People should be aware it took 5 years to go from the initial spec draft (which was written in 6 days), to something that was shoot-worthy. Even the rough draft we read represents years of work, and the persistence and determination to get things right, although it's clear that the development process on this movie is the exception that proves the rule.

Location, location, location. No, wait... character, character, character. It all stems from that. Theme, plot and everything else is dependent on the choices and world views of the characters. "We can’t perceive Annie’s mate-to-be as more pathetic than she is; he’s got to be more of a prize, someone she’s worthy of by the end." That's the key. She has to earn it. If the "prize" comes to easily for the protagonist, the audience will feel cheated. Thank you Billy and Scott for this great insight into the development of Bridesmaids!

Thanks, Bill and Scott, for capturing this thinking and sharing it with us. That last point -- honoring every idea, and searching for new ones with a positive sense of adventure (as opposed to the millstone-heavy dread of facing yet another rewrite) -- really hit home. I'd been stuck in act one on rewrite treadmill for weeks, recycling the same set of ideas, shuffling the same set-ups and scene designs, only to witness the whole thing deflate – especially the characters. As soon as I busted out of that, and stepped across the what-the-hell threshold...boom! New ideas popped up and began propelling energy and life into the story and characters. It was innately terrifying...and felt a little nuts...and then it was fun again. All of it! Many thanks again for all of the affirming wisdom and uplifting insights. Golden!

Thanks Billy and Scott for this, v interesting. A bit surprised that Annie's specific failing was supposed to be her "inability to take responsibility for her own mistakes". If I'm honest I didn't spot that at all - maybe one of those things that's helpful if you're writing it but isn't conveyed, at least not as such, if you're watching it.

[...] post: Billy Mernit with some inside info on “Bridesmaids” Tags: beatles, bicycle, business, entertainment, fighter, holidays, internet, movie-trailers, [...]

[...] Billy Mernit offered some inside scoops on the development of Bridesmaids.  “Since lines of communication between readers and executives (and the talent beyond them) are often… um… less than direct, it actually took me a draft or two to read between the lines and catch onto what seemed to be the process, mainly: throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. Meaning, there was a sense from early on that Apatow was encouraging M&W to give full, free rein to their ideas and just let it rip. Add to this that Apatow’s development method also involves having comedy writer colleagues periodically come in and punch up material, and that he encourages improvisation on the set – so the tacit understanding, throughout, was that things would ultimately “come together,” in terms of cohesion and clarity, pretty far down the road. So the on-page development process is often a matter of exploring choices and then discarding or rethinking them… knowing that if the basics of character and plot beats are in place, the finer points may well be discovered and finessed in the actual making of the movie.” [...]

Yeah. What I got from the draft we read was mostly that she doesn't communicate with someone who is supposed to be her best friend and allows herself to be woman handled by Helen. Sure she didn't own up to some mistakes, but that didn't feel like the biggest part. Perhaps that is one reason they beefed up the story about losing the bakery although we did have Rhodes constantly reminding her about not having any brake lights.

What I got from the draft we read was mostly that she doesn’t communicate with someone who is supposed to be her best friend and allows herself to be woman handled by Helen. Sure she didn’t own up to some mistakes.

Sure she didn’t own up to some mistakes.www dot nikejordan4u dot com

[...] insider information can be found in the original post on Scott Meyers’s website, Go Into the Story. (If they’re not already there, you should [...]