Write On: 'Dumb Money' Writers Lauren Schuker Blum & Rebecca Angelo

“When we were starting [to write screenplays], we were told,
‘Write your story, write your story, write your story.’  But
our story is not that interesting. So, I would say, don't write
your story necessarily, write the story that you fall in love
with and find the human connection between you and the characters
that you are depicting,” says Dumb Money co-writer Rebecca
Angelo.


On today’s episode, I talk with writing partners Lauren Schuker
Blum and Rebecca Angelo about their recent film Dumb Money, that
tells the true story of the Game Stop stock roller coaster ride
led by real-life populist hero, Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty,
played by Paul Dano. Lauren and Rebecca talk about writing the
screenplay super quickly because there were at least nine other
competing projects in development at the time. It seems everyone
in Hollywood wanted to tell this feel-good story that has a happy
ending for the common man.


They also tell me about using the structure from sports movies to
craft the screenplay, how they employ “radical empathy” will
their characters and the importance of adding comedic elements
when telling complicated stories.


“You know, we could have made a choice to have this movie be a
heavy drama. But it felt like we were able to land some bigger
ideas when people are laughing before or after even during those
moments,” says Lauren Schuker Blum.


For a deeper dive into their writing process, take a listen to
the podcast.