Because Quote by Mike Newell

“Romantic comedies are backbreaking to write because they have to be fresh.”

Mike Newell

About This Quote

Source Film: Romantic Comedy Screenwriting, 2020

Writing rom-coms is hard because they must feel new while using familiar tropes.

In simple terms: Rom-coms need fresh ideas despite familiar formulas.

Key Takeaway

Innovate within genre expectations.

Themes

creativity genre challenge originality screenwriting

Mood

frustrated determined

Type

analytical inspirational

When to use this quote

film development
writing workshops
pitch meetings
studio revisions

Key Concepts

Narrative innovation genre fatigue

Questions to Reflect On

How can writers keep romance fresh?
What tropes can be subverted?

A Different Perspective

Balancing novelty with audience expectations is difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.9 out of 5 (3 ratings)

Backbreaking Write Because Comedies Comedies Backbreaking Fresh Love Romantic Romantic comedies Write Write Fresh Writing

More by Mike Newell

I'm not particularly a football fan, but I live in north London, and I can hear when Arsenal score, and it's fantastically exciting. Down…

Mike Newell

Image

I don't like the term 'chick flick.' I think it denigrates a movie. It has overtones of talking down to women, like they are…

Mike Newell

Image

I always wanted to work on films, and when I was starting in television in this country, in Great Britain, there really wasn't any…

Mike Newell

Image

I am not Jewish, but I think that America invented nothing so fine as deli food.

Mike Newell

Image

If you are going to do a film about the South Pole, the chances are that you will film it in Hawaii! Whatever is…

Mike Newell

Image

I have a particular love of an actor that I did work with, oddly, in 'Donnie Brasco,' who has since become a wonderful talent:…

Mike Newell

Image

What most people do is they make terrific films, one in three if you're very lucky, maybe one in five. So you just have…

Mike Newell

Image

It's my view that children are violent, dirty, corrupt anarchists. Just adults-in-waiting, basically.

Mike Newell

Image

Explore all 9 Mike Newell quotes

More Because quotes

One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.

Marcel Duchamp

Image

I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.

Alice Walker

Image

Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…

Rajneesh

Image

I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…

David S. Goyer

Image

There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…

Daniel Caesar

Image

It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…

Elmore Leonard

Image

I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.

Tom Perrotta

Image

I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…

Neil Peart

Image

It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.

Samuel Barnett