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Professional screenwriting, and why no one really breaks in

Episode - 33

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April 17, 2012 News, QandA, Scriptnotes

Craig and John just have to talk about the double-barrel craziness of the Joe Eszterhas/Mel Gibson spat. How often do you have screenwriters lobbing incendiary accusations at movie stars?

Well, pretty often, actually. But almost never so publicly. And the already-certifiable, formerly-A-list-ness of it all makes it especially gossip-worthy, so forgive us if we go on for a while.

That settled, we follow up on the Amazon Studios deal and what it means for screenwriters not currently in the WGA. One listener calls Craig an idiot, which leads to a discussion about what “professional screenwriting” even means.

John wants aspiring screenwriters to stop using the term “breaking in,” because it doesn’t accurately reflect the early stages of a writer’s career. Meanwhile, Craig takes umbrage at the idea of “trust fund screenwriters.”

We end with some questions and answers:

  • What is a screenwriter’s quote, and how does it get determined?

  • How do international screenwriters get U.S. visas?

  • Can animation writers get WGA coverage?

All this and more in the new Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

  • Joe Eszterhas’ letter to Mel Gibson
  • Warner Bros. buys rights to Reddit creation Rome Sweet Rome
  • John’s rusted car, 1990-1996
  • Intro: Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle TV cartoon intro
  • Outro: North Korean teens play “Take On Me”

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 4-19-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Related Posts

  1. Screenwriting gurus and so-called experts
  2. Amazon’s new deal for writers
  3. Undervalued simplicity, and WGA coverage for videogames

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