John August

Follow Up

K.C. Scott’s “This Is Working”

Follow Up, Story and Plot, Words on the page

On Tuesday’s episode of Scriptnotes, we’ll be looking at K.C. Scott’s original screenplay This Is Working, a former Three Page Challenge entry.

We just recorded the episode, and it’s already in my top ten.

Joined by special guest Franklin Leonard, Craig and I talk about character, story and thematic issues in ways we never could when only looking at just three pages. We get very specific about what’s working in the script now — but also what the movie may want to become. Plus we talk about the road ahead for this writer, and the choices he’s going to be facing.

I think listeners are going to get a lot out of this episode — and even moreso if they read the script beforehand. So [download the script](http://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/THIS-IS-WORKING_screenplay_2015.pdf) and give it a read this weekend if you have a chance.

We’ve also just added it to [Weekend Read](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weekend-read/id502725173?mt=8), at the top of the For Your Consideration list.

Take a look and see if you agree with our assessment on Tuesday’s show.

Midseason Finale

Episode - 188

Go to Archive

Film Industry, Follow Up, News, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Weekend Read, WGA

Craig and John wrap up many plotlines from previous episodes, with follow-up on Three Page Challenges, diversity numbers, Road Runner and other rules, plus the Gravity lawsuit in light of the Blurred Lines verdict.

Then, it’s time to start whole new storylines with discussion of the future of the show, including the Full Script Challenge and the possibility of not losing money on this whole venture. We want to know what you think, so tell us via email, Twitter or our long-neglected Facebook page, which we actually promise to check this week.

And there’s more! Weekend Read 1.5 adds iPad and iCloud support. Courier Prime has two new variants, Courier Prime Sans and Courier Prime Source.

Plus John and his compatriots will be testing a brand-new tabletop game in LA next Monday, and need your help. (Link below.)

Links:

* [Weekend Read now has iPad support, iCloud sync and folders](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/)
* [Download Courier Prime Sans and Courier Prime Source now](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/courierprime/)
* [PAX East](http://east.paxsite.com/)
* [If you live in LA, sign up to help us test a new tabletop game on March 23](http://johnaugust.com/game)
* [Scriptnotes, 187: The Coyote Could Stop Any Time](http://johnaugust.com/2015/the-coyote-could-stop-any-time)
* [WGAw 2015 Writer Access Project](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=3436)
* [Wiley Vs. Rhodes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ5p9WttVhE) on YouTube
* [Scriptnotes, 186: The Rules (or, the Paradox of the Outlier)](http://johnaugust.com/2015/the-rules-or-the-paradox-of-the-outlier)
* [Begging the question](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question) on Wikipedia
* The New York Times on [What’s Wrong With the ‘Blurred Lines’ Copyright Ruling](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/arts/music/whats-wrong-with-the-blurred-lines-copyright-ruling.html?_r=0)
* [12 Signs of a Promising Spec Script](http://www.scriptmag.com/features/meet-the-reader-12-signs-of-promising-spec-script) by Ray Morton
* [Email us at ask@johnaugust.com](mailto:ask@johnaugust.com) or [leave us a comment on our Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/scriptnotes?_rdr)
* [Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt](http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80025384?locale=en-US) on Netflix
* FiveThirtyEight on [Draftback for Google Docs](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/watch-me-write-this-article/)
* Laughing Squid on [VeinViewer](http://laughingsquid.com/veinviewer-a-medical-system-that-projects-an-image-of-veins-on-skin-to-help-clinicians-insert-an-iv/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Kristian Gotthelf ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_188.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_188.mp3).

**UPDATE 3-22-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-188-midseason-finale-transcript).

Hardy Boys, in outline form

Follow Up, Story and Plot, Television, Treatments

Rebecca Onion looks at the typed [outline for a Hardy Boys novel](http://www.slate.com/content/slate/blogs/the_vault/2015/03/13/history_of_the_stratemeyer_syndicate_hardy_boys_plot_outline.html):

> In this two-page outline for the 1927 Hardy Boys’ mystery The House on the Cliff, Edward Stratemeyer directed writer Leslie Macfarlane in the construction of the plot of the second book in the franchise’s original series. The book was officially published as the work of Franklin W. Dixon, a fictional author whose name appears on all of the Hardy Boys books.  

It’s fascinating to look at something so old yet so familiar. Most modern televison writing goes through an outline stage, at which point the studio and network sign off on the story — or send it back with notes.

TV outlines aren’t this rough, but they are similarly straightforward in their just-what-happens style. I find them hard to write, because my instinct is always to be fancy and clever. That’s not what outlines are for.

Based on what I read in Marvin Heiferman and Carole Kismaric’s [The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006CDQ6SE/?tag=johnaugustcom-20), Macfarlane would have had a month to turn this outline into a book, for which he would be paid $100.

The Rules (or, the Paradox of the Outlier)

Apps, Film Industry, Follow Up, Formatting, News, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss this year’s screenplay Oscar winners, including the success of Birdman’s outside-the-box approach and Graham Moore’s speech.

Craig asked Reddit’s r/screenwriting sub to collect a list of the so-called rules budding screenwriters are told to follow. From the rules of the page to the rules of the industry, John and Craig look at these commonly-cited rules one-by-one, discussing which ones have merit and which ones are better ignored.

All this, plus follow-up on Tess Gerritsen’s Gravity lawsuit.

Also, John has a new app in the App Store called Assembler. Find out more in the links below.

Links:

* [Scriptnotes, 185: Malcolm Spellman, a Study in Heat](http://johnaugust.com/2015/malcolm-spellman-a-study-in-heat)
* [Jiminy Cricket educational serials](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jiminy_Cricket_educational_serials) on Wikipedia
* [87th Academy Awards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/87th_Academy_Awards) on Wikipedia
* [Scriptshadow’s review of Birdman](http://scriptshadow.net/screenplay-review-birdman/)
* [Graham Moore’s speech after winning Best Adapted Screenplay](http://oscar.go.com/video/2015-awards-ceremony-highlights/_m_VDKA0_4756q5vd)
* [Paddy Chayefsky at the 1978 Oscars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JupkXrn1ahU)
* [LA Times retracts an incorrect assumption about Graham Moore’s sexuality](http://www.latimes.com/local/corrections/la-a4-correx-20150225-story.html)
* [Rashida Jones on the red carpet at the 2015 SAG awards](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtj57Vg80SQ)
* [Scriptnotes, 183: The Deal with the Gravity Lawsuit](http://johnaugust.com/2015/the-deal-with-the-gravity-lawsuit)
* [Tess Gerritsen’s amended complaint](https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/gravity-lawsuit-amended-complaint.pdf)
* [My Cyborg Ear: How a Surgeon and Titanium Cured My Lifelong Deafness](http://gizmodo.com/my-cyborg-ear-how-a-surgeon-and-titanium-cured-my-life-1601254003) by Adam Clark Estes
* [Mike Tyson Mysteries](http://www.adultswim.com/videos/mike-tyson-mysteries/) on adult swim
* [I’m no fool with a bicycle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LmORiZfEJU)
* [Assembler](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/assembler/) is in the Mac App Store now
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Jeff Harms ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_186.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_186.mp3).

**UPDATE 3-10-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-186-the-rules-or-the-paradox-of-the-outlier-transcript).