C - G : A Romance
By Ronnie Rabbit
Credits:
[The music playing during the credits is U2's 'Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own', lyrics at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/u2/sometimesyoucantmakeitonyourown.html]
Directed By: Ronnie Rabbit
Written by: Ronnie Rabbit
Produced by: Ronnie Rabbit
STARRING
Gadget Hackwrench as HERSELF
Chip Maplewood as HIMSELF
...
Ok, that was very silly. Enough of that!
For at least six months now I've had a scene in my head: Gadget and Chip in a chase scene, with Gadget on rocket skates, where it's revealed at the end they're not chasing a villain together, as the Rangers - Chip is chasing HER. And there's a big dramatic explosion!
And I had no idea what to do with it. I don't feel comfortable writing action sequences, and don't usually do a good job of it. Also, I hadn't written much for a long time. I only write when something pulls on me, and says "I NEED to be written!" and won't leave me alone til it's done. So it just sat in my head, percolating, getting little details added and changed.
Then, during last year's Acorn Awards, I noticed Rachel was in the Romance category all by herself, and I jokingly thought to myself, 'Yeah, that's it. I'll write a ROMANCE!' anyone who's seen my usual dark fiction knows what a silly idea THAT was.
Then, purely by chance, since I had a spot in my schedule at college that needed filling, I decided to take a course on Movie Romantic Comedies.
And as I watched Cary Grant on screen, cleverly riposting Katherine Hepburn with sharp, witty dialogue, Chip BONKED me on the head, yelling, "You doof! It IS a romance!"
Gadget added, "Gosh, don't you think you could write something about someone else's weird obsessions with me, for a change?" And she bonked me on the head, too, but just to be helpful. Well, and maybe to pay me back for the whole Angst thing.
"Yeah!" Chip snapped, "what about MY weird obsessions with Gadget?! Er... wait a minute..."
And as they argued with each other, I could see the whole story in my head, just like that, from the chase down to Chip saying "I need to buy a new hat!" I ended up changing a lot of it as time passed, sure, and some spots were really stubborn and got redone over and over; and an entire dream sequence got dropped, cause I figure I write too many dream sequences, and because it seemed the whole thing was longer than I wanted anyway. But it never felt like work, and I always was eager to see what Chip and Gadget would be arguing about that night.
And after that night, the story pulled on me constantly, no matter what I was doing, and begged to be written. So I did.
So there's a spot here in the credits for Rachel Gloess, queen of romance,
for inspiring me.
There's credit here for Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Somewhere they're
still trading friendly, clever barbs, and the sunset in the background is perfect.
There's a spot for Chip Maplewood, for hitting me on he head til he knocked
some sense into me, and making me realize how much he was me all along and I
didn't want to see it. Like not seeing four glowing letters that read C H I
P.
And most of all and always, all of it is for Gadget Hackwrench. If I ever threw you down on the ground, it was only so some day, you'd love the wings I gave you that much more.
- Ronnie Rabbit