Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

A Woman's Choice; Exploring Issues in Rom-Com Movies: Volume 72

Ahhh... Allegra Cole visited me in my dreams last night.  And we swam together in a swimming pool, no less!

Okay, BEFORE we get into my dream, and how a "hottie" like her got in my dream I'll bring you up to speed as to who Allegra Cole is...

Allegra Cole was the love interest of Albert Brennaman (Kevin Jame's character) from the 2005 movie, HITCH; which stared Will Smith and had Eve Mendez as his journalist love interest, Sara.   I ranked HITCH, 24th in terms of my favorite rom-com movies of all-time.  From this post, here was my quick summary justifying my feelings about the Hitch (2005: written by Kevin Bisch, directed by Andy Tennant):

"I wasn't real sold on the main love storyline between Hitch and Sara (Will Smith/Eva Mendez) but the Albert and Allegra (Kevin Smith/Amber Valletta) B romantic storyline made me smile a lot." 

So in MY opinion HITCH had "something" with the Albert/Allegra romance, but was lacking something with its central romance between Hitch and Sara.  I'll go a little more into why Hitch (Will Smith)/Sara (Eva Mendes) didn't work.  You talk about contrived!  A romance fixer falls for a skeptical journalist feels unreal and totally contrived.  Now IF you have strong enough set pieces a romantic comedy CAN overcome that sand in your shorts, but alas; imo Will Smith and Eva Mendez DIDN'T pull that off.  I didn't like either of their characters and the scenes they were in weren't funny enough to overcome their character and they way they played them.  

Here's Hitch's logline (which I cut and pasted off IMBD):

A smooth-talking man falls for a hardened columnist while helping a shy accountant woo a beautiful heiress.

Here's a trailer put out to promote an audience going to see this romantic comedy:

I would classify HITCH as an Ego-com.  Remember that gem from August of 2011?  I thought not, hence the link reminder.  HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS (2003) being the gold standard as to how to overcome a two contrived leads through great set pieces.  Anywho, now that you're acclimated as to who Allegra Cole is let's delve into how she got be in one of E.C. Henry's dreams...

My dream last night was an unexpected delight.  I was in a swimming pool with Amber Valletta.  There was a Hollywood party going on around us, and Amber's boyfriend was watching us from his table.  As we treaded water together Amber said that she was a screenwriter too, we connected and talked about that.  She smiled at me, and then I kissed her...  She then looked at me funny, and did not reciprocate further lovey-dovie stuff.  Then the dream ended.

Will Albert and Allegra kiss or not?!  (Gotta rent the movie to find out)

Not much of a dream, but in all honesty I don't dream about romantic escapades with women very much.  Can't ever remember dreaming of Jennifer Love Hewitt (my first female "muse" as a writer 2001-2009), nor Taylor Swift (muse status 2014 - 20018), nor Kaya Jones (muse status 2020).  Just so you know I use my female "muse" as my inspiration, the ideal female for romantic exploits in rom-com applications.  Only girl I ever had "pinned up" on my wall was --

Paulina Porizkova

I bring my "muses" up, because the "dream" of swimming with Allegra Cole really came out of the blue.  You'd think I'd be dreaming about some other girl from my past, but I didn't I dreamed of treading water, trying to connect with someone in the pool with me, then getting romantically rejected.  

But when I woke up, that's when it dawned on my the significance of "a woman's choice".  Ultimately it's the woman's choice who her "man" will be.  Paulina chose Ric Ocasek of the pop band the Cars fame, Jennifer Love Hewitt is married with a least one kid now, Taylor Swift's current beau is Joe Alwyn: an English actor who has yet to hit it big, and Kaya Jones has a love interest that she's committed to, I THINK the guy's name is Derek. 

So where does that leave ol' E.C.?  Well, for starters I'm not in the same league as Paulina, JLH, T.S., or Kaya.  These were all people who had a fan base and were popular public figures at one point.  Me, I'm just an undiscovered "little guy".  So, YES, I do know my place in the grand scheme of things...

But this dream got to to think about how cool it is when a woman does commit to a guy.  I wrote about this a LONG TIME ago in the script, "CUPID'S HELPERS", a rom-com from yours truly 2005/2006, my 6th spec. script written (as remember from a couple posts ago I said I also wrote a Planet of the Apes spec. script which I'm not allowed to share for copyright reasons).  Anyway the logine for CUPID'S HELPERS is this:

An award winning romantic comedy writer experiences romantic foibles of his own after a business associate, who has a secret crush on the writer, joins him on a trip back to his hometown for his high school reunion.  There, at the reunion, the writer reunites with his own secret crush, who was the inspiration for the writing that made him famous.

A while back, when I updated my rom-com sub-genre post to include the spec. scripts that I had written I classified CUPID'S HELPERS as a Destiny rom-com.  I slotted CUPID'S HELPERS this way because it's central question revolves around a writer coming to grips with a crush he had in his past and LETTING HER GO, and in fact in the story actually helping her save her marriage.  Destiny over ego in this one.  Yes, various aspects of working careers were played with in CUPID'S HELPERS but in the end its about people coming to peace with their own hearts and the romances that they're engaged with.  That's the fun thing about writing romantic comedies is that you can delve into issues like that.  

The older I get, I'm 51 now will be 52 on June 10th, the LESS I think about romance and stuff like that.  I think that's true of most other people too.  Gotta find your mate when you're young.  Get older and don't have that person and the pickings get fewer and your drive lessens.  Maybe that's why so many people divorce when they get older... Their sex drive lessens, and they evolve into something else that they weren't when they first get married.  BOOM!  Welcome this blog, remember it is called INSIDE THE BRAIN OF E.C. HENRY.  And here that's what you get my musing for better or worse.  

Wish I could have seen more of Amber Valletta -- acting & as a model when she was younger.  Wow, what a hottie!  But eventually Father Time catches up with us all. 

Still, the movies we see DO have an impact on our psyche and our lives.  My dream last night proves as much.  HITCH (2005) wasn't a great movie, YET one of its characters and storylines made it into my dreams!  How cool is that?!!  Amber, you're welcome come visit me in the pool anytime!  And if you want to reciprocate the kiss I gave you (in my dream) even better!!  Until, then I will, as I've always done, RESPECT a woman's choice.  Maybe someday somoene will choose me!  I think that's why cavemen had those clubs, too many of their romantic foibles need a more physical approach.  (Just kidding, that was a joke) 

Romantic Comedies are for people like me.  People in the pool who have yet to have their romantic overtures reciprocated, and so we tread on...  

P.S. I'm probably going to start work on SO GO BACK & GET HIM starting tomorrow.  It's my sequel to SO GO BACK & GET HER -- only with a different protagonist.  So be expecting a FRESH POST from yours truly in the next couple days on that...  I may be rejected by the world of women, but I haven't rejected them.

Writing Outlines for Romantic Comedy Spec. Scripts; Exploring Issues in Rom-Com Movies: Volume 77

"Drew, writing romantic comedy outlines is like a night at the beach!"

Since I'm hot-n-heavy on the trail of writing spec. script # 31, which just so happens to be a raunchy romantic comedy, so I thought it would be apropos to do a post on how to write an outline for a such a thing. 

Sure, there's not a lot going on in the world of romantic comedies these days.  It's nearly been a year since Sydney Sweeney's Anyone But You got a wide release, and some modest buzz.  Before that we had Jennifer Lawrence's No Hard Feelings.  Now that was definitely a raunchy romantic comedy.  But a little over a years after it's release it's like that movie never existed.  Wading back a little further Amy Schumer made some noise in the genre doing I Feel Pretty (2018) and Trainwreck (2015).  Being real one would hafta confess that this genre has been pretty low profile since Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, and Katherine Heigl stopped doing rom-com material back in the early 2010s.  This led me to think the genre needed a new rom-com queen... Now I also realize it needs more great minds committed do doing such fare.  Where is the next Richard Curtis, who is famous for British accented rom-coms such as: Four Weddings and Funeral (1994), Knotting Hill (1999), Love Actually (2003), About Time (2013, which helped launch the Margot Robbie)?  Or the next John Hughes: Sixteen Candles (1984) The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), Home Alone (1990), Career Opportunities (1991)?

Thankfully for you the next big thing in the rom-com industry is the one typing you this message.  I'm back in my element.  Back where I'm most happy, which just so happens to be penning romantic comedy material.  Done screenplays 30 to date.  And by the end of the year I should have my latest done.  Right now, however, I'm hot-n-heavy into its outline and character building.  So let's dive in and explore what goes into the process when E.C. Henry writes an outline. 

