John August

Transcribed

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Episode - 73

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Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

Craig and John spend the entire episode discussing and dissecting RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, looking at both its structure and scene work.

This amazing and iconic 1981 film established so much of what we expect of out movie heroes and set pieces — but a lot of what it does would have a hard time getting through modern studio development. Five-minute exposition scenes! Nazi monkeys! Helpless heroes at the climax!

And yet it works so well. There are great lessons to be learned for screenwriters in every genre.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 1-25-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

People still buy movies

News, Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

With last week’s news that home video stopped its free-fall and actually grew a little bit in 2012, John and Craig discuss whether studios might ease off on one-step deals and other development austerity measures.

But while one bloodbath has been averted, this week’s batch of Three Page Challenges is particularly gruesome — but also pretty good.

Craig is too stubborn to admit that John’s workflow for generating both starred and clean PDFs is vastly smarter and better, but since John writes these episode blurbs, he gets the last word. Victory!

John also has a shocking announcement that changes everything: He’s become a single-spacer.

All this plus Craig’s encomium to his new car in this week’s Scriptnotes.

SPECIAL NOTE: We’d love to know a bit more about you, so if you could please answer a few questions at johnaugust.com/survey, we’d be super-grateful.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 1-18-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Unless they pay you, the answer is no

Los Angeles, QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

John and Craig return from the holidays to look at the WGA nominations, the perennially high costs of movies, scene headers and acceptable fonts for treatments.

Two reader questions ask how to get career stuff started before an LA move. Are any of the contests worth the bother? Does a great review on the Black List open doors for a writer living in Jerusalem?

Also discussed: resolutions, accepting long time horizons, and not counting chickens.

If you’re listening on the site — or just track-by-track in iTunes — do us a favor and hit Subscribe on our iTunes page. It helps us figure out how many people are new listeners and how many are listening to back-catalog tracks. Thanks!

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 1-10-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Best of Outlines, Agents and Good Boy Syndrome

Film Industry, How-To, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Craig and John start the year with a look back at three very early episodes not currently on iTunes, discussing outlines, agents and the Good Boy Syndrome.

Thank you for all the great ratings and reviews on iTunes. If you haven’t already left one, why not let it be the easiest resolution ever? You can leave one here.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 1-6-13: The transcript of this episode can be found here.