"You can't get into Hollywood through the front door," the saying goes. That being the case, it doesn't leave a lot of entry points into the business. You can use nepotism to your advantage or be lucky enough to sleep your way to the top. But for me, I took the road less traveled -- I fell in with the "high concept" crowd. Those are the people who don't write scripts, instead creating commercially sellable log lines which can be sold over a phone call or pitch session. I happen to be one of the exceptions in that I'm a screenwriter as well and have found that each talent isn't mutually exclusive of the other.

I consider myself to be "the best idea man in Hollywood," having sold seven projects to date. The first six being ideas I sold to the major studios without an agent or attorney. My last sale was the screenplay, "Worst Case Scenario," a forty million dollar action-thriller slated to go into production in 1997 with Interscope Communications.

I also teach writing classes at the American Film Institute and Santa Monica College where I have created a class called, "How to Sell Your Stories to Hollywood." I share my fifteen years of knowledge with my students in the hopes that they may come up with a great idea and we'd become partners in its sale and potential production.

Creating "high concept" ideas is a world apart from writing screenplays. They take years of writing and rewriting. A great idea can be two or three sentences long. But coming up with a truly terrific idea is no easy task. The process is a radical departure from conventional thinking and creativity. You've got to be exact, capturing the essence of a totally original concept in a couple of sentences. Let's strip away some of the misconceptions surrounding what "high concept" means. My definition includes three very distinct requirements:

The first is that the idea or logline must be pitchable in a few sentences. Shorter is always better.

Next, the story must be fresh and unique. You definitely haven't heard it before. It grabs you and doesn't let go.

Finally, you immediately see the potential. If it's an action film, you "see" the potential for action inherent in the pitch. If it's a comedy, comic potential is evident in your storyline.

There shouldn't be a lot of explaining to do on your part. A story about a man going through a tough divorce who ultimately reconciles with his wife and returns to his family is not "high concept." It's neither fresh nor is there any obvious potential. A story about a guy who wakes up one morning to discover that a tiny alien is living in his head is "high concept." It's a one sentence pitch that you never heard before, with very obvious potential for comedy and adventure. The easiest "high concept" genre s to sell are comedies and action-adventures. The response one is aiming for when pitching is having the listener say, "Why didn't I think of that?" You should also have a great title which conveys the genre of your project and as much information as to w hat the story's about as can be conveyed in a title.

As far as protecting the material goes, "ideas" are not legally protected even if you register or copyright them. Therefore writers must expand their "idea" into a three or four page treatment and then register them. An attorney should also negotiate all of your deals.

Click here to learn about Steve's online class.