John sits down with the Northwest Screenwriters Guild at an event to promote the Scriptnotes book, and ends up having a poignant conversation about how the career of screenwriting has changed, missteps John made throughout his career, and how his approach to screenwriting has evolved over time. He also answers questions on kicking bad writing habits, screenwriting careers outside of Hollywood, what to look for in the projects you choose, whether age matters in a screenwriting career, writing your calling card movie, the sidekick problem, and the real story behind the Prince of Persia movie. In our bonus segment for premium members, John has been hanging out with sketch writers for the last few weeks and is excited to share what he's learned about writing sketch comedy. Links: Northwest Screenwriters Guild Steven Soderbergh's Sex Lies and Videotape book Our episode with KPop Demon Hunters writers Danya Jimenez & Hannah McMechan Notes on Notes John's screenplay library Dennis Palumbo episodes, 99 – Psychotherapy for screenwriters and 676 – Writing while the World is on Fire LA Material Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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.

In our first sequel compendium, John and Craig revisit four of their best segments dedicated to crafting a satisfying and emotional ending to your story. They look at rooting your ending in character, the function of the denouement, what makes a memorable farewell, how and why our endings can change, and how to bring everything full-circle. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and producer Drew continue a discussion that Drew Goddard started on character sides and the process of casting minor characters. Links: Our first endings compendium, Episode 524 – The Home Stretch A video essay of our farewell scenes discussion with Aline Brosh McKenna Episodes 44 – Endings for beginners, 366 – Tying Things Up, 648 – Farewell Scenes, and 392 – The Final Moment Dan Harmon story circle Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Eric Pearson (send us yours!) Segments originally produced by Stuart Friedel, Megan McDonnell, Drew Marquardt and Megana Rao. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Drew Goddard (Project Hail Mary, High Potential) to ask, how do you turn the beats of your story into full scenes? Using Drew's script for The Martian, we look at how he translates moments in a book into scenes in a movie, the freedom Drew finds in a beat sheet, how beats are approached in a TV writers room, and his advice to a staff writer struggling with a draft. We also dig into Drew's process for adapting Project Hail Mary, choosing what to cut, and his eloquent defense of double-spacing in a screenplay. He's even kind enough to help answer listener questions on how to recharge your brain and how to indicate you wrote the most on a co-written script. In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew shares his outlook on the current TV landscape, including the big mistake he sees young writers make in their spec pilots. Links: Project Hail Mary | Trailer Drew Goddard on IMDb The Martian screenplay Twin Peaks: The Return – Part 8 Noah Kalina on YouTube and Substack A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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 revisit a favorite episode focused on a single topic: bad movies and how they happen. Using first-hand experience, they look at how bad ideas make it to the screen, how good ideas go wrong, and the range of patterns that end in terrible movies. We also make a list of our then-dream guests for the podcast (many of whom have now been on the show). And fast-forwarding to 2026, we announce an exciting new feature for Highland Pro. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew ditch the texts and emails and to pick up the phone and make a call. Links: Highland Fling has arrived! See it in action here CW Picks Up 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' As Hourlong Series by Nellie Andreeva for Deadline Scriptnotes, Ep 179: The Conflict Episode John's Screencasts on Entering a scene, Writing better action, and Writing better scene description First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy Rob Schneider Is A Carrot Copyright, Exceptions, and Fair Use: Crash Course Intellectual Property Fallout 4 Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here. The transcript of this episode can be found here.

John and Craig tackle the scourge of free work and offer strategies to avoid it. They look at established norms, potential remedies, the things that should work but often don't, and how writers should think about the time and effort they're putting in before getting paid. We also follow up on useful comps, AI coverage, what to do with our DVDs, and answer listener questions on pitching at an internship and a sensitive situation when naming an award. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do we write American law enforcement officers now that their jobs don't function the way they used to? Links: Birdigo is now on iOS! Weekend Read 2 Zathura Scarecrow Video donations H.R. Pufnstuf Disney Axed 'Star Wars' Sequel 'The Hunt for Ben Solo' Without Ever Asking About the Budget or Other Details by Zack Sharf for Variety FlipBelt Classic Running Belt The Wedding Party by Secret City Vancouver Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Eric Pearson (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 welcomes writer-directors Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh (Two People Exchanging Saliva) to ask, what happens when your short film is nominated for an Oscar? They look at each step from their initial idea to awards season to see how they positioned their short to be considered for an Academy Award. We also reflect on the lessons learned from short films, and answer listener questions on how to give actors your script and finding representation after your Oscar heat has cooled. In our bonus segment for premium members, we turn up the contrast on the many reasons for shooting in black and white. Links: Two People Exchanging Saliva Taika Waititi's Two Cars One Night Andrea Arnold's Wasp Martin McDonagh's Six Shooter Damien Chazelle's Whiplash short film Jim Cummings' Thunder Road short film David F. Sandberg's Lights Out short Troy by Mike Donahue The New York Public Library's Picture Collection ReMarkable tablet Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our Director of Photography is Jonathan Pope. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig gather our listeners' favorite news articles and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include an underground network delivering menstrual supplies in Minneapolis, a millennial travel group, how the US hacked ISIS, and a fake college squash team. But first we follow up on modern comps, email issues, teaching screenwriting, and what it means to be undeniable. We also answer listener questions on querying reps with a published book and whether writers really need to repeat the plot for a second-screen audience. In our bonus segment for premium members, what do we do with all our old CDs and DVDs? We weigh the pros and cons of physical media. Links: How an errand for a 12-year-old immigrant in Minneapolis became an underground operation by Jasmine Garsd and Sarah Ventre for NPR I Went on a Package Trip for Millennials Who Travel Alone. Help Me. by Caity Weaver for The New York Times How the US hacked ISIS by Dina Temple-Raston for NPR Whitman College: The Best College Squash Team in History by James Zug for Squash Magazine Shipping Out by David Foster Wallace Email deliverability tester Disempowerment patterns in real-world AI usage by Cornell University and Anthropic The world's greatest song that simply shouldn't exist Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Gloom Canyon (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 welcomes writer and director Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value, The Worst Person in the World) to ask, how do you introduce your characters and their world to the audience? Using the screenplay for Sentimental Value, Joachim lays out how he sets up his themes, characters, conflicts and narrative authority in the first few pages. We also look at Joachim's process of developing stories with his co-writer Eskil Vogt, and answer listener questions on endings, casting, and work-life balance. In our bonus segment for premium members, Joachim and John flip through how we present screenplays on screen, why Joachim translates his scripts in pre-production, and the one little detail you might not have noticed in Sentimental Value. Links: Sentimental Value | Screenplay Joachim Trier Notorious (1946) The Lindy Effect Chris Ware Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Jeff Hoeppner & Richard Kraft (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 ask, what makes a useful comp? Writers often use comparisons when pitching or discussing projects, but what separates good comps from bad comps, why do we use them, and when do comps hurt more than they help? Basically, it's The Studio meets My Dinner with Andre. We also follow up on orality and "film by" credits, answer listener questions on getting AI feedback and attaching an actor to a microbudget feature, plus bring you another installment of John Recently Learned. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig are having weird issues with their email servers and need your help! Links: The Sheep Detectives trailer The Great Gazoo Ben Turpin The Party (1968) Fulla Regrets on Instagram Kitty Carlisle Bobbie Wygant interviews Jodie Foster by Jack Plotnick on Instagram Catherine O'Hara dies via Variety Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Pete White (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 ask, are screenwriters just oral storytellers who happen to write things down? They compare the literate and oral markers of the medium, how it separates screenplays from other literary forms, and consider whether screenplays are just one long pitch. We also look at the upcoming WGA member meetings, follow up on having enough time in the edit bay, Steve Jobs, Eva Victor, justifiable Dad pride, and answer listener questions on deliverables and what makes a script "undeniable." In our bonus segment for premium members, we look at the incredible slate of upcoming movies and make predictions for the 2026 box office. Links: Steve Jobs' email to himself How Will the Miracle Happen Today? by Kevin Kelly Havelock's orality tester Quantum computing for lawyers by JP Aumasson Swoop Inhibiting a master regulator of aging regenerates joint cartilage in mice by Krista Conger The Sheep Detectives trailer Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Jennifer Lucy Cook (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 the actor-writer-director of the acclaimed indie Sorry, Baby to discuss preparing to direct your first feature. Eva Victor's year-long bootcamp included reverse-shotlisting movies, shadowing other directors, and lots of visual development. It earned them Best Directorial Debut by the National Board of Review. We also examine how Eva chose which scenes to cut, answer a listener question on how to talk to actors, and follow up on some excellent reviews of the Scriptnotes Book. In our bonus segment for premium members (like Eva!), Eva revisits their early career to think about how short-form video intersects with Hollywood. Links: Sorry, Baby Read the Sorry, Baby screenplay Eva vs. Anxiety Eva's straight pride parade video on X Demetri Papadimitropoulos's review of the Scriptnotes Book Certain Women I Saw the TV Glow Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert Vancouver SkyTrain Nutella mini jars rainymood.com Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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 welcomes back Susanna Fogel and David Iserson (The Spy Who Dumped Me) to steal their secrets on creating an original tone in their new series PONIES. They look at how the writers room was built to match their sensibilities, using characters to anchor the audience, and what it takes to sell and produce an original period TV series in 2026. We also talk about the pros and cons of filming in Budapest, and answer listener questions on trusting your judgement, recognizing your talent, differentiating character voices, and whether spec pilots are out of fashion. In our bonus segment for premium members, Susanna and David look at how our taste develops, including what we can learn about taste from The Beatles. Links: PONIES Trailer | On Peacock January 15th Susanna Fogel and David Iserson The last time Susanna and David were on the show (Episode 361) The Work of Art by Adam Moss So You Want to De-Bog Yourself by Adam Mastroianni Procreate emulators True Grit and Retro Supply Co. International Society of Character Artists' character resolution 2026 The Plague (2025) The Taste Gap by Ira Glass Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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 consider all the words they have to write and ask, how do you know when something deserves your best effort? They offer a useful rubric for deciding when something is worth perfecting, and when over-optimization is a waste of time. We also follow up on compulsive writing habits, industry euphemisms, back issues, and the impact and legacy of the WGA's 2019 agency negotiations. In our bonus segment for premium members, it's a new year! John looks back at things he accomplished in 2025 and his goals for 2026, while Craig sighs and gestures in the direction of The Last of Us. Links: Jamie Lee Curtis says "Trauma" Concept Creep: Psychology's Expanding Concepts of Harm and Pathology by Nick Haslam Young Connor Storrie on YouTube Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone Elon Musk announces the Cybertruck Valentina Vee on TikTok and Instagram Birth by Madison Karrh John's What I Did in 2025 Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Eric Pearson (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 circle back on all the euphemisms and stock phrases that float around Hollywood. Using some favorite examples, they attempt to define and demystify the current industry-speak so everyone is looped in when we come up for air after the holidays. We also wrap-up 2025 with a look at Scriptnotes by the numbers, check-in on Disney's deal with OpenAI, follow up on that director who scammed Netflix out of $11 million, and answer listener questions on the guilds' involvement in video podcasts and reps who won't send out co-written scripts. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig navigate how to deal with difficult collaborators. Links: How Disney's OpenAI Deal Changes Everything by Steven Zeitchik and Julian Sancton for The Hollywood Reporter Guilty! Director Who Scammed Netflix Out Of Millions Faces Decades Behind Bars by Dominic Patten for Deadline Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon Down to Puck: Why Women Are Going Wild for 'Heated Rivalry' by Seth Abramovitch for The Hollywood Reporter Search Engine annual meeting Order a signed copy of the Scriptnotes Book! Charli XCX's Substack Trailer for Divinity by Larian Studios Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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. (46:41) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

