John August

Television

10 Questions, 10 Answers

Episode - 94

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Film Industry, QandA, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig tackle the bursting mailbag, answering listener questions on topics ranging from the variable length of the TV season to underachieving agents to embarrassing IMDb credits.

This Friday, June 21, is the last day to order Scriptnotes t-shirts, so click over to [store.johnaugust.com](http://store.johnaugust.com/) if you want to express your love for the show in screen-printed form.

We’ll be mailing out shirts starting July 1st, so you’ll have plenty of time to get them broken in for the live 100th episode, July 25th in Hollywood. (Tickets should go on sale July 1.)

But first, you can see us at the Writers Guild Foundation Craft Day, which is Saturday, June 29th. See the links for ticket info.

LINKS:

* [Email us](http://johnaugust.com/ask-a-question) or tweet [John](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) or [Craig](https://twitter.com/clmazin) your questions for future episodes
* [Fitbit](http://www.fitbit.com/) helps you manage your health and wellness goals
* [Mission Log Podcast](http://www.missionlogpodcast.com/discovereddocuments/)’s archive of discovered Star Trek documents is fantastic
* [Order your Scriptnotes shirts](http://store.johnaugust.com/) before June 21st!
* The Writers Guild Foundation presents [The Screenwriter’s Craft: Finding Your Voice](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/the-screenwriters-craft-finding-your-voice/) featuring Scriptnotes Live
* John’s blog post on [this summer’s two live shows](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-live-in-la)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_94.m4a).

**UPDATE** 6-21-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-94-10-questions-10-answers-transcript).

Mason and Finley

Dead Projects, Projects, Television

The 22-year old twins at the center of my 1999 TV show D.C. were named Mason and Finley. I picked those names because they sounded like a brother and sister who came from some money — or at least the kids of English professors. I pictured them solving mysteries as teenagers.

I also picked those names because they were rare. I’d never encountered any actual people with those names.

Now the country is lousy with Masons. For 2012, it’s the [#2 name in America](http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/), steadily climbing from #64 in 2000.

And while Finley isn’t exactly common, it has grown quite a bit. In 2005, it was the #986 name. For 2012, it’s #349. (Still, the only Finley I’ve met in real life is an eight-year old boy in my daughter’s French class.)

D.C. lasted only seven low-rated episodes, so I can’t take any credit for these names rising in popularity. But it’s interesting to realize that names chosen for their relative obscurity may not stay that way.

For the hero of Chosen, I picked Asha. Right now, it’s ranked #978, but in a world full of Emmas and Ellas, it feels like the kind of name that has room to grow.

(The scripts for D.C. are available in the [Library](http://johnaugust.com/library).)

Ugly children and cigarettes

Film Industry, Formatting, QandA, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Television, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

Has a statistician cracked the code on successful screenplay formulas? John and Craig cast a skeptical eye at a New York Times article on Vinny Bruzzese, who claims to have done exactly that.

But is the real story Bruzzese’s numbers game, or a general misunderstanding of how the film industry actually operates?

From there, we answer several reader questions before diving in on a new batch of Three Page Challenges.

LINKS:

* [Turning the Page: Storytelling in the Digital Age](http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2013/05/turning-page.html) at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater
* [Solving Equation of a Hit Film Script, With Data](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/business/media/solving-equation-of-a-hit-film-script-with-data.html?hp&_r=0) by Brooks Barnes
* Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s [Black swan theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory) on Wikipedia
* Screenwriting.io on [multicamera script format](http://screenwriting.io/how-are-multicamera-tv-scripts-formatted/)
* Three Pages by [Sue Morris](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/SueMorris.pdf)
* Three Pages by [Robin Peters](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/RobinPeters.pdf)
* Three Pages by [Kevin Pinkerton](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/KevinPinkerton.pdf)
* [FilmCraft Screenwriting](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0240824865/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Tim Grierson on Amazon
* OUTRO: Thompson Twins’ [Doctor Doctor covered by Danny McEvoy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpHAgyUKn-0)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_88.m4a).

**UPDATE** 5-10-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-88-ugly-children-and-cigarettes-transcript).

A city born of fire

Broadway, Film Industry, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed, Writing Process

Writer Derek Haas (Wanted, 3:10 to Yuma) joins John and Craig to discuss gay slurs, refrigerator logic and his TV show, Chicago Fire.

In addition to writing for big and small screens, the extraordinarily prolific Haas writes books, including The Right Hand and The Silver Bear. He also created the short story site Popcorn Fiction.

LINKS:

* [Derek Haas](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0351929/) on IMDb
* [Chicago Fire](http://www.nbc.com/chicago-fire/) on NBC
* [Popcorn Fiction](http://www.mulhollandbooks.com/popcornfiction/index.html)
* [The Right Hand](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0316198463/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* Deadline’s coverage of [Amy Pascal’s speech](http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/amy-pascal-asks-hollywood-to-eliminate-gay-slurs-stereotypes-from-movies/) at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center gala
* [Fridge Logic](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FridgeLogic) on TV Tropes
* [Hands on a Hard Body](http://www.handsonahardbody.com/) and [The Book of Mormon](http://www.bookofmormonbroadway.com/home.php) on Broadway
* Lifehacker Australia on [using multiple audio inputs and outputs in OSX](http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/08/how-to-use-multiple-audio-inputs-and-outputs-in-mac-os-x/)
* The life-saving [Animal Specialty Group](http://www.asgvets.com/)
* [Chicago City Pass](http://www.citypass.com/chicago) is worthwhile
* OUTRO: [I’m on Fire](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvksSDzslCw) acoustic cover by ilikegtar

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_83.m4a).

**UPDATE** 4-4-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-83-a-city-born-of-fire-transcript).