Being entertained by a True Lie

Paper by Kevin Tobin. Viewed on DVD.

A secret agent who lives a double life, covert counter-terrorist missions, and a scantily clad Jamie Lee Curtis, James Cameron’s film True Lies has all the makings for a classic action romp. Starring a top billing cast of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tom Arnold, this blend between high action and comedy became the third most popular film in 1994 alongside heavy hitters like Forrest Gump and Lion King. With box office earnings reaching more than three hundred and seventy-five million, it certainly was a large success. But did it all happen by accident? Had all the stars aligned on this film to give it the success that it earned? Or was it a carefully laid plain to success? While nearly every production can be described in a briefly stated high-concept synopsis, a movie described as being ‘high-concept’ is considered easy to sell and market. A high concept film can be described as one that draws inspiration from an original idea or a unique twist on an old idea. The premise is simple to understand and the direction of the film drives the action and engages the viewer. The technical elements of the film, including cinematography, art direction, costume design, special effects and musical score, all take on greater importance and can often be considered ‘characters’ in their own right. The movie’s themes are universal and transcend gender, race and culture. The film becomes rooted into the viewer’s social consciousness, becoming what some critics call a ‘pop cultural phenomenon’. (hcfilms.com) The attributes of High concept film can become more important than the top name actor or idea the film is based on. Similar to a commercial or music video, A high concept film delivers a punch of flashy entertainment and appeal. According to Charles Flemming, the author of High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood culture of excess, The key to a High Concept film is “the look” , having a film that is appealing and marketable to the public, “The hook”, having a story to sell to your audience. And “the book”, the marketable products and ancillary markets derived from the film. From the idea for the film to the selection of actors to marketing, I believe that True Lies’ success laid in James Cameron’s execution of a streamlined High Concept recipe which was instrumental in creating a simple yet largely profitable idea which I believe has not only effected American cinema but changed it forever.

First evidence of Cameron’s film True Lies being a product of High Concept cinema resides in the films origin. According to Justin Wyatts book High Concept: Movies and Marketing in Hollywood, Steven Spielberg once said, “I like ideas, especially movie ideas that you can hold in your hand. If a person can tell me the idea in twenty-five words or less, it’s going to make a pretty good movie.” a quote from a man whose film Jaws can be argued as the pioneer of the High Concept film movement, can say a lot about the process behind creating an idea for a high concept film. A simple idea in this case meaning one that is “safe” and avoids the risk of alienating audiences with a convoluted or overly complex plot. A simple idea does not guarantee a successful film, but a simple or marketable idea can create buzz and attraction that a film needs to be considered a box office success. Ways that High Concept film makers can almost guarantee the success of a film is through remakes or re-envisioning of ideas already thought of. Through movies made about successful books or though sequels of profitable films, High concept film makers are able to drum up excitement about an idea already established James Cameron’s film True Lies is a textbook example of this, because it is in fact a remake. La Totale! is a French film made in 1991 about François Voisin, a man seen by his family as a normal citizen, who for the past twenty years has been working as a crack secret agent. All goes well until François discovers that his wife Hélène is having an affair with another man. With the aid of the latest hi-tech surveillance equipment, the jealous husband finds that his rival is a second-hand car salesman masquerading as an international terrorist. While True Lies mirrors La Tolale! in most of its story, but through marketing and the high concept method of “the hook, the look and the book.” True Lies was far more successful than its French counterpart.

“The look” of the film is simply how visually appealing it is to the public, usually before its release. For example, the film Jurassic Park would show the world dinosaurs as they had never been seen before. Not in a science book, but alive and on the screen. The film True Lies followed a method similar to this, while no dinosaurs chased down the characters in the movie Arnold Schwarzenegger’s no holds barred action sequences, Jamie Lee Curtis gaining her confidence back through her sexuality and seduction while the sarcastic Tom Arnold supplied the comic relief served as the films “look”. We can see the simplicity of “the look” through the characters of True Lies. Whether it was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s sometimes harsh and violent demeanor towards the men threatening the safety of America, a sultry five minute strip tease by Jamie Lee Curtis, or a scene where Tom Arnold lets the viewer’s know that even though there are terrorists threatening America, we can always laugh, Each characters role was easy to watch and understand. There is no subtext or character action requiring serious thought to their intentions or motives. Through simple and flashy characters the viewer is able to relax and have a fun viewing experience making the film marketable for a large audience. Like we see in most films released today, James Cameron was able to combine the three high concepts of Hollywood into one, action, comedy and sexuality

