John August

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Another Word for Euphemism

Episode - 467

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News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig talk about the words we use when referring to people or groups of people — and why those words keep changing. Nic Novicki of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge joins us to discuss writing inclusive storylines and characters.

We also discuss single-use characters, WGA elections, and follow up on listener questions.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we tackle the question: “If the standards for breaking into the screenwriting industry are so high, why are so many BAD movies made?”

Links:

* [Range Media](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/after-agency-exodus-top-reps-unveil-new-firm-range-media-partners)
* [WGA Elections](https://secure.wga.org/the-guild/about-us/officers-board-members/elections)
* [Easterseals](https://disabilityfilmchallenge.com/) Disability Film Challenge
* [Euphemisms are like underwear: best changed frequently](https://aeon.co/essays/euphemisms-are-like-underwear-best-changed-frequently)
* [One Hit Kill Game](https://www.onehitkillgame.com)
* [DM’s Guide to Roll 20](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa3qqbMuNy-r-ZvH7UiX_OyW03ymY6axK)
* [Get Ready for a Feeding Frenzy Over the NRA’s Corpse](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/nra-lawsuit-gun-rights-movement-successor.html)
* [Whale Fall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_fall)
* [Champagne Bottle Stopper](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UZ4BJKQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
* [Clint Ford Twitter Thread](https://twitter.com/actualclintford/status/1292853003838525443?s=21)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [Nic Novicki](https://twitter.com/nicnovicki?lang=en) on Twitter
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Michael Karman ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/467standard.mp3).

 

**UPDATE 9-10-20** The transcript for this episode can now be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2020/scriptnotes-episode-467-another-word-for-euphemism-transcript).

Questions! Or You’ve Got Moxie

News, Scriptnotes

John and Craig tackle their overflowing mailbag to answer some long-delayed listener questions on subtext, divorce, set decoration, and more!

We also follow up on news about management companies and how this affects writers.

Finally, in our bonus segment for premium members, we’ll talk about headshots and our experiences getting our photos taken.

Links:

* [Pete Micelli/Steve Cohen Management Launch Adds WME’s Rich Cook, UTA’s Roussos, Fox, Mckinnies, Moorhead To CAA’s Whigham, Sullivan, Bugliari, Cooper](https://deadline.com/2020/08/pete-micelli-caa-agents-jack-whigham-mick-sullivan-david-bugliari-michael-cooper-new-production-mangement-venture-1203021172/)
* [The Great Agency Exodus: Top Reps Flee the Majors As Management Civil War Looms](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/the-great-agency-exodus-top-reps-flee-the-majors-as-management-civil-war-looms)
* [After Agency Exodus, New Firm Pitches Investors On Star-Driven Production “Cash Cow” (Exclusive)](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/after-agency-exodus-new-firm-pitches-investors-on-star-driven-production-cash-cow)
* [Batman Teaser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blN6BrhVKyU)
* [Mike Selinker on Twitter](https://twitter.com/mikeselinker/status/1297590513730650112)
* [Zionor Swim Goggles](https://amzn.to/2EFZghH)
* [Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything](https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/tashas-cauldron-everything)
* [Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast)
* [John August](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) on Twitter
* [Craig Mazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) on Twitter
* [John on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Rajesh Naroth ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))
* Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode [here](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/466standard.mp3).

**UPDATE 9-8-20** The transcript for this episode can now be found [here](https://johnaugust.com/2020/scriptnotes-episode-466-questions-or-youve-got-moxie-transcript).

Let’s make a Fountain block for WordPress

Geek Alert, Projects, Scrippets, Software

Way back in 2008, I [announced a plugin for WordPress](https://johnaugust.com/2008/scrippets-are-go) that made it easy to insert short bits of screenplay-like material into a blog post.

EXT. HOUSE -- DAY

Max is checking his mail when he spots neighbor FRANK crossing the street, heading his way.

Shaking his head...

MAX

I thought we talked about this, Frank.

FRANK

(drunk)

I was born naked and I’m not changing now.

I called these chunks “scrippets.” This plain-text format ultimately became [Fountain](http://fountain.io), which in turn became the basis of [Highland](http://highland2.com) and other screenwriting apps. ((One of the coders who put together the WordPress plugin was Nima Yousefi, who has now coded nearly everything we’ve made.))

The Scrippets plugin still works — you can [install it today](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-scrippets/) — but WordPress has moved on to the concept of “blocks.” These are discrete elements of a post that can do specific things. You can find blocks for [code syntax](https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/code-block/), [tables](https://wordpress.org/support/article/table-block/), and even [poetry verse](https://wpcompendium.org/create-posts/verse-block/).

There should be one for Fountain.

If you’re a WordPress coder who’d like to tackle this project, here are some thoughts to get you started.

1. Visit [Fountain.io/developer](https://fountain.io/developers) and the [GitHub](https://github.com/nyousefi/Fountain) for implementations of the parser.
2. While I’d love to support the whole Fountain spec, I’m not convinced title pages and headers/footers make sense for this use case.
3. Notes and synopses are super useful. We’ll want to style them so they’re visually distinct.
4. Forced elements are very important. Blog posts often center on weird edge cases, and international users may need to force character names like @黄.
5. Ultimately, it’ll be best if there’s one “official” Fountain block plugin, but if multiple people decide to tackle it, my team and I can help coordinate.
6. This would be presumably be GPL licensed. This is for the good of the internet, not any one company or person.

So if you feel like giving it a shot, go for it! You certainly don’t need our permission.

If you have something you’d like us to see, or a question we can answer, write ask@johnaugust.com

The Lackeys Know What They’re Doing

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig skip heroes and villains to examine the villain’s accomplices and how to write them more believably.

We also answer listener questions, parcel out some umbrage, and discuss updates between the agencies and the WGA.

Finally, in our bonus segment for premium members, we talk tips for travel during the pandemic.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

 

UPDATE 8-21-20 The transcript for this episode can now be found here.