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The Scriptnotes Index

The full Scriptnotes catalogue is available as 50-episode seasons for premium members at scriptnotes.net.

You can also purchase individual seasons in our Store.

Key:

3PC :: Three Page Challenge

HWTBAM :: How Would This Be a Movie?

LIVE :: Live shows with an audience

DEEP DIVE :: Entire episode focused on one movie

We’ll be updating this index periodically, but for the most recent episodes, check the main Scriptnotes Page.

EPISODE #TITLE3PCHWTBAMLIVEDEEP DIVE
SEASON 1
1Pitching a take, and the WGA elections
2How to get an agent and/or manager
3Kids, cards, whiteboards and outlines
4Working with directors
5WGA, copyright and musicals
6How kids become screenwriters
7Firing a manager, and trying new software
8The Good Boy Syndrome, and whether film school is worth it
9Five figure advice
10Good actors and bad writing partners
11How movie money works
12Follies, Kindles and Second-Act Malaise
13Undervalued simplicity, and WGA coverage for videogames
14How residuals work
15Screenwriting gurus and so-called experts
16Thirteen questions about one thing
17What do producers do?
18Zen and the Angst of Kaufman
1956 Days Later
20How credit arbitration works
21Casting and positive outcomes
22Six figure advice
23The Happy Funtime Smile Hour
24The Brotherhood of Screenwriters
25Optioning a novel, and the golden age of television
26Etiquette for screenwriters
27Let’s run a studio!
28How to cut pages
29MacGruber, McGarnagle, McBain
30How to be the script department
31All Apologies
32Amazon’s new deal for writers
33Professional screenwriting, and why no one really breaks in
34Umbrage Farms
35The Disney Dilemma
36Writer’s block and other romantic myths
37Let’s talk about dialogue
3820 Questions with John and Craig
39Littlest Plot Shop
40Death and feedback
41Getting to page one
42Verbs are what’s happening
43Pen Names and Divine Intervention
44Endings for beginners
45Setting, perspective and terrible numbers✓
46Mistakes development executives make
47What script should you write?
48Craig dreams of sushi✓
49Losing sleep over critics
50How to Not Be Fat
SEASON 2
51Dashes, ellipses and underground monsters✓
52Grammar, guns and butter
53Action is more than just gunfights and car chases✓
54Eight Reasonable Questions about Screenwriting
55Producers and pitching
56Gorilla City and the Kingdom of Toads✓
57What is a movie idea?
58Writing your very first screenplay
59Plot holes, and the myth of perseveraversity
60The Black List, and a stack of scenes✓
61Alt-universe panels
62We're all Disney princesses now
63The Mystery of the Js✓
64Dramedy, deadlines and dating your writing partner✓
65The Next 117 Pages
66One-step deals, and how to read a script
67The air duct of backstory✓
68Talking Austen in Austin✓
69Eggnog and Dreadlock Santa
70Best of Outlines, Agents and Good Boy Syndrome
71Unless they pay you, the answer is no
72People still buy movies✓
73Raiders of the Lost Ark✓
74Three-Hole Punchdrunk
75Villains
76How screenwriters find their voice✓
77We'd Like to Make an Offer
78The Germans have a word for it
79Rigorous, structured daydreaming✓
80Rhythm and Blues
81Veronica Mars Attacks
82God doesn't need addresses✓
83A city born of fire
84First sale and funny on the page
85Another Time and Place✓
86Taking notes
87Moving On is not Giving Up
88Ugly children and cigarettes✓
89Writing effective transitions
9050 Random Questions
91Bechdel and Batman
92The Little Mermaid✓
93Let's talk about Nikki Finke
9410 Questions, 10 Answers
95Notes on the death of the film industry
96Three Page Challenge, Live Edition✓✓
97Is 15 the new 30_
98Long movies, producer credits and price-fixing
99Psychotherapy for screenwriters
100Scriptnotes, the 100th episode✓
SEASON 3
101Q&A from the live show✓
102Hits, misses and hedge funds✓
103Disaster Porn, and Spelling Things Out
104Ender's Game, one-hours and alt-jokes
105Adventures in semi-colons✓
106Two ENTJs walk into a bar (and fix it)
107Talking to actors
108Are two screens better than one_✓
109Scriptnotes Live from New York✓
110Putting your pain second✓
111What's Next
112Let me give you some advice
