John August

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The Black List, and a stack of scenes

Episode - 60

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QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Recording live at the Austin Film Festival, John and Craig take a look at The Black List’s pivot to a paid site, and what it means for screenwriters and the industry. Black List creator Franklin Leonard joins us for questions and criticism.

Next, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada, We Bought a Zoo) joins us to talk about the difference between Movie Stories and A Stack of Scenes. She stays with us to answer live questions from the audience.

Big thanks to both of our guests — our first ones ever — and to AFF for hosting the event. We had a blast, and hope to do more live events in the future.

LINKS:

* [Austin Film Festival](http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/)
* [The Black List](http://blcklst.com/)
* [Aline Brosh McKenna](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0112459/) on IMDb
* [screenwriting.io](http://screenwriting.io/)
* [The Man Repeller](http://www.manrepeller.com) blog
* INTRO: [Walker, Texas Ranger](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKmJ-xD_Xt0) opening
* OUTRO: [The Yellow Rose of Texas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LArGlfEVYqM)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_60.m4a).

**UPDATE** 10-25-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-60-the-black-list-and-a-stack-of-scenes-transcript).

Plot holes, and the myth of perseveraversity

QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

John and Craig discuss Frankenweenie and Superhero! before cracking open the mailbox to answer listener questions: What advice would they give to their younger selves? Is a spec with a similar high-concept premise doomed? Should Australian screenwriters use U.S. spelling conventions?

Then, a discussion of what constitutes a plot hole and to what degree screenwriters are to blame.

After that, two new Three Page Challenge entries. We’ve received more than 500 of these, which is crazy.

All this and what to name an Amanda Peet character in this week’s Scriptnotes. Next week, join us for the the first-ever Scriptnotes Live podcast from the Austin Film Festival.

LINKS:

* John’s [Frankenweenie thoughts](http://johnaugust.com/2012/some-first-thoughts-on-fifth)
* Craig’s [Superhero!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero_Movie) movie
* [Movie Plot Holes](http://www.movieplotholes.com)
* John on [the perils of coincidence](http://johnaugust.com/2007/perils-of-coincidence)
* Three pages by [Greg from Liechtenstein](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/greg_l.pdf)
* Three pages by [Vance Kotrla](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/vance_kotrla.pdf)
* [Kindle Paperwhite](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007OZNZG0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007OZNZG0&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* [Nogales, Arizona](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Arizona) on Wikipedia
* INTRO: [PBS Intro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCuqlLq1k7o)
* OUTRO: [There is No Arizona](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUSN3_3vhYs) covered by Mishavonna

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_59.m4a).

**UPDATE** 10-19-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-59-plot-holes-and-the-myth-of-perseveraversity-transcript).

Writing your very first screenplay

Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

In the spirit of Looper, Craig and John take a journey back in time, looking at the first scripts they read, the first scripts they wrote, and the common pitfalls of many first screenplays.

Not only that: they share and critique the first three pages from the very first scripts they wrote.

Does John’s romantic tragedy from 1994 show potential? Would Craig keep reading his high-concept comedy from 1995? You can be the judge, because both samples are linked below.

LINKS:

* [Here and Now](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/here_and_now.pdf), three pages from John August’s very first script
* [The Stunt Family](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/stunt_family.pdf), three pages from Craig Mazin’s very first script, co-written with Greg Erb
* [The Room](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-room/id552039496?mt=8) for iOS
* [Moom](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/moom/id419330170?mt=12) for Mac
* [Austin Film Festival](http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/)
* INTRO: [Perfect Strangers (intro)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vbnLYROCj8&feature=related)
* OUTRO: [Feels Like the First Time (Acoustic)](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/feels-like-the-first-time/id456321874?i=456322392) by Foreigner

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_58.m4a).

**UPDATE** 10-11-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-58-writing-your-very-first-screenplay-transcript).

Frankenanswers

Frankenweenie

On Thursday, I promised I’d answer questions on YouTube from people who saw Frankenweenie over the weekend. [Here you go.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT_jquBc_Hk&feature=youtu.be)