"Yay, a true champion of the rom-com cause in the house!"

Thanks, Amy!  I'll do my best.  And just so you know, I like you too! 

Now, when it come to content creation I think it's best to take a multi-pronged approach.  I don't subscribe to the belief that you compartmentalize aspects of story building.  Rather, I believe you build them all up at the same time.  First, off inspiration rule!  So when you commit to rom-com material always act on what "pops" at any given moment and record that down on a piece of paper or in a computer document.  Having an amble stable of critical mass really helps write an outline and then later the spec. script screenplay.  

The outline stage comes after you have committed yourself to writing a projects.  Even if you don't have a lot critical mass: plot points, scene ideas, good dialog; you can begin the outline stage, it will just be a little tougher.  I write ALL MY SCREENPLAYS using a basic three act structure.  I've read some of the how-to books that detail other ways of looking at story structure, but I really don't give them any credence when writing my own.  It's ACT I, ACT II, and ACT III for me.  I also like to use the ACT Breakpoints for ACT I and II, what my INCITING INCIDENT or CUTE MEET is -- in the case of romantic comedy, and a THE END declaration statement of the last impression to the audience the story ends at.  In between all this are scenes.  The are the master beats of the story, where all the action takes place.  I try to use catchy phrases to define the master beats or scenes in my outline.

So on the surface I don't have overly complicated stories.  My outlines are very legible.  I use an outline template in word perfect which proves spacing between the major delineations.  Here's where I left off in one of my past screenplays entitled Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School:

This will give you an idea of how I format and use my outlines.  Recently I've been tacking on a logline entry to them as well.  You'll notice that for the first part of the outline I had page numbers, and then they stopped, and it looks like their was a break in the sequence of events -- there was!  I think I outlined this story until I had enough critical mass to feel I could complete the screenplay.  I think when writing Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School I started page budgeting (summarizing pages the scenes were taking up) because I was worried about not falling within the exceptable range of pages for a completed, feature-length screenplay which is 90 to 120 pages.  

An outline doesn't have to be pretty.  Your notes and writers scratchpad are by reputation shabby things.  The PURPOSE of an outline is so that you can see the flow of you scene and see your story a whole -- not to win to spelling contest!  Your romantic comedy screenplay's outline is is like an areal view down on the forest, where you see the whole track from beginning to end.  If at anytime you feel led to write scenes in Final Draft (professional screenwriting software) so for it!  An outline exists to help a writer make sense of his or her story, and find out what works and what needs some work.  Moreso your outline is a place to hone your story logic.  An outline is not the actual screenplay itself, but more of a map or proof of your thoughts of how the story should go.  

I didn't write a "CUTE MEET" in the outline for Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School because it was a TEEN COMEDY, it's just in this teen comedy it had a major romantic comedy B-storyline between Kathy Smith and one of her classmates, Dustin Maddox; and in the logic of the story Kathy slowly befriends Dustin and over the course of events they trend closer to being more of a romantic, first foray into dating relationship.  

A good "cute meet" can happen anywhere -- even at Smart Tech!

When writing I'm never tethered to the outline.  Rather, this support, is more a crutch.  A good outline will logically go through the story and organize your former inspiration: dialog, potentially parts in scenes, cinematic camera shots, and what the scene accomplishes.

I also outline each individual scenes or master sequences in my story.  In this outline I break it down to Master Sequence Name, Scene Essence, Goals, Beat, Pre-writing, and finally Author Notes.

"Scene Essence" is like the logline captitualization of the sequence, and in it it just summarizes what this master sequence is all about.  The "Goads" section specifies what I think this scene should accomplish.  The "goals" section is a good area to chart the development of the romance if you're writing a romantic comedy.  Most of the time I use the goals section to chart the arc of the characters as they're going through the story. 

"Beats" is a summary of individual act in a story.  "Pre-writing" is where I include aspects of inspiration that I think belong in this sequence that are screenwriting.  I use "pre-writing" to capture my imagination on page when outlining starts to become more actual screenwring: shot heading, dialog, transitions, exc. than mere outline form.  "Author Notes" is where I put songs the soundrack song that encapsulate that sequence, my thoughts on how big or small the scene will be, and any other consideration that don't belong in the beats or pre-writing section. 

Besides outlines I also write master character rosters and individual biography pages of major characters.  In my author friendly master character rosters I summarize the character in a brief paragraph detailing their function in the story, most times adding a physical description, and their role using such descriptors as: main protagonist, main antagonist, romantic rival, mentor, comic relief, supporting character, minor or bit character, and referenced character for those who are named by don't have any screentime.  

Outlines depicting story action, and the main character arcs, play-off each other.  I don't write them separately.  Characters and the story belong together and feed off each other.  There is only so much one can tame the "chaos of creation".  With this in mind EXPECT your story outlines and character bios and listings to be a little disjointed.  Realize that outline and character bios are scaffolding, not the physical building itself.  But a good outline and character bio really helps when it comes to putting pen to paper and writing your first draft of the screenplay. 

If you do not outline your chances of having a story that is lacking clarity goes up exponentially.  

Outlines and character bios have value!  So don't think you're "not writing" when you outline.  Actually when you lay these blueprint out, you are doing one the hardest aspect of writing which is to provide structure to all the inspiration that you've acquired.  

As pertains to rom-coms you can use colors or identifiers to track comedy and romance in a romantic comedy spec. script outline.  I like to use red to track key beat of romance, orange or green to track comedy beats, and the a third color tied to the overall story to track key beats.  I think it's wise to track the development of your story romances using red or "ROMANCE" identifiers.  Color coding or using the "COMEDY" in your beats also helps you see if your story has enough funny stuff in it. 

Finding and identifying possible comedic moments in the romantic comedy you're writing is a very, very big deal.  Romantic comedies are supposed to be comedic in spots as an audience follows the stories of the characters involved in possible romances evolve over the course of the story.  Comedy is much harder to write than the romance aspects of the story.  The more comedy you find when your main couple is together, the better.  Realize that conflict and completing motivations is a writer's best friend when writing romantic comedies. 

Anyone But You TRIED to have this be one of their major comedic sequences, but...

When you write your character bios and go into the idiosyncrasy that make up your character who they are, usually therin in lies the uniqueness that makes them come alive.  Sometimes the action they do that makes them memorable.  Each main character in a romantic story should have an "arc".  A character arc is the growth or change that happens in them because of their role in the story.  

A lot of times when diving deeper into who your main character are you get ideas for necessary scenes in the script.  This happens to me all the time, and is one of the main reasons I've been able to write to complete so many scripts, it's because I have rich characters that feel alive. 

Creating characters that jump of the page and basically write themselves is one of the real joys of writing.  Doesn't always happen.  Sometimes it's a grind filling your world with non-cliche characters.  Not that cliche is always bad.  But you gotta know and have a feel for when it's okay to have a cliche character and when you really can't afford to have a character like that in such a role.  

So was it the centerpiece couple in No Hard Feelings:

or the uninspired story and supporting characters that made it so forgetible?

So it all plays off each other, write the outline and your supporting character stuff at the same time.  Follow your moments of inspiration and record them.  It is always better to have more than enough material to complete a story, than to have everything under thought and developed.  So don't be hard on yourself if it takes you a while to build up the outlines for your screenplays.  A good outline helps you see the story as a whole and chart the actions of your characters as a story with romantic elements unfolds.  

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

P.S. The goal for my latest rom-com project is to give the outline for it another month, then begin a screenplay document over the Labor Day weekend.  The first scene is really coming together, so I'll probably jump the gun and write that.  But I know the rest of the story, and interlinking character connections needs more work and development.  Writing My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets The 40-Year-Old Virgin, raunchy romantic comedy hasn't happened overnight.  Like a lot of things takes putting in the time and giving the project amble dedication.  Imagining --

As one of the stars, is really helping me on this one...  (More to come)

Comedic Characters or Set-Pieces? Exploring Issues in Rom-Com Movies: Volume 76

So when you think of funny romantic comedy movies, do you think more in-terms of off-beat characters or scenes? 

I tend to favor ones that have creative scenes that use more normal people who end up performing comedy.  Take for instance, A Fish Called Wanda.  That gem came out in 1988, and has one of the funniest scenes I can remember using the two leads: John Cleese and Jamie Lee Curtis:

Funny SCENE, involving two straight laced characters, John Cleese's "Archie Leech" and Jamie Lee Curtis's "Wanda".  

But many romantic comedy movies implore more of a character approach to injecting humor into their story.

Probably my favorite rom-com, comic relief characters off all-time is Joey Fusco Jr. as played by Michael Rispolli in While You Were Sleeping (1995).  

A slob's version of peacocking

Now in this gem of a movie, the real focus is how Sandra Bullock's "Lucy" character will trade love interests from the unconscious guy she saved from getting run over by a train Peter as played by Peter Gallagher, and the younger brother "Jack" as played by Bill Pullman, who the Lucy character falls in love with after some memorable moments.  The following scene is a wonderful showcase of how a comic relief character can inject some humor in a given scene:

This "leaning" scene, starts out as the build-up for a first kiss scene, with Jack prepping the waters and Lucy a willing reciprocant until the comedic relief shows up and changes the trajectory of momentum, which results in the moment being thwarted.  The Joey Fusco Jr. character is clownish caricature of a man.  The son of the supervisor of the apartment complex that Lucy is living in.  But in his delusional mind, Joey Fusco Jr. is a romantic rival who wants Lucy for himself.  In every scene Joey Fusco Jr. shows up in this movie, his function is comedic relief.  Most, if not all, of what Lucy and Jack say in this movie is serious in nature.  But the supporting character, and minor complication, that Joey Fusco Jr. is supplies a couple laughs along the way.  

While You Were Sleeping is a brilliant romantic comedy.  It is both romantic and funny at the same.  No, Joey Fusco Jr. doesn't shoulder the burden of carrying all the comedy in this movie, but his presence definitely helps.

Another comic relief character in a rom-com movie comes from Fredy Bauer: John Candy's character from Splash (1983).  

Freddy Bauer after a  racketball work-out  with his brother "Allan": Tom Hanks's character.

In Splash, John Candy plays a womanizing, carefree playboy who represents a family challenge to Allan once he re-discovers "Madison" the mermaid, and their love deepens.  Comedy on screen comes pretty naturally to John Candy.  In the movie Freddy does come around to using his free spirit to help his younger brother during his time Madison on land, but most of the time his schtick is one of comic relief.

In terms of the women's side the ledger, the first "name" that comes to mind was Mellisa McCarthy in Bridesmaids (2011).  I'll go on record as saying I wasn't a fan of that movie--I thought it was very overrated--but for some people the Mellisa McCarthy character was funny.  Emily Blunt was GREAT in a supporting role as Ruthie 'pigface' Drapper, who was an imposed romantic interest for "Dan" as played by Steve Carell in Dan in Real Life (2007).

In 13 Going on 30 (2004) the comic relief character is grown-up Jenna's hockey boyfriend: "Alex Carlson" as played by actor Samuel Ball.  In his role Alex Carlson is really no more than a caricature stereotype: the shallow minded, star athlete.  James Marsden played a similar caricature role as "Prince Edward" in the Amy Adams/Patrick Dempsey headlined movie Enchanted (2007).

Another of my favorite comic relief characters of all-time in the movies was Will Farrell's "Mugatu" from Zoolander (2001).  Though technically Mugatu was the master villain in the story, since he was a caricature parody of the fashion industry gone awry, I think think it's fair to also label Mugatu as being comic relief especially when he appears on screen at one point like this:

Mugutu mind control 

So when writing your romantic comedy material don't forget your over-the-top, comic relief characters.  I think it's best then you can have your leads actually act in comedic scenes together, but I've not always found that to be the case.  Many times the comedy in romantic comedies comes from the supporting characters, for more on writing humor in scripts, check this oldie out. 

Sometimes out of a bigger cast of characters, a comic relief character will emerge.  Like the outspoken "Aunt Voula" as played by Andrea Martin in --

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

It can't always be --

Capstone romantic moment.  Your leads have to EARN THE RIGHT to kiss.  And to do that your romantic comedy plot needs to have some twists and turns to it.  Your comic relief characters can help with those twist and turns that make the ultimate destination more memorable.  So I advice to always be looking for zanny character to be in the lives of the main lead in your romantic comedies, as they will add a spice of LIFE to your stories and make the journey to the first kiss so much more meaningful for your audience.

P.S. Next Sunday I'm off to Florida for a week-long vacation.  Hoping to get some work on then NEW, raunchy romantic comedy I'm working on.  Been writing notes in a journal at break time at the day job in effort to assemble enough critical mass to pull this feat off.  But in the past writing romantic comedy material has been some of the best times of my life.  Right now the goal is to transfer all acquired critical mass to a preliminary outline, character roster and bio sheets.  I'd like to leave for vacation with all the prep in typed out, more organized form.  


 

 

 

Effervescence of Jenna Rink; Celebrating Characters in Cinema: Volume 12

This is  effervescence  personified: Jennifer Garner's BRILLIANT portrayal of  "Jenna Rink"  in 13 Going on 30 (2004).  

That gem of a rom-com which ranks in my top four.  When it comes to E.C. Henry I see the best romantic comedies off all time being the clear favorites of: While You Were Sleeping (Sandra Bullock, 1994), Dan in Real Life (Steve Carrel, 2007), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Kate Hudson, 2002) and 13 Going on 30 (Jennifer Garner, 2004).  Depending my mood the order of those four may vary, but to me those are clearly the best four romantic comedies of all time.

Yeah the movie came out twenty years ago, but it's really a timeless story of childhood sweethearts, and the bonds they have.  Strangely enough the origins of this post really aren't from 13 Going on 20, but rather the Capital One commercials that Jennifer Garner has been in promoting the NCAA basketball tournament with fellow celbs Jim Nance, Charles Barkley and Samuel Jackson.  In watching those commercials I took note of Jennifer Garner and her supporting contributions, which usually featured Jennifer Garner smiling and injected levitivity.  

There is a persona an actor or actress carves out over time, and in retrospect of her the best word that comes out to describe Jennifer Garner is  effervescence  .  So what is  effervescence ?  As it's not a word you use everyday.  

 

 Effervescence  is 1) the property of forming bubbles, 2) an  appealingly lively quality  or the  state of being active, positive and full of energy 

 

So what goes into  effervescence ?   Smile ,  bounce to one's steps ,  uplifting attitude ,  one who injects life into the conversation .  For years the epitome of  this  was  Meg Ryan .  Sure  Meg  is in her 60s now, and doesn't project near appeal that she once did, but from the late 80s to 2000 there wasn't anyone who did  effervescence  better than her.   That  bounce to her step , the  happy smile  her characters were prone to give, all helped  Meg Ryan  carve out a  persona  the resonated with movie watchers FOR YEARS!  Sure, some of  that  wilted away starting in the early 2000s; but for a while she was  America's darling .  

So how does a wider swooth of actresses grade out in terms of  effervescence ?  Lets find out!

•  Jennifer Aniston : Definitely, a rom-com actress.  Started out in horror with the first movie in the Leprechaun series, then became a national darling due to her portray of "Rachel" in the NBC sit com, "Friends" which ran from 1994 to 2004.  I guess Ross courting of her in "Friends" had some  effervescence  to it.  But I think her appeal was more of the "pretty girl in waiting" syndrome which is a cousin of true  effervescence ,  Later, in her movie career, Jennifer played a slew of romantic, love interests; but she feel short of the  bounce ,  levity  and  likeableness  common to the persona carved out by the  adorable Meg Ryan  and the  playful-and-light female neighbor type ,   Jennifer Garner .  Still, I think   Jennifer Anisiton  came close to having  effervescence  be a staple of her appeal so I would rank her a  6  out 10.
• Sandra Bullock: An American actress who's carved a pretty diverse career in the actresses roles she's had.  Really got going in that thriller with Keanu Reeves, "Speed", but my favorite movie of hers will always be, While You Were Sleeping.  Sandra's appeal in that movie was as the shy girl in waiting.  There was innocence and cuteness about her "Lucy" character, but not really an effervescence.  The attraction that Bill Pullman's character of "Jack" had towards her was the closet Sandra Bullock ever got to being effervescent .  I always thought Sandra Bullock's overaching appeal was as a smart girl, who somewhat good looking, who is apt and able to take on threats.  So Sandra Bullocks  effervescence  rank is 4 out 10.
• Taylor Swift: More of a singer than an actress that's for sure.  The  vibe  she gives off usually is  effervescent  when she's letting her fans take selfies with her.  I've always thought Taylor Swift was more positive than negative, though some of her songs really have biting edge to them: Blank Space, Bad Blood, Look What You Made Me Do, Into the Woods.  So I see Taylor as a complex girl who showcases a wide range of emotion.  Though songs like  Love Story , You Belong With Me, State of Grace, and Untouchable, she has so much POSITIVE romantic energy.  Overall I would rank Taylor Swift as a 3 out of 10 on the  effervescence  with the caveat being that I think she's only displays that characteristic when she is excited about a budding romance that she's in, or trying to show her fans a good time at one of her concerts.  I don't think  effervescence  is a staple of Taylor Swift's personality.  Rather it's a trait that she taps into when she wants something or is trying to show her fans a good time. 
•  Jennifer Garner : Really only came on my radar AFTER 13 Going on 30.  I never watched an episode of Alias, which put her on the map.  But her role as  Jenna Rink  has an abundance of  effervescence , and ever since then I think she's made that a  staple of her persona .  Can't believe was married to Ben Affleck and even another guy gamed, Scott Foley (October 2000 - March 2004), before that.  Ben Affleck really doesn't come across as a good match for Jennifer, though they do have three kids together.  Still, I would rate  Jennifer Garner  a  9  out of 10 in terms of  effervescence , and the  benchmark standard  for that  category  .
• Jennifer Love Hewitt: Ewwwie, such a hot brunette in the late 90s-early 2000s.  Her  happy smile  sure is  effervescent .  And for a while she did play the pretty-girl-in-waiting roles, but her acting was never much to speak of.   Like Taylor Swift, Jennifer Love Hewitt, did have asperations of being a singer.  Had one really silly song entitled, "Let's Go Bang!"  Some of her off camera quotes don't lend themselves to  effervescence   either.  I would rater Jennifer Love Hewitt a 3 out of 10 in terms of  effervescence .