113Not Safe for Children✓
114Blockbusters
115Scriptnotes Back to Austin with Rian Johnson and Kelly Marcel✓
116Damsels in distress
117Not Just Dialogue
118Time Travel with Richard Kelly
119Positive Moviegoing
120Let's talk about coverage
121My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’s Screenwriter
122Young Billionaire's Guide to Hollywood✓
123Scriptnotes Holiday Spectacular✓
124Q&A from the Holiday Spectacular✓
125Egoless Screenwriting
126Punching the Salty Ocean✓
127Women and Pilots
128Frozen with Jennifer Lee✓
129The One with the Guys from Final Draft
130Period Space
131Procrastination and Pageorexia
132The Contract between Writers and Readers✓
133Groundhog Day✓
134So Many Questions
135World-building
136Ghosts Laughing at Jokes✓
137Draw Your Own Werewolf
138The Deal with the Deal
139The Crossover Episode✓
140Falling back in love with your script
141Uncomfortable Ambiguity, or Nobody Wants Me at their Orgy
142The Angeles Crest Fiasco
143Photoplays and archetypes
144The Summer Superhero Spectacular✓✓
145Q&A from the Superhero Spectacular✓
146Wet Hot American Podcast
147To Chase or To Spec
148From Debussy to VOD
149The Long-Lost Austin Three Page Challenge✓✓
150Yes, screenwriting is actually writing
B3.1BONUS Big Fish, from book to screen to musical✓
B3.2BONUS Rewriting and Refocusing✓
SEASON 4
151Secrets and Lies
152The Rocky Shoals (pages 70-90)
153Selling without selling out✓
154Making Things Better by Making Things Worse
155Two Writers One Script
156Summer Re-run: Psychotherapy for Screenwriters
157Threshers Mergers and the Top Two Boxes
158Putting a price on it
159The Mystery of the Disappearing Articles✓
160A Screenwriter’s Guide to the End of the World
161A Cheap Cut of Meat Soaked in Butter
162Luck sequels and bus money
163Ghost✓
164Guardians of the Galaxy’s Nicole Perlman
165Toxic Perfection Syndrome
166Critics Characters and Business Affairs✓
167The Tentpoles of 2019
168Austin Forever✓
169Descending Into Darkness✓
170Lotteries lightning strikes and twist endings
171Finishing a script and the Perfect Studio Executive
172Franz Kafka's brother and the perfect agent
173The Perfect Reader
174Hacks Transference and Where to Begin
175Twelve Days of Scriptnotes✓
176Advice to a First-Time Director
177Cutting Pages and Fixing Holes
178Doing not thinking✓
179The Conflict Episode
180Bad Teachers Good Advice and the Default Male
181INT THE WOODS NIGHT
182The One with Rebel Wilson and Dan Savage
183The Deal with the Gravity Lawsuit
184Go Set a Spider-Man
185Malcolm Spellman a Study in Heat
186The Rules (or the Paradox of the Outlier)
187The Coyote Could Stop Any Time✓
188Midseason Finale
189Uncluttered by Ignorance
190This Is Working
191The Deal with Scrippedcom
192You can't train a cobra to do that
193How writing credits work
194Poking the bear
195Writing for Hollywood without living there
196The long and short of it
197How do bad movies get made
198Back to 100
199Second Draft Doldrums
200The 200th Episode Live Show✓
B.4.1BONUS 175 QA from Twelve Days of Scriptnotes✓✓
B.4.2BONUS AFF Three Page Challenge 2014✓✓
B.4.3BONUS The Dirty Show with Rebel Wilson and Dan Savage
B.4.4BONUS Writers on Writing Simon Kinberg✓
B.4.5BONUS 161 Overtime, or Smoothing in the Bumpy Stuff
SEASON 5
201How would this be a movie✓
202Everyman vs Superman✓
203Nobody Eats Four Marshmallows
204No one makes those movies anymore
205The One with Alec Berg
206Everything but the dialogue
207Why movies have reshoots
208How descriptive audio works
209How to Not Be a Jerk
210One-Handed Movie Heroes✓
211The International Episode
212Diary of a First-Time Director✓
213NDAs and other acronyms
214Clerks and recreation✓
215PG13 Blood Boobs and Bullcrap
216Rewrites and Scheduling
217Campaign statements and residual statements
218Features are different✓
219The One Where Aline’s Show Debuts
220Writers Rooms Taxes and Fat Hamlet
221Nobody Knows Anything (including what this quote means)
222Live from Austin 2015✓✓
223Confusing Unlikable and On-The-Nose
224Whiplash on paper and on screen✓
225Only haters hate rom-coms
226The Batman in the High Castle
227Feel the Nerd Burn✓
228Scriptnotes Holiday Show 2015✓
