and graphically simple shot of Jennifer Beals in her torn sweat-
shirt. The print campaign helped to establish the image for the film, but
simultaneously, the film's music provided the focus for a campaign of
mutually reinforcing components. Since the music tie-ins were already

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 148 High Concept

present within the film, Flashdance offered a unique opportunity to ex-

periment with music and music video as marketing hooks. Paramount's
Frank Mancuso described the possibilities in the following terms: "We
started zeroing in on the visual elements of the film and the music.
Flashdance seemed quite exceptional in both these areas. We went after
it quite heavily, figuring it was a different kind of movie — so much was
told visually and through the soundtrack that these became our primary
marketing elements."65 The film was initially marketed through ad-
vance buys on MTV, and through music video from the modular set
pieces within the film.66 These music videos might be montages of dif-
ferent scenes from the film (e.g., Irene Cara's 'Flashdance') or might be
a modular sequence (e.g., the workout scene set to Michael Sembello's
"Maniac") which lends itself to direct extraction from the film. Of
course, the music videos energize both awareness and interest in the
song, soundtrack, and film. Increasingly, music videos for a single song
occur in more than one version, with each presenting an "interpreta-
tion" of the song via different scenes from the film. The effect of this
replication is an even greater saturation of the music marketing appa-
ratus; as Jon Lewis comments on the Purple Rain music videos: "MTV
has aired both versions of 'When the Doves Cry' — enabling the VJ's to
play it more than almost any other song."67 Like the music soundtrack
and the product merchandise, music video extracted from film repre-
sents another form of extended marketing: a method of maintaining
audience awareness for a film long after it has entered the marketplace.

Merchandising and Ancillary Tie-ins

Accompanying these changes in
marketing were significant advances in film merchandising. As with
the marketing developments, the merchandising of film also favors
those films which can be easily reduced to a single image. This reduc-
ibility lends itself to the tactile representation of film, that is, the li-
censed products constructed around the film and its characters. Simi-
larly, merchandising serves the same economic function as marketing
through music and strong images: the licensed products extend the
"shelf life" of the film by replicating the film's characters, action, or
setting through the products. As Brad Globe, head of licensing and mer-
chandising for Amblin Entertainment, comments on this phenomenon:
"Licensing is not just about generating revenues. We're really very con-
cerned that the licensing program have a positive impact on the movie
and create some consumer awareness for the film."68 Although films
have been merchandised since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937,
merchandising has become increasingly influential within the past two

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 Marketing the Image 149

decades as a form of marketing.69 Indeed, only within the last decade

have studios initiated in-house merchandising units within their mar-
keting departments. This period of merchandising growth represents
another significant method through which the high concept image may
be presented to the public.
Historically, several films from the early 1970s advanced the influ-
ence of merchandising as a marketing force. While the majority of
merchandising before this point had been almost exclusively for the
children's market, the studios began to aim their licensed promotions
beyond this small, yet lucrative, set.70 Love Story producer Robert Evans
was partly responsible for one of these merchandising booms. At Evans's
suggestion, Erich Segal wrote a book, based on his screenplay, which
was released by Harper & Row for Valentine's Day of 1970. The book
turned into a phenomenal success, spending over nine months on the
New York Times bestseller list, and created a high level of anticipation
for the film, which was released the following Christmas.71 The horror
film The Omen (1976) further demonstrated the power of novelizations,
with sales of over 3 million paperback copies during the release of the
film.72 Book tie-ins have become the norm in the industry, so that today
the majority of major studio releases are supported by a novelization.
On a much larger scale, Paramount's The Great Gatsby (1974) en-
gineered a revolutionary merchandising campaign; producer Robert
Evans and former Paramount promotion director Charles O. Glenn as-
sembled a product tie-in scheme valued at $6 million to create "a third
level of awareness" for the film.73 In keeping with the emphasis upon
style and romance, four brands were selected to represent the film:
Ballantine's Scotch, Glemby hairstyling studios, Robert Bruce's men's
sportswear, and du Pont's "classic white" line of cookware.74 Consider
the Ballantine's ad, for example, which privileges style above all other
qualities, claiming in a description of the Jazz Age that "Ballantine's was
there. Like the era, the scotch with style." While F. Scott Fitzgerald's
daughter, Scottie Lanahan Smith, complained that "you have turned
The Great Gatsby into pots and pans," Paramount was able to establish
firmly the nostalgic, romantic image for the film, as evidenced by the
strong exhibitor advances, through these extensive promotions.75
Two years later, Paramount's King Kong mounted an even more in-
volved merchandising campaign. In many ways, the remake King Kong
offers an unusual number of high concept traits which integrated the
film with its promotion: primarily, a pre-sold classic story, the visual
presence of Kong as a character, and the simplicity (on a narrative
and visual level) of a beauty and the beast story. Producer Dino De Lau-
rentiis orchestrated several merchandising opportunities designed to

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 150 High Concept

Merchandising F. Scott Fitzgerald's American

classic (The Great Gatsby, Paramount,
1974).

broaden the base of the story. Adults were to be attracted to the Jim
Beam King Kong Cocktail and the Jim Beam King Kong Commemorative
bottles; the youth market was targeted with King Kong sportswear; the
children by 7-Eleven King Kong cups, King Kong peanut butter cups, and
King Kong GAF Viewmaster slides.76
A similar situation occurred with Warner Bros/ Superman in 1978.
With the property so familiar through comic books, cartoons, and tele-
vision, Superman mobilized all of Warner Communications with its
merchandising plan, which included eight tie-in Superman books, the
John Williams soundtrack, T-shirts, and almost one hundred licenses tc
toy manufacturers.77 This film's merchandising efforts suggest that the
extremes of high concept are integrated completely with merchandis
ing: a film which can be completely reduced to a single pre-sold image
inevitably becomes a merchandised product. The reading of the film i:
mediated by the viewer's knowledge of the merchandised product:
which so accurately represent the film's content.
In terms of economic importance, merchandising boomed in 197]

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 Marketing the Image 151

ong rromotiona
JAMES M. SEAM DISTILLING CO. SCHRAFFT CANDY COMPANY
KING KONG fs the largest monster A KING KONG milk chocolate and peanut buttw c w i /
ever made for a movie!" is the bar has been created by Schrafft &. KING KONG •»
theme of Jim Beam's advertising, head is emblazoned on the orange wrapper as well ;r,
which wiij run through March 1977, the words"inspired by
m 6 national magazines as well the new motion pic-
over 1,800 newspapers. ture KING KONG;'
The second thrust will in- Television advertising
clude ih® introduction of the wlii appear on a num-
KING KONG cocktail in aif ber of network game
of their January through shows including "The hocolate
March magazine and news- Price is Right," "The PIANUT BUTTER CUI*S
paper advertising, Afl dis- Gong Show," "$20,000
play and point-of purchase Pyramid," and "The Don Ho Show/'
material featuring the cocktail plus the recipe will be Point-of-purchase materials will promote the candy
distributed nationally to their retail trade, cocktaif and the film in supermarkets and candy store-
lounges, taverns and restaurants. everywhere.
So you can have a headstart in making the cocktail,
here is the recip®: GAF CORPORATION
1 oz, Jim Beam over ice—% oz, grenadine— Tieing in with the children's audsence, GAF will havt
fifi with orange Juice—add a wedge of time. an extensive advertising and promotional campaigr
And, as part of their famous series, they have created for their Viewmaster unit consisting of twenty-one 3C
a KING KONG Commemorative Bottle—the first time pictures made right on the KING KONG set. GAF w i
they have ever produced a bottle to salute a motion ship the reels and giant KING KONG display units f
picture, approximately 20,000 retail outlets and supermarkets
SEDGEFIELD SPORTSWEAR COMPANY In addition, they are making
For the teen and college-age market, Sedgefield, one a premium offer of 2 KING
of the largest manufacturers of jeans, jackets and KONG posters which will be
sportswear, has created a rea! collector's Hem — a heavily promoted with in-
plastic keychain that has within it a tiny reproduction serts in their film-processing
of the full-color KING KONG poster and a few strands envelopes.
of the actual hair from KONG himself. Special display Television advertising to
cards and posters will be used to herald the offering reach the young audience
m their 5,000 retail outlets. during December, January
Full-page four-color ads will appear in approximately and February will run on
15 publications such as "Boiling Stone," "Playboy," Saturday and Sunday morn-
Esquire," and "Sports Illustrated," ing kid-strips and on such
Further, Sedgefield has afternoon favorites as the
launched major campaigns Mickey Mouse Club.
with leading department
stores in the top 75 mar- 7-EL6VEN STORES
kets. These promotions will On January 1st, six million special KING KONG 16 oz
produce two fuii-pages of hMmpact styrene cups will go into use in 7-Eleve?
newspaper ads, half of each stores across the country to promote the chain's spe-
ad devoted to the film and cial Slurpee drink. The cups feature 8 drawings of th«
half to the jeans. Every- mighty KONG in different heroic moments of hi;
thing from footprints, to Odyssey. 7-Eleven which anticipates the promote
photos, to a 10-foot mock- will be carried by approximately 5,000 stores, is look
up of KONG will be fea- ing to the cups to help build a winter-time audienc*
tured inside the stores. for the Slurpee drink. They plan major market televi
sion buys and locally will use posters and banner
"FAMILY CIRCLE" across the front of their stores. For young collectors
KING KONG is on the cover they believe the different cups
of the January issue of will stimulate multiple sales of
Family Circle,"the largest Slurpee. Additionally, a special
women's magazine in the cup featuring KING KONG
world with approximately astride the World Trade Center
i0,QOG,Q0Gctreu!ation.They Twin Towers is being offered to
ha ye created an Iron-On theatres along with special point-
Transfer, bound inside the of purchase material for theatre
issue, with instructions for lobbies.
its application.

King Kong: merchandising possibilities at

time of release (King Kong, Paramount,
1976).

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 High Concept

Character-based merchandising (Star Wars,

Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977).

with George Lucas's Star Wars. The film certainly did not have the pre-
sold ability of, for example, King Kong. Twentieth Century-Fox's John
Friedkin declared at the time of release: "The film [Star Wars] opened
May 25, and on May 24 you couldn't give it away."78 Another Fox ex-
ecutive, Mark Pepvers, has commented that, "George Lucas created Sta\
Wars with the toy byproducts in mind. He was making much more thar
a movie."79 In fact, Lucas sought to control all merchandising rights foi
the film, with the final contracts specifying an even revenue split be
tween Fox and Lucas after Fox's administrative costs were covered.8
Since the film has been licensed to over fifty companies, with Kenne
Toys producing seventy Star Wars products alone, sales figures are no
readily available, although within the first year, merchandising had ac
counted for at least $300 million for Star Wars.81 Part of the film's phe
nomenal success as a licensing property has been its diverse set of chai
acters. The film's entourage has been parlayed into numerous products
further enhancing the world created by Lucas. The film's completed
novel environment and characters have been so striking that Kenne

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 Marketing the Image 153

Toys has been able to go beyond the figures in the film by adding new
characters to its Star Wars line in keeping with the film's mythological
world.82
The mature period of merchandising can be located as starting with
the successful and innovative programs of The Great Gatsby, King Kong,
Superman, and especially Star Wars. Simultaneously music soundtracks,
which represent another merchandised item, also flourished with the
rise in music as a marketing tool. Currently, all studios have merchan-
dising divisions, and licensing as a marketing practice has grown into
a $56 billion industry.83 Of this figure, the largest forms of merchan-
dised products include toys/games, gifts/novelties, publishing, sporting
goods, apparel, and housewares.84 The integration of merchandising
with film (and in particular, high concept film) has become so complete
that projects are being conceived with the merchandising hooks as a
primary marketing focus. Apart from George Lucas, Steven Spielberg's
E.T. has received much attention due to Spielberg's remarks that he had
carefully deliberated the marketing and merchandising possibilities of
E.T. before filming had begun.85
While all projects aspire to a phenomenal merchandising enterprise
such as Star Wars, commercially successful films do not necessarily
translate to strong merchandising. For instance, Gremlins (1984), Who
Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), and Willow (1988), all hits, proved major
disappointments in terms of merchandising.86 An additional level of
media association, such as a television series, can bolster the fate of
merchandised product derived from films. For example, the merchan-
dising scheme for Batman, in 1989, benefited from the comic books and
old television series, both of which greatly strengthened the potential
of merchandised product from the new film. A year later, Teenage Mu-
tant Ninja Turtles was offered incredible pre-sold recognition for its tie-
ins through the Ninja Turtles comic book, television cartoon series, and
preexisting Turtles products.87 This secondary level of association can
even occur after the film's release. Consider that television cartoon se-
ries were developed around both Ghostbusters (1984) and Beetlejuice
(1988) to maintain interest in the merchandised product from the origi-
nal films.88
Moving beyond the younger markets, merchandising has developed
even in R-rated projects such as Rambo: First Blood Part II and RoboCop.
The more adult projects tend to transfer much more into ancillary tie-
ins, rather than merchandised toys or products. Styling trends have
been created by films such as Flashdance (the off-the-shoulder sweat-
shirt), Top Gun (bomber flight jackets), Saturday Night Fever (three-piece
white suits), and Baby Boom (soft-edged business suits).89 Although the
effect may be fairly immediate, the impact is usually a greater awareness

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 154 High Concept

for the film rather than a direct financial profit for the studios from
merchandise.90 The synergy between fashion trends and film has been
matched by several promising new merchandising venues such as direct
mail, studio catalogs, and in-theater sales.91 Top Gun and Flashdance pro-
ducers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer have begun to realize the
marketing possibilities of these more nebulous tie-ins. As Ronald Grover
comments on these producers, 'The duo were eager to cash in on such
film inspired fads. And they were upset over Paramount's failure to
move quickly enough to beat others who capitalized on Flashdance
clothes or flyer style jackets after Top Gun. Simpson and Bruckheimer
recently forced the studio to create a new merchandising unit."92
Merchandising, like marketing through strong print images, music,
and across media, is a key variable of the high concept equation. These
marketing forces developed at the same time as Hollywood began to
investigate marketing-driven projects. The interest in this kind of pro-
ject could be traced back to the conglomeration of the industry, which
sought a more financially conservative, less risky approach to filmmak-
ing. With saturation releases creating a need for high awareness, the
marketing forms —through commercials, music, and merchandising —
developed to service this requirement. In turn, high concept, as a kind
of filmmaking, worked with these new marketing forms most success-
fully. The result of this marketing mechanism was an industry in which
high concept became an increasingly significant focus for the major
studio.
The roots of this system can be located through a series of ads in
Variety from 1974. These ads illustrate the growing importance of mar-
keting in the industry and the direction through which the marketing-
oriented high concept films would develop. In the ads, readers were
asked to "Watch 20th Century-Fox, Warner Bros, and Irwin Allen build
the blockbuster of the century . . . " 93 The remainder of the ad was
composed of The Towering Inferno logo accompanied by a series of
empty boxes showing the names of the film's characters. In the ensuing
weeks, the boxes were filled in with superstars (Paul Newman, Steve
McQueen, et al.) and stars (Robert Wagner, O. J. Simpson, et al.). Signifi-
cantly, the ad illustrates many of the key marketing components behind
high concept: an identifiable logo, pre-sold elements (e.g., stars and a
best-selling book), a marketable concept, a merchandising tie-in (e.g., a
book reissue), and a modular approach to filmmaking (i.e., "build" the
film from matching different marketable parts). The interdependence
of high concept with these marketing apparati offers films whose "nar-
ration" is as much a function of their innovative marketing campaigns
as their storylines.

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 C H A P TE

High Concept and

Market Research:
Movie Making
by the Numbers

Although market research in the

film industry can be traced back to forecasts of market demand for mov-
ies in 1915, market research did not become an integral part of the film
industry until the late 1970s.1 The development of more nuanced meth-
ods of audience analysis, along with key changes in the institutional
framework of the industry, aided the entrenchment of market research
within the studios at that time. By the early 1980s, market research had
become so integral to mainstream Hollywood filmmaking that every
major studio devoted a significant portion of its marketing budget to
market research.2 At the current time, the market research managers and
vice-presidents within the studios in turn coordinate their efforts with
independent market research suppliers specializing in field work, tabu-
lation, and coding. Together these forces have created a significant po-
sition for market research in the pre- and post-production life of a film.
This position, however, is based upon a methodology which privileges
high concept as a style of mainstream filmmaking within Hollywood
and which cannot adequately account for many other forms of produc-
tion. In this chapter, I will situate the relationship between market re-
search and high concept in contemporary Hollywood, with an eye to-
ward explaining factors which have contributed to the development of
market research within the industry.

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 156 High Concept

The Growth of Market Research

Organized audience research has
existed within Hollywood for several decades. Apart from studio sneak
previews, independent companies, such as George Gallup's Audience
Research Inc., Sindlinger & Company, and Leo Handel's Motion Picture
Research Bureau, conducted studies for a number of studios from the
late 1930s onward.3 Bruce Austin attributes the development of these
independent movie market research suppliers to two primary postwar
factors: the introduction of television, which diminished the film audi-
ence, leaving the studios seeking methods to retain their audience, and
the desire to appear economically responsible to Wall Street and the
banking industry.4 Market research during this period included audi-
ence response to sneak previews of films and more broad-based research
detailing audience awareness of and interest in films, attendance pat-
terns, and recall of film advertising.5
Market research began to gain a great deal more prominence, how-
ever, in the 1970s. This new stature followed from the earlier attempts
to make the film industry appear to be a logical, economic business. As
the founding studio moguls died or retired, the studios were acquired
by conglomerates: MCA acquired Universal in 1962, Gulf & Western,
Paramount in 1966, Transamerica, United Artists in 1967, and Kinney
National, Warner Bros, in 1969.6 With the number of film releases fall-
ing and costs rising, the conglomerates required more accountability on
the part of their motion picture divisions; as Julie Salamon describes,
'They [the studios] needed to put together a seasonal string of 'product'
in an orderly way, and the corporate parents wanted to know that some-
thing besides somebody's seat-of-the-pants judgment was involved in
the process. Research provided comfort to executives working in an in-
dustry where the average tenure in a high-ranking job was a couple of
years."7 Consequently, the conglomerates were more receptive to mar-
ket research techniques, with many executives familiar with the pro-
cesses from packaged-goods marketing and merchandising.
The conglomerates further fostered ties between consumer adver-
tising and film marketing through acquiring executives from the
consumer research arena: for example, Jonas Rosenfeld, former Vice-
President of Advertising, Promotion and Research at Twentieth Cen-
tury-Fox, was lured from the corporate division of Bristol-Meyers, while
marketing vice-presidents Dana Lombardo at Disney and Richard Del
Belso at Warner Bros, both had extensive experience in research at ad-
vertising agencies.8 The conglomerates' application of the market re-
search methods traditionally used in consumer research was greeted by

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 High Concept and Market Research 157

the creative community with skepticism, at best, and hostility, at worst.

Producer Keith Barish's response is representative of this hostility: ''As
the larger and larger companies take over studios, they start treating
film as a product no different than soda pop or potato chips. Same cost
controls, same reporting structure, same market testing/' 9
More significantly, a shift in the distribution pattern of film in the
1970s also aided the institutionalization of market research. As has al-
ready been established, with the success of "four-wall'' films, the major
studios began to open films in saturation, as opposed to platform, re-
leases centered on television advertising.10 Universal's opening of Jaws
in June 1975 was the starting point of this distribution trend, which
soon increased so that an eagerly anticipated film in recent times, such
as Batman Returns (1992), could open in 2,644 theaters at one time.11
This distribution strategy depends upon a high level of awareness of the
film by the time of opening; if the film cannot open well in its first
weekend, its chances for long-term success are extremely limited, since
theaters will drop the film and the advertising support will be cut.12 To
build awareness and therefore the chances for a good opening, advertis-
ing through television, as opposed to print, became the norm. The in-
creased cost of network and local TV buys over print advertising, along
with the necessity to open a film immediately to a strong first weekend,
sparked the interest of the studios in evaluating the efficacy of their
advertising material.13
At the same time, market research as a field began to move beyond
demographic profiles in predicting consumer behavior. In the 1960s, a
school of research developed which sought to define consumers along
psychological dimensions through discerning their needs, values, atti-
tudes, and interests.14 Referred to variously as psychographic or "value
and lifestyle" research, this method allowed audiences to be divided
beyond sex, age, and education. With the additional information, con-
sumers could be segmented into dimensions which cluster similar attri-
butes or individuals, thereby allowing companies to market their prod-
ucts more specifically. Therefore, the studios were able to target specific
groups through testing their television commercials and then arranging
their media buys with television shows that would attract the desired
audience. These two forces —the movement toward saturation cam-
paigns based upon television advertising and the greater segmentation
of the market through psychographic research — fostered the wide-
spread adoption of market research within the film industry. Conse-
quently, market research has made a significant dent in the film indus-
try, to a point where entertainment analyst Jeff Logsdon has recently

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 158 High Concept

estimated that at least 75 percent of the top two hundred films yearly
are market researched in some form.15

The Model of Market Research

within the Film Industry
By the 1980s, a fairly uniform set of
market research surveys had become common practice within the film
industry. Of course, different studios chose to emphasize different mar-
ket research functions, although in the press, most studio marketing
executives stressed that market research played a minor role in the suc-
cess of their films. The set of market research surveys which became
instituted can be divided into those studies conducted pre-production
and studies conducted post-production. As Thomas Simonet notes, pre-
production studies are composed primarily of concept testing, casting
tests, and title tests.16 Concept testing involves breaking down a script
into a short concept, which is then read to respondents so that the at-
tractive (read "marketable") elements might be identified. Similarly,
casting tests are designed to identify marketable stars and the match
between a star and a particular concept, while title tests gauge the con-
notations suggested by a particular title.
The majority of market research within the industry, however, occurs
after the production has been completed. Recruited audience screenings
are attended by those who have been selected to meet certain sex, age,
and lifestyle quotas. After the screening, audience members complete
surveys describing their overall evaluation of the film, how strongly
they would recommend the film to a friend, their description of the
film, their media usage habits, and demographic (sex/age) characteris-
tics. A subset of the audience may be retained for a focus group in which
a moderator probes the survey questions in greater depth. In addition
to recruited audience screenings, post-production market research also
includes testing advertising material, such as print ads, trailers, and tele-
vision commercials. These tests are designed to evaluate the interest and
image created for the film by the advertising material.17
This model of market research is somewhat problematic from both a
methodological and an analytical perspective. In particular, the pre-
production market research has received criticism for being prescrip-
tive: for dictating creative decisions based upon a quantitative score or
set of scores. The post-production market research has been judged less
harshly, since this research is more evaluative of a finished product for
marketing purposes, rather than prescriptive for an evolving product.
Considering the pre-production research, perhaps the most signifi-

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 High Concept and Market Research 159

cant methodological problem is the inability to account for innovative

film concepts, or as a veteran marketing consultant comments, "Any-
thing that is innovative is hard for market research to clue in on." 18
Consequently movies which adhere strictly to genre tend to be more
attractive in concept form than films which might be described as cross-
genre or outside genre. Therefore, a romantic comedy, such as Pretty
Woman, would be easier to concept test than the comedy/family drama
Avalon, whose cross-genre storyline would be almost impossible to re-
duce to a concept. The implications of this factor for high concept are
clear: high concept, adhering closely to genre and previous successes,
offers an immediate reference point for the respondent. Therefore, high
concept films would probably test higher in concept form than low con-
cept films, other factors held constant.
In addition, another limitation in the pre-production research in-
volves the difficulty of expressing the visual or aural nature of the me-
dium. Films which are heavily dependent upon striking visuals, such as
Blade Runner, The Hunger, and One from the Heart, or upon their sound-
tracks, such as Purple Rain, Flashdance, and Something Wild (1986), can-
not be conveyed accurately through a marketing concept. Consider, for
instance, a possible concept for Purple Rain: "Purple Rain is a dramatic
musical, starring Prince, featuring eight new Prince songs shot in music-
video style." While all these claims are true, the concept, through its
form, fails to convey the music and visual style of the film. A respondent
listening to the concept would indicate interest based primarily on the
appeal of Prince, rather than on the film. Similarly, casting tests tend to
privilege stars within their familiar genre. Concept testing responds
mainly to star-driven projects, and high concept, which often relies on
stars as a form of insurance, fits neatly with this paradigm.
Partly to compensate for these limitations, market researchers often
resort to a rhetoric which poses another set of problems. The rhetoric
of market research is centered to a certain extent around hyperbole.
These concepts might link the film to be tested to past successes of the
same genre. For example, the firefighter film Backdraft (1991) could be
positioned in a concept as "an incredibly exciting, death-defying drama
in the tradition of The Towering Inferno." An interest level on the film
based on this concept would be biased, since the respondent would be
making the equation between Backdraft and The Towering Inferno; inter-
est in the new film would be based largely upon assuming that the two
films are equivalent, which, of course, may be an incorrect assumption.
The choice of adjectives in a concept description also can affect the
interest level: for example, in positioning the film as an adventure,

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 160 High Concept

Backdraft could be presented as "suspenseful," "intense," or "the most

thrilling adventure of your lifetime." The market researchers cannot
discern the extent to which interest is due to the basic storyline and,
more significantly, the extent to which the wording of the concept has
altered basic interest. This error in measurement has been noted by the
studios: as reported in an article about leading film and television mar-
ket researcher Joseph Farrell, " 'Joe was off in forecasting The Rocketeer
[1991], because, when presented to the public, it was compared to Raid-
ers of the Lost Ark/ recalls one marketing executive. This summer's
[1992] Cool World was described as continuing where "Roger Rabbit
takes off." That's "advertising," not "concept""' 19
Although post-production research involving recruited audience
screenings is more widely accepted within the industry, these surveys
also remain problematic in terms of method. One of the main difficul-
ties with audience screenings as a method to extrapolate future success
involves sampling: following the basic tenet of statistical analysis, the
market researchers select a sample of moviegoers to represent the gen-
eral population of moviegoers.20 One major difficulty with this process
is deciding on the characteristics of the general population of movie-
goers: in particular, whether this general population is, in fact, an ab-
stract target audience which the filmmakers have designed the film for,
or is more representative of the spectrum of moviegoers.21 The issue of
sampling becomes even thornier considering that audience members at
the screening are not just differentiated by sex and age, which target
audiences are often defined by, but also by geographical location, in-
come level, and educational background.22 Extrapolation of the re-
cruited audience research results beyond the limited audience sample
at the screening becomes a precarious endeavor due to these inherent
sampling problems.
These limitations in method historically have worked in conjunction
with the increasing conglomeration of the film industry to privilege the
high concept film whose economic risk is minimized through empha-
sizing the familiar over the original.23 The economic appeal of the high
concept film is based upon the immediate point of reference for the
audience; as Tom Pollock, chairman of the MCA motion picture group,
states, "The reason studios make them [blockbusters] is because of mar-
keting. They have instant identity."24 This instant identity strongly fa-
cilitates market research which, as a method, inherently favors those
films which the respondent can compare to previous familiar films.
Therefore, the movement toward the "packaging" of films within the
past two decades correlates with the encroachment of market research;

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 High Concept and Market Research 161

the strong argument would be that market research has, in some sense,
shaped and certainly has furthered high concept filmmaking.

