• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

John August

  • Arlo Finch
  • Scriptnotes
  • Library
  • Store
  • About

Scriptnotes

  • Advice to a Young Film Student (with Scott Frank)
    Episode – 695 | Jul 15, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig welcome back Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit, Dept. Q) to offer their best advice to film students and the people who teach them. They look at ways to improve how we educate writers, and offer advice to an aspiring development executive. We also look at the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations of characters […]

  • Reviving the Spoof Movie
    Episode – 694 | Jul 8, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John welcomes back Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, Pretty Smart) to ask, how do you revive a dead genre? Using their upcoming movie The Naked Gun, they look at why the spoof genre fell apart, the challenges of introducing it to a new generation, and why turning genre tropes into […]

  • Setups That Don’t Feel Like Setups
    Episode – 693 | Jul 1, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig plant the idea for setups that have the most satisfying payoffs. Different from exposition, setups introduce ideas and concepts to an audience, priming them for a later revelation. They look at the sleight of hand required to have your setups deftly planted, take root in your audience’s mind, and grow into something […]

  • Crafting the Perfect Villain
    Episode – 692 | Jun 24, 2025
    Go to Episode

    In this craft compendium, John and Craig take a look at everything you need to make your bad guys compelling, memorable, and the perfect antagonist for your story. Using some favorite villains as examples, they look at the importance of understanding their motivations and offer seven tips for making a villain unforgettable. We also take […]

  • Collaborative Storytelling and RPGs
    Episode – 691 | Jun 17, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig welcome author Stu Horvath to look at the rich history of tabletop role playing games. From Stu’s collection of over 2300 RPGs, they look at the evolution of collaborative storytelling, interactive narrative design, and the communities of players they inspire. We also discuss the complicated influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft […]

  • Living and Writing in Sci-Fi Times
    Episode – 690 | Jun 10, 2025
    Go to Episode

    How do you write science fiction when technology is moving so quickly? John and Craig welcome back journalist and screenwriter Max Read to look at the trickiness of predicting the future, how our imagined futures can affect our reality, and ways that writers can protect their work from becoming dated before it’s even released. We […]

  • The Old New Video Problem
    Episode – 689 | Jun 3, 2025
    Go to Episode

    New forms of video creation are coming to disrupt the entertainment industry, but will they succeed? John and Craig look at verticals and Veo 3 to see where we might be heading, and what our industry’s past innovations might tell us about about the future. We also look at Memorial Day’s banner box office, and […]

  • Writing Jokes with Mike Birbiglia
    Episode – 688 | May 27, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig welcome back writer, director, and comedian Mike Birbiglia (Don’t Think Twice, Sleepwalk with Me) to take a look at several true news stories and ask, how would this be a joke? Stories include run-club haters, a conflicted bone marrow donor, and the coyotes roaming San Francisco. We also look at how Mike […]

  • How to Not Ruin Your First Film
    Episode – 687 | May 20, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig dig through the mailbag to answer some of our trickiest listener questions. They lay out their best advice for first-time feature directors — from picking department heads to making sure your movie actually gets seen — and look at how to adapt Craig’s “How to Write a Movie” for structuring a TV […]

  • Problem Solving
    Episode – 686 | May 13, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig look at how writers and their characters handle the obstacles they encounter. They outline proven techniques for solving problems both in life and on the page, why it’s important to see characters solving problems in a story, and how taking big swings can open up exciting possibilities. We also follow up on […]

  • Page and Stage with Leslye Headland
    Episode – 685 | May 6, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John welcomes writer, director and playwright Leslye Headland (The Acolyte, Russian Doll) to ask, why are stage plays so challenging for screenwriters? Using her recent Broadway play Cult of Love, they look at different approaches to scene description, heightened and simultaneous dialogue, and strategies for adapting stage plays to film. We also chart Leslye’s career […]

  • Landing a Series with Eric Kripke
    Episode – 684 | Apr 29, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John welcomes writer and showrunner Eric Kripke (The Boys, Supernatural) to look at planning out a multi-season series. They chart Eric’s early career from shorts to showrunner, how he developed Supernatural, his process for structuring seasons of The Boys, and how great TV shows stick the landing. We also answer listener questions on lone character […]

