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Lesson 1
Reply to post your assignment.
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58 Replies
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Micki’s Rom Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is coming up with a concept is fun. Putting the pieces of love and comedy together to see it take shape.
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
Two People Who Belong Together:
How Are They Separated:
What Forces Them together:
Issues to be Resolved:
On Their Journey of Love:Jilted Bride Honeymoon
Here's a rom-com idea: A woman left at the altar goes on her pre-booked honeymoon cruise and ends up reconnecting with her charming high school flame who's also on the same trip as part of a work retreat. As they explore exotic destinations and reminisce about old times, they discover a rekindled spark and must decide if they can rewrite their love story.2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
Experience of Falling In Love:
The Journey of Love:
Relationship Set-up:
Issues each must Resolve:
Separation:
How will Comedy be Expressed:Experience of Falling in Love:
Awkward attempts to relive old hobbies that end hilariously, playful banter that turns into accidental insults about each other's present lives, discovery of quirky habits that endear them to each other.The Journey of Love:
Self-deprecating humor about past relationship choices, getting mistaken for a couple by fellow passengers leading to chaotic situations, facing their dating ineptitude through hilarious dinner dates or excursions.Relationship Set-up:
Forced proximity leading to comical misunderstandings about each other's daily routines, pretending to be a couple in front of the cruise staff with disastrous results, their contrasting personalities clashing in funny ways (neurotic bride vs. laid-back ex-flame).Issues Each Must Resolve:
Dealing with heartbreak through self-effacing jokes, societal expectations of marriage turning into humorous anecdotes, career choices turning into funny banter about their bosses.Separation:
Potential conflict with the ex-fiance leading to a slapstick encounter, societal pressure to explain their situation to friends and family in a humorous way, the fear of commitment expressed through exaggerated anxieties or funny ultimatums.Comedy be expressed:
Situational Comedy:
Awkward encounters, mistaken identities, and chaotic situations arising from their forced proximity on the cruise.Slapstick Humor:
Physical comedy routines or pratfalls resulting from their attempts to navigate new experiences or revisit old ones.Witty Dialogue:
Playful banter, self-deprecating humor, and funny asides that reveal their personalities and vulnerabilities.Running Gags:
Recurring jokes or references throughout the story that build on the comedic elements.Visual Humor:
Sight gags, exaggerated facial expressions, and funny costumes that add to the lighthearted atmosphere.3. Edit both lists to improve the expression of the concept and conventions.
Jilted Bride Honeymoon:
The concept, incorporating humor:Experience of Falling in Love:
Nostalgia with a Twist:
Their attempts to relive high school hobbies go hilariously awry, leading to playful banter that teeters between sweet and self-deprecating. As they discover (and sometimes mock) each other's quirky present-day habits, a new kind of endearment blossoms.The Journey of Love:
Laughter is the Best Medicine: They bond over self-deprecating humor about past relationship choices. Getting mistaken for a couple by fellow passengers leads to chaotic situations they have to navigate together, hilariously highlighting their dating ineptitude.Relationship Set-up:
Second Chance Awkwardness: Forced proximity on the cruise amplifies their hilarious misunderstandings about each other's routines. Pretending to be a couple for the cruise staff backfires spectacularly, showcasing their contrasting personalities (neurotic bride vs. laid-back ex-flame) in a comedic way.Issues Each Must Resolve:
Finding the Funny in Fear: The jilted bride uses humor to cope with heartbreak, while the ex-flame deflects his fear of commitment with exaggerated anxieties or funny ultimatums. Societal expectations of marriage become fodder for humorous anecdotes, and their career choices turn into playful banter about their bosses.
Separation:The Farewell Fiesta: A potential conflict with the ex-fiance leads to a slapstick showdown. Societal pressure to explain their situation to friends and family turns into a competition of witty excuses. Ultimately, the fear of commitment is expressed through a hilarious ultimatum, forcing them to confront their true feelings.
Comedy Expression:
Humor Throughout the Cruise: A mix of situational comedy (awkward encounters, mistaken identities), witty dialogue (playful banter, self-deprecation), and running gags (e.g., their inability to dance) keeps the story light and entertaining.Visual Humor for Emphasis: Sight gags, exaggerated facial expressions, and funny costumes add to the rom-com atmosphere during key scenes.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Micki Hess. Reason: Accidentally post twice
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Donna's romcom project.
What I learned: thinking about each of these things is important!Working title: WIDOWMAKER
Two People Who Belong Together: A woman who believes she will kill any many she loves and a man who is terrified of dying and hurting a woman who loves him
How Are They Separated: Their fears of inflicting the worst on each other
What Forces Them together: There innate connection and chemistry
Issues to be Resolved: Overcoming their fears
On Their Journey of Love: They will realize they don’t have the power to protect other people
CONVENTIONS:
Experience of Falling In Love: Resistance giving way to reality
The Journey of Love: Seeing through the facades each of them is putting up
Relationship Set-up: She picks the worst sounding man online she can find
Issues each must Resolve: Overcoming fear of inflicting pain
Separation: Once they realize they love each other, they break up.
How will Comedy be Expressed: The setup naturally lends itself to comedy because these two people are putting forward their worst selves
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Donna Donna Hoke Hoke.
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Loved your “The setup naturally lends itself to comedy because these two people are putting forward their worst selves.” I also use a bit of that on the man’s side when Ethan is trying to dissuade Tilly from falling for him, bec his best friend (thinks he) loves her. She keeps countering it and even finds good in his flaws, etc.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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David’s Romcom Project
What I learned from this assignment is the importance knowing- and implementing- the conventions of the genre.
Concept: Can politics divide true love? A liberal reporter and a conservative fireman fall in love despite their opposing political beliefs.
Two People Who Belong Together: These two have great chemistry, big hearts, and fulfill each others needs.
How Are They Separated: Opposing political beliefs in a turbulent election year
What Forces Them together: He saves her from a rioting mob during a political rally
Issues to be Resolved: Compromising their strident beliefs/losing their stubbornness
On Their Journey of Love: Working through their beliefs, dealing with their family and friends, and realizing they’re meant for one another.
Experience of Falling In Love: She’s head over heels when they first meet, then all the troubles, then moving away and missing him.
The Journey of Love: From meet cute to the admiration of him being a fireman to the horror of being a Trumper to figuring out if this is the right man for her.
Relationship Set-up: Meet after he saves someone’s life in a fire- she’s the reporter on site
Issues each must Resolve: Be willing to hear the other side/losing their stubbornness
Separation: She gets her dream job in SF
How will Comedy be Expressed: Through differing beliefs/lifestyles, their friends and families opinion, going to events they would never go (fish out of water).-
This is important — hope it gets made and helps heal the polarization.
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Tricky story for such turbulent times. However, great concept and, if handled correctly, might help bring the lovers together… I mean the country together. I look forward to seeing what you do with it.
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The issues to be resolved are Big. There’s great opportunity to open people’s minds. Curious to see this developed David.
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Rita’s Rom Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment:
– A first draft written in 10 days has really good bones as I apply RomCom concepts and conventions to the content I already have.
– These are the conventions to use to elevate the concept and focus on as I improve this script.
DREAMTIME
Two People Who Belong Together:
Arielle and Ben are so connected, their cute meet happens in their dreams.
How Are They Separated:
They haven’t met in real life.
What Forces Them together:
Arielle gets dumped by a boyfriend who won’t listen to her dreams, then fired for speaking about her dreams at work so she has time to go to the beach where she meets the man of her dreams, literally.
Issues to be Resolved:
Ben must get fully divorced.
Arielle must trust her intuition, trust that Ben isn’t just another lying jerk and resolve many family secrets.
On Their Journey of Love:
Arielle uncovers the truth about her life and finally brings everyone she cares about together by literally following her dreams. No wonder she was attracted to liars.
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
Experience of Falling In Love:
Arielle spontaneously ducks into a fortuneteller’s office to discover a “Dream Chamber” and bumps into her soulmate when she leaves.
The Journey of Love:
Arielle must reconcile many family secrets and trust that Ben is telling the truth about getting divorced.
Relationship Set-up:
A random meeting after a breakup. Instant attraction but many uncertainties.
Issues each must Resolve:
Arielle must trust her own intuition even though she’s had a lifetime of having to believe lies.
Ben must trust that this woman who is acting a little crazy while she reconciles her own issues isn’t actually crazy like his ex-wife.
Separation:
Circumstances are too hard to believe — nobody makes life decisions based on what happens in their dream time! That’s just crazy.
How will Comedy be Expressed:
Arielle’s dream guide/young sister has greater wisdom and maturity than all the adults.
Arielle’s attempts to gain validation in waking life of the experiences she has in sleep don’t go well.
All of it leading to discovering her mom’s affair with her real father which has been kept secret for decades to “protect” her in a comedic climax.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Rita Roberts.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Rita Roberts.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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What I learned from this lesson is that it’s a real comfort to have the rom-com conventions as a guide. When I tried in the past to write a rom-com I pretty much got everything wrong.
Two people who belong together: Jaki’s priorities are finding a rich man and finding a way to help others. Mitch’s priorities are finding a way to use his inheritance to help the disadvantaged.
How are they separated: Jaki wants nothing to do with Mitch. She convinces herself that if he buys the place where she works, she’ll be out of a job and penniless. Mitch thinks Jaki is a gold-digger, after his dad’s money.
What forces them together: Their mutual concern over Mitch’s dad’s serious health problems.
Issues to be resolved: Jaki’s remorse over her husband’s senseless murder. Mitch’s resentment of his ex-wife after learning she married him for his money.
On their journey of love: They continually bump heads, either at Jaki’s night job or her day job at the assisted living home where his dad is a resident.
Experience of falling in love: When Jaki and Mitch allow a crack in the armor that they’ve built around their hearts they realize that they both want the same thing – to trust enough to see the good in another person.
Journey of Love: Jaki and Mitch go from constantly misunderstanding the other person’s motives to realizing they both long for the same things, to have a way of helping others and to once again find love in their lives.Relationship set-up: Jaki is embarrassed by her first encounter with Mitch and enfuriated with him the second time they meet. Mitch believes Jaki stole a valuable from his dad and suspects her of being nothing but a golddigger, but when he realizes her empathy toward the disadvantaged he realizes they have common goals. Jaki does her best to keep a wall up, but after learning that Mitch has goals similar to hers, she sets out to discover what he’s really all about.
Issues each must resolve: Both must quit mistrusting others. Jaki needs to realize that love and money are two separate things. Mitch needs to learn that Jaki’s unconventional methods of helping the assisted living residents is done out of how deeply she cares.
Separation: Not sure on this one yet, but it’s possible that Jaki will be arrested on false charges, possibly brought on by Mitch, and he bails her out after realizing that he made a gigantic mistake. Or I might flip the as-yet figured out situation and have Jaki bring up charges against Mitch. Or something much better than this just may come to me.
How comedy will be expressed: Jaki’s part time job delivering flowers, etc. dressed in a clown suit.
Jaki removing the clown suit while doing a sexy strip.
Jaki showing her early contempt for Mitch by performing expert pole dancing moves.
Mitch joining a protest of assisted living residents who are fed up with their conventional recreation, such as boring bingo.
Jaki and Mitch accidentally locked in a closet together.
And I can’t wait to see what else may happen between these two, but that’s all I got right now.-
This reply was modified 11 months ago by Pat Fitzgerald.
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Not sure if this fits re the ill father (yours is not Hallmark), but this article is what got me started on my Hallmark holiday ideas: “How Hallmark Christmas movies help me process grief” at https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/12/22/hallmark-movies-grief-christmas-246774
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Terrie’s Rom-Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is that I was able to leverage AI prompts to work on most of these issues – picking and choosing what works. I found the two questions overlapped.
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together: Their strengths compliment the others. They are both creative: Austin through his art and Sarah’s via innovative productivity techniques. They both experienced loss early in life – Sarah became a micro manager, Austin used art to cope.
• How Are They Separated: They view the reality show as strictly a professional interaction. Sarah needs an audience. Austin just wants to be in his studio painting. External pressures from the reality show and public expectations create additional stress and misunderstandings.
• What Forces Them together: Austin is the focus of Sarah’s New Reality Show – Run Your Schedule Win Your Life! Transform yourself and your life in Eight Weeks! Austin was set up by his best friend to be part of the reality show and he needs the money. Sarah’s scraping by as an influencer and productivity coach and this show will take her next level.
• Issues to be Resolved: Austin feels exploited and Sarah feels unappreciated, leading to a temporary separation. And, it’s just for the reality show it’s not for real.
• On Their Journey of Love: Determining what is real and what is Reality Show! Their journey progresses through the 8 weeks of the reality show.
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: They are both struggling but ambitious in their careers
• The Journey of Love: In the process of navigating the ups and downs of the reality show, they fall in love as they learn to compromise and support each other’s growth.
• Relationship Set-up: Austin is an artist who is the focus of Sarah’s new reality show.
• Issues each must Resolve: Austin: Needs to overcome self-doubt and fear of losing their artistic integrity, learning to embrace structure without feeling constrained. Sarah: Must confront her fear of losing control and learn to appreciate the value of flexibility and creativity in life. Both need to process grief from their past and realize how holding onto it has led to their career choices.
• Separation: It’s a Reality Show not reality. It’s a strictly professional arrangement. Her strict, regimented approach clashes with his free-spirited approach, creating tension and misunderstandings. The producer of the reality show creates conflict between them as often as possible.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: Odd couple / Opposites attract. On camera blunders. Misunderstandings of each other’s world. Misunderstandings caused by the producer. -
Larry Kennedy's Rom-Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is… identifying the Rom-Com conventions and applying them to my project was more difficult than expected. Also, I am not just writing a story. This might have been obvious to everyone else, but MY JOB as a Rom-Com writer is to make the audience members fall in love again… or, at least, to experience what it might feel like to fall in love for the first time. It's not about the characters. it's about the audience's experience of the story.HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.• Two People Who Belong Together:
Mark wishes he could find love but will not cause the pain and loss his mother experienced when his father passed. Sara is a recovering sex addict who doesn’t believe in love anymore and focuses on her career instead.• How Are They Separated:
Sixty-three years earlier, Mark’s grandfather dumps a girl after getting her pregnant, so her gypsy great-grandmother curses him and all his male progeny to die on their 30th birthday. His grandfather, his dad, and his uncle did die on their thirtieth birthdays. Aunt Julie, the family matriarch, is still alive at sixty but is worried about Mark and her own son’s fate.Plus, if Mark and Sara are both descendants of grandpa, then they are 1st cousins (NOTE: Sara is adopted so there is no incest if they eventually get together.)
