Words on the page

The Next 117 Pages

Episode - 65

February 6, 2018 Film Industry, Los Angeles, QandA, Scriptnotes, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig talk about everything that comes after the oft-discussed First Three Pages, speculating on the kinds of issues they’d spot if they were looking at full scripts.

They also answer listener questions on topics ranging from proper spacing protocol to novelists rewriting their screenplay adaptations.

This episode originally aired on November 27, 2012.

Links:

Scriptnotes T-shirts are available for one more week, including some old favorite styles, like Gold Standard and Midnight Blue!
You can catch John at one of his book tour stops, or listen to Launch to keep up with him on the road.
“The exception that proves the rule” on Wikipedia
Stuart’s post, Learning from the Three Page Challenge
Brining
Cook’s Illustrated
Ticket to Ride for iOS
German-style board games on Wikipedia
The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
The USB drives are available!
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
INTRO: Folger’s “Peter Comes Home for Christmas”
OUTRO: Train Song by Feist and Ben Gibbard on iTunes

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Wait for It

January 2, 2018 Arlo Finch, Film Industry, Follow Up, Formatting, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Weekend Read, WGA, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss suspense and its function in all genres, from thrillers to romcoms. They examine suspense of the known and of the unknown and the techniques available to construct it.

We also answer listeners questions about registering scripts with the WGA, how to overcome creative paralysis and unconventional sluglines.

Links:

The WGA’s page regarding sexual harassment
The Wedding Planner, Die Hard, Three’s Company, Man Up, and the old ketchup commercials are great examples of suspense
Thanks to Katie Dippold, who pitched the idea for this episode
Weekend Read has many of this season’s awards scripts posted for your reading pleasure
Flipflop Solitaire by Zach Gage, who also made Really Bad Chess
Slate’s podcast, Slow Burn
The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
The USB drives!
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Outro by Travis Newton (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 1-8-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

A Cop’s Cop Show

December 19, 2017 Genres, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Television, Transcribed, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig give notes on a pilot script by our Homecoming Live Show Winner, Andrew Thalheimer. The Harrows is an hour-long police drama that centers on the relationship between a straight-laced new recruit and his street-wise father after they are assigned to be each other’s partner.

In talking through The Harrows, we discuss the limits of suspension of disbelief, the importance of the central relationship, and the need to set up your series early.

Huge thank you to Andrew, who has courageously put his script in our crosshairs. You can find this first draft and the subsequent rewrite below.

Links:

The Harrows (original draft) by Andrew Thalheimer, Story by Robert Kulb & Andrew Thalheimer)
The Harrows (rewrite) by Andrew Thalheimer, Story by Robert Kulb & Andrew Thalheimer
The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
The USB drives!
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Outro by Andy Roninson (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 12-26-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here

Mergers and Breakups

November 28, 2017 Film Industry, Los Angeles, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig explore the possibilities and consequences of Disney’s potential purchase of Fox film and television studios. What might prevent the sale? What does each side stand to gain? To lose? What could it mean for writers?

Then, it’s another installment of “This Kind of Scene,” in which we dissect the mechanics of an effective breakup scene by looking at Casablanca, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, (500) Days of Summer, Love and Basketball, Brokeback Mountain and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The Scriptnotes live holiday show is December 7th in Hollywood, with special guest writer-producers Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries), Michael Green (American Gods) and Justin Marks (Counterpart). Ticket link below.

Links:

Holiday Live Show tickets are available.
Godless on Netflix
The first 5 chapters of Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire are online.
Hollywood studio real estate-related articles about Studio City, Century City, the history of the Disney Studio and CBS’ possible move to sell Television City.
Casablanca scene and script, with the scene starting on page 119.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall scene, pages, and script.
(500) Days of Summer scene, pages, and script.
Love and Basketball scene, pages, and script.
Brokeback Mountain scene, pages, and script.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s scene, pages, and script.
Merriam-Webster Time Traveler will show you the words that were added in any given year.
If you like that, you might like the Google n-gram viewer which graphs frequency of word use.
The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
The USB drives!
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Outro by Arbitrary Jukebox (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-29-17: The transcript of this episode can be found here

« Previous Page