WGA

Scriptnotes, Extra: The Agency Agreement

Episode -

February 7, 2019 News, Scriptnotes, WGA

John and Craig offer a special reminder to guild members to attend one of the upcoming WGA Agency Agreement meetings.

Links:

Scriptnotes, 347: Conflict of Interest
RSVP for a meeting
WGA Agency Agreement Meeting: Saturday, February 9 at 10:30 am at Writer’s Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills
WGA Agency Agreement Meeting: Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 pm at Sheraton Universal by Universal Studios
WGA East NYC Meeting: Tuesday, February 12
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
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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.

The Princess Bride

February 5, 2019 Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, WGA

John and Craig host a live show at the WGA Theatre with a deep dive look at The Princess Bride. They discuss how the “abridged” structure brings us only the best parts of the story and what this means for the characters and world: less exposition and more time for the fire swamp, R.O.U.S., and the pit of despair. From the frame story to the myth of the Dread Pirate Roberts, The Princess Bride shaped decades of screenwriters but would be inconceivable to produce today.

William Goldman’s 1973 cult classic delighted audiences with a fresh take on fairy tale tropes, and also managed to convince viewers that storytelling is ultimately an act of love.

Links:

The Seattle Live Show is on February 6th!
You can now preorder Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon or come to the launch event on February 9th.
Submit entries for The Scriptnotes Pitch Session here.
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure novel
The Princess Bride Trailer
The Dread Pirate Roberts
The Bechdel Test
T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
Outro by Cole Parzenn (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 2-13-19: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Professional Realism

January 8, 2019 Arlo Finch, Books, Directors, Film Industry, Genres, How-To, Pitches, Producers, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Television, Transcribed, WGA, Words on the page, Writing Process

John welcomes Derek Haas (Chicago Fire, 3:10 to Yuma, 2 Fast 2 Furious) to talk about writing accurate portrayals of different jobs, and when to sacrifice reality for storytelling. They also share their time-management strategies in honor of those New Year resolutions to get writing done.

We also answer listener questions about the necessity of entertainment lawyers, how to keep your energy high pitch after pitch, Story By credits, and how to stay alive after that first staff writing job ends.

Links:

Thank you, Derek Haas!
Join us for the WGA’s Princess Bride screening on January 27th. Seating opens up to non-WGA members 15 minutes before showtime.
How Hollywood Gets the Publishing Industry Wrong by Sloane Crosley, author of I Was Told There’d Be Cake, for The New York Times
Is Grover swearing in this video? This is Christian DiCanio’s blog post about it.
David Kwong’s The Enigmatist
Holding down the spacebar on a text so you can move the cursor more accurately on an iPhone.
T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
Derek Haas on Twitter
John on Instagram
Find past episodes
Scriptnotes Digital Seasons are also now available!
Outro by James Llonch and Jim Bond (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 2-12-19: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Becoming a Professional Screenwriter

January 1, 2019 Education, Film Industry, Los Angeles, QandA, Random Advice, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

John welcomes Tess Morris, Christina Hodson, Nicole Perlman, and Jason Fuchs to discuss their paths to becoming a professional screenwriter. They track the progression from glass bead day jobs to navigating general meetings to planning inconsistent finances to actually calling oneself a writer and even getting paid.

We also answer audience questions about career longevity and leaving writing behind.

Links:

Thank you, Tess Morris, Christina Hodson, Nicole Perlman, and Jason Fuchs!
T-shirts are available here! We’ve got new designs, including Colored Revisions, Karateka, and Highland2.
John August on Twitter
Craig Mazin on Twitter
Tess Morris on Twitter
Nicole Perlman on Twitter
Jason Fuchs 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 1-9-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.