• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

John August

  • Arlo Finch
  • Scriptnotes
  • Library
  • Store
  • About

So-Called Experts

All of It Needs to Stop

Episode - 324

Go to Archive

November 7, 2017 Citizenship, Follow Up, News, Reading, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Writing Process

John and Craig revisit the discussion of sexual harassment in Hollywood, and how to support writers facing it. While the media spotlight is on the predators, it’s the day-to-day bullying and bad behavior that may have a more pernicious effect.

Then it’s another round of How Would This Be a Movie, looking at stories in the news to see which ones might be suited for the big screen.

Is it the story of a prison camp for female firefighters? The shockingly unregulated human corpse trade? Or is it perhaps the anti-racist protestors shut down by other students at a super-liberal college?

We also answer listener questions about British English vocabulary and how to lure expert consultants for a project.

Links:

  • Last chance for Scriptnotes T-shirts! We’ve got Classic (in light and dark mode), the Umbrage Strikes Back, and Umbrage & Reason.
  • Peter Madsen admits to dismembering, but not killing, Kim Wall. This is a follow-up to past How Would This Be a Movie article, Famed Inventor Says He Buried Reporter ‘At Sea’ After His Homemade Sub Sank on NPR
  • The 15:17 to Paris, written by Dorothy Blyskyl and directed by Clint Eastwood, is a former How Would This Be a Movie come to life.
  • On the Line: The Female Inmates Who Battle California’s Deadly Wildfires by Matt Toder for NBC News.
  • Some dead bodies donated to research in US end up in warehouses of horrors by Beth Mole for Ars Technica.
  • The Surprising Revolt at the Most Liberal College in the Country by Chris Bodenner for The Atlantic
  • An interactive piece by Joel Eastwood and Erik Hinton for the Wall Street Journal looking at the rhyme schemes in Hamilton
  • Tens dice game app.
  • Big Fish in London!
  • The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-14-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Unforgiven

August 22, 2017 Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Words on the page

Craig and John take a deep dive into 1992’s Unforgiven, looking at how the David Webb Peoples script works on the page and on the screen.

In the links below, you’ll find the PDF of the script we’re using. It’s also available in Weekend Read.

Links:

  • Where to watch Unforgiven, and on IMDb and Wikipedia
  • The Unforgiven script
  • Weekend Read
  • Past deep dives on The Addams Family, Ghost, Groundhog Day, Frozen, The Little Mermaid and Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • Tuff Turf on Wikipedia
  • The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-30-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Don’t Think Twice

August 2, 2016 Follow Up, Indie, Meta, News, QandA, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Story and Plot

Craig and guest host Mike Birbiglia discuss Mike’s new film, Don’t Think Twice, a comedy about life as an improv performer. The two explore the current state of independent film and the challenges facing aspiring filmmakers.

Craig and Mike also answer listener questions, including one on assassinating a fictional president.

Links:

  • Don’t Think Twice on Rotten Tomatoes
  • Angela Duckworth New York Times Op-Ed
  • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on Good Reads
  • Frank Oz on IMDB
  • Episode 99: Psychotherapy for Screenwriters
  • FING
  • Landmark Theatres
  • Music Box Theatre
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • Mike Birbiglia on Twitter
  • Outro by Matt Davis (send us yours!)

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-5-16: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Anthrax, Amnesia and Atomic Veterans

July 26, 2016 Books, Follow Up, Meta, News, QandA, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Story and Plot

John and Craig implore screenwriters to think twice before using the phrase “begs the question.” We know it’s a losing battle, but if we learned anything from 300, sometimes those are still worth having.

We then dive into one of our favorite features, How Would This Be a Movie, looking at listener-suggested stories about anthrax, amnesia and atomic veterans.

Links:

  • Arlo Finch on TUMBLR
  • Duly Noted: Let’s Talk about Episode 259
  • Craig’s One Cool PI Thing
  • Latif Ullah’s Cut of Overboard
  • Begging the Question
  • Begging the Question Fallacy
  • Trip Gabriel
  • Oliver Sacks
  • The Answer to the Riddle Is Me: A Memoir of Amnesia on Amazon
  • Tom Hallman, Jr.
  • Clyde Haberman
  • 2001 Anthrax Attacks
  • Bruce Edward Ivins
  • macOS Sierra
  • Phased by Joe Capra
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter

  • Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-1-16: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Newsletter

Inneresting Logo A Quote-Unquote Newsletter about Writing
Read Now

Explore

Projects

  • Aladdin (1)
  • Arlo Finch (27)
  • Big Fish (88)
  • Charlie (39)
  • Charlie's Angels (16)
  • Chosen (2)
  • Corpse Bride (9)
  • Dead Projects (18)
  • Frankenweenie (10)
  • Go (30)
  • Karateka (4)
  • Monsterpocalypse (3)
  • One Hit Kill (6)
  • Ops (6)
  • Preacher (2)
  • Prince of Persia (13)
  • Shazam (6)
  • Snake People (6)
  • Tarzan (5)
  • The Nines (118)
  • The Remnants (12)
  • The Variant (22)

Apps

  • Bronson (14)
  • FDX Reader (11)
  • Fountain (32)
  • Highland (73)
  • Less IMDb (4)
  • Weekend Read (64)

Recommended Reading

  • First Person (88)
  • Geek Alert (151)
  • WGA (162)
  • Workspace (19)

Screenwriting Q&A

  • Adaptation (66)
  • Directors (90)
  • Education (49)
  • Film Industry (491)
  • Formatting (129)
  • Genres (90)
  • Glossary (6)
  • Pitches (29)
  • Producers (59)
  • Psych 101 (119)
  • Rights and Copyright (96)
  • So-Called Experts (47)
  • Story and Plot (170)
  • Television (164)
  • Treatments (21)
  • Words on the page (238)
  • Writing Process (178)

More screenwriting Q&A at screenwriting.io

© 2025 John August — All Rights Reserved.