John August

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Against Vagina Monsters

Episode - 586

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Scriptnotes

John and Craig welcome back writer/producer/director Aline Brosh McKenna ahead of her feature directorial debut “Your Place Or Mine.” Aline discusses how tech has changed Hollywood and finding new creative challenges.

We also talk about streaming news, platform mergers, and follow up on script consultants. Megana asks about professional ambitions and we answer listener questions on firing agents and staffing while pregnant.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we go behind the scenes of Episode 3 of The Last of Us and force Craig to answer the question on everyone’s mind: what games did Bill and Frank play together?

Links:

* [Watch Your Place or Mine](https://www.netflix.com/title/81045831) on Netflix at 12:01am on 2/10/23
* [Showtime and Paramount+ Merging, With Rebrand Planned](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/paramount-showtime-merger-linear-streaming-programming-changes-1235312987/)
* [‘Westworld’ Gets New Home As Warner Bros. Discovery Strikes Roku & Tubi FAST Channel Deals](https://deadline.com/2023/01/westworld-gets-new-home-as-warner-bros-discovery-strikes-roku-tubi-fast-channel-deals-1235245347/)
* [Cancellations Of Completed Seasons Of TV Series; Experts Weigh In On Whether Trend Will Continue](https://deadline.com/2023/01/write-offs-completed-seasons-tv-series-experts-weigh-in-on-trend-1235242805/)
* [Salem 1692](https://facadegames.com/products/salem-1692) Game
* [Nuun Hydration Tablets](https://nuunlife.com/pages/products)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Aline Brosh McKenna](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0112459/) on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/alinebmckenna) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/abmck/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [John on Mastodon](https://mastodon.art/@johnaugust)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Nico Mansy ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/586standardv2.mp3).

**UPDATE 3-16-23** The transcript for this episode can now be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-586-against-vagina-monsters-transcript).

Sidecast: WGA Negotiations

Scriptnotes, Sidecast

John and Megana chat about the start of the 2023 WGA negotiations. John defines terms like the AMPTP, MBA, and Pattern of Demands, and offers an overview on what the process will look like for the next few months.

John also answers listener questions on writers who are trying to break in and what a strike might mean for support staff.

Links:

* Find more about the WGA negotiations, look up your captain and member meetings [here at WGAContract2023.org](https://www.wgacontract2023.org/)
* [Directors Guild Says It Is Not In Their Best Interest to Begin Negotiations Ahead of Its Contract Expiration](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/dga-contract-negotiations-2023-1235317762/)
* [Scriptnotes Episode 407: Understanding Your Feature Contract](https://johnaugust.com/2019/scriptnotes-ep-407-understanding-your-feature-contract-transcript)
* [WGA Contract Negotiations 2023: What to Expect](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVkW9i2YHwE&t=2s) with Adam Conover
* John on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/johnaugust), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en) and [Mastodon](https://mastodon.art/@johnaugust)
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/SC1.mp3).

Do Muppets Bleed?

News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig take a look at ‘writer fingerprints.’ They break down how idiosyncratic choices make up an individual’s style on-the-page and offer advice on how to mimic someone else’s voice.

Follow up includes pet rock, a defense of script consultants, the preface page in Tár, and the anti-“actually” mindset.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we offer advice to a producer who needs help working with a writer who can’t seem to finish — or deliver — a script.

Links:

* Scriptnotes episodes with 2023 Oscar Nominees [Sarah Polley](https://johnaugust.com/2023/the-one-with-sarah-polley), [Rian Johnson](https://johnaugust.com/2022/rian-johnson-returns), [Daniels](https://johnaugust.com/2022/the-daniels), [Pamela Ribon](https://johnaugust.com/2018/holiday-live-show-2018)
* [Weekend Read Beta](https://testflight.apple.com/join/zDf4Fw9c) Try it out — now updated with all FYC scripts!
* [Writing in another writer’s style](https://johnaugust.com/2014/writing-in-another-writers-style) on John’s blog with advice from [Dara Resnick Creasey](https://twitter.com/BadassMomWriter)
* [Algorithms were able to figure out that Robert Galbraith was JK Rowling](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-did-computers-uncover-jk-rowlings-pseudonym-180949824/)
* [Good Conversations Have Lots of Doorknobs](https://experimentalhistory.substack.com/p/good-conversations-have-lots-of-doorknobs) by Adam Mastroianni
* [The Case of The Golden Idol](https://www.thegoldenidol.com) game
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Luke Yoquinto, who discovered it in the score to Coming to America by Nile Rodgers ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/585standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 2-28-23** The transcript for this episode can now be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-585-do-muppets-bleed-transcript).

Adapting Your Own Novel

Author, Books, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Taffy Brodesser-Akner joins us to discuss her journey adapting her bestselling novel “Fleishman Is in Trouble” into an acclaimed limited series. We chat about drawing inspiration from the familiar, learning how manage others, and presenting multiple sides to a story.

We also answer listener questions about naming characters, decorative dialogue, and the renaissance of the television half-hour.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we dig into the art and structure of the celebrity profile, a genre in which Taffy is herself an expert.

Links:

* [Fleishman Is in Trouble](https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/fleishman-is-in-trouble) on Hulu, and the [book](https://www.amazon.com/Fleishman-Trouble-Novel-Taffy-Brodesser-Akner/dp/0525510877)
* [Taffy’s GQ Celebrity Profiles](https://www.gq.com/contributor/taffy-brodesser-akner)
* [This Film Does Not Exist](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/13/opinion/jodorowsky-dune-ai-tron.html) By Frank Pavich for NYT, Tron reimagined by AI in the style of [Jodorowsky’s Dune](https://www.jodorowskysdune.com/), images by Midjourney
* [This Voice Doesn’t Exist – Generative Voice AI](https://blog.elevenlabs.io/enter-the-new-year-with-a-bang/)
* [VALL-E Neural Codec Language Models are Zero-Shot Text to Speech Synthesizers](https://valle-demo.github.io/)
* [Vintage Contemporaries](https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/dan-kois-202210285022860) by Dan Kois
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Check out the Inneresting Newsletter](https://inneresting.substack.com/)
* [Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts) or [treat yourself to a premium subscription!](https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/)
* [Taffy Brodesser-Akner](https://twitter.com/taffyakner) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Ryan Gerberding ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by [Megana Rao](https://twitter.com/MeganaRao) and edited by [Matthew Chilelli](https://twitter.com/machelli).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/584standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 2-21-23** The transcript for this episode can be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2023/scriptnotes-episode-584-adapting-your-own-novel-transcript).