John August

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MacGruber, McGarnagle, McBain

Episode - 29

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QandA, Scriptnotes

Craig and John tackle five listener questions on topics ranging from greedy managers to lazy agents to throwing in the towel.

* What happens when a manager wants to attach himself to your spec?
* How much detail should a screenwriter provide about wardrobe?
* When is it okay to give up on screenwriting?

Also discussed: St. Patrick’s Day, The Book of Mormon (the musical), and the Koren/Eggers idiocy.

All this and Americans Against Mayonaise in the new Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* [MacGruber](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470023/) on IMDb
* [McGarnagle](http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/McGarnagle) from The Simpsons
* [McBain](http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/McBain) from The Simpsons
* [Book of Mormon soundtrack](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/book-mormon-original-broadway/id432164610)
* Intro: [Charles in Charge](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twePDN5u2pc)
* Outro: [Danny Boy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW3gHqgC3h8) and [McGarnagle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceqNcCUUakE)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_29.m4a).

**UPDATE** 3-22-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-29-macgruber-mcgarnagle-mcbain-transcript).

How to cut pages

How-To, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig turn from the pen to the knife to talk through the whys and hows of cutting pages — both the cosmetic trims and the deep cuts.

Your script is probably too long. Here’s how to fix that.

Craig also discusses his WGA seminar on surviving the feature film development process, and his vision for a screenwriters training program analogous to the well-regarded TV showrunners program. He drafts John to teach one segment.

The last few minutes degenerate into a conversation about Skyrim, Arkham City, American Idol and uxoricide. So, be forewarned.

From killing your darlings to killing your wife, all in this week’s Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* My earlier post on [How to cut pages](http://johnaugust.com/2008/how-to-cut-pages)
* [Marriage in Skyrim](http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Marriage)
* Intro: [ABC’s Wide World of Sports](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi69utdvDcA)
* Outro: [Hey Joe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRYqzCNXx5s) cover by Mark Galloway

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_28.m4a).

**UPDATE** 3-16-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-28-how-to-cut-pages-transcript).

Let’s run a studio!

Film Industry, Follow Up, QandA, Scriptnotes

Celebrating Leap Day, John and Craig play the game of “What If?” Specifically, what if we each were handed the reins of a major Hollywood studio?

We discuss what we’d movies we’d make, what standard practices we’d change, and how we’d address the shifting realities of movie-going and home video.

Could we really do it better? Doubtful. It’s easy to play make-believe, but much tougher when you’re reporting to a major multinational corporation.

Still, there are things that everyone seems to get wrong, and it’s worth the conversation about what could be done better. And if any tech billionaires feel like investing, you know where to find us.

Before that long conversation, we answer a bunch of follow-up questions:

* When optioning a novel, is there a rule of thumb for what percentage of the total purchase price the option should cover?
* Does the WGA cover a novelist’s based-on credit?
* What does it mean when a novelist has a producer credit?
* What is Daniel Wallace’s role in the Broadway version of Big Fish?
* What’s to stop a screenwriter from writing a novel version of his spec, and then having his script be “based on” it?

All this and more in this episode of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* [Asymco crunches the studio numbers](http://www.asymco.com/2012/02/07/hollywood-by-the-numbers/)
* Intro: [The Big Valley](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg3HcxYcbog) opening credits
* Outro: [Hey Ya](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-8nkkOA_AM&feature=player_embedded) cover by Mat Weddle

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_27.m4a).

**UPDATE** 3-8-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-27-lets-run-a-studio-transcript).

Etiquette for screenwriters

News, QandA, Scriptnotes

This week, Craig and John get all Miss Manners to talk about best practices, bad behavior and throwing writers under the bus.

Short advice: Be charitable, be cool, be nice.

Note that we recorded this episode before the Oscars — at which Jim Rash, Nat Faxon and Alexander Payne received the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.  After that acceptance speech, one could imagine a follow-up conversation, but we’ll probably just be done with it.

Have been both the re-writer and the guy being rewritten, we also discuss how to best handle these awkward situations. (Pick up the phone and call the other writer, for starters.)

We finish up by answering a listener question:  How soon is too soon to follow-up with a producer who is reading your draft?

All this, plus discussion of Robin Quivers, Aline Brosh McKenna and a rumored Scriptnotes drinking game.

LINKS:

* [Google Translate adds Esperanto](http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/23/2820379/google-translate-esperanto)
* [Esperanto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto) on Wikipedia
* [Incubus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incubus_(1966_film)), the William Shatner movie we couldn’t remember
* [Google working on heads-up glasses](http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/google-to-sell-terminator-style-glasses-by-years-end/?pagewanted=all)
* Origin of [“thrown under the bus”](http://www.word-detective.com/2008/02/12/under-the-bus-to-throw/)
* INTRO: [A Different World](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zq3UYQJzPY) intro
* OUTRO: [Call Your Girlfriend](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaBC4DuXv9k) as covered by Erato

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_26.m4a).

**UPDATE** 2-29-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-26-etiquette-for-screenwriters-transcript).