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HWTBAM

The Story This Was Based On

Episode - 525

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November 16, 2021 HWTBAM, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig invite investigative reporter Zeke Faux (Bloomberg) for a new round of How Would This Be A Movie. They cover stories ranging from the secret history of sushi to fake Scottish rappers. Zeke shares what it’s like to option an article to Hollywood and tricks for getting noticed by producers.

In follow-up, we get a romantic update from Oops and answer a listener question on whether it’s worth watching prior adaptations of a given work.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we ask: what are the remaining distinctions between writing for Hollywood and writing for magazines?

Links:

* [Scriptnotes Hoodies](https://cottonbureau.com/products/scriptnotes-tri-blend-zip-hoodie#/12684369/sweatshirt-unisex-zip-up-hoodie-solid-black-tri-blend-xs) order by November 18 in time for the Holidays!
* [Veterans in Media and Entertainment](https://vmeconnect.org/)
* [Movie Pass is Back!](https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-cofounder-stacy-spikes-buys-back-company-and-plans-relaunch-2021-11)
* [339 – Mostly Terrible People](https://johnaugust.com/2018/mostly-terrible-people) sign up for the full episode at Scriptnotes.net
* [Zeke Faux](https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AP5w7epl1Xo/zeke-faux) and on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ZekeFaux)!
* [How Thieves Stole $40 Million of Copper by Spray-Painting Rocks](https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-painted-rocks-copper-heist/?cmpid=BBD062921_MKT) By Andy Hoffman and Benedikt Kammel
* [Secret History of Sushi](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/05/magazine/sushi-us.html) by Daniel Fromson with illustrations by Igor Bastidas for the NYT
* [The Migrant Laborers Who Clean Up after Disasters](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/08/the-migrant-workers-who-follow-climate-disasters) by Sarah Stillman for the New Yorker
* [‘The story of a weird world I was warned never to tell’](https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42951788) by Sarah McDermott for the BBC
* Silibill N’ Brains: [Meet the Two Scottish Rappers Who Conned the World](https://www.vice.com/en/article/rknaa6/meet-the-two-scottish-rappers-who-conned-the-world) by Tom Seymour for Vice and [Fake It Till You Make It: The Great Hip Hop Hoax](https://www.dontdiewondering.com/fake-it-till-you-make-it-the-great-hip-hop-hoax/) by Samuel on DDW Magazine
* [Inevitable Foundation](https://inevitable.foundation/)
* [Friendsgiving Miry’s List](https://give.miryslist.org/campaign/2021-friendsgiving-with-mirys-list/c373800)
* [Jasmila Žbanić](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmila_%C5%BDbani%C4%87), [Quo Vadis, Aida?](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8633462/) and [#Craigana](https://images.app.goo.gl/5K3sehZMad1pVjWSA)
* [Roam Research](https://roamresearch.com/)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Ryan Gerber ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) 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/525standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 12-1-21** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2021/scriptnotes-episode-525-the-story-this-was-based-on-transcript).

Live and In Person

May 4, 2021 HWTBAM, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John welcomes Craig back into the studio to chat face to face for the latest How Would This Be A Movie, looking at trapped Russian pop stars, relationship saboteurs and an abandoned Cinderella city.

We also answer listener questions on writing schedules and supporting characters, including a deep dive on Sebastian the crab’s personal life.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig shares how he’s been getting ready for production in Calgary.

Links:

* [Rachel Syme Twitter](https://twitter.com/rachsyme/status/1387803897276870656?s=21)
* [Russian Man ‘Trapped’ on Chinese Reality TV show Finally Voted out After Three Months](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/27/russian-man-trapped-chinese-reality-tv-show-voted-out-lelush-vladislav-ivanov-produce-camp) by Helen Davidson and Andrew Roth
* [European Super Soccer League](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/sports/soccer/super-league-soccer.html) by Tariq Panja and Rory Smith
* [The Saboteurs You can Hire to End your Relationship](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200731-the-saboteurs-you-can-hire-to-end-your-relationship) by Christine Ro
* [Haunting Photos Reveal a Massive Abandoned Town of Disneyesque Castles](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/haunting-photos-reveal-massive-abandoned-town-disneyesque-castles) by Jessica Cherner
* [Dawn of the Necromancer](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dawnofthenecromancer/dawn-of-the-necromancer-5th-edition-adventure) on Kickstarter
* [How the Internet Archive Digitizes Old LPs](https://twitter.com/internetarchive/status/1386423512810721284?s=20)
* [Dr. Fill and AI](https://slate.com/technology/2021/04/american-crossword-puzzle-tournament-dr-fill-artificial-intelligence.html)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Andrew Smith ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/499standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 5-9-21** The transcript for this episode can now be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2021/scriptnotes-episode-499-live-and-in-person).

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