Description

Listen if you're writing a romcom and want to understand what makes this gentre tick.

With Stu busy working on Hollywood blockbusters, Chas is joined by Alli Parker (script department on Aussie TV series and former co-ordinator of European #scriptchat) to unpick successful romcoms to see if they can illuminate a path for writers working in this struggling genre. Cheap to produce and potentially highly lucrative, Chas and Alli look at RomCom's conventions to see what it may take to reinvigorate this genre.

To that end, they look at deep breath WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, WHAT IF, THE PROPOSAL, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, NOTTING HILL, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS as well as special mentions to GOING THE DISTANCE, SEAN OF THE DEAD and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

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FILMS

• WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... (1989) — (w) Nora Ephron (d) Rob Reiner
• (500) DAYS OF SUMMER (2009) — (w) Michael H Weber, Scott Neustadter (d) Marc Webb
• THE PROPOSAL (2009) — (w) Peter Chiarelli (d) Anne Fletcher
• NOTTING HILL (1999) — (w) Richard Curtis (d) Roger Michell

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... (1989) — Nora Ephron
• Study the script: (500) DAYS OF SUMMER (2009) — Michael H Weber, Scott Neustadter
• Study the script: THE PROPOSAL (2009) — Peter Chiarelli
• Study the script: NOTTING HILL (1999) — Richard Curtis

LINKS

• Read: Vulture.com: 10 Most Over-Used Romantic Comedy Plot-Points
• Read: Goodreads: Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit
• YouTube: WHAT IF trailer
• YouTube: (500) DAYS OF SUMMER - Expectations vs Reality
• YouTube: Girls (HBO) Season 2 Episode 10 Finale
• Read: NewStatesman: "Let's talk about genre" - Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro in conversation
• Read: TheDailyDot.com: The Mako Mori Test: 'Pacific Rim' inspires a Bechdel Test alternative
• Read: Wikipedia: Cosmic Encounter

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-04: Catharsis and the Post-Coital Cigarette
• DZ-13: True That - Tips from Tarantino

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If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2015/dz-22/