• What Forces Them together:
Mark tries to infiltrate the gypsy family to figure out a way to break the curse by getting an invite to their Christmas weekend party in Vegas and discovers Sara is part of that family.• Issues to be Resolved:
Mark is a playboy without a future and Sara is a man-hater yearning for love. Mark must make amends to four generations of women who were hurt by his family to find the love of his life, and Sara must learn love does not equate to pain and loss.• On Their Journey of Love:
Mark and Sara must end the war and heal the pain between the two families.CONCEPT
A girl-crazy “player” seeks to break an old gypsy curse placed on the male members of his family but makes matters worse when he falls in love with the gypsy’s great-granddaughter.2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love:
Neither Mark nor Sara have ever allowed themselves to fall in love. However, they cannot deny the instant attraction they feel for one another.• The Journey of Love:
Mark saves Sara from being mugged in the park but is shut down hard when she refuses to go on a date with him. Later, he tries to infiltrate the gypsy family and realizes she is part of the family… and his first cousin. As they experience the charms of Vegas, the chemistry between them becomes palpable but when her family realizes he is part of the enemy family, chaos ensues until Mark can finally receive forgiveness for his grandfather’s sin and the two of them can be united when Mark realizes Sara was adopted.• Relationship Set-up:
Sparks flew the moment Mark and Sara met in the park.• Issues each must Resolve:
Mark needs to learn Sara is not his cousin and regain hope that he has a future with her, let alone a future beyond age 30. Sara needs to realize sex does not equate to love and love does not equate to pain and loss.• Separation:
Not only do these families hate each other, cousins cannot marry.• How will Comedy be Expressed:
I tell bad jokes, so these characters better find the humor themselves in their lack of connection and the disasters that both call their families.-
This reply was modified 11 months ago by Larry Kennedy.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Larry Kennedy.
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Saw your concern about 1st cousin marriage on video. As an anthropologist I can say that is quite common around the world & in some place one has to marry their 1st cousin (either their cross-cousin or parallel cousin), also they found 1st cousin marriages in villages in Germany.
Also, there are states in the US that allow it, and some even expect or prefer it. I remember reading about a Tennessee pastor and his wife (1st cousins) being assigned to a church in Illinois. They had to get a divorce since 1st cousin marriage in IL was not allowed. 1st cousin marriage is allowed in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Rhode Island.
So I don’t think there is any problem. Plus if they never knew each other before meeting as adults, it just seems okay to me. But it does make a good separation issue. Maybe he or she could point out that 1st cousin marriages are permitted in some states and areas of the world. That would be funny if he’s thinking they have to move to some far off boondocks country.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Subject line: Terry Drayer's Rom Com Project
“What I learned doing this assignment is…Romance can be a slow burn and Comedy doesn't have to be in your face to be funny. Relationships are hard and the best way to deal with them is with humor, no matter what form that takes.
So many ideas, so little time…TITLE: DEAR ME
Two People Who Belong Together: Pamela Barker and Larkin Stuart were best friends as kids. They grew up together, lived next door to each other, hopped the fence between their parents’ properties. Even raised and showed the same breed of dog and won their respective categories together.How Are They Separated: Their parents hated each other because of something that happened between the Barkers and the Stuarts generations ago. Their fathers perpetuated that feud and instilled a lifelong mistrust as the kids grew older.
What Forces Them Together: Larkin is Pamela’s brother’s best friend, and the brother and his wife play matchmaker every chance they get. They still show their dogs in the same competitions, and as Pamela’s ambitions shift, she needs Larkin’s help to make her Rescue Center idea a reality.
Issues to be Resolved: Why are they expected to hate each other and what can they do about it?
On their Journey of Love: Pamela finds cassette tapes her grandmother recorded that begin to unravel the feud. She asks Larkin for help with her new project, then discovers the real reason the families kept apart all those years.
Final Concept: In order to turn her breeding operation into a rescue without losing access to her family trust, a reluctant 4th-generation dog breeder must find a way to make amends with her handsome neighbor (a rival breeder) by solving the mystery of a generations-long feud between their families.
The Comedy comes from: Sharp banter between Pamela and Larkin, and Pamela’s brother’s pretense of an allergy to dogs.
TITLE: LOVE ON THE ROCKS
Two People Who Belong Together: Carla Maddox is still recovering from a life-altering climbing accident when she meets Tom (recently divorced) and his 12-year-old daughter, Abigail. Abigail knows her dad will do anything to make her happy and challenges him to a climbing competition. Tom is terrified of heights, and desperately needs Carla’s help just to take the first step.How Are They Separated: Tom needs to conquer his fear and learn to climb. Carla lost not only her leg when she fell, but also her trust in the man she thought was going to propose when they got to the top of the climb.
What Forces Them Together: Tom’s 12-year-old is adamant that she’s going to be in the climbing competition with or without them.
Issues to be Resolved: Carla is unsure if Tom will accept her as she is since her accident. Tom’s ex-wife sees the climbing stunt as child endangerment and threatens to change their custody agreement.
On their Journey of Love: As Carla helps Tom and Abigail prepare for their climb, she regains both her love of the sport and her trust in another man.
Final Concept: A professional rock climber with an artificial leg teaches children to climb and overcomes her newfound fear of heights while training a father/daughter team for a climbing competition.
The Comedy comes from: Abigail’s relationship with her dad, and Carla’s boss and his husband who own the climbing studio and protect Carla like she was their baby sister.
TITLE: A SANDMAN FOR CHRISTMAS
Two People Who Belong Together: Nick delivers a runaway in a snow suit to the only person he knows who just got company from up north. Local artist Ilsa Axelrod (aka, Axe) encourages her grieving sister-in-law, Melanie, to accept Nick’s offer to show her and her girls around town, because as the local cop, he knows all the best spots to get into trouble.How Are They Separated: Melanie won’t be happy until her girls have accepted their new life in Florida. Nick has an ex-girlfriend who won’t leave him alone.
What forces them together: Trying to keep the girls occupied as they approach their first Christmas without their dad.
Issues to be Resolved: She lost her husband, and her daughters are miserable at the prospect of Christmas without snow. Nick is getting tired of chasing the runaway.
On their Journey of Love: Nick does his best to show Melanie and her girls just how fun a small Florida town at Christmas time can be.
Concept: After her husband’s death, a woman and her two daughters find love and adventure in a small Florida beach town with the help of the town’s local cop.
The Comedy comes from: Axe – the eccentric artist sister-in-law who does everything in her power to get Melanie and Nick together while she plays Pied Piper to guide the girls in and out of harmless trouble.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Terry Drayer.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Missy’s Rom-com murder-mystery project, THE SLIP-UP
What I learned doing this assignment is that I need to become more familiar with the murder mystery conventions. And I need to work on my comedy.
1. Two people who belong together? Ronnie’s creativity and skeptical worldview complement Brad’s by-the-book mentality and black-and-white perspective on right and wrong.
How are they separated? – Ronnie’s the prime suspect in a murder investigation and Brad is the detective assigned to the case.
What forces them together? – Ronnie needs his help to uncover the real killer and Brad needs to get this one right or he’ll be demoted, again.
Issues to be resolved – They both have trust issues. Ronnie doesn’t trust anyone. Brad’s got a chip on his shoulder from trying to live up to his father’s expectations, and after making a disastrous judgment in the line of duty and getting demoted to the small town of Wolfesville, he might not ever trust his own judgment again.
On their journey of love – they are forced to set aside their preconceived notions of one another if they have any chance of getting what they want. In the process, they learn to trust their instincts and each other.Experience of Falling In Love – Most people don’t fall in love at first sight. Ronnie and Brad are no exception. She’s goth (like totally from head to toe), and Brad’s a determined, by-the-book, detective who’s pretty sure Ronnie’s guilty of something. But when they are forced to deal with each other – he’s pretty sure she murdered her grandfather, and she’s determined to find the real killer – they reluctantly realize they are each intrigued by the other.
The Journey of Love – When other people in the idyllic community start showing up dead, and Ronnie’s fingerprints are on most of the murders, it’s clear that Ronnie is going to need Brad’s help if she has any chance of staying out of jail, so she shows him why and how she’s not the murderer. In so doing, they encounter neighbors and events that lead them into awkward and, although they are both loath to admit it, fun and interesting situations.
Issues Each Must Resolve – because they both have trust issues (Ronnie’s mother left her to become a Nun in Poland, and Brad’s father was a revered detective who was always very hard on Brad, and died in the line of duty), they need to overcome their preconceived notions and accept that life is messy and not always just.
Separation – After the 3rd murder, and Ronnie’s obvious guilt, Brad has no choice but to arrest her. After all, the evidence is pretty airtight. She might be fun, interesting, and witty, but she’s also a killer. So he arrests a stunned and pissed-off Ronnie, who knows a thing or two about breaking in and out of places, so she does.
How will comedy be expressed? Through their dialogue, actions, and escapades.-
Strait-laced cop and goth murder suspect? This will be a fun ride!
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Thanks!
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Stuart’s Rom Com Concept:
What I learned about this assignment…
I learned these initial elements of rom-com conventions allowed me to focus on character and relationship development to give depth to my romantic comedy concept. Culture and location was also important in this stage of exploration.
Here’s the concept:
When a timid American engineering student travels to Venice to woo a sophisticated romance professor, he must navigate a world of disguises, deceptions, and gondoliers to win her heart and prove that true love is real.
1. Two People Who Belong Together:
Julian: A 22-year-old engineering student with a hidden passion for art, questioning his future. He is shy, risk-averse, and has never been in love.
Angelina: A 28-year-old visiting lecturer from Venice, an expert in romance through the arts. She is sophisticated, emotionally distant, and cynical about true love.
Shared Values and Chemistry: Both seek deeper meaning and authenticity in their lives. Julian is drawn to Angelina's allure and sophistication, while Angelina is intrigued by Julian’s innocence and his heart.
2. How Are They Separated:
Professional Boundaries: Julian is a student in Angelina’s seminar, creating an inherent separation due to their roles.
Geographical Distance: Angelina returns to Venice, while Julian remains in the U.S. until he decides to follow her.
Julian’s Insecurities: His shyness and fear of taking risks keep him from pursuing Angelina openly.3. What Forces Them Together:
Driven by his belief that Angelina is “the one,” Julian takes a semester leave from college and travels to Venice. He ingratiates himself with a famous family of Gondola makers, convincing (most of) them that he’s a distant cousin. One of the cousins (and top gondoliers) initially helps Julian navigate Venetian culture to help him get close to Angelina. Julian trains as a gondolier which allows him to deliver romance to his patrons. During Carnivale festivities, masked anonymity allows Julian to interact with Angelina without revealing his true identity.
4. Issues to be Resolved:
Julian’s Issue: Overcoming his fear of taking risks, embracing his Italian heritage, and expressing his true feelings.
Angelina’s Issue: Letting go of her belief that true love is unattainable and valuing genuine connection over romantic ideals.
5. On Their Journey of Love:
Literal Journey: Julian travels to Venice, immersing himself in the local culture, learning to be a gondolier, and participating in the Gondolier’s test.
Figurative Journey: Both characters undergo personal growth. Julian transforms from a timid student to a confident man who can express his love and embrace his heritage. Angelina evolves from a cynical lecturer to a woman who experiences true love.
And Part Two, the Conventions:
1. Experience of Falling in Love:
Julian’s smitten by Angelina and her lessons of romance in the classroom. Angelina’s intrigued by Julian’s innocence and his determination to learn the ways of the gondolier to find romance.
2. The Journey of Love:
Julian is driven by his belief that Angelina may be “the one” and takes a leave from university to go to Venice to woo Angelina. He ingratiates himself into a famous family of gondola builders and gondolier trainers, claiming he is a distant cousin. During Carnivale, disguises, mistaken identities will challenge their hearts.
3. Relationship Set-up:
Julian and Angelina first meet when he takes a university seminar course titled “Romance in Art”. She is a visiting professor from Venice. At the close of the seminar, Julian gets the courage to speak with her and she questions whether his family name is the same as the famous gondola builders in Venice. He confirms without knowing. A chance touch of their hands solidifies his determination to follow her.
4. Issues Each Must Resolve:
Julian needs to take risks, embrace his true passion for art, and not just learn what love and romance may be but also awaken it, share it and live it. Angelina is cynical about love. Love in the arts is her specialty as a professor but she doesn’t believe true love is attainable – it can be expressed in art. Her aspirations for love and romance were important and attainable when she was younger, but now at 28 she’s grown cynical. Building trust is an important issue that both lovers need to resolve – especially with Julian’s deception as a cousin of the famous family of gondoliers and the further deceptions with disguises during Carnivale.
5. Separation:
Julian’s based at an East Coast university. Angelina is Venetian. He bridges this separation by taking leave from college and ingratiating himself as a distant cousin to the famous family of gondola builders. Initially, Julian and Angelina are professionally separated in the seminar – she is the professor, he is the student. Emotionally they are separate, Julian wants to find love, while Angelina is now cynical of true love (despite what she teaches in the classroom).
6. How Will the Comedy be Expressed:
While I seek warm, romantic interplay. I also want influence from Italian Commedia dell’Arte and farce, romantic misunderstandings, deceptions and disguises, several pairs of lovers, and the schemes of one of the gondoliers to unmask and humiliate Julian.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Stuart Voytilla.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Pam’s Rom Com, Staking Claim
What I learned: I am retooling a script I couldn’t finish but now I feel like I am laying a better foundation.Concept:
• Two People Who Belong Together: Although they don’t know each other’s abilities, they know that they never quite fit in
• How Are They Separated: They don’t trust that they other really likes them – and of course how could they when they don’t really know each other
• What Forces Them together: Her mother forced her to get married and he was the winner; he needed the money; she needed the marriage to get the money
• Issues to be Resolved: Was it really only about the money? Is there love? Attraction?