Case Study:
Determining Boxofflce Revenue
The sampling and design problems
in these short-run projects are replicated in more long-run projects
implemented in market research. While the short-run projects are con-
structed around specific films and their marketing strategies, the long-
run projects commissioned by the major studios attempt to gauge atti-
tude and taste changes across time. The methodological limitations of
market research and the tendency toward production of high concept
films can be comprehended through the close analysis of a long-run
market research project.
In many respects, high concept should be the most amenable of any
filmmaking to market research. The connection between market re-
search and high concept derives from the commercial emphasis of these
films: these "formula" films are designed to be "appreciated" as much
as possible by the target audience, and, it is hoped, by other audience
segments as well. Certainly, the industry usage suggests that the high
concept film "ensures" financial success due to the presence of several
elements, including storyline, genre, stars, and bankable directors. If
these high concept films can be broken down into their constitutive
elements, then these films would fit more readily than other types into
a model describing the components of a single film. Consequently,
long-run market research surveys tracking the popularity of different
film types should be more accurate in accounting for the packaged, for-
mulaic high concept films than for the more low concept projects,
which defy simple categorization by genre, stars, marketing hooks, etc.
Market research, therefore, in both short- and long-run projects, favors
and furthers the high concept film.
One way to investigate the connection between market research and
high concept is to develop a statistical model explaining the determi-
nants of "popular" film. Using films released in the heyday of high
concept (1983-1986), I will build a model which accounts for the final
boxoffice gross of each film.25 The goal of the model will be to deter-
mine whether high concept films, and their commercial success, can be
accounted for more accurately than other films by this method of analy-
sis. The model will be specified so that the boxoffice gross is explained
by those factors having a probable positive impact on the gross of the
film. Through such a model, the relative impact of the different vari-

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 162 High Concept

ables accounting for boxoffice gross can be determined. The model,

therefore, can be used to predict future boxoffice gross if the values of
the explanatory variables are known beforehand. Such an attempt at
forecasting would be a possible long-term market research project in the
film industry.
The overall sample of films from 1983 to 1986 also will include a
subset of high concept films. Three separate facets define the films as
high concept for this particular project: the style of the films, their links
to merchandising and licensing, and the "repetition" through either
remakes, sequels, or series. Regarding the latter aspect, high concept can
be seen as a type of "economy" on the part of producers: the repetition
of bankable material to guarantee audience interest. The most obvious
forms of this repetition are remakes, sequels, or series films, which to-
gether represent one "formula" for commercial success. A comparison
between the overall sample and the high concept films will illuminate
any differences in the high concept films' relation to popularity.

Theorizing the Positive Influences

on Boxoffice Gross
Quantitative audience research has
a substantial history in mass communications, with the material more
specifically in film audience studies summarized in Bruce Austin's The
Film Audience: An International Bibliography of Research.26 Barry Litman's
"Predicting Success of Theatrical Movies: New Empirical Evidence"
offers a useful point of departure for this study, both in terms of the
variables considered and the results derived.27 Litman's goal is also the
determination of success for theatrical features; his choice of vari-
ables—the factors which explain theatrical success —basically grows
from the three areas that he feels are important to success: "the creative
sphere, the scheduling and release pattern, and the marketing effort."28
Litman specifies the following variables as having an impact on theat-
rical rentals: the adjusted negative cost, the distributor, the award nom-
inees and winners, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
rating, the critics' star rating, the superstars in the cast, the genre, the
number of first-run theaters, the newspaper advertising intensity, and
the release date.29 Litman offers many useful "proxies" for variables
which would seem to be inherently unquantifiable. In other words, he
presents alternative variables for factors which are difficult or impos-
sible to include in a statistical model. For example, Litman judges that
a director's reputation would have an effect on revenues "if a director
was nominated for an Academy Award during the four years prior to his
film in the sample or won an award during the previous seven years."30

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 High Concept and Market Research 163

Some aspects of Litman's model have been developed further in

other studies. For instance, Bruce Austin has considered the effect of
critical reception on boxoffice gross.31 Through questionnaires and in-
terviews as the basis for his research, Austin argues for the importance
of criticism and movie reviews as a guide for attendance. Generally,
though, reviews are more significant for the frequent, rather than occa-
sional, patron.32 Austin's other major finding in this area supports the
"elitist" trait of major critics: an evaluation of 788 films by consumers
and critics suggests that "consumers evaluated the movies significantly
more positively than the critics."33 These conclusions suggest that some
form of critical rating —either by the critics or the public—would be
worthwhile to include in the model.
Thomas Simonet and Kenneth Harwood weigh the relationship be-
tween the film director and boxoffice revenue.34 They find that criti-
cally favored directors are not necessarily the same as financially suc-
cessful directors, and that audiences do not respond to directors as
"auteurs." Looking at the issue from a different angle, though, Simonet,
in a solo study, does show a strong positive relation between the prior
boxoffice success of directors and the boxoffice success of their subse-
quent films.35
Much more academic and industrial interest has focused on the con-
tribution of boxoffice stars to gross. Starting with the industry-funded
Gallup research ("Continuing Audit of Marquee Values"), Hollywood
has continually tried to discover the "market value" of a performer. As
researcher David Ogilvy stated, "I calculated how much each star con-
tributed to the receipts of a picture and told our clients how much he
should be paid."36 Gorham Kindem's "Hollywood's Movie Star System:
A Historical Overview" offers a synthesis of several past analyses which
have sought to link stars with revenue. While much attention has been
paid to the period of the studio system and the economic significance
of boxoffice stars to the mode of production, Kindem makes an inter-
esting contribution to these arguments.37 Moving into the past two de-
cades, Kindem argues for the increasing interdependence between me-
dia stars and content: "Performers like Sally Field, John Travolta, Goldie
Hawn, Olivia Newton-John, Henry Winkler, Barbra Streisand, and Kris
Kristofferson became stars on television or in the recording industry
before their star status was fully exploited by the film industry."38
Therefore, the bankability of these (different) media stars acts as an in-
surance marker for filmmakers.
Another factor which might be considered regarding bankable per-
formers is the correspondence of performer with genre. As director John
Badham states, "There's an audience that will show up to see Rocky IV

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 164 High Concept

even if it's 105 minutes of black leader. On the other hand, Over the Top
is a picture that's in terrible trouble: There Stallone is stepping out of
his genre, like Eastwood in Bronco Billy."39 Even within my sample of
films, Badham;s comment rings true: Bill Murray is bankable in a
comedy like Ghostbusters, but not in the somber drama The Razor's Edge
(1984); John Travolta attracts customers in the musical sequel Staying
Alive, but not in the drama/expose Perfect; Steve Martin is winning to
audiences in comedic roles, such as those in Father of the Bride (1991)
and Housesitter (1992), but not so in dramatic fare, such as Pennies from
Heaven (1981) and Grand Canyon (1991). One possible adjustment to
the Litman model would be to limit the boxoffice stars to certain genres
if the identification between star and genre seems especially strong.
Finally, Austin also has isolated the influence of the MPAA ratings on
audiences in his study ''Do Movie Ratings Affect a Film's Performance
at the Ticket Window?"40 Utilizing a questionnaire which described
possible film scenarios and their MPAA ratings, subjects were asked to
rank their preference for several film projects. Austin discovered that the
likelihood of attendance at both PG- and R-rated movies was signifi-
cantly greater than for both G- and X-rated films, and that there was no
significant difference between PG- and R-rated films in terms of likeli-
hood of attendance.41 Austin's studies, in conjunction with the other
research projects on factors influencing attendance, offer some impor-
tant variables to be included in the model explaining boxoffice revenue.

Specification of the Model

The variable to be explained in the
model —i.e., the element that will be accounted for in terms of all
possible influences — is theatrical gross accruing to the distributor per
film. A. D. Murphy's Boxoffice Register offers both weekly and cumulative
yearly figures for boxoffice gross. I am considering all those films be-
tween 1983 and 1986 (inclusive) which have grossed more than $1 mil-
lion at the boxoffice, in order to create as large a sample as possible. The
vast majority of releases are included within this group since, if a film
is given a wide release, a total revenue of at least $1 million is extremely
probable. The years 1983 through 1986 represent the mature period of
high concept, in which the major studios had fully adjusted their pro-
duction schedules toward this form of production.42
The set of explanatory variables derives from all those factors which
could have a positive influence on boxoffice gross. The first explanatory
variables involve the distributor for each film.43 The six major distri-
butors are Paramount, Twentieth Century-Fox, Universal, Columbia,
Warner Bros., and MGM/UA. During the period of the sample, MGM/UA

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 High Concept and Market Research 165

was split into two individual companies (MGM and UA) which utilized
the same distribution arm in conjunction. For this analysis, I am con-
sidering the output of both companies as part of only MGM/UA. The
mini-majors are Orion, Tri-Star, and Disney/Touchstone. These com-
panies typically did not have as large a release slate as the majors, and
they lacked the advantages of economies of scale offered through ex-
tensive production and integration of the different windows of release.
Companies such as De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, Cannon, New
World, New Line, and Embassy are considered as independents. The
expectation is that the majors will have a greater positive impact on
boxoffice gross compared to the independents, who cannot match the
distribution and marketing expertise of the majors.
Ratings can potentially influence the size of the boxoffice revenue
through limiting admittance to R-rated features or through acting as a
positive or negative guide to a film's adult content. To account for this
factor, the second set of variables, from the MPAA rating system, ac-
counts for the categories G-PG-PG13-R. The X rating was excluded, since
no films in the sample had been assigned this rating.
The third explanatory variable concerns release date. Since the phe-
nomenally successful release of Jaws in 1975, summer has been increas-
ingly seen as the most favorable period for release. Indeed, currently
40 percent of boxoffice revenues are derived from the summer period.44
This pattern has developed in conjunction with the targeting of a youth
audience for pictures. Alternately, the Christmas vacation period has
remained very important as a release season. Traditionally this period
includes prestige, Oscar-hopeful movies, yet several blockbusters have
started their runs during the Christmas season. Both periods have been
expanding so that, for the film industry, summer now begins before
Memorial Day in May, and Christmas slightly before the Thanksgiving
Day holiday in November.45 To discover if, in fact, these periods do have
a positive effect on boxoffice revenue, I introduced variables for the two
periods. I would expect that both variables would have a positive effect
on theatrical gross, signifying that a Christmas or summer release adds
to the revenue of a film compared to other release periods. Release dates
are from the first wide-release week for the film listed in the Boxoffice
Register.
Market researchers often base initial audience ''want-to-see'' interest
in a project on the title and stars of the film. Foregrounding the stars in
this fashion indicates the significance which the film industry accords
stars, treating the star as the most significant form of human capital
("talent") in a film project. To evaluate this factor as a positive influ-
ence on boxoffice, the presence of bankable stars in a film constitutes

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 166 High Concept

the fourth explanatory variable in the model. Utilizing a method from

Litman's study, I am considering the top ten boxoffice stars from the
Quigley Publications' ''Annual Poll of Circuit and Independent Exhibi-
tors in the United States/' For the current year, a film has a bankable
star if it features any actor or actress from the three prior top-ten lists.46
Therefore, a film released in 1986 contains a bankable star if it contains
any person from the top ten for 1983-1985. The complete list of the
stars for each year is presented in Table 3. (Tables 3-9 appear at the end
of this chapter.)
Similarly, the variable accounting for the bankable directors is also
constructed based on track record. The directors of the top twenty films
in each of the past three years were compiled: if any of these directors
made a film in the current year, the model would include a variable
specifying a ''marketable director'' for that film.47 Since a director may
have helmed more than one top film in the past three years, the list of
marketable directors for each year is less than sixty. A listing of the mar-
ketable directors for 1983-1986 is given in Table 4. The data for the top
twenty films was derived from the Boxoffice Register and Variety's chart
of "The Big Rental Films" for each year. The expected effect of the bank-
able director on boxoffice gross would be positive, since a director with
a previous top twenty film would be expected to produce another bank-
able film.
The advertising of most films includes, at some point, critical blurbs
in the copy. Ranging from the relatively highbrow (Janet Maslin, say,
or Vincent Canby) to the unabashedly populist and reductive ("Two
Thumbs Up" Siskel and Ebert), critical opinion acts as a signal of film
quality for potential ticket-buyers. In the model, therefore, I included
an index of critical reception, based on an average of overall reviews
from national critics, as an explanatory variable. Boxoffice magazine, an
industry trade paper targeted primarily at exhibitors, publishes its "Re-
view Digest." Each film in the digest is assigned a rating from 1 (very
poor) to 5 (excellent). This cumulative rating is based upon an average
of the individual ratings from Boxoffice, Variety, the Los Angeles Times,
the New York Times, and USA Today. The sample of films is remarkably
comprehensive: the Digest only omitted 54 (out of 512) films from my
larger sample of all releases. For the missing critical ratings, I utilized a
conversion of critic Leonard Maltin's ratings.48
A series of seven variables account for the genre of each film. The
possible genres are drama, comedy, action/adventure, horror/mystery/
suspense, family, musical, and science fiction. Each film was placed
within a single genre. Cost figures are also utilized as explanatory vari-
ables. While Litman constrained his study to include only those films

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 High Concept and Market Research 167

on which he could find cost data, I propose instead to specify a variable

for high-cost films: to be designated if a film has a negative cost of over
$15 million, and omitted otherwise.49 Data on these high-cost films is
available in Variety's annual ''Big Buck Scorecard." For those high-cost
films, another variable listing the actual cost (as a number over $15 mil-
lion) was entered. One would expect that somehow the enhanced pro-
duction values in the high-cost films should correlate with larger box-
office grosses.
The final explanatory variables involve the Academy Awards. Two
numerical variables list the number of nominations and the number of
awards won for each film. The expectation is that these awards would
add to the boxoffice gross of the winning films. Therefore, the actual
full model, accounting for all the positive influences on gross, is com-
posed as follows: boxoffice revenue is explained by distribution com-
pany, MPAA rating, release pattern, bankable stars, bankable director,
critical reception, genre, cost, and awards.
A statistical technique, multiple regression analysis, will be used to
assess the relationship between boxoffice revenue for the films from
1983 to 1986 and the entire set of factors which are specified as having
an influence on boxoffice revenue. This technique mathematically es-
timates the relative effect of each of these factors on boxoffice revenue.
In addition, multiple regression analysis can be used to attempt predic-
tion of future boxoffice revenue.50

Estimation of the Model and Results

The model considers virtually all
the major releases from 1983 to 1986, comprising a sample of 512 films.
Table 5 presents summary statistics for the data set. The vast majority
of the films (81 percent) were released by majors; a ''Restricted'' rating
(48 percent of the sample) proved to be the most frequent rating by the
MPAA; and few films contained boxoffice stars (only 11 percent of the
sample) or were made by bankable directors (which comprised 16 per-
cent of the sample). About half of all films (54 percent) were merchan-
dised in one form or another, although few possessed the high concept
style (15 percent) or were a sequel or part of a series (17 percent). Among
genres, comedy (30 percent), drama (23 percent), and action (21 per-
cent) occurred most frequently.
Correlation analysis indicates how closely two variables move to-
gether.51 In other words, this statistical procedure illustrates whether
one variable increases or decreases in value as another variable increases
or decreases in value. Variables that move together in the same direc-
tion are positively correlated, while variables that move in opposite di-

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 168 High Concept

rections are negatively correlated. In addition, regardless of how the two

variables move together, there may be a strong, weak, or no correlation,
or relationship, between the two variables. Table 6 shows the simple
correlations between boxoffice gross and each explanatory variable. As
expected, since the variables were chosen for having a positive influ-
ence on boxoffice, almost all of the specified variables correlate posi-
tively with boxoffice gross: as each of the positive factors influencing
gross increases, so does boxoffice gross. Among the genres, there is little
correlation between any one genre and boxoffice gross. The major dis-
crepancy between Litman's findings and my own occurs with the sci-
ence fiction genre: Litman found a stronger correlation between gross
and sci-fi. This finding could be due to the earlier revival of science
fiction films during the period (late 1970s) of Litman's study. Among
studios, Paramount shows the highest correlation with gross, implying
that, compared to other studios, Paramount is most strongly related
with boxoffice gross. This finding is especially interesting given the
large number of high concept films with which Paramount has been
associated.
All the variables related to criticism and evaluation show a positive
correlation with gross; Academy Award nominations are more highly
correlated with gross than either Academy Awards or critical rating. Sum-
mer correlates positively with gross, which breaks from Litman's model,
in which summer release correlated slightly negatively with gross. Lit-
man's sample also exhibited a strong correlation between Christmas re-
lease and gross, whereas Christmas release and gross showed a slight
positive correlation in my model. Finally, all three high concept vari-
ables correlate positively, with the strongest correlation being between
gross and the high concept style. This finding indicates that the high
concept variables are related to boxoffice gross.
Between the explanatory variables, several interesting correlations
can be made relating to the different studios. These findings illustrate
the relationship between the studio and each of the factors influencing
boxoffice gross. The results appear in Table 7. First, although Paramount
is most correlated with revenue, the studio ranks low (eighth out of ten)
in its correlation with the cost variable. This would seem to indicate that
Paramount is among the most cost-efficient of the studios, especially
since there is also a strong correlation between Paramount and boxoff-
ice stars. Warner Bros, shows strong correlation with cost, boxoffice
stars, and bankable directors. Among the mini-majors, Disney's early
promise is definitely evident: Disney exhibits the strongest correlation
with critical response and merchandising, while showing little correla-
tion with boxoffice stars or high cost. Paramount also shows the strong-

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 High Concept and Market Research 169

est correlation with the high concept variables, followed by Disney.

Among genres, Universal shows the highest correlation with comedy,
independents with the horror and action genres (the most popular of
the exploitation genres), and Disney with the family pictures.
Every variable, except Academy Awards, adds significantly to the ex-
planatory power of the model, meaning that statistically each variable
deserves inclusion in the model.52 The most refined statistical model
can be found in Table 8. This model accounts for or explains 45 percent
of boxoffice revenue through the explanatory variables specified in the
model.53 The relative effects of some variables on boxoffice gross war-
rant mention.54 The high-cost variable has a large and negative effect,
which is especially interesting, indicating that an excessive budget film
will decrease the overall gross of a film by $18.6 million! This surprising
statistic indicates that high-budget films actually lower the prospects for
revenue. Films in the sample such as Something Wicked This Way Comes,
The King of Comedy (1983), The Cotton Club (1984), The Bounty (1984),
Once Upon a Time in America (1984), King David (1985), and Enemy Mine
(1985) each cost more than $20 million, while grossing substantially
less than 50 percent of its budget. These big-budget disasters greatly
outweigh proportionately high-budget hits such as Return of the Jedi,
Rambo: First Blood Part II, and A View to a Kill (1985). All the majors,
except Universal, have a positive effect on gross. The model indicates
that, compared to the other studios, Universal actually has a negative
effect on boxoffice revenue. In other words, the impact of Universal as
an element in a potential film "package" is negative: the distributor
actually detracts from the potential gross. As expected, both Paramount
and Warner Bros, carry the largest positive impact on gross, thereby
attesting to their superior distribution and marketing practices.
The estimated statistical model offers a predicted value for the box-
office for each of the films, meaning that the model specifies predicted
boxoffice revenue for each film based on the values for all the factors
(e.g., release date, studio, cost, etc.) influencing gross. This predicted
value should be close to the actual or observed boxoffice gross which
the film accrued. An analysis of the plotted ''observed'' (real-world)
versus "predicted" grosses from this regression uncovers some trends
among the types of films which may be projected through this form of
statistical analysis. The largest errors in prediction occur among the
positive outliers, those films which have phenomenally large grosses.55
For example, Back to the Future grossed $188.77 million in adjusted 1983
dollars; the regression specified a figure of $63.01 million, which is
amongst the largest predicted in the model, yet obviously quite far away
from the actual gross. Top Gun is another outlier problem: an actual

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 170 High Concept

gross of $154.6 million, with a predicted gross of $87.8 million. Again,

a very high figure for the model, but not very close to the actual gross.
Other large errors are associated with large-budget "surprises'': films
which were highly touted, yet failed to live up to their expectations. The
Right Stuff (1983), Brainstorm (1983), and Brazil (1985) fit into this cate-
gory. In many ways, these films were expected to perform much more
strongly, and their eventual failure remains a mystery. The most striking
case would be The Right Stuff, which was well received by the critics,
garnered many Academy Award nominations, and was considered a fas-
cinating and very American subject. The film grossed only $21.5 mil-
lion: well below the expected revenue, and far below the predicted value
of $78.3 million. This discrepancy indicates one of the potential diffi-
culties in predicting boxoffice gross: there are many cases of a film such
as The Right Stuff, with all the "commercial" elements in place, which
failed to attract audience interest regardless.
Given the emphasis of the high concept projects on simple and de-
finable storylines, it is interesting that the model's large errors also oc-
cur with films which have been widely criticized for their confusing
narratives. Consider the narratives of, for example, The Hunger, The
Keep (1983), Against All Odds (1984), The Cotton Club, and Swing Shift
(1984).56 All of the narratives of these films are torn in several different
directions, confounding the viewer's expectations and the limitations
of their genres. These films cannot be conceptually reduced in the same
manner as Flashdance or Top Gun. For example, what is the concept
behind Francis Coppola's sprawling gangster-musical The Cotton Club!
These "complicated" film narratives produced boxoffice revenues far
below their predicted values in the regression model. In part, an argu-
ment could be made for their failure in terms of high concept: the lack
of a clear concept behind these films hampered their performance at
the boxoffice.
Alternately, the model works best predicting action and horror films.
Action films which fit the model well include Ten to Midnight (1983;
observed $7.1m, predicted $7.53m), Conan the Destroyer (1984; ob-
served $24.8m, predicted $24.3m), The Terminator (1984; observed
$34.7m, predicted $38.7m), Delta Force (1986; observed $15.lm, pre-
dicted $17.5m); horror films include Firestarter (1984; observed $14.2,
predicted $13.8m), Impulse (1984; observed $2.5m, predicted $2.7m),
and Cat's Eye (1985; observed $8.0m, predicted $8.1m). These predicted
values encompass a wide range, indicating that the model is able to
predict low- and high-grossing horror and action films. The model also
operates most successfully in the prediction of strict genre films (such
as the action and horror picture); cross-genre films seem more difficult

