Follow Up

Fun with Numbers

Episode - 232

January 12, 2016 Film Industry, Follow Up, QandA, Random Advice, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Story and Plot, Transcribed, WGA, Words on the page

Craig and John discuss the impact of Star Wars knocking down all the records, both for the industry and big-screen sci-fi.

We also look at yet another start-up that promises to separate hits from flops, the shocking revelation that critics are humans, and three new WGA proposals. Finally, we look at ways to let an audience know a character’s name.

Note: This is also the long-promised vaginosis episode.

Links:

Mexican Coke, New Coke and the history of Coca-Cola on Wikipedia
Bacterial vaginosis at the Center for Disease Control and on Wikipedia
Vaginal douching on WebMD
Scriptnotes, 112: Let me give you some advice and Dear J.J. Abrams
Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Box Office Mojo
Get your tickets now for Scriptnotes, Live on January 25 with Jason Bateman and Lawrence Kasdan, a benefit for Hollywood HEART
ScriptBook and The startup story of Scriptbook
Box Office Shocker: Movie Reviews Matter in 2015 from The Wrap
WGA Asks Members To Amend Guild’s Constitution on Deadline
Ghost Streets of Los Angeles on BLDGBLOG
Vilmos Zsigmond on Wikipedia, IMDb and remembered in Variety
Outro by Mary Webb (send us yours!)

You can download the episode here: AAC | mp3.

UPDATE 1-14-16: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Feel the Nerd Burn

December 8, 2015 Directors, Film Industry, Follow Up, QandA, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

Craig and John discuss three new entries in the Three Page Challenge, looking at how simple mistakes and confusing word choices can hurt the read.

Also this week, a follow up on functional revenge, a brand-new version of Highland, and Craig gets big laughs on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Links:

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, December 3, 2015
Craig in The New York Times and on Jezebel
Download Highland 1.9 now and sign up to be a Highland 2 beta tester
Does Revenge Serve an Evolutionary Purpose? from Scientific American
One Hit Kill is now available for purchase
Projection Problems Plague 70mm L.A. Press Screening Of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’ from Indie Wire
Three Pages by Jody Russell
Three Pages by Mark S.W. & V.P. Walling
Three Pages by Matthew Gentile
Submit your Three Pages here
The Wall Street Journal on How Cyndi Lauper Wrote Her First No. 1 Hit, ‘Time After Time’
Secret Hitler is now on Kickstarter
Amazon Prime Now offers one hour delivery
Email us or tweet John or Craig for advice on things that have nothing to do with screenwriting
Outro by Roman Mittermayr (send us yours!)

You can download the episode here: AAC | mp3.

UPDATE 12-11-15: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

The Batman in the High Castle

December 1, 2015 Follow Up, How-To, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Writing Process

Craig and John discuss epic world-building, and the promises and pitfalls for writers attempting to create fictional universes.

From Gotham to Hogwarts, Middle Earth to Narnia, world-building is at the heart of some of our biggest movies and series, but are we creating settings for our stories, or stories for our settings? We also discuss the differences between portals, lived in worlds and just-beneath-our-noses.

Also this week: whether a screenwriter is better off with a poorly-reviewed hit or a well-reviewed flop.

Links: