Writer and director Richard LaGravenese joins Craig for an in-depth analysis of his 1994 comedy classic screenplay, THE REF. Together, Craig and Richard dig into the rules of farce, making hyper-verbal characters work, and the difference between a main character and a protagonist.
We also discuss how to write compelling monologues, engineering a character’s catharsis, and why coffee really is better with cake.
In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig and Richard discuss why it’s often so hard for men to make – and keep – close friends.
Links:
* The Ref on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKthobV2JU4), [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B006RXQ1EI/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r) and [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/)
* [Richard LaGravenese](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0481418/) on IMDb
* [The Ransom of Red Chief](https://loa-shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Henry_Red_Chief.pdf) by O. Henry
* The Ref’s [Opening Scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAa3zP1ysqo)
* [Puzzled Pint’s Code Sheet](http://puzzledpint.com/files/2415/7835/9513/CodeSheet-201912.pdf)
* [Levain Bakery](https://levainbakery.com/)
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* [Craig Mazin](https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/) on Instagram
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
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* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Matt Davis ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Drew Marquardt](https://www.instagram.com/marquardtam/) and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com
You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/593standard.mp3).
**UPDATE 5-11-23:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-593-the-ref-with-richard-lagravenese-transcript).