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 High Concept and Market Research 171

The problem of predicting cross-genre films

(The Cotton Club, Orion, 1984). Photo by
Adyer W. Cowans, © 1984 Orion Pictures
Corporation.

to predict accurately. Another strength of the model is in the predic-

tion of sequel or series films such as Staying Alive, Superman III (1983),
Porky's II: The Next Day (1983), Oh God, You Devil (1984), Exterminator II
(1984). Finally, the model also works best with films from the major
studios, which can assure a film of widespread distribution and ade-
quate marketing.
To identify the differences in the high concept films compared to the
rest of the films released, I isolated a subset of only high concept films.
High concept films are defined in the model for this subset as those
films which carry the high concept style and are also merchandised. A
group of 67 films (from 512) were classified as high concept (see Table
9). The most striking contrast between the high concept sample and the
larger sample is the mean for boxoffice revenue: $47.8 million for the
high concept films, $14.5 million for the rest of the sample. The in-
creased revenue is also matched by a greater percentage of high-cost
films (37.3 percent vs. 18.8 percent) and distribution by majors (97 per-
cent vs. 78 percent). The high concept films also tend to include more
action and musical films, and are twice as likely to feature a boxoffice

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 172 High Concept

star. In terms of release date, high concept films are more likely to be
released in the summer compared to other films. As expected, Para-
mount's share of the high concept films (16.4 percent) is greater than
any other studio's, and the independent distributors' share of the high
concept films is substantially smaller than their share of all films. This
factor is probably due to the higher production cost of the high con-
cept films more readily being supported by major studios than by
independents.
In conclusion, this type of statistical modeling, indicative of one
kind of market research project within the industry, relies on dividing a
film into elements. The film becomes the sum of its parts, such as the
stars, bankable director, merchandising tie-ins, and genre. The modular,
packaged high concept films, with marketing hooks inherent in the
projects, lend themselves to this kind of analytical breakdown. Conse-
quently, it is not surprising perhaps that the statistical model illustrates
that high concept is actually more predictable than other forms of pro-
duction. The model works most successfully with genre-bound, linear
narrative and pre-packaged films —all categories which overlap with
high concept.
If high concept films are more predictable through market research
in terms of gross, then high concept lowers the risk and uncertainty
within the movie marketplace. The attractions of this are obvious.
While this factor is attractive to the industry, methodologically the link
between high concept and market research is flawed. The short-run
biases in market research, such as the allegiance to genre and past media
references which favor high concept, are replicated in the longer run
projects, as exemplified by my model. Regardless, this type of long-run
market research project also presents more substantive methodological
problems which should also be taken into account when evaluating the
results. These additional concerns illustrate the difficulty in relying on
quantitative data when deciding on film productions.57

Manipulation, Control, and High Concept

If market research is designed to tar-
get, present, and highlight the most marketable elements of the film,
then high concept is the most accessible type of film for this process
due to its inherent construction as a strictly commercial venture. The
development of high concept within the industry parallels the en-
croachment of market research at the same time. Clearly cause-and-
effect is difficult to argue in terms of market research and high concept,
but market research certainly does serve high concept films to a greater
extent than, for example, the non-star, cross-genre films, as is evidenced
by the boxoffice gross model.

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 High Concept and Market Research 173

Ideologically, market research recalls the prophecies of media influ-

ence from the Frankfurt School. Indeed, Herbert Marcuse could have
been directly addressing market research in the film industry through
posing the question, "Can one really distinguish between the mass
media as instruments of information and entertainment, and as agents
of manipulation and indoctrination?"58 This statement embodies the
paradox of market research. On the one hand, market research does act
as a straitjacket in the film industry, limiting content and material
which is objectionable to test audiences and respondents. This strait-
jacket, in many ways, could be interpreted in ideological terms as a dic-
tatorship created by market research. On the other hand, market re-
search merely shapes motion picture "products" in response to the
tastes and feelings of the greatest number of people. In this way, popu-
lism rules in the world of market research.
If all mainstream films are the meeting of commerce and art, market
research tips the scales much further toward commerce. It is hardly sur-
prising that market research concept testing placed Wind, Stay Tuned,
and Honeymoon in Vegas at the bottom of all Summer 1992 films in
terms of audience "want-to-see" interest.59 Regardless of the films' qual-
ity, the lack of clear genre allegiance and stars, as well as the unusual/
offbeat quality of each film, signified their lack of appeal for market
research. Of course, each of these films also lacks discernable high con-
cept qualities. Greeted by the dismal initial interest scores, the studio
marketing department understandably shifts effort to those films which
show more promise. Consequently, those films which should receive
greater marketing help — in creating a coherent image of the film for the
public—are pushed aside by the majors. This cycle is replicated by films
which test poorly in preview screenings. For instance, Robert Altaian's
against-the-grain teen comedy O.C. & Stiggs was "dumped" by MGM
after dismal research screenings in 1984, as was the 1991 baseball drama
Talent for the Game, which Paramount relegated to straight-to-video af-
ter research testing.60
The institutional control exacted by market research exl^ds to the
fine-tuning of the mainstream Hollywood films. Ruled by a method-
ology which seeks to maximize the satisfaction or utility of the greatest
number of potential moviegoers, market research also inevitably em-
bodies the value system belonging to this majority.61 Indeed, the con-
trol of market research is a control of the norms, both aesthetic and
social. Thus, any denunciation of the mainstream film industry in terms
of moral turpitude — such as Michael Medved's diatribe Hollywood vs.
America: Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values — is com-
pletely untenable. Medved claims that Hollywood films promote atti-
tudes against the values of a majority of Americans: for instance,

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 174 High Concept

Mannequin: designed for maximum appeal

to a young, female demographic (Manne-
quin, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1987). Photo
by Gale Adler, copyright © 1987 Gladden
Entertainment Corp.

Medved has been quoted as stating, "The point is that Hollywood pro-
motes an attitude that the majority of Americans don't share —that the
family is in meltdown, that the family is dead as an institution/' 62 Mar-
ket research, though, virtually ensures that Hollywood films carry the
prevailing values, attitudes, and tastes of the American public. There-
fore, Medved's attack is misguided: he should really be attacking the
public as a whole for endorsing these popular movies, rather than sug-
gesting that Hollywood, instead of merely reflecting dominant beliefs,
is shaping beliefs and actively lowering moral standards.
High concept could be interpreted as the product of an industry
driven by market research. To claim that high concept films are com-
pletely dictated by quantitative scores would be a strong misrepresen-
tation; even within high concept, there is latitude for creative decisions
which do not lend themselves to a questionnaire. Taken to the extreme,
the end result of market research would not be the light romantic
comedy Mannequin (1987), as some critics have suggested.63 Executive-
produced by market researcher Joseph Farrell, the successful Manne-
quin—telling of a beautiful mannequin coming to life for a romance
with a store clerk—was designed from its inception for maximum ap-

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 High Concept and Market Research 175

peal to a young, female demographic, with casting, advertising, and re-

lease date all centering on this goal.64 Rather, the extreme is represented
by the operation called "Future Films": a mysterious production com-
pany whose entry into Hollywood was heralded by an advertising
campaign in the industry trade papers: "PUBLIC NOTICE: Six years of
confidential research. Thousands of interviews and tests done. Is the
discovery about PEOPLE or TECHNOLOGY?'' Beneath this copy are two
drawings: a smiling researcher, pen and clipboard in hand, talks with a
mother and daughter, and a panel of monitors illustrates impressive
bar and flow charts against such titles as "Comedy/' "Western/' "Ro-
mance," and "Actress Age."
This campaign was followed by the announcement of Future Films:
a production company wholly devoted to market research in the choice
of screenplay, story elements, and even running time. As Robert Cefail,
Future Films' chief executive officer, describes, after exhaustive public
research across the nation, "In late 1986 I tabulated the No. 1 type of
film that people wanted to see and tested it against the films in devel-
opment. The No. 1 film people wanted at that time was a romantic
comedy set in the present during springtime. The place would be a big
city and the lead actors would be 28 to 32 years old. . . . The comedy
that was most needed at that time was witty and intelligent humor and
they didn't want any mixture of it with stupid slapstick. The time length
of the movie should be 1 hour and 52 minutes."65 Planning to make
"McMovies," Cefail organized a national survey of public taste in which
respondents would call a 900 number (at the minimum cost of $2) and
then answer questions about potential plots, subjects, stars, and story-
line traits.66
The underlying agenda of Future Films can be discovered through
part of its press release: "See why our American public feels completely
neglected regarding their tastes in movies: Dying Young— 91% want up-
beat endings & Casual Sex — 89% prefer stories with 'good old-fashioned
romance' over casual relationships and unusual practices."67 This "iron-
ing" of potentially disruptive subject matter again makes Marcuse seem
unusually prescient in stating, "Many of the most seriously trouble-
some concepts are 'eliminated' by showing that no adequate account of
them in terms of operation or behavior can be given."68 Indeed, the
agenda of Future Films is really not profit, but ideological control. Un-
masked by the Los Angeles Times and a witty Village Voice article by Russ
Baker titled "Putting the Cult Back in Culture," Future Films was tied
closely to Scientology; as Baker comments, "Future Films may be the
latest, thinly disguised attempt by Scientology to gain widespread ac-
ceptance and suck thousands into the movement."69 Given its regime

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 176 High Concept

of market research, the group sought to control masses through pre-

senting media produced according to carefully framed market surveys.
The illusion of control by the public is, in fact, control by those design-
ing and framing the questions.
Certainly the majors operate in a much less extreme fashion than the
Orwellian scenario above, but the "lesson" offered by Future Films
could be applied to high concept: simply stated, that market research
represents an ideology of the masses which serves to shape the form
and content of films produced within this institutional structure. Inno-
vation—aesthetic or social —is not a facet of the structure, and occurs
either as an aberration or outside the system altogether. Despite this
rather stern pronouncement, there are factors within the system which
have been shifting the relationship between market research, the film
industry, and, by extension, high concept.

Factors Influencing the

Decline of Market Research
The alignment between market re-
search and the film industry which has developed over the past two
decades may be faltering, however. The adjustment in this relationship
seems due to two principal factors: the movement away from the high
concept syndrome and the development of the baby boom generation
as an audience force. The lessening of Hollywood's emphasis on the
high concept film derives in part from increasing cost in producing and
marketing these films. According to the MPAA, the average film budget
rose to $26.8 million in 1990, up from $18 million in 1988.70 This in-
crease has been driven by the escalating cost of the high concept films
reliant on big stars, large-scale productions, and pre-sold properties.
Consider that in 1990 alone, Total Recall cost $60 million, with an ad-
ditional $35 million in advertising costs, Die Hard 2 also cost approxi-
mately $60 million, with $30 million in ad costs, and Days of Thunder
was only slightly less expensive at $50 million, with $27 million in ad
costs.71 As the costs increase, these films are also rushed into distribution
to save on interest payments. For example, in order to recoup its cost as
soon as possible, Days of Thunder was released only five months after
the beginning of principal photography.72
Just as significantly, production cost increases for the high concept
films have been met with dramatic increases in advertising and market-
ing costs. With studios spending $50-60 million on a large-scale film,
insurance for a substantial recoupment is available in advertising which
establishes and reinforces the image of the film. In the past decade, tele-
vision advertising has accounted for 60-70 percent of total advertising

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 High Concept and Market Research 177

expenditures, with key buys being commercials during primetime on

the midweek evenings prior to a weekend opening.73 Television net-
works have been sharply escalating rates to the studios, or as Fox mar-
keting and distribution chairman Tom Sherak comments, 'Thursday
night is a big night to spend money, if your picture comes out the next
day, and the TV companies make us pay for that/' 74 Indeed, in 1990,
the average movie marketing budget increased 26 percent to $11.6 mil-
lion, while the marketing cost of major studio releases jumped 20 per-
cent over 1989, to an average of $26 million per film.75
The phenomenal increase in production and marketing costs for
these commercial films has created a climate in which films such as Dick
Tracy, grossing $104 million, and Batman, grossing $253 million, have
failed to break even in domestic theatrical release.76 The apparent de-
cline of high concept became particularly evident to the studios in 1990
with the simultaneous failure of several big-budget, action-oriented se-
quels (RoboCop II, Rocky V, Another 48 HRS.) and star-power films (Days
of Thunder, Havana, Air America). At least in the press, the studio execu-
tives have been distancing themselves from the high concept films as
the staple of their production schedule. Typical of the response is Dis-
ney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg's widely circulated memo titled 'The
World Is Changing: Some Thoughts on Our Business/' in which he de-
scribes the industry as facing a period of great danger and uncertainty.77
Responding to the increasing unprofitability of the big-budget block-
busters and, in particular, to Dick Tracy as an example of this phenome-
non, Katzenberg concludes, "We should now take a long and hard look
at the blockbuster business... and get out of it." 78
As an alternative to the high concept films, Katzenberg and other
executives frequently cite a need for original, inventive stories as a focus
rather than large productions, stars, and pre-sold properties; as Katzen-
berg comments, "We must not be distracted from one fundamental
concept: the idea is king/' 79 The role of market research in this process
is more problematic, however. While market research can gauge the
audience interest in the high concept films composed of identifiable
stars, properties, and genre allegiance, this method cannot adequately
account for film narratives which lie outside existing boundaries. There-
fore, in shifting the focus to "original'' stories, the industry is simulta-
neously decreasing the role which market research might play in the
filmmaking process. Indeed, even in the memo, Katzenberg emphasizes
that market research, which carries the aura of "science," should not
dictate creative decisions since "there is nothing scientific about the
movie business."80
To exacerbate this shift away from market research, the composition

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 178 High Concept

of the filmgoing audience targeted by market research has also been

changing. The evolving age distribution of the population, given the
growth of the baby boomers, has produced a society with increasing
consumer affluence: for example, the household incomes of baby
boomers will grow 56 percent by the year 2000, compared to only 5 per-
cent for those under thirty-five years of age.81 In addition, as the baby
boomers and their families mature, leisure time will grow, especially as
their children age and begin to leave home.82 The effects of these demo-
graphic changes have been experienced already within the film indus-
try. Whereas during the past two decades Hollywood focused primarily
on the youth market, the filmgoing audience had been maturing during
this period. Consider, from 1984 to 1989, that filmgoers aged twelve to
twenty-four dropped from 54 percent to 44 percent as a proportion of
total theatrical admissions, while filmgoers aged twenty-five to forty-
nine increased from 39 percent to 46 percent. More significantly, in
1990, the over-forty audience jumped 24 percent, while the under-
twenty-one audience dropped 4 percent from the previous year.83
This shift in audience demography has created some unexpected
trends in popular films. First, as the baby boomers with children be-
come increasingly critical to industry success, films which appeal to
both adults and their children have become more popular: for instance,
the Spielberg/Lucas adventures, Three Men and a Baby, Look Who's Talk-
ing, the new Disney cartoons (The Little Mermaid [1989], Beauty and the
Beast [1991], Aladdin [1992]), and most strikingly Home Alone.84 In ad-
dition, this adjustment in demographics has been met with a number
of boxoffice successes whose appeal has been decidedly adult: Dangerous
Liaisons (1988), The War of the Roses (1989), Parenthood (1989), Driving
Miss Daisy (1989), and Thelma & Louise (1991). These successes largely
fall outside the domain of market research, however. The lack of adher-
ence to genre, pre-sold properties, and star power creates films which
cannot be encapsulized in market research concepts.
Consequently, executives have been forced to reevaluate their tra-
ditional market research approaches; as Arthur Cohen, President of
Worldwide Marketing at Paramount Pictures, describes, " Contempo-
rary moviegoers are now a very educated populace. They're more so-
phisticated, so marketing becomes a more intricate task/' 85 Implicit in
Cohen's statement is an understanding that the older baby boom gen-
eration filmgoers are more resistant to persuasion and therefore more
resistant to film marketing as an enterprise.86 The younger moviegoers
can also be targeted with more precision. Indeed, a study by Dennis
Tootelian and Ralph Gaedeke of teens across the western United States
demonstrated that television was by far the most important source of

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 High Concept and Market Research 179

information for movie and entertainment choices.87 As movie market-

ing consultant Ira Deutchman summarizes, "[The adult audience] is not
as easy to target as a youth audience/' 88 The more mature audience seg-
ment is also less predictable in terms of film preference compared to the
youth market, choosing to attend films on a situational rather than
regular basis. All these qualities of the baby boom audience mem-
bers — the greater sophistication in filmgoing, the higher resistance to
marketing, and the unpredictability of attendance — serve to undermine
further the usefulness of market research as a tool for the film industry.
The marriage between market research and the film industry may be
in decline, therefore, given the shift away from the market research-
ready high concept productions and the movement toward adult-ori-
ented films which cannot be reduced effectively to the rhetoric of mar-
ket research. While market research will continue to serve a certain style
of mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, the limitations of the methods,
which privilege the familiar over the original, may prove to be increas-
ingly unsatisfactory to Hollywood. If Hollywood continues to focus at-
tention on the adult-oriented films, for which audience demographics
make a strong case, more and more studio executives may react to mar-
ket research as has former Twentieth Century-Fox chairman Joe Roth.
In an impassioned speech, Roth vowed that his studio will completely
break with a heavy reliance on research or, as he kindly referred to the
market researchers, "the voodoo makers" of the film industry.89

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 Table 3. Listing of Bankable Boxofflce Stars
for the Regression Model
For 1983:
Burt Reynolds Richard Gere Dustin Hoffman
Paul Newman Clint Eastwood John Travolta
Harrison Ford Sylvester Stallone Sally Field
Alan Alda Dudley Moore Sissy Spacek
Bo Derek Richard Pryor Barbra Streisand
Goldie Hawn Dolly Parton Steve Martin
Bill Murray Jane Fonda

For 1984:
Clint Eastwood Richard Gere Jane Fonda
Eddie Murphy Chevy Chase Paul Newman
Sylvester Stallone Tom Cruise Alan Alda
Burt Reynolds Dudley Moore Bo Derek
John Travolta Richard Pryor Goldie Hawn
Dustin Hoffman Dolly Parton Bill Murray
Harrison Ford

For 1985:
Clint Eastwood Prince Dustin Hoffman
Eddie Murphy Dan Aykroyd Richard Gere
Sally Field Meryl Streep Chevy Chase
Burt Reynolds Sylvester Stallone Tom Cruise
Robert Redford John Travolta

For 1986:
Sylvester Stallone Harrison Ford Prince
Eddie Murphy Michael Douglas Dan Aykroyd
Clint Eastwood Meryl Streep John Travolta
Michael J. Fox Sally Field Dustin Hoffman
Chevy Chase Burt Reynolds Richard Gere
Robert Redford Tom Cruise Chuck Norris
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Source: Adapted from The International Motion Picture Almanac.

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 Table 4. Listing of Marketable Directors for
the Regression Model
For 1983:
I. Kershner J. Bridges J. Glen T. Hackford
R. Benton T. Chong J. Sandrich C. Higgins
C. Reiner B. Fosse A. Stevens N. Meyer
J. Abrahams H. Ramis J. Boorman T. Hooper
H. Needham S. Rosenberg M. Hodges J. Huston
M. Apted R. Maxwell T. Gilliam H. Hudson
H. Zeiff S. Cunningham J. Henson C. Eastwood
J. Landis R. Lester J. Derek T. Kotcheff
S. Pollack S. Poitier O. Scott J. Milius
S. Kubrick I. Reitman D. Davis H. Becker
R. Kleiser B. Van Horn S. Stallone B. Reynolds
G. Nelson S. Gordon M. Rydell J. Layton
S. Spielberg A. Alda B. Clark J. Avildsen

For 1984:
S. Spielberg J. Boorman J. Huston J. Badham
R. Lester M. Hodges C. Eastwood A. Lyne
S. Poitier T. Gilliam T. Kotcheff S. Dragoti
C. Higgins J. Henson J. Milius W. Hill
I. Reitman J. Derek H. Becker H. Ramis
B. Van Horn O. Davis S. Pollack P. Brickman
S. Gordon O. Scott B. Reynolds S. Lumet
H. Needham S. Stallone J. Layton J. Alves
A. Alda M. Rydell T. Gilliam I. Kershner
J. Glen B. Clark J. Avildsen J. Brooks
J. Sandrich T. Hackford R. Marquand R. Donner
A. Stevens N. Meyer J. Landis T. Hooper
T. Chong R. Attenborough

For 1985:
S. Spielberg H. Becker W. Hill L. Nimoy
S. Stallone S. Pollack H. Ramis H. Wilson
M. Rydell B. Reynolds P. Brickman R. Zemeckis
B. Clark J. Layton S. Lumet H. Ross
T. Hackford T. Gilliam J. Alves R. Howard
C. Higgins J. Avildsen I. Kershner A. Magnoli
N. Meyer R. Marquand J. Brooks B. Levinson
T. Hooper J. Landis R. Donner B. De Palma
J. Huston J. Badham R. Attenborough R. Tuggle
H. Hudson R. Lester J. Henson P. Hyams
C. Eastwood A. Lyne I. Reitman B. Streisand
T. Kotcheff J. Glen J. Dante J. Kanew
J. Milius S. Dragoti M. Brest

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 Table 4. (continued)

For 1986:
R. Marquand S. Lumet L. Nimoy J. Kanew
S. Pollack J. Alves H. Wilson G. Cosamatos
J. Landis I. Kershner R. Zemeckis P. Weir
J. Badham J. Brooks H. Ross J. Paris
R. Lester R. Attenborough R. Howard A. Heckerling
A. Lyne J. Henson A. Magnoli M. Ritchie
S. Stallone C. Eastwood B. Levinson L. Teague
J. Glen I. Reitman B. De Palma P. Bogdanovich
S. Dragoti S. Spielberg H. Hudson T. Burton
W. Hill J. Dante R. Tuggle G. Miller
H. Ramis M. Brest P. Hyams J. Hughes
P. Brickman J. Avildsen B. Streisand

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 Table 5. Distribution of the
Entire Sample
Entire Set

Sample Size 512

Boxoffice revenue: mean $ 18.86m

standard deviation $ 28.19m

Films released by majors 80.6%

Films released by independents 19.4%

Films released during Christmas season 10.9%

Films released during the summer season 33.0%
Films released apart from Christmas or summer 56.1 %

Films containing a boxoffice star 10.7%

Films containing a bankable director 16.4%

High-cost films 21.2%

Films with G or PG rating 37.4%

Films with PG13 rating 14.6%
Films with R rating 48.0%
Genre breakdown
Comedy 30.2%
Drama 23.0%
Action 21.1%
Horror 9.4%
Science fiction 5.8%
Family 5.1%
Musical 5.1%

Studio breakdown
Warner Bros. 12.7%
Universal 11.3%
20th C-F 10.7%
Columbia 9.8%
MGM/UA 9.8%
Paramount 9.2%
Orion 7.4%
Tri-Star 6.4%
Disney 3.5%
Independent 18.9%

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 R
Texas_Wyatt.pdf 196

Table 6. Simple Pairwise Correlations between the Dependent Variable (Boxoffice Gross)
and Several Independent Variables
Cost 0.255 (0.395) Action 0.081 (-0.164)
Major Distributor 0.204 (0.321) Horror -0.062 (0.067)
PG13 rating -0.007 * Family -0.045 (-0.051)
rating -0.108 * Musical 0.023 (0.067
Xmas release 0.128 (0.469) Science fiction 0.037 (0.216
Summer release 0.224 (-0.029) Paramount 0.164 (0.097)
Critical rating 0.265 (0.395) 20th Century-Fox 0.030 (0.030)
Academy Nominations 0.337 (0.233) Universal -0.010 (0.031)
Academy Awards 0.212 (0.295) MGM/UA -0.038 (0.027)
Bankable Director 0.227 Columbia 0.053 (0.104)
Bankable Star 0.276 (0.276) Warner Brothers 0.098 (0.185)
Merchandising 0.272 Orion -0.039 *
High Concept Style 0.371 * Tri-Star -0.006 *
Remakes/Sequels/Series 0.182 * Disney 0.005 *
Drama -0.118 (-0.002) Independent Distrib. -0.200 *
Comedy 0.068 (0.071)

The figures in parentheses are the simple correlations found in Litman;s 1980 study.
* Variable missing from Litman;s study.
11/2/2012 7:40:48 PM

)
)
 Table 7. Simple Pairwise Correlations
between Explanatory Variables
Between cost and Between critical rating and . . .