• On Their Journey of Love: When her fortune is threatened after her mother’s death, she tries to get the money by herself because she doesn’t trust him so she sees it as a reason to be alone and wealthy. He tags along and is helpful. She distrusts his motives but finds she needs his help. Together they find their true secrets, attraction, and successful teamwork. They fight for each other and that sacrifice is the final key to find the money.Conventions:
• Experience of Falling In Love: She thinks he’s cute – but maybe too cute for her. He loves her laugh. She doesn’t think that’s enough for a relationship.
• The Journey of Love: They are married but not in love together. The search for the money pits them against a really powerful bad man, forces them to reveal/discover their true identity and interests.
• Relationship Set-up: They start the movie going through the motions of marriage with a hiccup of hope here and there.
• Issues each must Resolve: Secret attraction is real. Secret identity revealed. Learning new ways to trust each other.
• Separation: She runs away from him to find the fortune. He follows her. She keeps breaking away to get the fortune and he keeps showing up to help. Ultimately she is faced with a choice between husband and powerful bad guy.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: Physical comedy such as she falls into an old dry well and he lands on her (says thanks, she broke his fall). That he always finds a way to win over a pretty woman such as getting first class on the plane when she’s stuck in coach. She has a song and dance with the powerful evil man who tries to woo her. The keeper of the cuckoo clocks takes a liking to her even though he works for the evil guy. The people in the village are always trying to tell her something or direct her and she keeps not understanding or never gets the message. -
Tita Anntares’ Rom Com Project – Lesson 1
What I learned doing this assignment
-How easy it is to get into the creative zone when using a template to start thinking about what will interest an audience about the key theme, character and stpry/plot
– Interesting challenge to merge Convention with specific Concept elements, e.g.: by weaving together the Conventions with Concepts.
– I like a purpose that is focused on the audience, not my stuff: “As a result of this RomCom/Drama, audience will experience falling in love again…and through comedy, feel better about their own relationships current or past” Each Convention will build this.
– I figured out why I needed to over-think this long assignment for myself: the SU questions brought out months of unconscious thinking – NO NEED TO READ OR SKIM THIS! I am not ready to select essentials and write succinctly!Here’s my personal version of merged Conventions and Concepts (Titles/explanations of each are SU/Croasmun’s – I can't figure out how to put them in italics)
Three overall conventions that run through the story –
– THE JOURNEY OF LOVE (Two people go from J.1 their “meet-cute” to J.2 denial of love to overwhelming attraction to J.3 breaking up over differences to J.4 finally reuniting and experiencing the love of their life.)
– COMEDY (Relationship and personal issues are dealt with through humor. As we laugh at the embarrassing moments on the screen, the audience feels better about their relationships)
– ISSUES to be resolved along the journey to love: (Each person has an internal personal issue that must be resolved for them to truly be together. This requires personal growth for them to become a couple. Both have some internal issue they must resolve in order to have this relationship)
***
JOURNEY Part 1 and 2: 1. MEET CUTE BUT 2. DENIAL
Specific Convention – RELATIONSHIP SET-UP (From the moment of the “meet-cute.” we see the romantic future for the couple, even if they refuse to believe it. This setup allows the couple to deal with their issues while the audience yearns for them to be together.)
– Concept – Two People Who Belong Together (Similarities, shared values, chemistry, surprising shared background)
***JOURNEY Part 3: BREAKING UP OVER DIFFERENCES:
– Specific Convention – SEPARATION (Either physically or because of a specific situation, something keeps this couple apart. It is this separation that causes the audience to yearn for them to come together.)
– Concept – How They Are Separated: (Something keeps them apart that they must overcome.)
***JOURNEY Part 4. UNITING AND EXPERIENCING THE LOVE OF THEIR LIFE
– Concept – What Forces Them Together (An external situation or party that keeps them together long enough to build a relationship.)LESSON #1: Instead of just listing and making notes for each convention and concept in a linear way, I’ve written notes on each convention and concept by using the above template with merged Conventions/Concepts:
Working Title – A LINKED-IN ESCAPE FROM TERROR
Prelim Pitch/Hook: When Americans evacuate Kabul, Adam and Zari, two young pro-democracy Afghans, put out a cry for help on Linkedin – Come join them on their journey with the elderly American who helped them escape death by Taliban without leaving her apartment.Genre: RomCom/Drama – based on writer’s experience from August 2021 March 2023 and resent. This will be a Stage Play for community and university theaters. Could be screenplay but for my own work, I am starting with a stage play… might try scene outline for both stage and screen stories. NO NEED TO READ THIS ASSIGNMENT! It is over detailed because the SU template categories triggered a flood of thoughts and memories from my 3 years supporting the journey of the two main characters – and I didn’t want to lose details as they bubbled up in my mind. Was it Shaw who apologised for not having enough time to write a short letter?
LESSON 1.1
Conventions: JOURNEY Part 1. MEET and Part 2. DENIAL (also two more [parts related to the Journey)Specific Convention – RELATIONSHIP SET-UP; Concept – Two People Who Belong Together:As two students, Adam and Zari, have been assigned as partners on a final college project to help impoverished Afghan farm women learn their rights and how to survive impact of climate change. They have seen each other across classrooms, and picked up vibes, but this is the first time they were assigned to the same project. Each one really appreciates the other’s caring and commitment – but they force themselves to make it very clear to each other that they are only colleagues, never could be anything else.
They both welcomed the US and European countries who are helping Afghanistan become a democracy with elected leaders and equal rights…
…but not if that means they would hurt their family by associating with someone from a different faith and ethnic group. And their love for their parents makes it impossible for them to think about a personal friendship, and certainly not about romance, despite the chemistry and their shared goals, values and respect for each other’s different background.Possible sources for COMEDY:
– Each time they try to say something positive about the other, they quickly have to explain they are just college students on a project, not friends or… their vociferous denial that they were going to say “more” – can’t even think about it.
– Zari gets dressed up with make-up each time she meets Adam for their project work – Adam says she’s overdressed. Zari makes up reasons/Adam teases her about inappropriate dress for such a poor community.
– When Adam starts lecturing the very poor women his hopes for democracy in Afghanistan and their rights as human beings, the women become frightened – too free, to terrifying – and Jesta has to lighten him up to save the project, try to translate for him by turning his high sounding politics into basic needs in the women’s homes and community.
– The impoverished women may become nervous when some of their curious or suspicious men in their lives – and Adam and Zari turn the conversation into a funny parody of how crazy anyone would be to want elected leaders every few years and equal rights… but in ways that make even the men think maybe democracy sounds fair and consistent with the teachings of the Prophet.
***LESSON 1.2
Conventions: JOURNEY Part 3. BREAKING UP OVER DIFFERENCES and throughout COMEDY. Specific Convention – SEPARATION. Concept – How They Are Separated:At their graduation, Adam receives his Masters degree, Zari receives her BA and they celebrate the success of their project in what they think is the last time. Partly why they like each other is they know neither would want to hurt their family by marrying into the wrong faith, culture and ethnic group.
Besides, they tell themselves and each other, they will be busy – Adam wants to start a legal and environmental rights organization and get his PhD in good government so that he can launch his career before supporting a wife and family. He will also manage a pro-demcracy candidate’s presidential campaign and coach Mullahs how to discuss the value of equal rights as part of the original teachings. In addition he will teach for the US military to help Afghans understand interactive Western-style education with the need to ask questions, practice, get feedback and een challenge the instructor so they will succeed… instead of sitting quietly and obediently waiting to be told what to memorize. Zari asks why he is overloading his schedule – he says he has to build a career so he can provide for a future wife…
Zari feels rebuffed, unaware he means her, and she counters with all her busy plans – many teaching jobs, thanks to her parents’ support of education for their daughters. And even a big opportunity to work in a US program teaching women’s history and rights. They part, Adam to go home to Kabul, the major city and Zari to her rural village and jobs teaching poor women… but she decides to check social media regularly to find out if Adam has married and as she leaves, we see her avoiding eligible men who are already targeting her as their bride.
Possible Sources for COMEDY: Other graduates interrupting their conversation, guys clearly wanting to arrange a marriage with Zari’s parents and women wanting to be bold enough to go out to a movie alone with Adam – the others joke that they are fair game because they can’t marry each other- too principled. Their different reactions to the early bird bidders. Maybe they come to each other’s defense… maybe tell the would be suitors horrible things about the other, to make sure they don’t get married.
***
LESSON 1.3
Conventions: JOURNEY Part 4. UNITING AND EXPERIENCING THE LOVE OF THEIR LIFE and COMEDY throughout.
Concept – What Forces Them Together:– They are both living their lives well. Adam has completed all courses for his PhD from Delhi University online and recently was hired to manage security at the US Embassy, starting mid-August, in addition to his other work. Zari has won a job teaching women’s history and rights for a major US agency, against huge competition… and both are fending off marriage possibilities, checking each other on social media… sometimes sending an innocuous, guarded email or an impersonal warning about the political dangers of government corruption, angry Afghan soldiers without needed supplies, the mobilizing of the Taliban to take back the government in Kabul that they ruled before bin Laden hid out in a cave in their. Mountains and organized the strike against New York City and DC… Adam and Zari each become ecstatic when they get a simple answer, like “Thanks” or “Yes I saw that.”
– Adam gets a strange email from the US Embassy saying the start date for his new job will be delayed because of “issues” – he soon hears the entire Embassy has closed down and he is shocked that Americans are evacuating Afghanistan. Suddenly the Taliban takes over the government and Afghan soldiers flee because their corrupt government has stolen the money that would have got them weapons, protective gear, meals.
– Because Adam worked for the US military he has a special immigration visa for the US and could get on an evacuating plane. But he does not. He is not married to Zari so she cannot come with him on his visa and he cannot bear the thought of leaving her, a professional woman, to her fate with the Taliban…
– So Adam gets in his car and drives past vans and truckloads of bearded, armed Taliban forces coming into Kabul, arrives at Zari’s home, asks the men in her family for the right to marry and protect her because, as a professional woman employed – they had been against their marriage when they got wind of the attraction. But their world is crashing. They let them marry. Her mother helps set up a fast, bare minimum wedding – although Zari had dreamed of a full Afghan wedding with specially made gowns, music, banquets, etc…. everything the Taliban will soon be banning again.
– When they get to Adam’s home in Kabul, they have a few days with his mother – who is delighted to have a daughter in law to do her cleaning and cooking for family dinners of 30-40 people each day.
– But soon Adam finds out the office of his rights organization has been ransacked by the Taliban, who found and trashed his research PhD dissertation (comparing the value of building democracy in the 2000s vs. cruel Taliban government in the 1990s) Rather than settling into marriage, Adam and Zari now must find different shelters over night. He puts a warning in Linkedin, asking readers to alert global rights organizations about what is happening – and his fear for anyone who was working to turn the vision of a democracy with equal rights and election of leaders with rule of law not rule of tyrants.
– An elderly New Yorker – maybe a June Quipp or Maryann Plunkett type of actress – responds, asking how she can help. They ask her to write support letters to help them get to safety so they can help other Afghans not end up dead or in prison. At first they are afraid she might be a spy… and her NY friends warn her they may be con artists or terrorist sleepers trying to get to America to finish the job – something she understands because she had worked on the 101-105 floors of World Trade One until March 2001. But they decide to trust each other after emails and online meetings.
– A series of challenges begins – with the New Yorker writing support letters to rights organizations to get a visa to Pakistan, selling all their belongings, including their laptop, to hire a guide through the mountain passes, making it alive to Islamabad by March 2022. The New Yorker helps them get a latop and the next step is to ask US elected leaders to help get their special visa out of the backlog that might keep them in the refugee camp for years, and even when the New Yorker sees a major US General on tv, telling people not to forget the Afghans who believed our promise of democracy and now may die for it.
– The New Yorker finds him on Linkedin, thanks him and says she is trying to help two. She almost falls off her chair when he replies in less than an hour and starts mobilizing No One Left Behind to help… but even he hits a dead end because all the cases of Afghans who reached the US must be finalized before any cases outside the US… with some embarrassment, he says it will be several years in the refugee camp until the backlog ends… while ISIS-k helps the Taliban hunt down pro-democracy activists in Pakistan… Next step in the journey is filling out applications to every country welcoming Afghan refugees from Albania to Zambia, with recommendations from the New Yorker… but those countries have filled up with desperate – and white Christian – Ukrainians.
– Through all this Adam and Zari are using their laptop to help about a thousand other Afghans use their laptop find safe havens and figure out the immigration rules for each possible location. They are living in hot humid weather, no air conditioning, often no electricity for fans, and Zari is getting sick. Adam is remorseful for promising to protect her but unable to do do anything.
– But a month after the General says it would take years until all cases of Afghans in the US were vetted, suddenly the US changes that policy to allow consideration of pro-democracy Afghans outside the use. The General ignores the New Yorker’s thank you in case he pulled some behind-the-scenes levers… but paper work moves quickly and in March 2023, Adam and Zari get to an airport safely without any Taliban trackers, and arrive in the US after a 29 hour flight.
– Their New Yorker meets them and during a long lay-over, they play together from 3 am until 6 am in Times Square, empty of cars and people except for some police, but night lights are blazing. They drive around all the famous buildings returning to JFK in time for their plane and settle in Virginia near Adam’s older brother, a US army veteran relocated a few months earlier. They embrace the challenges of immigration, Adam working 15-hour days on Fri-Sun so he can look for good jobs and finish his PhD thesis during the wee -and continue to try to help other pro-democracy Afghans, including three who are fleeing Taliban assassination because they had converted to Christianity. Their New Yorker visits them for July 4 2023… and a year after arriving in the US, they welcome their first child in March 2024.Possible Sources for COMEDY: TBD -Maybe their vision for their life together and their love for the promise of democracy vs realities… swings from anger at unexpected negatives to determination to make it better.
