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Scriptnotes: Ep. 376

John and Craig discuss commencement, the official moment to start writing. It can be easy to get pressured into free producer rewrites, starting to write before a deal is done and other pitfalls of blurry boundaries, so the WGA is introducing the Start Button, designed to help writers define their timeline and let the Guild be the bad guy.

We also answer listener questions about procedural television, binge-watching, and crossing the line in dark comedy.

Links:

• Signed Arlo Finch bookplates are available with a copy of your receipt.
• Tickets for the Scriptnotes Holiday Live Show are on sale now.
• Scriptnotes, Ep 296: Television with Damon Lindelof
• Start Button for WGA members
• Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana box set or just the book
• This Chemical Is So Hot It Destroys Nerve Endings — In a Good Way by Matt Simon for Wired
• T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
• Outro by Andrew Burns (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 375

John and Craig review three new Three Page Challenge entries with the help of Lindsay Doran (producer of Stranger Than Fiction, Sense and Sensibility, Nanny McPhee, Dead Again) and Jewerl Ross (manager and founder of Silent R Management). They then invite the writers up to discuss the notes, including the importance of geography, setting up relationships, and the danger in feeding kittens to sharks.

We also answer listener questions about “emotional math,” breaking rules, the evolution of screenwriting and trying to be clever, but failing.

Thanks to the Austin Film Festival for hosting us and to our brave participants!

Links:

• Tickets are on sale for the Holiday Live Show!
• Thank you for joining us, Lindsay Doran and Jewerl Ross!
• Lindsay Doran’s Ted Talk is also great.
• The Three Pages
• On Writing Well by William Zinsser
• T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 374

John and Craig investigate actual villains in this installment of How Would This Be a Movie? From the eerily prescient writer of “How to Murder Your Husband” to the dark comedy of Jacob Wohl, sometimes reality provides the character — now you just need an actual story.

We also look at the craft behind writing for ensemble, plus follow-up on the end of FilmStruck, “No Writing Left Behind,” specifying character race in scripts and the hopeful resurgence of family-friendly Christmas movies.

Links:

• FilmStruck is Shutting Down
• Aaron Sauerland’s tweet about writing for ensembles
• Novelist Who Penned ‘How To Murder Your Husband’ Essay Charged With Husband’s Murder by Laurel Wamsley for NPR
• Never Go Full Trump: The Lena Epstein Story by Josh Marshal for TPM
• The Humiliating Crash and Burn of Pro-Trump Media Star Jacob Wohl Is the Best Political Story of the Season by Dustin Rowles for Pajiba
• ‘Nicole From Last Night’: University Of Calgary Student Mass Emails 247 Nicoles by Maija Kappler for Huffington Post
• Meet the gallant all-black American female battalion that served in Europe during World War II by Elizabeth Ofosuah Johnson for Face 2 Face Africa.
• Mary McLeod Bethune
• 6 Tips for Getting Your Solo Play to Broadway by Mike Birbiglia
• Decrypto
• T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-14-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 373

John and Craig invite Wendy Calhoun (Station 19, Empire), Phil Hay (The Invitation, Ride Along), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel), and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman, Ice Age: Continental Drift) to join them onstage for a discussion about the death of the writing middle class, why we get bored during a film or episode of television, and the consequences of handing over unpaid writing.

We also play a game called “Why is Craig So Mad?”

Recorded live from the Driskill Ballroom at the 2018 Austin Film Festival. Thanks to the Austin Film Festival for hosting us, and to a great audience!

Links:

• Thanks for joining us, Wendy Calhoun, Phil Hay, Nicole Perlman, and Jason Fuchs!
• And thank you, Beto, for the message! Check out the video from the audience.
• The Death of Hollywood’s Middle Class by Nicole Laporte for Fast Company
• This tweet by Nicola Prigg
• Keep an eye on Weekend Read for screenplays this awards season.
• T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
• The USB drives!
• Wendy Calhoun on Twitter
• Phil Hay on Twitter
• Nicole Perlman on Twitter
• Jason Fuchs on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-8-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 372

John and Craig discuss the dangers of leave-behinds. The “writing before the writing” is an important part of the craft, but giving it away for free is bad for everyone.

We also answer a listener question about character wants versus needs, and why that distinction has become such a guru staple.

Links:

• Hope to see you this weekend at the Austin Film Festival! You can also catch John at the Texas Book Festival and the Boulder Book Store Event
• No Writing Left Behind
• The Confidence Gap by Claire Shipman, Katty Kay and JillEllyn Riley for The New York Times
• Youtube TV
• T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
• Outro by Luke Brown (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 10-31-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 225

John and Craig talk romantic comedies with screenwriter Tess Morris, whose film Man Up is unapologetically part of the genre.

We discuss what distinguishes rom-coms from other comedies, and why they get singled out for disdain and death-of articles.

Also this week: Amazon Storywriter, overused dicks, and follow-up on Whiplash.

This episode originally aired on November 24, 2015.

Links:

• Amazon Storywriter and Fountain
• Scriptnotes, 224: Whiplash, on paper and on screen
• Tess Morris on IMDb and Twitter, and Man Up on Wikipedia and Rotten Tomatoes
• Why Are Romantic Comedies So Bad? by Christopher Orr
• CinemaBlend’s 30 Best Romantic Comedies Of All-Time
• The New Yorker on Nick Bostrom
• Wait But Why on The Fermi Paradox
• Fallout 4, and on Amazon
• The Vista Theatre
• T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
• Outro by Jon Spurney (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.