• Kate Hudson: suffers the same fate as Jennifer Love Hewitt when looked at.   Nice smile , but beyond that effervescence really capture her on-screen persona.  Gave the the best performance by a lead in a romantic comedy, imo, in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.  But that distinction didn't really come from effervescence.  She did display spurts of the trait, but Andie Anderson, had a myriad of different moods in the great romantic comedy.   I would rate Kate Hudson as a 2 out 10 in terms of  effervescence .
• Katherine Heigl: non known for her effervesce.  Have seen her several different rom-coms.  Usually as a woman in trouble: The Ugly Truth, Knocked Up, and 27 Dresses.  So she did a flurry of romantic comedies in the mid-to-late 2000s.  Her appeal was always a modern woman with a brain who wasn't afraid to mix it up the opposite sex.  I would rate Ketherine Heigl a 1 out 10 in terms of  effervescence .
• Amy Schumer: Her schtick has always been more on the effin than the effervescence.  She has always sought to give off a more slutty vibe.  Closest she ever came to being misconstued as being effervescent would be in spots of I Feel Pretty, and even then it was more of a bonked-on-the-head, anti-self temporary act.  Amy Schumer rank 0.5 out of 10 on the  effervescence   scale.
• Zooey Deschanel: Was in (500) Days of Summer and New Girl on Fox from 2010-2018.  Not a fan of her persona.   Nice smile if taken in a still shot, but once the cameras start rolling the negative undercurrent surfaces and torpedoes all.  0 out 10 rating.
• Jennifer Connolly: Never really studied her career.  Know she was in Career Opportunities (1991) and was the pretty girl love interest.  Is one these actresses that was in lot of things and sorta known, but never really known.  I would rank her a 1 in terms of  effervescence .
• Phoebe Cates: Wow back in the 1980s, it looked like this was the "it" girl for the next 20 years.  But outside of Fast Times at Ridgemond High and Gremlins, what has she done?  #crickets.  Still, her breif flurry as heart-throb can't be denied.  As such I would rank her a 4 in terms of  effervescence .  And if she continued to act, no reason to believe ranking wouldn't have ranked higher. 
•  Brooke Shields  : There was a time in the early 1980s where no girl exuded more innocent, sexual charm than Brooke Shields.  Unfortunately for her she doesn't have the longitivity in film.  But in all honesty  Brooke Shields  is the epitome of innoscent sexual; appeal, which is close cousin to  effervescence .  I would rank her a  5  in terms of  effervescence . 
• Alicia Silverstone: One of the grossly overrated actresses of all-time, imo.  Guess she had a mini-run of success in the mid to late 90s with Clueless and Blast from the Past.  But her persona was that of the romantic skeptic, which is on the opposite side of the rainbow from the hopeful effervescent.  Not even a fan of her smile...  I would rank Alicia Silverstone 0 in terms of effervescence. 
• Jennifer Lopez: A woman who has done some rom-com fare.  Who is a singer like Taylor Swift and Jennifer Love Hewitt.  But her Latina act doens't lend itself to innocent, sexual attraction.  But tends to gets sausy as "bodiqua".  I would rate her a 0.5 out of 10 in terms of effervescence.
  
• Cate Blanchette: Has always come across as way too serious.  Seldom even shows a playful side on screen.  I would rank her a 0 in terms of effervesce.  
• Rachel McAdams: Pretty lively girl.  Nothing of hers really stands out though: About Time, The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, Mean Girls.  Shows some flash of spunk and livliness.  I would rank her a 4 out 10 in that category.
• Andie McDowell: Has been in such memorable rom-coms as Groundhog Day, Green Card, and Four Weddings and Funeral.  In spots she's palpable on screen, but I was swayed by her physical charms.  She just comes across as an AVERAGE woman to me.  A little bit of bit of positive spunk, but never anything that amounts to anything.  I would rank her a 1 in terms of effervescence.  
•  Meg Ryan : Was the "it" girl of rom-coms for a while because of the  effervescent  vibe she brought to whatever movie she was in late 1980s - 2000.  Didn't maintain that trait as well as Jennifer Garner did.  Still I would rate Meg Ryan as a  8  out of 10 in terms of  effervescence .

So going from worst to  first :

Zoey Deschanel: 0

Cate Blanchette: 0

Alicia Silverstone: 0

Amy Schumer: 0.5

Jennifer Lopez: 0.5

Katherine Heigl: 1

Andie McDowell: 1

Jennifer Connelly: 1

Jennifer Hudson: 2

Taylor Swift: 3

Jennifer Love Hewitt: 3

Sandra Bullock: 4

Rachel McAdams: 4

Phoebe Cates: 4

 Brooke Shields  : 5

 Jennifer Aniston : 6

 Meg Ryan : 8

 Jennifer Garner : 9

The toast of today's post is  Jennifer Garner .  Yay!  And as you can see it's not that easy to add  effervescent  to your personna as a women.  Sexy doesn't not equal  effervescence , BUT  effervescence  is a part of a greater embodiment of what E.C. Henry considers sexy in a woman's behavior.

 Jennifer Garner  role as the  grown up Jenna Rink  in 13 Going on 30 is the best job an actresses has ever done at portraying a  girl's innocence, spunk, and fun  over the course of multiple scenes in a movie.  Like the time  she's lying on the bed accepting a limo ride to after-work party .  Or the way she utters the,  "Mattie!"  to call out to her childhood sweetheart.  Or the way  she takes over a failing dancing session with re-enactment of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", 

When  sexiness, innocence, and playfulness combine , you have a  formidable combination  that is VERY ATTRACTIVE to heterosexual men.  Effervescence  is the  opening and fun side of sexy .  It's not meant to be the end-all, but should be a part of a woman's repertoire.  Especially for women who want to star in romantic comedy movies. 

 

The Hate-Love Dynamic: Exploring Issues in Rom-Com Movies: Volume 75

If you watch enough romantic comedy movies over time you start to notice some trends.  One of the trends you see in many romantic comedy movies is where the two lead in the headlining pairs start off by hating each other, but by the end of the movie end up loving each other and solidifying their status as couple together and in love.  It's a type of:

Hate-Love Dynamic

Hup, I think ol' E.C. is up to one his tricks again so don't fall for it.

I got to thinking about this AFTER watching Anyone But You, a romantic comedy staring Sydney Sweeney.  But really this hate-love dynamic is an ingrained reality among men and women all around you.  Let me explain...

Men and women are different.  Typically they think differently.  Sure in today's society there is push to blur the lines of sexuality alleging their is no difference between men and women, but there is.  More so, there are noted differences when men group together apart from women, and women group together amongst themselves.  Because men and women are different their's a latent hostility between the two groups.  Yet men and women find themselves attracted to each other, as that's a dynamic that I believe God put in there to bring the two together.  

Sexual attraction lowers the animosity threshold between the sexes and gets them to set aside differences to "get that itch scratched" if you know what I mean.  

Don't know how Tom Hanks does it.  A man of weaker constitution would have kissed Meg Ryan here.

