Writing the Romantic Comedy

Writing the Romantic Comedy
Author: Billy Mernit
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2001-07-31
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0060935030

From the slapstick shenanigans of Hepburn and Grant in Bringing Up Baby to the sexy repartee of Shakespeare in Love, romantic comedies have delighted filmgoers -- and challenged screenwriters -- since Hollywood's Golden Age. Whether you're a first time screenwriter, or an intermediate marooned in the rewriting process, this thoroughly charming and insightful guide to the basics of crafting a winning script will take you step by step from "cute meet" all the way to "joyous defeat." You'll learn the screenwriting secrets behind some of the funniest scenes ever written; how to create characters and dialogue that set the sparks flying; why some bedroom scenes sizzle and others fall flat; and much more. Writing the Romantic Comedy features case studies drawn from beloved romantic comedies such as When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, Tootsie, and The Lady Eve, as well as field-tested writing exercises guaranteed to short-circuit potential mistakes and ensure inspiration.

Writing the Romantic Comedy, Revised and Updated Edition

Writing the Romantic Comedy, Revised and Updated Edition
Author: Billy Mernit
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2020-01-20
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780062950260

"Writing the Romantic Comedy is so much fun to read it could pop a champagne cork."--Alexa Junge, writer and producer of Friends Revised and expanded to celebrate a new generation of romantic comedies, Billy Mernit's insightful look into the mechanics of writing Hollywood's most enduring genre features case studies that reveal the screenwriting secrets behind classics new and old. Whether you're a first-time screenwriter, an intermediate marooned in the rewriting process, or a professional wanting to explore the latest genre trends, this thoroughly charming and insightful guide to the basics of crafting a winning and innovative script will take you step by step from "meet cute" all the way to "joyous defeat." You'll learn the screenwriting secrets behind some of the funniest scenes ever written; how to create characters and dialogue that getsparks flying; why some bedroom scenes sizzle and others fall flat; and much more. Written in a refreshingly accessible style and updated and expanded to recognize the contributions of a fresh generation of romantic comedies, this newly revised 20th Anniversary edition of Writing the Romantic Comedy features case studies drawn from beloved romantic classics such as When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, Tootsie, and The Lady Eve to modern-day favorites including Hitch, (500) Days of Summer, Bridesmaids, and Silver Linings Playbook. Field-tested writing exercises are also included, guaranteed to short-circuit potential mistakes and ensure inspiration.

Build Your Own Romantic Comedy

Build Your Own Romantic Comedy
Author: Lana Schwartz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2020-03-17
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 164604052X

“A rollicking, meta, Choose Your Own Adventure novel for adults whose notions of romance are skewed and cracked from a lifelong diet of Meg Ryan movies.” —Vulture Get ready to relax with your favorite romantic comedy of all time—the one you create! Instead of turning on the latest cheesy rom-com for a simple, mood-boosting love story, put yourself in the director’s chair with Build Your Own Romantic Comedy. First, open the book and pick your heroine. Will she be a high-powered business lady with no time for love? Or a quirky bakery owner? Just make your choice and read how the magic unfolds. When it’s time to meet your man, do you prefer a hunky prince, a hunky executive, or a hunky nemesis? Each choice will take you down a totally different path that all somehow end up making a charmingly predictable romance. Choice by hilarious choice, you’ll pick from classic rom-com elements like: Sassy best friends Romantic date montages A makeover, obviously Dramatic but easily solved misunderstandings Make your way closer and closer to the big payoff—the picture-perfect, most romantic final kiss ever. And when you’ve savored that last bit of fun, romantic goodness, don’t be glum. Turn back to page one and start a new love story. With over 100 possible stories, the happily-ever-afters never have to stop.

Partner Pursuit

Partner Pursuit
Author: Kathy Strobos
Publisher: Strawbundle Publishing
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2021-10-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1737713918

When a workaholic lawyer meets a fun-loving music marketing executive for opposites attract, friends-to-lovers adventures, which partnership will she choose? Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision. Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor. Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One. He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom. But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family. And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner. Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory. If only she had not met him now. Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis. But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose? Search terms: romantic comedy, women's fiction with romance, opposites attract, lawyer romance, lawyer romantic comedy, legal romantic comedy, feel-good fiction

Is This for Real?

Is This for Real?
Author: Kathy Strobos
Publisher: Strawbundle Publishing
Total Pages: 516
Release: 2022-01-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1737713934

An opposites-attract, friends-to-lovers, slow burn, fake-dating romantic comedy Love is all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Usually, me. I admit it. I’m a relationship-recluse. Ironic, given that I write romantic comedies. So, I’m on a sabbatical from dating. Which is why fake dating my best friend, Rory, is fool-proof. Rory suggested it because he needed a date for work functions. And I can use our experiences as fodder for my romcom novel. Plus, my sister doesn’t know it’s not real, and she is thrilled that I’m not walling myself off emotionally. Her words, not mine. But I do wish she would stop saying that she always suspected there was something more between me and Rory. She should realize that we’ve been friends forever so I’m immune to his appeal. We would never work. Rory is such a romantic; he still believes in that perfect love similar to his parents’ marriage. My parents fought bitterly. So, we are better off as friends. I can’t risk losing our friendship, even if this might be my chance—before his ex-girlfriend wins him back. Those flickers of attraction? Easily extinguished by cold-water reality—like a two-mile hike in drenching rain over sand with wheelie luggage. But our relationship is not sticking to the plot—or is it? Search terms: romantic comedy, fake dating, one bed, friends-to-lovers, closed door romance, New York romantic comedy, writer romantic comedy, opposites attract, sweet with heat, first person romance, best friends romance,

