1st Edition

The Heart of the Film Writing Love Stories in Screenplays

By Cynthia Whitcomb Copyright 2017
    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    Most movies include a love story, whether it is the central story or a subplot, and knowing how to write a believable relationship is essential to any writer's skill set. Discover the rules and laws of nature at play in a compelling love story and learn and master them. Broken into four sections, The Heart of the Film identifies the critical features of love story development, and explores every variation of this structure as well as a diverse array of relationships and types of love. Author Cynthia Whitcomb has sold over 70 feature-length screenplays and shares the keys to her success in The Heart of the Film, drawing on classic and modern films as well as her own extensive experience.

    Introduction: Love Story Anatomy

    Part One: The Meet (Cute and Otherwise)

    1. Romantic Comedy Cute Meets

    2. Other Meets

    3. Old Flames Re-Ignited

    4. Married Love Stories

    Part Two: The Crack

    5. Breaking through the Shell

    6. The Wounded Knight

    7. The Emotional Crack

    8. Humiliation and Low Self Esteem

    9. Nakedness

    10. Kids and Families and Friends

    11. Honesty

    12. Drugs and Alcohol

    13. Dental Floss

    Part Three: Why You?

    14. Matchmaking in Movies

    15. Twins

    16. Opposites

    17. Life Force and Sleepwalker

    18. Soul Mates

    19. The Pressure Cooker effect

    20. Specificity: One of a Kind

    21. Baby Love: Underage Love Stories

    22. Old Love

    23. Gender Change/Orientation

    Part Four: The Obstacle

    24. The Essential Obstacle

    25. Animosity, Feuds and War

    26. He/She is Married or Engaged

    27. Misunderstandings

    28. Unavailability

    29. Other Obstacles

    30. Levels of Character Evolution

     

    Part Five: Putting them All Together

    31. Multi-Tasking

    32. You’ve Got Mail

     

    Part Six: Styles & Miscellany

    33. Platonic Love Stories

    34. The Throwdown

    35. Sex Scenes

    36. The Alternative is Impossible

    37. The Symbols of Love

    38. The First Golden Age: 1938 - 1942

    39. The Second Golden Age of Rom Coms: 1980s – 1990s

    40. Endings

     

    Appendices

    Whitcomb’s Top 100 Love Story Films

    Old Love Casting List

    Index

    Biography

    Cynthia Whitcomb has sold more than 70 feature-length screenplays, 25 of which have been filmed. Her scripts have won and been nominated for many awards, including the Emmy Award, Cable Ace Award, Edgar Allan Poe Award, Humanitas Award, and Writers Guild of America Awards. Her students have also gone on to write successful box-office hits. She has taught screenwriting for many years, including seven at the acclaimed UCLA Film School.