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Coffee & Content: How To Write A Hit Romantic Comedy Screenplay

RB's Ask Me Anything- April
Posted by Richard "RB" Botto

Happy Sunday, Creative Army!

Have you had a creative weekend so far? Valentine's Day is coming up and I have some content here for you that is sure to get those loving creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. 

First up, the Writers Guild Foundation recently put together a round table of some phenomenal screenwriters to discuss the romantic comedy genre. While many critics lament the "demise" of this genre, the truth is that it never actually goes away, it simply takes on new forms as you can see in the wide variety of projects penned by the screenwriters. The roundtable includes Tracy Anderson (The Holiday Sitter, All Sants Christmas), Sahar Jahani (Hana Khan Carries On, The Bold Type), Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith (Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You), and Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Larry Crowne). 

Next, Indie Film Hustle interviews Steve Kaplan about what makes a great romantic comedy. This video is interesting in that Shyer has a much more limited view of what makes a good romcom than most, as he veers away from the idea of 'romantic' love and premise-driven scripts, in favor of relationship-driven romcoms, such as When Harry Met Sally. 

For more on this topic, we have some fantastic resources here on the site. If you want to learn about how to write and produce a romantic comedy today, we have an on-demand webinar with executive Matt Bierman on making Holiday Romantic Comedy films. This webinar was actually so popular that this week he'll be hosting another one this week that goes beyond the holiday-driven films to all romantic comedies. Also, a staple of just about every famous romantic comedy is the dialogue, and this week, veteran writer and producer Brian Herskowitz hosted a webinar on The Art of Dialogue. Plus, Writers' Room members can head to the Vault to check out this week's Script Breakdown with Failure to Launch scribe Matt Ember.

Finally, if you haven't heard, I'm hosting an AMA this Friday, February 17th, on the State of the Industry. Click here to join, it's free for everyone to attend and get your questions answered!

As always, here at Stage 32, we love to share stories and knowledge with our fellow film fans. Know someone who would love this content? Share it with them! Tag them below! You can keep up with all of our content by subscribing to the Stage 32 YouTube. For more inspirational, educational, and motivational content on all things entertainment industry, follow me on Instagram and Twitter @rbwalksintoabar.

Wishing you a very happy, healthy, & creative Sunday.

Cheers,

RB

Anatomy of a Meet Cute | Writers Guild Foundation

Romantic Comedy Structure | Indie Film Hustle

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