In a Christmas crossover event, John and Craig join Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) and Lorien McKenna (Tab Time) on their podcast, The Screenwriting Life. We talk about why rigid structure can miss the point, how theme emerges from character, what fear and denial really look like on the page, and how writers can survive rejection without letting it define them. In our bonus segment for premium members, John breaks Drew's heart with his lovely memories of Rob & Michele Reiner. Links: The Screenwriting Life podcast Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Mathew Chilelli (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. (20:00) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

John and Craig welcome back screenwriter Mike Makowsky (Death by Lightning, Bad Education) to ask, how do you dramatize a historical event that no one's heard of? They look at the dramatic engine behind the Garfield assassination, the long journey Death by Lightning had to getting made, and the importance of finding great stories in obscure history. We investigate the peculiar habits and compulsions of our own writing practices, and see how personality typologies can help figure out what makes our characters tick. We also follow up on a certain orange book, breaking into Hollywood in your 30's, and offer our thoughts on the impending sale of Warner Bros. In our bonus segment for premium members, which TV shows had the best "coaching trees"? We marvel at the writers' rooms that launched the most successful writers today. Links: Death by Lightning on Netflix Mike Makowsky on IMDb and Instagram Episode 448 (The last time Mike was on the podcast) Which TV Show Has the Best Coaching Tree? Alan Sepinwall for The Ringer Size matters: a single representation underlies our perceptions of heaviness in the size-weight illusion New evidence for the sensorimotor mismatch theory of weight perception and the size-weight illusion Friedman Personnel Agency Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard The Ballad of Guiteau from Assassins The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda Edelstein A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About to Get Its First Major Test by Emily Mullin for WIRED Heated Rivalry on HBO Max The Good Lord Bird Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Luke Foster (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. (9:00) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

John and Craig celebrate the release of the Scriptnotes Book with a sold-out show full of arguments, games and holiday cheer at Dynasty Typewriter in LA. Slate's Julia Turner returns to interview John and Craig about the fifteen year journey towards creating the book, and challenges Craig's dismissal of critics. We also welcome back Ashley Nicole Black (Shrinking, Ted Lasso) to help us get through a fridgeful of leftover questions, and invite three lucky audience members to play our new game: "Somewhat strange lines from Christmas movies." In our bonus segment for premium members, we invite our audience to ask us questions in a live Q&A. Links: Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Julia Turner Ashley Nicole Black on Instagram Arlo Finch series Slate Culture Gabfest Episode 516 – 10 Year Anniversary Dynasty Typewriter Bad Monkey The Tom Cruise coconut cake from Doan's Bakery Letters to Santa @simonsits on Instagram Day of the Tentacle Chevalier's Books Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Mathew Chilelli (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. (2:18) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

John and Craig gather a congregation of writers in St. David's Episcopal Church for a live round of the Three Page Challenge. They look at three listener-submitted scripts to offer them their honest feedback, face-to-face. They offer suggestions on world building in the apocalypse, making military characters specific, building mystery and suspense, and crafting con-artist logic. In our bonus segment for premium members, we answer questions from our audience on how to know if a script looks correct, what we want to see in the first three pages, using actor names in character descriptions, what comedy requires, and how to direct a reader's attention on the page. Links: Follow along with our Three Page Challenge Selections! ANCIENT GRAINS by Michael Warnecke, HIGH NORTH by Teddy Johnson, TALL POPPIES by Becca Hurd Austin Film Festival The Scriptnotes Book is here! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Mathew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com (1:03)  Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged) You can download the episode here.