***LESSON 1.4
Convention: ISSUES each must Resolve – throughout all the above conventions and concepts: small signs when they meet and are separated, growing stronger when they are forced together and their situation becomes dire… then even stronger when they are safe and settled. The issues will also be grist for COMEDY.
– Initial thoughts about Adam and Zari’s Issues and how each one needs to grow to connect deeply with their love. Throughout their escape and first year in America, personal issues arise:
o Zari: main personal issue to resolve for them to be fully together: She does not need external, material things to validate her worth or as proof of a man’s deep love for her.
She feels she has given up everything for Adam – home, family, friends, career and country. She finds herself demanding “things” and attention from Adam, blaming him, comparing him to husbands of friends in the past who had well-paying jobs and can give gifts. She is all conflicted – wants to be taken care of but also respected as an educated, successful professional woman… but neither are working in the desolate refugee camp or later in the US where she feels very insecure.
She grows emotionally as she realizes her negative reactions come partly from fear – she does not know how to connect as a teacher in refugee camp (but starts to join Adam in helping fellow refugees learn about immigration rules in safer countries And later in the US country where despite her licenses in teaching English are useless because she has trouble understanding Americans and speaking in aways they can understand.
She needs to learn the value of her husband’s love and acceptance for herself – the good reason for his put-downs or teasing when she uses a lot of make-up, attempts to have elegant clothes (using money for fabric when they need money for food), fancy hair-do or other decorations… And, when she realizes she loved teaching and the respect it gave her, instead of being angrily conflicted, she starts thinking about how to prepare to rebuild her career in the future, after parenting – or even get new skills to help earn money part time. She learns there’s a difference between reverting to the old customs for women to stay at home that she once rejected and rebelled against – and choosing joyfully to stay at home to care for a baby and still pan for a professional future where she also contributes to society. And that wanting to be a full time wife and mother is not a regression to Taliban control, just because that’s what they want women to do.o Adam: main personal issue to resolve for them to be fully together:
Adam thought he had married a professional woman… wants Zari to help him serve fellow refugees and use a laptop their American bought for them to find resources. He becomes irritated by her use of food money for make-up, her pressure for clothes and jewelry.
He needs to learn to give comfort when someone is acting like the materialistic people he can’t tolerate, learn that what she does may reveal her insecurity and fear, not materialism.,.. and value a woman who really wants to be wife and mother, not professional or to accept her fears…but he will learn that he can be a totally modern pro-democracy professional, someday with a PhD and teaching or leadership position… AND appreciate his wife’s desire to be cared for, be a wife and mother. Accept that sometimes and in some ways we can focus on family, not have to save the world to have value. Just because the Taliban locks women up and denies any other aspects of themselves than family and home, free women can have whatever education and employment are prepared forum they , but also have the freedom choose to focus on the home, particularly when they have young children, and prepare for future careers more slowly… and people who believe in true equality give the same respect for raising young human beings that a high level professional, Phd Professor or political leader would have.
***
The above types of issues build through their journey and, although they sound serious, can become generators of comedy and opportunities for the couple to shift from arguing to laughing at themselves and remembering the love each other even if not the same… specially because they share values but are very different individuals… and need to let each other be,-
This reply was modified 11 months ago by Tita Beal Anntares. Reason: To deal with the fact that when I hit Reply all the careful spacing/formatting for easy reading vanished
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Tita Beal Anntares. Reason: The first time I hit Reply my assignment lost all my careful spacing/formatting for easy reading. So I put in my email in case anyone wanted to read a pdf with bold, italics and spaces tseparate paragraphs, sections... but then when I hit Reply again, the assignment had its spaces back. We'll see if the formatting holds this time
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Tita Beal Anntares. Reason: fix some typos I caught and computer-babble that showed up when I used an apostrophe (Adam's)
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Lynn’s Rom Com Project
WHAT I LEARNED from this assignment are the basic ingredients of romcoms (with good examples) and that I should get those right before anything else. The SU RomCom free class I watched earlier covered much the same and got me thinking about my concept (plus lots of info on how to write holiday movies). I finally plunged in and started writing it, so now this lesson will help with the rewrite and final pages since it got me thinking much deeper on those points. And I’ll be using them on the next rom-com screenplay I’m already thinking about.
CREATE YOUR CONCEPT AND CONVENTIONS
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
–TWO PEOPLE WHO BELONG TOGETHER: they share values and experiences (we find out later), they dislike each other before meeting in person, but once they do meet (not knowing who they are) there is chemistry and sympatico. They heal each other’s broken heart. As for their obvious differences, those help to complete the other: he stabilizes her; she adds the zest of adventure for him.–HOW ARE THEY SEPARATED: not only are they on opposite sides of the country (driving toward each other), but without meeting in person, Ethan (a meteorologist) is sure Tilly (a travel magazine writer) will be bad for his best friend Paul (her family is trying to set up a date between them). And she is really ticked off by a comment he made on her article under the pseudonym, Weatherman 2. He plans to propose to his girlfriend; she wants nothing to do with dates or men after being hurt in love. She is a traveler; he is a stay-at-home guy.
–WHAT FORCES THEM TOGETHER: holing up together in a Colorado blizzard, she saves his life.
–ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED: Ethan is planning to marry another gal, who midpoint breaks up with him, but once he realizes who Tilly is and that a date is being set up between her and his very best friend Paul (who seems head over heels for her, despite never meeting her), he is in a terrible dilemma (Tilly doesn’t yet know Ethan is Paul’s friend). She is very upset her family is pushing her on marriage and now trying for fix a date for her, so she told them a lie that she had a boyfriend. She is trying to get Ethan to pose as that boyfriend. They both need to come clean and get into trusting each other. Toward the end Ethan has tried to tell her the truth, but that was blocked. She finds out and is furious. And Paul finds out Ethan’s girlfriend dumped him and suspects rightly that Ethan loves Tilly and wrongly that Ethan is trying to take her away from him. All is lost at that point. Somehow Ethan needs to make effective amends, and Tilly needs to come around. That’s the part I still need to write.
–ON THEIR JOURNEY OF LOVE: When the meet and get to know each other as persons (not knowing who they are) there are sparks of love and a good friendship. The above things keep them apart, and even after Ethan is dumped and Tilly now thinks she has a chance with him, she thinks his reluctance is due to his love-hurt and that he needs time to heal from that. Because of deceptions on both parts, their coming together in forgiveness in the end is very strong.
==========================================================================2. THEN FILL IN THE BLANKS TO CREATE YOUR CONVENTIONS. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
–EXPERIENCE OF FALLING IN LOVE: 2 meet-cutes: 1. FRIST before they meet in person Ethan has a low opinion of Tilly; he doesn’t want Paul to get involved with her, fearing he’ll be hurt. He makes a negative comment about her on her travel story site using a avatar name. She is upset with him, but also realizes there is some truth. 2. SECOND They meet in person but don’t recognize each other when he shows up nearly frozen and she nurses him to health. Holed up together in the blizzard they become loving friends, attraction suppressed because he's planning to get engaged. After his girlfriend breaks up with him, Tilly falls in love with him, but due to his hurt doesn’t want to push it. He is falling in love with her, but suppresses it because he doesn’t want to hurt Paul.–THE JOURNEY OF LOVE:
____TWO PEOPLE GO FROM THEIR “MEET-CUTE”– From the FIRST one (without meeting in person) we only know Ethan wants to marry his girl because he lost his family, and he doesn’t really seem to love her. Plus he is physically attracted to Tilly based on her photo, but shuns that because his heart-break was with a glamor girl like Tilly. As for Tilly she has problems with her family and is being too skittish about getting involved again. So the audience may be rooting for them to get over it and on to a better life. Since both characters are likable, in command, with some flaws, the audience may be seeing them get together, with problems. From the SECOND meet-cute, we know there is something great between them.
____DENIAL OF LOVE: because of Ethan’s plan to marry his girl, and internal problems each as, they are in denial and suppressing their feelings. For Ethan, even when his girl dumps him.
____ TO OVERWHELMING ATTRACTION. Despite efforts to suppress, the attraction and love, it’s palpable. Tilly’s assistant knows Tilly loves Ethan and tells him (he dismisses it), and she knows Ethan loves Tilly (she dismisses it). However, they are going forward with a great sympatico friendship, which is all Ethan can hope for at this point.
____BREAKING UP OVER DIFFERENCES: Ethan does try to come clean and tell Tilly the truth, but is interrupted. She finds out the hard way and is furious, plus Paul is angry with Ethan…. So he’s lost everything that’s important to him. And Tilly has again been stabbed in the heart by a deceitful man.
____FINALLY REUNITING AND EXPERIENCING THE LOVE OF THEIR LIFE. I have to write this part, but they do come together, stronger for having gone through problems and overcome them by forgiveness and true love.–RELATIONSHIP SET-UP: I was glad SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE was successful, even though they didn’t meet until the end, because in mine they don’t meet in person until the first part of Act 2. So in a way there are 2 meet-cutes: 1. When Ethan finds Paul wants to date her and he’s very much afraid Paul will be hurt, that Tilly is not right for him, unstable. Ethan writes a negative comment on her page, which make Tilly dislike him, while admitting he is sort of right. 2. When they meet in person during the blizzard.
–ISSUES EACH MUST RESOLVE: Each person has an internal personal issue that must be resolved for them to truly be together. This requires personal growth for them to become a couple. Ethan is too reserved, stay-at-home, fearful of adventure (after losing his parents as a teen, and other things). Tilly is running away from something (Ethan’s comment on her page), from her broken heart and from her family’s efforts during childhood to stifle her adventurous spirit. He helps her to understand that family and stability are important; she helps him to venture out into adventure, and that they can have both.
–SEPARATION: FIRST it is Ethan’s plan to propose to his girlfriend that keeps them friends only, but because there are hints that he’s not really in love with his girlfriend, the audience may yearn for him to not marry her, also that he comes to really care for, like, and love Tilly. SECOND, Ethan does not want to betray Paul (the audience might think that Paul doesn’t really love Tilly and knows she is totally against going on a date her family sets up). THIS LAST SEPARATION may be what makes the audience yearn more for them to get together: It comes out and Tilly is furious, as is Paul to find out later that Ethan’s girlfriend broke up with him. Paul suspects rightly that Ethan loves Tilly, but wrongly that Ethan is trying to steal her away. Ethan leaves, having lost at love again and his friendship with Paul.
–HOW WILL COMEDY BE EXPRESSED:
______1. Disagreements/conflict between Ethan/Paul, Tilly/ Her family, Tilly/Ethan—some comedic with witty repartee, some dramatic. The Tilly/Ethan argument over the meaning of the Wizard of Oz, etc.
______2. The set piece of Ethan driving from LA to CO, everything going wrong like causing delays, into the blizzard over several scenes, and showing up all iced over at Tilly’s door, she greeting him as “Yeti!” (with an earlier Yeti plant on page 2, which also informs that Yeti is the Abominable Snowman), and the topper re Big Foot when she treats his big feet for frostnip, and he says here we’re called Big Foot. Tilly, “No, you looked like Yeti to me.”
______3. The arrangement of scenes between Ethan and Tilly with opposing takes on the same thing.
______4. It seems my story fits Mernit’s (Writing the Romantic Comedy) COMEDY-DRAMA tone more than his other tone types. Also the Hallmark type is a bit bland, so the other types don’t seem to fit its model.-
Solid story with interesting love triangle.
I hope you will not take this as judgement or feedback, but… two meet-cutes? You are such a romantic!-
My problem was that I wanted the meeting-in-person to be the only meet-cute, but it comes at the end of Act 2 on page 36 in the Hallmark 9-Act structure. I was aiming for it to happen at the end of Act 1 (on page 25). When that didn’t happen, I went back and had Ethan make a negative comment on Tilly’s magazine page on p 14, and her negative reaction on p 15.
I was aware that meeting in person can come late as in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, but I think most in-person meet-cutes happen before p 15. So I made sure they were aware of each other early enough (him on p 7, her on p 15 under his pseudonym). But when they meet in person in a positive way (she saves his life) they don’t recognize each other at first, and I think the 1st negative meet-cute strengthens the suspense, because the audience knows who they are.
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Hi Lynn,
Unfortunately, I do not know the Hallmark 9 structure. However, I don't think that is an issue here in any event. In SLEEPLESS they never meet, but we the audience can SEE they would be good together. In WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, we DO NOT SEE a connection between the handsome stranger and the Bullock character… and in the end they do not end up together. However, in THE OTHER ZOEY they do meet, there is some disapproval on both sides, but the audience sees THEY WOULD BE GOOD TOGETHER. Since they will not actually meet at the beginning of your story, you’ll need to write early into the script their INDIVIDUAL STORIES – even though they don’t like each other – so the audience knows at the BEGINNING of the story they are meant to be together (after a lot of trial and tribulation.)
I like your story and I think you have a solid foundation. This is my only bump in the story so far… And I think you have the chops to know what you need and how to achieve it. 🙂 Plus… I might just be a know-it-all talking through his butt who cannot see a good story even if it wins the Oscar. So, there's that… 🙂 Grain of salt, my friend. Grain of salt.
Larry-
This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by Larry Kennedy.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by
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Matt's Rom-Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is how a rom-com actually is structured and what elements are most important for the script.Create your Concept and Conventions
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
Two People Who Belong Together: both come from crime families…but secretly want out to live a normal life
How Are They Separated: come from different crime families
What Forces Them together: stuck in snowstorm during Christmas
Issues to be Resolved: families hate each other, they've learned to hate the other family growing up, crime issues
On Their Journey of Love: the steps of getting to know the real person and opening themselves up to the other
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
Experience of Falling In Love:
The Journey of Love: from meeting when hiding from cops to getting together to help their families to being stuck together after truth comes out to really knowing and loving each other
Relationship Set-up: both are hiding their true reasons in the beginning, but grow in trust and have the same values deep down.
