David [Wain] and I had been writing a spoof of romantic comedies, and we started thinking about this stereotypical character. We started imagining an entire movie about him.

Their unifying characteristic is they're not romantic. They have this inability to recognize the simple romantic needs of their counterpart. They just never know the right thing!

There's a Baxter in every single romantic comedy,

The character of Elliot is one of a polite, chivalrous, modern Jimmy Stuart who you do not see much of in films today,

I went to college thinking of maybe pursuing a career in film criticism.

Given the current state of publishing, I think it helps to have a brand name on the cover of your book. Comedians are proven commodities with built-in audiences. They may not have the writing chops of a Dave Eggers, but they're salacious and funny and self-reflective.