John welcomes Danya Jimenez & Hannah McMechan, the writing team behind KPop Demon Hunters, to chart their path from film school to first feature. They look at navigating early career difficulties like finding your voice and trying to get reps, their method of building a writing partnership, and how a bad pitch led them to writing one of the biggest movies of the year. We also follow up on breaking in later in life and writing with ADHD. In our bonus segment for premium members, what does Hollywood get wrong about Gen Z? Danya and Hannah share what drives them crazy about how their generation is portrayed on screen. Links: Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix No Strings Attached The Black List x Women in Film Episodic Lab Nicole Perlman on Scriptnotes, episodes 164, 222, 373, 381 Brick Pluribus on Apple TV Claire Saffitz makes Dirt Bombs The Parade's Gone By by Kevin Brownlow Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin Chernobyl on HBO Max Chappell Roan – Love Me Anyway Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by James Llonch (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 Dana Fox (Wicked, The Lost City) for a magical flight through everything that went into adapting Wicked and its upcoming sequel, Wicked: For Good. They look at the history of the project, why it was split into two movies, the process for writing when you're shooting two movies at the same time, and the exhausting effort it takes for big movies to defy gravity. We also chat with Graham Rowat, the narrator of the Scriptnotes audiobook, follow up on weird movies and cuck chairs, answer listener questions on the limits of torturing your heroes and ask, did the 90's really have the best actions movies? In our bonus segment for premium members, Dana sticks around to take us behind the scenes of a big movie's promo circuit, and how to stay sane (and even popular!) throughout the world tour. Links: Dana Fox on Instagram and IMDb Wicked: For Good Graham Rowat Friendship Comfrt travel hoodie Sara Schaefer's miniature cuck chairs Pittman Inflatable Camping Chair Inflatable Beanless Bean Bag Chair What the Cuck?! | Decoder Ring Wicked the book and the stage show The Fugitive (1993) Owl Labs' Meeting Owl 3 Eric Berlin – Puzzle Snacks The Most Important Question podcast Heating Pads VW ID Buzz Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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 welcomes back Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Devil Wears Prada) to ask, what do executives expect from a pitch these days? They look at the typical structure of a pitch deck, how that differs from lookbooks, how pitches have evolved over the years, and best practices for pitching on Zoom. Also, what happened to single-lady sitcoms? If you remember Monday nights in the 90's, you know what we're talking about. We reflect on what they did for the culture and how social media and reality TV may be taking their place. In our bonus segment for premium members, Aline tells us what it was like being back on the set for The Devil Wears Prada 2. Gird your loins, people! Links: Preorder the Scriptnotes book! Scriptnotes LIVE at Dynasty Typewriter in LA, November 30th! Only a few tickets left! Dick's Sporting Goods Launches Entertainment Studio by Etan Vlessing for The Hollywood Reporter The Ladies of Monday Night I Love LA on HBO Max The Diplomat on Netflix Shotdeck Stranger Things pitch deck Paramount Makes Big Buy of Comedy Spec Script 'Bald Eagles' by Borys Kit for The Hollywood Reporter Big A## Calendar Rareform bags Aline and John talk about writing memorable endings on YouTube Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Aline Brosh McKenna (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 look at all the pleasant, normal people around them and ask, what happened to the weirdos? They root out the causes of cultural stagnation, offer potential solutions, and explore the entertainment that still finds a way to be weird. We also look at the tipping point between "wanting to write" and "actually writing," follow up on printer prices and billboard queens, and answer listener questions on soundtracks, adapting a podcast and feeling ownership over your ideas. In our bonus segment for premium members, we try to remember how we construct our personal narratives, and the pros and cons of remembering our past. Our LIVE book release show will be at Dynasty Typewriter in LA on November 30th — get your tickets now! Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! Book release show tickets at Dynasty Typewriter in LA The Uncool by Cameron Crowe Meet the Sisters Battling to Become L.A.'s New Billboard Queen by Mickey Rapkin for The Hollywood Reporter The Decline of Deviance by Adam Mastroianni Too Many Cooks Happiness (1998) Ken Russell Community tries to figure out if Nicholas Cage is good or bad Homecoming on Prime Video ChannelVue Servant of the Lake Some People Can't See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound by Larissa MacFarquhar for The New Yorker Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Jim Bond (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 return to Texas for their 11th show at the Austin Film Festival. They welcome writer Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) and showrunner Anthony Sparks (Queen Sugar, Bel-Air) to look at what makes character relationships compelling, and how to build a writing career later in life. We also answer lister questions on getting un-stuck in a script, how podcasting has made us better writers, the limits of exposition, using AI for sizzle reels, and where we get the cajones selling a screenwriting book after slagging-off screenwriting books for fourteen years. In our bonus segment for premium members, we invite two Scriptnotes super-fans up to the stage to compete for the ultimate prize: an early, signed copy of the Scriptnotes book. Links: Pamela Ribon and Anthony Sparks Austin Film Festival Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Our Moneyball episode Enter the Relationship Matrix by Chris Csont Bring It On toothbrush scene STOMP Writer Emergency Pack Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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 look at three tales of lies, betrayal and deceit and ask, How Would This be a Movie? Stories include a flamboyant show-business grifter, a sibling rivalry between two LA billboard queens, and American students tricked into attending a fake Oxford college. We also follow up on audio dramas, last looks, and answer listener questions on a suspicious AI story and what do do with producers that are too keen. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you watch TV when you're away from home, particularly overseas? We share the joys and frustrations of tuning in while you're on the road. Links: Preorder a signed copy of the Scriptnotes book! The Many Faces Of "Sir" Marco Robinson, The Man Who Grifted Aspiring Filmmakers With Claims About Being A "#2 Netflix" Producer by Jake Kanter for Deadline Trailer for Marco Robinson's TV show Get a House for Free Meet the Sisters Battling to Become L.A.'s New Billboard Queen by Mickey Rapkin for The Hollywood Reporter Dynasty (1981) Rica Famosa Latina on YouTube Fake Oxford by Josh Levin for Slate Fawlty Towers and Father Ted 'Run It Through GPT-5': The Phrase Changing Hollywood Overnight by Erik Barmack for The Ankler Sydney, Australia Ghost of Yōtei Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Jeff Ross (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 welcomes writer and actress Nora Garrett to look at how her first screenplay, After the Hunt, took her from being un-repped to working with director Luca Guadagnino. They discuss her path from acting to writing, how her script went from being rejected by screenplay competitions to landing on Julia Roberts' desk, and how she constructed her complex power dynamics on the the page. They also answer listener questions on building tension and knowing when to tell rather than show. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Nora talk day jobs and how to balance focusing on your craft wi– shhh! The boss is coming, get back to work. Links: Read along with our excerpts from After the Hunt Nora Garrett After the Hunt Episode 667 – The One with Justin Kuritzkes The Rehearsal Flesh World by Jessica DeFino Big Reader Bad Grades BenDeLaCreme on Good One Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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 invite Aline Brosh McKenna back to celebrate the third anniversary of Scriptnotes. It's a jam-packed, glass-and-a-half of wine, listener-favorite episode. They look at ways to breathe new life into scenes and characters that aren't working, box office journalism and how Hollywood is always dying, scene geography, and the role of emotional intelligence (or EQ) in a writer's career. In our bonus segment for premium members, we have original outtakes from the episode where we look at what changed in the world in our first three years on air, make predictions for what's to come, re-invent Spanx, and of course talk about D&D. Links: Going to the 2025 Austin Film Festival? Submit to our LIVE Three Page Challenge here! The original episode 161 and its transcript Aline Brosh McKenna on Instagram and IMDb Why do people throw tomatoes? from How Stuff Works The Knowledge Global Entry From 2014: Movies Have Worst Summer Since 1997 by Brooks Barnes Mimeographs on Wikipedia and eBay Maguire Watch on Everything is Terrible! Filthy Scriptnotes episodes The Angeles Crest Fiasco and The Dirty Show The Honourable Woman This Movie Will Require Dinosaurs by C. W. Neill N3TWORK Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Robert Hutchison (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. 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 wonder, how has TV changed in the last ten years? They compare what's better and worse, the tradeoffs between quality and quantity, how curation is changing, the pros and cons of shorter seasons, and what this all means for writers and viewers. We also look forward to our time at the Austin Film Festival, offer paths for writers to keep their health insurance, follow up on Three Page Challenge selections that actually got made, and answer listener questions on adapting a screenplay into an audio drama and payment for work after a script is turned in. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig looks at what makes a damn fine cup of coffee. Links: Going to the Austin Film Festival this year? Submit for our LIVE Three Page Challenge here! Entertainment Community Fund Services & Programs Signed editions of the Scriptnotes Book Destination: Earth audio drama Weekend Read Episode 163: Ghost WGA Showrunner Training Program Phantom Ink The House of Tesla Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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 discuss short films: what makes a great short, when should you make one, and what should you realistically expect out of it? We also update our predictions on whether the career of "screenwriter" can survive potential global catastrophes. We then answer listener questions on staff writer wages and using URLs in a script. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig talk intermissions and why more movies should have them. Links: Remembering Sundance Institute Founder, Robert Redford John's post on Robert Redford Digital Dungeons and Dragons Die Tally to vote for Scriptnotes Live Shows Scriptnotes Episode 334, Worst Case Scenarios, Transcript Maccy App DEVO Documentary on Netflix Megana Rao on Instagram and X Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Luke Davis (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 welcomes back Liz Hannah (The Post, The Girl from Plainville) to discuss how to construct and communicate setting in a script. They talk about the balance between establishing a sense of space while avoiding the beginner's mistake of over-blocking. We also follow up on accountability groups, last looks, and French composers. Then, we answer listener questions on revisions and getting your Hollywood Card revoked. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Liz consider how to explain screenwriting to your kids (and others). LINKS: Bob The Musical has a Director! Download Weekend Read on the App Store Oxo Carbon Steel Pan Dehv Candle Company Apply for a student license for Highland Pro! Interested in being our new UI/UX designer? More info here! Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Liz Hannah on Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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 ask, how do you keep your period films from being a boring history lesson? They offer ten tips to keep your setting from taking over your story, defining the scope of your research, and how to balance the reality of the era with what's relevant to audiences today. We also follow up on navigating industry connections and answer three period-appropriate listener questions on transitions across time, accurate dialogue, and how to handle historical sensitivities on the page. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig get into some toil and trouble as they give their rankings of the most iconic witches. Links: Apply for a student license for Highland Pro! Interested in being our new UI/UX designer? More info here! Mel Gibson rant at Joe Eszterhas caught on tape by Ben Child for The Guardian Episode 129: The One with the Guys from Final Draft Episode 314: Unforgiven Episode 674: The One vvith Robert Eggers Marielle Heller's Episode 212 and Episode 394 Standard Thermal (And a summary by CEO Austin Vernon) Panthalassa The Concept C Is the All-Electric Sports Car Kick-Starting Audi's Design Future by Jason Barlow for Wired Countdown on Amazon Prime Video Rank these iconic witches! Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Whit Morliss (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 producer Megana Rao, who has a question: how do you polish a script before sending it out? From obvious things like typos and title pages to tougher choices like cutting and transitions, they look at what to consider on a final pass so you can email your script with confidence. Then it's another round of the Three Page Challenge, where we look at three listener-submitted scripts to offer our honest feedback on what's working and what could use another pass. We also follow-up on advice for general meetings. In our bonus segment for premium members, what makes a great score? We look at the function of the soundtrack for feature films and how to work with composers. Links: Follow along with our Three Page Challenge selections! The Thin Place – "Pilot" by Katie Seward, Sunset Paycheck by Holden Potter, and Levelling Up by Sylvia-Anne Parker Submit to the next Three Page Challenge Megana Rao on Instagram and X Fixed-do vs. movable do solfège How to Tell if Something is AI-Written by Hollis Robbins Mark Halpin 2025 Labor Day Extravaganza Pageant of the Masters Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by NIck Moore (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 examine how to best use your connections to help yourself and others. They look at ways to identify the strength of a connection, leverage them without being manipulative, the nitty-gritty of approaching others for a favor, and the important ways to be generous in return. We also look at the good news in the WGA's 2025 Screen Compensation Guide, follow-up on creator pay through streaming services, and answer listener questions on how to tell if you're improving something, and whether having kids changes our storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig piece together their feelings on modern LEGO sets. Links: Scriptnotes Book is now on Goodreads! Scriptnotes 700 on YouTube Episode 645 with Meredith Scardino Vimeo on Demand Kanopy WGAw Screen Compensation Guide NYT Connections Pips 50 Things I Know by Cate Hall Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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.

To celebrate our 700th episode, John and Craig open the phone lines for a live late-night call-in show (recorded at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday). Through the power of Zoom (and YouTube), listeners ask questions about rewrites in post, avoiding traps as a production designer, changing characters in a rewrite, and advice on leaving the entertainment industry. We also welcome back familiar faces from Scriptnotes history for a brand-new segment, "People, Places and Things," where we look at movie stills and ask how we might describe them on the page. Also for debate, what is the boundary between "spoiler" and "what's happening in culture"? In our bonus segment for premium members, we keep the videophone lines open for more listener questions on juggling multiple projects, preparing alt lines for production, and whether studios option projects just to kill them. You can (and should!) watch the entire episode on our YouTube channel. Just search for Scriptnotes Podcast. While you're there, give us a Like and a Follow. Links: Watch episode 700 on YouTube! Stuart Friedel, Megan McDonell, and Megana Rao Weapons The Hunting Wives on Netflix Vince Gilligan YouTube video Our Back to School collection on Weekend Read Play along with People, Places and Things: Woman one, woman two, man one, kid duo, oceanside, house, and city. Scriptnotes Episode 399: Notes on Notes Spike tape Bridge Base Online Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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.

Every writer has to pitch themselves, but how do you do it without sounding like a tool? John welcomes back Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) for a big talk about small talk and general meetings. They offer practical tips on what to expect, how to get people to open up, navigating NDAs, staying true to yourself, and organically moving the conversation away from the weather and towards your work. We also look at a pernicious effect of underemployment (starting with a prompt from Ryan Knighton,) and answer listener questions on alternating POV, reusing adjectives, and giving your story beats cause and effect. In our bonus segment for premium members, we get meta as we discuss the modern podcast landscape and next era of Scriptnotes. Links: Scriptnotes Episode 700 – LIVE Pamela Ribon My Year of Dicks Rental Family trailer Japan's Rent-A-Family Industry by Elif Batuman for The New Yorker 37 Seconds Good conversations have lots of doorknobs by Adam Mastroianni Real Time Lightning Map Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) Who Is Watching All These Podcasts? by Joseph Bernstein for NYT Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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 descend into development hell to look at films that almost but never quite existed. Using both widely-publicized and little-known examples, they examine common patterns that keep movies frozen in script form. We also follow up on solar storms, writer education and genres people should see at least one of. We then answer listener questions on writing empathetically, late-career stamina, non-English dialogue, multi-part movies, and the Scriptnotes theme itself. In our bonus segment for premium members, if John and Craig were never paid to write in the screenplay format again, would they still do it? Links: Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Birdigo on Steam Aurora by David Koepp Pale Flower Deep Red Suspiria Hands on a Hard Body American Movie Wonderland Hands on a Hardbody the musical Cure Pulse Moft magnetic wallet stand Total Party Skill podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Steve Pietrowski (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.

The Scriptnotes Book is real, and now available for preorder! John and Craig take a look through its 335 pages to explore the topics, guests and deep-dives we've assembled from over 1,000 hours of this podcast, creating what is sure to be your favorite bathroom book. Then it's another round of How Would This Be a Movie?, where we look at four stories in the news to see whether they're ripe for adaptation. Stories include a mother taking on the revenge porn industry, a wife navigating her husband's longtime crush, a government worker who was secretly recorded on a date, and the potential destruction of solar storms. We also answer a listener question on current filmmaking technology. In our bonus segment for premium members, what is kindness? John and Craig talk through what sets this undervalued quality apart from niceness and other traits we mistake for kind. Link: Preorder the Scriptnotes book! Send your pre-order receipt to Drew at ask@johnaugust.com A Mother's Revenge as told to Christina Cauterucci for SLATE Charlotte Laws' fight with Hunter Moore, the internet's revenge porn king by Carole Cadwalladr for The Guardian Help! My Husband's Manic Pixie Past Has Become a Full-Blown Threat to My Sanity, Dear Prudence column for SLATE SNL's What's That Name An Offhand Remark About Gold Bars, Secretly Recorded, Upended His Life by Lisa Friedman for NYTimes The Unseen Fury of Solar Storms by Henry Wismayer for Noema TRMNL Steve Ballmer: Developers The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Birdigo Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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.

