Scriptnotes Podcast

In an extensive deep-dive, John and Craig attempt to create the definitive explanation of screenwriting credits. How are they determined? Who has copyright? And what really happens when a screenplay goes to arbitration? In our bonus segment for premium members, we look back on the 2023 awards season and pitch a potential awards show of our own. Links: WGA Additional Literary Material Credit Scriptnotes, Ep 20: How credit arbitration works Jurassic World Script Credits Resolved; Helmer Colin Trevorrow Speaks On Arbitration Process on Deadline Big Fish poster WGAw Screen Credits Manual WGAw Credits Department contact information WGAw residuals look up Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Stuart Friedel and Drew Marquardt, and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig host another round of the Three Page Challenge where they look at listener pages and offer feedback on what’s working and how to avoid common pitfalls. They discuss writing gore, finding your tone, and introducing a character’s problem. We also follow up on villains, pirates and European script consultants. We then ponder a long-nagging question: why do all action heroes have names that begin with J? In our bonus segment for premium members, we talk about our experiences with anesthesia and how people are knocked out in The Last of Us. Links: Has Anyone Ever Actually Tied a Damsel in Distress to a Railway Track? by Karl Smallwood Pirating the Oscars 2023: The Final Curtain Call by Andy Baio Why Are All Action Heroes Named Jack, James, or John? by Demetria Glace for Slate Follow along with our Three Page Challenge Selections: Flotsam by Sam Darcy, Sockfoot by Jesse Allard, and Spark by Rachel Thomas Pijja Palace how I found the ‘so no head’ vine road in 15 minutes by RAINBOLT Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by Richie Molyneux (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back writer/producer Megana Rao to discuss techniques to explain what happened in the world of a movie before the movie began. How do we use past events as touchstones, and how does our interpretation of events become the narrative in our culture? Then Megana tells us her story of getting staffed. How does a new writer join the WGA, and what is expected of a writer on your first day? She also answers listener questions and shares advice she’s learned from her time on our show. In our bonus segment for premium members, Megana introduces John and Craig to Get Ready With Me videos. Links: How to Become a Member of the WGA Conceiving the 2000s by Noah Smith Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy by James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams The Romantics on Netflix Logitech Lift Vertical Mouse Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by Lex Kornelis (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig twirl their mustaches and discuss what motivates our villains. Why does past trauma lead some characters to become villains, while others become heroes? What separates good and evil, and what makes a villain great? We also celebrate Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy TV special, and follow up on office phones, #PayUpHollywood, and American military influence in film. In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss Craig’s new tattoo of Ellie’s switchblade, and our first tattoo experiences. Links: Amtel Systems The U.S. military’s Hollywood connection by Rebecca Keegan for Los Angeles Times How E-girl influencers are trying to get Gen Z into the military by Günseli Yalcinkaya for DAZED Warren Beatty Appears in Bizarre Dick Tracy TCM Special in Apparent Film-Rights Ploy by Dan Clarendon The 1000 Deaths of Wile E. Coyote by T.B.D. Why do good people do bad things? by Daniel Effron Why some people are willing to challenge behavior they see as wrong despite personal risk by Catherine A. Sanderson WGAw Late Pay Desk The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are by Jennifer Senior for The Atlantic Tattoo artist Yeono Craig’s Tattoo Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by Dilo Gold (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Chris Csont and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome comedian, actor, writer and Jeopardy! champion Patton Oswalt to discuss joke structure and building standup specials. Patton pulls back the curtain on his writing process, how he develops a comedic premise, and earning an audience’s trust. We also dissect M.O.D.O.K., punching up other people’s scripts, and the art of adaptation. We then answer a listener’s question about writing films that include standup comedy. In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss characters who keep secrets for no reas– there’s no time to explain! Links: Patton Oswalt on IMDb, Twitter and Instagram “Wackity Schmackity Doo!” from Patton Oswalt’s Werewolves and Lollipops Animation of Patton’s “Christmas Shoes” joke “The Ham Incident” from Patton Oswalt’s Finest Hour M.O.D.O.K. on Hulu Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Obesity by the American Academy of Pediatrics Dracula: The Evidence by Beehive Books Melanie Lynskey answers questions for Dear Prudence Murderers’ Row – Melanie Lynskey by Scout Tafoya The Unloved by Scout Tafoya for RogerEbert.com Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by Timothy Lenko (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Drew discuss the WGA’s