Issues each must Resolve: she needs to be more open because she is heartless; He needs to be stronger because he is too weak;
Separation: their families hate each other and are literally in a war against each other
How will Comedy be Expressed: families that want to murder each other having to be in same room at the most festive time of the year. the couple finding out truth about each other and lies are exposed.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by Matthew Frendo.
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Ahh! A variation on Romeo and Juliet!!! You CANNOT do better than this, my friend. Question… what makes them attracted to each other? Heartless and weak won’t cut it. Beauty is good, similar families shows commonalities, but are there any characteristics that each exhibit that would be attractive and/or needed in each other’s lives?
Look forward to reading your script.
Larry
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Renee’s Rom-Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is what conventions are needed for a successful Rom-Com. I am a horror writer by nature, so I have no idea what needs to go into a Rom-Com for it to be successful.
Title: Second DanceConcept: A high-powered attorney must choose between her dream job abroad and a second chance at love during her high school reunion.
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
Two People Who Belong Together: Sarah Collins is a high-powered attorney, and Mike Henderson is a local businessman who hasn’t ventured far from their hometown of Willowbrook.
How Are They Separated: They were separated at their senior prom after a misunderstanding orchestrated by a jealous friend. After high school, Sarah left for college and pursued her career. Mike stayed behind to help at his family business and embedded himself in the local community.
What Forces Them Together: As the former Student Body President, Sarah is tasked with planning their 25-year high school reunion, which will bring her back home and back into Mike’s life.
Issues to be Resolved: Sarah must decide between a significant career opportunity abroad and rekindling her relationship with Mike. Mike must confront his feelings of inadequacy about never having left their hometown.
On Their Journey of Love: they navigate their past misunderstandings, the changing dynamics of their old friendships, their families, and the new lives they have built apart from one another.
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
Experience of Falling In Love: As they spend time together planning the reunion, they rediscover their old chemistry and shared history, re-experiencing the feelings that once brought them together.
The Journey of Love: is framed around the tasks of organizing the reunion, each event and planning session serves as a metaphorical step back toward each other.
Relationship Set-up: Once high school sweethearts, now adults at a crossroads, their relationship is rekindled amidst the backdrop of their shared past and the pressures of their present lives.
Issues each must Resolve: Sarah grapples with her ambitious nature versus her emotional needs, while Mike deals with his fear of change and feeling stuck in the past.
Separation: Their initial post-high school separation set the stage, and their current life choices threaten to separate them again, underscoring the main conflict.
How will Comedy be Expressed: this arises from the quirky characters of their small town, the mishaps in reunion planning, and the humorous contrast between Sarah’s sophisticated city life and Mike’s down-to-earth community ties. Additionally, the absurdity of high school nostalgia versus the reality of their adult lives adds a layer of comedic irony.
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Interesting premise. Question… Usually for lawyers, dream jobs involve becoming partner… but she would be 43 at her 25th reunion, so I might consider the 15th year reunion??? If she is in charge, wouldn’t they have met when she coordinated the 5th and 10th year reunions? Why are they striking up a connection now? Maybe a divorce??? Maybe he went to jail for his dad when the latter cheated on the company’s taxes? Did he just move back to town (although you said he was imbedded in the community?)
Larry-
Hey Larry, thanks for your thoughts. While becoming a partner in a law firm is usually a goal for lawyers, it’s not the only thing that she can be offered that would fulfill the “dream job” quota. My character is already a partner in her firm but she’s offered the chance to become the Chief Legal Officer for a prestigious multinational corporation with headquarters in London.
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Ahh… the gaps in my logic have been filled! One more question… does she need a gopher cuz I would be available to live in London too. 🙂
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This sounds like it could fit the Hallmark-type rom-com. If it’s their 25 reunion there are some older Hallmark-type favorite actresses and actors who could be brought in. A story re proms and later coming back to the high school is Rick Garman’s PixL TV script LATE BLOOMER at https://rickgarman.com/projects/tv-movies/late-bloomer/ (script linked on that page). It’s a different story, but has couple of similarities. The career woman coming back to her small town and falling for the man there is much loved among Hallmark viewers.
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Hi Lynn,
Just so you know, I’m not age adverse for a character nor a misogynistic old fart (at least not today.) If you don’t make partner within ten years of becoming a lawyer, you probably won’t ever become a partner… but maybe I’m wrong about this factoid. I have known to be wrong before… Sigh. Many, many, many times before (in fact, does this sentence actually even have a noun and a verb???).
Larry
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Lisa Paris Long’s Rom Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is that brainstorming never really stops. Keep working on improving every aspect from the start.
Working Title: The Angel Baby
Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together: Two highly successful entrepreneurs, meet-cute during their Ivy league education. They seemingly want the same things out of life including being career driven with no children.
• How Are They Separated: One discovers that maybe the idea of having a child is not so crazy after all. While the other still says no children. It will interrupt their happy, expensive lifestyle.
• What Forces Them together: Their past love and history. A child surprisingly and comically drops into their life…how do they cope when they don’t know how to care for a child?
• Issues to be Resolved: They have to figure out how to move forward with a child or break up.
• On Their Journey of Love: The love for each other has been there for 15 years. Can they overcome the obstacle of a sudden child?Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: Their shared history of 15 years since their meet-cute has developed into a safe, deep love.
• The Journey of Love: They fall in love but the introduction of a child changes the dynamic in their happy work driven lives. Can they overcome it?
• Relationship Set-up: Meet-cute in an ivy league library where they argue in silence. They fall in love and marry…a whirlwind romance.
• Issues each must Resolve: Do they want a kid after all? Or not? The wife starts to reconsider their decision as she sees her friend’s kids…and a stunningly beautiful baby in the media.
• Separation: They eventually break up over the sudden drop in of a child.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: They are a wealthy couple focused on work. A baby appears in their bed one morning. How did it get there? Where did it come from? What do they do with it? Was it a miracle because it’s the exact baby they had admired in a media campaign? -
Ira’s Rom-Com assignment:
I learned from this assignment that there are specific conventions in a Rom-com that help define the journey of love. These create important beats within the Rom-Com genre.
My project is titled: Count Me In
The Premise is: A desperate actor, Chris attempts to win back his ex-girlfriend and the lead role as Dracula by sabotaging the auditions of the other actors only to possibly lose both when the real Dracula shows up to audition for the part.1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together: Sophia and Dracula.
• How Are They Separated: She is human, he is undead. Chris, her ex-boyfriend, wants her back.
• What Forces Them Together: A play about Dracula. Sophia is asst director, Dracula is auditioning for the lead. Chris is trying to sabotage others for the role.
• Issues to be Resolved: How to stay together as a vampire and human. Or will Dracula change her or kill her? Will Sophia take Chris back? Will Jerry, the Producer convince her to go with him on a new production.
• On Their Journey of Love: Sophia coaches Dracula’s speech and acting.
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: Dracula feels irrelevant, and Sophia feels unfulfilled that none of her students were ever successful. She works closely with Dracula.
• The Journey of Love: Sophia agrees to help Dracula with his speech. And acting. Chris helps Dracula with Sophia’s lessons.
• Relationship Set-up: Dracula shows up as the final audition for the role of Dracula in a play. He sweeps Sophia off her feet and flies into the air perching on a prop with her in his arms.
• Issues each must Resolve: Can Dracula resist biting her to change her into a vampire? Can Sophia resist his charms? Will she take Chris back? What are her feelings toward Jerry? Can Dracula be her crowning achievement?
• Separation: They part ways on stage as Sophia and Dracula profess their love for each other.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: Sophia believes Dracula could be her most successful student. She chose her selfish goals over Vlad’s goal of performing for the sheer joy of performing. She decides to return to London to coach actors. Chris is clueless and believes Dracula is a fantastic method actor embracing his role. Jerry sees an opportunity in the performance art version of the play and wants Sophia to direct it. While sleeping with him of course. Dracula’s assistants try to keep Dracula out of trouble and provide him with bodies while rehearsing. -
Ira’s Rom-Com assignment: I learned from this assignment that there are specific conventions in a Rom-com that help define the journey of love. These create important beats within the Rom-Com genre.
My project is titled: Count Me In
The Premise is: A desperate actor, Chris attempts to win back his ex-girlfriend and the lead role as Dracula by sabotaging the auditions of the other actors only to possibly lose both when the real Dracula shows up to audition for the part.
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
•Two People Who Belong Together: Sophia and Dracula. • How Are They Separated: She is human, he is undead. Chris, her ex-boyfriend, wants her back. Jerry, a producer wants to use her for his next project.•What Forces Them Together: A play about Dracula. Sophia is the assistant director, and Dracula is auditioning for the lead. Chris is trying to sabotage the actors so he can win the role. Sophia agrees to coach Dracula with his speech.
• Issues to be Resolved: How to stay together as a vampire and human. Or will Dracula change her or kill her? Will Sophia take Chris back? Will Jerry, the Producer convince her to go with him on a new production?• On Their Journey of Love: Sophia coaches Dracula’s speech and acting. She is thrilled when he finally gets it.
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: Dracula feels irrelevant, and Sophia feels unfulfilled that none of her students were ever successful. She works closely with Dracula.
• The Journey of Love: Sophia agrees to help Dracula with his speech. And acting. Chris helps Dracula with Sophia’s lessons. • Relationship Set-up: Dracula shows up as the final audition for the role of Dracula in a play. He sweeps Sophia off her feet and flies into the air perching on a prop with her in his arms.
• Issues each must Resolve: Can Dracula resist biting her to change her into a vampire? Can Sophia resist his charms? Will she take Chris back? What are her feelings toward Jerry? Can Dracula be her crowning achievement?
• Separation: They part ways on stage as Sophia and Dracula profess their love for each other.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: Sophia believes Dracula could be her most successful student. She chose her selfish goals over Vlad’s goal of performing for the sheer joy of performing. She decides to return to London to coach actors. Chris is clueless and believes Dracula is a fantastic method actor embracing his role. Jerry sees an opportunity in the performance art version of the play and wants Sophia to direct it. While sleeping with him of course. Dracula’s assistants try to keep Dracula out of trouble and provide him with bodies while he rehearses for the play.
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On Tue, Jul 9, 2024 at 8:57 PM Patricia Brown <pat@pbpencraft.com> wrote:
Lesson 1: 7/10/24
Patricia Brown’s ROM-COM
What I learned doing this assignment is that just like Shakespeare-who always started his plays with a question-my story asks the question,”How long are you willing to wait to be with your love?” The Bard also used antithesis. I learned I can use racial and cultural differences in a comedic way. I’m looking for the Big Picture that frames their romance. And, looking for a good title.Title: The Spooken Word
Genre: Rom-Com
Concept: An American-born Greek stylist tasked with keeping the annual Halloween merchandise for the largest US display secret, doesn’t find it so easy to keep a secret from her patriarchal father when she falls for a black Chicago firefighter.Two People Who Belong Together:
Angie is late for work, running a stop sign and almost hitting a fire engine. Van jumps off the engine, smiles and flirts with her and asks for her number. She gives it to him before she realizes her bigoted father will kill her.How they are separated:
Her dad hates blacks.
Her mom supports her dad.
Angie travels for her job often from Chicago to Florida to stage photo shoots.
He has to photograph fires set by protesters at Democratic convention.
Florida boss is racist, so she doesn’t invite him down.
He has kids from 1st marriage who don’t like her and he can’t leave alone.Issues to be resolved:
Angie—internal conflict about keeping secret her love for a black, divorced man from her bigoted father. Her biological clock is ticking.
Van—internal conflict about telling Angie about his three teenagers. Would she want to be stepmom when she wants her own child?On their Journey of Love:
1 ) secrets=
Her folks hate blacks. An only child, she lives with them. She can’t disclose special Halloween merchandise in warehouse so competition won’t make cheap knockoffs. Her whole life is about secrets.
He doesn’t want tell her he is only the department photographer because he got burned. He doesn’t want to tell her he has three teenagers.
2) first kiss/ first sleepover in Halloween warehouse with funny props, animation of spooky displays
3) Van takes Angie and Ya Ya to Cubs game. Angie thinks the kids with him are kids from the hood who got free tickets from fire department. Reveal live on kiss cam for YaYa and kids who call him “dad.” Angie, YaYa and kids all shocked.
4) Angie takes kids trick n treating to YaYa in funny costumes. YaYa warms.
5) Angie does Ashley’s hair, Armand calls her “mom”
6) Van takes care of YaYa.How will comedy be expressed?
Flirty banter
Funny photos
Situation: meet-cute running stop sign almost hitting engine
1st kiss/1st sleepover: with Halloween set; kiss cam
Funny costumes
Funny food conflicts. After a year of staging, the secret—Angie’s Big Reveal event of this year’s national Halloween merchandise and her displays—bring the couples to the happy ending. The Spooken Word? LOVE.Second list=
Title: Chicago Caldron of Love
Genre: Rom-ComTwo people who belong together:
Photography in common. Laugh together. Want a baby together. Each have family secrets. Family first. Sizzling. Love holidays. Instead of Christmas movie, focus on Halloween—disguises hide secrets.How they are separated:
His kids scared of Halloween. His kids think their mom is going to come back. They won’t eat moussaka (lamb).
Her rival wants her job and sabotaging her work by selling the Halloween best seller to rip-off competitor, and threatens to tell her folks about Van.What forces them together:
Her dad dies. Van is there for YaYa when her dad dies and her mom, YaYa, comes to love Van. Van gets hurt at a fire at her warehouse. Her rival tells her bigoted boss. Her biological clock is ticking.Issues to be resolved:
Angie—is it love or lust?
With Ashley, can she be stepmom to moody, surly girl, and a preteen boy entering puberty, and another troubled kid in the hood? Van—is he ready for love again?On their journey of love=
How to express comedy=
Sent from my iPhone
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ATAUR’S ROMCOM PROJECT
ASSIGNMENT 1:
What I learned doing this assignment is…Constructing Concept by filling in one blank at a time .