So whether or not you're a rom-com fan or not, this hate-love dynamic experienced by groups of men and  women is real.  We hate each other because we view the world differently, but sexual attraction draws us together and provides the bridge to a union and lessening of hostilities.  

Men tend to like sports, hunting, fixing cars and building things.  Women tend to want to beautify all that's around them, and are more expressive of their feelings.  Not to say that women can't be in sports or fix things -- you see women doing that all time.  But as seen as a broader group, I think these tendencies are more true than false. 

Rom-com movies springboard off what I've been talking about quite often.  The Bounty Hunter (2010: Jennifer Aniston/Gerald Butler), The Ugly Truth (2009: Katherine Heigl/Gerald Butler), You've Got Mail (1998: Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks), Click (2006: Adam Sandler/Kate Beckinsale), where the differences in the sexes is so extreme that there is some hate, yet love ends up prevailing.  Why is that?  Is it because movies -- especially romantic comedies are all about wish fulfillment?  Sure, there's some of that, but the inner tension between men and women is real.  Movies are a just a safe place to externally deal with these complex issues.  

Some people allege that romantic comedies are all fluff.  No, Sleepless in Seattle shouldn't be confused with Saving Private Ryan any time soon; but that doesn't mean you write of a good drama just because it's not all action 24/7.  There is a place for romantic comedies.  And its place is in coming to an understanding of the sexes.  Forming livable theories about how people different than you think, and what their needs, fears, and wants are.  

Back when I was a teen, I remember some girls really got into George Michael.  He was a "sex symbol" to women.  I think at some point he went off the rails, but he had some sway in the discussion at one point.

Sure, we ALL have a sex drive.  The degree of its heath is up for interpretation, but I'm of the belief that it's God's way of getting men interested in women.  And no, I don't agree with the crux of George Michael's song, and wasn't a fan of it when it came out.  

I hate you, I hate you... No, I think I love you.

I think this is more more indicative of women's response to men's sexual attraction to a woman.  At first the women resists, but over time she comes around and is open to courting.  You see this in the animal world quite regularly where the male goes to great lengths to impress a female he likes until at last she relents and lets him have sex with her.  So the hate-love dynamic has some level of truth and relevance in the animal kingdom as well.

Hey, I love women, and don't openly compare them to animals.  HUGEEE fan of Taylor Swift, and lately Sydney Sweeney to a lesser extent.  Would love to work with an upscale woman like one day to headline some of the rom-coms I've penned over the years: So Go Back & Get Her, Cupid's Helpers, Cupid Got Stupid, Hometown Professional Football, or After the Glory.  For me dealing with celebrity women is matter of building up trust and a bedrock of professionalism.  They're the established pros who headline, whereas I'm just a lowly writer toiling in obscurity.  

"Know Thy Place, Writer," said the Hollywood starlet to schlub from NE Tennessee.

Never wanna get too big of a head, and forget who's who.  

To date I've never had a hate-love romance.  Personally, I've taken to girls and liked them or been down on them pretty early and quick.  I can't remember a time where I was in personal rom-com of my own where I started out hating a given chick, then later came around to want to date her.  Being hot goes a long way.  Guys always notice pretty girls.  But romance is open to all, and you never know when you'll make a special connection that starts you on that magical journey.  Could just be a click away!

 

 

Seeking Rom-com Genre Stability: Anyone But -- This Movie; Exploring Issues in Rom-Com Movies Volume 74

A half naked couple on the verge of kissing must mean E.C. Henry found another romantic comedy movie to review

If you said that, you'd be right!  As earlier today I went to the Fort Henry Mall in Kingsport, Tennessee and watched ol' Sydney Sweeney's latest.

Truth be told, Anyone But You (2023: Directed by Will Gluck) is the first romantic comedy I've seen in some time.  It was released just before Christmas and I debated whether or not to bother going to the theaters to see it, finally deciding to go on a rainy day in early January in NE Tennessee.  So was it any good?  Well, I'll get into that in a minute.

The truth of the matter is I've my eye on the lead actress in this movie for some time.  Sydney Sweeney:  

Sydney Sweeney: short and young looking -- in this shot

Carson Reeves put Sydney Sweeney her on my radar by talking a lot about in his Scriptshadow posts.  Born on September 12, 1997 that would make her 26 years old right now, but in watching her play "Bea" in Anything But You, I was thinking she looks much, much younger that that.  So is that a problem?  Well, yeah it kinda is is you wanna be considered the next rom-com queen, as romantic comedies are typically geared for adults.  

I wrote a romantic comedy series with Taylor Swift in mind to play a main character all the way through a three-part series.  But T.S. is now 34 and dating an NFL player, so she may be out of play.  Still, Sydney Sweeney is an interesting choice/replacement for the Kathy Smith character in So Go Back & Get Her. 

But can she act?

Can Sydney Sweeney pass as a viable love interest in an adult relationship?  

Well, there is no denying that what I just saw Sydney Sweeney in was a romantic comedy.  Slated by my own romantic comedy classifications Anyone But You is a vacation rom-com, as this is a story where two people who had a hot night, but then had a mutual misunderstanding that made Bea and Ben (played by Glenn Powell) that mislead them to think the other party wasn't interested in them reunite several months later in Sydney, Australia for a wedding due to their close relationship to the the two getting married: Bea is the older sister of one of the girls getting married, while Ben is a close friend of the brother of the other girl getting married.    

The story has many of the trapping of rom-com fare.  Both Bea and Ben have past flames that are interested in them -- and are in Sydney, Australia for the wedding.  Then there's the parent of the two girls getting married acting as role models, attempting in spots to provide comedic relief, and there's some exotic settings unique to Australia.  The story shows flashes of working at times, but ultimately the secondary characters aren't funny or interesting enough.  They don't provide enough to push the envelope and move this movie into something meaningful.  They lesbian couple getting married isn't interesting either.  Not good on the supporting front.  Definitely sub-par stuff.  

As far as the leads, Bea does show flashes of being interesting, and Sydney Sweeney does display some come acting flair.  But for the most part I didn't think Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell were a good match physically.  Blame casting for the miss-cast pairing of Sweeney/Powell. Someone closer to Sydney's  age and height would have paid off there.  Glenn Powell showed SOME flashes of being a suitable rom-com prospect; he had a nice build for a guy.  But I thought his character arc was flat, and of himself wasn't very interesting.  Glenn Powell's "Ben" never proves himself to be funny either.  So I'm not sure after this if he belongs in the genre at all.  The script for Anyone But You doesn't do Glenn Powell any favors.  :( 

For the first half hour of the show I thought Anyone But You wanted to be the 2023/2024 version of How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which is one of my top-4 rom-coms of all-time.  So I applaud the leanings, but the script, story, and subsequent acting never even comes close to the magic of that gem from 20 years ago.  Yep, 2003, that's the year How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days came out, and that's over 20 ago now.  'Bout time we had a new classic to root for, unfortunately Anyone But You isn't a good, romantic comedy movie.

Grading out Sydney Sweeney as a potential rom-com queen for later movies and a greater legacy. 

(Hottest photo of Sydney Sweeney I could find)

Even after considering her best look, I'd have to say that I'm NOT on #teamSydney to be crowned the next rom-com queen.  She's just has too youthful looking to me.  Sydney Sweeney comes across as 13 or 14 year-old girl to me.  She also has some pretty broad front teeth that stick out too far, imo.  Sydney is also too short.  If in future rom-coms she needs a better pairing with a guy guy that doesn't accent what she is already seen to lacking, which is maturity.  Working in her favor is long, blonde hair -- which guys love.  In the end there's no way to hide the fact that Sydney's cons outweigh her pros; though in the spirit of honesty I think her acting was sides more on the good, than on the bad.

Still, Sydney Sweeney won't make you forget: Katherine Heigl, Kate Hudson, Meg Ryan, Andie MacDowell, Drew Barrymore, or Jennifer Aniston anytime soon.  Sorry lady, BUT if you do wanna be a rom-com queen you've gotta up your game.  Right now, Sydney Sweeney isn't in their league, and it shows on the screen.  

Still, she's young enough that if Sydney applies herself, MAYBE she can get there; and be a viable rom-com queen yet...   But from what I've seen so far I don't think she's there yet physically or emotionally to carry the necessary mail in adult, romantic comedy.  

In the final analysis:

Taylor Swift > rom-com prospect vs. Sydney Sweeney

Anyone But You rates: 4 out 10 

Reviving the Raunch-com: No Hard Feelings (2023); Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 74

Last weekend I took the time to see the new raunch-com, No Hard Feelings (staring Jennifer Lawrence, written by Gene Stupnitsky and John Phillips).  I did laugh a few times, but overall I found that movie lacking.  

