Wendall Thomas Talks Scripts: GENRE: A FINE ROMANCE - The Past & Future of Romantic Comedy Writing
Romantic comedies, from It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby and When Harry Met Sally to Strictly Ballroom, 500 Days of Summer and The Proposal, have always been audience favorites. Romantic comedy conventions and beats have also contributed emotional B-stories to many hit comedies like The 40 Year Old Virgin, Bridesmaids and Trainwreck.
This workshop discusses memorable pairings from 1934 through 2016, breaking down the classic structure, and exploring genre conventions (such as the "meet cute", fights, best friends, and declarations of love) which can be useful in creating effective romantic subplots in any genre. The workshop also explores the challenges of writing and producing the romantic comedy in today's marketplace, considering options for the Millennial and Baby Boomer audiences, and all the demographics in between.