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Scriptnotes: Ep. 318

John and Craig welcome back Aline Brosh McKenna to talk about writing projects outside the familiar constraints of screenwriting.

We discuss the surprises and adjustments involved in the creative processes of different media: Aline’s graphic novel Jane, Craig’s HBO miniseries Chernobyl, and John’s original song, “Rise.” We also dig into why screenwriters sometimes need to be amateurs again.

Then we answer listener questions about making fair deals as someone in a different country, and how best to read one’s script before rewriting.

Links:

• Submit to the Three Page Challenge and check the box if you’ll be in Austin for the Austin Film Festival
• The new season of Crazy Ex Girlfriend premieres Friday October 13th
• John Gatins’ IMDb
• Order Aline Brosh McKenna’s new graphic novel, Jane
• Ramón K. Pérez’s website, twitter and graphic novel, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand
• “Rise” composer Sam Davis’ website
• The Original Melody, John’s Snap Track, and the demo track with vocalist Curt Hansen for “Rise”
• Or you can check out this post for more details about “Rise”
• Mark Halpin Puzzles
• Insecure on HBO
• Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel
• The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• Aline Brosh McKenna on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by John August (lyrics) and Sam Davis (music) (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 317

Craig and John debut a new segment: This Kind of Scene, looking at how different movies handle similar situations. The Hudsucker Proxy, The Devil Wears Prada, Hidden Figures and Training Day all need to introduce their heroes to their new workplaces. We examine how those scenes work, both on the page and on screen.

We then discuss what it means to write for an international market, and determine what a “therapy piece” is and how to avoid writing one.

We also follow up on our discussion from episode 310 on the WGA deal and explore why animation writers aren’t included in the WGA.

Links:

• The Academy Nicholl Fellowships
• The Hudsucker Proxy on Wikipedia and the full script.
• Our scene in The Hudsucker Proxy, and in the script
• The Devil Wears Prada on Wikipedia, and the full script.
• Our first scene in The Devil Wears Prada, and in the script
• Our second scene in The Devil Wears Prada, and in the script
• Hidden Figures on Wikipedia, and the full script.
• Our scene from Hidden Figures, and in the script.
• Training Day on Wikipedia, and the full script.
• Our scene from Training Day, and in the script.
• Sword Guys Are a Thing and I’ve Had Sex With All of Them by Hana Michels for The Cut
• 3,700-Year-Old Babylonian Stone Tablet Gets Translated, Changes History by Collin Gosell for Distractify
• The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-18-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 316

John and Craig dive into another round of How Would This Be a Movie, looking at stories (and memes!) from around the world to figure out which ones might lend themselves to big-screen treatment.

Will it be the forgotten French spy from World War II? The repentant racist in Arkansas? The fake male founder exposing startup sexism? Or should it be the monthlong meth trip in the Alabama woods? Help us decide.

Plus, we follow up on how MoviePass actually works, and why their business model shares so many similarities with early Netflix.

Reminders! It’s WGA election season so be sure to cast your ballots. Plus, Big Fish is coming to London in November. You can find links to both below.

Links:

• Cast your ballot in the WGAw Officers and Board of Directors election
• Get your tickets now for this November and December’s London run of Big Fish: The Musical
• Gizmodo on Why MoviePass’s Crazy Cheap Subscription Just Might Work
• Abraham Davis’s story on The Daily and in The New York Times
• William Grimes on Jeannie Rousseau de Clarens
• The Distracted Boyfriend Meme in Wired, The Guardian, Vox, Business Insider and the “movie trailer” from Vulture
• The New York Post on the woman lost in woods who survived on ‘berries and mushrooms’ for a month, and follow up from The Sacramento Bee and The Daily Mail
• Famed Inventor Says He Buried Reporter ‘At Sea’ After His Homemade Sub Sank on NPR
• Fast Company on Witchsy’s two female founders and their fake male cofounder
• The new 7,541-piece Lego Millennium Falcon is the biggest and most expensive set ever
• The Living New Deal map
• The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Jonathan Mann (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-11-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 315

John and Craig offer a 101 on how movies make money at theaters, and why a 1948 Supreme Court case changed everything.

Then we look at two recent disruptions to the standard model: Movie Pass and Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky.

We also answer listener questions on waiting periods and creative rights.

Links:

• The WGF 2nd Annual Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament is on Friday, October 20th
• Tuff Turf and The Warriors on Wikipedia
• USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program
• United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. on Wikipedia
• The National Association of Theater Owners and CinemaCon (formerly ShoWest) on Wikipedia
• The Wrap asks, Is MoviePass’ $10 Monthly Subscription Deal Too Good to Be True?
• With ‘Logan Lucky,’ Soderbergh Hopes to Change Film’s Business Model from The New York Times
• Party of One by Dave Holmes
• Hellblade, and on Steam
• The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-6-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 314

Craig and John take a deep dive into 1992’s Unforgiven, looking at how the David Webb Peoples script works on the page and on the screen.

In the links below, you’ll find the PDF of the script we’re using. It’s also available in Weekend Read.

Links:

• Where to watch Unforgiven, and on IMDb and Wikipedia
• The Unforgiven script
• Weekend Read
• Past deep dives on The Addams Family, Ghost, Groundhog Day, Frozen, The Little Mermaid and Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Tuff Turf on Wikipedia
• The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-30-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Scriptnotes: Ep. 313

John and Craig look at four films from the past and discuss how we could make them today.

Then we have more listener questions on internships and alternate jokes.

Next week is a deep dive on Unforgiven, so get to watching if you haven’t seen it recently.

Links:

• Triskaidekaphobia on Wikipedia
• Where to watch Unforgiven before next week’s deep dive
• You Get Me on Netflix
• Romancing the Stone, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Rain Man and Coming to America on Wikipedia
• Watch Toad get struck by lightning on YouTube
• BuzzFeed News Trained A Computer To Search For Hidden Spy Planes. This Is What We Found.
• The Maze of Games by Mike Selinker
• The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
• The USB drives!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Jonathan Mann (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-22-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.