Lesson 2

[Ola Höglund]

Ola Höglund’s Romcom project

What I learned from doing this assignment is that I’m not sure what needs they fulfill for each other and how that connects with the theme. i also learned that I'm not ready to summarize the characters in few words. I'm still searching with a lot of words.

• Who is She?

She is an adoption agent/worker who wants to have a kid and find a man that would be a good father with a job that makes it easy to be a single parent every second week, since she doesn’t want to live with a man. She wants to have one week living a free single life and one week being a perfect and happy single mother, when the child gets older, the way she was brought up with parents who never fought around her and gave her full attention. That is opposite to what she demands, as an adoption agent, from adoption parents. That’s her lie. Then what would be the perfect occupation for that kind of man/father? Maybe a wedding photographer who only works outside his home on Saturdays… As an adopted child herself she wants a biological child to feel that her child is her own blood.

With parents who are both divorced and not her biological parents, Henna has this classic wall around her not letting any man get too close to her. Flirting is okay. But she ends up being friends with all men since she thinks no relationship will last. They all end sooner or later, so why not end it sooner. Fight or flight? She runs away before it heats up and becomes too emotional. Her long runs with music in her ears closes out deep feelings. She needs to learn to fight and learn to lose in order to win.

She is a generous, empathetic, spontaneous, helpful, charming woman who is afraid of heights. She wants a man that is unlike herself.

• Who is He?

Jasco is a speechwriter who decides to try to adopt a child before he gets too old since he has given up hope finding the right one to marry and have kids with.

Sensitive, passionate, who doesn’t want to compromise. He needs to find happiness in what he has instead in what he doesn’t have. He has to stop chasing love and let go. He wants too much.
He wants a woman that is like himself.

• What makes them lovable?

Both spontaneous and full of dynamic temperament, weird and self-deprecating humor, wanting the best for other people, good at thinking from other people’s perspective which is rare in today’s society. They are not afraid of being childish in front of each other and in front of other people. Kind and happy on the outside, but melancholy on the inside.

• What attracts them to each other?

She is attracted to him because he is secure within himself not afraid to make a fool of himself. He is not afraid of losing, even though he has had enough of bad dates for now.

He is attracted to her because she is considerate, spontaneous with weird humor that inspires him and makes him feel alive. For the first time in his life he is both romantically and sexually attracted at the same time. Before he has been romantically in love with beautiful women that matches his checklist, but he hasn’t felt the same sexual attraction. Or he has felt sexual attraction but not romantic attraction.

• What needs does each fulfill for the other?

He finds that he can fall in love with a woman that is not perfect according to his checklist. A woman with divorced parents and tattoos is a no-no for him, but he falls for her anyway because they just belong to each other when he holds her hand and giggles with her.
He needs someone that completes him, not someone who is only like him. But what does she have that he doesn’t have? Patience?
He needs to be more relaxed and patient when it comes to women he is attracted to, and this time he has something that stops him from chasing her when he has to stay uninterested in her due to her adoption decision. She has power over him. So he needs to be cool.

She needs someone that believes in love so much that she will also start believing in love and fall in love instead of just being friends with all men. She needs someone that won’t let her run away. Someone that dares to kiss her, not being afraid of her.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by  Ola Höglund.

[Timothy Hicks]

Timothy’s RomCOm Project

What I learned from this assignment is your characters must have more than a superficial attraction if it is to last. Character must have needs met that they may not even know they had.
If nothing is added to the relationship by the other, there is no need for the other character.

Who is She?
Bonnie Hanson: Up and coming Good4You Foods ad executive who came up with the Millionth Customer Reward ad. She is a single mother of nine-year-old, Charlie, who feels she needs to work hard to keep from ending up destitute like her mother.

In the opening, we see clips of the Millionth Customer Reward ads and shots of customers flocking to the stores to win this customer lottery. Bonnie is seen in one store standing near the counter beside a table with a little boy coloring.

We get the impression she is work-focused when the little boy holds up his coloring as Bonnie ignores him to watch the counter sales.