Warner 0.102 Disney 0.129

Universal 0.085 Orion 0.101
20th C-F 0.081 Warner 0.086
Disney 0.056 20th C-F 0.046
Tri-Star 0.038 Columbia 0.023
MGM/UA 0.005 Universal 0.005
Columbia -0.010 Paramount -0.007
Paramount -0.016 Tri-Star -0.045
Orion -0.074 MGM/UA -0.048
Indeps -0.202 Indeps -0.184

Between boxoffice star and . . . Between bankable director and . . .

Warner 0.114 Warner 0.179

Paramount 0.086 Columbia 0.067
Columbia 0.055 Universal 0.057
20th C-F 0.001 Paramount 0.041
Universal -0.004 MGM/UA 0.014
Tri-Star -0.013 Tri-Star -0.008
Orion -0.026 20th C-F -0.051
MGM/UA -0.029 Disney -0.055
Disney -0.066 Orion -0.085
Indeps -0.119 Indeps -0.160

Between high concept style and . . . Between merchandising and . . .

Paramount 0.091 Disney 0.113

Universal 0.054 Tri-Star 0.100
20th C-F 0.028 Universal 0.059
MGM/UA 0.025 Warner 0.048
Columbia 0.025 Columbia 0.041
Warner 0.017 Orion 0.038
Disney 0.007 Paramount -0.003
Orion -0.016 20th C-F -0.006
Tri-Star -0.022 MGM/UA -0.011
Indeps -0.163 Indeps -0.240

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 Table 8. Regression on Boxofflce Revenue—
Best Linear Model
Dependent Variable: Boxoffice revenue for theatrical movies, 1983-1986 ($ million)
Independent Estimated Standard
Variables Coefficient Error t-Ratio

Summer release 8.615* 2.112 4.079

Critical rating 4.781* 1.152 4.151
Cost -59.220* 18.885 - 3.136
Size of cost 4.179* 1.442 2.879
(Size of cost) squared -0.058* 0.025 - 2.313
Academy nominations 4.911* 0.653 7.522
Boxoffice stars 14.126* 3.308 4.271
Bankable director 3.414 2.788 1.224
Merchandising 6.003* 2.145 2.798
High concept style 19.330* 2.821 6.852
Tie-ins 7.581* 2.683 2.826
Paramount 13.408* 3.593 3.732
20th Century-Fox 4.482 3.381 1.326
Universal -1.274 3.316 - 0.384
MGM/UA 0.049 3.443 0.014
Columbia 2.388 3.494 0.684
Warner Bros. 5.352** 3.223 1.661
Comedy 11.942* 2.840 4.814
Action 14.694* 2.769 5.305
Horror 8.042* 3.679 2.176
Science fiction 7.667** 4.440 1.723
Constant -22.018* 4.298 5.123

R-squared: 0.452. R-squared adjusted: 0.429.

Sample size: 512.
* Significant at 5% level.
** Significant at 10% level.

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 Table 9. Distribation of the
Concept Sample
High Rest of
Concept Full Sample

Sample size 67 445

Boxoffice revenue: mean $ 47.86m $ 14.50m

standard deviation $ 56.12m $ 17.34m

Films released by majors 97% 78%

Films released by independents 3% 22%

Films released during Christmas season 14.9% 10.3%

Films released during the summer season 43.2% 31.5%
Films released apart from Christmas or summer 41.9% 58.2%

Films containing a boxoffice star 23.3% 8.9%

Films containing a bankable director 23.8% 15.3%

High-cost films 37.3% 18.8%

Films with G or PG rating 34.4% 37.7%

Films with PG13 rating 17.9% 14.2%
Films with R rating 47.7% 48.1%

Genre breakdown
Comedy 22.4% 31.4%
Drama 20.9% 23.3%
Action 26.8% 20.2%
Horror 4.5% 10.1%
Science fiction 12.0% 4.9%
Family 0% 5.8%
Musical 13.4% 3.8%

Studio breakdown
Warner Bros. 13.4% 12.6%
Universal 15.0% 9.6%
20th C-F 12.0% 10.6%
Columbia 13.4% 9.2%
MGM/UA 10.4% 9.7%
Paramount 16,4% 8.1%
Orion 5.9% 7.6%
Tri-Star 5.9% 6.5%
Disney 4.4% 3.4%
Independent 3.0% 21.3%

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 H A P T ER

Conclusion:
High Concept
and the Course of
American Film
History

From the landscape of postwar

American film, high concept films have developed as a potent commer-
cial and aesthetic force in contemporary Hollywood. The most overt
qualities of high concept—the style and look of the films — function
with the marketing and merchandising opportunities structured into
the projects. The result is a form of differentiated product adhering to
the rules of ''the look, the hook, and the book/ ; as I described the traits
of high concept in the introductory chapter. The high concept style, the
integration with marketing, and the narrative which can support both
of the preceding are the cornerstones of high concept filmmaking.
The differentiated product of high concept has been fostered by
shifts in the economics, technology, and institutional structure of the
motion picture industry. These shifts were precipitated by several major
technological advances —primarily the rise of television, cable, and
home video —and the concurrent rise in conglomeration of the film
industry. The effects of these changes were identifiable: the differentia-
tion of film from other media, the necessity of film ' 'playing'' across a
wide range of media, and the move toward more commercially "safe"
product, with inherent marketing hooks which would ensure a return
on investment. Throughout the mid- to late-'70s, the larger structural
changes were reinforced by the development of more "micro" adjust-
ments in the film marketing and distribution: saturation releases, music
and merchandising as marketing tools, and market research in both
short- and long-range projects. Films such as Jaws, Star Wars, and Grease

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 Conclusion 189

embody many of the traits which would become characteristic of high

concept in the years following their release in the mid- to late-'70s. The
structural and marketing/distribution changes bonded together to privi-
lege high concept as a focus for mainstream Hollywood filmmaking.
High concept is powerful in its command of the contemporary film
industry partly because the system behind these films is self-replicating.
High concept breeds more high concept. Consider the routes traveled
by a high concept and low concept film through the film industry and
into the marketplace. High concept project X—with a marketable, pre-
sold property, stars, and a bold look—tests well in the market research
process, since respondents recognize the "reference points" in the proj-
ect. Testing well in market research gives the distributor added confi-
dence in the movie, and a large advertising budget is specified. The ad-
vertising plan, which includes detailed merchandising, creates strong
awareness of the movie. This awareness translates into a good opening
weekend boxoffice. The studio bosses are pleased, making a note to pro-
duce more movies just like project X. The strong theatrical boxoffice
ensures adequate support for marketing the film in cable and home
video.
Project Y, on the other hand, made to appease an action star who has
just appeared in the studio's big summer picture, is an adaptation of
Henrik Ibsen's classic drama An Enemy of the People.1 Market research
respondents show little interest in the big action star as a tormented
Norwegian doctor in a period film — the concept and advertising mate-
rials test poorly. The studio starts to get cold feet, deciding to cut its
advertising support. Of course, the movie also has limited merchandis-
ing potential. The studio becomes increasingly nervous over alienating
fans of the action star. The consequence is that the marketing campaign
is underfunded and is developed primarily around the prestige quality
of the film. Prestige counts for little in terms of movie awareness,
though. The film has low awareness, and opens poorly in a saturation
pattern. The low gross at the theatrical window creates little support for
the film at all subsequent windows. The "lesson" from projects X and Y
for the studios could be seen in a potential monologue taking place the
Monday after project Y's opening, "We tried to make a high-toned film,
but no one cared. There just isn't the audience to support those movies
on a large-scale level. All the numbers indicate that it is most prudent
to proceed with movies like project X. Let's green light 'Project X: Part
Two.' " Another point is notched for high concept.
The shift in demographics and rising costs may be signaling a yellow
light for high concept, yet it is important to realize that high concept
has been continuing, and no doubt will continue, to some extent, into

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 196 High Concept

the future. As I have suggested, high concept has been molded by strong
institutional and industrial forces during the post-World War II era.
These foundations of high concept remain in contemporary Holly-
wood. Consequently, while factors may be scaling down the larger high
concept projects, it is inevitable that Hollywood will always be seeking
a pre-sold, moderately priced high concept product, such as a cinematic
adaptation of the television series The Addams Family (1991), Wayne's
World (1992), or The Beverly Hillbillies (1993). As such, high concept can-
not be adequately periodized, given the lack of a clear break from this
form of production.
The power of high concept within the industry of the past two de-
cades is substantial, however. Consider, for instance, the general devel-
opment of American film history. How will the era of the 1970s and '80s
be characterized in film history classes of the next century? I would
argue that a consideration of the traits of high concept would be central
to any characterization of the period.

The Transformation of the Antenr

To gauge the importance of high
concept, consider how a film historian might chart the death of the rich
period of experimentation in American film of the late '60s and early
'70s. As indicated in the chapter on industrial and aesthetic history, this
period is frequently described in auteurist terms. An examination of the
fate of these auteurs illuminates just how powerful high concept be-
came within the industry and how high concept, in many ways, irrevo-
cably altered the career paths of these auteurs. In 1981, Gerald Mast, in
his concluding chapter to A Short History of the Movies, commented,
"Like the film industries of Europe and Japan, the American cinema has
become a directors' cinema.... The American director has become one
of the film's stars, and it is significant that many directors of the last
decade can make films without any major star at all (The Last Picture
Show, Thieves Like Us, Star Wars, Days of Heaven), an unheard of practice
for major films until 1968."2 Mast proceeds to identify Woody Allen,
Robert Altman, Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Paul Mazursky, and
Peter Bogdanovich, among others, as exemplary auteurs.
If you extend the "short history" by ten years, the careers of these
auteurs illustrate the progression of American film. As already re-
counted, Robert Altman falls into the category of auteurs who failed to
adapt to high concept, and consequently he was forced to work outside
the mainstream film industry. Indeed, Altman's The Player, released in
1992, can be interpreted as a thinly veiled satire of the mechanism
which ousted him from the film industry—a world in which films are

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 Conclusion 191

pitched as "The Gods Must Be Crazy, but with a television actress instead
of a coke bottle" or "The Graduate Part 2, except Mrs. Robinson has
suffered a stroke." Altman describes his own exile from Hollywood in
terms of a shift toward commercially risk-free products. Telling of his
inability to secure funding for his films from the mainstream industry,
Altman comments, "What comes back is something based on computer
data: 'We don't find a place for what you tell us this picture is going to
be. We don't find an example of where that will succeed/ People don't
work on feelings or hunches. They work on what they think is intellect.
And you cannot intellectualize art."3
Directors such as the late Hal Ashby, Bob Rafelson, William Friedkin,
and Peter Bogdanovich, all acclaimed for their work in the early '70s,
follow a trajectory similar to Altman's.4 From 1970 on, Ashby directed a
series of diverse social comedies and dramas which commented articu-
lately on the concerns of the times: The Landlord (1970), Harold and
Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Coming Home
(1978), and Being There. The latter film, released in 1979, represents Ash-
by's final work of artistic substance. After this time, his idiosyncratic
projects were deemed virtually unreleasable (such as the comedies Sec-
ond Hand Hearts, in 1980, and Lookin' to Get Out in 1982), and his career
ended with the workmanlike Eight Million Ways to Die (1986) and,
amazingly enough, a Neil Simon comedy, The Slugger's Wife (1985).
Unlike either Altman or Ashby, both Friedkin and Bogdanovich were
more narrowly genre-oriented. Regardless, they also failed to adapt suc-
cessfully to the changing marketplace of high concept. Friedkin's block-
busters of the early '70s—The French Connection (1971) and The Exorcist
(1973) — actually do have some traits in common with high concept: the
emphasis on style and the striking look of both films, the pre-sold prop-
erty of The Exorcist. Yet Friedkin's career floundered after these suc-
cesses, in part due to the narrative ambiguity of films such as Cruising
(1980) and To Live and Die in LA. (1985), both of which carry the high
concept style without the linear, recuperable genre narratives.5
Bogdanovich's status as an auteur now seems based on his critically
acclaimed work, The Last Picture Show (1971), and, to a much lesser ex-
tent on Targets (1968), Paper Moon (1973), and possibly What's Up Doc?
(1972). With the exception of Mask (1985), his heavy-handed genre
re-creations and broad farces—Nickelodeon (1976), They All Laughed
(1982), Illegally Yours (1988), Noises Off (1992), The Thing Called Love
(1993) —failed to connect with either audiences or critics after the mid-
'70s. The lack of style and marketing hooks in his films augmented the
precariousness of the Bogdanovich oeuvre.
In another arena altogether, Francis Coppola and Martin Scorsese

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 192 High Concept

represent those directors who have been able to adapt somewhat more
successfully to the economic dictates of high concept. Coppola's career
in the past two decades has been shaped by the 1982 failure of his
$26 million Las Vegas romance/musical One from the Heart, and the en-
suing disintegration of his Zoetrope Studios.6 Reeling from the critical
reviews and public indifference to this film, as well as the loss of his
studio, Coppola chose to direct two films back-to-back. These films,
both adaptations of S. E. Hinton youth novels, illuminate much about
Coppola's attitude toward the economics of the industry in the '80s. The
Outsiders (1983), featuring a cast of teen idols including Matt Dillon,
Diane Lane, Rob Lowe, and Tom Cruise, is a straightforward teen melo-
drama, marked by only moments of excessive style. With the teen cast
and pre-sold property, the film grossed a solid $25.7 million. Coppola's
second 1983 S. E. Hinton adaptation — Rumble Fish — returned Coppola
to the heavy stylization of One from the Heart, and is obviously a more
personal interpretation than his previous film. With its black-and-white
cinematography, unconventional camera work and cutting, and an ex-
pressionistic soundtrack of industrial noises by Stewart Copeland, the
marketing assets were overwhelmed by the director's sense of style. As
a result, despite the assets of a teen cast and a pre-sold property, Rumble
Fish grossed one-tenth ($2.5 million) of The Outsiders. This movement
between personal projects, often highly stylized, and projects which
make strong concessions to the marketplace distinguishes Coppola's ca-
reer in the aftermath of One from the Heart. For instance, the risk of
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) is offset by the commercial ap-
peal and marketing hooks of The Godfather, Part III (1990) and Bram
Stoker's Dracula (1992).
Scorsese has experienced his own catastrophes at the hands of the
mainstream industry, from the large-scale flop of his big-budget New
York, New York (1977) and The King of Comedy (1983) to the abrupt
cancellation of The Last Temptation of Christ by Paramount in 1983.7 As
with Coppola, Scorsese has accommodated the industry through either
pursuing projects with pre-sold elements (such as The Color of Money
[1986] or Cape Fear [1991]) or operating on a low budget outside the
mainstream industry via affiliation with smaller companies, such as
Cineplex-Odeon (Last Temptation) or Geffen (After Hours). Currently
Scorsese moves between these modes of production, although the re-
spectable grosses of Goodfellas ($46.8 million) and Cape Fear ($78.1 mil-
lion) may allow Scorsese more freedom in his choice of projects, such
as his $30 million historical romance, The Age of Innocence (1993).
In addition to either ignoring or adjusting to the changing market-
place, a few directors have been able to negotiate a space within the

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 The commercial failure of One from the
Heart led Coppola to the more marketable,
teen-oriented The Outsiders (One from
the Heart, Columbia, 1982; The Outsid-
ers, Warner Bros., 1983).

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 194 High Concept

mainstream industry in which they are granted almost complete au-

tonomy over their films. Of the late ;60s auteurs, only Woody Allen has
negotiated this route successfully, primarily due to strong critical sup-
port characterizing him as one of the only film "artists'' working in
America. Despite a solid gross from only one film (Hannah and Her Sis-
ters; $39.4 million in 1986) since 1979, Allen has been able to sustain a
remarkably consistent output over a long time period, averaging about
one film per year. With the support of Orion and Tri-Star Pictures, Allen
continues to make films undaunted by the economic constraints expe-
rienced by others working within the system.8 This enviable position is
shared by few other directors. Freedom is more often seized by com-
mercially successful directors, such as Oliver Stone, who may be given
relatively free rein to pursue personal projects. Indeed, only a director
with the commercial (and critical) clout of Stone could make a large-
budget, major studio film like JFK (1991) so openly critical of American
institutions, society, and history.
In sum, most of the auteurs praised for their innovation and origi-
nality in American film have been forced to respond to the more com-
mercially centered marketplace of high concept. As a result, the work
from this group, and, by extension, the general quality of mainstream
filmmaking, has been less memorable compared to the period of ex-
perimentation in the late '60s and early '70s. In this manner, the influ-
ence of high concept can be appreciated, with this type of filmmaking
acting to squeeze other less marketable and perhaps more aesthetically
challenging films from the landscape of American film.

Television and the

Ideological Agenda of High Concept
To extend the auteur argument
slightly further, it is interesting to contemplate the rise of the "Network
TV" generation of auteurs who have developed during the period of
high concept. Timothy Corrigan anticipates this tendency in the strong
connection which he posits between the two media: " 'Shareability' is a
way of describing the ability of a high-concept film to recuperate large
budgets in advance by being marketable to the audiences of both tele-
vision and theaters. This accounts, I would add, for the common, easy
mobility of actors and directors between television and film (usually
bringing television styles with them)." 9 This mobility extends to tele-
vision actors turning to directing films; consider the success as auteurs
met by such '70s television personalities as Laverne and Shirley's Penny
Marshall (Big [1988], Awakenings [1990], A League of Their Own [1992]),
All in the Family's Rob Reiner (Stand by Me [1986], The Princess Bride

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 Conclusion 195

[1987], Misery [1990]), Happy Days' Ron Howard (Cocoon [1985], Parent-
hood [1989], Backdraft [1991], Far and Away [1992]), and Taxi's Danny
DeVito (Throw Momma from the Train [1987], The War of the Roses
[1989]). The effective transition from television to film for these actors
scarcely seems accidental. The movement toward high concept within
the film industry favors the aesthetics of television: the reliance on char-
acter types, the strict genre parameters, and, of course, the modular
structure. In addition, recall that high concept originally was conceived
in relation to the ABC 'TV Movie of the Week/' which often focused
on topical, or marketable, subject matters which could be sold in one
line in TV Guide.10 Both of these factors furthered the exchange among
television, film, and high concept.
Perhaps the salient characteristic of television programming is its
highly ritualized or formulaic quality—from the placement of programs
within a fixed slot on the regular broadcast schedule to the fully recu-
perable plotline in the thirty-minute format. This quality also operates
throughout high concept, and, at the risk of a generalization, this fea-
ture has been noted as one of the defining characteristics of American
cinema in the past two decades. For example, Andrew Britton, in his
exhaustive and compelling review of "Reaganite Entertainment," com-
ments, 'The structure, narrative movement, pattern of character rela-
tionships and ideological tendency of Star Wars, Tron and Krull are
identical in every particular: the variations, if that is the word, are me-
chanical and external. . . . [The conventions of Reaganite entertain-
ment] function, rather, to inhibit articulation, and the impediments
to thematic development which they set up must be referred to this
function/'11
The ritualized quality of these contemporary American films em-
bodies an ideological agenda which offers reassurance, according to
Robin Wood. Building on Britton's initial thesis, Wood claims that the
ideological function of popular American film, particularly the Lucas-
Spielberg films, is to defuse the social threats, remaining from the late
'60s, to patriarchal, bourgeois society.12 Unquestionably the high con-
cept films, geared so specifically to the marketplace, reflect the Ameri-
can Zeitgeist, embracing the return to right-wing values and beliefs.13
The emphasis on consumerism and lifestyle as represented in the
style of the high concept films clearly operates in a recuperative fashion.
This tendency also is manifested within high concept, in part, through
presenting the alternative to the bourgeois and patriarchal center —the
other. For instance, in Endless Love, Jade's bohemian, ersatz-'60s family
is offered only in terms of moral laxity: Jade's mother tries to seduce
her daughter's boyfriend, the parents cannot control their children's be-

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 196 High Concept

Moral "problems" created by '60s idealism

(Endless Love, Universal, 1981). Copyright
© 1981 Universal City Studios Inc.

havior, and the mother enjoys an extended voyeuristic interlude at the

expense of her underage daughter. The central "problem" of thefilm—
the obsessive love relationship between two young teens which destroys
both the bohemian family's house and family unit —could easily be in-
terpreted as retribution for the "unstable" '60s-fixated family. Similarly,
in American Gigolo, while the chic, monied world of Beverly Hills ma-
trons is presented as desirable and an achievement, the "other" world
for gigolo Julian Kay is also clearly defined: the dark, secret milieu of
gay bars represented, not coincidentally, by the black pimp who frames
Julian. Director Paul Schrader makes the equation of homosexuality
and racial minorities; he offers a value judgment on this constructed
world with the valiant Julian refusing to work in this world until he
becomes a murder suspect.
The otherness of '60s idealism, ethnicity, and sexual difference is
augmented by a clear reinforcement of patriarchal capitalism. Under
the guise of the teen comedy genre, Paul Brickman's Risky Business of-
fers a paradigm for this reinforcement. Teenager Joel (Tom Cruise), a
prospective business major graduating from high school, transforms
his parents' home into a brothel on the same night as his interview

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 Conclusion 197

with a representative from Princeton. Assuming that he has seriously

jeopardized his chances for admission, Joel is surprised by his accep-
tance to the university, as well as the financial windfall reaped by be-
coming a pimp for a single night. The viewer learns the value of the
entrepreneurial spirit, the link between capitalism and exploitation,
and, most significant in the Reagan era, the methods through which
the upper middle class reproduces itself. Indeed, Joel, the white-bread
teenager living in a wealthy Chicago suburb, is supported financially
and commended for his initiative in running a whorehouse, with his
future secure given his (academically undeserved) entry into an Ivy
League school. Of course, his partner in crime, the teen prostitute Lana
(Rebecca DeMornay), forced to leave home by abuse at the hands of a
stepfather, remains in her profession after Joel's success — despite her
large role in initiating and implementing the scheme. The class divi-
sions in the film are solidly reinforced. Opportunities for advancement
are still available in the Reagan era, but these chances are limited to
those who are already firmly ensconced in the affluent socioeconomic
class. As with many high concept films, Risky Business follows the Robin

Class divisions and the trajectory of'demo-

cratic capitalism" ("Risky Business, Warner
Bros., 1983). Copyright © 1983 Warner
Bros. Inc.