In this compendium episode, John and Craig set their focus on directors — and how to work with them as a screenwriter. They look at the inner-workings of the writer-director relationship, etiquette on set, how to communicate notes from pre-production through post, and outline the qualities of the "perfect" director. We also offer advice to a first time director, looking at how to prep a project, how to run a set, working with actors, and how to inspire a crew to make the best movie possible. In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John back in 2025 for advice about casting, and what to do when actors pass on your project. Links: Episode 4 – Working with directors Episode 176 – Advice to a First-Time Director Scrappy HyperCard Mount Wilson Observatory John's shorts God and The Remnants Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Segments produced by Stuart Friedel. 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 Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit, Dept. Q) to offer their best advice to film students and the people who teach them. They look at ways to improve how we educate writers, and offer advice to an aspiring development executive. We also look at the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations of characters in Scott's new series, Dept. Q, follow up on the decline of sex in movies, and ask, what genres of movies should people see at least one of? In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Scott take a broader view of education in America to see what they've learned and what they would change. Links: Dept. Q on Netflix Scott Frank Scott's last time on Scriptnotes, Episode 476: The Other Senses Everyone Is Beautiful And No One Is Horny by RS Benedict for Blood Knife Scriptnotes 639: Intrinsic Motivation Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading by Nadia Asparouhova Elmore Leonard's Perfect Pitch by Anthony Lane for The New Yorker Richard Price's Street Life by Kevin Lozano for The New Yorker McDonald's AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants' Data to Hackers Who Tried the Password '123456' by Andy Greenberg for Wired Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nico Mansy (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 welcomes back Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers, Pretty Smart) to ask, how do you revive a dead genre? Using their upcoming movie The Naked Gun, they look at why the spoof genre fell apart, the challenges of introducing it to a new generation, and why turning genre tropes into jokes will always resonate with an audience. We also look at other genres they don't make anymore, follow up on Dogma 25, and answer listener questions on complicated rewrites and whether or not to hire a publicist. In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Doug and Dan look at the movies that Gen Z hasn't seen (and whether they even need to). Links: The Naked Gun in theaters August 1st! Dan Gregor and Doug Mand Doug and Dan's last time on the show, Episode 548: Made for Streamers Bottoms and Dicks: The Musical Melodramas: Now, Voyager, It Ends with Us, Spencer Sexual thrillers: Body Heat, Jagged Edge, (Bonus: Altered States, Dead Ringers) You Must Remember Thins: Erotic 80s Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Adult Romantic Dramas: The English Patient, Out of Africa, Past Lives, Materialists Mid-Budget Adventure Films: Romancing the Stone, The Lost City John's Aladdin residuals Breakthrough cholesterol treatment can cut levels by 69% after one dose by Hatty Willmoth for BBC Science Focus One dose of experimental drug nearly wipes out stealthy cholesterol in 'remarkable' trial by Erika Edwards for NBC News The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America's UFO Mythology by Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha for WSJ Calvin Kang on Ingstagram Weekend Read 2 Top movies that Gen Z have never watched revealed – including Oscar-winning classics from The Sun UK Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Ryan Gerberding (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 plant the idea for setups that have the most satisfying payoffs. Different from exposition, setups introduce ideas and concepts to an audience, priming them for a later revelation. They look at the sleight of hand required to have your setups deftly planted, take root in your audience's mind, and grow into something delightful. But first, we look at the new California tax credits, the 2025 WGA annual report, follow up on AI and VFX, postmodernism, and verticals. We also answer listener questions on music videos and outing yourself to potential employers. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at the New York Times' new list of the 100 best movies of the 21st century. We all know Craig loves pitting movies against each other, so there's definitely no umbrage here. Links: The Best Movies of the 21st Century by NY Times California lawmakers approve expanded $750-million film tax credit program by Samantha Masunaga for LA Times WGA Annual Report – employment and earnings, residuals Michael Graves How ReelShort CEO Joey Jia Used a Chinese Trend to Disrupt the U.S. Entertainment Industry by Chad De Guzman for Time Magazine Sundance Labs Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild DJ Snake, Lil Jon – Turn Down for What Madonna – Vogue a-ha – Take On Me Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye Phil Collins – Don't Lose My Number 30 minutes with a stranger by Alvin Chang for The Pudding Chris Perkins Mike Birbiglia's top ten movies of the 21st century Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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.

In this craft compendium, John and Craig take a look at everything you need to make your bad guys compelling, memorable, and the perfect antagonist for your story. Using some favorite villains as examples, they look at the importance of understanding their motivations and offer seven tips for making a villain unforgettable. We also take a look at lackeys, henchmen and making sure your evil organizations are believable. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig shift their focus to monsters, and why even though those scary creatures are dangerous, they're not always the villain. Links: Scriptnotes Episode 75 – Villains Scriptnotes Episode 590 – Anti-Villains Scriptnotes Episode 465 – The Lackeys Know What They're Doing Scriptnotes Episode 257 – Flaws are Features Every Villain is a Hero Writing Better Bad Guys Screenwriting and the Problem of Evil Mama 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 The Monsters Know What They're Doing blog and book Austin Powers deleted scene, "Henchman's Wife" Redshirt 7 Tips for Creating Unforgettable Villains How Christopher Nolan writes a movie on our YouTube! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Segments produced by Stuart Friedel, Megana Rao, and Drew Marquardt. 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 author Stu Horvath to look at the rich history of tabletop role playing games. From Stu's collection of over 2300 RPGs, they look at the evolution of collaborative storytelling, interactive narrative design, and the communities of players they inspire. We also discuss the complicated influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft on the world of D&D, and how the need to escape their derivative influences pushed RPGs to new heights of world-building and storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, Stu leads us down down down to discuss a surprisingly recent narrative staple: dungeons. Links: Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath VintageRPG.com by Stu Horvath D&D 5th Edition Amateur press association (APA) Little Wars by H.G. Wells Peter Cushing painting his minifigs Chainmail by Gary Gygax & Jeff Perren Chaosium Tunnels & Trolls Dread RPG Fiasco Scriptnotes episode 142: The Angeles Crest Fiasco Critical Role Alien: The Roleplaying Game Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game Traveller 2024 D&D Player's Handbook Blackoath Entertainment Thousand Year Old Vampire Tales From the Loop RPG Honey Heist WWDC live translation She Used to Be Mine performance and vocal coach reaction Kolchak: The Night Stalker Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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.

How do you write science fiction when technology is moving so quickly? John and Craig welcome back journalist and screenwriter Max Read to look at the trickiness of predicting the future, how our imagined futures can affect our reality, and ways that writers can protect their work from becoming dated before it’s even released. We also follow up on the new Dogma manifesto, words we don’t have in English, questioning ChatGPT, and answer listener questions on hosting your scripts on your website, offline writing software and how to find the time to goof around. In our bonus segment for premium members, Max walks us through his Letterboxd lists and proposes a new, niche film genre. Links: Max Read’s newsletter Read Max and his Letterboxd Dogma 25 Explodes at Cannes by Annika Pham, Marta Balaga for Variety Maze by Christopher Manson Blue Prince Graham’s source for Egypt’s GDP and John’s sources Neal Stephenson William Gibson Red Rooms This Strange Mutation Explains the Mystifying Color of Orange Cats by Gayoung Lee for Scientific American The Simulation is Failing. by Jessica Mazin r/OneOrangeBraincell Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

