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John welcomes writers John Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building, Looking) and Brittani Nichols (Abbott Elementary, A Black Lady Sketch Show) to bring us behind the scenes of the comedy writers room. They explain ‘alts’ (alternative line jokes), crafting tone, and the process of pitching.

We also discuss the sophomore season and different comedic engines. We answer listener questions on whether you need to live in LA and how to choose a writing sample.

In our bonus segment for premium members, the group chats about being openly queer writers in Hollywood.

Links:

• Only Murders in the Building on Hulu
• Abbott Elementary on ABC/Hulu
• John Hoffman on Twitter
• Brittani Nichols on Twitter
• Remittance by the Barrel by Ameena Walker
• The Knock LA Voter Guide
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Outro by Daniel Mintz (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig discuss the mechanics of getting characters in and out of scenes. They cover why writers might show a character’s entrance or exit, both what it accomplishes for the story and the expectations it sets up for the audience.

We get an update from ‘Please Convince Me to Drop Out of Film School’ and answer listener questions on mortifying managers, cocktail conversations, and whether or not to use trigger warnings in a script.

In our bonus segment for premium members, the guys discuss the longevity movement and whether they’d choose to live forever.

Links:

• The Room – “Oh hi Mark” clip
• Scriptnotes, Episode 543: 20 Questions with John, Transcript
• Los Angeles Arts District: Hauser + Wirth, Night Gallery, Death + Company, Manuela
• Knotwords Game
• Upstep Orthotics
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Outro by Owen Danoff (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

John invites Anna Jane Joyner and Quinn Emmett from Good Energy Stories to discuss climate change on screen. Climate change affects every creature on our planet, so why don’t we see it more on television? They discuss opportunities for writers to inspire change and raise awareness to capture the environmental concerns of our time.

We follow up on disability representation in Hollywood with the release of the Cost of Accommodations report from the Inevitable Foundation.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we talk about asking people for money, whether it’s to finance a movie or launch a campaign to save the planet.

Links:

• Stanislav Petrov, The Man Who Saved the World Documentary
• Download The Cost of Accommodations Report from the Inevitable Foundation and read more on The Hollywood Reporter
• Good Energy Stories Playbook
• David Robert Ted Talk on Climate Change
• Years of Living Dangerously Clip with Anna and her Dad
• Subscribe to Important, Not Important
• Dana Fox on Twitter and checkout The Lost City Movie
• Russian Doll Season 2
• Redactle Game
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Anna Jane Joyner on Twitter
• Quinn Emmett on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Outro by Jade Carda (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.