mernitman's Profile

Oh happy day! The miracle-worker has come to Hollywood and solved all our problems. With his help, it’s only hits and blockbusters from now on, according to the New York Times, and the only issue is: Can we afford this... Continue reading

Posted May 6, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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To Kick or Not to Kick?

You may have been following the latest Kickstarter controversy, which is already feeling a bit, well, moot: Not surprisingly, Zach Braff has successfully kickstarted his new movie, not long after Veronica Mars and co. got theirs into gear. Personally? I... Continue reading

Posted Apr 28, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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The Only Safe Thing

Believing as I do that it's more fun to celebrate people when they're with us than to eulogize them after they're gone, I'm wishing the legendary Elaine May a happy birthday (4-21). If you're familiar with May - and any... Continue reading

Posted Apr 21, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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I Love You, Now Get Lost

Consider this post a public service announcement: I'm writing it to pass along a wonderful post from someone else's blog, Stephanie Palmer's Good in a Room. Palmer's "The Lie Most Frequently Told in Hollywood" is one of the most helpful... Continue reading

Posted Apr 16, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Henry's Questions

Really, I just wanted to post the picture. Henry Bromell died nearly a week ago, and this is what he was like, as a writer and a guy: you can kind of get it, in the photo. I was friendly... Continue reading

Posted Mar 25, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Adam's Rom-Com Run

No, Living the RomCom hasn't become a 24/7 Girls zone, but I can't help taking note of Sunday night's finale, a typically controversial Lena Dunham special, in that it once again reversed expectations... in perhaps one of the last conceivably... Continue reading

Posted Mar 18, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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What Does Your Sex Mean?

[This post contains substantive Girls spoilers, but if you’re into Girls, you’ve probably already seen this past weekend’s devastating episode, and if you’re not, you don’t care.] Sex scenes are always a challenge to write, for screenwriters and fictionists alike.... Continue reading

Posted Mar 12, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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I Have Seen the Future of Romantic Comedy and It's Been Going On For Years

This past week various friends and acquaintances sent me a link: The Atlantic's Christopher Orr on Why Are Romantic Comedies So Bad? Guys, are you sending me this because you think it's news to me somehow, or because you recognize... Continue reading

Posted Mar 3, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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The Art of Higher Stakes

Most people I know who haven't yet seen Amour approach it as if it's cinematic spinach: they don't really want to see it, but they know they should, because supposedly it's good for you. What fascinates me is the inevitable... Continue reading

Posted Feb 19, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Cinematic Valentines

[A holiday reprise from the archives] Declarations Love is too weak a word for what I feel... I lurve you. Y'know, I loove you, I, I luff you. There are two f's. I have to invent... Of course I love... Continue reading

Posted Feb 13, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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The Hidden Heroine

It's that time of the year again. Romantic comedy lovers, lovers comedic or serious -- all humans with beating hearts know that as soon as February rolls around, there's a major holiday to be reckoned with, one that's come to... Continue reading

Posted Feb 2, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Sustaining Interest: The TRH Factor

For Mature Audiences Only (NSFW) I was getting ready to go to work the other morning when I glanced out my home office window and beheld two raccoons having sex on the roof next door. Though I've never been an... Continue reading

Posted Jan 27, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Is Dating Dated?

Or is it that journalists are desperate for material? Either way, there's been a spate of urgent verbiage lately both online and in hard copy, about how 20-somethings (because really, who cares about the rest of us) aren't dating the... Continue reading

Posted Jan 14, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Be Wrong Fast

As a post-resolutions Happy 2013 greeting, I pass along this neat piece by Hugo Lindgren, which espouses a writing (and for that matter, living) lesson that Pixar's John Lasseter has often articulated: "Be wrong as fast as you can." I'll... Continue reading

Posted Jan 7, 2013 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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The 8th Annual Asta Awards

The Best in Romantic Comedy 2012 2012 was either a godawful year for the genre or an inspiring, watershed year for it, depending upon how you define the term "romantic comedy." In this regard, 2012's Astas serve as a response... Continue reading

Posted Dec 28, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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In Praise of Random

One of the terrible things about us boomers is that we won't shut up. We won't go away, and we don't ever stop talking about the wonders of our youth. It's embarrassing for me to join this relentless chorus of... Continue reading

Posted Dec 14, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Manic Pixie Prostitute

A smart and funny video has been recently making the online rounds that takes a well-worn rom-com trope to one obvious satirical conclusion, and it's well worth a look. Also an accompanying article (a kind of "News of the Manic... Continue reading

Posted Dec 9, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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The Truth About Bad Movies

I was script-consulting on a project the other day when my client made a rueful reference to "stupid studio notes." I took a deep breath and made the universal hand sign for Time Out, and delivered a brief rant that... Continue reading

Posted Dec 5, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Me or Us?

We're in that season now. Some think of it as the holidays, and others, as the six week stretch when most of the year's decent movies finally come out (i.e. Oscar contender time). In fact, so many movies worth seeing... Continue reading

Posted Nov 20, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Men Horny & Delusional, Scientists Say

Well, there's science and there's science. There's the science that's way beyond what your average bear can wrap his mind around (Higgs-Boson what now?), and then there's the "what goes up must come down" kind of stuff, where science affirms... Continue reading

Posted Oct 28, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Happily Ever Whatever

Anyone who's ever tried to write a romantic comedy knows how difficult it is to keep it credible - to put your two protagonists through the requisite meet-lose-get obstacle course without restorting to blatant contrivance. Anyone plotting one in 2012... Continue reading

Posted Oct 9, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Romantic Comedy Truisms

A few readers have asked me to put all of these "truism" posts, scattered over the past 18 months, in one convenient place for persual. So be it (just click on the numbers to get to the corresponding links). #... Continue reading

Posted Oct 2, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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The Tweet Master of 1906

They twisted my arm, honest: a friend talked me into getting on Twitter, and while I've been having great fun there (Where else can you eavesdrop on Steve Martin trading quips with Albert Brooks, or read Chris Hedges thinking out... Continue reading

Posted Sep 29, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Romney-antic Comedy

"A straight-talking billionaire says exactly what a group of lined-pocket supporters want to hear, but what he doesn’t know is that the other 47% of the country is listening." You gotta love the sly brilliance of this site, Rom Com... Continue reading

Posted Sep 20, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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Rom-Com Truisms #10

A cliché is as good as you can make it new. Reader Jeff Sexton, citing this good TED talk by Andrew Stanton, notes that when the Pixar team was making Toy Story, they had a secret list of animation clichés... Continue reading

Posted Sep 17, 2012 at Living the Romantic Comedy

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