Screenwriter and author John August

Halogencore

Episode - 656

August 27, 2024 Scriptnotes

John welcomes journalist/screenwriter Max Read to look at the emerging sub-genre “halogencore” – stories of corporate malfeasance that are less about uncovering corruption as they are about characters learning to ignore it. They look at the evolution of the sub-genre, how these movies function, and why it’s important to define genres at all.

We also explore the current state of independent journalism and freelance writing, and follow up on Hallmark movies and playwrights turned screenwriters.

The new Highland (including support for iOS) is now in beta — Sign up in the link below!

In our bonus segment for premium members, does it feel like time has sped up this summer? Like, even more than usual? John and Max slow it down and find the silver linings of an accelerated world.

Links:

* [Beta test the new Highland – sign up here!](https://mailchi.mp/quoteunquoteapps/highland-pro-beta)
* [Max Read’s newsletter READ MAX](https://maxread.substack.com/)
* [Shiva Baby](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11317142/) and [Good Luck to You, Leo Grande](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13352968/)
* [How many Hallmark Christmas movies are there?!](https://stephenfollows.com/how-many-hallmark-christmas-movies-are-there/) by Stephen Follows
* [The Read Max ‘Halogencore’ Guide](https://maxread.substack.com/p/the-read-max-halogencore-guide?r=3dw6x&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true)
* [Max Read’s Halogencore list](https://letterboxd.com/max_read/list/halogencore/) on Letterboxd
* [Where Are You Now?](https://saraschaefer.substack.com/p/where-are-you-now) by Sara Schaefer
* [Billy Strings – Dust in a Baggie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jStcHKMNvqI)
* [In Ascension](https://groveatlantic.com/book/in-ascension/) by Martin MacInnes
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* Craig Mazin on [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@clmazin) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/)
* John August on [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@johnaugust), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) and [Mastodon](https://mastodon.art/@johnaugust)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Tim Brown ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt 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/656standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 11-12-24:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2024/scriptnotes-episode-656-halogencore-transcript).

Featured Friday: First Features

August 23, 2024 Weekend Read

[Weekend Read](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/), our app for reading scripts on your phone, features a new curated collection of screenplays each week.

This week, we look at those first screenplays that broke through, got made, and launched some of our favorite writers’ careers.

Our collection includes:

– **28 Days Later** by Alex Garland
– **A Few Good Men** by Aaron Sorkin
– **Badlands** by Terrence Malick
– **Blood Simple** by Joel and Ethan Coen
– **Bottle Rocket** by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
– **Cloverfield** by Drew Goddard
– **Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story** by Rawson Marshall Thurber
– **Eighth Grade** by Bo Burnham
– **Following** by Christopher Nolan
– **Fruitvale Station** by Ryan Coogler
– **Get Out** by Jordan Peele
– **Go** by John August
– **Gone Girl** by Gillian Flynn
– **Hereditary** by Ari Aster
– **Juno** by Diablo Cody
– **Kids** by Harmony Korine
– **Little Miss Sunshine** by Michael Arndt
– **Palm Springs** by Andy Siara
– **Pariah** by Dee Rees
– **Promising Young Woman** by Emerald Fennell
– **Reservoir Dogs** by Quentin Tarantino
– **Rocky** by Sylvester Stallone
– **Sense and Sensibility** by Emma Thompson
– **sex, lies and videotape** by Steven Soderbergh
– **Shaun of the Dead** by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
– **Sicario** by Taylor Sheridan
– **Sorry to Bother You** by Boots Riley
– **Submarine** by Richard Ayoade
– **Swingers** by Jon Favreau
– **The Babadook** by Jennifer Kent
– **The Post** by Liz Hannah
– **The Virgin Suicides** by Sofia Coppola
– **The Wedding Date** by Dana Fox
– **The Witch** by Robert Eggers
– **Whiplash** by Damien Chazelle

Read these and other featured collections only on Weekend Read 2, available on all Mac and iOS devices. [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/in/app/weekend-read-2/id1534798355)!

Featured Friday: Back to School

August 16, 2024 News

Weekend Read, our app for reading scripts on your phone, features a new curated collection of screenplays each week.

This week, it’s back to school! We look at stories that articulate the excitement and ease the pain of starting another academic year.

Our collection includes:

10 Things I Hate About You by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith
Big Little Lies – “Somebody’s Dead” by David E. Kelley
Bottoms by Rachel Sennott & Emma Seligman
Clueless by Amy Heckerling
Dead Poets Society by Tom Schulman
Dear White People by Justin Simien
Easy A by Bert V. Royal
Fast Times at Ridgemont High by Cameron Crowe
Friday Night Lights – “Its Different For Girls” by Andy Miller
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by Steve Kloves
Lady Bird by Greta Gerwig
Mean Girls by Tina Fey
Napoleon Dynamite by Jared Hess & Jerusha Hess
Never Have I Ever – “Pilot” by Mindy Kaling & Lang Fisher
Rushmore by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
School Daze by Spike Lee
Sex Education – “Episode One” by Laurie Nunn
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Wednesday – “Wednesday’s Child Is Full Of Woe” by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar

Read these and other featured collections only on Weekend Read 2, available on all Mac and iOS devices. Download for free!

Featured Friday: Spies & Secret Agents

August 2, 2024 Apps, Weekend Read

[Weekend Read](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/), our app for reading scripts on your phone, features a new curated collection of screenplays each week.

This week, we enter the clandestine world of spies and secret agents to see how their writers use action, tension and character to keep us on the edge of our seats.

Our collection includes:

– **Argo** by Chris Terrio
– **Bridge of Spies** by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
– **Burn After Reading** by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
– **Charlie’s Angels** by Ed Solomon & Ryan Rowe and John August
– **Hanna** by Seth Lochhead and David Farr
– **Killing Eve – “Nice Face”** by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
– **Kingsman: The Secret Service** by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn
– **Mission: Impossible** by David Koepp and Robert Towne
– **Mission: Impossible – Fallout** by Christopher McQuarrie
– **Mr. & Mrs. Smith – “First Date”** by Donald Glover & Francesca Sloane
– **Skyfall** by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan
– **The Americans – “Pilot”** by Joe Weisberg
– **The Bourne Identity** by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron
– **The Debt** by Matthew Vaughn & Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan
– **The Night Manager – “Episode 1”** by David Farr
– **The Spy Who Dumped Me** by Susanna Fogel & David Iserson
– **Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy** by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
– **True Lies** by James Cameron
– **Turn: Washington’s Spies – “Pilot”** by Craig Silverstein & Mitchell Akselrad

Read these and other featured collections only on Weekend Read 2, available on all Mac and iOS devices. [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/in/app/weekend-read-2/id1534798355)!

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