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Film Industry

The Worst of the Worst

Episode - 378

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December 11, 2018 Film Industry, Follow Up, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, WGA, Words on the page

John and Craig examine why and how writers need to make bad things happen to their characters, and the ways in which hero suffering differs between features and television.

We also answer listener questions about WGA jurisdiction, becoming a signatory, timing a script for television, and why all scripts aren’t available online.

Links:

  • Tickets are on sale for the Holiday Live Show!
  • The Team America: World Police puke scene, with some bad language
  • The opening of Finding Nemo
  • Aslan’s sacrifice in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
  • Can We Stop Suicides? by Moises Velasquez-Manoff for the New York Times
  • The environment in Red Dead Redemption 2
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Michael O’Konis (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Commencement

November 20, 2018 Arlo Finch, Directors, Film Industry, Follow Up, Producers, QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

John and Craig discuss commencement, the official moment to start writing. It can be easy to get pressured into free producer rewrites, starting to write before a deal is done and other pitfalls of blurry boundaries, so the WGA is introducing the Start Button, designed to help writers define their timeline and let the Guild be the bad guy.

We also answer listener questions about procedural television, binge-watching, and crossing the line in dark comedy.

Links:

  • Signed Arlo Finch bookplates are available with a copy of your receipt.
  • Tickets for the Scriptnotes Holiday Live Show are on sale now.
  • Scriptnotes, Ep 296: Television with Damon Lindelof
  • Start Button for WGA members
  • Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana box set or just the book
  • This Chemical Is So Hot It Destroys Nerve Endings — In a Good Way by Matt Simon for Wired
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Andrew Burns (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-28-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Austin Live Show 2018

October 30, 2018 Awards, Citizenship, Film Industry, Follow Up, QandA, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed, Treatments, WGA

John and Craig invite Wendy Calhoun (Station 19, Empire), Phil Hay (The Invitation, Ride Along), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel), and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman, Ice Age: Continental Drift) to join them onstage for a discussion about the death of the writing middle class, why we get bored during a film or episode of television, and the consequences of handing over unpaid writing.

We also play a game called “Why is Craig So Mad?”

Recorded live from the Driskill Ballroom at the 2018 Austin Film Festival. Thanks to the Austin Film Festival for hosting us, and to a great audience!

Links:

  • Thanks for joining us, Wendy Calhoun, Phil Hay, Nicole Perlman, and Jason Fuchs!
  • And thank you, Beto, for the message! Check out the video from the audience.
  • The Death of Hollywood’s Middle Class by Nicole Laporte for Fast Company
  • This tweet by Nicola Prigg
  • Keep an eye on Weekend Read for screenplays this awards season.
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • The USB drives!
  • Wendy Calhoun on Twitter
  • Phil Hay on Twitter
  • Nicole Perlman on Twitter
  • Jason Fuchs 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 Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-8-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

No Writing Left Behind

October 23, 2018 Film Industry, Pitches, Producers, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Treatments, WGA, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss the dangers of leave-behinds. The “writing before the writing” is an important part of the craft, but giving it away for free is bad for everyone.

We also answer a listener question about character wants versus needs, and why that distinction has become such a guru staple.

Links:

  • Hope to see you this weekend at the Austin Film Festival! You can also catch John at the Texas Book Festival and the Boulder Book Store Event
  • No Writing Left Behind
  • The Confidence Gap by Claire Shipman, Katty Kay and JillEllyn Riley for The New York Times
  • Youtube TV
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Luke Brown (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 10-25-2018 The transcript for this episode can now be found here.

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