October 4, 2012
Billy Mernit of Living the Romantic Comedy recently compiled a list of 10 romantic comedy truisms with links to his articles supporting and providing advice for each point. If you’re working on a rom com, this list is essential reading:
A few readers have asked me to put all of these “truism” posts, scattered over the past 18 months, in one convenient place for persual. So be it (just click on the numbers to get to the corresponding links).
# 1: The primary challenge lies not in creating obstacles to keep the couple apart, but in convincing the audience that these two people truly do belong together.
# 2: A star can open a romantic comedy, but a protagonist who doesn’t make sense will piss off the movie’s audience forever.
#3: The depth of your audience’s emotional investment in the central romance is directly proportionate to the size of the story’s stakes.
#4: Solve the Woman Problem and you will get rich.
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October 1, 2012
Make it new.
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August 23, 2012
‘It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.’ -Jean-Luc Godard
Paul Peditto has written a great article for MovieBytes.com about the benefits of stealing — not plagiarizing, but re-imagining stories that have been told a hundred times before, taking inspiration from better artists than yourself, and making old ideas new.
He explains:
Stealing. Should you ever do it?
C’mon… seriously? The answer is FUCK yeah.
Let me bow to my betters, first some thoughts on the subject by Jim Jarmusch, appropriately stolen/borrowed from a pal’s Facebook entry:
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.’”
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April 2, 2012
Pilar Alessandra recently spelled out ten tips for writing strong female lead characters. Here are her tips:
1. Turn The Tables on Female Stereotypes
Don’t ignore negative perceptions about women; challenge them by turning negative labels into positive traits for your character. “Gossipy” becomes well informed. “Catty” becomes competitive. And don’t forget that positive stereotypes are still stereotypes. Humanize the perfect model of a woman by showing the darker side.
2. Heighten Your Female Character’s Goals
The unappreciated temp doesn’t want to be noticed; she wants to be boss. The neglected wife doesn’t want to find out about her husband’s infidelity, she wants to get even. Scripts that think big sell!
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October 5, 2011
This new article from Living the Romantic Comedy delves into the writing process that Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo went through to get to the funniest possible film — they wrote, then they re-wrote a dozen-plus times, and then they embraced a lot of improv in the actual filming (download the script here). There’s a big lesson to be learned here about not settling for the first or even the tenth idea that comes to you:
In the “Line-o-Rama” bonus on the just-released Bridesmaids DVD, a bonanza of alternate takery, there’s one sequence where Melissa McCarthy improvises variations on the same brief line, over and over again, trying out a different gag every time. How many takes? Reader, I counted them: there are forty-eight.
The last question asked in the Q & A of my Screenwriting Expo seminar on “Comedy Craft for the Contemporary Romantic Comedy” came out of discussing Bridesmaids, which I’d worked on as a story analyst at Universal. I’d shown some clips from it and mentioned the screenplay’s long (3-4 years) gestation, noting how co-writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo had been in the enviable position of writing and rewriting on the studio’s dime, under the guidance of producer Judd Apatow.
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August 24, 2011
When in doubt have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.
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