John August

QandA

Period Space

Episode - 130

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Apps, Film Industry, Follow Up, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig tackle the greatest controversy in screenwriting: how many spaces to put after the period. From there, it’s follow-up on the Final Draft episode, including some behind-the-scene details.

Why is it often better to write in public spaces? How do you keep your hero in the driver’s seat? What do you do if you’re dating an emotional vampire? We have some answers.

We also have annoyances: the $1 billion lawsuit against Tom Cruise, similar hijinks with The New Girl, and Time Tailor.

The Big Fish cast album is available on iTunes and Amazon. A few last Scriptnotes t-shirts are available on the John August Store.

Links:

* [Slate](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html) on why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period
* John’s [2005 blog post](http://johnaugust.com/2005/fixing-double-spaces-after-periods) on fixing double-spaces after periods
* [Scriptnotes, Episode 65](http://johnaugust.com/2012/the-next-117-pages), in which John and Craig discuss their period-space preferences
* [Courier Prime](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/courierprime/)
* [Scriptnotes, Episode 129: The One with the Guys from Final Draft](http://johnaugust.com/2014/the-one-with-the-guys-from-final-draft)
* Kent Tessman’s [Notes on Scriptnotes](http://www.kenttessman.com/2014/02/notes-on-scriptnotes/) blog post
* [How QuarkXPress became a mere afterthought in publishing](http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/01/quarkxpress-the-demise-of-a-design-desk-darling/)
* Heather Havrilesky’s [Ask Polly: I Moved To A New City To Be With An Emotional Vampire](http://www.theawl.com/2014/01/ask-polly-i-moved-to-a-new-city-to-be-with-an-emotional-vampire) on The Awl
* The AV Club on [Tom Cruise being sued for one billion dollars](http://www.avclub.com/article/tom-cruise-is-being-sued-for-allegedly-stealing-th-107570)
* THR on [The New Girl lawsuit](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fox-wme-peter-chernin-sued-671788)
* [Time Tailor](http://www.visualdatainc.com/time_tailor.htm)
* [SuperCook.com](http://supercook.com/) tells you recipes to cook with what you have on hand
* [One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385351836/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by B. J. Novak
* B.J. on the [Nerdist Podcast](https://www.nerdist.com/2014/02/nerdist-podcast-b-j-novak/)
* The Big Fish cast album on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/big-fish-original-broadway/id816289324?ign-mpt=uo%3D2) and [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H3UKZ6E/?tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* We have a few shirts left in [The John August Store](http://store.johnaugust.com/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_130.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_130.mp3).

**UPDATE** 2-17-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-130-period-space-transcript).

The One with the Guys from Final Draft

Apps, Directors, QandA, Scriptnotes, Software, Transcribed, WGA

The makers of Final Draft pay us a visit to clear up John and Craig’s misconceptions of, well, everything. It’s double the umbrage for your money.

Then we discuss Quentin Tarantino’s leaked script, the upcoming WGA negotiations, and how to make it clear you’re attached to direct your spec.

Links:

You can download the episode here: AAC | mp3.

UPDATE 2-6-14: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Frozen with Jennifer Lee

Directors, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

In the tradition of the Raiders and Little Mermaid episodes, John and guest host Aline Brosh McKenna discuss and dissect the award-winning, record-setting, paradigm-shifting Frozen. But this time, we have the writer on hand to answer our questions.

Jennifer Lee not only wrote Frozen, she co-directed it. She talks us through all the twists, turns, and happy surprises on the journey. We go scene-by-scene and song-by-song to look at how it works and how it changed during development.

It’s an episode full of spoilers. But it’s also totally PG, so if your kids want to listen, let ‘em.

Craig will be back next week with an all-new episode and no recollection of what happened.

Links:

* [Aline Brosh McKenna](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0112459/) on episodes [60](http://johnaugust.com/2012/the-black-list-and-a-stack-of-scenes), [76](http://johnaugust.com/2013/how-screenwriters-find-their-voice), [100](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-100th-episode), [101](http://johnaugust.com/2013/101-qa-from-the-live-show), [119](http://johnaugust.com/2013/positive-moviegoing), [123](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-holiday-spectacular) and [124](http://johnaugust.com/2013/qa-from-the-holiday-spectacular)
* Jennifer Lee on [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601644/) and [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Lee_(filmmaker))
* [Frozen](http://movies.disney.com/frozen)
* The [Frozen final shooting draft](http://waltdisneystudiosawards.com/downloads/frozen-screenplay.pdf)
* Let it Go [in 25 languages](http://video.disney.com/watch/let-it-go-in-25-languages-4f06e85c30ce6b18db34b461)
* Our episodes on [Raiders of the Lost Ark](http://johnaugust.com/2013/raiders-of-the-lost-ark) and [Little Mermaid](http://johnaugust.com/2013/the-little-mermaid)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_128.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_128.mp3).

**UPDATE** 2-1-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-128-frozen-with-jennifer-lee-transcript).

Women and Pilots

Directors, News, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed

Carolyn Strauss, executive producer of Game of Thrones, joins John and Craig to discuss female directors and the death of pilot season. In one short hour, they solve all the intractable problems facing the film and television industry. (Not true. Not even remotely.)

Craig and John also recount the previous Sunday’s inaugural all-screenwriter dungeon crawl. It was Craig’s first D&D ever, and John’s first time DM’ing in 20 years.

Links:

* [Dungeon World](http://www.dungeon-world.com/)
* Carolyn Strauss on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Strauss) and [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1865467/)
* Lexi Alexander’s [blog post on the underrepresentation of women in Hollywood](http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/2014/1/13/this-is-me-getting-real)
* [AV Club](http://www.avclub.com/article/fox-at-the-tca-press-tour-kevin-reilly-kills-pilot-106902) on Fox’s announcing they are moving away from pilot season
* [Shakespeare](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shakespeare/id285035416?mt=8) for iPhone and iPad
* Organize your brain with [WorkFlowy](https://workflowy.com/)
* [The Orphan Master’s Son](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812982622/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Adam Johnson
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_127.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_127.mp3).

**UPDATE** 1-24-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-127-women-and-pilots-transcript).