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Sundance

The Future of the Industry

Episode - 389

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February 26, 2019 Scriptnotes, Sundance, Transcribed, WGA

John and Craig invite back Chris Keyser, co-chair of the WGA’s 2019 Agency Agreement negotiating committee, to discuss the issues. Specifically, they look at the difference between “packaging” and “packaging fees,” and the impact of agencies acting as writers’ employers.

John then welcomes Michelle Satter to introduce Co//ab, the new online community from Sundance. Michelle shares how they’ve made Sundance digitally accessible and what she looks for in applicants to its prestigious labs.

Links:

  • WGA Agency Agreement 2019
  • WGA President David A. Goodman Speech
  • Agency Campaign FAQ’s
  • Co//ab at Sundance
  • Acapella App for iOS
  • Inkubator
  • Less by Andrew Sean Greer
  • Chris Keyser on Twitter
  • Michelle Satter on Twitter
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
  • Submit entries for The Scriptnotes Pitch Session here.
  • You can now order Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon
  • T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
  • Outro is Epic Jingle by XLNYC (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 3-1-2019 The transcript of this episode can be found here

Point of View

July 10, 2018 Film Industry, Follow Up, Scriptnotes, Sundance, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig discuss the power of point of view in scripts and how the choice of which characters have storytelling power changes how we experience a movie. Point of view has a meaningful role in creating mystery, expanding scale, elevating characters, and energizing a story.

We also answer listener questions about “Jackman shots,” renaming a character in the middle of a story, and supporting a child who writes.

Links:

  • Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are now available!
  • Margin Call uses the ”plain English” trope a little differently.
  • Justin Dise walks through the basic shot types in a blog post for B&H.
  • Bubble, a podcast by Jordan Morris
  • Alleys, an immersive escape mobile game
  • The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Outro by Luke Davis (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 7-17-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

This Title is an Example of Exposition

July 3, 2018 Comics, Film Industry, Follow Up, How-To, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Sundance, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig debate and defend one of the most-maligned elements of screenwriting: Exposition. How do you tell an audience what they need to know without being labeled a hack? We offer tips for getting viewers up to speed without them realizing they’re getting fed exposition.

We also follow up on screenplay competitions, the psychology of toxic fandom, fridging as a trope, and the market for lesbian love stories.

Links:

  • Michael Arndt’s thoughts on Endings (and Beginnings)
  • Midnight blue typewriter Scriptnotes t-shirts are back on Cotton Bureau for a limited time!
  • “Fridging” is the trope of violence against women motivating a male protagonist’s plot.
  • These seven lesbian movies are coming out in 2018.
  • This exposition scene in Aliens does it right.
  • American Animals, written and directed by Bart Layton
  • Isoland 2: Ashes of Time for iOS and Android
  • The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Outro by Timothy Vajda (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 7-10-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Mostly Terrible People

February 27, 2018 Film Industry, Follow Up, News, Producers, Scriptnotes, Sundance, Transcribed

John and Craig evaluate another set of exceptional news stories for their fitness for the big screen in this week’s How Would This Be a Movie?

We consider stories about counterfeit debt collectors, the worst roommate ever (beside’s Craig college roommate), the girl who posed as a grown man online and began exhibiting genuine symptoms of toxic masculinity, a family that fights to preserve their daughter after she’s been declared brain dead, and a cruise ship that descends into anarchy.

We also follow up on the mystery of MoviePass with a listener that has seen a new film each day for months. Did we judge this model too quickly?

Links:

  • Applications are being accepted for the Sundance Episodic Lab
  • Millions Are Hounded for Debt They Don’t Owe. One Victim Fought Back, With a Vengeance by Zeke Faux for Bloomberg
  • Worst Roommate Ever by William Brennan for New York Magazine
  • What Does It Mean to Die? by Rachel Aviv for the New Yorker. John also mentioned this story about Jon-Erik Hexum by Gareth Davies for the Daily Mail.
  • Teen Girl Posed For 8 Years As Married Man To Write About Baseball And Harass Women by Lindsey Adler for Deadspin
  • A Carnival cruise in the South Pacific descended into violent anarchy by Avi Selk for The Washington Post
  • Bridge Constructor Portal
  • A Very Fatal Murder
  • The Good Place on NBC.
  • The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
  • The USB drives!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Find past episodes
  • Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 3-6-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

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