"Don’t think about it as a romantic comedy. Don’t look at the tried and true and what the movie needs to be. Look at these people. Look at what makes them unique and perfect for each other. Think about your views on love and courtship and what you think is funny about falling in love right now, and what do you think really makes a relationship? And go at it with a consciously thematic and socially conscious point of view. “What do I have here that will really speak to my peers about love and romance?”
Creative Screenwriting magazine asked me some questions about the genre that I could not help but try to answer. As a general update on what's up with rom-coms these days, you may find the interview of interest.
Wow, what a great interview with Briannee Hogan, Billy. Good job. Didn't know that Creative Screenwriting was still in existance untill this post!
Really liked the way you opened up in the interview and told the readers how your parents helped shape your love for the genre with the Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn rom-coms. Love hearing the shaping forses that guide people.
Also LA-OVED you dissing a little bit on Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck". Easy to laud the praise on Schumer on this one, but I'm more curious as to what Judd Apatow's footprint in this movie was. In 2005 he made the classic "The 40-Year-Old-Virgin" then a decade later he directed a raunchy rom-com that was the female equivalent of his male-side jem--and in "Trainwreck" he proved that he could put out a product that was lean and ended well, which was one of my few gripes with Judd's movies over the years.
Anyway, GREAT interview. Glad to read that the relationship between you and Creative Screenwriting is still going strong.
Posted by: E.C. Henry | March 05, 2016 at 05:45 PM
Gonna go read that -- but I actually just came here to say I finally watched Man Up. Great movie, loved it. Lots of originality, loved the warm side characters, and especially loved the gang of partiers at the end: A very good rom com run. Congrats to your writer friend. ;-)
Posted by: London Mabel | March 20, 2016 at 07:21 PM
London Mabel: So glad you enjoyed it. Tess has a perfect record of satisfied customers in this regard; literally no one I've recommended MAN UP to has come to me demanding their money back.
Posted by: mernitman | March 26, 2016 at 09:09 PM