John August

Transcribed

Is 15 the new 30?

Episode - 97

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Film Industry, News, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, WGA, Words on the page

Have first acts gotten shorter, or does it just feel that way? John and Craig discuss the pressure on screenwriters to “get to it” faster, and why that’s often the wrong goal.

From there, we talk about the WGA’s annual numbers, which paint an improving picture for TV writers — but more bad news for the feature folk. Finally, we discuss the fight over THE BUTLER, and the degree to which studios can protect titles.

Do you make music? If you want to record us a great outro, we’ll be featuring some on upcoming episodes. Entries should feature the basic Scriptnotes melody (C3-E-D-B-C4) or its minor cousin, but otherwise it’s wide open except for, you know, don’t use copyrighted material. Send a link to ask@johnaugust.com pointing to an mp3 or other sound file we can hear. It’s an expo, not a competition, so have fun.

If you want to share the Scriptnotes love, don’t forget to leave us a rating on iTunes.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 7-12-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Three Page Challenge, Live Edition

Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

John and Craig have done quite a few Three Page Challenges over the last 90-or-so episodes, but never with the writers themselves present. In this episode, everything changes.

Recorded live at the Writers Guild Foundation’s Craft Day, we talk empty claws and doe-eyed paranoia with four young screenwriters brave enough to not only send in their pages, but have them critiqued in front of a live audience. It was a fun session, and included live audience questions.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 7-6-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Notes on the death of the film industry

Film Industry, Producers, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig discuss the death of the film industry as foretold by four prominent filmmakers. Is the way we make movies unsustainable? Is the system fundamentally broken, or just changing into something new? And why don’t we make romantic comedies anymore?

A big thanks to everyone who bought Scriptnotes t-shirts. They ship starting July 1st, which is coincidentally the date tickets for the live 100th episode taping will go on sale.

This Saturday, June 29th, Craig and John will be part of the Writers Guild Foundation Craft Day, doing a live Three Page Challenge. Join us! Tickets available in the links.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 6-28-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

10 Questions, 10 Answers

Film Industry, QandA, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig tackle the bursting mailbag, answering listener questions on topics ranging from the variable length of the TV season to underachieving agents to embarrassing IMDb credits.

This Friday, June 21, is the last day to order Scriptnotes t-shirts, so click over to store.johnaugust.com if you want to express your love for the show in screen-printed form.

We’ll be mailing out shirts starting July 1st, so you’ll have plenty of time to get them broken in for the live 100th episode, July 25th in Hollywood. (Tickets should go on sale July 1.)

But first, you can see us at the Writers Guild Foundation Craft Day, which is Saturday, June 29th. See the links for ticket info.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 6-21-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.