  • Idea Management (Encore)
    Episode – 417 | Apr 22, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig welcome back Aline Brosh McKenna to tackle the issue of idea management. What do you do with all those half-formed ideas and how do you decide which ones to pursue? They share best practices and their approach to middle-of-the-night inspiration. We also discuss how screenwriters’ quotes are determined and answer some listener […]

  • Our Take on Long Takes
    Episode – 683 | Apr 15, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig break out of coverage to look at oners and long shots, cutting through any directorial showboating to compare the pros and cons and cons and cons of those unbroken takes, offering ways to decide when they are necessary or purposeful, and how to recognize when it’s better to cut. We also look […]

  • Talking Austen in Austin (Encore)
    Episode – 68 | Apr 8, 2025
    Go to Episode

    In this episode from 2012, John and Craig sit down with producer and former studio executive Lindsay Doran (Sense and Sensibility, Stranger than Fiction) at the Austin Film Festival to explore the producer’s relationship with the screenplay. The look at how the role of producer has changed, the ideal development process, how she developed Sense […]

  • The Second Season with Tony Gilroy
    Episode – 682 | Apr 1, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig welcome writer and showrunner Tony Gilroy (Andor, Michael Clayton) for an in-depth look at crafting a second season of a hit TV show. They look at ways to find your season’s structure, setting your production up for success, controlling the energy your audience spends on information, and how to wrap up your […]

  • The Waiting Game
    Episode – 681 | Mar 25, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig sit in project purgatory and ask, what do you do when the only answer you’re getting is “maybe”? They share advice on how to gently check in without annoying people, recognizing the soft pass, the unexpected benefits of patience, and what to do when you’re the person holding up the gears. Then […]

  • Writing Action Set Pieces
    Episode – 680 | Mar 18, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John welcomes back Christina Hodson (The Flash, Bumblebee) to ask, how do you to construct a great action sequence? Using examples from three different movies, they discuss what good action looks like on the page, how to keep your reader from getting bored or confused, and why production can sometimes blow your plans to smithereens. […]

  • The Driver’s Seat
    Episode – 679 | Mar 11, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John welcomes back Liz Hannah (The Girl From Plainville, The Post) to ask, how do you know if a character can carry a story? They look at ways of identifying your protagonist, defining privileged storytelling power, and the choices to make when figuring out which characters can hold narrative point of view. We also look […]

  • The On-Set Producer
    Episode – 678 | Mar 4, 2025
    Go to Episode

    John and Craig welcome producer Dan Etheridge (iZombie, High Potential, Party Down) to look at how non-writing producers develop projects, coordinate across departments, and maintain the tone of the show as directors come and go. We offer practical tips for making the most of video village, regardless of your role, and solutions for the scourge […]

  • Older Episodes

    Primary Sidebar

    Newsletter

    Inneresting Logo A Quote-Unquote Newsletter about Writing
    Read Now

    Explore

    Projects

    • Aladdin (1)
    • Arlo Finch (27)
    • Big Fish (88)
    • Birdigo (2)
    • Charlie (39)
    • Charlie's Angels (16)
    • Chosen (2)
    • Corpse Bride (9)
    • Dead Projects (18)
    • Frankenweenie (10)
    • Go (30)
    • Karateka (4)
    • Monsterpocalypse (3)
    • One Hit Kill (6)
    • Ops (6)
    • Preacher (2)
    • Prince of Persia (13)
    • Shazam (6)
    • Snake People (6)
    • Tarzan (5)
    • The Nines (118)
    • The Remnants (12)
    • The Variant (22)

    Apps

    • Bronson (14)
    • FDX Reader (11)
    • Fountain (32)
    • Highland (73)
    • Less IMDb (4)
    • Weekend Read (64)

    Recommended Reading

    • First Person (88)
    • Geek Alert (151)
    • WGA (162)
    • Workspace (19)

    Screenwriting Q&A

    • Adaptation (66)
    • Directors (90)
    • Education (49)
    • Film Industry (491)
    • Formatting (130)
    • Genres (90)
    • Glossary (6)
    • Pitches (29)
    • Producers (59)
    • Psych 101 (119)
    • Rights and Copyright (96)
    • So-Called Experts (47)
    • Story and Plot (170)
    • Television (164)
    • Treatments (21)
    • Words on the page (238)
    • Writing Process (178)

    More screenwriting Q&A at screenwriting.io

    © 2025 John August — All Rights Reserved.