It was ten years ago when screenwriter R. Lee Fleming, Jr., still in college, had the idea for Get Over It, a comic exploration of first love. Fleming moved to Los Angeles four years later, where his script for Get Over It suitably impressed Tapestry Films. They then hired him to write "She's All That," his first produced screenplay, which starred Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Rachel Leigh Cook, and was distributed by Miramax Films.

When "She's All That" became a box office success, Fleming's earlier script Get Over It  attracted increasing attention. Michael Bums and Marc Butan at Ignite Films had already optioned the story when Miramax expressed interest in acquiring the project. Fleming's script then undertook an exciting new development when Miramax came on board. "We had a big meeting at Miramax when (Co-Chairman) Harvey Weinstein came up with the idea of incorporating Shakespeare into the script," recalls Fleming.

After researching Shakespeare's works, Fleming found that A Midsummer Night's Dream, with its themes of young, unrequited love, was an ideal match for his original story.

Not long after, Miramax's Harvey Weinstein saw a film by young director Tommy O'Haver, "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" at the Sundance Film Festival; O'Haver, Weinstein was convinced, was the right person to direct Get Over It.

Even though they found their work styles to be very different, screenwriter Fleming and O'Haver found they worked together well. "'Tommy is my age and we can relate to each other as peers," says Fleming. "We came to the project from completely different angles, and we have different senses of humour. Something really good came out of those differences."

Until he read the script, O'Haver had been wary of doing a teen movie. "The thing that attracted me was the play. That really set it apart from other teen films."

"I particularly liked the fact that the production was 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' because that was the first Shakespearean play I saw as a kid," recalls 'O'Haver. "I was so amazed that a play written so many years ago could actually entertain me, a fifth grader in Indiana. I'd always wanted to do that play as a film. So then the script came with all these elements it seemed to scream out to me, 'Hey this is your fate. You've got to do this film."'

For the actor, the script for Get Over It was a departure from most youth oriented comedies. "It wasn't like normal teen scripts," Foster explains. "It has this really light, happy, idealistic surface and underneath there's a dark thread which attracted me to the film." After Berke's heart has been broken, his once ideal world goes awry. "I like the idea of the sane, happy, all-American boy going slightly bonkers," says Foster.

Though it stars young actors, Get Over It is a film that appeals to people of any age. "Younger kids are going to love it because they'll relate to the characters," says director Tommy O'Haver. "And adults are going to love it because it has a level of sophistication that most teen films are lacking."

Fleming feels fortunate to have landed in Hollywood at a time when films for young people are a hot commodity. While on the surface, Get Over It is a film about teens; its love themes are much more universal. Though the film is not autobiographical, Fleming relates to Berke Landers' story. "Everyone remembers the first time they fell in love," the screenwriter says. "It's an experience that stays with you forever."