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Story and Plot

Splitting the Party

Episode - 383

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January 15, 2019 Adaptation, Arlo Finch, Big Fish, Film Industry, Follow Up, Genres, News, Producers, QandA, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Travel, Treatments

John and Craig talk about the trope of “Never split the party,” and why, as a writer, you often want and need to divide up your characters to better explore relationships, propel the story forward, give actors something to do, and simply fit everyone in the frame.

We also follow up on screenwriting scams, sequences, websites, and liking things that others don’t.

Links:

  • Join us for the WGA’s Princess Bride screening on January 27th.
  • You can catch John on Studio 360.
  • “Let’s Split Up the Gang” and “Never Split the Party” are topical TV tropes.
  • Watch Patton Oswalt when he’s not being utilized in a big scene.
  • Scriptnotes, Ep 381: Double Ampersand with Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens
  • Big Fish sequence outline
  • Sarah Silverman recording Slaughter Race, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Phil Johnston and Tom MacDougall
  • TripIt
  • This Is Your Brain On Pot
  • You can now preorder the next Arlo Finch
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 1-23-2019: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Professional Realism

January 8, 2019 Arlo Finch, Books, Directors, Film Industry, Genres, How-To, Pitches, Producers, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Television, Transcribed, WGA, Words on the page, Writing Process

John welcomes Derek Haas (Chicago Fire, 3:10 to Yuma, 2 Fast 2 Furious) to talk about writing accurate portrayals of different jobs, and when to sacrifice reality for storytelling. They also share their time-management strategies in honor of those New Year resolutions to get writing done.

We also answer listener questions about the necessity of entertainment lawyers, how to keep your energy high pitch after pitch, Story By credits, and how to stay alive after that first staff writing job ends.

Links:

  • Thank you, Derek Haas!
  • Join us for the WGA’s Princess Bride screening on January 27th. Seating opens up to non-WGA members 15 minutes before showtime.
  • How Hollywood Gets the Publishing Industry Wrong by Sloane Crosley, author of I Was Told There’d Be Cake, for The New York Times
  • Is Grover swearing in this video? This is Christian DiCanio’s blog post about it.
  • David Kwong’s The Enigmatist
  • Holding down the spacebar on a text so you can move the cursor more accurately on an iPhone.
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • Derek Haas on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by James Llonch and Jim Bond (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 2-12-19: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Double Ampersand

December 25, 2018 Adaptation, Books, Directors, Film Industry, Genres, Producers, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, WGA, Writing Process

John sits down with Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens to discuss their new film Mortal Engines, and their approach to writing as a team, worldbuilding, and rewriting through production, because one does not simply walk into Mordor.

We also answer audience questions about the difference between ideas for television and movies, and working through dialogue out loud.

Links:

  • Thanks to Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens!
  • Mortal Engines is in theaters now.
  • Mortal Engines is based on the book series by Philip Reeve.
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • John August on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Matt Davis (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 1-2-19: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Holiday Live Show 2018

December 18, 2018 Film Industry, Follow Up, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Television, Transcribed, WGA, Writing Process

John and Craig welcome Pamela Ribon (Ralph Breaks the Internet, Smurfs: The Lost Village), Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Into the Spiderverse, The Lego Movie), Zoanne Clack (Grey’s Anatomy) and Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (Family Guy, The Orville) to discuss writing animated features, breaking into television, and how to disappoint your parents.

We also rescue another genre, the big-screen holiday comedy, by playing a game about movies of Christmas past. Then we answer audience questions about useful notes and being the only woman in the room.

Thank you to the Writers Guild Foundation and the LA Film School for hosting us!

Links:

  • Thank you, Writers Guild Foundation for making this event happen!
  • And thank you to our incredible guests: Pamela Ribon, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Zoanne Clack and Cherry Chevapravatdumrong!
  • Featured movies in the Santa Claus Is Bumming Me Down game are Four Christmases, Jingle All The Way, Deck the Halls, Fred Claus, Jack Frost, Surviving Christmas and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • Pamela Ribon on Twitter
  • Phil Lord on Twitter
  • Chris Miller on Twitter
  • Zoanne Clack on Twitter
  • Cherry Chevapravatdumrong on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Outro by Fred Tepper (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 2-22-23: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

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