“The hook” is the story the film is trying to sell to its audience. The film would not be successful if the film consisted of shots of computer generated dinosaurs without any flow or explanation; of course everyone wants to know how dinosaurs could walk the Earth again after being extinct for 65 million years and how they would coexist with people. While the look gained the attention of the audience, the hook is required to keep them interested and engaged. According to Charles Fleming, what separates other films in Hollywood from those that are High Concept is that they’re built primarily on characterization, rather than merely on plot. In the film True Lies Harry Tasker leads a double life. While at home he pretends to be a dull computer salesman he is actually a secret agent on the trail of stolen nuclear weapons that are in the hands of fanatic terrorists when he finds his wife is seeing another man he tries to win her back but in the process gets them both involved in an international terrorist plot. The idea for this film is incredibly exciting. In one scene in particular, Schwarzenegger is piloting a Harrier vertical-takeoff fighter plane, which hovers near a Miami high-rise while his teenage daughter clings precariously to the cockpit cover and a villain dangles by his gun belt from one of the wing mounted missiles. Arnold arms the missile and fires it, terrorist attached, straight through the high-rise, and it shoots down a helicopter carrying other terrorists. This takes place shortly after a nuclear bomb has vaporized one of the Florida Keys. (Ebert) This simple yet exciting scene and plot line is the Perfect High Concept platform, this simple story combined with spectacular special effects was able to gross over one hundred and fifty million in ticket sales in the United States alone.

Finally, “the book” can be labeled as all the merchandise made to help promote the film. The merchandise in Jurassic Park was destined to sell well, with people wanting the t-shirts and lunch boxes and action figures based on the vehicles and dinosaurs that were shown everywhere throughout the movie. The ancillary markets of Jurassic Park were able to sell well to a wide audience because it delivered upon an easy-to-grasp idea. While the film True Lies was made profitable by ticket sales in America alone, the money from ancillary markets is what makes this, and most films by James Cameron, a money making powerhouse. An example of a product sold alongside the film True Lies and had great success, is the movies soundtrack. With a musical score consisting of a majority of songs that were already successful in the American music industry, Cameron was able to repackage songs such as “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Darkness, Darkness” and re-release them under his films name.

With the success of True Lies and many High Concept films like it, I believe that the majority of films today are following the High Concept model. Through a mixture of action, sexuality, and humor many modern day films are striking box office gold by following the High Concept model. Modern day high Concept films can derive from actor vehicles in which a film is built around a certain actor solely on the fact that the actors name can bring excitement and popularity to the film, to films built around topics that gain pop culture popularity, like vampire and werewolf films and television shows of the past couple years. While the high concept idea was originated to gain the most amount of profit for a small amount of imagination I don’t believe that it is a terrible film movement. The high concept idea is an important part of both the beginning and the end of the film process. In the beginning, it is a powerful seed that can help both create and sell a film. At the end of the process, it is the embodiment that will summarize the story when it is marketed. It’s what the public will see on the book jacket or movie poster. The mission has to be accomplished in very few words. But while High Concept is a successful way of selling a film I don’t believe that it should define and guide Hollywood. Not all ideas can be neatly packaged and sold, some ideas that are complex require more storytelling than twenty-five words can a lot.

It’s important to distinguish the difference between blockbusters and high-concept films. A film like Star Wars, for example, isn’t high concept because its synopsis doesn’t come close to describing its appeal. The film’s success is execution-driven, rather than pitch driven. That’s not to say that True Lies isn’t executed excellently, but its success is down to it fulfilling the promise of its pitch. From the idea for the film, to the selection of actors and marketing, I believe that True Lies’ success laid in James Cameron’s execution of a streamlined High Concept recipe which was instrumental in creating a simple yet largely profitable idea and I believe it has not only effected American cinema but changed it forever. The key to a High Concept film is “the look”, having a film that is appealing and marketable to the public. “The hook” is the story that engages the viewers along with “the book”, the marketable products and ancillary markets derived from the film. James Cameron’s True Lies is a perfect example from High Concept movie industry. By taking a simple French short film idea, about a secret agent who blows his cover to win back his wife and fights against a terrorist plot and turning it into a blockbuster film that has earned hundreds of millions of dollars in ticket sales worldwide and ancillary markets, James Cameron has once again shown how successful the High Concept film can be.
 
Works Cited
Fleming, Charles. High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess. New York: Doubleday, 1998. Print.
“High Concept Defined Once and For All.” High Concept Defined Once and For All. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
“True Lies :: Rogerebert.com :: Reviews.” RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
“What Is High Concept Film?” High Concept Films Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
Wyatt, Justin. High Concept: Movies and Marketing in Hollywood. Austin: University of Texas, 1994. Print.