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 198 High Concept

Wood trajectory of reinstating "racism, sexism, 'democratic capital-

ism/ the capitalist myths of freedom of choice and equality of oppor-
tunity, the individual hero whose achievements somehow 'make every-
thing all right/ even for the millions who never make it to individual
heroism/' 14

The Alternatives to High Concept

If the institutional structures are
still operating to support the high concept films so steeped in a conser-
vative ideology, what alternatives exist to transform the landscape of
American film? One avenue for the aesthetic rejuvenation of American
film is the exchange between the alternative and mainstream cinemas.
David James proposes a definition of alternative film practice which
foregrounds a social determinant: "All models of filmic distinctions,
and especially all formalist models that propose distinctions between
an alternative film style and the codes of the feature film industry, must
then be doubled to include the social determinants of each; they must
be returned to social practice. And any alternative practice, whether it
be Black film, underground film, or women's film, may be understood
as a response to the three other spheres of activity: the alternative social
group, the dominant society, and the hegemonic cinema/' 15 James
stresses the link between minority interests and their representation
through alternative filmmaking, and, of course, a long history of ex-
perimental and avant-garde film has been associated with, for example,
racial and sexual minorities. However, the significant equation that
James makes is between the alternative and mainstream cinemas, illus-
trating how the mainstream cinema assimilates traits of the avant-garde
during the course of time.16
In the context of mainstream cinema, the adoption of avant-garde
stylistics follows an economic motive — Hollywood will alter the domi-
nant style of production given the potential for additional boxoffice
revenue. This process has continued throughout the development of
film history, even in the period of classical Hollywood cinema. Janet
Staiger describes the contribution of "the innovative worker" whose
aesthetic contribution to Hollywood cinema is encouraged given poten-
tial economic benefits: "Instead of holding back the innovative worker,
the Hollywood mode of production cultivated him or her as long as the
results provided profits."17 This argument holds just as readily in the
contemporary industry, and high concept may be transformed by an
aesthetic innovation shifting this style of filmmaking. Certainly this
process cannot be charted in any linear, organized fashion. The model
of the high concept style outlined in Chapter 2 is not static. Subtle aes-

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 Conclusion 199

thetic alterations in the high concept style are an ongoing phenome-

non: each newly successful high concept film potentially offers an alter-
ation to be assimilated by future high concept films.
The source of these alterations may be within the modes of produc-
tion outside mainstream commercial cinema. The degree of assimila-
tion of avant-garde artists within the mainstream industry obviously
depends on the extent to which these artists are interested in engaging
narrative in their creative projects. It seems extremely unlikely, for in-
stance, that an experimental or structural filmmaker, such as Yvonne
Rainer or Jonas Mekas, would ever interest Hollywood as a source of
potential profits. The emphasis in their works on structure and process
over narrative and linearity negates any concern from the mainstream.
Of course, artists working in alternative cinema may well adopt styles
of dominant filmmaking, in part, to offer a critique of these styles. Con-
sider, for example, Tom Kalin's independent film Swoon (1992), which
offers a contemporary perspective on the Leopold/Loeb murder case.
The film is shot in a manner which evokes high concept: an emphasis
on the fashion style of the characters, and shooting in grainy black-and-
white through smoke and shadow. The effect is to suggest an identifi-
cation with the style alone, and to offer a critique of this empty style,
adopted from advertising, which obscures the moral degradation of the
characters.
More feasible cases of assimilation from experimental work to the
mainstream can be discovered in Tim Burton and David Lynch, both of
whom exhibited strong ties to narrative before entering the mainstream
industry. Burton gained attention from the mainstream industry due to
a short film titled Frankenweenie, an off-center retelling of the Franken-
stein legend involving a suburban family's dog. Burton's skewed out-
look and very strong, surreal visual sense was then integrated into
feature filmmaking with Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985). Apart from im-
mortalizing Paul Reubens's Groundlings character, the film was distin-
guished by a bold pop art design and a striking use of primary colors,
both of which expressed the cartoonlike world of Pee Wee perfectly.
Burton's subsequent assignment, Beetlejuice, similarly took advantage of
his visual sense and his off-center point of view. Both of these features
paved the way for Burton's enormously successful Batman, in which
Burton brought his visual sense and skewed humor to the high concept
project (due to its pre-sold nature and star casting). Arguably, Batman's
greatest achievement is its meticulous production design and cinema-
tography, which offer a darkly revisionist version of the Batman familiar
from comics and the '60s television series. While the film is clearly
within the domain of high concept, which accounts partly for its com-

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 200 High Concept

mercial success, Burton was able to shift the parameters of high concept
through his strong visual sense. Since the film grossed over $250 mil-
lion, this form of differentiation will be acknowledged and encouraged
by the mainstream film industry.
Lynch's entry into the mainstream is more tentative. With the sup-
port of the American Film Institute, Lynch's background is in experi-
mental shorts such as The Grandmother, about a disturbed boy who
plants a seed that grows into his grandmother.18 Lynch's first feature was
filmed over five years from 1971 through 1976. The result, Eraserhead
(1977), became one of the foremost cult films of the '70s: an horrific,
disturbing, and grotesque nightmare about a mutant baby. As with Bur-
ton, Lynch's gifts appear to be a visual sense and an appreciation for
the bizarre within everyday life. Unlike Burton, Lynch's stylized world
seems much more extreme and uncompromising: choker close-ups,
unbalanced compositions, an attraction to darkness, and especially a
Diane Arbus-like affiliation with the grotesque and abnormal. As a re-
sult, it is interesting to chart the extent to which Lynch has not been
able to integrate into the mainstream industry. Indeed, perhaps the only
mainstream film which fully integrated Lynch's vision with a cohesive
narrative is his adaptation of The Elephant Man (1980); as critic Richard
Woodward describes, 'The mood of The Elephant Man, its palpable vi-
sion of blanketing darkness and pockets of light in industrial-age En-
gland, owes much to Lynch. And for the first time in his career, his gift
for atmosphere was joined to a clear dramatic story: the relationship
between the pathetically deformed John Merrick and his doctor."19
After the success of The Elephant Man, Lynch directed the $40 million
science-fiction epic Dune (1984) for producer Dino De Laurentiis and
Universal Pictures. In this case, Lynch's style overwhelmed the film, and
the Lynchian characters could not fit neatly with the ostensible narra-
tive. The result was an enormous critical and boxoffice failure, more-
over a failure for Lynch's talents to mesh with a pre-sold project. As a
consequence, unlike Tim Burton, Lynch failed to make a transition to
major Hollywood filmmaking. His subsequent films have been released
by independents, such as Goldwyn and the now defunct De Laurentiis
Entertainment Group. His special talents have been mined by television
(Twin Peaks [1990]), although the appeal proved to be limited. Lynch
represents the case of an experimental film artist whose particular
strengths cannot be assimilated by mainstream Hollywood and, as a re-
sult, whose strengths will not alter the dominant style of Hollywood
filmmaking.
High concept may also be altered through the reconceptualization oi
the film marketplace. As marketing and market research have become

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 Conclusion 201

David Lynch's dark vision combined with a

linear narrative (The Elephant Man, Para-
mount, 1980). Copyright © MCMLXXX by
Brooksfilms Limited.

more significant in delivering the film to the marketplace, there is an

increasing tendency to "narrowcast": to target television buys to spe-
cific well-defined demographics.20 The era of high concept also corre-
lates with the targeting of a young demographic, but Hollywood is
clearly interested in other breakdowns in demography beyond age. In
particular, the majors wish to target ethnic groups, such as the African-
American or Hispanic market. Hit films labeled as African-American ori-
ented, such as House Party, Boyz N the Hood (1991), and Do the Right
Thing (1989), certainly helped to give a director like Spike Lee the lati-
tude to direct the $35 million Malcolm X (1992).21 Through his track
record at the boxoffice, Lee has been accorded a position like Woody
Allen or Oliver Stone —i.e., one who can direct a film without strict
pre-sold boxoffice appeal. If the studios are able to define submarkets
according to ethnicity and successfully market films to this subdemo-
graphic, this niche marketing may signal a significant form of pro-
duction beyond high concept. Of course, the argument revolves com-
pletely around the success with which such a market may be defined

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 202 High Concept

and located. For instance, simply targeting the African-American mar-

ket is fairly meaningless, since the task of targeting the audience for
Mo' Money (1992) is much different than targeting To Sleep with Anger
(1990). Regardless of race, the former would be appealing to a much
younger audience than the latter.
Apart from the influence of independent media artists, narrowcast-
ing, and the general passing of the Reagan era, high concept will remain
as a form of production within the industry. The style no doubt will be
adjusted over time in response to the aesthetics of the most popular,
commercially oriented films. To return to the question of periodization
and the fate of films from the past two decades in American film history,
I hope that this period would not be dismissed as unproductive or stale.
Instead, the period offers a chance to examine a specific instance in
which the balance between commerce and art in American film tilted
strongly toward economics, influencing the construction of and market
for film.

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 Notes

1. A Critical Redefinition:
The Concept of High Concept
1. David Ansen, "Rock Tycoon Robert Stigwood," Newsweek, July 31,
1978: 43.
2. 'The Yellow Brick Road to Profit/' Time, January 23, 1978: 46.
3. R. Serge Denisoff and William D. Romanowski, Risky Business: Rock in
Film (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transactions Publishers, 1991) 235.
4. Ibid. 240.
5. Rentals include money returned to the distributor, not the amount actu-
ally taken in at the boxoffice, which is referred to as the boxoffice gross.
6. See Thomas Senate's analysis of the generic transformation in the film in
Old Hollywood/New Hollywood: Ritual Art, and Industry (Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI
Research Press, 1983) 280-281.
7. Richard Dyer, Only Entertainment (New York: Routledge, 1992)61.
8. Chris Chase, "Fosse's Ego Trip," Life, December 1979: 94.
9. Martin Gottfried, All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse (New York:
Bantam, 1990) 393.
10. Kevin Boyd Grubb, Razzle Dazzle: The Life and Work of Bob Fosse (New
York: St. Martin's Press, 1989) 228.
11. Diller began his professional career as assistant to the head of program-
ming at the age of 23 in 1965. He continued to rise at ABC, eventually leaving in
1974 as the Vice-President of Prime Time Programming at ABC. See James P.
Forkan, "Paramount Exec is Adman of Year," Advertising Age, January 8, 1979:
S2, 1. Gary Edgerton recounts Diller's innovations in "High Concept, Small
Screen," Journal of Popular Film and Television, Fall 1991: 114-127.
12. For an interesting historical account of the development of this program-

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 204 Notes to Pages 8-20

ming form, consult Richard Levinson and William Link, Stay Tuned (New York:
St. Martin's Press, 1981) 1-5.
13. Reprinted in Claudia Eller, "Katzenberg Memo: Rivals' Reactions Range
from Accord to Scorn/' Variety, January 31, 1991: 1 +.
14. Interview with Peter Guber, April 27, 1988.
15. High concept is used in both film and television as a means of defining
a project. The term has similar connotations in the two media.
16. Peter Biskind, "Low Concept," Premiere, February 1988: 74.
17. Dawn Steel, They Can Kill You . . . But They Can't Eat You (New York:
Pocket Books, 1993) 98.
18. Will Tusher, "Schwarzenegger as the Tooth Fairy?" Daily Variety, Au-
gust 29, 1991:3.
19. Stuart Byron and Anne Thompson, "Summer Rentals," LA Weekly, Sep-
tember 27-October 5, 1985: 13.
20. J. Hoberman, "1975-1985: Ten Years That Shook the World," American
Film, June 1985: 36.
21. Richard Schickel, rev. of Irreconcilable Differences, Time, October 8,
1984: 82.
22. Patrick Goldstein, "Hollywood Squared," Los Angeles Times, July 26,
1987: Calendar section, 40.
23. Dale Pollock, "Flashfight," Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1983: Calendar sec-
tion, 1 +.
24. For a more positive evaluation of high concept in terms of an economic
strategy, see David Ansen and Peter McAlevey, "The Producer Is King Again,"
Newsweek, May 20, 1985: 84-86.
25. Michael Wilmington, "Nice Girls Don't Explode Is a Dud," Los Angeles
Times, May 29, 1987: Calendar section, 8.
26. Timothy Noah, "Valley of the Duds," Washington Monthly, October
1985: 18.
27. Owen Gleiberman, rev. of King Ralph, Entertainment Weekly, March 8,
1991: 42.
28. Jack Matthews, "He Wants to Add New Pages to UA's Illustrious History,"
Los Angeles Times, November 19, 1987: Cl.
29. Personal interview with studio production executive, tape on file.
30. Robert C. Allen and Douglas Gomery, Film History: Theory and Practice
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985) 86.
31. David Bordwell, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson, The Classical Hol-
lywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960 (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1985).
32. For a model of the plot structure of the genre film in these terms, consult
Thomas Schatz, Hollywood Genres (New York: Random House, 1981).
33. In particular, consult Barbara Klinger, "Digressions at the Cinema: Recep-
tion and Mass Culture," Cinema Journal 28, no. 4 (1989): 3-19.
34. Barry R. Litman, "Predicting Success of Theatrical Movies: New Empiri-
cal Evidence," National Convention for Education in Journalism, Boston, Au-
gust 1980.

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 Notes to Pages 24-36 205

2. Constroction of the Image

and the High Concept Style
1. See, for instance, J. A. Place and L. S. Peterson, "Some Visual Motifs of
Film Noir," Film Comment, January/February 1974: 30-35; and Paul Kerr, "Out
of What Past? Notes on the 'B' Film Noir," Screen Education, Autumn/Winter
1979/1980: 45-65.
2. Steven Heller and Seymour Chivast, Graphic Style (New York: Harry N.
Abrams, 1988) 200.
3. Stuart Ewen, "Marketing Dreams: The Political Elements of Style/' Con-
sumption, Identity & Style, ed. Alan Tomlinson (London: Routledge, 1990) 42.
4. Janet Bergstrom, "Androids and Androgyny/' Camera Obscura 15 (1986):
37-65.
5. See, for example, James M. Markham, "This Spring's Hot Movie Under-
lines the Uneasy Link between Art and Advertising/' New York Times, April 3,
1988: HI.
6. Howard Kissel, rev. of The Hunger, Women's Wear Daily, April 28,
1983: 15.
7. "Sky Wars," Cinefex 29 (1986): 54.
8. Kristin Thompson, "The Concept of Cinematic Excess," Narrative, Ap-
paratus, Ideology, ed. Philip Rosen (New York: Columbia University Press,
1986) 132.
9. Ibid. 134.
10. For a discussion of the impact of modern architecture in film, see Pilar
Viladas, "Good Guys Don't Live in White Boxes," Los Angeles Times Magazine,
November 1, 1987: 22-23.
11. Mike Bygrave and Joan Goodman, "Meet Me in Las Vegas," American
Film, October 1981: 42.
12. Gregg Kilday, "Strip Show: The Comic-Book Look of Dick Tracy," Enter-
tainment Weekly, June 15, 1990: 40.
13. Pauline Kael, Taking It All In (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1984) 3.
14. The effect created by this referencing is very similar to the excess pre-
sented by Jack crying "Here's Johnny" as he axes the door to the bathroom in
The Shining.
15. For a description of Altman's innovations in sound and the utilization
of sound as a stylistic element in his films, see Charles Schre&^ "Altaian,
Dolby, and the Second Sound Revolution," Film Sound: Theory and Practice, eds.
Elizabeth Weis and John Belton (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985)
348-355.
16. Peter Lloyd, "The American Cinema: An Outlook," Monogram, April 1,
1971: 13.
17. Richard T. Jameson, "Style vs. 'Style,'" Film Comment, March/April
1980: 12.
18. Roland Barthes, "The Third Meaning," Image Music Text (New York: Hill
and Wang, 1977) 52-68.
19. For an analysis of film stills from the classical era which seem "more real

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 206 Notes to Pages 37-57

than life itself (as the jacket describes), consult Diane Keaton and Marvin Hei-
ferman, Still Life (New York: Fireside Books, 1985).
20. K. Thompson, 'The Concept of Cinematic Excess" 139.
21. Alexander Doty, "Music Sells Movies: (Re) New (ed) Conservatism in
Film Marketing," Wide Angle 10, no. 2 (1988): 72.
22. In an interesting anecdote, composer Michael Sembello has stated that
his song "Maniac" was actually originally about a mass murderer. In the film,
dancer Alex works out to the song; one assumes that Alex is a "maniac" on the
dance floor.
23. Rick Altman, The American Film Musical (Bloomington: Indiana Univer-
sity Press, 1987) 345-346.
24. David Bordwell, Narration in the Fiction Film (London: Methuen,
1985): 66.
25. Beverle Houston, "Music Video and the Spectator: Television, Ideology
and Dream," Film Quarterly 38, no. 1 (1984): 4-5.
26. Klinger, "Digressions at the Cinema" 10.
27. Mimi White, "Crossing Wavelengths: The Diegetic and Referential Imag-
inary of American Commercial Television," Cinema Journal 25, no. 2 (1986): 51.
28. Roland Barthes, S/Z (New York: Hill and Wang, 1974) 16.
29. Diane Shoos and Diana George, "Top Gun and Postmodern Mass Culture
Aesthetics," PostScript 9, no. 3 (1990): 25.
30. Jon Lewis, "Purple Rain: Music Video Comes of Age," Jump Cut 30
(1985): 22.
31. R. Serge Denisoff and George Plaskettes, "Synergy in 1980s Film and Mu-
sic: Formula for Success or Industry Mythology?" Film History 4 (1990): 273.
32. Dick Tracy was supported in the marketplace by three albums: the Ma-
donna album, the (instrumental) soundtrack by Danny Elfman, and an album
of songs from the film that were not recorded by Madonna.
33. For a discussion of the development of sampling, consult William Max-
well, "Sampling Authenticity: Rap Music, Postmodernism and the Ideology of
Black Crime," Studies in Popular Culture 14, no. 1 (1991): 1-16.
34. Klinger, "Digressions at the Cinema" 14.
35. See, for instance, Tania Modleski, "The Rhythms of Reception: Daytime
Television and Women's Work" from E. Ann Kaplan, Regarding Television-
Critical Approaches: An Anthology (Los Angeles: AFI Monograph Series, 1983); and
John Fiske, Television Culture (New York: Routledge, 1987).
36. Nikki Finke, "Film Ads: Would They Lie to You?" Los Angeles Times, De-
cember 9, 1988: Calendar section, 1.
37. For an analysis of Hill's utilization of genre and the connection between
the film and MTV, see David Chute, "Dead End Streets," Film Comment, August
1984: 55-58.
38. Nick Roddick, rev. of Staying Alive, Monthly Film Bulletin, September 1983:
248.
39. See Lynn Langway and Julia Reed, "Flashdance, Flashfashions," News-
week, July 4, 1983: 55.
40. Quoted in Pollock, "Flashfight" 1.

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 Notes to Pages 58-67 207

41. Consult, for instance, Jim Collins's discussion of the links between post-
modernism, intertextuality, and media production in the '80s: "Postmodernism
as Culmination: The Aesthetic Politics of Decentered Cultures," Uncommon Cul-
tures (London: Routledge, 1989) 112-147.
42. For an interesting analysis of the average moviegoer's sophistication in
recognizing references to other films, see Richard Crinkley, 'The Art of the Cine-
mate," Film Comment, July/August 1985: 76.
43. In his model of narrative comprehension, the intertextual referencing,
which I am claiming for the high concept film, is defined by David Bordwell as
transtextual motivation, 'The spectator may justify an expectation or inference
on transtextual grounds. The clearest case is that of genre . . ." [Narration in the
Fiction Film (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985) 36].
44. Markham, "This Spring's Hot Movie" H5.
45. David Bordwell and Janet Staiger, "Since 1960: The Persistence of a Mode
of Film Practice," in Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson, The Classical Hollywood
Cinema 373.
46. Ibid. 373-374.
47. L. M. Kit Carson, "Breathless Diary," Film Comment, May/June 1983: 38.
48. Pamela Falkenberg, in considering the relationship of the two films, ar-
gues that the art cinema and Hollywood (not differentiating between historical
periods in Hollywood) depend on each other for their definition: "Hollywood
and the art cinema might be characterized as a bipolar modeling system in
which each reproduces the other through difference — difference as the same
difference." See "'Hollywood' and the 'Art Cinema' as a Bipolar Modeling Sys-
tem," Wide Angle 7, no. 3 (1985): 44.
49. Schrader also acknowledges the importance of Jean-Luc Godard and Rob-
ert Bresson, two "king-pins" of the art cinema, to his films, particularly to Ameri-
can Gigolo.
50. Paul Schrader, Schrader on Schrader (London: Faber and Faber, 1990) 160.
51. Bob Fisher, "Don Peterman and Flashdance," American Cinematographer,
April 1984: 64.

3. High Concept and Changes in the

Market for Entertainment
1. Michael Conant, "The Paramount Decrees Reconsidered," The American
Film Industry, ed. Tino Balio (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985)
537-573.
2. See, for example, Douglas Gomery's characterization in "The American
Film Industry of the 1970's: Stasis in the 'New Hollywood,'" Wide Angle 5, no. 4
(1982): 52-60.
3. U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Business Economics, National
Income Division, annual figures.
4. Frederic Stuart, "The Effects of Television on the Motion Picture Indus-
try," The American Movie Industry, ed. Gorham Kindem (Carbondale: Southern.
Illinois University Press, 1982) 257-308.
5. Balio, The American Film Industry 434.

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 208 Notes to Pages 68-73

6. See 'Television: T h e Vault of Hollywood" i n Michele Hilmes, Hollywood

and Broadcasting: From Radio to Cable (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1990)
140-170.
7. George Katona, The Mass Consumption Society (New York: McGraw Hill,
1964).
8. Elmo Roper, "The Fortune Survey," Fortune, March 1949.
9. Janet Staiger, "The Package-Unit System: Unit Management after 1955"
in Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson 330.
10. Tino Balio, ed., Hollywood in the Age of Television (Cambridge, Mass.: Un-
win Hyman, 1990) 303.
11. Ibid. 34.
12. Michael Pye also notes that the deal would mean that MCA would gain
access to the Universal library of film titles for use in television. At that point,
MCA already owned the pre-1948 Paramount library.
13. For an interesting analysis of the motives behind this takeover, read Peter
Bart, "What Hollywood Isn't Telling MCA's New Owners," Variety, December 3,
1990: 1.
14. Thomas Guback, "Theatrical Film," Who Owns the Media? Concentration
of Ownership in the Mass Communications Industry, ed. Benjamin Compaine (New
York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1981) 271.
15. James Monaco, American Film Now (New York: New American Library,
1979) 33.
16. Robert Stanley, The Celluloid Empire: A History of the American Movie In-
dustry (New York: Hastings House, 1978) 236.
17. John Douglas Eames, The Paramount Story (New York: Crown Publishers,
1985) 224-225.
18. Guback, "Theatrical Films" 270.
19. This reference is from Steven Bach, Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in the
Making of Heaven's Gate (New York: William Morrow, 1985) 53. Bach's book of-
fers a comprehensive overview of United Artists' history, with a special emphasis
on the late 1970s and the early 1980s.
20. An average of major company share of U.S.-Canadian market receipts for
films earning rentals of $1 million or more; reported in Variety, January 5, 1975;
February 11, 1976; January 18, 1978; January 10, 1979; January 28, 1981.
21. John Gregory Dunne, The Studio (New York: Limelight Editions,
1968) 242.
22. Among the most notorious failures are Paramount's Darling Lili, Fox's
Hello, Dolly! and Dr. Dolittle, and Columbia's Lost Horizon and 1776.
23. For a rather amusing recounting of this period see Contemporary Film and
the New Generation, eds. Louis M. Savary and J. Paul Carrico (New York: Associa-
tion Press, 1971); especially peruse part 2 - " W h a t Seems To Be the Matter in
American Cinema": 53-142.
24. Peter Guber, personal interview, Los Angeles, March 24,1988.
25. Columbia's efforts at reaching the youth audience were aided by its dis-
tribution deal with BBS, the production company operated by Bert Schneider,
Bob Rafelson, and Steve Blauner. BBS was responsible for several of the youth-

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 Notes to Pages 73 - 79 269

oriented films, including Head, Five Easy Pieces, Drive He Said, Easy Rider, and The
Last Picture Show. For an analysis of the operation of BBS, consult Teresa Grimes,
"BBS: Auspicious Beginnings, Open Endings/' Movie 31/32: 54-66; and Mitchell
Cohen, "The Corporate Style of BBS: Seven Intricate Pieces/' Take One, Winter
1974/75.
26. By the end of the decade, though, Altman's relationship with Fox became
increasingly estranged, and in 1979, Fox gave Airman's film Health virtually no
distribution.
27. Even with O.C. & Stiggs, Altman had to fight to prove to MGM that he
wanted to make a commercial film. In his detailed biography, Patrick McGilligan
recounts several amusing and disheartening exchanges between Altman, Freddie
Fields, and Frank Yablans, then in charge at MGM. See Patrick McGilligan, Robert
Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989) 528-534.
28. Gerald Mast, A Short History of the Movies (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill
Educational Publishing, 1981) 430.
29. Stuart Byron, "First Annual 'Grosses Gloss/ " Film Comment, March/April
1976: 31.
30. Hoberman, "1975-1985: Ten Years That Shook the World" 38.
31. Other films during this period, such as Raise the Titanic (1980; negative
cost: $36 million; rentals: $6.8 million) and Inchon (1982; negative cost: $46
million; rentals: $1.9 million), were similar large-budget fiascos, but received
less publicity due to each project's lack of a single, "doomed" auteur. See "Se-
lected Theatrical Winners and Losers" in Harold L. Vogel, Entertainment Industry
Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1990) 114.
32. Monaco, American Film Now 149.
33. See Stuart Byron's discussion of the film in "The Third Annual 'Grosses
Gloss' " from Film Comment, March/April 1978: 75.
34. "Cimino: If You Don't Get It Right, What's the Point?" Films Illustrated,
October 1981: 27.
35. Ibid. 29.
36. Teri Ritzer, "MGM in Serious Discussion Concerning Buy of UA Assets,"
Hollywood Reporter, May 19, 1981: 22; and Lawrence Cohn, "1956-87 Big-Buck
Scorecard," Variety, January 20, 1988: 64.
37. Quoted in Michael Pye, Moguls: Inside the Business of Show Business (New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980) 186.
38. "Paramount's 'Fever' Passes $100,000,000, Second Only to 'Godfather'
Take," Variety, June 7, 1978: 3.
39. For Love Story: "What can you say about a 25-year-old girl who dies?" and
for The Godfather: "Make him an offer he can't refuse."
40. For an application of this argument to different forms of popular enter-
tainment, see David A. Garvin, "Blockbusters: The Economics of Mass Entertain-
ment," Journal of Cultural Economics, June 1981: 1-20.
41. Hoberman, "1975-1985: Ten Years That Shook the World" 36.
42. Monaco, American Film Now 394.
43. Stanley, The Celluloid Empire 254.