Who is He?
Luke Berger: Company spokesman for his older brother’s company, Bigger Burgers as Bigger Burger Guy.

He got the job after dropping out of college. Not because he couldn’t hack it, but losing his best friend and girlfriend at the same time reminded him of losing both parents when he was ten.

What makes Bonnie lovable?
She acts serious and focused at work, but goofy and funny around Charlie away from the office. She pushes people away when they become too close as she expects them to leave like her husband did her, and her father did her mother. This leaves her feeling she needs to protect Charlie from the world’s hurts.

What makes Luke lovable?
He drifts through life and goes with the flow as he’s friendly to everyone, but secretly longs for a commitment he is afraid to face. He is afraid of losing the one he cares about as he did his parents. He learned kindness and politeness from his grandparents on the farm where they raised, he and his brother.

What causes Bonnie to be attracted to Luke?
• His kindness to Charlie even though he was busy and needed to return to work.
• His genuine character – he doesn’t put on a front.
• His honesty
• He’s working a job he doesn’t like to help his brother

 
What causes Luke to be attracted to Bonnie?
• She reminds him of his grandmother – hardworking but willing to have fun.
• She values family, even though she has been disappointed in the past.
• She kept on going through her life’s hardships. She set goals and didn’t gave up.

What needs does Luke fulfill for Bonnie?
• The possibility of a long-term love as a family with Charlie.
• Reminder that family is more important than work
• Someone she can trust, share with, and depend on.

What needs does Bonnie fulfill for Luke?
• The possibility of long-term love and commitment
• Finding that someone likes him for his self, not for his riches or fame.
• Someone who believes in him and his ideas, not just treat him as the CEO’s little brother.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by  Timothy Hicks. Reason: Didn't retain formatting

[Roni Halpern]

Two People Who Belong Together: Two exes not from New York, end up living in NYC, reconnecting to survive in the city socially.
How Are They Separated: They are exes, and it ended badly – both know they aren’t a match romantically – both afraid of big things, similar in fears.
What Forces Them together: dating in NYC is so brutal, that they lean on the friendship
Issues to be Resolved: their immaturity and definition of love changes in this journey
On Their Journey of Love: They redefine love, belonging, caring, and hash the past problems .

What I learned in the last class is how each character has to have a character flaw that the other naturally offers the solution to, and how both journies have to complete one another,

[Katie Andrews]

Katie’s Rom Com Project

What I learned doing this assignment is how much I love getting into the characters and imagining their lives and worlds.

WHO IS SHE?

Lara is excellent at business, and is highly valued at her company but she struggles with the interpersonal parts of her job and communicating with her colleagues. Her goal is to make her family business even more successful than it was when her dad was alive. This includes living out her dad’s biggest dream: to own a canal tour boat business in Copenhagen.

WHO IS HE?

Lars is amazing with people and the customers at his family’s canal boat business in Copenhagen give him excellent reviews, but he struggles with bookkeeping and budgeting. This is a sore spot between him and his mom, who owns the business. But he’s been giving tours since he was 7 years old and can’t imagine doing anything else.

WHAT MAKES THEM LOVABLE?

Lara works hard at everything she does. She runs the numbers and sweats the small stuff in the very best way. She always over delivers and does it under budget. Ironically she’s a huge people pleaser even though she’s not a big people person. Family is the only thing that she’s more passionate about than business. And she feels that when she takes over this Copenhagen business, she will finally have made her dad proud of her.

Lars is magnetic and can talk to anyone. He loves his job. At least when he’s in the boat giving tours of his hometown Copenhagen. When he’s back at the office crunching numbers and making budgets, he’s miserable. His mother tries to help, but it rubs him the wrong way and they have a challenging relationship. He wants to make her proud and be the perfect son who can grow the business, but he knows he’s falling short.

WHAT ATTRACTS THEM TO EACH OTHER?

Lars’s charm and ease with people puts Lara at ease immediately. She lets down her guard and can be her true self around him. She admires how he can speak in public off-script and have everyone on his tours laughing and hanging on his every word.

