screenwriter
American screenwriter and creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
PROFILE
Aline Brosh McKenna
Guest
FROM Aline Brosh McKenna
The Business
Aline Brosh McKenna on 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' The premise of the quirky CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend can be summed up in a song. That's exactly what Rebecca Bunch, played by Rachel Bloom, does at the opening of every episode. Rebecca is the so-called Crazy Ex-Girlfriend because she has impulsively moved across the country, leaving a great job in New York to pursue an old flame from summer camp named Josh. There are at least two original songs in every episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, performed by Bloom or Josh, played by Vincent Rodriguez III, or one of Rebecca's new friends or co-workers in the standard-issue Los Angeles suburb of West Covina. As Rebecca attempts to win back her long-ago boyfriend, there are tongue-in-cheek musical numbers from every genre -- rap, 80's hair metal, and even ballads. Bloom created Crazy Ex-Girlfriend with our guest, Aline Brosh McKenna. The successful screenwriter of films including the The Devil Wears Prada and 27 Dresses, McKenna was not looking to work in television. But her career took an unexpected turn after she came across Bloom, singing on YouTube. McKenna tells about her career path as a screenwriter, how working on The Devil Wears Prada was a transformative experience, and the time she had to put her duties as a mom above those as a screenwriter and say "no" to super producer Harvey Weinstein. She also explains Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was originally supposed to be for Showtime, but ended up in the "garbage pile." Eventually, the series was picked up by The CW, where it's now been renewed for a second season -- helped, no doubt, in part by Bloom's surprise Golden Globe win. McKenna makes her directorial debut with the season finale of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which airs Monday, April 18 on The CW.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Gov. Jerry Brown: California and China will fight climate change together President Donald Trump reportedly wants the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and he’s expected to announce a decision soon. California Governor Jerry Brown heads to China to strengthen climate and clean energy ties.
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."