John August

Writing Process

The Crossover Episode

Episode - 139

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QandA, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig visit Ben Blacker’s Nerdist Writers Panel for a special crossover episode, recorded in front of a live audience on April 13, 2014.

writerspanellogoAs television gets more cinematic, what if feature writing was more like TV writing, with multiple writers together in a room? Would movies get better or worse? Could a Joss Whedon or a Vince Gilligan make movies the way they make television?

We have another live show coming up: May 15th, featuring writers from the biggest superhero movies and a live Three Page Challenge. Tickets go on sale Thursday.

This is a two part episode! You can hear the other half at Nerdist Writers Panel. Seach for “Nerdist Writers Panel” iTunes, or follow the links in the show notes.

Our thanks to Ben Blacker and the Nerdist empire for a great evening. If you’re not already listening to his podcast, subscribe.

Links:

* [Nerdist Writers Panel](http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/nerdist-writers-panel/)
* [826 LA](http://826la.org/)
* [NerdMelt](https://www.nerdmeltla.com/) at [Meltdown Comics](http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/)
* The [Children of Tendu](http://childrenoftendu.libsyn.com/) podcast, and [on iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/children-of-tendu/id833831151?mt=2)
* [Superman: Red Son](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1401201911/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) and [Marvel Zombies](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0785185380/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* John’s Scriptcast on [writing better action](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPHIb1RweeI&list=PLa3qqbMuNy-q05OxwIqEfxTTHA0lDV0K3)
* [Ops](http://johnaugust.com/library#ops) in the John August Library
* Scriptnotes, Episode 121: [My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’s Screenwriter](http://johnaugust.com/2013/my-girlfriends-boyfriends-screenwriter)
* Tickets for the Scriptnotes Summer Superhero Spectacular will be available April 17th on the [Writers Guild Foundation’s website](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/scriptnotes-summer-superhero-spectacular/)
* [Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art from the Underground](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0764345664/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Matthew Chojnacki
* [Unsheets](http://unsheets.tumblr.com/) on tumblr
* Fight jet lag with [Entrain](http://entrain.math.lsa.umich.edu/)
* [Sex Criminals](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607069466/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Matt Fraction, and on [Image Comics](https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/sex-criminals)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_139.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_139.mp3).

**UPDATE** 4-18-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-139-the-crossover-episode-transcript).

Writing an album in two weeks

Big Fish, Writing Process

In an interview with Billboard, producer Patrick Leonard talks about [writing “Like a Prayer” with Madonna](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5944767/madonna-producer-patrick-leonard-talks-like-a-prayer-at-25).

> I like to start really early in the day. She would come in about 11 and I would have the musical idea on whatever piece of gear I was using. I think it was just a Yamaha sequencer or something at the time. […]

> I would just put the track, the chord changes, some kind of drum beat, bass line — something simple — and say, “here’s the idea, here’s what I have for the day.” She would listen, then we would talk a little bit. Oftentimes I’d say, “here’s the verse, and here’s the chorus,” and she’d say, “no, it’s the other way around, switch ’em.” So I’d switch ’em. This thing is an hour old, it’s not etched in stone.

> Then she would just start writing. She’d start writing lyrics and oftentimes there was an implied melody. She would start with that and deviate from it. Or if there was nothing but a chord change, she’d make up a melody. But, a lot of the time in my writing there’s a melody implied or I even have something in mind. But she certainly doesn’t need that.

> She would write the lyrics in an hour, the same amount of time it took me to write the music (laughs). And then she’d sing it. We’d do some harmonies, she’d sing some harmony parts, and usually by three or four in the afternoon, she was gone.

> That’s how “Like a Prayer” was written, and then the next day we wrote “Cherish,” and then the next day we wrote “Dear Jessie.” And that’s how it was. We wrote the album in less than two weeks.

This recap demonstrates something I’ve often found to be true: a large part of making art is showing up to work.

As a writer, yes, sometimes you get flashes of inspiration and genius, but if you sit around waiting for them, you’re unlikely to get much accomplished. Most screenplays are written a scene at a time.

One of the great things about writing with a partner is the ability to hold each other accountable. When working with Andrew Lippa on Big Fish, we had limited days — sometimes hours — to get stuff accomplished. So we buckled down and tackled items one-at-a-time. This song. This moment. This transition.

That’s how you finish things.

The Deal with the Deal

Follow Up, Formatting, Highland, News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA, Writing Process

John and Craig talk with WGA President Chris Keyser about the tentative deal reached between writers and the studios, and why it’s more groundbreaking than it might appear at first glance.

We continue our discussion of a new screenwriting format by looking at how we got here, both the history of “modern” screenplay layout and the alternatives.

Finally, John just delivered a new script, the first one he wrote entirely in Highland. We discuss the difference between drafts and assemblies, and how much we like to know before digging in on a sequence.

Links:

* [Courier Prime](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/courierprime/)
* WGA President Chris Keyser on [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450899/) and [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Keyser)
* Deadline’s January article on [Chip Johannessen and Billy Ray’s letter to WGA members](http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/writers-guild-producers-pension-health-contribution-cuts-new-contract/)
* [Thomas Ince](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H._Ince) on Wikipedia
* [Sample pages](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/four-alternate-formats-final.pdf) from alternatively formatted screenplays
* Screenwriting.io on [multicamera script formatting](http://screenwriting.io/how-are-multicamera-tv-scripts-formatted/)
* [Highland](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland/)
* [The Way to Go](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1594204683/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Kate Ascher
* Lilly Onakuramara on [the Pitch Perfect wiki](http://pitch-perfect.wikia.com/wiki/Lilly_Onakuramara), and [a YouTube compilation of some of her best moments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdG6v7gkxm4)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Blake Kuehn ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_138.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_138.mp3).

**UPDATE** 4-11-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-138-the-deal-with-the-deal-transcript).

Michael Arndt on setting a story in motion

Story and Plot, Writing Process

In this animated lesson, Michael Arndt explains some of the things he learned while working on the screenplay for Toy Story 3.

When I saw this video, I immediately wondered what it was from. It’s clearly professionally made, so why is it on some random guy’s YouTube account?

I emailed Michael Arndt, who wrote back that it was originally a bonus feature on the [Blu-ray for Toy Story 3](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RKXW0E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004RKXW0E&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20). He gave me his blessing to link to it.

> I’m aware the model I set up here applies imperfectly to TS3 itself. (It applies much more cleanly [for example] to TOOTSIE, which I consider one of the best comedy first acts of all time.) The broader point is that the emotional fuel for your first act break is largely set up in your inciting incident — and that is something that does apply to TS3.

Disney and/or Pixar own the copyright on the video, so they could pull it down. But I hope they won’t. This kind of lesson celebrates what’s made their films so successful, and deserves wider exposure.