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Zen and the Angst of Kaufman

Episode - 18

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January 3, 2012 Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Craig and John look at the year ahead, from resolutions (we don’t have any) to reunions (20th!). Along the way, we discuss archery, piano and left-hand weakness.

The bulk of the episode is a discussion of Charlie Kaufman’s BAFTA speech about screenwriting and screenwriters, artistry and artifice. Which of us comes down on the side of self-examination and the purity of intentions? The answer may surprise you!

LINKS:

* [Austrian wines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_wine)
* [Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061673730/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Robert M. Pirsig
* [Zen in the Art of Archery](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0375705090/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Eugen Herrigel
* [Zen Driving](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345353501/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by K. T. Berger
* [BAFTA: British Academy of Film and Television Arts](http://www.bafta.org/)
* [Charlie Kaufman speech at BAFTA](http://guru.bafta.org/charlie-kaufman-screenwriters-lecture-video)
* [Transcript of his speech](http://guru.bafta.org/sites/learning/files/guru_sws_ck_transcript_final.pdf) as a .pdf
* Craig’s short story [Lightning in a Bottle](http://www.mulhollandbooks.com/popcornfiction/stories/Lightning_in_a_Bottle_by_Craig_Mazin.html)
* John’s short story [The Variant](http://johnaugust.com/variant)
* John’s short story [Snake People](http://www.amazon.com/Snake-People-ebook/dp/B004H8GF0U) on Kindle
* INTRO: [HBO 1983 intro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1NKoMNy5bY)
* OUTRO: [Man in the Mirror (Acoustic)](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/man-in-mirror-acoustic-single/id379339709) by James Morrison

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_18.m4a).

UPDATE 1-9-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-18-zen-and-the-angst-of-kaufman-transcript).

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