Screenwriting : Heated Rivalry: Breaking Down the Script. Free Webinar with Anna Henry by James Lagrimas

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is our Heated Rivalry: Breaking Down the Script webinar!

We’re excited for everyone to join us as we dive deep into the pilot, character dynamics, and the storytelling choices that made this series such a standout. It’s going to be a great session!

If you haven’t registered yet, feel free to join using this link > https://www.stage32.com/education/products/heated-rivalry-breaking-down-...

See you there!

Can't wait to hear more! I love the series and this should be fun to see the breakdown and how it works so well.

I'm ready too!

Thank you, Courtney McConnel and Cynna Ael!

feel free to comment your questions here so Anna can answer it later. :)

This is so interesting! Thank you so much everyone

can you also talk about Ilya's depression being an external factor makes people empathize with him and Shane's autistic spectrum being an internal is often overlooked?

I have talking from the point of view of the second book "the long game"

What do you think was the hardest component to be integrated with the "show, not tell" when adapting the book to the series?

Do screenwriters often use authenticity readers when working on scripts? Might it be something a studio insists on?

Great session. Thank you. Quick question. How many characters can one have in a series. And how many in a pilot.

Mark Kelly (You): I am unfamiliar with this show and how it was received. When “La Cage Aux Folles” was released on Broadway, it managed to hit the audience in places many did not expect. They all found themselves rooting for the gay couple as they danced off into the future the same way they would for a man and woman couple. Did this show and book develop a similar feeling it their audience?

A question for Anna, how much of the tension and subtext was direction and how much was in the script?

Great session thanks so much!!

What a webinar! Thanks so much!

@Rimsah Abid I did talk about Shane's neurodivergence at length in the webinar. I didn't want to spoil The Long Game for anyone though. But I did talk about Ilya's family trauma.

Thank you...so much fun!

Cynna Ael I think it's that these characters don't talk directly to each other. There is a reason Shane challenges Ilya in ep. 6 to talk honestly about what they think and feel for the first time - they have never done that. In the book, we get what they are thinking and feeling deep down, even what they are unable to fully admit to themselves. On screen that ALL has to be in subtext and acting choices. This show is a master class in subtext.

Alicia Chantal I don't think studios insist so much as good writers do their research and use experts as needed. If we have time (can't promise) I plan to ask Jacob about the ASD authenticity.

Trying to find the info on your upcoming Q and A with Jacob Tierney…is there a link or where can I find it?

Christa Biyela 20 characters in a pilot is a lot. HR has 10 plus some we only hear (commentators, press). You can add more in the season - a lot depends on number of episodes, genre, scope and of course budget. HR adds just a few more.

Mark Thomas Kelly Yes! Watch the show! It really is that good.

Anna Lopata That's really hard to know given that we don't have the script. I talked a lot about how the tension is created. It's really an alchemy of writing, directing, and you have to give major props to incredibly talented cast. I do plan to ask JT about this if possible.

Anne Hastings It's in the Writers Room.

Question from the chat: Sexual chemistry and tension was awesome from start to finish. Was there an intimacy coach? Or were the actors just naturals and were able to bring script to life. Seems like sex scenes are better when two men because once men get the green light, thee brakes are off! I am writing r rated com com but older woman younger men

Yes, they had the amazing Chala Hunter as their intimacy coordinator. She has given several interviews on the filming of the sex scenes. The actors have also talked about their chemistry, friendship, mutual trust, and being "up for anything."

Question from the chat: Hello Anna, how does a show like Heated Rivalry get approved and cleared to run on HBO/HBO Max, especially given its explicit content and niche audience? Are there also script revisions or notes from the network around tone, language, or sex scenes that help shape what ultimately makes it to air?

HBO acquired the show after it was already finished. They had absolutely no creative input into the show. It will be the same in season 2. There is far more explicit content on HBO - they are famous for it. By the time they acquired it, just before the premiere, the amount of online buzz made it clear that the show would have a sizeable audience.

Question from the chat: How much of the subtext like the promise is directed and how much in the script?

That's very hard to know without seeing the script. Obviously all (or nearly all) of the dialogue is in the script. Main actions definitely are. Sly little smiles may or may not be there. But the affectionate use of "asshole" and "boring" is repeated so many times that you definitely get it, and that would be in the script.

I would be curious to know if when writing the script/adapting the book(s), did Jacob accurately predict what moments would strike a chord with the audience, or were there any big surprises in the reactions of the fans. This series has affected people deeply on many levels.

Hi Anna thank you so much for doing this! My question for you is from both a screenwriting and producing perspective is what should be our main takeaways from how well Jacob Tierney adapted the book into a 6 episode season?

The more and more I think about it, the more I am astonished and in absolute awe and appreciation. I grew up in the age of broadcast television so was used to 22 episode seasons of TV shows, which ended up having a lot of filler episodes for sure. With the rise of streaming services the episodes whittled down to 8 per season usually, and depending on the series a season could drag. This is the first series I've seen where it was only six episodes.