New forms of video creation are coming to disrupt the entertainment industry, but will they succeed? John and Craig look at verticals and Veo 3 to see where we might be heading, and what our industry’s past innovations might tell us about about the future. We also look at Memorial Day’s banner box office, and answer listener questions on bereavement during production, momentum, scene geography and how to fight motion smoothing. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig travel back in time to find which moments in history they wish they could see in person. Links: Highland Pro student licenses! Collaborate on a tabletop RPG with John! Tom and Jerry and Hanna-Barbera Accidental Triplets with the Billionaire on Reel Short A Mistaken Surrogate for the Ruthless Billionaire on GoodShort WebToon Werewolf Billionaire CEO Husbands are Taking Over Hollywood by EJ Dickson for Rolling Stone Veo 3 fake news example by Alejandra Caraballo on Bluesky More Veo 3 examples by Promptastic on Bluesky Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50 The Last of Us Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Steve Pietrowski (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back writer, director, and comedian Mike Birbiglia (Don’t Think Twice, Sleepwalk with Me) to take a look at several true news stories and ask, how would this be a joke? Stories include run-club haters, a conflicted bone marrow donor, and the coyotes roaming San Francisco. We also look at how Mike developed his new Netflix special, The Good Life, and answer listener questions on taking an idea from a podcast and knowing when you’ve broken a story. In our bonus segment for premium members, Mike walks us through how he’s able to market his work without it feel like marketing. Links: Mike Birbiglia The Good Life on Netflix Mike’s previous episodes: 121, 168, 261, 427, 443, and Working it Out: Screenwriting Advice You’ll Actually Use Episode 660 – Moneyball Ira Glass on Mike’s podcast Working it Out Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk The Run Club Haters by Melissa Dahl for Curbed I Hadn’t Heard From My Dad in Over a Decade. Now He’s Returned With a Brazen Request. I’m Actually Considering It. from Slate’s Care and Feeding The Coyotes of San Francisco by Heather Knight and Loren Elliot for NY Times Coyote Vest Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney Chris Fleming Blue Prince Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription! Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig dig through the mailbag to answer some of our trickiest listener questions. They lay out their best advice for first-time feature directors — from picking department heads to making sure your movie actually gets seen — and look at how to adapt Craig’s “How to Write a Movie” for structuring a TV series. But that’s not all! Do you owe your writer’s group access to your contacts? How do you break out of the mailroom? Where should high-school students start? How far can adaptations stray from the source material? And how do you remain professional in the middle of a dumpster fire? We also follow up on tariffs, mysterious birds, and a different set of 36 Questions. In our bonus segment for premium members, we play John’s new game, Strong Opinions, where we all have to guess each other’s true feelings about things we didn’t know were controversial. Links: Scriptnotes on YouTube! Strong Opinions game Hollywood Unions letter to President Trump The Curious Case of the Pygmy Nuthatch by Forrest Wickman Foggy Brume on Twitch 36 Questions, the podcast musical Austin Film Festival My First Movie: 20 Celebrated Directors Talk about Their First Film Orange T-shirts are back! Aqua voice dictation software Ghost Town by Fireproof Games Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig look at how writers and their characters handle the obstacles they encounter. They outline proven techniques for solving problems both in life and on the page, why it’s important to see characters solving problems in a story, and how taking big swings can open up exciting possibilities. We also follow up on episodes that focus on a single character, long takes, making your phone less interesting, words we don’t have in English, present the definitive guide to the lunch run, and look into this stupid movie tariff thing. In our bonus segment for premium members, John is back from Egypt and Jordan, and ready to answer all of our questions about tombs and travel in the Middle East. Links: The Production Assistant’s Guide to the Lunch Run Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Note On Long Takes by Aidan Moretti Video tour inside the Great Pyramid of Giza Donald Trump Says He’s Pursuing 100% Tariffs On Movies Produced Outside U.S. and John Voight’s proposal Sustainability by the Numbers by Hannah Ritchie Solving for Climate The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show by Rusty Lake Birdigo 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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 welcomes writer, director and playwright Leslye Headland (The Acolyte, Russian Doll) to ask, why are stage plays so challenging for screenwriters? Using her recent Broadway play Cult of Love, they look at different approaches to scene description, heightened and simultaneous dialogue, and strategies for adapting stage plays to film. We also chart Leslye’s career from theater kid to auteur filmmaker, her approach to time loops (because how could we not?), and answer listener questions about music cues and long scripts. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Leslye compare notes on how to keep up with what’s on stage, and what to do if you missed a production. Links: Leslye Headland Cult of Love – selected pages Bachelorette the play and the movie Fanny and Alexander John by Annie Baker Original Cast Album: Company Stephen Sondheim Waiting for Godot John Cassavetes Tár screenplay by Todd Field Arthur Aron’s 36 Questions Eva discloses her autism on Survivor Making Movies by Sidney Lumet On Filmmaking by Alexander McKendick 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Alicia Jo Rabins (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 welcomes writer and showrunner Eric Kripke (The Boys, Supernatural) to look at planning out a multi-season series. They chart Eric’s early career from shorts to showrunner, how he developed Supernatural, his process for structuring seasons of The Boys, and how great TV shows stick the landing. We also answer listener questions on lone character episodes and emulating comic panels on screen. In our bonus segment for premium members, Eric spills on everything blood, guts and gore. Links: Eric Kripke on IMDb and Instagram The Boys Battle of the Sexes short film Minions on the Seine! Strange Darling The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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 Aline Brosh McKenna to tackle the issue of idea management. What do you do with all those half-formed ideas and how do you decide which ones to pursue? They share best practices and their approach to middle-of-the-night inspiration. We also discuss how screenwriters’ quotes are determined and answer some listener questions on alternatives to D&D, crediting improv and rain in the second act. In our bonus segment for premium members, DVDs hang in the balance as John and Drew sit down back in 2025 to ask, should Drew get rid of his physical media? Links: Dungeon World Kids on Bikes Crazy, Rich Asians Pay Disparity Searching for Bobby Fischer After Dark My Sweet God (1998 short film) Reg Ex Crossword Puzzle Soothe Massage App Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Victor Krause (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. 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 break out of coverage to look at oners and long shots, cutting through any directorial showboating to compare the pros and cons and cons and cons of those unbroken takes, offering ways to decide when they are necessary or purposeful, and how to recognize when it’s better to cut. We also look at changes to Sundance and the Nicholl Fellowship, answer listener questions on house lights in movie theaters, Oscar voting, improv movies, and share a few horror stories from John and Craig’s early career. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at their relationship with their phones and consider dumbing down. Links: HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast Sundance is moving to Boulder, Colorado! Changes to the Academy Nicholl Fellowship Adolescence | The Studio Meryl Streep and Viola Davis in Doubt The Alien RPG by Free League Assassin’s Creed: Shadows The Show 25 The DIY Dumbphone Method by Casey Johnston 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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.