No Hard Feelings is the story about a woman in her early 30s who finds herself desperate for a new car so she agrees to a rich couples wish for a woman to start "dating" their introverted son and give him some life experience with girls before he heads off to college.

First off the acting by the leads in this raunch-com is top rate.  Hats off to Jennifer Lawrence and newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman who play the sexpot and the introvert, respectfully.  I heard some bad things about Jennifer Lawrence going into this movie, with some people doubting whether or not she could do comedy.  Boy-oh-boy, can she ever!  Not sold as her being a raving beauty, but this little firecracker gets acting and she has RANGE!  As for Andrew Barth Feldman, he is this generation's Michael Cera of: Juno, Superbad, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; fame.  Andrew does a fine job depicting the sensitive romantic type who is resident about coming out of his shell.  

Of all the movies I've ever watched No Hard Feelings was THE FIRST that I thought the director didn't allow the scenes to go on long enough.  I think there were lots of more laughs to be had, had some of the key scenes in this movie went on longer. 

Overall, I'd rate No Hard Feelings a 6.5 out of 10; more good than bad, but not nearly good enough to top top 25 best romantic comedies of all-time.

The worst thing about this movie was the cliche and outright poor depictions of Percy's parents.  Mathew Broderick didn't add anything to the picture, imo.  They only seemed to exist in reality to worry about their son, Percy (Feldman's character); and didn't come across as real life people at all.  

So how does No Hard Feelings affect the future of the genre?  Are rom-com's "back"?  

I have the power to revive the genre, E.C.  Just not enough power to get this guy off me!

I'd have to say the romantic comedy genre as a whole is still on shaky ground after the release of No Hard Feelings.  But at least Jennifer Lawrence is in play now!  Back in 2012 she co-stared with Bradley Cooper in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook.  I though she was EXCELLENT in that fine romantic comedy as well.  My only caveat with Jennifer Lawrence's performance in No Hard Feelings was that she allowed herself to be filmed totally naked in a skinny dipping scene.  Those full nudity shots should have never happened.  You can film nude shots and not go all X rated on an audience that expects laughs.  Had I been on set I would have called for shots of Jennifer's thighs and feet, and upper torso shots above the breasts to cue the audience that she was naked--yet not actually showing her bare breasts and womanhood on the screen.

In a separate note, if you're interested, on my past scripts got reviewed and commented on over at Scriptshadow, Bubblehead Saves the Day.  I thought the script was better than it was.  Oh, how time changes your perspective on past works.  Still, though I failed on most of the early set-up of Bubblehead Saves the Day, I did get some very useful notes.  One commenter who goes by the handle of "Montana Gillis" even went so far as to write an improved opening scene that I'm probably going to go with when I get to rewriting that script.  So, yes, I do take criticism seriously and if you do offer advice that actually helps past script of mine, I am open to using those improvements.  I've never been of the mind to be it's my way or the highway when it comes to my own writing.  In the end I just wanna craft the best piece of entertainment I'm capable of.

Lots to do these days, edit the epic fantasy series, crafts a new horror creature screenplay, update Bubblehead Saves the Day, and get a draft of Indians of the Ancient Plains over to Carson Reeves for a paid, script consultation.  Yeah, Carson had a half-off scripts notes offer and I took him up on it.  Indians of the Ancient Plains is my favorite script.  It's the "big hitter" that I wanted Steven Spielberg to do. 

Iconic Couples; Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 73

Favorite power couple of all-time: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

For a while I thought the romantic comedy genre was dead.  Seems like it's been nearly 10 years since the last good one with Amy Schumer's brief run in doing Trainwreck (2015), and then I Feel Pretty (2018).  Then someone at Scriptshadow cued me that the streaming service have been generating new, romantic comedy content.  But not for the big screen.  Not for theatrical releases.  

At this point I don't know if the genre will rebound or not.  Heck, I don't know if theaters will survive.  That said romance will never really die, because it's a component of life.  A more satisfied life.  So the human, latent need for rom-com material will always be there; as I see it.  It's just a matter of where people will have to go to have that itch scratched.    

One of the ways romance continues to live on is on the cover of magazines.  Every time I grocery shot at Ingles in Colonial Heights, TN; I see magazines that continue to highlight the romantic escapades of today's and yesteryear's celebrities.

As for me, I've never really followed any "power couples".  Being a Taylor Swift fan I remember being on-line and seeing pictures of her with her beau's through the years.  Gotta be hard to have your love life on parade for people to comment on, but then again she has profited off that quite a bit.  

When I saw these two musical acts had collided and come together -- I thought it would be for forever; they looked GREAT together!

Perhaps the funniest "power couple" development has been the emergence of Pete Davidson as a heart throb for likes of Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratajakowski.  Pete Davidson is no Brad Pitt, whose love life has in past times had the likes of Gwenth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, and Angelina Jolie at his side.  Not bad huh?  Now in his late 50s I just read that Brad has a new girl in his life and that he's expecting to be a father.  Recently even Quentin Tarantino got married and had a child.  

Pete's gettin' busy with a hottie and that's not even Kim nor Emily!!  

So we will have some celebrity rumblings of romance, foibles and the like.  So the seeds of the romantic comedy are still afoot.  

Renee Zellwegger/Kenny Chesney, Gwenith Paltrow/Chis Martin from the music group "Coldplay", Michael Douglas/Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Heck even Steven Speilberg/Kate Capshaw, Kevin Kline/Phoebe Cates... ... Okay, now with last one, I can't help but add because I remember from the 1980s how Phoebe Cates burst onto the scene with her brief, but remembered role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982):

Phoebe Cates in her prime.  

So how much do celebrity couples inspire modern romances?  I'm not sure.  I think people are naturally curious about that, as evident by their time seen on magazine covers.  As I close in on age 54, myself; I think about romance less and less; figuring that ship is no longer boardible.  Still, the heart and mind remain alive and kicking long after you pass your romantic expiration date.  A generation comes... and a generation goes... And with it new romantic pairings and possibilities emerge.  It's just amazing how some people are so blessed in this area.  And how others of us, like me, just wander in the romanceless desert of life, devoid of love; yet always seeing it from afar...

John Cougar Mellancamp/Meg Ryan

 

 

 

Taylor Swift Top Songs of All-Time

 

At the time of the writing of this post I am 35 pages into the writing of the 1st draft of Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School.  This will be my 25th spec. script--when I write FADE OUT: THE END.

O-kay, so what does this have to do with Taylor Swift?  

Well, she is BACK to be my mews again...

I mean, you can't tell me there isn't a MOVIE with this picture.

I mean is there ANYONE better to be a MALE WRITER'S MUSE when that aforementioned writer is writing a teen comedy centered around the story of a 14-year-old, feisty freshman.  So far 35 pages in I'm not in automatic mode writing like I got after about page 68 of SO GO BACK & GET HER, but there is still hope for its prequel: KATHY SMITH CONQUERS DUBOOSE HIGH SCHOOL, because I've got some solid set pieces for this story.  A couple that I've written in the first 35, hopefully for many more in the remaining pages.

Okay, so the writing life is going well now.  35, 1st draft pages in less than 3 days IS a good start.  And don't worry: Kaya Jones (muse for the past year); I still LOVE you, and hope to connect with you some day on other scripts...  But Taylor Swift is special.  Very special.  And it's not that I'm that enamored with what music she's been cranking out lately, but her work taken collectively as a whole, is PHENOMENAL.   Won't lie I'm a MUCH BIGGER fan of T.S. when she's displaying her lighter side, as evident by --   

E.C. Henry's favorite songs by music superstar Taylor Swift:

[Last Update April 22, 2024 after listening to Taylor's new album on i-Tunes]

1.  State of Grace (Taylor's Version)
2.  Love Story (Taylor's Version) [Elvira Remix]
3. The Other Side of the Door (Taylor's Version)
4.  How You Get the Girl 
5.  Untouchable (Taylor's Version)
6.  Fearless (Taylor's Version)
7.  22 
8.  Getaway Car
9.  Style
10.  Shake It Off 
11.  You Belong with Me 
12.  Jump then Fall (Taylor's Version)
13.  I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
14.  Cruel Summer
15.  Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor's Version)
16.  ... Question? 
17.  Red (Taylor's Version)
18.  ... Ready For It
19.  Delicate 
20. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
21. The Tortured Artists Department 
22. That's When (Taylor's Version)
23. New Romantics
24.  Look What You Made Me Do  
25.  Anti-Hero
26.  Mastermind
27.  Karma (featuring Ice Spice)
28.  So High School
29.  Message in a Bottle (Taylor's Version)
30.  Me!
31.  Bigger than the Whole Sky
32.  Wildest Dreams

Notice any trends in E.C.'s top 13? It's domiated by Taylor's more happier songs, not her darker or newest stuff.   I remember watching Taylor Swift on a Late Show with Jimmy Fallon interview years ago, where Jimmy Fallon was lightly poking fun a Taylor Swift for her song: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together; and based on her reaction, Taylor looked a bothered by it all--so Jimmy didn't persist.  That got me to wonder, was that song really that bad?  Heard it for the first time about a week ago and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was:

I had to search i-tunes for that song.  Even when I saw T.S. in concert in 2018?  Well, it was the concert where she had pillars with scary snakes on them, which I thought was in very bad taste given the fact that her target audience is girls aged 9-20.  

