John August

QandA

Interview with me at DVguru

Film Industry

Ajit Anthony over at DVGuru.com has a [two-part interview](http://www.dvguru.com/2005/12/28/interview-with-john-august-part-one/) with me up on the site, in which I sound remarkably coherent. That’s probably because the interview was done over IM; my fingers are generally more eloquent than my mouth.

The downsides of an IM interview are considerable, however. You end up typing a lot. You can’t blame misquoting, so the mistakes you see are probably my own. And I recall entering a sort of [fugue state](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue_state) by the end, so God knows what I wrote in the as-yet-unpublished Part Two.

Anyway, you can see for yourself [here](http://www.dvguru.com/2005/12/28/interview-with-john-august-part-one/).

Liam found a mistake in the Bible

QandA

questionmarkA couple of weeks ago Pastor moon spoke on the Genealogy of Jesus from Matthew. There’s another one in Luke, in this one Joseph’s father is given a very different name from the Matthew text. Can you give an explanation as to why this is so?

— Liam

Um, Liam. Are we quite clear on the concept of this site?

The tagline at the top of the page reads, “A ton of useful information about screenwriting.” There is no mention of Jesus or testaments (new or old).

Maybe you were looking for [John August Swanson](http://www.johnaugustswanson.com/), an artist who deals with religious themes.

Anyway, you’re here now, so let me try my best to answer your question.

The Bible, the book you’re holding in your hand? Contrary to what a lot of people assume, it was written by a bunch of different people, over a very long period of time. Unlike the important texts of certain religions (c.f. Scientology), the information didn’t all come through one person. It’s natural that multiple storytellers might disagree on certain details.

As centuries passed, different texts were added and removed, and there’s always been controversy about these decisions. Plus, not a word of the Bible was written in English, so you’re always dealing with translation issues.

For these reasons, many people would say that what’s important is the larger themes, rather than a certain person’s name.

If your Pastor Moon says the Bible is the word of God, make sure he clarifies exactly what he means. Some Christian scholars will say the Bible is divinely inspired, which to me is an elegant way of addressing the human role in putting thought to parchment.

I hope this helps. If you’re still frustrated by the contradictions in the text, you might prefer a more free-form religion like [Flying Spaghetti Monsterism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster).

The TV spec of the season

Television

Veteran TV writer Ken Levine, whose [blog](http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/) was recently added to the list on the right-hand side, has a post up about [which TV shows would be best to spec](http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2005/12/my-spec-is-earl.html) this season.

For readers unfamiliar with how TV staffing works, here’s the rundown.

Writers hoping to get staffed on a given show (or frankly, any show — it’s a tough business), write sample scripts of shows currently on the air. So, if you’re looking to get a job writing on a show like CSI, you’d write a sample (spec) episode of a one-hour crime drama. You wouldn’t necessarily write a CSI, but rather a newer show that people like. Maybe Numbers. Or Numb3rs.

God, I hate what Se7en hath wrought.

The goal is to write an episode of a show that most everyone likes, _but isn’t sick of yet._ Ken suggests “My Name is Earl.” For me, the choice would have to be “The Office.” My assistant Chad and his writing partner, who hope to staff on a sitcom this year, wrote a terrific Office spec that should serve them well.

Sadly, I’ve read two or three spec episodes of “D.C.,” the failed drama I created at WB. For a brief time, it was considered a good spec because of the challenging structure (five main characters, at work and at home) and opportunity for comedy.

Trust me: write a show that lasts more than seven episodes.

Day or Night when neither is apparent

QandA

questionmarkIn a scene where there is absolutely no way of telling whether it is day or night — say, when a character is inside a meat locker in the bowels of an underground nuclear bunker and has nothing but a Zippo to see by — should one write…

  • INT. MEAT LOCKER – DAY
  • or,
  • INT. MEAT LOCKER

This is assuming it is daytime above, and realizing that there is no problem shooting the scene in the daytime.

— cbrown

There’s no universal consensus, but I vote for the former. Even if you’re not seeing the sun or the moon, there’s generally a “daytime” or a “nighttime” vibe. The crew of a space station, for example, needs to sleep at some point. Call that night.

Incidentally, don’t have the alien attack then. Kind of cliche, in my humble opinion.