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 210 Notes to Pages 80-83

44. See Chapter 2, ' T h e World Film Trade a n d t h e U.S. M o t i o n Picture In-
d u s t r y / ' in Steven S. W i l d m a n a n d Stephen E. Siwek, International Trade in Films
and Television Programs (Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1988)
13-36.
45. Joseph D. Phillips, "Forms of Cultural Dependency: Film Conglomerate
'Blockbusters/ " Journal of Communication 25, no. 2 (Spring 1975): 171-182.
46. For an analysis of Paramount's involvement with the television market,
consult Timothy White, "Hollywood's Attempts at Appropriating Television:
The Case of Paramount Pictures/' in Hollywood in the Age of Television, ed. Tino
Balio: 145-164.
47. Douglas Gomery, "Movie Merger Mania/' On Film 13 (Fall 1984): 5.
48. For an excellent historical overview of the institution of the new tech-
nologies, consult Bruce A. Austin's "The Film Industry, Its Audience, and New
Communications Technologies," in Current Research in Film: Audiences, Econom-
ics, and Law, vol. 2, ed. Bruce A. Austin (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Cor-
poration, 1986)80-115.
49. The majors which possess this facility include Paramount Home Video,
CBS/Fox, Columbia Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, and MCA.
50. See Variety issues: July 31, 1984, and December 13, 1985, respectively.
51. David Lachrenbruch, "Home Video: Home Is Where the Action Is,"
Channels of Communication, November/December 1983: 42.
52. Consult one of the few articles to discuss this significant change in prac-
tice: Alex Ben Block's "Priced to Sell?" Forbes, November 19, 1984: 41.
53. Raiders of the Lost Ark, upon release, quickly became the all-time home
video champ, with 420,000 units shipped. Flashdance also initially sold over
200,000 units. "Fast Forward," Time, December 5, 1983: 74.
54. Block, "Priced to Sell?" 41.
55. See Variety issues: September 7,1983 (MCA), April 17,1984 (Disney), and
April 17,1984 (Media).
56. Tom Bierbaum, "Vid Biz Takes Some Big Steps in Sell-Thru, Sponsors,"
Variety, November 15, 1989: 2.
57. Vogel, "Selected Theatrical Winners and Losers" 83.
58. Anthony Slide, The Television Industry (New York: Greenwood Press,
1991) 130.
59. Stratford P. Sherman, "Coming Soon: Hollywood's Epic Shakeout," For-
tune, April 30, 1984: 216.
60. Ibid.
61. Universal Pay-TV announced a six-year film licensing agreement with
HBO on February 15,1984; Warner Bros, signed afive-yearexclusive deal in June
1985. (Variety issues: February 15, 1984: 1, and June 5, 1986: 1.
62. Variety, March 20, 1985:1.
63. Tom Bierbaum, "Columbia Pictures, HBO and CBS Combine for New
Studio," Variety, December 1, 1982:19.
64. Michele Hilmes, "Pay Television: Breaking the Broadcast Bottleneck," in
Hollywood in the Age of Television, ed. Tino Balio: 305.

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 Notes to Pages 83-88 211

65. Premiere proposed an exclusive nine-month window on films produced

by its partners. This proposal prompted the antitrust action.
66. Sherman, "Coming Soon" 216.
67. Tom Bierbaum, "Movie Channel Accord Reached/' Variety, Novem-
ber 12, 1982: 1.
68. The majors have also been moving into the international pay cable mar-
kets: in July 1983, MGM/UA, Paramount, and Universal, via their foreign part-
nership UIP, made entry into the British pay cable market; in August 1984, UIP
began negotiations with German Bertelsmann about setting up pay-TV in the
Federal Republic of Germany.
69. Dennis Mueller, "Mergers and Market Shares," Review of Economics and
Statistics, Winter 1984: 259. Mueller suggests consulting David J. Ravenscraft,
"Structure-Profit Relationships at the Line of Business Level," Review of Econom-
ics and Statistics, February 1983.
70. The following analysis in this chapter considers the contemporary period
until the end of 1989.
71. For the market share charts, MGM/UA includes releases from both MGM
and UA during the periods when the two companies were not officially merged.
72. Tony Schwartz's article "Hollywood's Hottest Stars" (New York, July 30,
1984: 25-33) offers some very interesting anecdotes about the Diller regime at
Paramount, including some interviews with Paramount executives.
73. Marc Frons and Cynthia Green, "Barry Diller: The Man Who Has To
Make It All Happen," Business Week, May 20, 1985: 107.
74. Schwartz, "Hollywood's Hottest Stars" 27.
75. Mardi Marans, personal interview, Los Angeles, April 15, 1988.
76. Frons and Green, "Barry Diller" 107.
77. For the changes at Gulf & Western brought about by Martin Davis, see
"Gulf & Western: From Grab Bag to Lean, Mean, Marketing Machine," Business
Week, September 14, 1987: 152+ .
78. Ellen Farley, "Paramount Pictures, The Turnaround: A Frank Mancuso
Production," Business Week, March 24, 1986: 83.
79. Martin S. Davis blames Paramount's poor 1985 showing upon a list of
pictures (e.g., The River Rat, Joy of Sex, Top Secret!) instituted by Diller, not Man-
cuso. For more information on the transition from Diller to Mancuso, see Far-
ley's article (above) and Jeffrey Trachtenberg's "G&W after Bludhorn," Forbes,
December 3, 1984: 39-40.
80. In July 1987, the exclusive cable rights were renegotiated. Paramount
ended up with a $500 million-85 film deal with HBO (see Broadcasting, July 20,
1987: 21).
81. "Now Playing: Multiplexes and More Movies," New York Times, Janu-
ary 10, 1988: H-26.
82. The Star Trekfilmswere based on the Paramount television series from
the 1960s. In 1986, the company developed Star Trek: The Next Generation as a
series for first-run syndication.
83. Joe Mandese, "Hollywood's Top Gun," Marketing & Media Decisions,
March 1988: 110.

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 212 Notes to Pages 88-92

84. Diana W i d o m , t e l e p h o n e interview, Los Angeles, February 21, 1988.

85. See Douglas Gomery, "Corporate Ownership and Control in the Contem-
porary US Film Industry/' Screen 25, no. 4/5 (1984): 62, for more information on
Warner's losses.
86. Robert Gustafson, "What's Happening to Our Pix Biz? From Warner
Brothers to Warner Communications Inc.," in Balio, The American Film Indus-
try 579.
87. Richard Gold, "Time Inc. Not for Sale, Affirm Execs at Meet/' Variety,
July 5, 1989: 1.
88. Balio, Hollywood in the Age of Television 265.
89. Richard Gold, "Time's Move of the Year: Vaults to Media Pinnacle," Va-
riety, March 8, 1989: 1.
90. Ibid.
91. Richard Gold and Paul Harris, "Time Marches On, Grabs Warner, Out-
paces Par," Variety, July 26, 1989: 1.
92. "Lucas Crusades for Time/Warner," Variety, July 19, 1989: 6.
93. During January 1988, Paramount lost its lead to Disney due to the phe-
nomenally successful Three Men and a Baby and Good Morning, Vietnam.
94. Stephen Koepp, "Do You Believe in Magic?" Time, April 25,1988: 68-69.
95. This strategy was repeated four years later when Disney formed a third
production arm, Hollywood Pictures, to be run separately from both Disney and
Touchstone; see Jane Galbraith, "Disney Sprouts Third Pic Production Arm,"
Variety, December 7, 1988: 4.
96. Disney's venture into pay cable has proven its expertise at media other
than theatrical film. With Eisner's strong endorsement, the Disney Channel has
grown in strength to outperform all other pay cable services with over 1.6 mil-
lion subscribers in its first year (see Daily Variety, January 25, 1985). Under the
supervision of Jim Jimmiro, Disney Home Video has parlayed its film library
into an extremely lucrative enterprise (DHV's Lady and the Tramp is the best-
selling video of all time).
97. Claudia Eller, "Disney's Decade to Spread the Magic," Variety, January 17,
1990: 3.
98. Ronald Grover, "Lights, Camera, Auction," Business Week, December 10,
1990: 27.
99. Bart, "What Hollywood Isn't Telling MCA's New Owners" 8.
100. Patrick McGilligan, "Breaking Away Mogul Style," American Film, June
1980: 30.
101. For an account of the Frank Yablans regime at MGM starting in 1983, see
Peter Bart, Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM (New York: William
Morrow, 1990).
102. Douglas Gomery focuses on these mergers in "Corporate Ownership and
Control" 60-69.
103. "Marvin Davis' New Scenario for Fox," Business Week, May 30, 1983: 38.
104. Kathryn Harris, "Diller's Hands-On Efforts Pull Firm off the Critical List,"
Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1987: part IV, 1.

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 Notes to Pages 92-104 213

105. John Huey and Stephen J. Sansweet, "Coca-Cola to Pay Over $820 Mil-
lion for Movie Firm," Wall Street Journal, January 20, 1982: 2.
106. Gomery, "Movie Merger Mania" 7.
107. Tom Bierbaum, "Col-HBO-CBS Studio: Agreement Dramatically Alters
Rapidly Changing FeeVee Feature Landscape," Variety, December 1, 1982: 2.
108. Ibid. 1.
109. Ibid. 2.
110. Charles Kipps, "Sony and Columbia: A Tidy Case of Hardware Meeting
Software," Variety, October 3, 1989: 5.
111. Peter Bart, "Col's Billion Dollar Man Sets New Standard in H'wood,"
Variety, November 29, 1989: 1.
112. See Stan Berkowitz, "Is 3-D Just Another Fad?" Los Angeles, March
1983: 120.
113. Interestingly, the studios' attempts at this type of film (the classics di-
visions) have largely failed. As of 1988, only Orion Classics was still in existence.
114. Richard J. Pietschmann, "The New Little Kings of Hollywood," Los An-
geles, December 1987: 244-254.
115. Anne Thompson, "Field of Dreams," Film Comment, March/April
1990: 62.
116. Laurie Halpern Smith, "Cinecom: East Indie," Movieline, November 6,
1987: 57.
117. Pietschmann, "The New Little Kings" 247.
118. As Shep Gordon, co-chairman of Alive Films, which released The Whales
of August, comments: "If it was strictly making money, I wouldn't be making
pictures with Lillian Gish and Bette Davis. No one who's strictly looking at the
bottom line would choose to do a picture where the youngest actor is 76."
119. Jerry Bruckheimer, telephone interview, Los Angeles, October 26, 1987.
Bruckheimer produced Flashdance with partner Don Simpson.
120. Nancy Goliger, personal interview, Los Angeles, March 16, 1988.
121. See, for example, Peter R. Dickson and James L. Ginter, "Market Seg-
mentation, Product Differentiation, and Marketing Strategy," Journal of Market-
ing 51 (1987): 1-10.
122. Ibid. 1.
123. Jack Hirshleifer, Price Theory and Applications, 2d ed. (Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1980): 385.
124. For a fuller discussion of the bases for differentiation, consult Kenneth
Clarkson and Roger LeRoy Miller, "Market Structure and Performance," Indus-
trial Organization (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982) 84-104.
125. Joseph Dominick, "Film Economics and Film Content: 1964-1983,"
Current Research in Film: Audiences, Economics, and Law, vol. 3, ed. Bruce A. Austin
(Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1987) 138.
126. Additionally, as I have shown earlier in the chapter, the oligopolization
of the industry has become polarized, as opposed to a tight union among all the
majors.
127. Edward Chamberlain, The Theory of Monopolistic Competition (Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1965).

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 214 Notes to Pages 105-115

128. Clarkson a n d Miller, Industrial Organization 326.

129. For a brief explanation of " t h e high-tech style" i n design, see Alan J o h n -
son's entry in What's What in the 1980s, ed. Christopher Pick (Detroit: Gale
Research Company, 1982) 1 5 0 - 1 5 1 .
130. Peter McAlevey, personal interviews, Los Angeles, January 13 a n d March
17, 1988; a n d Ansen a n d McAlevey, " T h e Producer Is King Again," 86.
131. Although demographics o n this cross-over t r e n d are n o t available, films
such as Top Gun a n d Rambo: First Blood Part II are frequently discussed as open-
ing t o a fairly specific audience a n d b r o a d e n i n g o u t later.
132. Schwartz, "Hollywood's Hottest Stars" 27.
133. Some obvious exceptions would include the films Ragtime, Reds, and
Heartburn — all of which deviated from traditional genre definitions and also
were positioned as key products for the company.
134. Kilday, "Strip Show" 63.
135. Quoted in Pollock, "Flashfight" Calendar section, 1 +.
136. Among others, see David Ansen and Peter McAlevey, "The Mouse That
Roared," Newsweek, March 3, 1986: 63.
137. Ray Loynd, "Disney Unfurls a New Banner: Touchstone Films to Handle
Non-Traditional Product," Variety, February 16, 1984: 1.
138. Janet Maslin, "Touchstone Has a Recognizable Touch," New York Times,
November 5, 1989: 17.

4. Marketing the Image: High Concept

and the Development of Marketing
1. Seth Cagin and Philip Dray, Hollywood Films of the Seventies: Sex, Drugs,
Rock'N'Roll and Politics (New York: Harper and Row, 1984) 223-224.
2. Richard Kahn, "The Day Film Marketing Came of Age," Variety, October
30, 1979: 38.
3. Richard Albarino, "'Billy Jack' Hits Reissue Jackpot," Variety, November
7, 1973: 1.
4. Kahn, "The Day Film Marketing Came of Age" 38.
5. Syd Silverman, "U.S. Four-Walling: Boon or Threat?" Variety, May 8,
1974: 64.
6. Ibid.
7. Kahn, "The Day Film Marketing Came of Age" 92.
8. Byron, "First Annual 'Grosses Gloss'" 30.
9. Addison Verrill, "'Kong' Wants 'Jaws' Boxoffice Crown," Variety, Decem-
ber 22, 1976: 1.
10. A. D. Murphy, "June Breaks Hot: Await Staying Power," Variety, June 22,
1977:3.
11. "725 Gets Heretic," Variety, June 8, 1977: 3.
12. Byron, "First Annual 'Grosses Gloss' " 30.
13. Hoberman, "1975-1985: Ten Years That Shook the World" 34-60.
14. Ibid. 36.
15. Charles O. Glenn, "In Reality, Nothing Just Happens," Variety, Octo-
ber 28, 1975: 62.

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 Notes to Pages 115-134 215

16. Mason Wiley and Damien Bona, "Altman Goes Country/' Inside Oscar
(New York: Ballantine Books, 1988) 511.
17. For an interesting critical discussion of the film's reception and social
impact, see Charles Michener, "Altaian's Opryland Epic," Newsweek, June 30,
1975: 46-50.
18. Interview with Nancy Goliger, Los Angeles, March 16, 1988.
19. Interestingly, director Paul Schrader devised this campaign himself af-
ter several proposed campaigns from Paramount's marketing department:
"[Schrader] was heavily involved with all aspects of the ad campaign for Ameri-
can Gigolo, at one point getting authorization from Paramount to spend an ad-
ditional $15,000 to develop his own print campaign when he felt those being
proposed didn't work." From "Schrader Deep in 'Gigolo' Ad Plan: Trailer Taken
from Original Neg," Variety, February 27, 1980: 43.
20. Myron Meisel, "The Sixth Annual Grosses Gloss," Film Comment, March/
April 1981: 66.
21. Ibid.
22. Quoted in Dan Yakir, "Campaigns and Caveat," Film Comment, March/
April 1980: 74.
23. For exact reproductions of these ads, see Gregory J. Edwards, The Inter-
national Film Poster (London: Columbus Books, 1985). Edwards's book also offers
a very interesting comparison between poster images from different national
cinemas and their sources.
24. On this strategy, producer Jerry Bruckheimer comments, "A movie
doesn't have the shelf life of a soft drink, so you must establish its identity
quickly and effectively. Don and I like to do that with a strong, singular im-
age—Jennifer Beals in her off-the-shoulder sweater in the print ad for Flash-
dance, Eddie Murphy sitting on the hood of the red Mercedes for Beverly Hills
Cop and giving the okay sign at the very end of the TV spot." Jerry Bruckheimer,
telephone interview, Los Angeles, October 27, 1987.
25. For more information on the development of these campaigns, consult
William Daniels, "Film Ad Art Is No Easy Task," Variety, October 30, 1984.
26. Yakir, "Campaigns and Caveat" 76.
27. Richard Gold, "Create New Print Ad Campaigns to 'Freshen' Three Sum-
mer Pics," Variety, June 18, 1986: 34.
28. In Britain, the term "berk" refers to a stupid, incompetent person. For a
discussion of these campaigns, see Peter Schmideg, "Tailor-Made," Cinema Pa-
pers, July 1985: 45-46.
29. The film used a different campaign in Europe, where it received very
strong business.
30. Quoted in Tom Matthews, "The Lure of the Movie Poster," Boxofflce,
June 1986: 13.
31. Richard Gold, "Majors Tune in Tube, Stint on Print," Variety, Decem-
ber 20, 1989: 4.
32. William Severini Kowinski, "The Mailing of the Movies," American Film,
September 1983: 56.
33. Quoted in Jay Padroff, "Rock'N'Reel," Millimeter, November 1985: 12.

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 216 Notes to Pages 134-142

34. Doty, "Music Sells Movies" 74.

35. Interview with Peter Guber, Los Angeles, March 24, 1988.
36. J o h n Gregory D u n n e , " G o n e Hollywood," Esquire, September 1976: 30.
37. Doty, "Music Sells Movies" 76.
38. "A Hit Is Born a n d M a d e , " Variety, February 9, 1977: 124.
39. " T h e Key Art Awards: Past W i n n e r s , " Hollywood Reporter, J u n e 2 1 ,
1988: 58.
40. Eyes of Laura Mars also features several m o d u l a r set pieces scored t o t h e
disco soundtrack (e.g., t h e sequence in w h i c h t h e crew shoots t o t h e t u n e of
"Let's All C h a n t " ) . In some ways, this modular structure anticipates t h e m o r e
advanced modularity i n films such as Flashdance or Top Gun.
41. Steven Ginsberg, " J o n Peters Org Develops 16 Features," Variety, Au-
gust 2, 1978: 7.
42. Many of t h e photographs used in t h e film were shot b y Helmut Newton,
famous at t h e time for his provocative a n d marketable shots of decadence a n d
violence. Perhaps t h e only tie-in not developed b y Peters was a b o o k of p h o t o -
graphs used i n t h e film.
43. Indeed, music seems t o b e at t h e very heart of t h e Peters projects; h e even
a n n o u n c e d plans for a film based o n t h e hit Barbra Streisand-Neil D i a m o n d
song "You D o n ' t Bring M e Flowers" ("Jon Peters' 3 Pics for Orion, O n e Inspired
by Streisand T u n e , " Variety, December 12, 1979: 4).
44. Quoted in Shaun Considine, Barbra Streisand: The Woman, The Myth, The
Music (New York: Dell Publishing, 1985) 322.
45. From the pressbook for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Universal
City Studios, 1978.
46. Pye, Moguls 236.
47. Anthony Haden-Guest, "Robert Stigwood Has the Stomach," New York,
January 30, 1978: 52.
48. Pye, Moguls 245-249; and Haden-Guest, "Robert Stigwood Has the Stom-
ach" 53.
49. Pye, Moguls 253.
50. Ibid. 255.
51. Tony Schwartz, "Stigwood's Midas Touch," Newsweek, January 23,
1978: 40.
52. Denisoff and Romanowski, Risky Business 219.
53. Charles Michener, "The New Movie Musicals," Newsweek, March 24
1975: 59.
54. The film's campaign was based upon an unusual shot of Tommy (Rogei
Daltrey) undergoing science experiments. His plugged mouth, nose, and eye;
were juxtaposed with the copy "Your senses will never be the same."
55. Doty, "Music Sells Movies" 76.
56. Steve Pond, "Night Fever, Ten Years After," Premiere, December 1987: 98
and Ben Fong-Torres, "Al Coury Owns Number One," Rolling Stone, October 5
1978: 17, 40-43.
57. A quote from the Paramount Press Book and Merchandising Manual fo
Saturday Night Fever: "John is rapidly gaining recognition in the record world
His first album 'John Travolta' which included the giant hit single 'Let Her In

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 Notes to Pages 142-152 217

gained him the Billboard award for new pop male vocalist of the year. His new
album 'Can't Let You Go' is reaching a wider audience and is regarded as an
artistic achievement/'
58. The Travolta print image is spoofed in two other Paramount films, Air-
plane! and Footloose, while the image from A Star Is Born even became the cen-
terpiece for a Carol Burnett skit.
59. While the film failed at the boxoffice, the soundtrack album sold over
3 million copies — an amazing figure for a film with such a low level of audience
interest.
60. Ansen, "Rock Tycoon Robert Stigwood" 43.
61. Olen J. Earnest, "Star Wars: A Case Study of Motion Picture Marketing/'
Current Research in Film: Audiences, Economics, and Law, vol. 1, ed. Bruce A. Austin
(Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1983) 16.
62. Guber even authored a book (Inside the Deep) about the making of the
film, and released the book in conjunction with the film's national opening. See
Peter Guber, Inside the Deep (New York: Bantam Books, 1977) xvii.
63. Pye, Moguls 193.
64. Ibid. 195.
65. Pollock, "Flashfight" Calendar section, 10.
66. Jerry Bruckheimer, telephone interview, Los Angeles, October 26, 1987.
67. Lewis, "Purple Rain: Music Video Comes of Age" 22.
68. Martin A. Grove, "Special Report: Licensing and Merchandising," Holly-
wood Reporter, June 10, 1986: s-3.
69. James Greenberg, "Product Merchandising Helps Hype a Film at B.O. But
You Need a Winner," Variety, October 30, 1984: 64.
70. Several Disney features have spawned successful merchandising, includ-
ing Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, and Snow White. Other early successful
merchandising ventures include the Planet of the Apes, Pink Panther, and James
Bond series. Greenberg's article, as well as Mike Reynolds's "Licensing Yester-
day" and Cliff Rothman's "Disney: A Merchandising World Leader" (Hollywood
Reporter, June 10, 1986) all offer information on these early merchandising
efforts.
71. Ali MacGraw recounts the story behind Evans's merchandising scheme
in her autobiography Moving Pictures (New York: Bantam Books, 1991) 13.
72. Mark Litwack, Reel Power (New York: Morrow, 1986) 241.
73. "Ready or Not, Here Comes Gatsby," Time, March 18, 1974: 87.
74. Ibid.
75. Ibid. 88.
76. Paramount Press Book and Merchandising Manual for King Kong, 1976.
77. Vincent Coppola, David T. Friendly, Janet Huck, "Now, It's Superhype,"
Newsweek, October 9, 1978: 91; and Kenneth Turan, "Superman! Supersell!"
American Film, December-January 1978: 49-52.
78. Turan, "Superman! Supersell!" 49.
79. "E.T. and Friends Are Flying High," Business Week, January 10, 1983: 77.
80. Dale Pollock, Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas (New York:
Harmony Books, 1983) 194.
81. Turan, "Superman! Supersell!" 49.