Can't really say Taylor Swift doesn't get the credit she deserves because EVERY YEAR she's a favorite with Grammy people, but what I can say is that her earlier stuff was MUCH BETTER that I thought it would be.  I'm not a country music listener.  Some country songs are o-kay, but as a whole the genre isn't for me.  Taylor Swift started off in country music.  So IF you like her today, go back and check-out these two of her earlier albums before she broke into superstardom with 1989: Fearless and Red; have some hits on them too!   Don't miss this gem:

My spec. script soundtrack for Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School currently has 17 songs in it--and 4 of them are by Taylor Swift!

Muse indeed.  Rock on, T.S.--and PLEASE go back to your fun-loving days, because that's when you are your best; and that's when your true fans are most pleased with you.   

Okay, enough of the Taylor Swift lovefest time to eat a little late dinner, then go back for another round of writing on Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School.  Next post coming at ya AFTER I finish the 1st draft of my latest spec. which I hope to have done BEFORE the end of the month.  See ya then!

The Sheer Joy of Your Presence; Exploring Issues in Rom-Com Movies: Volume 71

Infatuation, as pertains to romance, is one of the coolest things on the planet!  What it means is that you're really digging another person; you have a CRUSH on them.  So in today's post we're going to delve a little deeper into infatuations and crushes as relates to romantic comedy movies and what we experience in real life.  Why?  Because what you love matters, and why you feel the way you do matters.  A good romantic comedy captures life's special moments, amplifies them and gives voice to the unspoken desires of the heart.

INFATUATION is a Rod Stewart song, as he explores in this video:

BUT that's not were I'm coming from.  That's more of BAD side of the ledger.  What I'm referring to is the unspoken desires of the heart.  One of the biggest laments of my life: high school.  Had "crushes" on several girls--and never acted on any of them!  Was always on the wrong side of the ledger.  Hung out with dopes--if I had any friends at all; and that cost me a lot of cache when it comes to forays with members of the opposite sex.  Spent years putting on a false front.  Pretending to be the neutral towards girls I was attracted to, because I figured they'd just reject me any way: Swedish may have been my heritage, but when it came to girls was quite Swiss in his diplomacy. 

Hiding your feelings for other people is NOT the best policy.  It's got me 51 and single; and I just can't help but wonder if I had taken more chances when I was younger how much better my life could have turned out.

But that's the GREAT thing about the movies; we get to be inspired by by people that are more daring than us.  Active protagonists who do take chances; chances that we, ourselves, are too much of a chicken-shit to take.  Why the trepidation?  Fear of rejection and scorn.  Somewhere along the line, I let that take root and rule me.  Too bad.  I WISH I was more like the heroes of the romantic comedy movies.

Here's some examples of infatuaters/people with romantic crushes as seen in romantic comedy and romantic leaning movies:

• Matt Flemhaff (Mark Ruffalo's character) from 13 GOING ON 30.  Loved Jenna as a youth.  Still held a secret torch for her while yet in his 30s...
• Dorthy Boyd (Renee Zellwegger's character) from JERRY MACQUIRE (1996).  A loyal assistant to Tom Cruise's lead character who holds a flame for guy who has long way to go emotionally before he is ready to pursue her romantically.
• William Thacker (Hugh Grant's character) in KNOTTING HILL (1999).  The whole plot revolves around a regular guy pursuing a famous star Jullia Roberts' Anna Scott character.
• Shari (Jenna Elfman's character) in EDTV (1999) which stared Matthew McConaughey as her love interest.
• Anne Reed (Meg Ryan's character) in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993).  Anne gets cold feet in her engagement to someone else and becomes increasingly infatuated with a widower, Tom Hank's character; of a little boy. 

I don't think this emotion gets explored NEARLY enough in the movies.   The sheer joy of being in someone else's presence.  I don't know who "does it for you", but that kind of star-struck love and emotion is a good thing.  Love is something the heart needs to do.  Sure their are healthy and unhealthy ways of expressing that need, but without love your life is severely limited and devoid of pleasure--so find something to love!!

For me that's a blank space.  Who to love?  Welcome to being 51 years old and single.  #fucked  At this age most COUPLES have already raised families of their own, and are now eyeing and planning romantic getaways to exotic locations with an eye on retirement.  But not me, it's like I'm still waiting for my life to begin.  Like I'm 18, just graduated school; and WAITING for that special girl to build a life with. 

Wow, did I ever fuck-up in life!

Thankfully, for helpless saps like me there's the movies.  I may have been too much of a chicken-shit to live my life and pursue what I could have pursued, but thankfully in the movies: Matt Flemhaff, Annie Reed, Shari, and Dorthy Boyd; lived the life that I never did.  Was there, but not really there; because I never took the chance to what could have happened. 

Here's an example of a CRUSH done right in the movies:

CAREER OPPORTUNITES (1991: written by John Hughes, staring: Frank Whaley and Jennifer Connolly)

Having a crush on someone is a good thing -- don't let anyone tell you differently, just send them to ME and I'll set them straight!  Just to see someone else with love-struck eyes.  To have a hero, or princess who can do no wrong.  It's one of the best parts about being human is the ability to have these feelings.  So don't suppress them .  A long time ago I talked about the romantic pursuer.  Be that brave soul.  Don't live a life of regret.  The older you get, the less people you have opportunity to connect with romantically so get after it and take a chance at falling in love.

I can still remember a time when I was about to graduate from high school and I FINALLY got the chance to hold hands with a girl I liked for a long time.  I remember smiling at her, and she looked at me and smirked with disappointment.  I can laugh at this now, not only because time heals all wounds; but because of how ridiculous and funny this was.  I was experiencing the SHEER JOY of being in this girl's presence; BUT she was lamenting the fact that the world she knew was ending: our senior class was graduating and soon we would all be going our separate ways.  But that's a great point to realize.  Differences in perspective of a "moment" means.  A couple months later I ran into this same girl again at a community college.  We both smiled at each other, and went our way.  Have NO IDEA what happened to this "hottie" after this.  Last I ever saw of her.  In retrospect I highly doubt we ever would have connected emotionally, but as a guy I wouldn't have minded connecting with physically at least once.  Such a perv., I know, but that's how God wired men; they have a sex drive...

But sex isn't all it's about.  There is something cool about the sheer joy of being in someone's presence that you admire or are attracted to.  There is a good, warm feeling you feel when you're FINALLY with that person that you've been crushing over.  And that's a feeling worth revisiting, that's a feeling worth pursuing now and with whatever life God gives you from this point going forward. 

 

P.S. Currently working on TWO new spec. scripts AND editing the epic fantasy novel.  Hoping to have all three projects wrapped up by the end of 2020.  That would make for THREE completed specs in a year!  Not bad for a hobby and a guy who has no choice but to work a 9 to 5 job. 

P.S.S. Just went through all my "EXPLORING ISSUES IN ROM-COM MOVIES" and tagged them in TypePad as "Rom-Com Series".  My count is off.  After tagging I was at like 76...  May shore this up, may let it go; I'm undecided on that.         

In the Ring; Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 70

It suddenly hit me as I was editing a 5th draft of SO GO BACK & GET HER -- that I'm an active contributor to the rom-com genre!  Yeah, ol' E.C. is "in the ring", but sometimes it's a rough as what ol' Rocky faced back in his days "in the ring".

Earlier yesterday morning I was updating my total writing scorecard.  23 spec. scripts, 22 of which are available for immediate sale, btw.  The other is a PLANET OF THE APES derivative, and put on hold, because I didn't get permission by the copyright holder to made a derivative product off their copyright protected product.

