John August

Transcribed

Entrances and Exits

Episode - 550

Go to Archive

News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig discuss the mechanics of getting characters in and out of scenes. They cover why writers might show a character’s entrance or exit, both what it accomplishes for the story and the expectations it sets up for the audience.

We get an update from ‘Please Convince Me to Drop Out of Film School’ and answer listener questions on mortifying managers, cocktail conversations, and whether or not to use trigger warnings in a script.

In our bonus segment for premium members, the guys discuss the longevity movement and whether they’d choose to live forever.

Links:

* [The Room – “Oh hi Mark” clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aekfPU0SwNw&t=68s)
* [Scriptnotes, Episode 543: 20 Questions with John, Transcript](https://johnaugust.com/2022/scriptnotes-episode-543-20-questions-with-john-transcript)
* [Los Angeles Arts District](https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2019-12-28/four-hours-staying-present-in-the-arts-district): [Hauser + Wirth](https://www.hauserwirth.com/locations/10069-hauser-wirth-los-angeles/), [Night Gallery](https://www.nightgallery.ca/), [Death + Company](https://www.deathandcompany.com/dcdtla/), [Manuela](https://www.manuela-la.com/)
* [Knotwords Game](https://noodlecake.com/games/knotwords/)
* [Upstep Orthotics](https://www.upstep.com/)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Owen Danoff ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) 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/550standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 6-20-22** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2022/scriptnotes-episode-550-entrances-and-exits-transcript).

Made for Streaming

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Aline Brosh McKenna welcome writing team Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (How I Met Your Mother, Most Likely to Murder, Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers) to chat about made-to-stream movies. They discuss the joys of niche IP and how changes in the film landscape have resurrected certain genres.

We follow up on ‘Murder House Architecture’ and the economics of shorter seasons. We also answer listener questions on gender-neutral casting, pilot presentations, and page density.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss life and work with newborns.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 6-1-22 The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Good Energy

News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John invites Anna Jane Joyner and Quinn Emmett from Good Energy Stories to discuss climate change on screen. Climate change affects every creature on our planet, so why don’t we see it more on television? They discuss opportunities for writers to inspire change and raise awareness to capture the environmental concerns of our time.

We follow up on disability representation in Hollywood with the release of the Cost of Accommodations report from the Inevitable Foundation.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we talk about asking people for money, whether it’s to finance a movie or launch a campaign to save the planet.

Links:

* [Stanislav Petrov, The Man Who Saved the World](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2277106/) Documentary
* [Download The Cost of Accommodations Report](https://inevitable.foundation/cost-of-accommodations/download) from the Inevitable Foundation and read more on [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/the-inevitable-foundation-disability-accommodations-cost-study-movies-tv-1235131680/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz–L2n-kjr_qiSGqFieZri6yrMikpnCpb_V7he_SrT2rQcnerEPKQAfUJHYpZkE3lJxquHEz)
* [Good Energy Stories Playbook](https://www.goodenergystories.com/playbook)
* [David Robert Ted Talk on Climate Change](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ktYbVwr90)
* [Years of Living Dangerously Clip with Anna and her Dad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0d09DIv8vY)
* [Subscribe to Important, Not Important](https://www.importantnotimportant.com/)
* [Dana Fox](https://twitter.com/inthehenhouse) on Twitter and checkout [The Lost City](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfKO9rYDmE8) Movie
* [Russian Doll Season 2](https://www.netflix.com/title/80211627?source=35)
* [Redactle Game](https://www.redactle.com/#)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Anna Jane Joyner](https://twitter.com/annajanejoyner) on Twitter
* [Quinn Emmett](https://twitter.com/quinnemmett) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Jade Carda ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) 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/547standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 6-1-22:** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2022/scriptnotes-episode-547-good-energy-transcript).

Limited Series

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John welcomes writer/creators Liz Meriwether (New Girl, The Dropout) and Liz Hannah (The Girl from Plainville, The Post) to discuss the genre/form of “limited series based on actual events.”

Meriwether and Hannah explain what compelled them to each project and the process of realizing each story on screen. We also play a lightning round of How Would This Be A Movie, looking at movements like ‘Birds Aren’t Real’ and #FreeBritney.

In our bonus segment for premium members, the Lizzes share their experiences making their shows while pregnant.

Links:

* [The Dropout on Hulu](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10166622/) and [The Dropout Podcast](https://abcaudio.com/podcasts/the-dropout/)
* [The Girl from Plainville Show](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12851512/) and [the Esquire article](https://classic.esquire.com/article/2017/10/1/the-girl-from-plainville) by Jesse Barron
* [Liz Meriwether](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2057975/)
* [Liz Hannah](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2176283/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/itslizhannah)
* [Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/social-media-democracy-trust-babel/629369/) by Jonathan Haidt for the Atlantic
* [Notorious](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038787/) Alfred Hitchcock Film
* AI art – [MidJourney](https://www.readthepresentage.com/p/midjourney-ai-art-tool?s=r) and [Dall-E](https://openai.com/dall-e-2/)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Nico Mansy ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) 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/546standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 6-1-2023** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2022/scriptnotes-episode-546-limited-series-transcript)