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 218 Notes to Pages 153-157

82. Greenberg, " P r o d u c t M e r c h a n d i s i n g " 66.

83. Interview with Sid Kaufman, Leisure Concepts Incorporated, Culver City,
Calif., May 26, 1988.
84. "Audits and Surveys Inc. for Licensing Industry Merchandiser's Associa-
tion," Fall 1987.
85. Bill George, "What's Wrinkled, Bug-Eyed, and Worth Billions," Cinefan-
tastique 2/3(1982): 17.
86. Aljean Harmetz, "Movie Merchandise: The Rush Is On," New York Times,
June 14, 1989: C19.
87. "Ninja Turtle Power —Or How to Ride Out a Runaway," Variety, June 13,
1990: 48.
88. Michael Fleming, "Turtles, 'Toons and Toys Are In," Variety, April 18,
1990: 8.
89. See, for example, Susan Cheever Cowley, "The Travolta Hustle," News-
week, May 29,1978: 97; and Langway and Reed, "Flashdance, Flashfashions" 55.
90. This trend might be changing—studios are becoming increasingly aware
of possible fashion trends, and are entering into more licenses with fashion
manufacturers.
91. Mark Humphrey, "Licensing and Merchandising: Adding More Business
to Showbusiness," Hollywood Reporter, June 7, 1988: 38.
92. Ronald Grover, "You Don't Know Them-But They Know Moviegoers,"
Business Week, May 25, 1987.
93. Advance ad, Weekly Variety, May 1, 1974: 8-9.

5. High Concept and Market Research:

Movie Making by the Numbers
1. Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema 144.
2. Hy Hollinger, "Hollywood's View of Research Depends on Just Who's
Being Asked, What Methods Are Used," Variety, January 12, 1983: 36.
3. Janet Staiger, "Announcing Wares, Winning Patrons, Voicing Ideals:
Thinking About the History and Theory of Film Advertising," Cinema Journal 29,
no. 3 (1990): 18.
4. Bruce A. Austin, Immediate Seating: A Look at Movie Audiences (Belmont,
Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1989) 5.
5. Hollinger, "Hollywood's View of Research" 36.
6. Gregg Kilday, "Two or Three Things We Know About. . . The Eighties,"
Film Comment, November/December 1989: 60.
7. Julie Salamon, The Devil's Candy (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
1991) 365.
8. "Del Belso at WB," Variety, February 27, 1980: 45.
9. Peter J. Boyer, "Risky Business," American Film, January/February
1984: 14.
10. Kahn, "The Day Film Marketing Came of Age" 38.
11. Anne Thompson, "Reporting the Numbers," LA Weekly, July 24,1992:29.
12. As Thompson notes, a studio reporting boxoffice figures to Variety or The
Hollywood Reporter may actually be reporting number of theaters, not number of

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 Notes to Pages 157-161 219

screens. Thompson claims, therefore, that Batman Returns, for example, opened
on 3,600 screens in 2,644 theaters. Consequently, the necessity for a solid open-
ing becomes even more pressing, since the studio is actually supporting more
seats through playing on more than one screen in some multiplexes.
13. For an analysis of platform vs. saturation release strategies and the ac-
companying advertising costs, see Lee Beaupre and Anne Thompson, ' 'Eighth
Annual Grosses Gloss/; Film Comment, March/April 1983: 68.
14. Steven Knapp and Barry L. Sherman, "Motion Picture Attendance: A Mar-
ket Segmentation Approach/' Current Research in Film: Audiences, Economics, and
Law, vol. 2, ed. Bruce A. Austin (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation,
1986) 35-36.
15. Neal Koch, "She Lives! She Dies! Let the Audience Decide/' New York
Times, April 19, 1992: Hll.
16. Thomas Simonet, "Market Research: Beyond the Fanny of the Cohn,;;
Film Comment, January/February 1980: 68.
17. Ibid. 69.
18. Hollinger, "Hollywood's View of Research" 36.
19. Elaine Dutka, "The Man Who Makes You King/' Los Angeles Times,
July 12, 1992: Calendar section, 86.
20. Caryn James, "Test Screenings of New Movies Put Demographics over
Creativity," New York Times, March 9, 1988: C17.
21. As a perfect example of this problem, James describes a sneak preview of
Made in Heaven in which the market researchers told director Alan Rudolph,
"Remember, you have to reach every dummy in the audience." To which Ru-
dolph replied, "Why not get a more intelligent audience?"
22. In addition, there is a certain bias introduced by showing the movie free
of charge; the audience has an incentive to be more forgiving than if they had
paid for the film.
23. Thomas Simonet, "Conglomerates and Content: Remakes, Sequels, and
Series in the New Hollywood," Current Research in Film: Audiences, Economics,
and Law, vol. 3, ed. Bruce A. Austin (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corpora-
tion, 1987) 154.
24. Pat H. Broeske, "Hollywood's '91 Focus: A Good Story," Los Angeles Times,
January 8, 1991: F12.
25. In this type of analysis a model is formulated by positing a relationship
between a dependent variable and one or more explanatory variables. I will
specify a model with boxoffice revenue as the dependent variable, several quan-
tifiable explanatory variables, and a sample of all films released from 1983
through 1986. Regression analysis indicates the relative influence of each ex-
planatory variable toward the constitution of the dependent variable. Therefore,
from the regression equation, one can gauge the effect of each explanatory vari-
able: the coefficient attached to each explanatory variable shows the size of the
effect and whether the variable has a negative or positive effect on the depen-
dent variable. Certain statistical tests can demonstrate the significance of each
of the explanatory variables, that is, whether each explanatory variable is signifi-
cantly different from zero (i.e., that the variable has any explanatory power

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 220 Notes to Pages 162-164

whatsoever). In addition, correlation analysis illustrates the relative strength of

an association between any two variables, without specifying causality..
26. Austin's study (London: Scarecrow Press, 1983) offers a comprehensive
overview of prior research and methodologies utilized in this area. Using Aus-
tin's study as a starting point, the research can be broadly divided into three
different categories: (1) material relating to psychological research and uses and
gratification research, (2) sociological and demographic work, and (3) economic
research.
27. Barry R. Litman, "Predicting Success of Theatrical Movies: New Empirical
Evidence," National Convention of the Association for Education in Journalism,
Boston, August 13, 1980.
28. Ibid. 2.
29. Ibid. 16.
30. Ibid. 12.
31. See, for example, Bruce A. Austin, "A Longitudinal Test of the Taste Cul-
ture and Elitist Hypotheses," Journal of Popular Film and Television 4 (1983):
156-165; or " . . . But Why This Movie?" Boxoffice, February 1984: 16-18.
32. Austin, "But Why This Movie?" 18.
33. Austin, "A Longitudinal Test" 162.
34. Thomas Simonet and Kenneth Harwood, "Identified Auteurs among
Top-Grossing American Film Directors, 1945-1969," Society for Cinema Studies
Conference, University of Vermont, 1976; and Thomas Simonet and Kenneth
Harwood, "Popular Favorites and Critics' Darlings among Film Directors in
American Release," Society for Cinema Studies Conference, Northwestern Uni-
versity, 1977.
35. Simonet, "Market Research" 91.
36. David Ogilvy, "Ogilvy Comes to New York, Ogilvy Goes to Hollywood,"
New York, February 6, 1978: 58.
37. Gorham Kindem, "Hollywood's Movie Star System: A Historical Over-
view," The American Movie Industry: The Business of Motion Pictures, ed. Gorham
Kindem (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982) 79-93.
38. Ibid. 92.
39. As quoted in D. K. McLeod, "Bankability Reconsidered," Movieline, Sep-
tember 25, 1987: 23.
40. Bruce A. Austin, "Do Movie Ratings Affect a Film's Performance at the
Ticket Window?" Boxoffice, March 1983: 40-42; and Bruce A. Austin, Mark J.
Nicolich, and Thomas Simonet, "MPAA Ratings and the Box Office: Some Tan-
talizing Statistics," Film Quarterly 35 (1981): 28-30.
41. This study was constructed before the PG-13 rating was instituted
in 1984.
42. Since the sample covers four consecutive years, the price of admission
during this period does not remain constant. The annual Motion Picture Almanac
offers figures on admission prices, and, indeed, the price did gradually increase:
1983-$3.15,1984-$3.34,1985-$3.51,1986-$3.67. To adjust the revenue for
this increase in admission price, an index for admission was devised with 1983
as the base year (1984-1.06, 1985-1.11, 1986-1.17), and then the grosses

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 Notes to Pages 164-169 221

were deflated by this index. Due to this adjustment, the number of observations
in the sample (i.e., those films which have grossed at least $1 million) fell from
518 to 512. The observations themselves skew positively as a result of the ex-
traordinary grosses of several films — for example, Return of the Jedi ($252.3m),
Ghostbusters ($208.3m adj.), and Beverly Hills Cop ($216.8m adj.) tower above the
mean gross of $18.8 million.
43. I have included a binary variable (i.e., a variable taking on the value of
either 0 or 1) set to 1 if the film is distributed by a major (or mini-major), and 0
if distributed by an independent.
44. Richard Natale, "Summer Plugs Clog P&A Pipe Dreams," Variety, June 1,
1992: 88.
45. For instance, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom grossed $33.8 million
opening on May 23, 1984, and Rambo: First Blood Part II opened to a $25.1 mil-
lion gross on May 22, 1985; Rocky IV (opening at $19.9 million on Novem-
ber 27, 1985) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (opening at $16.8 million on
November 26, 1986) both had strong openings during the Thanksgiving holiday
weekend.
46. This variable is binary with the value 1 = film with star, 0 = no star.
47. As with the star variable, the value is 1 for a film with a marketable direc-
tor, 0 otherwise.
48. Conversion of the Maltin ratings followed this method: M (Maltin) 4 —
C (Converted) 5.0; M3.5-C4.5; M3.0-C4.0; M2.5-C3.5; M2.0-C3.0; M l . 5 -
C2.5; M1.0-C2.0; M Bomb-Cl.O.
49. Litman's method is somewhat problematic, since the press tends to favor
reporting high-cost or above-budget films, rather than reporting medium- or
low-budget projects.
50. Tests of variable significance and correlation also locate those variables
which have a greater effect on revenue.
51. As a measure of this relation, the correlation coefficient ranges between
- 1 and + 1 : a correlation of - 1 indicates perfect negative correlation between
two variables (i.e., as one variable increases in value, the other variable decreases
proportionately), a correlation of 0 indicates no correlation (i.e., linear indepen-
dence) between the variables, and a correlation of -I-1 indicates perfect positive
correlation (i.e., both variables move together perfectly).
52. In statistical terms, all the variables, except Academy Awards, are signifi-
cantly different from 0 at the 5 percent level. As Damodar Gujarati states, "It can
be shown that adjusted R-squared will increase if the t value of the coefficient of
the newly added variable is larger than 1 in absolute value, where the t value is
computed under the hypothesis that the population value of the said coefficient
is zero." The quote is from Damodar Gujarati, Basic Econometrics (New York:
McGraw Hill, 1978).
53. The adjusted R-squared for the best linear regression model is 0.45.
54. The best linear model includes a variable which is the size of cost
squared. This variable was included in the model, since the relationship between
boxoffice revenue and size of cost may be of a nonlinear form. Indeed, the vari-
able is significant at the 5 percent level. As an interesting note to the model, the

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 222 Notes to Pages 169-172

"optimal" cost of a film can be derived by differentiating the equation given by

the model and setting the result equal to 0. This equation yields the maximum
of revenue with respect to cost. Using the coefficients from the best linear
model, the optimal film cost is equal to4179/2(oo58), or 36.025. This indicates that,
given a high-budget film (i.e., $15 million or over), revenue is maximized at
$36,025 million. All other factors being held equal, additional cost expenditure
decreases total revenue at the boxoffice.
55. Restricted models were run to limit the number of these outliers. One
model considered films with a gross between $10 million and $60 million (214
observations); another model considered films with a gross between $5 million
and $65 million (334 observations). The former model had few significant vari-
ables and a low explained sum of squares; the latter model replicated the results
from the larger sample, with a smaller R-squared adjusted.
56. Other films with unclear concepts fitting this pattern in the model in-
clude Videodrome (1983), PrizzVs Honor (1985), Heartburn (1986), Out of Bounds
(1986), and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984).
57. Modeling boxoffice revenue through long-run market research projects
is thorny due to the inherent unpredictability of the market for film. Trends in
taste and entertainment options are difficult to incorporate in any model. While
genre can be included as a variable, trends in audience taste appear to have a
large influence on revenue: for example, in the late '70s, Star Wars and Hallow-
een revived the science fiction and horror genres, respectively, thereby institut-
ing a greater output of both types of film. The genre itself could not account for
this revival; rather, the reconfiguration of the genre in these films sparked the
new interest.
Data specification and quantification in these market research models also
present several concerns. In pursuing an institutional problem through statisti-
cal analysis, researchers are faced with data sets designed previously for other
uses. This type of analysis, referred to as secondary analysis, in most cases de-
pends on the testing of hypotheses through using a data set which has been
generated independently of the research interests of the current project. For a
discussion of the costs and benefits of secondary analysis as a research tool,
consult Lee B. Becker, "Secondary Analysis," Research Methods in Mass Commu-
nication, eds. Guido H. Stempel and Bruce H. Westley (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice-Hall, 1981) 240-254. Consequently, the analyst usually has only a lim-
ited understanding of the origins of the data set and the extent to which the data
has been "massaged" in the creation of a full, cohesive data set. Data can be
massaged in a variety of ways, such as the interpolation of missing values or the
averaging of values to derive quarterly or yearly figures. Such interpolation adds
to the uncertainty in measurement and, therefore, the estimation of the coeffi-
cients already inherent in such aggregated, industry-sponsored data.
Model building utilizing regression analysis also remains very sensitive to the
specification of the independent variables. A strong relationship between two
variables might actually be due to the influence of a third variable omitted from
the model ("the third-variable effect"). Of course, in many cases, the omission

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 Notes to Pages 173-177 223

of a significant variable in a regression equation occurs because the variable may

not be readily quantifiable or even identifiable. The omission of a variable mis-
specifies the entire model, including the significance or insignificance of the
remaining independent variables. Even if a variable is included, many aspects of
the film medium cannot be quantified directly; instead a proxy variable must be
utilized. For instance, attempting to quantify the advertising support behind
each film is virtually impossible, since studios do not release such data. Specify-
ing the studio variable in the model, in some respects, can be viewed as a proxy
for the probable level of support, in terms of advertising and distribution, which
a studio allocates for a film. The level of support also varies between films within
a single studio, so the studio variable certainly is not a perfect proxy to capture
the level of advertising support.
58. Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Ad-
vanced Industrial Society (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966) 8.
59. Dutka, "The Man Who Makes You King" Calendar section, 7.
60. Koch, "She Lives! She Dies!" H l l ; and John Horn, "Audiences Make the
Final Cut," Dallas Morning News, September 13, 1991: CIO.
61. Of course, "narrowcasting," or targeting a well-defined subdemographic,
works along a similar pattern: to maximize the satisfaction of the greatest num-
ber within that subdemographic, rather than within the population at large.
62. David Ehrenstein, "Two Snaps Down," Advocate, November 3, 1992: 78.
63. Dutka, "The Man Who Makes You King" Calendar section, 81.
64. Ibid.
65. Martin A. Grove, "Hollywood Report: Future Films and Future Focus,"
Hollywood Reporter, August 19 and 21, 1991: 2.
66. David J. Fox, "Unraveling a Hollywood Mystery," Los Angeles Times, Au-
gust 21, 1991: Cl.
67. Future Films press release, August 1991, Future Films, 3900 West Alameda
Suite 1700, Burbank, Calif. 91505.
68. Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man 13.
69. Russ W. Baker, "Putting the Cult Back in Culture," Village Voice, Novem-
ber 12, 1991: 41.
70. Broeske, "Hollywood's '91 Focus" F12.
71. Charles Fleming, "Pitching Costs out of Control," Variety, June 27,
1990: 1.
72. Lawrence Cohn, "MegaPix for '91 Late to Gate," Variety, July 11,1990: 85.
73. Fleming, "Pitching Costs" 29.
74. Ibid.
75. Marcy Magiera, "Disney Adds to Tie-ins," Advertising Age, February 11,
1991:5.
76. Claudia Eller, " Tracy' Cost Put at $101mil," Variety, October 22, 1990: 3.
77. Jeffrey Katzenberg, "The World Is Changing: Some Thoughts on Our
Business," reprinted in Variety, January 31, 1991: 18 + .
78. Ibid. 19.
79. Ibid.

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 224 Notes to Pages 177-195

80. Ibid.
81. Leo Bogart, " W h a t Forces Shape t h e Future of Advertising Research?"
Journal of Advertising Research, February/March 1986:100.
82. Judith Waldrop, "The Baby Boom Turns 45," American Demographics,
January 1991: 2.
83. Betsy Sharkey, "Spotlight on Entertainment," Adweek, March 18,
1991: 33.
84. Joseph Helgot, Michael Schwartz, Frank Romo, and Jaime Korman, "Ag-
ing Baby Boomers and Declining Leisure-Time: Strategic Implications for the
Movie Industry," MarketCast Reports, 1988.
85. Sharkey, "Spotlight on Entertainment" 32.
86. Marcy Magiera, "Madison Avenue Hits Hollywood," Advertising Age, De-
cember 10, 1990: 24.
87. Dennis H. Tootelian and Ralph M. Gaedeke, "The Teen Market: An Ex-
ploratory Analysis of Income, Spending, and Shopping Patterns," Journal of Con-
sumer Marketing 9 A (Fall 1992): 38.
88. Gold, "Majors Tune In Tube" 4.
89. Robert March, "Roth: Instincts, Not Voodoo, Key to Future Fox Films,"
Hollywood Reporter, February 21, 1990: 1.

6. Conclusion: High Concept and the

Course of American Film History
1. Steve McQueen actually starred in this project in 1976. The film was
never released theatrically.
2. Mast, A Short History of the Movies 424.
3. Graham Fuller, "Movies Highlight: Robert Airman," Interview, May
1992: 31.
4. Altman received a late career boost outside the mainstream film industry
through making the independent hit films The Player (1992) and Short Cuts
(1993) for Fine Line.
5. Robin Wood even describes Cruising as an "incoherent text" in which
the ideological constraints of mainstream society struggle against the personal
beliefs of the film artist to create a narratively fragmented work. See Chapter 4,
"The Incoherent Text: Narrative in the 70s" in HollywoodfromVietnam to Reagan
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1986) 46-69.
6. For a discussion of Coppola's new "studio" and the role played by One
from the Heart in its development, see Bygrave and Goodman, "Meet Me in Las
Vegas" 38-45.
7. Of course, eventually Scorsese was able to direct this film, sponsored by
Cineplex-Odeon and Universal, in 1988.
8. Allen's work base in New York further augments his freedom from the
Los Angeles-based studios.
9. Timothy Corrigan, A Cinema without Walls: Movies and Culture after Viet-
nam (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1991) 23.
10. For the connection between high concept and the made-for-TV movie,
see Edgerton, "High Concept, Small Screen" 114-127.

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 Notes to Pages 195-201 225

11. Andrew Britton, "Blissing Out: The Politics of Reaganite Entertainment,"

Mov/e31/32:3.
12. Wood, Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan 164.
13. The argument of Britton and Wood is also replicated, with a slightly dif-
ferent slant, by Robert Ray. Ray describes the movement from the New Holly-
wood in terms of Right vs. Left films; see "The Left and Right Cycles" in Robert
Ray, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1980 (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1985) 296-325.
14. Wood, Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan 166.
15. David E. James, Allegories of Cinema: American Film in the Sixties (Prince-
ton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989) 23.
16. Ibid. 22-25.
17. Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema 110.
18. Richard B. Woodward, "A Dark Lens on America," New York Times Maga-
zine, January 14, 1990: 30.
19. Ibid. 43.
20. Natale, "Summer Plugs Clog P&A Pipe Dreams" 88.
21. For a discussion of the determinants of the rise in African-American
cinema, see Anne Thompson, "Altered States: Hollywood in Transition," LA
Weekly, November 20, 1992: 41.

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THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
 Index

A bout de souffle, 61,63 ideology, 196; illustration, 58, 121;

Addams Family, The (1991), 190 opening, 41; print ad, 119
Advertising, 23-26 American Graffiti, 39-40, 73
After Hours, 192 Anatomy of a Murder, 122
Against All Odds, 170 Another 48 HRS., 177
Age of Innocence, The, 192 Ansen, David, 145
Air America, 177 Art cinema, 60-64
Airplane!, 125, 143 Ashby, Hal, 72, 73, 75, 77, 190
Airport, 78 Atari, 88
Aladdin, 178 Atlantic Releasing, 96
,4/zce Do«« '£ L/ve //ere Anymore, 75 At Long Last Love, 75
Alice's Restaurant, 73 Austin, Bruce, 156, 162, 163, 164,
4/teM, 24-25, 59 220n.26
Alive Films, 96 Avalon, 159
Allen, Irwin, 154
Allen, Robert, 15, 19 Baby Boom, 12, 30, 153; characters, 53;
Allen, Woody, 190, 194, 201 illustration, 54
All That Jazz, 1; commercial perfor- Baby boom audience, 72, 178-179
mance, 22; genre, 5; illustration, 5, Bach, Steven, 71
6; as low concept, 7; marketing, Backdraft, 159-160
4-7 Back to the Future, 169
Altman, Rick, 40-41 Badham, John, 163-164
Altman, Robert, 34, 73, 74, 190-191 Baker, Russ, 175
Amblin Entertainment, 124, 148 Balio, Tino, 69
American Gigolo, 17, 63; character, 57; Banham, Reyner, 105

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 High Concept

Barish, Keith, 157 Border, The, 31

Barthes, Roland, 36; re-reading, 46 Bordwell, David, 16, 41, 60
Bass, Saul, 122 Bound for Glory, 75
Batman, 99, 177, 199-200; illustra- Bounty, The, 169
tion, 32, 50; merchandising, 153; Boyz N The Hood, 201
music, 41; Jack Nicholson, 31-33; Brainstorm, 170
soundtrack, 49-52 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), 192
Batman Returns, 157 Brazil, 170
Battle of Britain, 72 Breakout, 111
Beaches, 90 Breathless (1983), 42, 61, 63; illustra-
Beatty, Warren, 30-31 tion, 62
Beauty and the Beast (1991), 178 Brickman, Paul, 196
Beetlejuice, 153, 199 Bridges, James, 47
Being There, 191 Bright Lights, Big City, 47-49; illustra-
Benjamin, Robert, 71, 90-91 tion, 48
Berger, Richard, 107 Britton, Andrew, 195
Bergman, Ingmar, 79 Bronco Billy, 164
Bergstrom, Janet, 25 Bruckheimer, Jerry, 26, 154, 215n.24
Bernstein, William, 91 Burton, Tim, 199-200
Bertelsmann, 89 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,
Bertolucci, Bernardo, 63 134
Beverly Hillbillies, The (1993), 190 Byron, Stuart, 12, 112
Beverly Hills Cop, 30; genre, 106; Eddie
Murphy, 33-34; music, 42 Cable television, 19, 81, 83-84
Beyond Therapy, 73 Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, The, 73
Big, 12 Camelot, 72
Big Chill, The, 41 Cannon Group, 73
Bigger Than Life, 34; illustration, 35 Canonero, Milena, 31
Billy Jack, 110-111; illustration, 110 Cape Fear (1991), 192
Blackboard Jungle, The, 41 Caplan, Allan, 82
Black Rain, 104 Carnal Knowledge, 32, 73
Blade Runner, 159 Carr, Allan, 4
Blaze, 90, 96 Carrie (1976), 14
Blind Date, 92 Carson, L.M. Kit, 63
Blockbusters, 77-78; economic mo- Casablanca Records and FilmWorks,
tive, 78 146
Bludhorn, Charles, 70, 85, 86 Casualties of War, 96
Blue Iguana, The, 106 Cat People (1982), 63
Blue Velvet, 58 Cawelti, John, 55
Blume in Love, 73 Cefail, Robert, 175
Body Double, 42-44; illustration, 43 Chamberlain, Edward, 104
Bodyguard, The, 40 Character types, 53-60; referencing,
Bogart, Neil, 146 57-59
Bogdanovich, Peter, 72, 75, 77, 190, Chatiliez, Etienne, 59-60
191 Chinatown, 31, 70
Bonnie & Clyde, 72 Choose Me, 96

