John August

QandA

What’s in the WGA Deal

Episode - 310

Go to Archive

Film Industry, Follow Up, Producers, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed, WGA

Craig and John talk with Chris Keyser, one of the co-chairs of the WGA Negotiating Committee, to learn what gains were achieved in the most recent deal, and what work lies ahead.

Warning: it’s a super-wonky episode that presumes you’re familiar with the basics outlined in episode 289.

Links:

* Scriptnotes, 289: [WGA Negotiations 101](http://johnaugust.com/2017/wga-negotiations-101)
* Chris Keyser on [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450899/), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Keyser) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chrskeyser), and on [episode 138](http://johnaugust.com/2014/the-deal-with-the-deal)
* [Poly Bridge](http://polybridge.drycactus.com/)
* The [Apple Pencil](https://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/), [PDF Expert](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pdf-expert-6-read-annotate-edit-pdf-documents/id743974925?mt=8) and [Weekend Read](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/)
* [Magpie Murders](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062645226/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Anthony Horowitz, on Amazon
* [Season 1 of The Last Tycoon](https://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Tycoon/dp/B01G98ZPQU) “drops” on Amazon Prime July 28th
* [Get your tickets now](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/scriptnotes-homecoming-show/) for the July 25th Scriptnotes Live Homecoming Show
* [The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!](johnaugust.com/guide)
* [The USB drives!](https://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/scriptnotes-300-episode-usb-flash-drive)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Find past episodes](http://scriptnotes.net/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Rajesh Naroth ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_310.mp3).

**UPDATE 8-2-17:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2017/scriptnotes-ep-310-whats-in-the-wga-deal-transcript).

Dennis Lehane on novels vs. screenplays

Adaptation, Arlo Finch, Psych 101

Scriptnotes listener Eric in Boston pointed me towards this quote from Dennis Lehane on the [difference between writing novels and screenplays](https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1056124-you-have-been-working-on-the-screenplay):

> They’re apples and giraffes. Completely different, outside of their core narrative DNA. When you write a novel you’re God, in charge of the whole universe, from the farthest galaxy to the smallest pebble. When that book is published, everything in it was filtered through you and you alone (with some nudging and advice from your editor, of course).

> When you write a script, you’re like a house painter in a large mansion. You give the rooms their color but you don’t build the house or concern yourself with the plumbing. A screenwriter is one of, say, 140 people who contributes to the film. And your script is just a schematic to be interpreted by a director, actors, the director of photography, the set designers, costume designers, editor, producers, studio execs, and on and on and on.

> It’s much harder to be God; novels take way longer to write than scripts and are much more emotionally and psychologically taxing but they’re also—by a longshot—more fulfilling.

I largely agree with Lehane, but want to caution that screenwriters shouldn’t take his house painter analogy too far. You’re not just decorating the rooms; you’re deciding where the walls need to be so that the whole thing doesn’t collapse.

Particularly when working on their own original projects, screenwriters must be just as invested in every galaxy and pebble. They may not include these details — screenwriting is an art of extreme economy — but you have to know what you’re leaving out.

I’m writing book two of the Arlo Finch series right now. The process is rewarding and exhausting, but the level of responsibility I feel to the story’s universe and characters is not fundamentally different than when writing the first draft of a script. In both cases, I’ve moved into their world, and am writing what I see.

The biggest shift comes later, once I’m ready to show the work to others.

With a screenplay, I need to coordinate my vision with dozens of other decision-makers so we can make a movie. That’s the psychologically taxing aspect of the job: writing as if it’s all yours while knowing it’s ultimately not.

With a book, I’ve made decisions down to the comma and conjunction, knowing they’ll persist. Arlo Finch isn’t a blueprint; it’s the thing itself. No matter what happens down the road, my choices are preserved on the page.

Lehane’s right: books and screenplays are like apples and giraffes. I like both of them, and hope to have more of each in the years ahead.

Logic and Gimmickry

Awards, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Tools, Words on the page

John and Craig step up to the whiteboard to look at the story logic in our scripts, then examine how tricks and gimmicks can help keep scenes interesting.

We also answer listener questions about paying experts for research help, and whether hiring a writing consultant ever makes sense.

Links:

* [Get your tickets now](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/scriptnotes-homecoming-show/) for the July 25th Scriptnotes Live Homecoming Show, with guests [Liz Meriwether](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Meriwether), [Megan Amram](https://twitter.com/meganamram) and more!
* [Julie Buxbaum’s What to Say Next](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553535684/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* [Fridge logic](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FridgeLogic) on TV Tropes
* John on [The perils of coincidence](http://johnaugust.com/2007/perils-of-coincidence)
* The [Fargo TV series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo_(TV_series)) makes a religion of coincidence
* Gimmickry used in Kill Bill with [split screens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWI4G9PB31c) and [animation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQM0klOXck8), in (500) Days of Summer with [musical numbers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJoIaXZ0rw) and [alternate timelines](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fL94BTrFhs), when [talking to the dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7xeK76cwA0) in Iron Lady, when Love and Death [becomes a silent film](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEETZTs795U&t=0m48s), and when [flashbacks become childhood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLk9y0RZSGo) in The Hangover 2
* [Go](https://www.amazon.com/Go-Katie-Holmes/dp/B008Y6YKEE/) and [The Nines](https://www.amazon.com/Nines-Ryan-Reynolds/dp/B00164LTUO/) on Amazon Video
* [The LA Metro System](https://www.metro.net)
* [Hyperloop One](https://hyperloop-one.com/) and its [successful first test](https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/12/15958224/hyperloop-one-first-full-system-test-devloop)
* [The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!](johnaugust.com/guide)
* [The USB drives!](https://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/scriptnotes-300-episode-usb-flash-drive)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Find past episodes](http://scriptnotes.net/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Rajesh Naroth ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_309.mp3).

**UPDATE 7-25-17:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2017/scriptnotes-ep-309-logic-and-gimmickry-transcript).

A last look at The Leftovers

Adaptation, Directors, Follow Up, Television, Writing Process

Showrunner Damon Lindelof joined me for [episode 296](http://johnaugust.com/2017/television-with-damon-lindelof) to talk through the process of writing The Leftovers. Here’s how he described breaking an episode:

> For the “blue-sky phase,” once we land on something that we like, you just write a sentence. Like, “Baby doll made in Tijuana.” And the last one is “Kevin throws baby out window.” It’s literally just those sentences.

> After two days, you look and you have about 20 of those sentences up on the board. Then you’re ready to go into the next phase, which I think is what I would call the story-breaking phase, where you just go scene-by-scene and you start to pitch specific dialogue, character dynamics, etc.

Writing for Vulture, Boris Kachka takes an in-depth look at [how the final episode was written, shot and edited](http://www.vulture.com/2017/06/leftovers-finale-behind-the-scenes-exclusive.html). It’s a great look at the process from blank whiteboard to final cut. Highly recommended for anyone interested in making television.