Concept and Conventions
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together: War Reporter (Rachel) on Vacation and Tour Guide (Liam)
• How Are They Separated:: Rachel’s structured personal and professional regimes and Liam’s Improvisational style. Also Class difference
• What Forces Them together: The sudden volatility in a sleepy resort Revolution and Hurricane Weather
• Issues to be Resolved: Finding new rules – compass and rudder in a world suddenly in flux
• On Their Journey of Love: Pragmatic synthesis of their two styles,. meeting challenges
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: Volatile external circumstances – revolution and hurricane, travelling on dangerous coastal roads
• The Journey of Love: performing needed ad hoc services f or isolated pockets of the population. – TRUER, MORE AUTHENTIC REVOLUTION
• Relationship Set-up: Travelling by jeep to isolated outposts, growing mutual admiration
• Issues each must Resolve: Constructive Compromise
• Separation: Their two habits of thought, old narratives
• How will Comedy be expressed: – By their coping with immediate psychological and material challenges. Absurdity of conducting revolution in flooding and landslides. -
OKAY – THIS IS WEIRD… I LOOKED ON HERE SEVERAL TIMES YESTERDAY TO POST BUT THIS LESSON WASN'T SHOWING UP FOR ME… NOR WAS THERE A LESSON 2 POSTED. BUT IT'S SHOWING IT WAS POSTED YESTERDAY MORNING.
Claudia’s Romantic Comedy
What I learned doing this assignment: It was helpful writing out the steps that the story and characters must take for their journey and what keeps them together.
• Two People Who Belong Together:
Organizational Expert Abby is a germaphobe who is forced to take over her father’s cleaning business. Jack is a longtime family friend and cabinet maker who has a secret, he’s a massive slob.• How Are They Separated:
Abby finds out Jack’s secret, it terrifies her. She later believes he was trying to destroy her father’s business.• What Forces Them together:
Abby’s Dad. Abby is there trying handle the family business while her father is ill. Jack, a longtime family friend, visits and stays around to do whatever the family needs.• Issues to be Resolved:
Abby is a germaphobe and Jack is a horrible slob.• On Their Journey of Love:
They must reconcile their massive lifestyle issues to allow their love to take the front seat, they both need each other desperately, but neither will admit it.• Experience of Falling In Love:
They both have that instant attraction, but it’s a bad time, Abby’s dad has just had a heart attack. Jack thinks he recognizes her, but it’s been years.• The Journey of Love:
Abby needs Jack’s help and he’s more than happy to give it to her. They start seeing each other as each tries to keep their secret from the other.• Relationship Set-up:
Abby is rushing to see her father in the hospital. She just passes Jack at the elevator. But then Jack is returning to the hospital room with coffees for the family and Abby barrels into him, getting both of them soaked with coffee.• Issues each must Resolve:
Abby isn’t just a germaphobe, because of her past trauma she feels she needs to control everything in her life. Jack’s a slob and has been hiding it from all of his friends… they know he’s bad, but not nearly as bad as he actually is…• Separation:
Abby is upset that Jack has been keeping a secret, and lying to her – like where he lives, not admitting his friend’s pristine apartment is not his own.• How will Comedy be Expressed
Abby has to clean other people’s homes and goes to extremes to not be in contact with germs.-
This reply was modified 11 months ago by Claudia Wolfkind.
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Hi, I think the idea of a germaphobe and a hoarder falling in love is hilarious. However, I noted your “why they belong together” actually says why they SHOULDN”T be together. What attracts them to each other? What do they each offer that the other needs? Later you say she is a control freak. Is he a spontaneous seat-of-the-pants guy? She needs his help with dad. THAT must drive her CRAZY as a control freak! More importantly, if she is a germaphobe, does she need to become more of a hoarder or more of a risk-taker? It does not appear he is a risk-taker. He obviously needs to be more authentic and come out of the closet as a messy guy, but how does she change him or how does he need to change himself? Hording is the result. What is the cause? How does he really need to change to end up with the girl?
Should be a funny story. I’m looking forward to hearing more about your script. 🙂
Larry
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it will be revealed, you think I’m going to tell everything in the first assignment? I’ve already written the first draft and I’m working on the rewrite in this class. I’ve already had two producers want to read it when it’s completed. You probably meant this to be helpful, but it felt anything but helpful.
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Hi Claudia,
It feels to me like you might be upset with me. I hesitate to go further, but wonder if I may say more??? The “probably meant to be helpful” is in my mind “absolutely meant to be helpful.” Further I am VERY happy to hear you have producers interested in your project… and whether this is a first draft or a second draft I THOUGHT these forums were to help each other with support AND feedback that MIGHT BE helpful to the writer. I also presupposed that anyone who posted WOULD LIKE feedback. Obviously, there was a cost TO ME of my time, energy, creativity, and thoughtfulness in making a comment to you or anyone else. I did so with love and generosity in my heart, with the hope everyone in our class gets to write a great story. I meant no harm, but I DO REGRET you feel my questions and/or intentions were misplaced. Knowing this, I will honor your wishes and not ask you any more questions to upset you. Let me close, however, with one final thought: I hope you and your script has smooth sailing into a bright, cloudless future.
Larry
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Deni B. Sher’s Rom Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is how to get my feet wet writing my first Rom-Com based on the SU method. I am writing a story loosely based on my own life BUT will be making many things up to enhance the story, but the basics are built on two very real characters who lost their spouses to cancer.• Two People Who Belong Together: A widow and a widower, who had wonderful marriages but have both lost their spouses to cancer.
• How Are They Separated: They live 4 hours apart and don’t know each other.• What Forces Them together: Both of their friends put them each on a dating site, wrote their bios and communicated for them without their knowledge.
• Issues to be Resolved: Learning to live in the “new-normal” after losing the loves of their lives, allowing themselves to be vulnerable, the meeting of their children, grand-children, being set in their own ways, learning how to love someone new.
• On Their Journey of Love: First, they FaceTime on a dating site, then she flies to Mexico to meet him face to face on vacation and a spark is flamed.
Concept: What happens when concerned friends sign a conservative widower and a free-spirited widow up on a dating site, without their knowledge and they meet for the first time on a vacation in Mexico?• Experience of Falling In Love: For these two it will come easier for the man than for the woman.
• The Journey of Love: First each is mad that their friends put them on a dating site which they both believe is full of scammers and also not the way they have ever met anyone before and don’t believe it’s possible. When they finally FaceTime and find out they each lost spouses to cancer months apart, they feel a commonality and are able to converse about their feelings. After 5 hours of FaceTime, they actually like each other and as much as they don’t want to admit it, have an attraction.
• Relationship Set-up: He tells her he is flying to Cabo alone in 3 days and he has never gone there without his wife and family or friends. That night while she is at a hockey game with her son, she texts him and lets him know that she believes if they had met sooner, that she would be going to Cabo with him. They throw caution to the wind and she flies to Cabo 5 days later.
• Issues each must Resolve: There will be many… as listed above.
• Separation: He lives 4 hours away in Florida and has a summer home in Wisconsin on a lake where he spends 6 months out of the year.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: As I write the story and make up things that did or didn’t happen, there will be much comedy!!-
This reply was modified 11 months ago by Deni sher.
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Are you writing about me? LOL
I recently contacted a woman on Facebook that I was attracted to and “kinda” knew for a couple months from Freshman year in college. We have now been in contact constantly for four months and I am flying to California in August to meet her (unfortunately this class was delayed so I’ll miss the last Saturday video… The price of love.) A romance in the making! I look forward to seeing what you do with this story. I HOPE it has a happy ending for my sake!In your story, you have several reasons why they are separated. In my humble opinion, based on what you wrote, the most important reason is they are afraid to love again. Fear or grief are VERY important emotions, but I wonder if they are character flaws per se unless you show dramatically (and comedically) how they are destroying the individual. So, I have a question for you. Why are they individually afraid to love?
Is she having fun having flings with nameless men and afraid to give that up to risk love again? Is he embarrassed by his paunchy appearance or lack of dating skills? Or something else? Are these excuses simply not to engage? Do they have secrets that by the end of the second act come out? Are they Oscar and Felix? Has she adopted forty cats and has he knocked up a Vegas showgirl? Just questions to consider as I wait to be completely charmed and delighted by the full script. 🙂
Larry
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Joe McGloin’s Rom Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is I can keep going deeper with every element, taking it from basically boring and thin to more robust and interesting.ASSIGNMENT:
Create your Concept and Conventions
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept:
Two People Who Belong Together: a dying man and his lawyer. He appears to be wealthy, but his wealth is suddenly depleted by identity theft. Later we discover that early in his career he received a windfall by using insider information, the start of his wealth building.
How Are They Separated: he is terminal, housebound and she is a jet setter
What Forces Them together: an angel who is assigned to help him across the border of death who makes little things happen surreptitiously, who risks being discovered every moment by his strict, by-the-book supervisor who tries to catch him in the act, and eventually does at the worst possible time.
Issues to be Resolved: their relationship is professional; he is dying; she develops a “terminal illness” that is a mistake – she over hears her doctor confide to his nurse that his dog, not the lawyer, has a terminal illness
On Their Journey of Love: her love cures his cancer; his love shows her the waste of time jet setting is.2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: the couple start at odds though with a few traits in common – hate Chinese food, love Italian, get weepy watching old movies, adore sunsets
• The Journey of Love: distant at first, then he helps her through her terminal illness scare. More time together during this horrific week draws them together, even though he is a terrible care giver, and she a prickly patient
• Relationship Set-up: she jumps at the chance at her firm to bag an apparently juicy, wealthy client, so they meet at his home
• Issues each must Resolve: she is his lawyer; she develops a “terminal illness”. They miss each other when they are not together, but won’t open up to each other. “I scare you, don’t I” he says at one turning point?
• Separation: he is homebound, she is a jet setter. Basically a nice guy, he depends on money for happiness, and is afraid women just want his money; she can’t sit still or her unfulfilled life crashes in on her. She always wanted to be a flamenco dancer – he hears “flamingo” and buys her a big one – needs work. He says what he feels, she is reserved
• How will Comedy be Expressed: his ineptness at caregiving; her freak out at her illness; her inability to relate to someone dying; his slingshots at objects representing her and getting caught at it after her observing but not realizing she is the symbolic target.3. Edit both lists to improve the expression of the concept and conventions.
Concept:
• Two People Who Belong Together: the people in his life are his private care givers. In her life, men she can’t depend on for love (they love money) and women who want to marry them.
• How Are They Separated: she can’t stand to be around all that sickness.
• What Forces Them together: the angel who can see they belong together appears in different guises trying to get them to see how they are meant for each other – until he meets someone who is his “soul mate.”
• Issues to be Resolved: attraction/attachment to worldly things. A lesbian caregiver of his expresses interest in her and she freezes.
• On Their Journey of Love: they both lose interest in money..
Conventions:
• Experience of Falling In Love: They are both closed to a meaningful relationship, preferring to stay distant.
• The Journey of Love: they continue to disagree about many things that come up in their lawyer/client relationship
• Relationship Set-up: She is appalled at the sickness and can barely stay in the room with him. He thinks she is flighty and weak.
• Issues each must Resolve: fear of intimacy for both
• Separation: The gulf between them seems huge but they keep coming back
• How will Comedy be Expressed: how she keeps reacting to his being sick, can’t watch him get care, can’t sit where dirty clothes have been, etc. -
Joy Geldard-Smith’s Romcom Project
What I learned doing this assignment is… that coming up with concepts is really fun, and even though there are guidelines, there are so many different ways to make them work! Making the audience feel like they’ve fallen in love again is something I’d love to do – I want to write ‘date night’ movies, whether it’s the 1st date or the 100th!
My Concept and Conventions
The Ice Cream Seller’s Secret
Logline: An FBI agent undercover as an ice cream vendor and a charming local crime reporter team up to bust an organized crime gang that is laundering money through a charity – but not before the gang deliver Christmas presents to every kid in Monterey.
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together: FBI agent Stella and journalist Crispin both seek truth and justice, with an unexpected shared history of childhood in the same town. (though they didn’t know each other when they were small, it’s not a second chance romance).
• How Are They Separated: Stella’s undercover mission and Crispin’s distrust of law enforcement (reinforced when he finds out she’s not who she says she is).
• What Forces Them together: Stella chasing the criminal gang that is committing heists and Crispin chasing the story.
• Issues to be Resolved: Stella grapples with her duty to her job versus her growing feelings for Crispin, while Crispin must learn to trust Stella.
• On Their Journey of Love: Through solving the heists, they rediscover their shared past, working through their issues and finding love.2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
Experience of Falling In Love:
• The Journey of Love: They go from meeting when Crispin’s niece drops her ice cream, and Stella gives her a replacement.
• Relationship Set-up: The real ‘meet cute’ happens when Stella’s ice cream truck breaks down, blocking in Crispin’s car, meaning that he thinks he is going to miss a scoop.
• Issues each must Resolve: Stella being undercover and the associated lies, and Crispin getting in the way of her investigation by being a great reporter. Crispin struggles to trust Stella, particularly after she confesses to being an FBI agent.
• Separation: Stella’s undercover work keeps them separated for most of the movie, then it is their own issues relating to that.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: Some embarrassing moments, particularly with the niece, also a little physical comedy when they are both chasing the bad guys. Disagreements between the two, and them also continually being thrown together throughout the investigation, even though they are trying to stay away from each other.3. Edit both lists to improve the expression of the concept and conventions.
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What I learned: Trusting the process, and filling in the blanks, while allowing scenes from RomComs to enter my consciousness allows for creative ideas of my own.
Create your Concept and ConventionsJudith’s RomCom: Day and Knight
Day a lay-nun working at a food truck and Jay a wheelchair-bound rare disease ambassador are thrown together when his best friend and caregiver is called away for a family emergency.1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together: Day, a student Dietitian, and Jay a rare disease ambassador.
• How Are They Separated: She’s a nun who works in a food truck, he’s a wheelchair-bound public speaker who relies heavily on texting.
• What Forces Them Together: Food. Her boss, Jay’s friend is called away and leaves Day and Jay together at the end of a work day, and not just then.
• Issues to be Resolved: Inequality between able and disabled, meeting future dreams, employee versus a friend of the employer. She dreams of a career in the church, and secretly of a knight on a motorbike, not a disabled film buff with beer-can abs, in a power chair.
