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Writing the Romantic Comedy
List price: $15.00
Sale price: $10.95
You save: $4.05 (27%)
Author(s): Billy Mernit
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 791
EAN: 9780060935030
ISBN: 0060935030
Label: Collins
Language(s): English Original LanguageEnglish UnknownEnglish Published
List Price: $15.00
Manufacturer: Collins
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Package Dimensions:
Height: 0.55"
Width: 5.28"
Length: 0.55"
Weight: 0.57 lbs.
Product Group: Book
Address: 2001-08-01
Publisher: Collins
Release Date: 2001-07-31
Studio: Collins
Editorial Reviews
Product Description:
From the slapstick shenanigans of Hepburn and Grant in Bringing Up Baby to the sexy repartee of Shakespeare in Love, romantic comedies have delighted filmgoers -- and challenged screenwriters -- since Hollywood's Golden Age. Whether you're a first time screenwriter, or an intermediate marooned in the rewriting process, this thoroughly charming and insightful guide to the basics of crafting a winning script will take you step by step from "cute meet" all the way to "joyous defeat." You'll learn the screenwriting secrets behind some of the funniest scenes ever written; how to create characters and dialogue that set the sparks flying; why some bedroom scenes sizzle and others fall flat; and much more. Writing the Romantic Comedy features case studies drawn from beloved romantic comedies such as When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, Tootsie, and The Lady Eve, as well as field-tested writing exercises guaranteed to short-circuit potential mistakes and ensure inspiration.
Amazon.com Review:
According to Billy Mernit, all the Hollywood studios--and most major actors--"are actively seeking romantic comedies." But the same studios and actors reject hundreds of romantic comedies a month. Mernit should know. As a story analyst who has read nearly 4,000 screenplays in the last 10 years, Mernit has seen the good, yes, but also too much of the bad and the ugly. With Writing the Romantic Comedy, Mernit presents his UCLA Extension rom-com writing workshop in book form. Believe it or not, it's not enough to have Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks play the leads. You actually have to create characters for them--characters that an audience will believe "absolutely must end up together." Mernit manages to lay down ground rules without seeming rigid: "he can't be in it only for the sex"; "she can't be in it only for the money"; "at least one scene or sequence [should be] laugh-out-loud funny." Mernit offers five ways to bring your characters to life and seven basic romantic comedy "beats." He has chapters on chemistry, humor, dialogue, and sex ("in romantic comedy, there's nothing sexier than sublimated sex"), and he draws generously upon the surprisingly small canon of great romantic comedies to demonstrate his points. Finally, given that the conflicts in romantic comedies are internal, you needn't look far for inspiration when you feel stuck. "Think of one of the most painful, humiliating, embarrassing things that ever happened to you with someone of the opposite sex," he says, and go from there. --Jane Steinberg
Customer Reviews Average rating - 5.0
Rating - 4 Date: 2008-12-11
Content: Are you are a Big Fan of Romantic Comedies? Take this three question quiz!
Which Director of the Romantic comedy "the more the merrier" went on to direct "Giant" with James Dean
A) Preston Sturges
B) George Stevens
C) Elia Kazan
Which actor hasn't stared in separate movies directed by Preston Sturges AND George Stevens
A) Bill McCrea
B) Peter Lorre
C) Charles Coburn
Who has starred with Meg Ryan more times?
A) Billy Crystal
B) Tom Hanks
If you guessed B all the way down the line, have I got the book for you! How to write a Romantic Comedy is a fun breakdown of the various devices and structures that go into making a Romantic Comedy great. With ideas, exercises and meditations culminated from the UCLA extension class taught by Mr. Mernit himself, this book will entertain the screenwriter and romantic Comedy Buff alike.
Rather than a how to book on Comedy, HTWARC takes scenes and plots from movies and dissects them illustrating the principles within each chapter. Movies like Tootsie and The Lady Eve are broken down by spine and scene to reveal ideas about sex appeal and imagery in comedic cinema. Anyone would get a kick out of this book in that kind of "watch how a magician reveals his tricks" kind of way, and Mernit speaks with the tender zeal of a true enthusiast.
The only section strictly devoted to screenwriting is the last 30 pages. Mernit has been a Studio reader for many years and I learned things about writing that I hadn't learned before and could apply immediately. There aren't any hard and fast rules, just tips to improve performance. Three sentences on sentences structure towards the end completely changed my writing style. (Hopefully for the Better!)
If you are a screenwriter tired of people cramming books like save the cat, Syd Field's Screenwriting, or Story down your throat, take a walk off the beaten path and give this book a try, the least you will have is a good time.
Summary: Isn't it Romantic!!! (yyeeaahhh)
Rating - 5 Date: 2008-01-30
Content: Truly an excellent guide to the romantic comedy genre and how to write within it. Perfect for an intermediate writer who wants to branch out into this kind of screenwriting; could even be useful for short stories and novels, because the ideas translate well. Very well written, entertaining, never boring, and always enlightening. Loved it and consider it a must-have in my screenwriting/writing library.
Summary: Excellent and Entertaining
Rating - 5 Date: 2007-09-18
Content: I recommend this book for all writers - not just screenwriters. He has a way of making it so clear all the clever ways not to fall into the usual traps of a typical scene.
Whether you are writing a book or a movie the information he presents how to establish relationships between characters is tremendous. It's also a fun read.
I refer to it often when building characters, relationships, and their world.
Summary: Great Book for All Writers
Rating - 5 Date: 2007-06-27
Content: This IS the book for anyone interested in writing a romantic comedy. Simple and easy to follow with great examples from films we love. It's all about the chemistry. If you want to write an emotional picture...this is the book for you. Writing the Romantic Comedy is your ticket to writing a romcom that sells!
Summary: romcom how to
Rating - 5 Date: 2005-09-11
Content: I've been working on my text for a while and struggling with
it. Once I start reading the book I knew I was in right hands because page after page I immediately start finding out answers for my questions. I gained time and saved much of my energy for writing the better. Definitely value of my money.
ILKSEN BAS f/36
Summary: this book is what I needed
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