John August

WGA

Let’s talk about coverage

Episode - 120

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Film Industry, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, WGA

Craig and John talk readers and coverage, centering their discussion on profound_whatever’s infographic charting 300 submissions and the lessons screenwriters can take from it.

After that, we talk about the recent DGA deal with the AMPTP, and the degree to which it might predict the upcoming WGA negotiations.

Finally, we discuss getting high and are generally buzz-kills. Sorry.

LINKS:

* profound_whatever’s [post on r/screenwriting](http://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/comments/1r5y6l/ive_covered_300_spec_scripts_for_5_different/) and its [accompanying infographic](http://i.imgur.com/T22gGBO.png)
* Deus ex machina [on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina)
* [Directors Guild of America Board OKs New Contract, Triggering Member Vote](http://variety.com/2013/film/news/directors-guild-of-america-board-oks-new-contract-triggering-member-vote-1200874949/) from Variety
* [WGA Announces Contract Negotiating Committee](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wga-announces-contract-negotiating-committee-655750) from The Hollywood Reporter
* [Writers in Treatment](http://www.writersintreatment.org/)
* [Screenflow](http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/) for Mac, and John’s video and post on [why he likes writing in Fountain](http://johnaugust.com/2013/why-i-like-writing-in-fountain)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_120.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_120.mp3).

**UPDATE** 12-5-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-120-lets-talk-about-coverage-transcript).

The Scriptnotes Holiday Live Show

Follow Up, Los Angeles, WGA

As we discussed on the last podcast, Craig and I are doing a live episode benefiting the Writers Guild Foundation.

Thursday, December 19th
8pm
The Los Angeles Film School (new venue!)
6363 Sunset Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028

In the spirit of A Christmas Carol, we will be visited by previous Scriptnotes guests, including Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wear Prada), Derek Haas (Chicago Fire, 3:10 to Yuma), Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks), Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), Rawson Thurber (We’re the Millers), Blacklist creator Franklin Leonard, and producer Lindsay Doran. Plus we’ll have brand-new guests on hand to discuss features, television, and the business of slinging words.

There will also be surprise give-aways and way too much eggnog. Will Craig play Scrooge to my Cratchit? Join us and find out.

Tickets are normally $25 — but only $10 if you use the special promo code UMBRAGE at checkout.

Note that we’ve moved to a bigger venue. We’re now going to be using the main auditorium of the LA Film School, across from the ArcLight in Hollywood. We’ll likely sell out, and likely quickly, so don’t dally.

Tickets should be available at exactly 10am today (Wednesday) at the [WGF website](https://www.wgfoundation.org/writing-seminars/).

Two ENTJs walk into a bar (and fix it)

Film Industry, Follow Up, Los Angeles, News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

John and Craig reveal their Myers-Briggs secrets as they discuss Kevin Spacey’s comments on the state of television, Eric Garcetti’s plans to address runaway production, and the WGA election.

There are [still a (very) few tickets left for Scriptnotes Live in NYC](https://www.telecharge.com/Off-Broadway/Scriptnotes-Live-with-John-August/Overview?AID=OBW000996000&cm_mmc=Scriptnotes-Live-_-affiliate-_-web-_-OBW000996000&cm_mmca1=show_site&cm_mmca2=ADSTSR&cm_mmca3=130828) on September 23rd, with Craig, John and special guest Andrew Lippa.

Links:

* Listen to John and Andrew on [SiriusXM On Broadway](http://www.siriusxm.com/onbroadway) with Julie James
* [Marcel Proust Within a Budding Grove, Part two](http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/496922-what-best-remind-us-of-a-person-is-precisely-what)
* The (http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/aug/22/kevin-spacey-tv-golden-age) and [transcript](http://www.theguardian.com/media/interactive/2013/aug/22/kevin-spacey-mactaggart-lecture-full-text) of Kevin Spacey’s speech at the 2013 Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival
* [WGAW Announces Candidates for 2013 Officers and Board of Directors Election](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=5259)
* [Myers-Briggs personality types](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator) on Wikipedia
* [L.A. Mayor Declares State of ‘Emergency’ As Movie, TV Production Flees Hollywood](http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/l-a-mayor-declares-state-of-emergency-as-movie-tv-production-flees-hollywood-1200589182/), from Variety
* [One Cool Things](http://johnaugust.com/onecoolthings) from Scriptnotes
* The New Yorker on [Slow Ass Jolene](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/08/slowed-down-dolly-parton.html)
* Kottke on [How to make your own slow jams](http://kottke.org/13/08/how-to-make-your-own-slow-jams)
* Outro by Scriptnotes listener Latif Ullah

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_106.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_106.mp3).

**UPDATE** 9-6-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-106-two-entjs-walk-into-a-bar-and-fix-it-transcript).

Is 15 the new 30?

Film Industry, News, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed, WGA, Words on the page

Have first acts gotten shorter, or does it just feel that way? John and Craig discuss the pressure on screenwriters to “get to it” faster, and why that’s often the wrong goal.

From there, we talk about the WGA’s annual numbers, which paint an improving picture for TV writers — but more bad news for the feature folk. Finally, we discuss the fight over THE BUTLER, and the degree to which studios can protect titles.

Do you make music? If you want to record us a great outro, we’ll be featuring some on upcoming episodes. Entries should feature the basic Scriptnotes melody (C3-E-D-B-C4) or its minor cousin, but otherwise it’s wide open except for, you know, don’t use copyrighted material. Send a link to ask@johnaugust.com pointing to an mp3 or other sound file we can hear. It’s an expo, not a competition, so have fun.

If you want to share the Scriptnotes love, don’t forget to leave us a rating on iTunes.

LINKS:

* The live [100th episode](http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2013/07/script-notes.html) is sold out!
* WGA’s [2013 Annual Financial Report](http://www.wga.org/uploadedFiles/who_we_are/annual_reports/annualreport13.pdf)
* [John’s 2011 blog post](http://johnaugust.com/2011/you-cant-copyright-titles) on copyrighting movie titles
* [You got served: Weinstein fighting for ‘The Butler’ title](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/goldstandard/la-et-mn-butler-name-change-20130703,0,6660171.story) from the LA Times
* [The Hero’s Journey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZxs_jGN7Pg&feature=player_embedded) by Glove and Boots
* [Popehat.com](http://www.popehat.com/) and their [posts on Prenda Law](http://www.popehat.com/tag/prenda-law/)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_97.m4a).

**UPDATE** 7-12-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-97-is-15-the-new-30-transcript).