From Hollywood with Love

From Hollywood with Love
Author: Scott Meslow
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2022-02-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0063026317

An in-depth celebration of the romantic comedy’s modern golden era and its role in our culture, tracking the genre from its heyday in the ’80s and the ’90s, its unfortunate decline in the 2000s, and its explosive reemergence in the age of streaming, featuring exclusive interviews with the directors, writers, and stars of the iconic films that defined the genre. No Hollywood genre has been more misunderstood—or more unfairly under-appreciated—than the romantic comedy. Funny, charming, and reliably crowd-pleasing, rom-coms were the essential backbone of the Hollywood landscape, launching the careers of many of Hollywood’s most talented actors and filmmakers, such as Julia Roberts and Matthew McConaughey, and providing many of the yet limited creative opportunities women had in Hollywood. But despite—or perhaps because of—all that, the rom-com has routinely been overlooked by the Academy Awards or snobbishly dismissed by critics. In From Hollywood with Love, culture writer and GQ contributor Scott Meslow seeks to right this wrong, celebrating and analyzing rom-coms with the appreciative, insightful critical lens they’ve always deserved. Beginning with the golden era of the romantic comedy—spanning from the late ’80s to the mid-’00s with the breakthrough of films such as When Harry Met Sally—to the rise of streaming and the long-overdue push for diversity setting the course for films such as the groundbreaking, franchise-spawning Crazy Rich Asians, Meslow examines the evolution of the genre through its many iterations, from its establishment of new tropes, the Austen and Shakespeare rewrites, the many love triangles, and even the occasional brave decision to do away with the happily ever after. Featuring original black-and-white sketches of iconic movie scenes and exclusive interviews with the actors and filmmakers behind our most beloved rom-coms, From Hollywood with Love constructs oral histories of our most celebrated romantic comedies, for an informed and entertaining look at Hollywood’s beloved yet most under-appreciated genre.

The Love Con

The Love Con
Author: Seressia Glass
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2021-12-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593199057

A LibraryReads Pick! One of... Popsugar's Best New Romances Bustle and Bookish's Most Anticipated Books of December Library Journal's Best Romances of 2021 He’s cosplaying as her boyfriend but their feelings for each other are real in this romantic comedy from Seressia Glass. Sometimes Kenya Davenport believes she was switched at the hospital—how else could a lover of anime, gaming, and cosplay come from STEM parents? Still, Kenya dreams of being able to turn her creative hobby into a career. She finally has a chance to make it big when she joins the reality show competition Cosplay or No Way. There's just one catch: the challenge for the final round is all about iconic pairs, and the judges want the contestants' significant others to participate. Unfortunately, Kenya is as single as can be at the moment. Luckily her best friend, Cameron Lassiter, agrees to be her fake boyfriend for the show. Roleplaying a couple in love will force them to explore what they're hiding under the mask of friendship. Can Kenya and Cam fake it until she makes it, or will she be real about her feelings, knowing it could cost her the best friend she’s ever had?

One Last Stop

One Last Stop
Author: Casey McQuiston
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2021-06-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 125076033X

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* *INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER* *INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER* From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks... For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train. Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all. Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time. "A dazzling romance, filled with plenty of humor and heart." - Time Magazine, "The 21 Most Anticipated Books of 2021" "Dreamy, other worldly, smart, swoony, thoughtful, hilarious - all in all, exactly what you'd expect from Casey McQuiston!" - Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and Party for Two

License to Bite

License to Bite
Author: Carrie Pulkinen
Publisher: Carrie Pulkinen
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2020-03-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

It's all fun and games until someone wakes up dead. Governor's daughter Jane Anderson is used to getting what she wants. When a girls' trip to Mardi Gras thrusts her into the arms—and fangs—of New Orleans' hottest vampire, he gifts her with immortality, super strength, and a complexion to die for. There's only one tiny problem. Jane faints at the sight of blood. When Ethan Devereaux meets Jane, his cold, lifeless heart learns to beat again. Convinced she's his late fiancée reincarnated, he turns her, claiming her as his own. But when Jane wakes up dead in Ethan's attic, she's loud, sassy, and downright ornery. He doesn't know if he should kiss her or stake her, but one thing's for certain… She is so not his long-lost love. But Ethan turned her, so he's stuck with her. Jane has three weeks to learn the ways of the vampire and get her license, or she'll be staked. If Ethan can't help her overcome her aversion to blood, his undead life might also be on the line. Join the supes of New Orleans Nocturnes as they lighten up the darker side of the Big Easy in this fast, steamy romantic comedy.