229Random Advice 2015
230Raiders of the Lost Ark
231Room Spotlight and The Big Short
232Fun with Numbers
233Ocean’s 77✓
234The Script Graveyard
235The one with Jason Bateman and the Game of Thrones guys✓
236Franchises and Final Draft
237Sexy But Doesn’t Know It
238The job of writer-producer
239What is good writing✓
240David Mamet and the producer pass
241Fan Fiction and Ghost Taxis✓
242No More Milk Money
243Heroes, Villains and Two-Handers
244The Invitation and Requels
245Outlines and Treatments
246The One with the Idiot Teamster✓
247The One with Lawrence Kasdan✓
248Pitching an Open Writing Assignment
249How to Introduce Characters✓
250The One with the Austin Winner✓
B.5.1BONUS AFF Three Page Challenge 2015✓✓
B.5.2BONUS Aline Brosh McKenna & Rachel Bloom Crazy Ex-Girlfriend QA✓
B.5.3BONUS Beyond Words 2016✓
B.5.4BONUS Black Mass screenwriter Mark Mallouk✓
B.5.5BONUS Craig and Adam McKay
B.5.6BONUS Drew Goddard The Origin Story✓
B.5.7BONUS How to Be Single QA✓
B.5.8BONUS Jungle Book QA✓
B.5.9BONUS Straight Outta Compton✓
B.5.10BONUS The Gold Standard
SEASON 6
251They Won’t Even Read You✓
252An Alliance with House Mazin
253Television Economics for Dummies✓
254The One with the Kates
255New and Old Hollywood
256Aaron Sorkin vs Aristotle
257Flaws are features
258Generic Trigger Warning✓
259The Exit Interview
260Anthrax Amnesia and Atomic Veterans✓✓
261Don't Think Twice
262Tidy Screenwriting
263Frequently Asked Questions about Screenwriting✓
264The One With the Agent
265Sheep Crossing Roads
266Stranger Things and Other Things
267Dig Two Graves✓
268(Sometimes) You Need a Montage
269Mystery Vs Confusion✓
270John Lee Hancock
271Buckling Down
272The Secret Live Show in Austin✓
273What is a Career in Screenwriting Like
274Welcome to Gator Country✓
275English is not Latin
276Mammoths of Mercy✓
277Fantasy and Reality
278Revenge of the Clams
279What Do They Want
280Black List Boys Don't Cry
281Holiday Homeopathy Spectacular
282The One from Paris
283Director Disorientation✓
284AMA With Derek Haas
285Sinbad and the Sea-Monkeys✓
286Script Doctors Dialogue and Hacks
287Hollywood is Always Dying
288Betty Veronica and Craig
289WGA Negotiations 101
290The Social Media Episode
291California Cannibal Cults✓
292Question Time
293Underground Railroad of Love✓
294Getting the Details Wrong
295The Return of Malcolm
296Television with Damon Lindelof
297Free Agent Franchises
298How Characters Move✓
299It's Always Sunny in Star Wars✓
B.6.1BONUS Duly Noted
B.6.2BONUS Refugee Story
B.6.3BONUS WGA Strike Vote.mp3
B.6.4This Feeling Will End
SEASON 7
300From Writer to Writer-Director
301The Addams Family✓
302Let's Make Some Oscar Bait✓
30375% of Nothing
304Location Is Where It's At
305Forever Young and Stupid✓
306DRAMA!
307Teaching Your Heroes to Drive
308Chekhov's Ladder
309Logic and Gimmickry
310What’s in the WGA Deal
311Scriptnotes Live Homecoming Show✓
312The Magic Word Is In This Episode
313Well, It Worked in the 80s
314Unforgiven✓
315Big Screens, Big Money
316Distracted Boyfriend Is All of Us✓
317First Day on the Job
318Writing Other Things
319Movies Dodged a Bullet✓
320Should You Give Up?
321Getting Stuff Written
322The Post-Weinstein Era
323Austin Live Show 2017 (AKA Too Many Scotts)✓
324All of It Needs to Stop✓
325(Adjective) Soldier
326Austin 2017 Three Page Challenge✓✓
327Mergers and Breakups
328Pitching Television, or Being a Passionate Widget
329Five-Star Podnerships✓
330A Cop’s Cop Show
331We Had the Same Idea
332Wait for It
333The End of the Beginning
334Worst Case Scenarios
335Introducing Launch
336Call Me by Your Name
337The One with Stephen Schiff✓
338We’re Back, Baby
339Mostly Terrible People✓
340What’s the Plan, Anyway?✓
341Knowing vs. Discovering
342Getting Paid for It
343The One with the Indie Producer
344Comedy Geometry
345Love, Aptaker & Berger
346Changing the Defaults
347Conflict of Interest
348All About Family✓
349Putting Words on the Page✓
350Limerence✓
B.7.1Bonus - 311 - Homecoming Q&A✓
B.7.2Bonus - Scriptnotes Voice - Daley Haggar
SEASON 8
351Full Circle
352Infinite Westworld✓
353Bad Behavior
354Upgrade
355Not Worth Winning
356Writing Animated Features
357This Title is an Example of Exposition
