John August

Transcribed

Advice to a Young Film Student (with Scott Frank)

Episode - 695

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Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig welcome back Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit, Dept. Q) to offer their best advice to film students and the people who teach them. They look at ways to improve how we educate writers, and offer advice to an aspiring development executive.

We also look at the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations of characters in Scott’s new series, Dept. Q, follow up on the decline of sex in movies, and ask, what genres of movies should people see at least one of?

In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Scott take a broader view of education in America to see what they’ve learned and what they would change.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 7-30-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Reviving the Spoof Movie

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John welcomes back Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, Pretty Smart) to ask, how do you revive a dead genre? Using their upcoming movie The Naked Gun, they look at why the spoof genre fell apart, the challenges of introducing it to a new generation, and why turning genre tropes into jokes will always resonate with an audience.

We also look at other genres they don’t make anymore, follow up on Dogma 25, and answer listener questions on complicated rewrites and whether or not to hire a publicist.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Doug and Dan look at the movies that Gen Z hasn’t seen (and whether they even need to).

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 7-29-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Crafting the Perfect Villain

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

In this craft compendium, John and Craig take a look at everything you need to make your bad guys compelling, memorable, and the perfect antagonist for your story. Using some favorite villains as examples, they look at the importance of understanding their motivations and offer seven tips for making a villain unforgettable.

We also take a look at lackeys, henchmen and making sure your evil organizations are believable.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig shift their focus to monsters, and why even though those scary creatures are dangerous, they’re not always the villain.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 7-16-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Collaborative Storytelling and RPGs

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig welcome author Stu Horvath to look at the rich history of tabletop role playing games. From Stu’s collection of over 2300 RPGs, they look at the evolution of collaborative storytelling, interactive narrative design, and the communities of players they inspire.

We also discuss the complicated influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft on the world of D&D, and how the need to escape their derivative influences pushed RPGs to new heights of world-building and storytelling.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Stu leads us down down down to discuss a surprisingly recent narrative staple: dungeons.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

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