• On Their Journey of Love: They meet through texting, which plays a role in creating expectations. Jay is a charmer, intelligent, and empathic. Day is stand-offish but charmed. Meeting in person there’s getting used to the disadvantage of having different abilities. They have similar interests; and fight stigmas, and prejudices, their own and those of others. There’s slapstick, as they fall in and out of love (literally). What does friendship with benefits mean to them?2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: Infatuation via Texting, Jay is very empathic toward Day.
• The Journey of Love:
• Relationship Set-up: Meet Cute happens when Jay texts the lovely Day from KC’s vehicle and all she sees is a handsome man, in her boss’s car.
• Issues each must Resolve: Day is a nun, who secretly dreams of a knight on a motorbike, not a disabled film buff with beer-can abs, in a power chair. Jay is an intellectual who wants to be as independent as possible.
• Separation: Day moves back to her hometown. Jay can’t follow her on his own.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: Dialogue created by texting gets a different meaning when Day and Jay meet in person. Figurative speech becomes literal and visa-versa. Slapstick between able-bodied yet awkward Day and wheelchair-bound Jay. Humorous interactions between the two and her boss/ his friend and outsiders.3. Edit both lists to improve the expression of the concept and conventions.
4. Answer the question, “What I learned doing this assignment is…” and place that at the top of the page.-
This reply was modified 11 months ago by Judith Praag.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Duane’s Rom-Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is just answer the questions. If you don't have a good answer, you don't have a good Rom Com concept.HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.• Two People Who Belong Together:
Maria, untrusting where love is concerned and Jimmy, who does't go there. They suspect they belong together, but neither one wants to admit it.• How Are They Separated:
Maria did not know that Jimmy only came to the relationship study to find out what the App was all about. Jimmy didn't know it was Maria's App, and he was being used for testing purposes.• What Forces Them together:
They are both aware they have never met someone to interesting and exasperating.• Issues to be Resolved:
Distrust and real motives in the APP making process and sale.• On Their Journey of Love:
Their patience is refreshing as neither responds in the way they expect. This allows the relationship to build a foundation of respect and admiration.CONCEPT
A A jilted woman develops an App to tell if a man is in love with her.2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love:
These two have their guards up but can't let go of the possibilities.• The Journey of Love:
Rocky, but the more they learn about each other, the more the realize the mistakes they made in the past.• Relationship Set-up:
Paired at a Relationship Study for development of an APP.• Issues each must Resolve:
Maris must get over her trust issues and allow someone to love her. Jimmy must move from his carefree nature to admitting just how much her cares.• Separation:
Blowup over Jimmy snooping on the APP and Jimmy not knowing it was Maria's APP in the first place.• How will Comedy be Expressed:
Odd responses to awkward situations.-
This reply was modified 11 months ago by Duane T Basham.
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This reply was modified 11 months ago by
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Jess’s Rom-Com Project
What I Learned from This Assignment:
The Conventions of the romantic Comedy. Also, I was able to see different ways that the story could be written!
Concept/Logline:
When a ruthless attorney is sent to small-town Canada to evict the widower who is squatting on the last piece of property her retail client needs to build a mega-store on, she has only one small problem: she can’t keep her lips from running into his!
Two People Who Belong Together:
Stanley: A widower with two children, he has not looked at another woman since his wife died.
Stella: Emotionally traumatized and physically abused as a child, Stella does not believe in love.
How They Work: Chemistry and a deep need for what the other one brings.
How Are They Separated:
Stan is desperately trying to save his house, family, and community from the ravages of vulture capitalism. Stella is on assignment to evict him.
How They Work: Stan resists because his children come first. Stella resists because she’s there on a job — to evict Stan.
What Forces Them together:
When Stella learns that the B&B she’s staying at is run by the man she’s there to evict, her boss Donald orders her to remain there and spy on Stan to find out his weaknesses.
How They Work: Donald orders Stella to stay with Stan and find out his weaknesses — but they keep bonding.
Issues to Be Resolved:
Stella needs to accept the growing affection she is experiencing for Stan and the kids.
Stan needs to get over his wife’s death, move on, find love for himself and a mother for his children.
How They Work: Each has an emotional wound that the other helps to mend.
On Their Journey of Love:
Overcoming their own flaws and finding the cure in one another.
Stella, sent to small-town Canada from big-city USA, ends up at Stan’s after she is injured in an accident and he nurses her to health. She follows an emotional recuperation thanks to Stan’s kids and the heroic, family-oriented Stan, who, finding Stella on the roadside and caring for her as a patient, begins to care emotionally for this fish-out-of-water big city girl who has no sense of community or family. Slowly, she comes to care more about Stan and his children than about the promotion and wealth she worked for all her life. Stella finds, in the end, she can have her cake and eat it too!
Concept:
A big-city attorney and a small-town paramedic can’t help falling in love, despite the fact that she’s there to evict him and her children from their house so her retail corporation client can build a mega-store on the land.
Elevating the Concept:
I have a script that answers the question “Can a big-city corporate legal shark find love, family, and happiness with the small-town widower she’s been sent to evict?
What happens when a ruthless corporate attorney falls in love with the man she's been sent to evict?
The Experience of Falling in Love:
Despite herself, Stella falls for Stan, his kids, and the town. First, she sees how Stan fights for the rights of his neighbors as much as for himself, an admirable trait. Then, she befriends his unavoidable, charming children. After a few days with Stan, Stella begins to feel like part of the family and the community — even as she is set to spying on him. She comes to realize Stan’s devotion to his deceased wife, and sees the family she never had. She starts to understand, for the first time, that she herself needs that kind of exclusivity with another person. They begin flirting, and when Stan resuscitates her after she drowns, she can no longer keep her lips off him, even teasing him by insisting he help her shop for lingerie. But the word “love” still isn’t in her vocabulary. It takes Sandy and joe to make her realize that she must commit to this relationship — or get out of it altogether. Even this, and a weekend of sex, isn’t mature love. That occurs when Stella returns to Atlanta, determined to help Stan retain his home, one way or another; leading to their crisis. Stan discovers who Stella works for, and why she was sent. He is devastated. How can he ever trust her (or any other woman) again? But Stella recovers the relationship and even improves it by risking her job and professional career to save Stan, who has saved her twice. She even risks a monarch’s wrath by calling the Queen of England, an convincing Her majesty to come to Stan’s aid. It is this all-sacrificing stunt that proves her worth to Stan and the town, and helps Stella find not only true love, and family, but a new career.
The Journey of Love:
The Meet-Cute occurs when Stella wakes up in a strange room in an unknown location, and realizes she is in someone else’s pajamas. The only person she can see is Stan, and she jumps to the conclusion that he changed her clothes.
Relationship Setup:
Stella immediately embarrasses herself in front of the children, who are enchanted by this strange, lovely creature who they find quirky, funny, and strangely maternal. Their belief in Stella helps her find her maternal instinct. As Stella spends time with Stan, she becomes attracted to him on a superficial level (as he is with her — the “infatuation stage”) but soon discovers that this popular, modest, altruistic man is the one she’s there to evict — which means he’s also very stubborn.
Issues:
Stan has a world of problems facing him, preventing him from loving Stella. He’s still very attached to the memory of his wife, he’s fighting to keep his home, has two little children, and a neighborhood’s survival on his shoulders. What eases some of this is that his kids take to Stella as if she could be their new mother. Unknowingly, they trust her, and Stan begins to, also — little does he know!
Stella is there to evict Stan, but as the days pass, she becomes charmed by the small town attitude, Stan, and his family-oriented lifestyle. Holding her back is the memory of abuse at the hands of her dysfunctional parents, who were arguing in the car at the moment they died.
Separation:
At first, Stella keeps up a wall between herself and Stan, but tiny cracks appear in it until the dam bursts. Always, however, is her job, her ambition, and her assignment to evict Stan. After they make love, the separation becomes a chasm, as she returns home to plead for a plan that Stan would never accept, and he discovers who she is.
Comedy:
Stella is a total fish-out-of-water in a small town. First, she’s forced to drive a car, which she avoids at all times. This leads to the Canadian weather and her car wreck, and Stan rescuing her. The situation is serious to them, but provides comedic subtext for the audience, who realizes that Stan is the man she’s there to evict. The kids play a role is showing Stella how inept she is in social situations. When Stella causes the dragon boats to crash, and Stan performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, from that moment she can’t keep her lips off his. Later, Stella has to leap hotel balconies to get Doug’s laptop, losing her skirt in the process, and causing a young (and lustful) hotel clerk a great deal of anxiety and embarrassment. At the city council meeting, she sees through new eyes the people she has been working against and the ugliness of the CEOs she has represented all these years, even doing physical battle against them. Finally, she goes to Stan’s and, in a reversal of “Streetcar Named Desire”, screams out “Stanley!”, hoping to mend their relationship.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by Jess Paxton.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by
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Two People Who Belong Together:
SEAN and LINDA have been working with his movie studio he’s run since the 1960’s, ever since he discovered her 15 years ago.
How Are They Separated:
53 years age difference.
What Forces Them together:
His long-term purpose to save the studio, her long-term purpose to support him.
Studio has an offer for 1.5 Billion to make 15 features, but will go bankrupt if the deal doesn’t happen.
Issues to be Resolved:
He’s on a quest to find the lost magic, trying to stop the deal.
She’s on a quest to save the studio, trying to save the deal.
On Their Journey of Love:
She’s the young kid he believed in 15 years ago.
He’s the aging executive from bygone days keeping Hollywood magic alive.
She’s been supporting him, as the buffer between the modern world and his dreams.
He’s following his quest of saving Hollywood magic, no matter what.
Experience of Falling In Love:
He felt an endearing love for her innocence and passion ever since he discovered her years ago.
She’s always been grateful for the chance, and believed in his never-ending quest to keep the tradition alive.
The Journey of Love:
They’ve always had a mentor-student relationship, but have always loved each other. But 53 years age difference makes that impossible. What happens next risks everything, and their love may not survive.
Relationship Set-up:
They’ve been friends for years, but could never admit their true feelings.
Now she’s just trying to save the studio, and he seems not to care.
Issues each must Resolve:
She is way too serious and grown up.
He is way too joking and childish.
They set things in motion which threaten humanity, and try not to die doing it.
Separation:
She can’t support him if he’s going to ruin their lifetime of work for some crazy dream no one believes in.
How will Comedy be Expressed:
He uses extremely sharp wit and playfulness to combat the seriousness happening around him he sees as the threat.
She tries to be serious, but is really a gentle girl with a big heart, making her clumsy and savvy at business.
She tries to make him to do the deal, but he runs away.
He goes to a place she cannot. She loses everything and tries to find him.
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Luc's Rom Com
Title: "Rom Comady"
Imagine you were given back the body of your eighteens with the opportunity to live the love story you didn’t allow yourself to live at that time, and this as you are going through a Near Death Experience in an intensive care unit where everyone shares the same NDE.
Concept: In an intensive care unit an 80 year old woman experiences a Near Death Experience where she has the body she had when she was 18 and where she meets other people from the same unit going through their own NDE. She falls in love with one of them, who is a 40 year old rock band leader who’s been in coma for ten years and still thinks he’s 30.1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together: They are a great team making rock music.
• How Are They Separated: Age gap. She looks 18, but is really 80. He is 40, but still thinks he’s 30.
• What Forces Them together: They need to be together to fight the med team who wants to disconnect them from life support.
• Issues to be Resolved: She already made her journey to accept death (committing suicide) but if she lets herself fall in love, the perspective of dying will feel horrible again. Is it worth it?
He can’t count on spending a long fulfilling life at her side. Also, her death will be devastating. Is it worth it?
• On Their Journey of Love: Two people go from their “meet-cute” (Rock and Roll jam in NDE) to denial of love (Age difference) to overwhelming attraction (ignited by proximity of death) to breaking up over differences (she already had a life/ he is just starting his own) to finally reuniting (Carpe Diem) and experiencing the love of their life (for however long it might last).
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
PURPOSE: To have the audience experience falling in love again, imagining they’re offered the opportunity to go back in time and live the romance they didn’t dare live when they were younger.
THE JOURNEY OF LOVE: Two people go from their “meet-cute” (Rock and Roll jam) to denial of love (Age difference (40 years)) to overwhelming attraction (ignited by proximity of death) to breaking up over differences (she already had a life/ he is just starting his own) to finally reuniting (Carpe Diem) and experiencing the love of their life (for however long it might last).
RELATIONSHIP SET-UP: They are both on the verge of dying. At this stage their only sensible option might just be to make the best of the situation: a last extreme romance.
ISSUES: She is way too reasonable (the reason she missed her opportunity for a real love story). He is in denial of the time spent in coma (10 years) and is working on his songs for the concert to come (he thinks).
SEPARATION: When he thinks she’s only 18 he doesn’t want to take advantage of her young age, then when he finds out she hid the fact she’s actually 80, she becomes the one not comfortable with the age gap (and her lying about it).
COMEDY: He thinks she’s candid and inexperienced, not knowing she already had a full life of experiences. They are both very shy and insecure.-
This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by Luc Pagès.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by Luc Pagès.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by
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BRENDA CLARKE I am learning that their needs to be just as much detail and depth in a Rom-Com as in a drama to be successful. I am struggling with the BIGGER STORY at present, but hopefully thoughts will develop along the way.
Two People Who Belong Together:
A divorced woman with two grown children longing to find her true self.
A corporate lesbian set in her ways, seeks a loving and long-term companionHow are they separated:
Family and friends keep them apartWhat forces them together?