Pattern of Demands for the 2023 MBA negotiation. In order to best understand what the WGA is asking for, John explains each bullet point in detail and helps to define terms such as mini-rooms, span, new media, and two-step deals. Links: Find more about the WGA negotiations here at WGAContract2023.org WGA Seeks Approval of ‘Pattern of Demands’ for Upcoming Studio Negotiations by Gene Maddaus for Variety Scriptnotes Episode 407: Understanding Your Feature Contract Scriptnotes Episode 553: Adapting Station Eleven Scriptnotes Episode 546: Limited Series John on Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In honor of our producer Megana Rao’s departure, John and Craig discuss how to retool a long-running show when a beloved character leaves. How should writers think about replacing them, and does it have to change the fundamental dynamics? We also follow up on staffing while pregnant, working with child actors, and European script consultants. We then answer listener questions about contributing to ideas as an assistant, selling a show in the room, and writing under pseudonyms. In our bonus segment for premium members, we dive into the wild and wondrous world of online prescription services. Links: Woman who poisoned lookalike with cheesecake to steal identity convicted from The Guardian ‘The Last of Us’ Featurette with Keivonn Woodard from HBO The Fleishman Effect: In a city of Rachels and Libbys, the FX show has some New York moms worried they’re the ones in trouble by Caitlin Moscatello for The Cut Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by David Kawale (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Chris Csont and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig discuss a doppelgänger murder, the true life of a Hollywood rebel, an unexpected roadtrip, and more in this week’s installment of How Would This Be A Movie, where we analyze how stories in the news would translate onscreen. We also follow up on Chat GPT, Celebrity Jeopardy, and writing in other people’s voices. We then answer an embarrassed listener’s question on unfavorable movie reviews. In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss overpowered characters in D&D and how character strengths factor into our own writing.   Links: ‘Doppelganger murder’: Woman accused of killing Instagram lookalike in plot to fake her own death By Andy Eckardt and Aina J. Khan for NBC The Godfather, Saudi-Style by Anuj Chopra for the Guardian The Last Days of Nikki Finke by Jacob Bernstein for the NYT The Nun and the Monk who fell in Love and Married by Aleem Maqbool for BBC 13 stranded strangers went on a road trip. Here’s what happened by Francesca Street for CNN ‘Nothing, Forever’ Is An Endless ‘Seinfeld’ Episode Generated by AI by Chloe Xiang for Vice Manta Sleep Mask Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by Timothy Lenko (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.   Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back writer/producer/director Aline Brosh McKenna ahead of her feature directorial debut “Your Place Or Mine.” Aline discusses how tech has changed Hollywood and finding new creative challenges. We also talk about streaming news, platform mergers, and follow up on script consultants. Megana asks about professional ambitions and we answer listener questions on firing agents and staffing while pregnant. In our bonus segment for premium members, we go behind the scenes of Episode 3 of The Last of Us and force Craig to answer the question on everyone’s mind: what games did Bill and Frank play together? Links: Watch Your Place or Mine on Netflix at 12:01am on 2/10/23 Showtime and Paramount+ Merging, With Rebrand Planned ‘Westworld’ Gets New Home As Warner Bros. Discovery Strikes Roku & Tubi FAST Channel Deals Cancellations Of Completed Seasons Of TV Series; Experts Weigh In On Whether Trend Will Continue Salem 1692 Game Nuun Hydration Tablets Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Aline Brosh McKenna on Twitter and Instagram Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram John on Mastodon Outro by Nico Mansy (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Megana chat about the start of the 2023 WGA negotiations. John defines terms like the AMPTP, MBA, and Pattern of Demands, and offers an overview on what the process will look like for the next few months. John also answers listener questions on writers who are trying to break in and what a strike might mean for support staff. Links: Find more about the WGA negotiations, look up your captain and member meetings here at WGAContract2023.org Directors Guild Says It Is Not In Their Best Interest to Begin Negotiations Ahead of Its Contract Expiration Scriptnotes Episode 407: Understanding Your Feature Contract WGA Contract Negotiations 2023: What to Expect with Adam Conover John on Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig take a look at ‘writer fingerprints.’ They break down how idiosyncratic choices make up an individual’s style on-the-page and offer advice on how to mimic someone else’s voice. Follow up includes pet rock, a defense of script consultants, the preface page in Tár, and the anti-“actually” mindset. In our bonus segment for premium members, we offer advice to a producer who needs help working with a writer who can’t seem to finish — or deliver — a script. Links: Scriptnotes episodes with 2023 Oscar Nominees Sarah Polley, Rian Johnson, Daniels, Pamela Ribon Weekend Read Beta Try it out — now updated with all FYC scripts! Writing in another writer’s style on John’s blog with advice from Dara Resnick Creasey Algorithms were able to figure out that Robert Galbraith was JK Rowling Good Conversations Have Lots of Doorknobs by Adam Mastroianni The Case of The Golden Idol game Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Luke Yoquinto, who discovered it in the score to Coming to America by Nile Rodgers (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.   Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Taffy Brodesser-Akner joins us to discuss her journey adapting her bestselling novel “Fleishman Is in Trouble” into an acclaimed limited series. We chat about drawing inspiration from the familiar, learning how manage others, and presenting multiple sides to a story. We also answer listener questions about naming characters, decorative dialogue, and the renaissance of the television half-hour. In our bonus segment for premium members, we dig into the art and structure of the celebrity profile, a genre in which Taffy is herself an expert. Links: Fleishman Is in Trouble on Hulu, and the book Taffy’s GQ Celebrity Profiles This Film Does Not Exist By Frank Pavich for NYT, Tron reimagined by AI in the style of Jodorowsky’s Dune, images by Midjourney This Voice Doesn’t Exist – Generative Voice AI VALL-E Neural Codec Language Models are Zero-Shot Text to Speech Synthesizers Vintage Contemporaries by Dan Kois Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Taffy Brodesser-Akner on Twitter Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Ryan Gerberding (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig invite writer/director Sarah Polley to discuss her critically acclaimed feature “Women Talking.” They cover twice-removed adaptations, the world’s best eye-roll, and the power of narration. We also look at “Run Towards the Danger” — the title of Sarah’s book as well as her personal philosophy. In our bonus segment, we talk about child actors. Sarah shares her perspective as a former child actor and what it’s like to have her own kids on set. Links: Sarah Polley on IMDb and on Instagram Women Talking film and novel by Miriam Toews Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory By Sarah Polley Find the Women Talking Script by Sarah Polley here The DIY Scientist, the Olympian, and the Mutated Gene by David Epstein for ProPublica Mophie 3-in-1 Charger with MagSafe Till film Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Timothy Lenko (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig dissect expertise and “why you should think twice or thrice before taking someone’s advice.” They look at how survivorship bias, pride, and luck should factor into how we judge sources of authority. We answer listener questions on raising kids in LA, writers for videogames, and Megana asks about creative-comedowns. In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss natural disasters in Los Angeles and preparation plans.  Links: The Last of Us premieres on HBO 1/15/23 at 6pm! Can “The Last of Us” Break the Curse of Bad Video-Game Adaptations? by Alex Barasch for the New Yorker Use PROMO code ONION for $10 off an annual Scriptnotes Membership email help@supportingcast.fm if you run into any issues Scriptnotes, Episode 574: Difficult Scenes, Transcript Erik Grankvist’s Video of Building a Log Cabin Shottr screenshot app Humans Walk Weird. Scientists May Finally Know Why by Katrina Miller The Big One – Probability Earthquake Will Occur in Los Angeles ARK Storm and The Great Flood of 1862 Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Nica Brooke (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig (and Aline!) discuss the elements of quality writing in this collection of craft conversations. As we work on the Scriptnotes book, producer Megana Rao has been collecting wisdom from the archives to write an introductory chapter to define good writing. In these segments we cover how to find your voice, spot confidence on the page, and actively watch films. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Megana discuss the Scriptnotes book and rumors of upcoming industry strife. Links: Scriptnotes Episode 239 – What is good writing? Scriptnotes Episode 76 – How screenwriters find their voice with Aline Brosh McKenna Scriptnotes Episode 432 – Learning From Movies Sign up for Scriptnotes Premium to listen to the episodes sampled as well as the entire archive. Use promo code ONION to save $10 on annual subscriptions. Dangers of Elite Projection by Jarrett Walker Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion by Gabrielle Blair Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Aline Brosh McKenna on Twitter Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Martin Kubitzky (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao with segments by Stuart Friedel and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In this How Would This Be a Movie case study, John interviews screenwriter William Nicholson (Les Misérables, Gladiator) on the challenges he faced with his script for Thirteen Lives, a film that follows the attempted rescue of a Thai soccer team trapped in a cave in 2018. They cover issues of life rights, competing projects, narrative point of view and cultural sensitivity. Before that, John and Craig discuss end-of-year news in Hollywood, the recent changes to HBO Max, and what that means for creators and audiences in the new