If there is one thing we want to be in life, it’s a girls’ girl. Women supporting women is more than just a phrase — it’s a whole vibe, and honestly, it’s the best one. Which is why we’re thrilled about the launch of Rommi, a new production studio focused on developing romance micromovies. And yes, it’s founded by women.
Rommi “brings together best-selling romance authors, BookTok creators, and established filmmakers to develop comedies and dramas for today’s audiences.”
No shade intended, but does that sound a lot like Passionflix — just built for the vertical world? Because it does, and we have to admit that intrigues us. Passionflix carved out a home for romance adaptations when traditional studios wouldn’t. The idea of that same love and ambition meeting the vertical space? Feels like something worth celebrating.
Enemies. One car. 900 miles. We’re already seated.
And they’re starting strong: Drive Me Mad, a “micro mini movie” based on an idea from romance author Ali Rosen. The story comes from a romance author, so it’s built by someone who knows exactly what romance readers want.
Drive Me Mad follows Olivia and Joe, two rivals forced to share a rental car for a 900-mile road trip after a nationwide airport outage grounds every flight in the country. If you know anything about romance, you know that being trapped in a car with your nemesis is basically a scientific formula for falling in love — but this story adds a twist we’re obsessed with: somewhere between the fast food stops and the interstate, they realize they’re competing for the exact same client. So it’s not just personal annoyance in close quarters — it’s professional rivalry with romantic tension rising like the temperature on a dashboard.
Give us the tropes
Forced proximity? Check. Only one bed of a premise (one car, same direction)? Check. Two people who can’t stand each other slowly realizing they can’t stand being apart? Check, check, check. This is the enemies-to-lovers, forced-to-share-a-vehicle pipeline that romance readers have loved since Mr. Darcy insulted Elizabeth at a dance, and we cannot wait to see how it plays out at vertical speed.
It stars creator Meg Levine in her scripted acting debut, alongside Beau Minniear and Caroline Baniewicz, and was produced with BookTok creator Morgann Book and Bookish Media. It was directed by Chell Stephen.
THE AUTHOR
Rosen, for her part, is feeling the love too. She said, “Romance readers deserve and want a constant stream of high-quality book adaptations, and from the moment I met with Jamie and Maggie, I felt inspired and confident in their plan to pull it off. I adore the accessibility of the vertical format, and I feel so honored to have a story being adapted. It’s an out-of-body experience for an author to get to watch her words come to life, and I can’t wait for Rommi to knock everyone’s socks off for years to come.”
An author getting to watch her words come to life? That’s the dream, and we’re not being dramatic when we say we’d love to see more of it.
Ali Rosen is the bestselling author of five novels, including Unlikely Story and Merry and Bright. She is also and a USA Today bestseller, Kirkus Best of the Year, and Amazon Editor pick. She’s also the Emmy Award and James Beard Award-nominated host of Potluck with Ali Rosen on NYC Life and a New York Times bestselling author of and contributor to cookbooks, including 15 Minute Meals. (A romance author who also knows food. We stan.)
THE LEADS
Making her scripted acting debut, Meg Levine is a content creator, actress, and model known for her natural comedic instincts and on-camera presence. Her musical performances and original content have cultivated a loyal audience across social platforms, and she’s appeared in campaigns for brands including Origins Skincare, Staycool NYC, The Canvas NYC, and Petit Moments. She’s repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment.
Beau Minniear is known for his roles in HBO Max‘s Minx, Bookie, Sex Lives of College Girls, and Wild Life, plus the comedy-horror Bad Haircut, Good Luck With Everything, Are We Lost, Night at the Eagle Inn, and the psychological thriller Intermedium, based on the award-winning short of the same name. He’s represented by Buchwald, The Artists Partnership, and Untitled Entertainment. He is booked and busy.
THE OTHERS
Caroline Baniewicz is an actor, comedian, and content creator known for Floating Carousel and This Blows. She works full-time at Barstool Sports, where she co-created The Apartment show in its first season on YouTube. She was a New Face Creator at the Just For Laughs Comedy Fest in Montreal, a Creator to Watch at the New York Comedy Fest, and regularly opens for Hannah Berner. WME, Brillstein Entertainment, and Bloch Law represent her.
Book adaptations, romance authors getting their due, BookTok behind the camera, women building the studio of our dreams — what’s not to love? We’ll be watching Drive Me Mad – which is out now – and probably watching it more than once. For the girls’ girls and the romance girlies, this one feels personal.
Where to watch Drive Me Mad? YouTube | Instagram | Facebook.
We’ll be watching it ASAP. Will you?
