Burn one minute and twenty-seven seconds with this nice motion graphic by Ryan Perera.
QandA
Professional screenwriting, and why no one really breaks in
Episode - 33
Craig and John just have to talk about the double-barrel craziness of the Joe Eszterhas/Mel Gibson spat. How often do you have screenwriters lobbing incendiary accusations at movie stars?
Well, pretty often, actually. But almost never so publicly. And the already-certifiable, formerly-A-list-ness of it all makes it especially gossip-worthy, so forgive us if we go on for a while.
That settled, we follow up on the Amazon Studios deal and what it means for screenwriters not currently in the WGA. One listener calls Craig an idiot, which leads to a discussion about what “professional screenwriting” even means.
John wants aspiring screenwriters to stop using the term “breaking in,” because it doesn’t accurately reflect the early stages of a writer’s career. Meanwhile, Craig takes umbrage at the idea of “trust fund screenwriters.”
We end with some questions and answers:
* What is a screenwriter’s quote, and how does it get determined?
* How do international screenwriters get U.S. visas?
* Can animation writers get WGA coverage?
All this and more in the new Scriptnotes.
LINKS:
* Joe Eszterhas’ [letter to Mel Gibson](http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/joe-eszterhas-letter-mel-gibson-36949)
* Warner Bros. buys rights to Reddit creation [Rome Sweet Rome](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118044449)
* [John’s rusted car](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/johns_car.jpg), 1990-1996
* Intro: [Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle TV cartoon intro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i__2vabLGxY)
* Outro: [North Korean teens play “Take On Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBgMeunuviE)
You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_33.m4a).
**UPDATE** 4-19-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-33-professional-screenwriting-and-why-no-one-really-breaks-in-transcript).
Amazon’s new deal for writers
Craig and John answer questions about specificity, television and what to do when your great idea sounds too much like a movie that’s already been made.
The big news this week is potentially very big news: Amazon Studios has completely revamped their business model, ditching the terrible parts and transforming into something potentially very good for writers. Notably, Amazon is now a WGA signatory, which offers the promise of residuals and credit protection for screenwriters.
Will it work? It’s too early to say. But when a new player with deep pockets enters the film industry, it often helps loosen the purse strings. More importantly, the Amazon deal sets a precedent for other tech companies considering taking the plunge.
Along the way, Craig talks about directing and John takes his daughter to work. All this and more in this episode of Scriptnotes.
LINKS:
* [Presbyopia](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002021/)
* Lena Dunham’s [Girls](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bastard-machine/review-girls-lena-dunham-brilliant-HBO-298379) is brilliant
* Tiny Furniture on Amazon
* [Nerdist Writers Panel](http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/nerdist-writers-panel/)
* My pilot scripts for [D.C, Alaska and Ops](http://johnaugust.com/library)
* John’s 2010 post on the [first Amazon deal](http://johnaugust.com/2010/on-the-amazon-film-thing)
* Craig’s 2010 post on [Amazon’s bad deal](http://artfulwriter.com/?p=1103)
* Amazon Studio’s [new development process](http://studios.amazon.com/getting-started)
* INTRO: [PM Magazine intro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6T2JrK3boQ)
* OUTRO: [We Found Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uzddvR5JEw) covered by Chris Harris
You can download the episode here: [AAC]http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_32.m4a).
**UPDATE** 4-12-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-32-amazons-new-deal-for-writers-transcript).
Understanding house styles
Joanna Cohen spent five years as a writer on the daytime soap *All My Children.* She’ll miss the show, and its [unique vocabulary](http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/losing-all-my-children/?pagewanted=all):
> I collected a list of “soapisms,” the peculiar and hilarious terms we use in stage direction. No one is ever shocked at the end of a scene. They are “klonged,” “gut-punched” or “pole-axed.” No one has an epiphany. They are “hit by a Mazda.” There is lots of “eyelock” and “liplock.” It would not be unusual to get an e-mail from the editor saying something like, “Josh will no longer be buried alive in trunk. We are going with a wooden coffin. Please track accordingly.”
Unlike feature screenplays, scripts for an ongoing TV show can afford to indulge in some in-jokes and esoterica. After all, the writers know exactly who will be reading them and what they’ll find funny.
Over time, many shows develop a house style. The scripts for Lost, for example, rely heavily on the f-word. “Two for the Road,” an episode written by Elizabeth Sarnoff & Christina Kim, uses “fuck” 96 times.
INT. HATCH – ARMORY – DAY 11
TOTAL DARKNESS as THE DOOR SLIDES OPEN, casting a SHAFT OF LIGHT on Henry, sitting on the COT.
Henry is not only bound by his wrists, but he is also TETHERED to the bed. And fucking TIGHTLY, too.
ON LOCKE. Backlit. Very fucking NOIR. Just looking at Henry. Trying to... make sense of him. The silent moment PLAYS. Then --
HENRY
If you’ve come to apologize, I forgive you for hitting me with your crutch.
(beat)
I’m glad my head didn’t break it.
Boy, is he fucking smug. And Locke ain’t one bit amused --
LOCKE
Why?
HENRY
Now there’s a broad question.
Would you write this way in your spec pilot? Almost certainly not.
But it became the house style of the show, to the degree that “fucking” became the principal adverb: fucking huge, fucking dark, fucking terrifying. Omit the word and you’d lose something, even though the audience never heard it.