As a reader of Rachel Reid's books I am delighted that Jacob found a way to fit everything in narratively, and even took a huge gamble in making episode 3 be about Scott and Kip's romance (which would have a euphoric payoff in episode 5). I knew from reading the books that episode 5 would most likely lead into Shane and Ilya going to The Cottage, but I remember after watching episode 4 "Rose", thinking "how in the world is he going to fit that much plot from Rose to them leaving for the Cottage?" Yet he accomplished it masterfully, not missing a single beat, and episode 5 is considered everyone's favorite.

I guess my question has a lot to do with pacing and conciseness. Episodes 1 and 2 cover so much time, episode 3 covers an entirely different couple, episode 4 focuses on just one specific (and quiet small if I may add) point in the novel, episode 5 covers the most ground plot wise, and then episode 6 allows Shane and llya to breathe. Each episode feels distinct it what it covers, and I am excited to go back and "reheat" and see how each one plays out the five act structure like you did in today's webinar. Something that you brought to my attention is that every scene, sequence, montage, and line serves a purpose, and nothing on this show feels like filler. Could you please talk about how difficult that is to accomplish, again in just six episodes?

Question from the chat: Is there anything that could have made the pilot stronger?

Well, until you have created some hit shows, you want to restrain critiques. More money would have definitely helped! :) I think the pilot is damn near perfect. There are two time gaps when the audience is not told what happens - between ep. 1 and 2 (are they hooking up? if yes, why aren't they "going all the way" if no why not?) and between ep. 3 and 5 (are Scott and Kip together / broken up / what happened in 3 years?). Leaving it to the audience to fill in these gaps is a choice. There could have been more hints in dialogue. I hate not being told stuff, so this really bugs me. Lots of people I've talked to love it - they like making up their own stories.

Anne Hastings Jacob has said in interviews that he did not have any idea how big this show would become. He had hoped it would be successful, obviously, but the scale of the success of the show has completely surprised him and everyone who worked on it. He has said that the final sequence in episode 5 was closest to his heart and the one he had hoped fans would connect with. He had licensed the Wolf Parade song and then wrote the sequence specifically to that song. He has said that he's been very touched by the fan reception to that sequence - that it hit people the way he had intended. He also hoped episode 6 would be a fulfilling conclusion, which many fans have voiced.

Anthony Gasca I hope I did address this quite a bit in the webinar in terms of how tight the storytelling is. Every beat is efficient and does multiple things. There is absolutely no filler. That is the big takeaway. In terms of fitting the book into 6 episodes, there are some big sections he has taken out. Notably, the book has at least twice as many sex scenes (probably more) and they are pretty long and detailed. I mean, sorry, but that's kind of the reason people read these books. But on TV it would get to be very repetitive, possibly even slow, and very difficult (therefore expensive) to film. There are actually some really great sex scenes with a lot of relationship talk that are missing, notably the skype scene when Ilya is in Russia, which provides an emotional link between the All Star game and the Cottage, which I do miss. A lot is missing from the end of the book, much of what happens at the cottage and a huge chunk after the drive home, which was cut because the network did not want to set up a second season. And of course Game Changer feels very condensed - a huge section of the book is taken out, leaving a gap between the end of ep. 3 and the end of ep. 5. The fact that 3 years pass there is sort of a "mistake" but I don't see any way to avoid it. Jacob has mentioned that the portion of the story he regretted losing due to budget was Shane's home in Montreal / the hookup building (I mentioned this in the webinar), and I absolutely agree. I wish there would have been money for that and I think it could have fit into the 6 episodes.

I got a chance to see the Zoom chat and thank you all for your comments!

Some of you spot details better than I do! I never noticed the charger on the counter nor the cheetos in the cottage! OMG I've seen this like five times and there are STILL details!!

For the person asking if they had fallen in love in the first scene, read The Long Game! :)

As far as hockey accuracy, people have pointed out many "mistakes." The #1 priority though is to not confuse the audience. So our characters need to be in the same colors all the time, otherwise we'll visually lose track of them and also feel like maybe they play on more than one team or something. Again, when you write, you want to create a rich, detailed world the audience may not have seen before, and then bit by bit reveal info as needed for the audience. But make it as simple as possible - storytelling matters a lot more than accuracy.

The budget was around $2 M per episode which is astonishingly low! A lot of the creative decisions were driven by that, but it actually made for a better show. Which is why people have asked if htey're getting more money for season 2, and the answer is most likely no.

Yes, reportedly we are getting the trophy room scene!! I'm so glad I'm not the only one looking forward to that one. ;)

I just got the chance to watch the webinar. Thank you so much for this fantastic analysis, Anna! I'm a romance fiction editor, so seeing the story adapted to the structure of a television show - which I know very little about (there are five acts?) - has been fascinating.

Jessica Snyder My pleasure! One of the most interesting things is that nearly all of the changes from the book are pretty clearly to fulfill the requirements of pilot structure and setting up a season. Shows how important that is and that the requirements of television are more important than the source material. It's a VERY close adaptation, with much of the dialogue directly taken from the book, yet all the changes that had to be made were made.