Lara’s matter of factness impresses Lars. She seems to be able to size up any situation quickly and brainstorm solutions to problems he’s had for years in mere minutes. He admires her mind for business, her dedication to her family and how she follows through with everything she plans to do.

They are attracted to each other because of chemistry, their shared sense of humor, and their loyalty to their families above all else. They also both need to separate themselves from their family’s plans and take a look at what they each want individually.

WHAT NEEDS DOES EACH FULFILL FOR THE OTHER?

Lara wants to achieve her dad’s dream, but needs to ask herself what her own dreams are. Lars reminds her that her dad won’t be there to see her achieve his dream. And what her dad would probably like more is to see her achieve her own dreams.

Lars wants to always be in the moment, but he also needs to also take a look down the road and see if what he’s doing is sustainable. His lack of planning means his business is in financial trouble and he doesn’t have any idea how to fix it. Lara helps him see possibilities he’s never imagined in his work life, and in his personal life too.

[Alison Benson]

What I learned doing this assignment is the two main characters must be loveable from the get go so the audience wants to go on their journey and root for them. They must need the same thing but be polar opposites.

WHO IS SHE?

INA JOHNSON is 20 something, fearlessly outspoken with a tongue that is often too smart for her own good. She refuses to conform to anyone’s expectations, a thorn in her parents’ side as they try to matchmake her with someone Jewish. She’s the beast in Beauty and the Beast. She lives with her best friend, MICHELLE ALEXANDER, equally outspoken but knows when to stop.

WHO IS HE?
DAVE TANGAROA, late 20s, the ‘beauty’. He’s a decent guy, sweet, affectionate, a bit naive, likes how he looks. He’s a Polynesian Christian evangelist who has lucked out with dating beautiful women who throw themselves at him then ending up with shallow gold diggers who only want his body. He still lives at home.

WHAT MAKES THEM LOVEABLE?
Ina loves her granddad visiting him regularly at his nursing home. She is cheeky to other residents who also love her and want her to be happy in love. She is Daddy’s little girl despite being so opinionated.

Dave is a gentleman but gets screwed over by unappreciative, shallow but beautiful women. He’s a victim of undeserved misfortune getting hurt repeatedly by dating women who are insecure and shallow.

WHAT ATTRACTS THEMSELVES TO EACH OTHER?

Emotionally – Dave is attracted to Ina’s independence and that she is unapologetically herself.
Physically: He loves her curly hair. It’s insane.
Physically: Ina is attracted to Dave’s size, muscles and tattoos.
Emotionally: Realizes he has integrity.

WHAT NEEDS DOES EACH FULFILL FOR THE OTHER?

They both need love. Their weaknesses are they are cynical from bad experiences. Ina believes men are narcissistic, Dave believes women are flakey and insecure.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by  Alison Benson.
• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by  Alison Benson.

[H.B. Faulkner]

H. B. Faulkner’s Rom Com Project

What I learned doing this assignment is certain, deeper aspects and fitting attributes of my characters that didn’t have to be worked out but were lying under the surface already and just flowed when prompted by these questions.

1.
Who is she?

An artist, who is running away from disapproval and toward an illusive, ideal picture of an artist’s life.

Who is he?

A mountain man hermit, hiding away from life and the world and trying to keep old dreams buried, because he bares immense guilt about a tragedy.

What makes them lovable?

She’s quirky, playful, and fun. She sees the best in strangers and is always trying to help them discover their destinies.

He’s a giant, surly monster-looking man, who willingly plays the part of the “mountain troll man”, in order to keep people at arm’s distance. But evidence presents itself of some surprising ineptitudes but also a huge heart, when he can’t help but rescue those weaker than him–physically as well as educationally.

What attracts them to each other?

He sees her as a breath of fresh air in his stale, small, hermit world, and as a kindred spirit–in the sense that she is also self-sufficient and navigating life without loved ones, and also seems to ache for those missing people.

