John August

Transcribed

What do producers do?

Episode - 17

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News, Producers, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Craig and John explain what producers do — at least, what they’re *supposed to do* — and discuss the myriad subclasses of producers that litter the opening titles of many movies.

Which is the more impressive credit — producer or executive producer? In film, it’s the former. In TV, it’s the latter. But whatever the title, producers are integral to getting a movie or TV show made.

Craig feels producers can be either anxiety buffers or anxiety conductors. John breaks down four essential roles you find producers filling:

1. **The general.** This producer keeps things moving forward and protects the production. She forces you to make decisions.
2. **The diplomat.** This producer makes sure crazy people feel respected, even when they’re being giant pains-in-the-ass. He talks the actress out of her trailer.
3. **The creative.** This producer reminds everyone what kind of movie they’re trying to make. She performs quality control for the production.
4. **The bulldozer.** This producer will smash down a phone booth to help the director get his shot. (This actually happened.)

Some producers can fill multiple roles (like diplomat-creative), but you’ll often find these qualities spread out among several people on a production, regardless of the size.

Who’s that fat cat, and how did he afford such a fancy cigar? Find out on episode seventeen of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* [Producer credits and what they mean](http://johnaugust.com/2004/producer-credits-and-what-they-mean)
* [Producers Guild of America](http://www.producersguild.org/)
* [Kelly Manners](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0543128/) on IMDb
* INTRO: [The Weebles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy4lfHYDWt4&feature=related)
* OUTRO: [What More Can I Say (Falsettoland)](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/what-more-can-i-say-falsettoland/id251490303?i=251490410) performed by the San Francisco’s Gay Men’s Chorus

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_17.m4a).

UPDATE 1-4-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-17-what-do-producers-do-transcript).

Screenwriting gurus and so-called experts

Books, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Videogames

Craig and John look at why the books and seminars purporting to teach screenwriting are generally terrible, trying to reduce the hard work of the craft to a series of formulas and templates.

It’s a rare podcast in which I sway Craig’s opinion whatsoever, but if you listen really carefully, I think he leaves the show just slightly less negative about screenwriting books than he started. It’s all about degrees with Craig.

Plus, we get a visit from the LAPD, follow-up on residuals, and a bit more about unionizing videogame writers.

LINKS:

* [Crime rates in Los Angeles](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=crime+rates+in+los+angeles) (Wolfram-Alpha)
* Syd Field’s classic book [Screenplay](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385339038/?tag=johnaugustcom-20).
* Christopher Volger’s [The Writer’s Journey](http://www.amazon.com/dp/193290736X/?tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* Stuart’s [review](http://johnaugust.com/2011/the-writers-journey-mythic-structure-for-writers) of Vogler’s book
* Linda Seger’s [Making a Good Script Great](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935247018/?tag=johnaugustcom-20)

(Note that none of the books listed above are actually recommended. But we talk about them, so it feels fair to provide links.)

* Intro: [Jem and the Holograms](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz4QRB25DSI)
* Outro: [Exquisite Corpse](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/exquisite-corpse/id405127549?i=405127554) by Casey Spooner

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_15.m4a).

UPDATE 12-13-11: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2011/scriptnotes-ep-15-on-screenwriting-gurus-transcript).

How residuals work

Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

Craig and John take a look at awards-season screeners before diving deep into a discussion of how residuals work and why they’re so important to screenwriters.

Plus, a visit from Craig’s cleaning lady, who thinks he’s insane.

Near the end of our discussion on residuals, I give some actual numbers on an actual movie. Percentages are abstract; money is money.

I chose Go because I had the most data on it, going back to 1999. It’s also useful because the movie was only moderately successful at the box office.

As you can see in the charts below, residuals taper off over the years — but that long tail still adds up:

go residuals

Keep in mind, there’s a possibility that residuals could spike if another home video medium takes off — digital downloads or rentals, for example.

I went into the podcast thinking I could easily reverse the math to figure out how much the studio has made off the movie, but as Craig points out, it’s more complicated than it appears at first. Most home video is calculated as 1.5% of 20% of gross earnings, so in order to get an accurate number I would need to sort out how much of Go’s residuals are coming from home video (and not television licensing).

But we can still get a sense of minimums: Go brought in at least $30 million in the aftermarket, and likely much, much more.

LINKS:

* [Downton Abbey, Season One](http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Masterpiece-Classic-Downton-Abbey/70155164) on Netflix
* [Father Ted](http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Father_Ted/70217141?trkid=2361637) on Netflix
* [Security theater](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_theater) as defined on Wikipedia
* The WGA’s [Residuals Survival Guide](http://www.wga.org/subpage_writersresources.aspx?id=133)
* Intro: [Tree Top Apple Juice commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ub0zlogFCY&feature=related)
* Outro: [Country Lane](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/country-lane/id413671408?i=413671527) by Telekinesis

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_14.m4a).

UPDATE 11-30-11: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2011/scriptnotes-ep-14-how-residuals-work-transcript).

Undervalued simplicity, and WGA coverage for videogames

Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Videogames, WGA

John and Craig tackle reader questions about self distribution, pseudonyms, separated rights, and studios’ feelings about international versus domestic box office.

They also explain the fallacy of equating effort in with value out, discuss why the WGA should address sweepstake pitches and coverage for videogame writers, and offer a Kentucky-born 21+ cure for the common cold.

This and more on the thirteenth Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* Director [Todd Strauss-Schulson](http://ulteriorproductions.com/)
* [Sweepstakes Pitching](http://screenwriting.io/what-is-sweepstakes-pitching/) on screenwriting.io
* Michael Mohan’s [One Too Many Mornings](http://www.onetoomanymornings.com/)
* Kevin Smith’s [Red State](http://coopersdell.com/)
* Edward Burns’s [Nice Guy Johnny](http://www.edwardburns.net/movies/?movie_id=12)
* The Polish Brothers’ [For Lovers Only](http://forloversonlymovie.com/)
* [The Remnants](http://vimeo.com/2755105) on Vimeo
* The domestic/international box office split for [Talladega Nights](http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=talladeganights.htm)
* [Scribblenauts](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scribblenauts-remix/id444844790?mt=8) for iOS
* [Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HYK8Y8/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00503E8S2/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* [Uncharted 3](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EQCCI4/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* Intro: [Pac-Man: The Animated Series](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6IMeouxu3U)
* Outro: [The Elder Scrolls V: SKYRIM Official Trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBd3qYLS4FA)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_13.m4a).

UPDATE 11-27-11: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2011/scriptnotes-episode-13-undervalued-simplicity-and-wga-coverage-for-videogames-transcript).