In this episode from 2012, John and Craig sit down with producer and former studio executive Lindsay Doran (Sense and Sensibility, Stranger than Fiction) at the Austin Film Festival to explore the producer’s relationship with the screenplay. The look at how the role of producer has changed, the ideal development process, how she developed Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, and staying true to your values in a fickle business. In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John back in 2025 to consider the value of a good alumni program, and how an alma mater that under-delivers can be the pits. Links: Lindsay Doran on IMDb The original episode transcript Perfectly Happy, Even Without Happy Endings by Carrie Rickey for the New York Times (including a great photo of Lindsay’s hair) Lindsay’s TEDx presentation: Saving the World vs Kissing the Girl Scriptnotes, Episode 17: What do producers do? 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. 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 writer and showrunner Tony Gilroy (Andor, Michael Clayton) for an in-depth look at crafting a second season of a hit TV show. They look at ways to find your season’s structure, setting your production up for success, controlling the energy your audience spends on information, and how to wrap up your story before the show eats you alive. They also answer listener questions on what to do when a movie that’s similar to yours is wildly successful, and whether being a movie critic could hurt your writing career. In our bonus segment for premium members, Tony sticks around to ponder which words we wish existed in English, and how we’d use them in our scripts. Links: Tony Gilroy Here’s a recap of Andor Season 1! Andor Season 2: Trailer 1 | Trailer 2 | Special Look Episode 680 – Writing Action Set Pieces with Christina Hodson I’m Not a Robot short by Victoria Warmerdam I’m Not a Robot short by Jason Speir Stephen Schiff Startpage A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs Raindrop 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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 sit in project purgatory and ask, what do you do when the only answer you’re getting is “maybe”? They share advice on how to gently check in without annoying people, recognizing the soft pass, the unexpected benefits of patience, and what to do when you’re the person holding up the gears. Then it’s another round of the Three Page Challenge, where John and Craig give their honest feedback on three listener-submitted scripts. We also follow up on script supervisors and the encroaching perils of AI production. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig spill the telltale signs that a movie or TV show has had reshoots. Links: Follow along with our Three Page Challenge Selections! SCRAMBLING by Tania Luna, LUMP by Leah Newsom, and THE DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS by J. Bryan Dick The King of Tars Sesame Street The Goes Wrong Show on Prime 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 Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (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 welcomes back Christina Hodson (The Flash, Bumblebee) to ask, how do you to construct a great action sequence? Using examples from three different movies, they discuss what good action looks like on the page, how to keep your reader from getting bored or confused, and why production can sometimes blow your plans to smithereens. Then it’s a round of How Would This be a Movie?, where we take four stories from the news and pitch how we might adapt them for the screen. Stories include a mysterious painting, a train trapped in a blizzard, a teen who sued his parents, and zombie colleges. We also follow up on director’s chairs and mammograms, and answer listener questions on side characters and creating a healthy work/life balance. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Christina examine the do’s and don’ts of introducing yourself to a stranger through email. Links: Christina Hodson That New York Times article with John and Christina Bamboo Director’s Chair Birdigo on Steam Action samples: Aliens, The Bourne Identity and Rise of the Planet of the Apes David Koepp’s Jurassic Park screenplay David Benioff’s Troy screenplay A Man of Parts and Learning by Fara Dabhoiwala When a Deadly Winter Storm Trapped a Luxury Passenger Train Near the Donner Pass for Three Days by Robert Klara A U.K. Teen’s Parents Sent Him to Ghana. He Took Them to Court. by Lynsey Chutel Zombie colleges? These universities are living another life online, and no one can say why by Chris Quintana Mike Birbiglia The Onion in print Padraic Murphy’s Research Department Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Vance Kotrla (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 welcomes back Liz Hannah (The Girl From Plainville, The Post) to ask, how do you know if a character can carry a story? They look at ways of identifying your protagonist, defining privileged storytelling power, and the choices to make when figuring out which characters can hold narrative point of view. We also look a the phenomenon of the “Stranger in the Room,” follow up on writing during crazy times, brain trusts, plays vs movies, the phrase “begs the question,” and the usefulness of sharing your pronouns. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Liz explain the difference between East LA, West LA, and why the valley might beat them both. Links: Liz Hannah on IMDb and Instagram Episode 676 – Writing while the World is on Fire Slate Culture Gabfest The Post | Screenplay Episode 128 – Frozen with Jennifer Lee Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 on Disney+ Highland Pro The Girl From Plainville on Hulu The Dropout on Hulu “The Stranger in the Room” by @toddalcott on Threads Episode 399 – Notes on Notes Dragonsweeper by Daniel Benmergui Dare I Say It by Naomi Watts Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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 producer Dan Etheridge (iZombie, High Potential, Party Down) to look at how non-writing producers develop projects, coordinate across departments, and maintain the tone of the show as directors come and go. We offer practical tips for making the most of video village, regardless of your role, and solutions for the scourge of directors chairs. Highland Pro, John’s next generation screenwriting app is now available now for Mac, iPad and iPhone! We discuss what’s new and what’s coming next. We also answer listener questions pitching multiple projects, writing on tablets and how to launch an app. In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Dan look back on their experience officiating weddings, and offer advice for those about to marry people. Dan even officiated John’s wedding! Links: Highland Pro | Download on the App Store Dan Etheridge on IMDb Buck Rodgers’ robot sidekick [The Tom Thumb locomotive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thumb_(locomotive) Statpage and DuckDuckGo I Miss the Music from Curtains Curule Evercast Scripto Night Moves, Prime Cut, and Scarecrow Lorelei and the Laser Eyes on Steam Diplomacy Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars by Daniel Wallace Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Richard Barrett (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 decipher mystery box shows, where the premise and audience experience involve solving the puzzle of what’s really happening. They look at strategies for revealing clues and information, being mindful of the audience’s expectations, and the importance of the emotional journey inside the labyrinth. We also announce a new video game, discuss what we can learn by revisiting old projects, follow up on unlocked pages and home automation, and answer listener questions on live instruments, pulling story from D&D campaigns, and where to draw the line between INT. and EXT. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you set boundaries when you feel like you’re always supposed to be writing? That’s not rhetorical — we need help. Links: Birdigo on Steam Lutron HomeWorks and Home Assistant The Prisoner (1967) Scriptnotes, Ep 296: Television with Damon Lindelof Patrick Wilson, Jordan Donica Leading Industry Reading of Revised, Broadway-Aimed Big Fish on Playbill.com Falling Slowly scene in Once Life and Trust Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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.

How do you keep doing creative work when the world is falling apart around you? To sift through the despair and doubt, John welcomes back legendary Scriptnotes guest, writer-turned-psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo. They discuss the many feelings that catastrophic events can bring up in artists, the personal narratives that often inform those feelings, and how to keep moving forward when you feel like the band on the Titanic. We also follow up on AI, and answer listener questions on competing with brain trusts and how to support a friend embroiled in controversy. In our bonus segment for premium members, Dennis guides us through the best examples and worst mistakes of portraying therapists on screen. Links: “Am I Just Fiddling While Rome Burns?” by Dennis Palumbo for Psychiatric Times Scriptnotes 99 – Psychotherapy for Screenwriters ShotDeck River Runner Global At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (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.

Craig welcomes writer and showrunner Joshua Zetumer, creator of the limited series Say Nothing, to explore the process of dramatizing real events — particularly when the subject matter can be volatile. They discuss how to keep a sprawling historical epic from feeling like a lecture, keeping a consistent tone, humanizing complicated people, and how not to get sued by the people who were really involved. They also answer listener questions on following up with people after the fires, charting the emotional journey of the audience, and whether writers need to cite their sources when writing about real events. In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig and Joshua pretend to be civil engineers and ask, how can we make Los Angeles function better? Links: Say Nothing Joshua Zetumer Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe Difficult Men by Brett Martin Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (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.

Hearken well! John sitteth in discourse with the learned Robert Eggers, weaver of dreadsome visions (The Witch, The Lighthouse), whose latest labour bringeth forth Nosferatu from the mistes of antiquity. Together, they dost unravel the craft of breathing newe life into the ghastly count of olde, how Robert didst hone his vision through toil and cunning in his firste labours, and the summoning of terror moste unholy upon the silver’d screen. We do also taketh to hand the queries of our faithful listeners on the perils of o’ermuch detail in one’s scribings, on what may be done when one doth feel oneself a dullard, and whether those who spin tales be ill-fitted for matters of courtship and love. In our boon segment for those of premium patronage, Robert doth speak of his fervent love for the wheeled steed and pursuits beyond the shaping of moving pictures. Links: Robert Eggers Nosferatu | Screenplay Robert Eggers’ shorts Hansel and Gretel and The Tell-Tale Heart The Girl with the Needle Making School Cafeteria Pizza from the 1980s & ‘90s Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Guy Fee (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help this week from Zoe Black, and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Structure is the fundamental skeleton of every story ever told, so why does it flummox so many writers? John and Craig outline what structure really is, ways to find it in your story, and how to keep it from tying your brain in knots. We also look at ways to find nuance in our appreciation of movies, follow up on erotic fiction, and answer listener questions on how to work with a director and point of view shots. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig measure the helpfulness of their wearable body monitors. Links: Weekend Read on the App Store Oscar nominations 2025 IVF Mixup movies: Parallel Mothers, Maybe Baby, Good Newwz, Daughter from Another Mother Manhunt The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood How to like everything more by Sasha Chapin Growing a Human: The First 30 Weeks by Maggie Appleton 2024 Player’s Handbook Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Guy Fee (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.

