JA FILMS CREATIVE FOCUS

At JA Films we are solely interested in making original, high concept genre films. High concept is defined as a unique idea that can be expressed briefly. 

We are focused on such films because we believe there is a large audience demand, and yet Hollywood rarely makes these movies anymore. Instead they focus primarily on sequels, remakes and branded entertainment. In a fast changing world where consumers demand new products, Hollywood isn’t delivering.

Not only should the concept be expressed briefly, but it should strive to contain elements of the following:

•    irony
•    wish-fulfillment
•    universal elements
•    tap into the current culture or zeitgeist

EXAMPLES OF HIGH CONCEPT

40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (2005) = The title is the log line.
•    irony = see the title. 
•    universal elements = everyone can relate to losing their virginity.

BREAKING BAD (2008) = When diagnosed with cancer, a cash-strapped high school chemistry teacher starts manufacturing crystal meth to pay for his treatment.
•    irony

THE DEPARTED (2006) = The mafia puts a mole in the Boston police and the cops plant an undercover agent in the mob.
•    irony

HOMELAND (2011) = An American P.O.W returns home a war hero but has been secretly turned into an Al Qaeda operative.
•    irony
•    taps into the current culture = plays on our Al Qaeda fears in a post 9/11 world.

HORRIBLE BOSSES (2011) = Three best friends plot to murder their despicable bosses.
•    wish fulfillment = most people hate their bosses. Wanting to kill them is wish fulfillment.

CRIMSON TIDE (1995) = A mutiny on a nuclear submarine.
•    taps into the current culture = at the time it was released, the film played on post-cold war paranoia. 

IT’S COMPLICATED (2009) = A woman, whose ex-husband left her for a younger woman, starts having an affair with him.
•    irony
•    wish fulfillment = This concept is wish fulfillment because the woman who was left, now gets to play “the mistress”. This is also a female sexual empowerment tale.

THE HANGOVER (2009) = A bachelor party loses the groom in Vegas 48 hours before the wedding and must retrace their steps to find him.
•    irony
•    universal elements = everyone can relate to doing crazy things at a bachelor party. In addition, everyone knows the ethos, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” 

KINDERGARTEN COP (1990) = A hard-nose cop goes undercover as a Kindergarten teacher in order to protect a federal witness.
•    irony = tough-as-nails cop Arnold Schwarzenegger not being able to survive a classroom of 5 year-olds.

LIAR, LIAR (1997) = A son’s wish comes true when his lawyer-father can no longer tell a lie.
•    irony = an unscrupulous defense attorney who now has to tell the truth.

LIMITLESS (2011) = A struggling writer takes a pill which makes him an overnight success but he doesn’t count on the horrendous side effects.
•    wish fulfillment

MEET THE PARENTS (2000) = A guy meets his girlfriend’s parents for the first time and hopes to impress them, but everything goes spectacularly wrong.
•    irony
•    universal elements = everyone can relate to meeting their future in-laws for the first time and wanting to make a good impression.

MR. AND MRS. SMITH (2005) = A married couple who doesn’t know that each other are spies, are contracted to kill each other.
•    irony
•    wish fulfillment = as much as you love your spouse, they sometimes frustrate you so much that you want to kill them. This film gives the audience that catharsis.

MRS. DOUBTFIRE (1993) = A divorced Dad desperate to be close to his kids, dresses up as their new English nanny – Mrs. Doubtfire.
•    irony
•    universal elements = everyone can relate to going to extreme lengths for their kids. 

OCEAN’S ELEVEN (2001) = Danny Ocean and his crew of 11 plot to rob three Las Vegas casinos in one night.
•    wish fulfillment = every heist movie is wish fulfillment because the audience experiences the catharsis of participating in the theft. Another aspect of wish fulfillment in this film is that everyone has lost money in Vegas. How great would it be to rob Vegas? 

PRETTY WOMAN (1990) = A businessman hires a prostitute to pose as his girlfriend for a week but doesn’t count on falling in love with her.
•    irony
•    wish fulfillment = a modern day Cinderella story.

THE PURGE (2013) = One night a year, all crime is legal.
•    irony
•    wish fulfillment = This is wish fulfillment because in the world this movie is set in, crime is legally and morally sanctioned.

THE REF (1994) = A cat burglar breaks into a wealthy couple’s home but doesn’t count on having to play referee between a constantly bickering husband and wife.
•    irony

SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) = Two male musicians dress up as a women to join an all-girl band in order to skip town and escape the mob.
•    irony = Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon in flapper dresses.

THE SOPRANOS (1999) = A mob boss suffering anxiety attacks starts seeing a shrink.
•    irony  = no one would think a tough-as-nails mafia boss would go into therapy.

TED (2012) = A 30 year-old bachelor is forced to choose between his serious girlfriend and Ted – his foul mouthed, over-sexed, alcoholic, talking teddy bear.
•    irony = we think of a teddy bear as a security blanket for a child. This move flips the script by having a degenerate teddy bear be the security blanket for a 30 year-old man.
•    universal elements = the movie primarily focuses on the age-old story of learning to grow up. 

TELL NO ONE (2006) = 5 years after his wife’s death, a man gets a message from her. Now the chief suspect in her murder, he goes on the run to find out if she’s still alive or if he in fact killed her.
•    wish fulfillment = the wish fulfillment is in the possibility that a deceased loved-one might still be alive.

THREE MEN AND A BABY (1987) = Three playboys’ lives are turned upside down when a baby from one of their past relationships, shows up at their door.
•    irony = three ladies-men struggling to take care of a newborn.
•    wish fulfillment = it’s wish fulfillment for a female audience watching these men struggle with child rearing. 

TOOTSIE (1982) = An actor no one will hire, dresses up as a woman to win a role on a popular soap opera.
•    irony

WAR GAMES (1983) = A teenage computer gamer hacks into NORAD threatening to start a nuclear war between Russia and the U.S.
•    irony = it’s unexpected that a teenager could do this.
•    taps into the current culture = at the time it was released, this movie played on cold war paranoia. 

THE WEDDING CRASHERS (2005) = Two guys crash weddings to bed emotionally vulnerable women.
•    taps into the current culture = the phenomenon of women feeling emotionally vulnerable at weddings, actually exists. This film not only taps into that, but also shows Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn capitalizing on it. In that respect, this film is also wish fulfillment for a male audience.

WHAT WOMEN WANT (2000) = A single man can hear every woman’s innermost thoughts.
•    wish fulfillment = for women, a guy who understands their every need and torment. For men, an easier way to get women into bed.