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The Fires, and Good Energy (Encore)

Episode - 547

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January 14, 2025 Scriptnotes

After a week of devastating fires in Los Angeles, we’re revisiting John’s conversation with Anna Jane Joyner and Quinn Emmett from Good Energy Stories on how to talk about climate change on screen. They discuss opportunities for writers to inspire change, raise awareness, and capture the environmental concerns of our time.

We follow up on disability representation in Hollywood with the release of the Cost of Accommodations report from the Inevitable Foundation.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we talk about asking people for money, whether it’s to finance a movie or launch a campaign to save the planet.

Links:

  • The Original Episode 547 and its transcript
  • Stanislav Petrov, The Man Who Saved the World Documentary
  • How Much Does it Really Cost to Make Hollywood More Accommodating for Disabled Talent? by Abbey White for The Hollywood Reporter
  • Inevitable Foundation
  • Good Energy Stories Playbook
  • David Robert Ted Talk on Climate Change
  • Years of Living Dangerously Clip with Anna and her Dad
  • Subscribe to Important, Not Important
  • First Reformed
  • Dana Fox and The Lost City
  • Russian Doll Season 2
  • Redactle Game
  • Anna Jane Joyner and Good Energy on Instagram
  • Quinn Emmett on Instagram
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
  • Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
  • John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon
  • Outro by Jade Carda (send us yours!)
  • This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

The Best/Worst it Will Ever Be

January 7, 2025 HWTBAM, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig look at three extraordinary news stories and ask, How Would this be a Movie? Stories include the United Healthcare CEO assassination, a small town’s process for licensing fortune tellers, and a harrowing I.V.F. mixup.

We also follow up on AI, Flightplan’s source material, Craig’s Belfast accent, and answer a listener question on the order of surnames for writing partners.

In our bonus segment for premium members: Hey Alexa, play John and Craig’s conversation about home automation. I don’t think she heard– HEY ALEXA, PLAY JOHN AND CRAIG’S CONVERSATION ABOUT HOME AUTOMATION.

Links:

  • The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White
  • The Conundrum of the Workshops by Rudyard Kipling
  • OpenAI’s controversial Sora is finally launching today. Will it truly disrupt Hollywood? by Wendy Lee for LA Times
  • I Went to the Premiere of the First Commercially Streaming AI-Generated Movies by Jason Koehler
  • A timeline of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and search for his killer by Michael R. Sisal and Cedar Attanasio for Associated Press
  • How do you license a fortune teller? by Paul Debole
  • An I.V.F. Mix-Up, a Shocking Discovery and an Unbearable Choice by Susan Dominus for NYT Magazine
  • Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath
  • Your Consciousness Can Connect With the Whole Universe by Manasee Wagh for Popular Mechanics
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
  • Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
  • John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon
  • Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 1-15-25: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Writing Animated Movies (Encore)

December 31, 2024 Scriptnotes

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 writers’ exclusion from the WGA.

We also answer listener questions about whether there is such a thing as a bad character want and how to manage story days within a screenplay, which prompts exploration of wardrobe changes, thinking in terms of color rather than time and Linda’s penchant for naked characters.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew look back on their goals for 2024 and discuss how to make New Year’s resolutions you’ll actually accomplish.

Links:

  • Linda Woolverton
  • Episode 92: The Little Mermaid
  • Shanghai Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. This POV video of the ride is definitely a spoiler.
  • Climate Central
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
  • Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
  • John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon
  • Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
  • This episode was originally produced by Megan McDonnell. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Writing Across Mediums

December 24, 2024 Scriptnotes

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 new mediums, the storytelling strengths each medium offers, and building a career that moves between them.

In our bonus segment for premium members, the panelists answer some video game specific questions, including how to stand out as a writer to the major game developers.

Scriptnotes audio provided courtesy of ©Austin Film Festival

Links:

  • Austin Film Festival’s On Story
  • Writing Across Mediums panel at the Austin Film Festival
  • Evan Narcisse on Bluesky
  • Jordan Mechner
  • Erica Harell
  • Desirée Proctor
  • Nuclear Power by Desirée Proctor & Erica Harrell
  • The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners on Steam, Meta store and Playstation
  • Prince of Persia games
  • Spy magazine
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
  • Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
  • John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon
  • Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

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