John welcomes back Mike Schur (The Good Place, Parks and Recreation) to ask, how do you fix an overwritten script? They discuss ways to rebuild scenes and restore muddy characters that have become burdened by too many notes, all while making sure your script retains its voice.
We also look at the new IATSE deal with the AMPTP, the WGA’s back-pay settlement with CBS, Skydance purchasing Paramount, and follow-up on our idea of keeping pages un-locked.
In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Mike listen to the AI generated songs named in the RIAA’s current lawsuit and wonder, did they really steal from copyrighted material? (The answer is yes.)
Links:
* [Mike Schur](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1321658/) on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schur)
* [Weekend Read 2](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/)
* [IATSE tentative basic agreement](https://basic.iatse.net/)
* [David Ellison’s Skydance Taking Over Paramount After $8 Billion Investment](https://deadline.com/2024/07/david-ellison-skydance-paramount-takeover-1236002996/) by Dade Hayes for Deadline
* [WGA West Reaches $3 Million Settlement With CBS Studios Over Writer Fees and Benefit Payments](https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/wga-west-cbs-settlement-writers-mcgyver-hawaii-50-seal-team-1236066838/) by Cynthia Littleton for Variety
* [Project Hail Mary](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611060/project-hail-mary-by-andy-weir/) by Andy Weir
* [Alphabirds](https://alphabirdsgame.com/)
* [Should We Go Extinct?](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/760946/should-we-go-extinct-by-todd-may-introduction-by-michael-schur-creator-of-the-good-place/) by Todd May
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* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Vance Lovett ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Drew Marquardt](https://www.drewmarquardt.com/) with help from [Jonathan Wigdortz](https://www.wiggy.rocks/). It is 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/650V2standard.mp3).
**UPDATE 9-10-24:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2024/scriptnotes-episode-650-overwritten-transcript).