Genre: Romance Comedy vs. Romance

[TinaRM]

I started writing without giving much thought to genre...therefore when I was finished my screenplay, I then tried to figure out which genre it would fall into.

In my own amateurish way (I guess), I searched for a movie that was comparable...I thought that it could possibly fall somewhere between "One Fine Day" and "City of Angels". The problem is that "One Fine Day" calls itself a Romantic Comedy on the back cover - while "City of Angels" is a Romance.

Watching "One Fine Day" I didn't see anything about it that was absolutely hilarious - just a few moments of chuckles.

In City of Angels, I can only think of the scene where Nic. Cage steps under a hot shower (not understanding the concept of being burnt) as producing a little chuckle.

Just how much comedy needs to be in a script to qualify as a Romantic Comedy? Is one genre easier to break into than the other? I read in my "Screenwriter's Bible" that the easiest movie to sell is one that can be considered a good "Date Movie".

Thanks as always..........Tina

[CRASH]

No need to pull out your calculator and add up the funny bits of your script and then divide that by the moments that make you weep to find your answer. It's the overall tone of your movie that will define itself.

Personally, when I pitch an idea to my agent or an exectutive, I always combine two genres together. Action-comedy, psychological-horror, historical-romance. It covers more ground and implies a larger appeal and cross-over potential. I say call it a romantic comedy.

Speaking of pitching: I've got two pitch meetings this week, one for the possible writing of the sequel to "Air Force One" and the other, the sequel to "Final Destination."
Wish me luck.

[Bill Marquardt]

Crash - would that be "Air Force One Two"?

Good luck, bro'.

Bill

[CRASH]

Believe it or not, it's called "Air Force Two." Dan Gordon (The Hurricane) has already written the first draft. They need someone else to come in and fix it. Lots of problems with it.

Dan's assistant told me he wrote the thing in 3 days.

[Teris1]

CRASH is absolutely right. Follow his advice. A sidenote - I submitted what I considered to be a horror/slasher script to an agency. When the coverage came back, the reader had termed it a thriller/mystery. So leave the categories to others if you can, but when pressed, always use two or more genre categories to describe the script.

Good luck, CRASH - keep us posted.

[TinaRM]

Crash -

I wish you the best of luck on those meetings. I would just be beside myself with excitement! Of course I'm easily excitable. (hehe)

I told the agent who questioned the genre that he could call it whatever he wanted to ... just SELL IT! He said he thinks of a Romantic Comedy as something like "When Harry Met Sally". I've never seen that movie - but I'm thinking I'll rent it so I'll have a clue what he was talking about.

Thanks for the advise on "the overall feel" because I was literally picking thru it to find out how many scenes had a funny tone to them and how many times something said was meant to be funny (You were reading my mind!).

So how do you get invited to do a pitch on a sequel (or anything for that matter)? Is it because they liked something else you had written?

Tina

[CRASH]

Yes.

[GirlinGray]

Um, if it's a comedy, it's funny.

If it's a romance, it is drama with funny moments.

Does that make sense?

Good luck, Crash.

[MEP928]

Good luck, Crash. We're pulling for you.

[Nemesis Unbound]

Well Air Force 2 sounds better than Final Destination 2 :lol

Good luck CRASH