John August

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Your First Produced Film

Episode - 713

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Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John welcomes Danya Jimenez & Hannah McMechan, the writing team behind KPop Demon Hunters, to chart their path from film school to first feature.

They look at navigating early career difficulties like finding your voice and trying to get reps, their method of building a writing partnership, and how a bad pitch led them to writing one of the biggest movies of the year.

We also follow up on breaking in later in life and writing with ADHD.

In our bonus segment for premium members, what does Hollywood get wrong about Gen Z? Danya and Hannah share what drives them crazy about how their generation is portrayed on screen.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 12-10-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig welcome back Dana Fox (Wicked, The Lost City) for a magical flight through everything that went into adapting Wicked and its upcoming sequel, Wicked: For Good. They look at the history of the project, why it was split into two movies, the process for writing when you’re shooting two movies at the same time, and the exhausting effort it takes for big movies to defy gravity.

We also chat with Graham Rowat, the narrator of the Scriptnotes audiobook, follow up on weird movies and cuck chairs, answer listener questions on the limits of torturing your heroes and ask, did the 90’s really have the best actions movies?

In our bonus segment for premium members, Dana sticks around to take us behind the scenes of a big movie’s promo circuit, and how to stay sane (and even popular!) throughout the world tour.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-18-25: The transcript for this epsidoe can be found here.

Getting Stuff Written

News

When we turned in the first draft of the Scriptnotes book in late 2023, it was over 600 pages long. Over the following two years, we continually edited it down until it was only the very best stuff — but in order to do so, we had to make some painful cuts.

One was a 13-page chapter that felt essential, but didn’t quite fit anywhere: “Getting Stuff Written.”

  • How do you move from “wanting to write” to actually producing pages?
  • When should you start writing, and how do you know you’re ready?
  • What actually is writer’s block?
  • How do you keep momentum?
  • How do you balance tough love and self-care on any given day?

We were sad no one would get to read it. And then we realized: BONUS CHAPTER!

For the past few months, we’ve been encouraging listeners who preorder the book to send us their receipts. Last Friday, we sent them something back — the “Getting Stuff Written” chapter, fully edited and typeset. The response has been overwhelming.

Ian writes:

I’m sorry to tell you this…But you guys obviously messed up big time!

This bonus chapter is absolutely incredible. It’s practical, empathetic, thoughtful, and succinct. It’s also exactly the message I needed at the stage that I’m at right now.

I can’t imagine how the poor souls that did not pre-order the book will get by without this chapter.

Perhaps I should just be grateful that I am part of a small cohort that has been so fortunate to receive this gem of wisdom.

Tania writes:

Wooho! Excellent chapter.

“Perfectionism is protectionism” is gold.

Tom writes:

That was an amazing read. Thank you guys! If that’s what you’re leaving OUT of the book? My god, I can’t wait to read what’s in it ❤️

Scott writes:

Oh, my. If you took out that chapter, I can’t wait to see the ones you left in.

That said, I urge you to find a way to distribute that chapter widely. It’s as good as Craig’s ‘How to Write a Movie’ episode in terms of straightforward, overall writing advice. It’s exactly the sort of thing I need to hear. I imagine others need it, too.

Scott’s right. Once the book is out, we’ll share that chapter more widely.

If you’d like to read it TODAY, send your pre-order receipt to ask@johnaugust.com. Drew will send you the bonus chapter.

We hope you like it, and can’t wait for you to hold the full book in your hands (in less than a month). Preorder here!

The State of Pitching

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John welcomes back Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Devil Wears Prada) to ask, what do executives expect from a pitch these days? They look at the typical structure of a pitch deck, how that differs from lookbooks, how pitches have evolved over the years, and best practices for pitching on Zoom.

Also, what happened to single-lady sitcoms? If you remember Monday nights in the 90’s, you know what we’re talking about. We reflect on what they did for the culture and how social media and reality TV may be taking their place.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Aline tells us what it was like being back on the set for The Devil Wears Prada 2. Gird your loins, people!

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-14-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.