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 Index

Cimino, Michael, 75-76 Davis, Martin S., 86

Cinecom Entertainment Group, Davis, Marvin, 87, 91
73,96 Days of Heaven, 100, 190; illustration,
Cinemax, 89 103
Clarkson, Kenneth, 105 Days of Thunder, 17, 176, 177
Classical Hollywood cinema, 7-8, 16, Dead Poets Society, 90
60-64. See also High concept, as Death Wish, 70
post-classical cinema Deep, The, 112, 146
Clue, 107, 146-147 Deerhunter, The, 75-76
Cocktail, 24; characters, 57; music, 41 De Laurentiis, Dino, 149, 200
Cohen, Arthur, 178 Del Belso, Richard, 156
Cohn, Nik, 142 De Palma, Brian, 34, 42-44
Collins, Jim, 207 n.41 Desilu Productions, 70
Color of Money, The, 89, 192 Deutchman, Ira, 179
Columbia Pictures, 5, 66, 71, 108; and DeVito, Danny, 55, 195
HBO, 83; merger with Coca-Cola, Dick Tracy, 99; gross, 177; illustration,
92-93; merger with Sony, 93; 51; soundtrack, 49, 51-52; style,
youth movies, 145-146 30-31
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Die Hard 2, 176
Dean, Jimmy Dean, 73 Diller, Barry, 8, 83, 85-87, 90, 91,
Comin' atYal, 94 107
Coming Home, 41, 191 Dirty Harry, 59, 111
Coming to America, 22 Dixon, Christopher, 87-88
Conformist, The, 63 Doctor Zhivago, 72
Consumerism, 68 Dolan, Chuck, 83
Conversation, The, 70 Dominick, Joseph R., 104
Cool World (1992), 160 Do the Right Thing, 201
Coppola, Francis, 190-192 Doty, Alexander, 39, 134
Correlation analysis, 167-168, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, 89, 107
221n.51 Dream a Little Dream, 12
Corrigan, Timothy, 194 Driving Miss Daisy, 178
Cotton Club, The, 169-170; illustra- Dry White Season, A, 91
tion, 171 Dumb Waiter, The, 73
Country, 89 Dune, 200
Coury, Al, 142 Dyer, Richard, 5
Crawford, Gordon, 89
Crazy People, 106 Earnest, OlenJ., 145
"Crocodile" Dundee, 106, 125 Earthquake, 80
Cruise, Tom, 24, 45, 57, 196 Eastwood, Clint, 10-11, 164
Cruising, 191 Easy Rider, 31, 41, 72, 134
Crying Game, The, 96 Edgerton, Gary, 203 n. 11, 224n. 10
Cry of the Wild, 111 8V2, 4
Eight Million Ways to Die, 191
Daisy Miller, 75 Eisner, Michael, 8, 85, 89, 90, 107
Dangerous Liaisons (1988), 178 Elephant Man, The, 200; illustration,
Darling Lili, 72 201

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 High Concept

Endless Love, 119, 146; ideology, Flash Gordon (1980), 99

195-196; illustration, 120, 196 Flatliners, 28, 30; illustration, 29
Enemy Mine, 169 Fool for Love, 73
Enemy of the People, An, 189 Footloose, 40, 97, 99, 106; illustration,
Eraserhead, 200 98
Escape from Alcatraz, 122 Fortune, The, 32
Eszterhas, Joe, 57 48 HRS., 106
E.T. theExtra-Terrestrial, 90; illustra- 42nd Street, 56
tion, 123, 124; marketing, 122- Fosse, Bob, 4 - 6
124; merchandising, 153 Four-walling, 110-111, 157
Evans, Robert, 70, 149 Fox, Michael J., 47
Everybody's All American, 9; illustra- Fox network, 92
tion 10 Frank, Richard, 107
Ewen, Stuart, 25 Frankenweenie, 199
Excess. See Style, vs. excess Frankfurt School, 173
Exodus, 122 Frankie Goes to Hollywood, 42
Exorcist, The, 78,191 Franklin, Aretha, 45
Explorers, 104 French Connection, The, 78, 191
Eyes of Laura Mars, 42; illustration, Friday the 13th film series, 87
137, 138; marketing, 136-138 Friday the 13th Part 3-3-D, 94
Friedkin, John, 152
Fabulous Baker Boys, The, 96 Friedkin, William, 75, 77, 78, 191
Face to Face, 79 Funny Girl, 72, 134
Falk, Leon, 96 Furst, Anton, 99
Falkenberg, Pamela, 207n.48 Future Films, 175-176
Famous Players theaters, 70, 87
Farrell, Joseph, 160, 174 Gaedeke, Ralph, 178
Fatal Attraction, 60 Gallup, George, 156, 163
Father of the Bride (1991), 164 Garvin, David A., 209n.40
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 25, 44, 58-59, George, Diana, 46-47
104; illustration, 59 Gere, Richard, 61, 62, 119
Ferry, Bryan, 47, 59 Getty Oil, 83
Festival theaters, 87 Ghost, 106
Fields, Freddie, 91 Ghostbusters, 153, 164
Filmnoir, 24, 55, 119 Gleiberman, Owen, 14
Fine Line Features, 63, 73 Glenn, Charles O., 115, 149
Fisher, Lucy, 30 Globe, Brad, 148
Fiske, John, 52 Godfather, The, 70, 78
Five Easy Pieces, 31, 72 Godfather, Part II, The, 70
Flashdance, 13, 30, 40, 85, 97, 170; Godfather, Part III, The, 192
character development, 56-57; Goin'South, 32
cinematography, 63; genre, 106, Gold, Richard, 133
107; illustration, 18; marketing, Goldberg, Whoopi, 45
146-148, 153-154; music video Goliger, Nancy, 117
sequences, 17, 159; opening, 28; Gomery, Douglas, 15, 19, 81
video release, 82 Goodfellas, 192

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 Index 231

Good Morning, Vietnam, 107 as differentiated product, 7, 19, 20,

Good Mother, The, 90 22, 94-108, 188; economics of, 15;
Goonies, The, 125 fashionable subjects, 12; impact of
Graduate, The, 39, 72 new television technologies, 81,
Grand Canyon, 164 84; and industrial change, 18, 65;
Grandmother, The, 200 marketability, 8, 15, 109-110,
Grease, 112, 188; character, 56; con- 129-133; marketing and narrative,
cept, 7; gross, 4; as high concept, 7; 14-15; merchandising, 148-154;
illustration, 2, 3, 102; logo, 4, 19; origins, 7-8; as post-classical
marketing, 1-4, 20, 100, 139, cinema 7-8, 16, 39, 60-64; rela-
144-145; merchandising, 3 tion to blockbuster, 80-81; satura-
Great Gatsby, The (1974), 78, 149, 153; tion release pattern, 112; and star
illustration, 150 power, 10-12. See also Style
Gremlins, 153 Hill, Walter, 55
Grover, Ronald, 154 Hitchcock, Alfred, 122
Grubb, Kevin Boyd, 6 Hoberman,J., 75, 113
Guber, Peter, 72; at Columbia, 93; Home Alone, 58, 178
definition of blockbuster, 77; Home Box Office (HBO), 83-84,
Guber-Peters Company, 138; high 89,92
concept, 8; marketing through mu- Home Box Office (HBO)/Cannon
sic tie-ins, 134, 141, 145-148 Video, 82
Gujarati, Damodar, 221n.52 Home video, 19, 81; pricing strategies,
Gulf & Western, 70, 84-86, 133; Lei- 82
sure Time Group, 70. See also Para- Honeymoon in Vegas, 173
mount Pictures Hope and Glory, 108
Gun Crazy (1949), 61 Housekeeping, 108
Guns N' Roses, 45-46 House Party, 201
Gustafson, Robert, 88 Housesitter, 164
Houston, Beverle, 43-44
Handel, Leo, 156 Howard, Ron, 195
Hannah and Her Sisters, 194 Howards End, 96
Harold and Maude, 191 Hudson, Hugh, 26
Harwood, Kenneth, 163 Hughes, John, 58-59; marketing cam-
Havana, 177 paigns, 25; music, 44
Heartbreak Hotel, 125, 129; illustra- Hunger, The, 26, 159, 170; illustration,
tion, 130 27, 128; marketing, 125, 129
Heaven Can Wait, 100; illustration, Hunt for Red October, The, 104
101
Heaven's Gate, 75-76; illustration, 77 I Dream ofjeannie, 59
Hello, Dolly!, 72 Illegally Yours, 91, 191
Hemdale Film Corporation, 73, 96 Independent studios, 96
Heretic: Exorcist II, The, 112 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,
High concept, awareness and mainte- 106
nance marketing, 113; commercial Industrial organization, 65-66
performance, 20, 170-172; as criti- Innerspace, 125; illustration, 127
cism of contemporary film, 13-15; Innocent Man, An, 90

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 High Concept

Intertextuality, 57-59 Lansing, Sherry, 91

Island Pictures, 96 Last Detail, The, 31, 11, 191
Ivan the Terrible, 36 Last Emperor, The, 108
Last Picture Show, The, 72, 190, 191
James, David, 198 Last Tango in Paris, 63
Jameson, Richard T., 34 Last Temptation of Christ, The, 192
laws, 22, 78, 90, 112, 157, 188; illus- Last Tycoon, The, 78
tration, 114; marketing, 113-117; Laughlin, Tom, 110-111
opening gross, 111, 165; print ad, Laundromat, The, 73
113 Lawrence ofArabia, 72
Jesus Christ Superstar, 139, 140 Lee, Spike, 201
Jewel of the Nile, The, 45 Leibovitz, Annie, 125
Jewison, Norman, 140 Less Than Zero, 57
JFK, 194 Lewis, Jon, 46, 47, 148
Johnson, Holly, 42, 44 Leyton, John, 140
Jumpin' Jack Flash, 45 Like Father, Like Son, 12
Litman, Barry, 20, 162, 163, 166, 168
Kael, Pauline, 31-32 Little Mermaid, The, 178
Kalin, Tom, 199 Lloyd, Peter, 34
Katzenberg, Jeffrey, 8, 89, 90, 107, 177 Loggins, Kenny, 45
Kaufman, Victor, 92 Logsdon, Jeff, 157-158
Keaton, Diane, 53-54 Lombardo, Dana, 156
Keep, The, 170 Lookin'to Get Out, 191
KennerToys, 152 Look Who's Talking, 178
Kerkorian, Kirk, 91 Love Story, 70, 78, 134, 149
Kershner, Irvin, 42 Lucas, George, 89, 152-153
Kindem, Gorham, 163 Lynch, David, 58, 199, 200
King David, 169 Lyne, Adrian, 26, 63
King Kong (1976), 78, 94, 111; illustra-
tion, 95, 151; merchandising, Madonna, 31; Dick Tracy, 49, 51-52;
149-150, 152, 153 Who's That Girl, 45
King of Comedy, The, 169, 192 Magnum Force, 111
King Ralph, 14 Main Event, The, 131, 138-139; illus-
Kinney National Service, 71, 156 tration, 132
Kissel, Howard, 26 Malcolm X, 201
Kiss of the Spiderwoman, 96 Martin, Leonard, 166
Klein, Calvin, 25 Mancuso, Frank, 87, 122, 148
Kleiser, Randal, 4 Mannequin, 174-175; illustration, 174
Klinger, Barbara, 20, 44, 45, 52 Mann theaters, 87
Kramer vs. Kramer, 22 Man with the Golden Arm, The, 122
Krim, Arthur, 71, 90, 91 Marans, Mardi, 86
Krull, 195 Marathon Man, 78
Kubrick, Stanley, 31, 88 Marcuse, Herbert, 173, 175
Marketing. See High concept, market-
Ladd,AlanJr., 91 ability; High concept, marketing
Landlord, The, 191 and narrative

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 Index

Market research, 19, 155-187, 189; Mo' Money, 202

case study, 161-172; development, Monaco, James, 75, 79
156-158; methodological limita- Monogram Pictures, 63
tions, 159-160, 222-223n.57; ris- Movie Channel, The, 83-84, 87
ing production costs, 176-179; Mueller, Dennis, 84
studies, 158-160; targeting adult Murdoch, Rupert, 88, 89; News Cor-
vs. youth audience, 179 poration, 91
Market segmentation, 97-104, 157. Murphy, A.D., 164
See also Product differentiation Murphy, Eddie, 33-34
Market shares for studios (1970- Murray, Bill, 33
1989), 84-86 Music: high concept vs. low concept,
Market structure, 66 40; music video and filmic narra-
Marshall, Penny, 194 tive, 46, 49; promotional music
Mary Poppins, 134 video, 44-52. See also Style
M.A.S.H., 73 Music Corporation of America (MCA),
Mask, 191 69-70, 90. See also Universal
Mast, Gerald, 73, 190 Pictures
Matsushita, 90 My Left Foot, 96
Matthews, Jack, 15 My Own Private Idaho, 41
Maxwell, Robert, 89
May, Elaine, 79 Naked Gun, The, 125
Mazursky, Paul, 73, 190 Narrowcasting, 201-202
McAlevey, Peter, 105 Nashville, 74-75, 113; gross, 115;
McBride,Jim, 61, 63 illustration 74, 116; print ad,
McElwaine, Guy, 93 115-117
McGilligan, Patrick, 209n.27 Natural The, 92
Mean Streets, 75 Network, 22
Medavoy, Mike, 63, 91 New Hollywood, 8, 34, 61
Media Home Entertainment, 82 New Life, A, 97
Medium Cool, 34, 73 New Line Cinema, 96
Medved, Michael, 173-174 New World Pictures, 73
Merchandising, 148-154 New York, New York, 75, 192; illustra-
Mergers, 80; "first wave" conglomer- tion, 76
ate/film companies, 69-71, 156; New York Stories, 108
"second wave," 84-94 Nice Girls Don't Explode, 14
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), 71; Nicholson, Jack, 31-33, 99
MGM/UA, 91 Nickelodeon, 75, 191
Miami Blues, 9; illustration, 9 9V2 Weeks, 30, 60; illustration, 38;
Michener, Charles, 142 publicity still, 36
Midnight Cowboy, 72, 134 Noah, Timothy, 14
Midnight Express, 117-119, 146; illus- Noises Off, 191
tration, 118
Mikey and Nicky, 79 O.C. &Stiggs, 73, 173
Miller, Roger LeRoy, 105 Officer and a Gentleman, An, 61; video
Miramax, 96 release, 82
Modleski, Tania, 52 Ogilvy, David, 163

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 High Concept

Old Gringo, The, 108 Player, The, 73, 190-191

Omen, The, 149 Pleskow, Eric, 91
Once Upon a Time in America, 169 Pocket Books, 133
O ; Neal ; Ryan, 131 Polanski, Roman, 79
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, 22, Pollock, Tom, 160
31,75 Popeye, 73
One from the Heart, 159, 192; illustra- Poseidon Adventure, The, 80
tion, 193; style, 30-31 Post-classical cinema. See High con-
On Golden Pond, 97 cept, as post-classical cinema
Ordinary People, 85 Premiere network, 83
Orion Pictures, 82, 91; Orion Home Preminger, Otto, 122
Video, 82 Presidio, The, 104
Outrageous Fortune, 107 Pretty in Pink 104, 106; music video,
Outsiders, The, 192; illustration, 193 44; opening, 41-42
Pretty Woman, 41, 159; character, 57
Pacino, Al, 31 Price, Frank, 93
Package-unit system of production, 68 Prince, 33, 49-51, 99, 159
Paper Moon, 191 Product differentiation, 94-104. See
Papillon, 78 also High concept, as differentiated
Paramount consent decree, 66-67, 80 product; Market segmentation
Paramount Pictures, 66, 69-71, Psychographic research, 157
85-88, 89, 90, 93, 133, 173; block- Publicity stills, 36
buster, 78; control over projects, Purple Rain, 40, 159; music video, 47,
85-86; deal with Showtime, 83; 148
high concept, 104-107; market re- Puttnam, David, 93, 108
search case study, 168-169; release Pye, Michael, 146
of Nashville, 115; release of Satur-
day Night Fever, 142; television pro- Rabbit Test, 125; illustration, 126
duction, 70; video release strate- Rachel Papers, The, 91
gies, 82 Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO), 66
Parenthood, 178 Rafelson, Bob, 72, 191
Parretti, Giancarlo, 89 Raiders of the Lost Ark, 82, 85, 106,
Pee Wee's Big Adventure, 199 107, 160
Penn, Arthur, 77 Raising Arizona, 12
Pennies from Heaven, 164 Rambo film series, 55
Pepvers, Mark, 152 Rambo: First Blood Part II, 92, 153,
Perfect, 164; as high concept, 12 169
Peterman, Don, 63 Ray, Nicholas, 34
Peters, Jon: Columbia, 93; Flashdance, Ray, Robert, 225 n. 13
13; Guber-Peters Entertainment, Razor's Edge, The (1984), 164
146-147; marketing through mu- Rebel without a Cause, 56
sic tie-ins, 134-139 Reception of film, 52
Phantom of the Paradise, 73 Reckless, 56
Phillips, Joseph, 80 Reds, 31
Pink Panther, The, 59 Regression analysis, 167, 219n.25
Planes, Trains and Automobiles, 44; Reiner, Rob, 194
character, 57; genre, 106 Return of the Jedi, 169

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 Index

Revenge of the Pink Panther, 125 Scott, Tony, 26

Revue Productions, 69 Second Hand Hearts, 191
Rich, Lee, 91 Segal, Erich, 149
Right Stuff, The, 170 Seiniger, Tony, 129, 131
Risky Business, 41, 196-198; illustra- Semel, Terry, 112
tion, 197 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
River's Edge, 96 144-145; illustration, 144
Roadshowing, 72 Serpico, 70
RoboCop, 153 Seven Arts Productions, 71
RoboCopII, 177 sex, lies and videotape, 96
Rocketeer, The, 160 Shampoo, 112, 191
Jtocty, 13, 55 Sheen, Charlie, 10-11
Rocky V, 177 Sheltering Sky, The, 36; illustration, 39
Roddick, Nick, 56 Sherak, Tom, 177
Rookie, The, 11; illustration, 11 She's Having a Baby, 12, 58
Room, The, 73 Shining, The, 31-32
/toom w/f/z a View, A, 96 Shirley Valentine, 9, 106
Rosenfeld, Jonas, 156 Shoos, Diane, 46-47
Ross, Steven, 71, 88 Shoot to Kill, 90
Roth, Joe, 179 Short Circuit, 92; marketing, 125
Rumble Fish, 192 Short Cuts, 73
Running Brave, 82 Showtime, 83-84, 87
Russell, Ken, 141-142 Sill, Joel, 133
Ruthless People, 89, 107 Simonet, Thomas, 158, 163
Ryan's Daughter, 72 Simpson, Don, 26, 107, 154
Sindlinger & Company, 156
St. Elmo's Fire, 30, 60 Sirk, Douglas, 34
Salamon, Julie, 156 Sister Act, 107
Sampling (music), 52 Sixteen Candles, 56, 58
Saturation release pattern, 19, Slaughterhouse-Five, 73
109-112, 154, 157 Slugger's Wife, The, 191
Saturday Night Fever, 1, 10, 22, 56, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 148
112, 139, 142-144, 153; illustra- Some Girls, 91
tion, 143 Some Kind of Wonderful, 25, 106
Scarfiotti, Ferdinando, 63 Something Wicked This Way Comes, 82,
Scavullo, Francesco, 131, 136, 137 169
Schatz, Thomas, 203 n.6 Something Wild, 159
Scheider, Roy, 5-6 Sony Corporation, 93
Schickel, Richard, 13 Sorcerer, 75
Schlosser, Herb, 90 Sound of Music, The, 72, 134
Schrader, Paul, 41, 57, 63, 119, 196, Spartacus, 72
215n.l9 Spielberg, Steven, 13, 34, 78, 90, 113,
Schwartz, Tony, 106 124, 153
Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 11-12, 24, Splash, 89
46,55 Staiger, Janet, 16, 20, 60, 68, 198
Scorsese, Martin, 34, 72, 75, 190-192 Stallone, Sylvester, 55-56
Scott, Ridley, 26 Star!, 72

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 High Concept

Star Is Born, A (1976), 134-136; illus- Targets, 191

tration, 135 Taxi Driver, 72, 75
Star persona, 53-56 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 153
Star Trekfilmseries, 87, 88, 107 Television: coverage, 67, 80; movie in-
Star Trek-The Motion Picture, 112 dustry response, 67-68
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, 82, Television commercials, 19, 133
133 Tenant, The, 79
Star Wars, 22, 59, 107, 188, 190, 195; Terminator, The, 24
attendance patterns, 145; commer- Terminator 2, 45-46
cial success, 71; illustration, 152; Terms of Endearment, 14, 17, 31, 97
merchandising, 152-153 Tex, 82
Staying Alive, 40, 164, 171; genre, Thank God It's Friday, 146; illustra-
55-56, 106, 107 tion, 147
Stay Tuned, 173 Thelma & Louise, 178
Steel, Dawn, 9, 93 They All Laughed, 191
Stigwood, Robert, 134; Grease, 4; mar- Thieves Like Us, 190
keting through music tie-ins, 139- Thing Called Love, The, 191
145 Thomopolous, Tony, 15, 91
Stills. See Publicity stills Thompson, Anne, 12, 218n.l2,
Stoddard, Brandon, 9 225n.21
Stone, Oliver, 194, 201 Thompson, Kristin, 16, 27, 37
Strawberry Statement, The, 34 3-D film, 67, 94
Streamers, 73 Three Fugitives, 107
Streets of Fire, 55, 56 Three Men and a Baby, 12, 107,
Streisand, Barbra, 77, 131, 134, 136, 124-125, 178
138 Time of Destiny, A, 108
Style, 16; authorial expressivity, 61; Time Warner, 84, 88-89, 93. See also
character and narrative, 16-17, 25; Warner Bros.
components, 24, 28; and consumer To Live and Die in L.A., 191
advertising, 23-26; as economic Tommy, 139-142, 145; illustration,
force, 60; vs. excess, 27-28, 31, 34, 141
36, 60; high technology, 28, 30; Tootelian, Dennis, 178
music, 16, 36-52; music video, 17; Top Gun, 17, 153, 154, 169-170; char-
realism, 61 acter, 56; illustration, 37; music,
Summer School, 104 42; music video, 45, 46, 47; pub-
Superman (1978), 99, 150, 153 licity still, 36; visual conception,
Supermanfilmseries, 88 26, 106
Super Mario Bros., 146-147 Top Secret!, 125
Sweet Charity, 5 To Sleep with Anger, 202
Swing Shift, 170 Total Recall, 176
Swoon, 199 Touchstone Pictures. See Walt Disney
Synergy, 70, 90, 134, 154 Pictures
Tough Guys, 89
Talent for the Game, 173 Towering Inferno, The, 78, 154, 159
Tanner '88, 73 Trading Places, 106

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 Index 237

Transamerica, 71, 90-91. See also ket research case study, 168-169;
United Artists Paramount executives' entry, 87,
Trans-Lux theaters, 87 90; video, 82
Tri-Star Pictures, 82; formation, 92. Warner Bros., 66, 69, 71, 83, 85,
See also Columbia Pictures 88-89, 93, 134; components, 88;
Tron, 107, 195 market research case study, 168
True Love, 91 War of the Roses, The, 22, 178
Tucker: The Man and His Dream, 192 Wasserman, Lew, 69, 90
Turner, Ted, 91 Wayne's World, 41, 190
Turner and Hooch, 107 Weintraub, Jerry, 91
Twentieth Century Fox, 5, 66, 71, 83, West Side Story, 134
87, 91-92; deal with Altman, 73 Whales ofAugust, The, 96-97
Twin Peaks, 58, 200 What's Up Doc?, 131, 191
Twins, 55 Where the Heart Is, 108
White, Mimi, 45
United Artists, 15, 66, 69, 71, 79, White Hunter, Black Heart, 11
90-91, 93; Heaven's Gate, 7S-76 Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, 153, 160
United Artists Classics, 73 Who's That Girl, 45, 146
Universal Pictures, 66, 69, 82, 83, 90, Widom, Diana, 12, 88
169, 200 Wild at Heart, 58
Untouchables, The (1987), 56, 104, Wild One, The, 56
106, 107 Williams, Raymond, 52
USA network, 87 Willow, 153
Wilmington, Michael, 14
Vanishing Wilderness, 111 Wind, 173
Vertigo, 122 Witches ofEastwick, The, 31
Vertue, Beryl, 140 Wizan,Joe, 91
Vice Versa, 12 Wizard of Oz, The, 33
View to a Kill, A, 169 Wood, Robin, 195, 224n.5
Vincent and Theo, 73 Woodward, Richard, 200
VisionQuest, 146
Vogel, Harold, 209n.31 Yablans, Frank, 91
Youngstein, Max, 110
Wall Street, 30 Youth Films, 72-73
Walt Disney Pictures, 85, 93; forma-
tion of Touchstone, 89-90; high Zanuck, Darryl, 72
concept, 104, 105, 107-108; mar- Zoetrope Studios, 30, 192

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