John August

Directors

Bad Behavior

Episode - 353

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Directors, Film Industry, Follow Up, Scriptnotes, Television, Tools, Transcribed, Videogames, Words on the page

John and Craig discuss the hot new trend of firing jerks from successful TV shows. Why is it happening now like never before? Is there an important distinction between being “difficult” and being a jerk?

We also follow up on listener suggestions for outlining tools, and answer questions about the landscape of feature comedy, the art of biopic postscripts, shopping agreements, and the etiquette around replacing another writer.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 6-13-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Infinite Westworld

Directors, Genres, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Television, Transcribed, Writing Process

John and Craig welcome Lisa Joy & Jonah Nolan (Westworld) and Stephen McFeely & Christopher Markus (Avengers: Infinity War) to our annual live show benefitting Hollywood Heart.

We discuss worldbuilding, the challenges and delights of serialized storytelling, and the extreme measures taken to keep secrets.

We also answer audience questions on villains as protagonists, music supervision, and research as procrastination.

Recorded May 22, 2018 at the ArcLight in Hollywood

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 6-6-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Putting Words on the Page

Directors, Follow Up, Formatting, Los Angeles, News, Scriptnotes, Software, Television, Tools, Transcribed, Treatments, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss the digital tools of the trade. From outline to first draft to production rewrites, screenwriters find themselves facing different challenges. We talk about what works for each of us. We also speculate on what impact Highland 2’s gender analysis tool will have.

Then we answer listener questions about following the “rules” of formatting, from creative scene headers to “hey reader” notes and tips for introducing characters who play important roles later in the script.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 5-15-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Call Me by Your Name

Adaptation, Directors, Film Industry, Indie, QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Aline welcome Peter Spears, producer of Call Me by Your Name, to discuss how the film came to be, from optioning the novel through its long development and multiple roadblocks.

Through the lens of Call Me by Your Name, we discuss the difficulties of preproduction for an indie film, the process of securing book rights, the opportunities that adaptation presents, and what this movie means in the Hollywood landscape.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 2-6-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.