John August

Transcribed

Frozen with Jennifer Lee

Episode - 128

Go to Archive

Directors, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

In the tradition of the Raiders and Little Mermaid episodes, John and guest host Aline Brosh McKenna discuss and dissect the award-winning, record-setting, paradigm-shifting Frozen. But this time, we have the writer on hand to answer our questions.

Jennifer Lee not only wrote Frozen, she co-directed it. She talks us through all the twists, turns, and happy surprises on the journey. We go scene-by-scene and song-by-song to look at how it works and how it changed during development.

It’s an episode full of spoilers. But it’s also totally PG, so if your kids want to listen, let ‘em.

Craig will be back next week with an all-new episode and no recollection of what happened.

Links:

* [Aline Brosh McKenna](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0112459/) on episodes [60](http://johnaugust.com/2012/the-black-list-and-a-stack-of-scenes), [76](http://johnaugust.com/2013/how-screenwriters-find-their-voice), [100](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-100th-episode), [101](http://johnaugust.com/2013/101-qa-from-the-live-show), [119](http://johnaugust.com/2013/positive-moviegoing), [123](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-holiday-spectacular) and [124](http://johnaugust.com/2013/qa-from-the-holiday-spectacular)
* Jennifer Lee on [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601644/) and [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Lee_(filmmaker))
* [Frozen](http://movies.disney.com/frozen)
* The [Frozen final shooting draft](http://waltdisneystudiosawards.com/downloads/frozen-screenplay.pdf)
* Let it Go [in 25 languages](http://video.disney.com/watch/let-it-go-in-25-languages-4f06e85c30ce6b18db34b461)
* Our episodes on [Raiders of the Lost Ark](http://johnaugust.com/2013/raiders-of-the-lost-ark) and [Little Mermaid](http://johnaugust.com/2013/the-little-mermaid)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_128.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_128.mp3).

**UPDATE** 2-1-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-128-frozen-with-jennifer-lee-transcript).

Women and Pilots

Directors, News, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed

Carolyn Strauss, executive producer of Game of Thrones, joins John and Craig to discuss female directors and the death of pilot season. In one short hour, they solve all the intractable problems facing the film and television industry. (Not true. Not even remotely.)

Craig and John also recount the previous Sunday’s inaugural all-screenwriter dungeon crawl. It was Craig’s first D&D ever, and John’s first time DM’ing in 20 years.

Links:

* [Dungeon World](http://www.dungeon-world.com/)
* Carolyn Strauss on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Strauss) and [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1865467/)
* Lexi Alexander’s [blog post on the underrepresentation of women in Hollywood](http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/2014/1/13/this-is-me-getting-real)
* [AV Club](http://www.avclub.com/article/fox-at-the-tca-press-tour-kevin-reilly-kills-pilot-106902) on Fox’s announcing they are moving away from pilot season
* [Shakespeare](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shakespeare/id285035416?mt=8) for iPhone and iPad
* Organize your brain with [WorkFlowy](https://workflowy.com/)
* [The Orphan Master’s Son](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812982622/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Adam Johnson
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_127.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_127.mp3).

**UPDATE** 1-24-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-127-women-and-pilots-transcript).

Punching the Salty Ocean

Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

John and Craig took a look at Final Draft 9 and the futility of Twitter arguments before launching into three brand-new Three Page Challenges.

Links:

* Business Insider on [the responses from Hollywood CCs who should have been BCCs](http://www.businessinsider.com/hollywood-assistant-accidentally-ccd-a-listers-and-their-responses-were-amazing-2014-1)
* Final Draft 9 is [now for sale](http://store.finaldraft.com/final-draft-9.html)
* Three Pages by [Billiam Coronel](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/BilliamCoronel.pdf)
* Three Pages by [Jeff Pulice](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/JeffPulice.pdf) and the [Q&A from the Holiday Spectacular](http://johnaugust.com/2013/qa-from-the-holiday-spectacular)
* Three Pages by [Steven Arvanites](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/StevenArvanites.pdf)
* [How to submit your Three Pages](http://johnaugust.com/threepage), and [Stuart’s post on lessons learned from the early batches](http://johnaugust.com/2012/learning-from-the-three-page-challenge)
* [Debt: The First 5,000 Years](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1612191290/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by David Graeber
* [Hyperbole and a Half](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1451666179/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Allie Brosh
* [Global Entry](http://www.globalentry.gov/) is worth your time
* An extremely limited number of shirts are back in the [John August Store](http://store.johnaugust.com/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Kim Atle

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_126.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_126.mp3).

**UPDATE** 1-17-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-126-punching-the-salty-ocean-transcript).

Egoless Screenwriting

Film Industry, News, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

It’s a week of big egos as Craig and John take a look at when (or whether) filmmakers will be able to pull a Beyoncé and surprise-release a feature film, and what Mrs. Carter’s tussle with Amazon and Target means for the future of retail DVD.

Then we dust off an old blog post on “egoless programming” and find it has a lot to recommend for screenwriters. Finally, we look at the lawsuit over The Expendables because it’s crazy town.

Links:

* [BEYONCÉ by Beyoncé](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/beyonce/id780330041) on iTunes
* [The Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/05/the-ten-commandments-of-egoless-programming.html)
* The Hollywood Reporter on [The Expendables lawsuit](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/expendables-writers-guild-tribunal-evolves-667599)
* Lego [Mindstorms](http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/?domainredir=mindstorms.lego.com) and [Crazy Action Contraptions](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1591747694/?tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* [European green](http://carsihaveseen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_0175.jpg)
* [her](http://www.herthemovie.com/#/home) is in theaters now
* A bad her review in [The Village Voice](http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-12-18/film/her-movie-review/) and the [very few other bad reviews](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/her/reviews/?sort=rotten) on Rotten Tomatoes
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_125.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_125.mp3).

**UPDATE** 1-10-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-125-egoless-screenwriting-transcript).