Transcribed

John and Craig sit down with legendary writer, director and showrunner Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) to discuss his prolific career and how to make great television. Vince leads us through how he develops a premise, balancing creative surprises with rigorous planning, and his advice for up-and-coming showrunners.

We also discuss re-writing features before following up on the old dancing prospector archetype — only to discover it’s a character Vince has a long personal history with.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Vince get tired of re-runs and ask, which old TV shows do they want to re-boot?

Links:

* [Vince Gilligan](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0319213/) on IMDb
* [Vince Gilligan plays a prospector on Community (S5 E9)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwRzZQGQHd0)
* [Walter Houston’s dance in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pWx7N8gSoY)
* [Dracula’s Kung-Fu Theatre](https://draculaskungfutheatre.com/)
* [Alien Tape](https://www.tryalientape.com/)
* [Today Years Old](https://twitter.com/todayyearsoldig) on Twitter
* [Robot Puppet Sings “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb5y-kY6nVw) by Ben Howard on YouTube
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/) on Instagram
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [John on Mastodon](https://mastodon.art/@johnaugust)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Matt Davis ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/598standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 5-30-23:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-598-the-one-with-vince-gilligan-transcript).

John and Craig dive into our overflowing mailbag to answer a wide range of listener questions. They discuss ageism in the industry, the realities of overall deals, clunky character backstories, and creating the relationship you want with your manager.

We also explore the history of a Disney Channel Original Movie, the realities of panning for gold, and who deals with your stuff after you die.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig reach through time to find their dream Scriptnotes guests.

Links:

* [The biggest new moneymaking scheme for Hollywood stars? Doing nothing](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/apr/14/phoebe-waller-bridge-amazon-deal-fleabag) by Arwa Mahdawi for The Guardian
* [Rollo Tomasi scene](https://youtu.be/ajgjhmh-_q4)
* [L.A. Confidential screenplay](https://assets.scriptslug.com/live/pdf/scripts/l-a-confidential-1997.pdf) by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson
* [Not All Robots](https://awastudios.net/series/not-all-robots/) by Mark Russell and Mike Deodato Jr.
* [TSA Precheck](https://www.tsa.gov/precheck)
* NEXUS Program for [US Citizens](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/nexus) and [Canadian Citizens](https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/services/travel-voyage/prog/nexus/menu-eng.html).
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/) on Instagram
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [John on Mastodon](https://mastodon.art/@johnaugust)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Nora Beyer ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/597standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 5-30-23:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-597-rollo-tomasi-transcript).

In preparation for episode 600, John revisits our first two episodes with Christopher McQuarrie (Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, The Usual Suspects) to marvel at his wisdom and enjoy his ongoing feud with Craig.

We chart his course from writer to writer-director, his process of rescuing a movie in crisis, the storytelling opportunities on TV, and what the future holds for young filmmakers.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Chris conduct a post-mortem on what killed the Spoof Movie – surely there must be a reason? (Of course there’s a reason, and don’t call us Shirley.)

Links:

* Original Chris McQuarrie episodes [300](https://johnaugust.com/2017/from-writer-to-writer-director) and [400](https://johnaugust.com/2019/movies-they-dont-make-anymore)
* [Chris McQuarrie](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003160/) on IMDb
* [Chris McQuarrie]([https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie](https://www.instagram.com/christophermcquarrie)) on Instagram
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/) on Instagram
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [John on Mastodon](https://mastodon.art/@johnaugust)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Matthew Chilelli ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt (from episodes originally produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) and Godwin Jabangwe), and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](https://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/596standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 5-30-23:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-596-mcquarrie-on-mcquarrie-transcript).

John welcomes Danielle Sanchez-Witzel (Up Here, The Carmichael Show) to discuss the state of modern TV writing and answer crafty questions from our overflowing mailbag.

How do you structure a limited series? How do you take inspiration from an idea without ripping it off? And how do you know if your story really needs that sex scene?

In our bonus segment for premium members, we explore the tricky situation of having a co-worker who is nice but incompetent.

Links:

* [Danielle Sanchez-Witzel](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1294678/) on IMDb.
* [Up Here](https://www.hulu.com/series/up-here-3cf5b24c-f13d-4943-8c73-e0e27de4cff5) on Hulu.
* [Succession Podcast, S4E2 with Lucy Prebble and Laura Wasser](https://youtu.be/xvcVqDDceKU) from HBO.
* [Incompetent but Nice](https://jacobian.org/2023/mar/28/incompetent-but-nice/) by Jacob Kaplan-Moss.
* [Glucose Goddess](https://www.instagram.com/glucosegoddess/) on Instagram.
* [Non-Buttermilk Pancake Recipe](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/162760/fluffy-pancakes/)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/) on Instagram
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [John on Mastodon](https://mastodon.art/@johnaugust)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Alicia Jo Rabins ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/595standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 5-30-23:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-595-correctable-crises-transcript).