John August

WGA

Scriptnotes Live in LA

News, WGA

Craig and I will be doing two live shows this summer in Los Angeles. They’re vastly different, but both should be cool.

**The first is Saturday, June 29th**, part of Craft Day for the Writers Guild Foundation. It’s an all-day event with four different panels of [writers and agents and industry folk](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/craft-day-2012/) talking about everything screenwriter-related. (That’s why it’s a more-expensive ticket.)

We’re first on the schedule at 10 a.m., so don’t sleep in. It’s at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, not the WGA headquarters on Fairfax. (This reminder is for my friend Quinn.)

In the spirit of the event, this edition of the podcast will be all about the writing. We’ll share pages from never-produced projects, ((For the Craft Day event, there’s a strong chance we’ll do a handout that’s only for the live audience.)) dig into minutiae, and generally obsess about words. We’ll even try a live version of the Three Page Challenge. If you’re brave enough to have the two of us look at your pages in front of a crowd, this could be your chance.

Tickets are on sale right now for the WGF edition. There’s a good chance it will sell out, so don’t dally. If you’re coming, [get a ticket](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/craft-day-2012/).

Our **100th Episode Extravaganza on Thursday, July 25** will be a nighttime event at the Academy’s Lab on Vine, just south of Arclight Hollywood. ((We originally thought the 100th was going to be a Sunday event, but this space opened up.)) Craig and I just toured the space, and holy jeebus, it’s amazing. There will be food and alcohol and special guests and surprises I don’t want to spoil.

You only turn 100 once, so we’re not holding anything back. It’s our prom, damnit.

We expect tickets for the 100th will go on sale July 1st. Five bucks. It will sell out, so maybe mark your calendars to be ready to click-click.

Our thanks to the Writers Guild Foundation and the Academy for arranging these events. We look forward to seeing lots of listeners’ faces.

Unless they pay you, the answer is no

Episode - 71

Go to Archive

Los Angeles, QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

John and Craig return from the holidays to look at the WGA nominations, the perennially high costs of movies, scene headers and acceptable fonts for treatments.

Two reader questions ask how to get career stuff started before an LA move. Are any of the contests worth the bother? Does a great review on the Black List open doors for a writer living in Jerusalem?

Also discussed: resolutions, accepting long time horizons, and not counting chickens.

If you’re listening on the site — or just track-by-track in iTunes — do us a favor and hit Subscribe on [our iTunes page](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/scriptnotes-podcast/id462495496). It helps us figure out how many people are new listeners and how many are listening to back-catalog tracks. Thanks!

LINKS:

* 2013 Writers Guild Award [nominees](http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1516)
* [Chaparral Pro](http://www.identifont.com/show?2E3)
* [Baskerville](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baskerville)
* The johnaugust.com [library](http://johnaugust.com/library)
* Austin Film Festival’s [screenplay and teleplay competitions](http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/submit/screenplayandteleplay/)
* The Academy [Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting](http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/index.html)
* About the [Black List](https://www.blcklst.com/about/) screenwriting service
* [Quebec City](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City) on Wikipedia
* [Poutine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine) on Wikipedia
* [Cheese curds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_curds) on Wikipedia
* [Coffeescript](http://coffeescript.org)
* [Maple, the computer algebra system](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_(software))
* OUTRO: [Sabado Merengue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsmyoT2DhnY) by Cabaret Diosa

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_71.m4a).

**UPDATE** 1-10-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-71-unless-they-pay-you-the-answer-is-no-transcript).

One-step deals, and how to read a script

Film Industry, Scriptnotes, Software, Transcribed, WGA

Craig and John take a break from writing scripts to talk about how screenwriters should read scripts. Paper or iPad? Single or double-sided? And how do you keep track of your notes for future conversations?

Then it’s a session of roleplaying and maximum umbrage as we look at the logic and fallacies behind one-step deals for screenwriters.

Cleansing our palette, we look at Skyfall. Spoilers, folks. Spoilers!

Craig closes the podcast with a remembrance of his friend, screenwriter Don Rhymer, who died last week after a long and wittily-observed battle with cancer.

LINKS:

* [Fade In](http://www.fadeinpro.com/) screenwriting software
* [Fountain](http://fountain.io/), a plain text markup language for screenwriting
* Brett Terpstra’s [Systematic podcast, Episode 20](http://5by5.tv/systematic/20) with David Wain
* adult swim’s [Childrens Hospital](http://video.adultswim.com/childrens-hospital/)
* [FDX Reader](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/fdxreader) for iOS
* [Final Draft Reader](http://www.finaldraft.com/products/mobile/reader/) for iOS
* [GoodReader](http://www.goodiware.com/goodreader.html) for iOS
* [PDF Expert](http://readdle.com/products/pdfexpert_ipad/) for iOS
* [Myers-Briggs Type Indicator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator) on Wikipedia
* The Myers & Briggs Foundation’s page on [where to take the MBTI](http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/take-the-mbti-instrument/)
* The WGA [Showrunner Training Program](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=1190)
* LA Times on [Don Rhymer’s passing](http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/30/local/la-me-passings-20121130#mod-a-body-after-first-para)
* Don’s cancer blog, [Let’s Radiate Don](http://radiatedon.com/)
* Todd Downing’s [breakdown](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25S-hXFqLB4) of the Skyfall theme song
* INTRO: [Strawberry Shortcake Intro (Italian)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_QEIF28nVI)
* OUTRO: For Your Eyes Only/Skyfall, arranged and performed by John August

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_66.m4a).

**UPDATE** 12-7-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-66-one-step-deals-and-how-to-read-a-script-transcript).

WGA Election results

WGA

Just came by email:

> The following eight members were elected to the WGAW’s Board of Directors: Chip Johannessen, Katherine Fugate, Michael Oates Palmer, John Aboud, Scott Alexander, David A. Goodman, Marjorie David, Kathy Kiernan.

Most of them have served on the board before, so in my 30-second analysis, it seems writers voted for experience. My congratulations to all of them.