John August

Story and Plot

PG13: Blood, Boobs and Bullcrap

Episode - 215

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Film Industry, Follow Up, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss the PG-13 rating, its effects and what screenwriters have to keep in mind when dealing with it. Then it’s a conversation about healthy and unhealthy relationships between writers and their representatives.

Also: are your odds greater of being a professional screenwriter or a professional football player? We have a lot of numbers, but no clear answer. The question points out interesting differences when it comes to pursuing one’s dream.

Links:

* [For two more days, Scriptnotes shirts are available for pre-order in the John August Store](http://store.johnaugust.com/)
* [Black List Table Reads, with John and Craig](http://blacklist.wolfpop.com/audio/39626/john-august-and-craig-mazin)
* [Craig is running a few minutes behind](http://johnaugust.com/2015/craig-is-running-a-few-minutes-behind)
* [Tom Hardy’s Legend snuck a 2-star Guardian review onto its poster, made it look like 5](http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/tom-hardys-legend-film-snuck-a-2star-review-onto-its-poster-made-it-look-like-5-10492505.html), from The Independent
* [The biology of crime: Low heart rate may predict criminal behavior, study says](http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-low-heart-rate-criminal-behavior-20150909-story.html), from the Los Angeles Times
* [The odds of making it in the NFL](http://imgur.com/gallery/zNOVaO6)
* [Addition of the PG-13 rating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system#Addition_of_PG-13_rating) on Wikipedia
* [How ‘Indiana Jones’ Finally Forced Hollywood To Create The PG-13 Rating](http://www.businessinsider.com/indiana-jones-and-the-temple-of-doom-created-pg-13-rating-2014-4), from Business Insider
* [The Possession: PG-13 Vs. Uncut Edition Comparison](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1vwu2R6ox0) on YouTube
* [This Film Is Not Yet Rated](http://kirbydick.com/thisfilmisnotyetrated.html), and [on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Film_Is_Not_Yet_Rated)
* [I Asked Atheists How They Find Meaning In A Purposeless Universe](http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/when-i-was-a-child-i-spake-as-a-child#.em1Y5xnxG5), from BuzzFeed
* Sam Harris’s TED talk: [Science can answer moral questions](http://www.ted.com/talks/sam_harris_science_can_show_what_s_right?language=en)
* [Didi Gregorius making a name for himself with Yankees](http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/88945/didi-gregorius-making-a-name-for-himself-with-yankees) on ESPN.com, and Didi on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DidiG18), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didi_Gregorius) and [baseball-reference.com](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gregodi01.shtml)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) from Coming to America, sent to us by Chris French ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_215.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_215.mp3).

**UPDATE 9-21-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-215-pg13-blood-boobs-and-bullcrap-transcript).

Clerks and recreation

Adaptation, Follow Up, How-To, News, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

Craig and John tackle another installment of “How would this be a movie?” with a look at the Kentucky clerk, the French train bros, Uber and Deflategate. Who are the heroes and villains, and would there be enough plot to support the running time?

We also explore the happy-sad feeling of finishing a screenplay.

Only two-weeks left to pre-order a Scriptnotes t-shirt. Don’t miss out!

Links:

* [Scriptnotes shirts are available for pre-order in the John August Store](http://store.johnaugust.com/)
* [You Must Remember This podcast, with Karina Longworth](http://www.infiniteguest.org/remember-this/)
* [Eazypower 30167 40-Inch Flexible Drill Extension with 1/4-Inch Keyed Chuck](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009XAFXU/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* [Explainer: The Kentucky Clerk Marriage License Controversy](http://blog.acton.org/archives/81601-explainer-the-kentucky-clerk-marriage-license-controversy.html), and [in The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/05/us/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage.html?_r=0)
* [A change of seats for 3 Americans led to saved lives on Paris-bound train](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-french-train-suspect-is-interrogated-questions-mount-on-europes-security/2015/08/23/088ff2fe-4923-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html), from The Washington Post
* [Under Siege 2: Dark Territory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Siege_2:_Dark_Territory), [Snowpiercer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowpiercer) and [The Raid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raid:_Redemption)
* [Timeline of events for Deflategate, Tom Brady](http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4782561/timeline-of-events-for-deflategate-tom-brady) on ESPN.com
* [Concussion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io6hPdC41RM) trailer
* The New Yorker on [The Long History of the Fight Against Uber](http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-long-history-of-the-fight-against-uber)
* [Hell’s Club](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QajyNRnyPMs&feature=youtu.be), a mashup from AMDSFILMS
* [Use Ice Cubes and Your Dryer to Steam Out Wrinkles](http://lifehacker.com/use-ice-cubes-and-your-dryer-to-steam-out-wrinkles-1551615442) on Lifehacker
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Matthew Chilelli ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_214.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_214.mp3).

**UPDATE 9-11-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-214-clerks-and-recreation-transcript).

Diary of a First-Time Director

Directors, Film Industry, Follow Up, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Sundance, Transcribed, Writing Process

John and Craig sit down with Marielle Heller, the writer and director of the acclaimed feature The Diary of a Teenage Girl, to talk about the journey of getting her movie made, from optioning the novel to the Sundance Labs through production.

We discuss sex scenes and ’70s wallpaper, anamorphic lenses and leaving subplots on the cutting room floor. Plus there’s a lot of MacGruber.

Heller’s film is in US theaters now, and expanding week-by-week. Don’t miss it.

Links:

You can download the episode here: AAC | mp3.

UPDATE 8-28-15: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

One-Handed Movie Heroes

Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss why movie heroes — unlike those in novels or musicals — generally don’t profess internally conflicting views. In reality, our feelings on a topic are likely shades of gray. On the big screen, characters tend to articulate a single point firmly.

We also discuss the last few things we do when getting ready to submit a script.

Then it’s time for three new entries in the Three Page Challenge, with Nazis, nukes and noir.

* Today is the final day to [submit your Fall 2015 Scriptnotes shirt design](http://johnaugust.com/shirt)
* [Submit your Three Pages here](http://johnaugust.com/threepage)
* Three Pages by [Andy Maycock](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/AndyMaycock.pdf)
* Three Pages by [Brian Vidal](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/BrianVidal.pdf)
* Three Pages by [Len Anderson IV](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/LenAndersonIV.pdf)
* [Logan Paul has conquered the internet, but he can’t figure out how to conquer the world](http://www.techinsider.io/vine-star-logan-paul-profile-2015-7) by Caroline Moss
* [Avery Monsen](https://vine.co/AveryMonsen) on Vine
* [Thync](http://www.thync.com/)
* [Muse headband](http://www.choosemuse.com/)
* [A limited number of 200 episode USB drives are back in the John August Store](http://store.johnaugust.com/)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Rajesh Naroth ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_210.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_210.mp3).

**UPDATE 8-13-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-210-one-handed-movie-heroes-transcript).