Still of all the screenplays I've written, 23, it is amazing how many of them are rom-com material.  More to come on that later...  

Years ago I did a post about sub-genre classifications under the broad, romantic comedy genre umbrella.  While editing the 5th draft of SO BACK & GET HER I started thinking about where it fell in my own definition.  JUST reading the logline I surrendered to:

Will great monkey sex be enough to save a strained romance between a Jacksonville Beach tour guide and a live-your-best-life devotee when an ex-childhood sweetheart enters the mix?

Applying my own logic to my own creation, I, E.C. Henry would classify SO GO BACK & GET HER as 60% raunch-com, and 40% ego-com.  Almost all movies have degrees of mix: romance, action, horror, drama, exc.  BUT eventually it fall is one master genre classification, and can be sub-grouped into another more specific designation.  SO BACK & GER HER master genre is romantic comedy.  BUT appeal and story-wise it it for people with a taste for raunch-com material.  Two of the characters in SO BACK & GET HER are ego-com material: Kathy Smith and Deke Platt, but since there is considerable rauchy gags and sex stuff, I think it's more a raunchy, romantic comedy in the mold of THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN.  

As you're about to see, ol' E.C. packs a rom-com punch!!

Now ol' E.C. has been writing under the greater romantic comedy umbrella for a long time.  Going back over past scripts I've written that have a romantic comedy bend, I'll now list them, and what their romantic comedy sub-genre is based on that list I made of romantic comedy sub-genre listings.  As you will find is true when evaluating ANY movie that their are many different elements in a movie.  You can have heavy romance accent.  A social commentary.  Some horror elements.  Maybe a ransom which leads to a action/adventure twist to a story like there was in Romancing the Stone (1984: Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, Danny DiVito)

1. GIVE IT UP FOR CHIMPY, & LOVE, MUSIC AND MONKEYS: GIVE IT UP FOR CHIMPY II romantic comedy sub-listing: Unique Ability Rom-Com.  Justification: The protagonist uses his ability to speak for a monkey to get him closer to the girl of his dreams.  
2. REVENGE OF THE FAT CHICKS romantic comedy sub-listing: Teen Rom-Com.  Justification: Deals with issues that girls in high school deal with.
3. CUPID'S HELPERS romantic comedy sub-listing: Destiny Rom-Com.  Justification: The main protagonist is still hung-up from a girl from his past, and must come to terms with that issue in his life, lest a famous writer never get to experience love for himself.
4. HOMETOWN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL romantic comedy sub-listing: Sports Rom-Com.  Justification: The new football league is the bedrock of all the action.  One caveat is that all the romantic relationships in there, are different.  Their are elements of slapstick humor, destiny rom-com, and ego romantic comedy, BUT the underbelly that unifies it all is a sports league.  
5. AN AMERICAN PRINCESS romantic comedy sub-listing: Destiny Rom-Com.  Justification: The central question of the story is if a girl who holds the torch for a budding writer can get him to commit to her fully.  This has destiny written all over it.
6. CUPID GOT STUPID romantic comedy sub-listing: Ego Rom-Com.  Justification: Sure on the surface this appears to be a Unique Ability Rom-com: as there is an accent character in a coffee shop who may be an angel, BUT the central relationship deals very strongly with a man with ego and decision-making problems.  Read the script and I think that emerges as the story unfolds and becomes the main emphasis. 
7. AFTER THE GLORY romantic comedy sub-listing: Ego Rom-Com.  Justification: Sure there's a sports accent in this one, as the main character is an x-NFL quarterback; but the central romance is between him and reporter.  There is also a Teen Rom-Com accent in this one as well, but in the end you focus on Rex Roundtail's romance, and that's Ego Rom-Com material.
8. PUPPIES?  PUPPIES??  PUPPIES!!! romantic comedy sub-listing: Fairytale Meets Reality Rom-Com.  Justification: The main protagonist's arc.  He fights his reality vs. his pursuit of a girl that he's attracted to.  YES their are elements of a Slacker Rom-com, a little bit of Urban Rom-Com, this show is never really about Contemporary Dating Rom-Com, and there is little slapstick humor -- though that is not the main focus of the story.  So this story best fits as a Fairytaile Meet Reality Rom-Com, based on main protagonist and the airy nature of the many of the scenes. 
9. BUBBLEHEAD SAVES THE DAY romantic comedy sub-listing: Destiny Rom-Com.  Justification: YES, this story takes place in world of a high school senior who is about to graduate so there is some Teen Rom-Com stuff here.  There is also a robot from outer space and other being from outer space that influence the male protagonist so we've got some Unique Ability Rom-Com stuff here, and since the story takes place primarily in a residential neighborhood you have the Urban Rom-Com angle.  But in the end its a story about a boy who feels like he's losing his chance to connect with a girl that he's a torch for, for a long-long time, and that my friends is Destiny Rom-Com territory.  
10. WHEN THE MOTORCYCLE CALLS romantic comedy sub-listing: Action/Adventure Rom-com.  Justification: The main protagonist is trying to toward a small-town bank robbery, and also want to reconnect with a past flame.  No, in the end I don't think WHEN THE MOTORCYCLE CALLS is pure rom-com, BUT you could make a case that it has enough to fall into that category.  There is also a Sour Note Rom-com angle with one of Clark and Ellen's friends that can't be denied.  And the Ellen character screams Ego Rom-Com material.  
11. SO GO BACK & GET HER romantic comedy sub-listing: Raunchy Rom-Com.  Justification: the central force keeping Deke Platt and Kathy Smith together is their sex life.  It's is the glue that keeps them together, but is that enough when given the things that two of them are into?  This story is about two people that are very different, yet are trying in their own way to overcome problems to strengthen their relationship.  Considerable rauncyness abounds, but if you take a deeper look you may also find elements of the Action/Adventure Rom-com, Contemporary Dating Rom-com, Ego Rom-com, and Sexually Deviant Rom-Com material in this story.

E.C. Henry's scripts pack a punch!

Wow, all told I've written 23 spec scripts.  Just off this analysis over half of them, 12 are romantic comedies. 

E.C. Henry's Romantic Comedy Sub-genre Scoreboard:

1. Destiny Romantic Comedy: 3; CUPID'S HELPERS, AN AMERICAN PRINCESS, BUBBLEHEAD SAVES THE DAY
2. Unique Ability Romantic Comedy: 2; GIVE IT UP FOR CHIMPY I & II
3. Ego Romantic Comedy: 2; CUPID GOT STUPID, AFTER THE GLORY
4. Teen Romantic Comedy: 1; REVENGE OF THE FAT CHICKS
5. Sports Romantic Comedy: 1; HOMETOWN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
6. Fairytale Meets Reality Romantic Comedy: 1; PUPPIES?  PUPPIES??  PUPPIES!!!
7. Action/Adventure Romantic Comedy: 1; WHEN THE MOTORCYCLE CALLS
8. Raunchy Romantic Comedy: 1; SO GO BACK & GET HER

So now I'm "in the ring" with Destiny Romantic Comedies being the sub-genre I apparently write in the most.  Here's the thing: I never set out do that.  These "classifications" came later, AFTER I had written and look back on the themes and storylines I was pursuing.  Create something memorable, THEN go back and see where it fits on the shelf of past movies.

Being "in the ring" in the romantic comedy genre is fun.  I LOVE writing romantic comedies.  I've said it once, I'll say it again, this if my favorite genre to writing.  Romantic Comedies are about...

Celebrating women in games of courtship.

In the end that is what the romantic comedy genre means to me.  It has ALWAYS been and will continue to be one of the most important genre of film, for in them we find inspiration for our own romances.  Cut that out of your life, and you're living a much more gutted and meaningless life.  So go for the deeper things in life.  Embrace the romantic comedy genre of movies.  For in them you will find romance, and will find some laughs.  

I'm going to update my master sub-genre listings incorporating MY (as of yet unsold romantic comedy scripts).  Why not?  I deserve it.  My stories would make better movies than many films on that list.  Of that I have no doubt.  Never been lacking in belief of my material, just been kept out the industry by factors beyond my control; you can't make someone like you.  BUT you can create and make the best art you're capable of.   And too that extent ol' E.C. Henry has been "in the ring" for a long-long time, since the early 2000s'.  I got my first spec. copyright protected back in 2004, and in those 16 years I have 23 spec. scripts to show for that effort.  That translates into 1.44 screenplays per year!  And 12 of them could be considered romantic comedies under the definitions that I've provided.  

E.C. Henry: a champion romantic comedy screenplay writer!