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Education

Becoming a Professional Screenwriter

Episode - 381

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January 1, 2019 Education, Film Industry, Los Angeles, QandA, Random Advice, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

John welcomes Tess Morris, Christina Hodson, Nicole Perlman, and Jason Fuchs to discuss their paths to becoming a professional screenwriter. They track the progression from glass bead day jobs to navigating general meetings to planning inconsistent finances to actually calling oneself a writer and even getting paid.

We also answer audience questions about career longevity and leaving writing behind.

Links:

  • Thank you, Tess Morris, Christina Hodson, Nicole Perlman, and Jason Fuchs!
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • Tess Morris on Twitter
  • Nicole Perlman on Twitter
  • Jason Fuchs on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 1-9-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

The One with Mindy Kaling

August 7, 2018 Broadway, Education, Film Industry, Genres, Los Angeles, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Television, Transcribed, Writing Process

John sits down with writer/actor Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Mindy Project, Champions) to talk about her origin story, her big break as Ben Affleck, what it’s like to simultaneously showrun and star in a sitcom, and the nature of half-hour comedies.

We also answer a listener question about point of view and its relationship with genre and medium.

Links:

  • Thanks to Mindy Kaling for joining us!
  • Champions is available to watch on NBC.com.
  • You can watch a recording of her play, Matt and Ben, written and performed by Mindy and Brenda Withers. It premiered at the Fringe Festival in New York.
  • Keep an eye out for Four Weddings and a Funeral.
  • The End of the Fucking World and Godless on Netflix
  • The Visitors by Ragnar Kjartansson at The Broad
  • The USB drives!
  • Mindy Kaling on Twitter
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Timothy Vajda (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-14-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

All About Family

May 1, 2018 Adaptation, Education, Film Industry, Follow Up, Formatting, News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig partake in another installment of How Would This Be a Movie? Which story is destined for the big screen: The millennial mother with her surprise, Youtube-guided childbirth? The couple that has the same fight for decades? The Japanese families-for-hire?

We also follow up on the logic of multi-cam formatting, Georgia’s success in diversifying crews through training programs, and effective character descriptions.

Tickets are now on sale for our next Scriptnotes Live Show on Tuesday, May 22nd at the ArcLight in Hollywood, with guests including Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan of Westworld.

Links:

  • Our next live Scriptnotes will be Tuesday, May 22nd at the ArcLight in Hollywood. Tickets are on sale now — proceeds benefit Hollywood HEART, which runs special programs and summer camps for at-risk youth.
  • How 50 Famous Female Characters Were Described in Their Screenplays by Kyle Buchanan and Jordan Crucchiola for Vulture
  • Woman tells incredible story of how she used YouTube videos to carry out waterbirth of own baby she doubted she even had, while alone in hotel room written by Tom Embury-Dennis for The Independent
  • The Worrywart vs. the Zen Master by Tom Bowman and Brigid Schulte for Slate
  • Japan’s Rent-A-Family Industry, written by Elif Batuman for The New Yorker
  • Choir!Choir!Choir! is a choir in Toronto that meets once a week for drop-in singing events.
  • QTAKE Monitor is an app that lets you watch shots on set from your own device.
  • The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Outro by Nicolas Curcio (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 5-8-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Getting Stuff Written

October 17, 2017 Books, Challenge, Education, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Words, Writing Process

John welcomes Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of NaNoWriMo and author of Pep Talks for Writers, to discuss the writing process and how to get out of your own way creatively.

We explore the ubiquity of the Other Syndrome and the perils of envy. We also look at pen names, “throw-away writing,” and the advantages of being a beginner.

Links:

  • Grant Faulkner’s website and Wikipedia entry.
  • Pep Talks for Writers by Grant Faulkner is available here.
  • You can participate in NaNoWriMo, too!
  • I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen by Sylvie Simmons
  • The Last Invention of Man: How AI might take over the world by Max Tegmark
  • The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Grant Faulkner on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 10-23-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

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