She sees thru his surly exterior to his generosity and encouraging nature, by watching him care for and teach the camp kids and by what certain endearing items he keeps around his otherwise stark, masculine home.

They are both intelligent, wise-cracking pranksters, compelled to one-up each other, and this builds excitement in their hearts for each other, beginning as familial affection, but turning into romantic love.

What needs does each fulfill for the other?

He seems to her to be accepting and appreciative of her giftings, and this causes her creativity to blossom, as well as her love.

She is life for his dead world, and she makes him feel like his former hopeful, dreaming self, which also causes his own love, and maybe some hopes, to come to life.

2.

3.

4.

[Karen Tolliver]

Karen Tolliver. RomCom Project


What I learned doing this assignment is how much it helps to see the RomCom puzzle being formed. By knowing who they are, how they are attracted to each other helps to fulfill the need inside each one and this piece of the puzzle is a key component to complete the project.

Who is she?
Bree Scott an Investment Banker who works for Goldman Sachs. She works very hard and has no time for any man, just work and church (not your traditional church). Opening scene we see all her awards on the wall behind her sitting at her home office on the phone in pajamas.

2. Who is He?
Addison Swan a Fashion Stylist who was a high fashion model and now works freelance for Ralph Lauren, Armani, Louis Vuitton etc. We open with Addison at the biggest Designer Fashion Show of the year.

3. What makes them lovable?
Bree: She’s kind, very giving, spiritual and will give her all to everything she does.

Addison: Generous, super intelligent and shares his information to anyone who ask. Knows how to make you feel special.

4. What attracts them to each other?
What causes Bree to be attracted to Addison:
Very sharp dresser, very funny, very protective he makes sure you’re safe, and his honesty.

What causes Addison to be attracted to Bree:
She’s independent, she thinks of his needs and fulfills them before he knows he needs them. She’s very funny, intelligent, and her honesty.

5. What needs do they fulfill for each other?
What needs does Addison fulfill for Bree:
A true open and honest partnership something she has dreamed for most of her life. A strong connection who she can grow with, she has a lot in common with him. Someone to have adventures with and she can trust him completely.

What needs does Bree fulfill for Addison:
Someone who will take care of him, he knows she’s got his back. He trust her. A partner he can accomplish completing his work with. A person who is strong and can hold her own. A person who pumps him up by giving him positivity each day.

[Karen Tolliver]

Karen Tolliver. RomCom Project

What I learned doing this assignment is how much it helps to see the RomCom puzzle
being formed. By knowing who they are, how they are attracted to each other helps to
fulfill the need inside each one and this piece of the puzzle is a key component to
complete the project.

1. Who is she?
Bree Scott an Investment Banker who works for Goldman Sachs. She works very hard
and has no time for any man, just work and church (not your traditional church).
Opening scene we see all her awards on the wall behind her sitting at her home office on
the phone in pajamas.

2. Who is He?
Addison Swan a Fashion Stylist who was a high fashion model and now works freelance
for Ralph Lauren, Armani, Louis Vuitton etc. We open with Addison at the biggest
Designer Fashion Show of the year.

3. What makes them lovable?
Bree: She’s kind, very giving, spiritual and will give her all to everything she does.
Addison: Generous, super intelligent and shares his information to anyone who ask.
Knows how to make you feel special.

4. What attracts them to each other?
What causes Bree to be attracted to Addison:
Very sharp dresser, very funny, very protective he makes sure you’re safe, and his
honesty.
What causes Addison to be attracted to Bree:
She’s independent, she thinks of his needs and fulfills them before he knows he needs
them. She’s very funny, intelligent, and her honesty.

5. What needs do they fulfill for each other?
What needs does Addison fulfill for Bree:
A true open and honest partnership something she has dreamed for most of her life. A
strong connection who she can grow with, she has a lot in common with him. Someone
to have adventures with and she can trust him completely.
What needs does Bree fulfill for Addison:
Someone who will take care of him, he knows she’s got his back. He trust her. A partner
he can accomplish completing his work with. A person who is strong and can hold her
own. A person who pumps him up by giving him positivity each day.