358Point of View
359Where Movies Come From
360Relationships✓
361From Indie to Action Comedy
362The One with Mindy Kaling
363Best Popular Screenwriting Podcast
364Netflix Killed the Video Store
365Craig Hates Dummies✓
366Tying Things Up
367One Year Later
368Advice for a New Staff Writer
369What Is a Movie, Anyway?
370Two Things at the Same Time✓
371Writing Memorable Dialogue
372No Writing Left Behind
373Austin Live Show 2018✓
374Real-World Villains✓
375Austin 2018 Three Page Challenge✓✓
376Commencement
377The Second Draft
378The Worst of the Worst
379Holiday Live Show 2018✓
380Double Ampersand
381Becoming a Professional Screenwriter
382Professional Realism
383Splitting the Party
384Plot Holes
385Rules and Plans
386The Princess Bride✓✓
387Seattle Live Show 2019✓
388The Clown Stays in the Picture✓
389The Future of the Industry
390Getting Staffed✓
391When It's All Said and Done
392The Final Moment✓
393Twenty Questions About the Agency Agreement
394Broken but Sympathetic
395All in this Together
396Big Numbers
397The Sound Episode
398The Curated Craft Compendium
399Notes on Notes
B.8.1Bonus - Random Advice.mp3
B.8.2Extra - My Abortion Story
B.8.3Extra - The Agency Agreement
B.8.4Extra - WGA Elections 2018
SEASON 9
400Movies They Don't Make Anymore
401You Got Verve
402How Do You Like Your Stakes?
403How to Write a Movie
404The One with Charlie Brooker
405Live at the Ace Hotel✓
406Better Sex with Rachel Bloom
407Understanding Your Feature Contract✓
408Rolling Dice
409I Know You Are, But What Am I?✓
410Wikipedia Movies✓
411Setting it Up with Katie Silberman
412Writing About Mental Health and Addiction✓
413Ready to Write
414Mushroom Powder✓
415The Veep Episode
416Fantasy Worldbuilding
417Idea Management
418The One with David Koepp
419Professionalism
420The One with Seth Rogen✓
421Follow Upisode
422Assistants Aren’t Paid Nearly Enough
423Minimum Viable Movie
424Austin Film Festival 2019✓
425Tough Love vs. Self Care
426Chance Favors the Prepared with Lulu Wang
427The New One with Mike Birbiglia✓
428Assistant Writers
429Cleaning up the Leftovers
430From Broadway to Hollywood
431Holiday Live Show 2019✓
432Learning from Movies
433The One with Greta Gerwig✓
434Ambition and Anxiety✓
435The One with Noah Baumbach✓
436Political Movies
437Other Things Screenwriters Write
438How to Listen
439How to Grow Old as a Writer
440Beyond Bars✓
441Readers
442Stop Counting Pages (and Touching Your Face)
443What We're Up To
444Clueless✓
445The One with Phoebe and Ryan✓
446Back to Basics
447Three Page Zoom✓✓
448Based on a ✓ Story
449The One with Sam Esmail✓
450Only The Interesting Scenes
B.9.1Bonus - 1917 Q&A with Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
B.9.2Bonus - Die Hard✓
B.9.3Extra - Assistant Townhall✓
B.9.4Extra - What's it like to win an Emmy?
SEASON 10
451There Are No Slow Claps
452The Empire Strikes Back with Lawrence Kasdan✓✓
453Getting Back to Set Transcript
454That Icky Feeling
455Police On Screen
456Too Much at Once
457Getting Staffed in Comedy Variety
458Collapsing Scenes
459International Television
460Adapting with Justin Simien
461The Right Manganese for the Job✓
462Development Heck
463Writing Action
464Creating a Visual Language✓
465The Lackeys Know What They're Doing
466Questions! Or You've Got Moxie
467Another Word for Euphemism
468Should You Pitch or Spec That?
469Loglines are for Other People
470Dual Dialogue
471Sing What You Can't Say
472Emotional States
473I Regret My Quibi Tattoo
474The Calm One
475The One with Eric Roth✓
476The Other Senses
477Counting Clowns✓
478The One Hour Drama
479On Losing A Parent
480The Wedding Episode
481Random Advice 2020
482Batman and Beowulf
483Philosophy for Screenwriters
484Time Lords
485Unions and Guilds
486Sexy Ghosts of Chula Vista✓
487Getting Staffed in 2021✓
488What Actually Happened in the Agency Battle
489Kingdom of Cringe
490Secrets and Lies
491The Deal with Deals
492Gray Areas
493Opening Scenes
494Screenwriting in Color✓
495The Title of This Episode
496The Thing You're Not Writing
497When You’re the Boss
498Small Plates
499Live and In Person✓
500The Quincenterary

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