year. In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss our aspirations and resolutions for 2023. Links: William Nicholson on IMdB Watch the conversation between John and William here Thank you to the Writers Guild Foundation for organizing the event! Use Promo Code ONION for two months free in our annual Scriptnotes premium membership Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Welcome to Digital Nomadland by Kyle Jeffers for Wired Fleischman Is In Trouble on Hulu Andor Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Michael Lane (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back writer/director Rian Johnson (Glass Onion, Knives Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) to discuss the difference between developing a mystery vs. designing a story. Rian shares how his writing process begins with structure and how the needs of the story inform the tone of his films. We then test ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that’s been thrilling and terrifying screenwriters, to assess how worried we should be for the future of the profession. We also answer questions on variable frame rate and politics on set. In our bonus segment for premium members, we dive into theories and spoilers for Glass Onion. Don’t listen until you’ve watched the movie! Links: Glass Onion on Netflix, December 23, 2022! Sign up for a Scriptnotes Premium Membership! use the PROMO CODE: ONION for four months free on your Scriptnotes annual membership. (Valid through 1/15/23) The 2022 World Cup is being hosted in Qatar, which, as everyone knows, is pronounced… by Sarah Lyall for NYT Eben Bolter’s Tweet on Variable Frame Rate ChatGPT On Airline Mapping by Daniel Huffman LEGO Star Wars: The Phantom Limb short film by Legg Animations, score by our own Matthew Chilelli! Comic Con Experience — CCP in São Paulo, Brazil John Dixon Carr mystery novels including Hag’s Nook and The Mad Hatter Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! – use promo code ONION Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.   Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes writer/producers Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, Shanghai Noon, Into the Badlands) to discuss their process of discovering new stories within familiar worlds, like in their Addams Family hit series Wednesday. We discuss casting actors, shooting overseas, and the difference between writers’ block and story block. We also answer listener questions on one-pagers and whether aspiring screenwriters should focus on feature or television writing samples. In our bonus segment for premium members, John asks Al and Miles their thoughts on film school and what decisions they’d make if they had to go back. Links: Al Gough on Instagram Miles Millar on Twitter Wednesday on Netflix The Way They Were book about the movie The Way We Were Moleskine Notebooks Looking for a Christmas Gift? Buy a Scriptnotes Gift Subscription $29 for six months, or $49 for a year for a friend, click here! ChatGPT by OpenAi Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Adam Locke Norton (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome Daniels, writing-directing duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Swiss Army Man, Everything Everywhere All at Once) to discuss making big, ambitious movies. The filmmakers share their process of chasing challenging ideas and the importance of novelty seeking. We also talk about having faith in your future self, bravery, the narrative structure of pop songs, and idea generation as a fish net. In our bonus segment for premium members, we learn about directing music videos and the unlikely flashpoint of many of their ideas. (It’s Maroon 5. No really, it is and you have to hear the explanation.) Links: Daniels on Twitter, Dan Kwan on IG Turn Down For What by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, Houdini by Foster the People, and The Simple Song by the Shins music videos Interesting Ball short film Everything, Everywhere All at Once The Territory Pamela Ribon’s My Year of Dicks, directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir Spatchcocking Jumbo’s Clown Room Your Undivided Attention podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!](https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast) Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Matthew Jordan (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig get crafty! They examine how sentence structure and word choice translate to camera direction, allowing writers to direct the reader’s eye. They offer advice on how to think about the visual and aural idea behind each noun and verb, and why the screenwriter’s task is unique. We also discuss Disney’s leadership changes, follow up on Craig’s outline process, and answer listener questions on montages and villainizing ordinary citizens. In our most contentious bonus segment yet, sixteen sweet treats battle it out in the first-ever Scriptnotes dessert bracket. Links: Bob Iger Back As Disney CEO, Bob Chapek Out on Deadline Scriptnotes, Episode 543: 20 Questions with John David Wappel’s Twitter Thread on Anchoring Nouns Learn more and support the Inevitable Foundation here Woobles Crochet Kit, check out John’s craft here. AKG K702 Headphones Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Twitter John August on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Matthew Jordan (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.