John August

Transcribed

Holiday Live Show 2024

Episode - 668

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Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig welcome Brian Jordan Alvarez & Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher) and Jac Schaeffer (Agatha All Along, WandaVision) to join them for a live holiday benefit for Hollywood HEART. They discuss constructing Agatha All Along from blue sky to the Witches’ Road, “protagonizing” a villain, breaking in through YouTube and maintaining a working relationship with your best friend.

We also play a new game, the Christmas Song Three Word Challenge, with former Scriptnotes producers Megan McDonnell (Dark Matter, The Marvels) and Megana Rao (Unstable).

In our bonus segment for premium members, we answer an all-star round of audience questions in maybe the best Q&A we’ve ever had.

Thanks to our fantastic audience, everyone at Dynasty Typewriter, and Hollywood HEART for putting the event together.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 1-7-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Satanic Movies

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig take a deep dive with the Devil, exploring the unholy trinity of satanic films: Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen. They look at how these three horror classics work, where our modern conception of Satan comes from, and the future of the Devil on screen.

We also answer listener questions on character arcs in horror, what separates horror movies from thrillers, and why the spooky stuff rarely gets awards attention.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig offer their nominations for the antichrist of our times.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-27-24: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

What Can You Even Do?

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig explore character agency in everything from scenes to entire series. They look at what agency looks like on the page, which characters should have agency, and what to do when you feel your characters sleepwalking through the plot.

We also strategize ways to move forward after the recent US election, and answer listener questions on writing sign language, screenwriting software for the blind, and how writing credits work when your TV series gets turned into a movie.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig escape to a world where where the story is always on rails — Disneyland!

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-22-24: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Hollywood Got Old

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig look at how writers (and other humans) handle the anxiety of uncertainty, from election nights to green lights. We’ll talk through strategies for navigating situations where your circle of concern doesn’t match your circle of control.

Then we travel back to the 1980s and 90s, when many studios were run by ambitious strivers in their late 20s and early 30s. As the decades have passed, the players in these positions have held onto their posts, leaving the next generation stuck mid-ladder. We discuss what impact the aging of Hollywood has had on its output, and where the new guard might find an opening.

We also ask, is development wage theft? And answer listener questions on reusing material written for a different project, and the cost-plus model of production.

And in our bonus topic for premium members, what aspects of pandemic life have we incorporated into our daily routines?

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-21-24: The transcript for this episode can be found here.