John welcomes Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Homeward Bound) to talk about her experience writing animated features, from the parallel processes of writing and production to her paltry paycheck for Beauty and the Beast. They consider the blurring lines between live-action and hyperrealistic CGI, as well as the history of animation […]
Live from the Austin Film Festival, John joins panelists Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia) and Erica Harrell & Desirée Proctor (The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners) for an in-depth discussion on working across movies, tv, comics, plays, videogames and VR. Moderated by Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther), they discuss what led them to […]
Many of the biggest AI models have been trained on film and TV dialogue, and writers are furious. John and Craig explore the legal, ethical and philosophical implications of this revelation, our emotional reactions to it, and offer strategies for picking the right hills to die on. But first, we follow up on the definition […]
John and Craig welcome Brian Jordan Alvarez & Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher) and Jac Schaeffer (Agatha All Along, WandaVision) to join them for a live holiday benefit for Hollywood HEART. They discuss constructing Agatha All Along from blue sky to the Witches’ Road, “protagonizing” a villain, breaking in through YouTube and maintaining a working relationship […]
John welcomes playwright, novelist and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to discuss having his first two movies — Challengers and Queer — produced a single year. After charting his journey from playwright to screenwriter, we compare two drafts of Challengers to look at how the story changed during a hasty development, including crafting that iconic three-way. We […]
John and Craig take a deep dive with the Devil, exploring the unholy trinity of satanic films: Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen. They look at how these three horror classics work, where our modern conception of Satan comes from, and the future of the Devil on screen. We also answer listener questions on […]
John and Craig analyze the iconic 1995 comedy Clueless, and why they’re majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with it. A contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma set in Beverly Hills, Clueless follows protagonist Cher as she tries to do ‘good’ through make-over montages and match-making attempts. We discuss how the movie sets up the […]
John and Craig explore character agency in everything from scenes to entire series. They look at what agency looks like on the page, which characters should have agency, and what to do when you feel your characters sleepwalking through the plot. We also strategize ways to move forward after the recent US election, and answer […]
John and Craig look at how writers (and other humans) handle the anxiety of uncertainty, from election nights to green lights. We’ll talk through strategies for navigating situations where your circle of concern doesn’t match your circle of control. Then we travel back to the 1980s and 90s, when many studios were run by ambitious […]
John and Craig make their triumphant return to the Austin Film Festival for a wild night full of Emmy winning writers. They welcome Shōgun co-creators Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks to look at their process for structuring a series-long adaptation, keeping translations eloquent and accurate, and writing together as a married couple. We then welcome […]
John and Craig answer twenty listener questions on craft, career, and the future of the industry. Questions include: How do you correct well wishes you haven’t earned? What kind of relationship should you have with the person who created your source material? How do you keep your reps invested? What’s going on with that Stereophonic […]
Why is screenwriting so difficult, even for the smartest people? John and Craig look at the relationship between intelligence and wisdom, the kinds of problems writers attempt to solve, and the unmeasurable skills that screenwriters need to succeed. Then it’s another round of the Three Page Challenge, where they give their honest feedback on three […]
John and Craig welcome back Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Fleishman is in Trouble) for a deep dive on 2011’s sports drama Moneyball. What makes Moneyball work? Is it a traditional underdog movie, or does it break all the rules? Is Billy Beane a hero or a villain? What advantages do sports movies give you, and how much […]
John and Craig are on opposite sides of the world this week, so they’re revisiting an episode from 2016 to look at the many psychological barriers facing writers tackling big projects, and offer practical strategies for actually getting the work done. They also discuss the then-upcoming election (same as it ever was), and answer a […]
John welcomes back Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) to look at three stories of real people with too much money and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include strategies for dating Leonardo DiCaprio, the rise-fall-rise of inventor Palmer Luckey, and a council built to give […]
John and Craig revisit their legendary conversation with screenwriter-turned-psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo to discuss writer’s block, procrastination, partnerships and more. It’s a can’t-miss episode for aspiring writers and professionals alike. In our bonus segment for premium members, we travel back to episode 425 where John and Craig debate when to practice self care or tough love, […]
John and Craig open the mailbag to answer a swath of listener questions that make Craig’s blood boil. They offer insights and umbrage on when you can turn down projects early in your career, picking the right day job, maintaining visibility when you’re taken off a project, the next steps after a successful short, when […]
John and Craig welcome back Ryan Reynolds for an in-depth look at his creative process bringing the character of Deadpool to the screen. As co-writer, producer and star of the Deadpool franchise, Ryan leads us through his first introduction to the character, the rough journey getting to greenlight, and the challenges presented by an often-faceless […]
John welcomes journalist/screenwriter Max Read to look at the emerging sub-genre “halogencore” – stories of corporate malfeasance that are less about uncovering corruption as they are about characters learning to ignore it. They look at the evolution of the sub-genre, how these movies function, and why it’s important to define genres at all. We also […]
In this compendium episode, John and Craig look at two of the most fundamental building blocks of compelling stories – conflict and stakes. We define six forms of conflict common in movies, and explore ways to sustain conflict within a scene and throughout a story. We also look for ways to find the root of […]