John August

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The Happy Funtime Smile Hour

Episode - 23

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Scriptnotes, Transcribed

After last week’s depressing reality-check, Craig and John float back to the lands of joyful possibility with a look at theme, or central dramatic argument, or whatever you choose to call that narrative glue that helps hold a story together.

Theme, like structure, is one of those screenwriting terms that entrances newcomers and annoys veterans. Or at least it annoys John.

Generally, when you’re talking about theme, you’re trying to answer the question, “What is the story *really* about?” Your plot might concern a spy and stolen nuclear missiles, but the intellectual/emotional heart of the story is whether any man be trusted. Or whether all good acts are selfish. Or if men and women can be friends. (Nora Ephron’s Bourne Identity.)

Also discussed: John’s love for OmniFocus + Siri, braindead tasks, and cancer — but only briefly, because this will be a happy show, god help us.

Links:

* [Getting Things Done](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142000280/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0142000280)
* [OmniFocus](http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnifocus/)
* Craig’s endless thread on [Done Deal Pro](http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/boards/showthread.php?t=65889)
* John’s post on [Writing from Theme](http://johnaugust.com/2010/writing-from-theme)
* Danny Rubin’s [How to Write Groundhog Day](http://www.howtowritegroundhogday.com/)
* INTRO: [Sunshine Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaCCG7QkM_c)
* OUTRO: [Victory Celebration (the Ewok Song)](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/victory-celebration/id107455768?i=107455209)
* [Original Ewok celebration song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5XG1nSlxuI)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_23.m4a).

**UPDATE** 2-9-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-23-the-happy-funtime-smile-hour-transcript).

How to write Groundhog Day

Books, Film Industry, Genres

I’ve only just started reading Danny Rubin’s [How to Write Groundhog Day](http://www.howtowritegroundhogday.com/), but it’s promising enough that I think many screenwriters will want to take a look at it this weekend.

It’s [available on Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0072PEV6U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0072PEV6U) and Nook, on sale for $9.99 today.

Rubin walks the reader through the genesis of the idea — and all the other ideas competing for his attention. The ebook includes a lot of marked-up pages from his initial notes and drafts. Most of these are readable on a traditional Kindle, but it’s one of the rare titles that actually works better on an iPad.

Groundhog Day is nearly 20 years old, but still feels very contemporary in terms of high-concept comedies, with its simple-but-clever premise and curmudgeonly fish-out-of-water protagonist. My only caution to readers is that even though we keep making variations of this movie (c.f. Click, Liar Liar, A Thousand Words), the film industry itself has changed, so descriptions of the business and process might not reflect current reality.

Six figure advice

Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Following up on their conversation about “five figure advice” for newly-employed screenwriters, Craig and John discuss the changes and challenges that come when writers start making six figures — that is, more than $100K per year.

High-class problems? Sure. Not many aspiring screenwriters will reach that level of success, or sustain it. But in our experience, it’s shortly after having “made it” that many writers find themselves flailing financially, because it’s such a different experience than living paycheck-to-paycheck.

At what should point should you form a loan-out corporation? Should you pay off your student loans? Do you need disability insurance? How about a 401K? And how do you set up a line of credit at a Las Vegas casino?

Esoteric topics to be sure, but if you gather together a group of working screenwriters, this is what they’ll eventually be talking about — the career rather than the craft. Ultimately, a lot of what we discuss this week applies to anyone working for themselves.

Also touched on this week: the difference between casting TV and features, and The Cinema School in the Bronx.

LINKS:

* [Dana Fox’s pilot for Fox](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-comedy-pilot-couples-retreat-279795)
* [The Cinema School](http://thecinemaschool.org/)
* [Five figure advice](http://johnaugust.com/2011/five-figure-advice)
* INTRO: [Big Blue Marble intro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1kkx2m-JSg)
* OUTRO: [Mo Money, Mo Problems](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcYTB-lN-xw)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_22.m4a).

**UPDATE** 2-1-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-22-six-figure-advice-transcript).

Casting and positive outcomes

Producers, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

Craig and John discuss the screenwriter’s role in casting, then segue to the New York Times profile of producer/executive Lindsay Doran and her approach to story.

Doran argues (persuasively) that successful movies are often less about whether the hero wins or loses, but rather how his achievements are measured. For example, a character’s victory is much more satisfying when there is someone to share it with — the real moment isn’t the game-winning touchdown, but when the quarterback kisses his wife afterwards.

She’s not pitching happy endings, but rather positive outcomes. It’s an interesting way to look not just at how we tell stories, but also which stories we tell.

We also touch on the advantages of mentally casting your movie as you write, writing (or rewriting) for the cast you are given, and the delicate art of making someone think he came up with an idea on his own after you plant it in his head.

This and more mind-control tips on the 21st episode of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* Go [casting sides](http://johnaugust.com/downloads_ripley/mannie_audition.pdf) for Mannie
* The Remnants [casting sides](http://johnaugust.com/downloads_ripley/remnants_audition.pdf)
* The New York Times on [Lindsay Doran](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/movies/lindsay-doran-examines-what-makes-films-satisfying.html?pagewanted=all)
* [Martin Seligman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Seligman) on Wikipedia
* INTRO: [Wild Wild West theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFf85RxteI8)
* OUTRO: [Pizzicato Five – Sweet Soul Revue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D4ueFzla04)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_21.m4a).

**UPDATE** 1-26-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-21-casting-and-positive-outcomes-transcript).