Videogames

What Is a Movie, Anyway?

Episode - 369

September 25, 2018 Awards, Film Industry, Follow Up, Indie, Scriptnotes, Stuart, Television, Transcribed, Videogames

John and Craig welcome Franklin Leonard to weigh in on the current definition of “movie.” In the age of streaming, this distinction is not only important for audiences and awards, but has a meaningful effect on how writers are paid.

We also take umbrage with Awards Season as a Hollywood fixture, and follow up on a five year-old prediction about iPads in movie theaters.

Links:

Scriptnotes, Episode 108: Are two screens better than one? addresses the fear of iPads in theaters
Become a premium subscriber in time for our bonus Q&A episode. Submit your questions here.
Show Us Your Room and the Instagram hashtag
Rusty Lake’s new game, Paradox, with video of actual people
Roma, written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Inneresting, a new John August newsletter. You can subscribe here.
T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
The USB drives!
Franklin Leonard on Twitter
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-28-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Tying Things Up

September 4, 2018 Books, Film Industry, Follow Up, Go, News, Random Advice, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Videogames, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig cover endings, both for craft and for business. First they articulate the importance of the denouement and the social contract it fulfills with the audience. Then they discuss what happens to a writer’s work after their death.

We also follow up on pitching, and introduce a new segment: Change Craig’s Mind. This week: Ventriloquists!

Links:

You can listen to John & Craig on another podcast: Jordan, Jesse, Go!
You can check out our episode with Mindy Kaling, or our episode with Susanna Fogel and David Iserson for some context in this week’s follow-up.
John’s attempt at “Changing Craig’s Mind” about ventriloquism: Nina Conti
Edward Albee’s estate has special rules about casting for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Erin Gibson: Throwing Shade podcast, Gay of Thrones, and her new book, Feminasty: The Complicated Woman’s Guide to Surviving the Patriarchy Without Drinking Herself to Death.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge: Killing Eve, Fleabag, and she’s the robot, L3-37, in Solo
The Witcher 3: Blood And Wine DLC
The USB drives!
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!). And thank you, Luke Davis, for Craig’s musical intro!

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 9-12-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Best Popular Screenwriting Podcast

August 14, 2018 Arlo Finch, Film Industry, Follow Up, Producers, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Videogames, WGA

John and Craig pack this business-centric episode with big picture conversations about guild negotiations, changes to the Oscars, the Disney/Fox merger, the Paramount Consent Decree, and the tragedy that is being unable to stream The Flamingo Kid.

Links:

Scriptnotes is now on Spotify!
The Austin Film Festival is coming up on October 25th!
Changes are coming to the Oscars, including a new category for “Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film.”
IATSE is not backing its Editors Guild in asking for a reasonable turnaround and pension support.
The Department of Justice will review the Paramount Consent Decree.
In Search of the Last Great Video Store by Kate Hagen for the Black List blog.
Add to this form if you find a movie that isn’t streamable.
Antihero game for iOS.
Mark Halpin’s puzzles for The Nation
The USB drives!
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
Outro by Luke Davis (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 8-22-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Not Worth Winning

June 19, 2018 Comics, Film Industry, News, Producers, Rights and Copyright, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, Videogames, WGA, Writing Process

In light of the dust-up over Coverfly, John and Craig discuss why most screenwriting contests are essentially useless and should be avoided.

We then look at destructive fandom and ponder how today’s entitled enthusiasts might have responded to the classics.

Plus we answer listener questions about the “gutters” between scenes, whether an employer owns your idea, what the business of big talent-led production companies looks like, and how to maintain momentum after your first sale.

Links:

Coverfly’s response to accusations in a now-deleted blog post. Here’s a conversation on the Screenwriting Reddit page about it.
In 2015’s Episode 191 The Deal with Scripped.com, we invited John Rhodes from ScreenCraft and Guy Goldstein from WriterDuet to investigate a data management crisis with Scripped.com.
Toxic Fandom Is Killing ‘Star Wars’ by Marc Bernardin for the Hollywood Reporter
Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast covers the Johnlock Conspiracy.
Apple has made a deal with the WGA
Evan in Philadephia recommends Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art for a great explanation of “gutters.”
JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot is an example of a big production company led by a creative.
The worst sex in the world is anglerfish sex, and now there’s finally video by Avi Selk for the Washington Post. This video’s upsetting animation shows what the process would look like for humans.
Bethesda’s Starfield has been announced
The Scriptnotes Listeners’ Guide!
The USB drives!
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Outro by Jeff Mooney (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 6-26-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.