The corporate lesbian is a Substitute player at the local tennis club where the two women meet.Issues to be resolved:
Corporate lesbian must overcome her fear of “family” and “the children”
Mother must overcome her fear of “coming out” to her familyOn Their Journey of Love:
The two need to grow as individuals and they both have what they are looking for a long-term loving relationshipExperience of Falling Love:
The corporate woman a great sportsperson, lets the mother win the game of tennis. The mother instantly attracted to her new tennis partnerThe Journey of Love:
The mother eventually plucks up the courage to invite her new friend to the family holiday home for the weekend.Issues each must Resolve:
Corporate woman must broaden her horizons as she is stuck in her ways, tired of “the scene” but has to overcome her dislike of “traditional families & Children”. The Mother has to come to the realisation that she has probably been gay her whole life and now is the time to come out and be happy or stay in the closet and be lonely.Separation:
Corporate woman’s lesbian friends not encouraging with regards to her new tennis chum, stick with what she knows. Mother’s daughter is the main problem, who is outraged by her mother’s revelation, even though she is dating an older professor from her university. The son however, embraces his mothers new found freedom (he too is gay)How will COMEDY be expressed:
Through character/dialogue, situations and visually.CONCEPT:
Sparks fly when two women from different backgrounds meet and despite their family and friends objecting to this new found friendship the women forge a life-long love for each other. -
Ruthie’s Rom Com Project
What I learnt: It helps to think about your hook, to justify whether you have something unique or surprising to move forward.
TITLE: BABY OIL
Two People Who Belong Together:
Levi a male stripper and Eleanor a female aristocrat, have both avoided love for fear of being used.
How Are They Separated:
Geographically: US v. UK and by class: Vegas stripper v. titled aristocrat.
What Forces Them together:
A pregnancy and the fact she wants to send her family an F-you for trying to hook her up with stuffy nobility.
Issues to be Resolved:
His green card marriage, their geographical distance, her family – she should marry an aristocrat.
On Their Journey of Love:
He forsakes his country; she forsakes her family to be together.
Final Concept:
When a male stripper drags an uptight countess on stage, sweat drips and sparks fly, only to battle geography, class, a green-card marriage and erectile dysfunction, to realize they were meant for each other.
Meet Cute:
Love at first sight in front of a room full of screaming strangers. He’s already half naked! She has to trust him. They are thrust into a sexual situation right off the bat.
The Journey of Love:
Learning to trust each other and allowing themselves to fall in love, despite coming from totally different backgrounds and continents. Their differences will keep them apart, their genuine connection will bring them back together.
Relationship Set-up:
We appreciate their chemistry is off the charts. Neither one can quite believe this is happening. He’s met the girl of his dreams “at work”, her soul mate is a working-class, Aussie stripper.
Issues each must Resolve:
Trust, geography, class, family, a green-card marriage, erectile dysfunction, and a pregnancy. Plus, the green-card wife has real feelings.
Separation:
Geographically – US v. UK. As an Australian, he’s already involved in a green-card marriage to stay in the US. Her family want her to marry an English aristocrat to continue the title.
How will Comedy be Expressed:
Incongruity. Two people on paper who could not be more different. Play up on class/background differences.
HOOK: What happens when a sweaty male stripper falls in love on stage with an uptight, English Countess? -
Jess’s 7 Stages of Love
What I learned: How to locate and accentuate the key points in Rom-Com.
1. Meet-Cute
Stan rescues Stella from freezing after her car accident.
She wakes up in a bed at his house with someone else’s pajamas on and freaks out.
2. Attraction/Flirting
Stan says he has a beautiful tenant in his B&B.
When Stan saves her from drowning, Stella kisses him. Repeatedly.
They visit the lake and have an ice-cream fight.
3. Denial
Stella runs off to see Joe. He tells her she’s in love with Stan.
4. Separation/Forced Together
Stella learns that Stan is the legal enemy, but Donald insists that she stay at Stan’s and spy on him.
5. Working through Issues/Differences
Sandy gives Stella an ultimatum, and the time she needs to make a decision.
When Donald suggests that Stella seduce Stan, she hangs up and screams.
Stan thinks that Stella has rejected him.
6. Hate/Betrayal/All Hope is Lost
Stella goes to Atlanta hoping to save Stan’s house, but without his approval.
Stan finds out that Stella works for the Corporation and believes she is just pretending she loves him. He rejects her and her proposal completely.
7. Love Happens
Stella saves the day by calling the Queen. Stan’s home and his neighbors’ homes are saved from the wrecking ball.
Stella goes to Stan’s and he carries her over the threshold. Stella and Stan are engaged; she starts her own law firm.-
This reply was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by Jess Paxton.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by Jess Paxton.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by
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Aloha Cheryl,
I’m up to date although not seeming to load my assignments; please assist.Mahalo,
Kimbal
kimbal@akta-ltd.com -
Avi’s Romcom Lesson 1
What I learned doing this assignment is: It’s harder than I thought to frame a concept! Also, it’s very interesting to understand how the conventions work in successful romcoms.
Two People Who Belong Together: A CIA agent who needs someone who can show her that a world where someone else can care for her exists- where she doesn’t need to be the one solving problems all the time. A novelist, who’s a ‘let me do that for ya’ kind of guy needs someone he can take care of.
How Are They Separated: Ashley’s boss convinces her on the eve of their wedding that life with Daniel isn’t the right thing for her – so she dumps him at the altar and goes on a mission.
What Forces Them together: Daniel is hired by an assassin who targets the POTUS and Ashley is on the case.Issues to be Resolved: He needs to let go of his need to dominate, she needs to learn to be cared for.
On Their Journey of Love: The two are on the run together when they are framed in an assassination attempt on the POTUS.
2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
Experience of Falling In Love: Ashley and Daniel meet dramatically and start dating. They fall in love.
The Journey of Love: They are forced to go on the run when they are framed for an assassination attempt.Relationship Set-up: Ashley takes Daniel’s help when a mission goes awry. He protects her and falls for her.
Issues each must Resolve: Daniel must change his need to be the dominant one in his relationships. Ashley must let herself be open to being cared for.
Separation: Daniel dumped at the altar when Ashley chooses a mission over him.
How will Comedy be Expressed: Through constant bickering when they are on the run, and situations that force them to depend on each other when they absolutely don’t want to.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by Avi K.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by
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Leo’s Rom-Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is that there is a system that can get you started on the rom-com project. A lot of this was in my head, and it was helpful to get it down on paper.
1. Starting with whatever idea you have, fill in the blanks to create a concept.
• Two People Who Belong Together:
o Dianne is an internet influencer. She does a Dolly Parton make-over of herself before going online, so none of her friends or relatives recognize her. She is Miss Ultimate.
o Leonard is a systems administrator for a sanitation district. He spends all day behind his screen or in the server room.
• How Are They Separated:
o Dianne pretends to be enamored of her fans, but really prefers to make fun of them. She really likes mocking some guy who calls himself “OperatorOne”.
o Leonard spends way too much of his workday time online, under his pseudonym OperatorOne, following the activities of Miss Ultimate.
• What Forces Them together:
o Dianne wants to be appreciated for her real self, not her Miss Ultimate character. A drinking buddy talks her in to signing up for group therapy, to “find her real self”.
o Leonard gets busted by HR for spending too much time surfing the web and must attend group therapy or be fired. He ends up in the same group as Dianne.
• Issues to be Resolved:
o They must realize to whom they are talking in therapy.
o Dianne needs to develop self-esteem apart from Miss Ultimate.
o Leonard needs to realize he can like a woman who does not look like Dolly.
• On Their Journey of Love:
o They need to discover their real values and how this apparent stranger supports them.2. Then fill in the blanks to create your conventions. Even though some of these are the same, it is worth looking at them in the context of the conventions.
• Experience of Falling In Love: Through texting, online posts, arguments during therapy, and accidental encounters, Dianne and Leonard, unintentionally at first, help one another overcome the issues keeping them from connecting with others.
• The Journey of Love: They have connected with each other’s online personas, then discover that they actually treasure the real people underneath,
• Relationship Set-up: The two end up in the same group therapy, without recognizing each other.
• Issues each must Resolve: Dianne must realize that the non-glam version of herself is worthwhile, and Leonard must realize he needs to look deeper into a person than their online image.
• Separation: After each therapy session, they go their separate ways. Each needs to overcome a social anxiety in order to end up at the same place.
• How will Comedy be Expressed: There will be confusion caused by not realizing they have interacted with each other before. At a certain point each will start saying, “Hey, you wouldn’t believe this person online who…”. -
JESS’S COMEDY SITUATIONS
What I learned doing this assignment is to look for incongruent situations throughout my Rom-Com.
I have these situations in my script:
COMEDIC TRAGEDY
Stella is a cutthroat lawyer who has been sent to a small town to evict a widower and his two kids so that her corporate client can build a retail superstore on his property.
However, Stella’s car skids on ice during a winter storm and crashes. While the authorities are struggling to unravel the resulting pandemonium, Stella is rescued from freezing by off-duty fireman Stan — the same man she’s there to evict!
Even more, the hospital is full up with flu and accident cases that require attention, so Stan takes Stella to his home and cares for the ailing Stella while she recovers — and neither one realizes they are enemies.
COMEDIC SURPRISE
Stan takes Stella to lunch and discovers his identity as the man she’s supposed to evict.
Heightening the surprise, her boss, Donald, orders her to stay at Stan’s and spy on him!
Worse yet, Stan introduces Stella to his friends, who are protesting their evictions by surrounding City Hall, so Stella cannot even get into the building to file the papers on Stan.
When Stella goes online to file the eviction suit, she realizes that Stan knows everyone at City Hall, and her name would be recognized, and she would be exposed.
WILDLY INAPPROPRIATE RESPONSE
When Stella comes out of her delirium, she finds herself at Stan’s house, in a strange bed, and in strange pajamas. Stan and his sister Sandy, a nurse, have been caring for her.
But Stella flies off the handle and curses: “Who the fuck changed my clothes?” before she realizes that Stan’s two children are standing right in front of her.
EMBARRASSMENT
When Stella needs the key to Donald’s hotel room, she puts on her sexiest clothes and goes to the Desk Clerk, whom she knows is enchanted with her. The Desk Clerk is caught between turning down a possible sexual liaison with the lovely Stella, and following the dictates of his employment.
Stella makes things even worse, when halfway through the negotiation, she leans her ample breast on the front desk counter, pushing up cleavage almost in the Desk Clerk’s face.
With the Desk Clerk resisting still, Stella raises the stakes by telling him she doesn’t have any panties on. He faints.
EMBARRASSMENT
Faced with losing Stan forever if she can’t get to Doug’s computer, Stella climbs out onto her hotel room balcony and checks to see if the window to Donald’s room is open. It is. Stella decides to try leaping over to Donald’s balcony, but as she attempts to do so, her old nemesis freezing rain causes her to slip and fall. She barely catches hold of the railing of Donald’s balcony, but…
Then her high heels break off behind and she’s suddenly hanging on for dear life! As townspeople stare and call for rescue, Stella tries to get a foot up to the balcony, but…
Her sexy skirt, worn to inspire the Desk Clerk to give her the key to Donald’s room, is too tight and won’t allow her to reach a leg up. So Stella has to wrap one arm around the railing, and unzip her skirt and drop it onto the gathering crowd below.
After Stella successfully breaks into Donald’s room and gets the computer, she goes into the hallway, intending to get back to her room, but…
Her key card was in the skirt pocket! Now, she has no way back into her room, or Donald’s room, where the door has automatically closed and locked behind her. She has to cover her torn pantyhose with Doug’s laptop as the Desk Clerk, the Fire Department, the police, the paramedics, and the people from outside who saw her jumping the balcony, all come running up the stairs to make sure she’s alright (or to get a better view of her sans skirt). But…
She now has to coerce the Desk Clerk out if a key card, and walk backwards into her room so the torn backside of her pantyhose doesn’t expose her nearly bare buttocks. So she needs to cajole a fireman into opening the door for her. Finally, she succeeds in getting back in while avoiding further embarrassment.
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LESSON 1
Cindi’s Rom Com Project
What I learned doing this assignment is that it’s OK to write my first ideas knowing that these ideas will change several times before the project is finished.The romcom idea:
When A woman inherits a dilapidated mansion from her great aunt, she travels to the small town to check it out. It’s in bad shape and the mayor along with the neighbors, want to demolish it because it’s an eyesore among the other quaint shops on Main Street. At an argumentative Townhall meeting, a history buff with an interest in architecture, introduces himself to the woman.
Can they work together to save the mansion? Will it be their passion project? Or will it lead to a passionate relationship?1. Conventions of the story: The experience of falling in love – They clean out the attic/closet and find interesting, embarrassing things to laugh about. They insult /mock each other as they do yardwork. Mistakes end in disasters. Bantering and sarcastic insults. Innuendos.
2. Journey of love: He teaches her how to use landscaping equipment. She practically kills him by her mistakes. They go for lunch dates. He always spills something/ has food on his face.
3. Relationship set up: During a bad storm they spend overnight in the mansion. The city inspector comes to check on the building and sees them through the window doing weird yoga positions together.
4. Issues each other must resolve: they both have jobs in a bigger nearby city. They don’t like small town gossip /nosy neighbors
5. Separation: Lot’s of legal conflict with the Mayor. They don’t want to quit their successful jobs in the big cities. Maybe try to turn the mansion into a B&B or a museumHow comedy will be expressed?
Situational comedy – silly usage of landscaping tools.
Witty dialogue – Making fun of each other. She’s a klutzy yard worker, he’s constantly spilling stuff at the restaurants.
Running gags – Reoccurring jokes referencing stupid stuff they did that builds on more comic events.
Visual humor – showing facial expressions, showing them doing stupid things as they work on the mansion.
Farewell fiesta: maybe they have a rummage sale to get rid of the weird stuff they find in the attic. They each have to deal with a crisis at their job in the city and have to be apart from each other for 3 weeks.
They each realize they miss their time together working on the old house, even the neighbors miss spying on them.
Comedy expression: They apply for grants to fix up the place since it’s a historical building. They hire an inspector, there are conditions to receive grants. If things are too broken down, they try to fix it in a strange way, or if things aren’t broken enough, they try to break it even more. (maybe to get a bigger grant there has to be more damage so they’re forced to break a window or whatever.)
Visual humor for emphasis: exaggerated facial expressions as they deal with each other and their weird quirks. Sometimes it seems like they’re busting the place up more, sometimes it seems like they’re fixing it up more. They use makeshift tools, like a serving knife or serving forks to tighten screws. Etc.
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