John and Craig discuss their personal philosophies and how writers can approach philosophical questions in terms of theme (central dramatic question) and character (moral codes and motivation).
Then we cover virtual pitches and listener questions on eight-sequence structure and how to read a script. We also follow up on the agency campaign, failed insurrections, and bad IP.
Finally in our bonus segment for premium members, we revisit our disagreement in episode 481 about whether it’s okay to lie.
Links:
* [WGA Rejects WME Deal](https://deadline.com/2020/12/wga-rejects-wme-deal-agency-grapple-conflicts-of-interest-1234662648/), [Judge Rejects Injunction](https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/wme-wga-lawsuit-injunction-deny-writers-1234876988/)
* [Rubik’s Cube](https://www.dropbox.com/s/yjg9nfr506axedo/RUBIK%27S%20CUBE%20-%20HP%20%26%20EC%20Visual%20Presentation%5B3%5D.pdf?dl=0)
* [Mr. Clean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Clean): a sailor? A genie? Both?
* [Eight Sequence Structure](https://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting/structure/the-sequence/45-the-eight-sequences/)
* [John’s 2020 Year in Review](https://johnaugust.com/2021/2020-annual-review)
* [There is No Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Is_No_Game:_Wrong_Dimension)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Rajesh Naroth ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com
You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/483standard.mp3).
**UPDATE 1-15-21** The transcripts for this episode can now be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2021/scriptnotes-episode-483-philosophy-for-screenwriters-transcript).