I’ve moved all of the .pdfs from the old site into one handy repository: the new [Downloads](http://johnaugust.com/library) section, which is available on the right-side menu.
All of the scripts and outlines from Go, Big Fish and The Circle are there. You’ll also find the scripts for my first ill-fated TV show, D.C., which staggered through a few episodes on the WB back in 2000. Or was it 2001? The mind has a wonderful way of dulling painful experiences.
I first met [Daniel Wallace](http://danielwallace.org), the author of BIG FISH, on October 26, 1998. We met at an IHOP in Richmond, Virginia, and talked about his book and the prospect of making a movie from it.
I had this interview up at the old site, but it was kind of buried. So here it is, reformatted and reader-friendly.
John: What was your original intention with Big Fish? Did you sit down thinking, “I’m going to make a novel about this,” or was it pieces that came together?
Daniel: It started with bits and pieces. Originally, the very beginning was my interest in myth. I’ve always thought of myth as being a way to explain things that we can’t understand otherwise.
John: Like, why there’s thunder.
Daniel: That’s exactly right. It’s always easier to have some sort of explanation, even when you may know it’s not quite accurate or not quite real. It satisfies something. Anything’s better than not understanding. Even untruth sometimes is better than not knowing anything.
John: Did you write it from beginning to end, or did you write in bits and pieces?
[Read more…] about Transcript of my first meeting with Daniel Wallace
At some point when I have a few free days, I’ll go through and update the [Projects](http://johnaugust.com/projects/projects.html) section like I keep threatening to. In the meantime, I’ve added two additional television scripts for download.
Backstory: For the 2003 television pilot season, I created a show called [“The Circle”](http://imdb.com/title/tt0387816/) for Touchstone/ABC. It was a one-hour drama about law enforcement in Alaska. Unlike the movie [Insomnia](http://imdb.com/title/tt0278504/), which focused on a “small town” police department, the real Alaska doesn’t even have that level of law enforcement. It’s much more provincial, with state troopers and magistrates. Pretty much any murder in the state is investigated by a single team based out of Anchorage.
We shot a pilot in British Columbia, directed by the hugely talented [Kim Manners](http://imdb.com/name/nm0543129/) of X-Files fame. The regular cast included [Brad Johnson](http://imdb.com/name/nm0424635/), [Dahlia Salem](http://imdb.com/name/nm0757993/), [Michael Ironside](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000461/) and [Gary Farmer](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001200/).
The pilot turned out well, and the studio asked for two additional scripts — one of which I wrote, the other written by [Matt Pyken](http://imdb.com/name/nm0701487/) and [Michael Berns](http://imdb.com/name/nm0076965/), writers I’d worked with on my first TV show. The whole thing was a good experience. Alas, we didn’t get picked up. But on the whole, I’d rather have made a pilot I’m proud of than a series I’m not.
There are two scripts here to read. The first is the pilot, titled “My Three Sons.” The second is “Gravedigger,” which would would have been the second or third episode. (The show wasn’t very serialized.)
[
Pilot](http://johnaugust.com/downloads)
[Gravedigger](http://johnaugust.com/downloads)
During production, ABC kept referring to the show as “Alaska,” so that’s ultimately what we ended up calling it. I still prefer “The Circle,” however.
Congratulations on [Big Fish](http://imdb.com/title/tt0319061/combined). I have a silly question concerning the “Confederated Products” throwaway about halfway through that movie. Since that’s a reference to your previous work, rather than [Tim Burton’s](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000318/), how did it get there? That is, did you include it in the script, or did someone else suggest it?
–Patrick Bowman
For those who don’t know the reference, “Confederated Products” is the Amway-like company that serves as a major punchline in the third part of [Go](http://imdb.com/title/tt0139239/). Originally, the company was supposed to be American Products, but the legal department couldn’t get clearance on the name. I had to submit a list of alternatives, and Confederated Products was the best one that checked out okay.
Since then, I’ve tried to use Confederated Products in every project. (Likewise, I also try to use [Melissa McCarthy](http://imdb.com/name/nm0565250/), who is similarly terrific and versatile.) I just write “Confederated Products” into the script and hope no one tries to change it. Generally, they don’t. After Go, Big Fish is the biggest use of the brand name, but it was also used in the first [Charlie’s Angels](http://imdb.com/title/tt0160127/) — though I’m not sure you can see it.
I’ve always been a big fan of giant, insidius imaginary corporations such as Acme or Weyland-Yutani. I registered [ConfederatedProducts.com](http://confederatedproducts.com) just so I could be sure to have the name for future projects.