After a difficult few weeks in Los Angeles, John welcomes writer, director and actor Jesse Eisenberg to peel apart the complicated human reactions to grief and loss. They look at how both collective and personal grief inform the characters of Jesse’s latest film, A Real Pain, and reflect on the ongoing LA fires and the loss of David Lynch. They also explore Jesse’s evolution as a writer, directing himself as an actor, and answer listener questions on artistic signatures and simultaneous perspectives in action. In our bonus segment for premium members, Jesse and John look at the creative opportunities and frustrating restrictions of making radio dramas and audiobooks. Links: A Real Pain | Screenplay Jesse Eisenberg WGAW Wildfire Resources David Lynch Mongolia by Jesse Eisenberg, Tablet Magazine Jesse’s plays The Revisionist and The Spoils Network of Time Floyd Collins the Musical Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads and Instagram Outro by Nico Mansy (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.

After a week of devastating fires in Los Angeles, we’re revisiting John’s conversation with Anna Jane Joyner and Quinn Emmett from Good Energy Stories on how to talk about climate change on screen. They discuss opportunities for writers to inspire change, raise awareness, and capture the environmental concerns of our time. We follow up on disability representation in Hollywood with the release of the Cost of Accommodations report from the Inevitable Foundation. In our bonus segment for premium members, we talk about asking people for money, whether it’s to finance a movie or launch a campaign to save the planet. Links: The Original Episode 547 and its transcript Stanislav Petrov, The Man Who Saved the World Documentary How Much Does it Really Cost to Make Hollywood More Accommodating for Disabled Talent? by Abbey White for The Hollywood Reporter Inevitable Foundation Good Energy Stories Playbook David Robert Ted Talk on Climate Change Years of Living Dangerously Clip with Anna and her Dad Subscribe to Important, Not Important First Reformed Dana Fox and The Lost City Russian Doll Season 2 Redactle Game Anna Jane Joyner and Good Energy on Instagram Quinn Emmett on Instagram Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Jade Carda (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. 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 look at three extraordinary news stories and ask, How Would this be a Movie? Stories include the United Healthcare CEO assassination, a small town’s process for licensing fortune tellers, and a harrowing I.V.F. mixup. We also follow up on AI, Flightplan’s source material, Craig’s Belfast accent, and answer a listener question on the order of surnames for writing partners. In our bonus segment for premium members: Hey Alexa, play John and Craig’s conversation about home automation. I don’t think she heard– HEY ALEXA, PLAY JOHN AND CRAIG’S CONVERSATION ABOUT HOME AUTOMATION. Links: The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White The Conundrum of the Workshops by Rudyard Kipling OpenAI’s controversial Sora is finally launching today. Will it truly disrupt Hollywood? by Wendy Lee for LA Times I Went to the Premiere of the First Commercially Streaming AI-Generated Movies by Jason Koehler A timeline of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and search for his killer by Michael R. Sisal and Cedar Attanasio for Associated Press How do you license a fortune teller? by Paul Debole An I.V.F. Mix-Up, a Shocking Discovery and an Unbearable Choice by Susan Dominus for NYT Magazine Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath Your Consciousness Can Connect With the Whole Universe by Manasee Wagh for Popular Mechanics Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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 welcomes Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Homeward Bound) to talk about her experience writing animated features, from the parallel processes of writing and production to her paltry paycheck for Beauty and the Beast. They consider the blurring lines between live-action and hyperrealistic CGI, as well as the history of animation writers’ exclusion from the WGA. We also answer listener questions about whether there is such a thing as a bad character want and how to manage story days within a screenplay, which prompts exploration of wardrobe changes, thinking in terms of color rather than time and Linda’s penchant for naked characters. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew look back on their goals for 2024 and discuss how to make New Year’s resolutions you’ll actually accomplish. Links: Linda Woolverton Episode 92: The Little Mermaid Shanghai Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. This POV video of the ride is definitely a spoiler. Climate Central Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megan McDonnell. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Live from the Austin Film Festival, John joins panelists Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia) and Erica Harrell & Desirée Proctor (The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners) for an in-depth discussion on working across movies, tv, comics, plays, videogames and VR. Moderated by Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther), they discuss what led them to new mediums, the storytelling strengths each medium offers, and building a career that moves between them. In our bonus segment for premium members, the panelists answer some video game specific questions, including how to stand out as a writer to the major game developers. Scriptnotes audio provided courtesy of ©Austin Film Festival Links: Austin Film Festival’s On Story Writing Across Mediums panel at the Austin Film Festival Evan Narcisse on Bluesky Jordan Mechner Erica Harell Desirée Proctor Nuclear Power by Desirée Proctor & Erica Harrell The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners on Steam, Meta store and Playstation Prince of Persia games Spy magazine Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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.

Many of the biggest AI models have been trained on film and TV dialogue, and writers are furious. John and Craig explore the legal, ethical and philosophical implications of this revelation, our emotional reactions to it, and offer strategies for picking the right hills to die on. But first, we follow up on the definition of horror vs. thriller, generational narcissism, and young people’s ambition. We also answer listener questions on when to bail on a script and how to approach your first contract. In our bonus segment for premium members, we dig into the philosophical implications of Craig believing we live in a simulation, and whether that necessarily implies a creator. Woah, man. Links: Flightplan (and The Lady Vanishes) There’s No Longer Any Doubt That Hollywood Writing Is Powering AI by Alex Reisner for The Atlantic Vince Gilligan Statement on AI to USCO Lunchables The Serenity Prayer Jon Batiste hears Green Day for the First Time Tini’s Mac and Cheese on TikTok Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (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 Brian Jordan Alvarez & Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher) and Jac Schaeffer (Agatha All Along, WandaVision) to join them for a live holiday benefit for Hollywood HEART. They discuss constructing Agatha All Along from blue sky to the Witches’ Road, “protagonizing” a villain, breaking in through YouTube and maintaining a working relationship with your best friend. We also play a new game, the Christmas Song Three Word Challenge, with former Scriptnotes producers Megan McDonnell (Dark Matter, The Marvels) and Megana Rao (Unstable). In our bonus segment for premium members, we answer an all-star round of audience questions in maybe the best Q&A we’ve ever had. Thanks to our fantastic audience, everyone at Dynasty Typewriter, and Hollywood HEART for putting the event together. Links: Hollywood HEART Jac Schaeffer Brian Jordan Alvarez and Stephanie Koenig Agatha All Along Fleetwood Mac – Silver Springs (Live) English Teacher A Spy Movie on YouTube Sitting My Old Ass The Downeaster “Alexa” The Later Daters on Netflix Sun lamps Thin Mint bites A Man on the Inside on Netflix Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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 welcomes playwright, novelist and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to discuss having his first two movies — Challengers and Queer — produced a single year. After charting his journey from playwright to screenwriter, we compare two drafts of Challengers to look at how the story changed during a hasty development, including crafting that iconic three-way. We also explore adapting William S. Burroughs’ novel Queer, and the film’s approach to showing sex on screen. In our bonus segment for premium members, Justin looks back on his time as a viral YouTube potion seller, and the value of that creative outlet early in his career. Links: Justin Kuritzkes on Instagram and YouTube Challengers and Queer Justin’s novel, Famous People Challengers – Production Draft Challengers – First Draft Queer by William S. Burroughs Potion Seller 3000 Miles to Graceland Why does my sign look like it has been burned? by Perth Graphics Centre Know Your Enemy podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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 take a deep dive with the Devil, exploring the unholy trinity of satanic films: Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen. They look at how these three horror classics work, where our modern conception of Satan comes from, and the future of the Devil on screen. We also answer listener questions on character arcs in horror, what separates horror movies from thrillers, and why the spooky stuff rarely gets awards attention. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig offer their nominations for the antichrist of our times. Links: Rosemary’s Baby – Screenplay The Exorcist – Screenplay The Omen – Screenplay Gifted by Simon Rich Say Nothing Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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 analyze the iconic 1995 comedy Clueless, and why they’re majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with it. A contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma set in Beverly Hills, Clueless follows protagonist Cher as she tries to do ‘good’ through make-over montages and match-making attempts. We discuss how the movie sets up the characters in the first ten minutes, why Cher’s voiceover works so well, and how Clueless ushered in a new era of teen movies. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig share their own experiences learning to drive and how they’re preparing to teach their teenage daughters driving. Links: Clueless Clueless Script Episode Transcript 8D sound example Creme Mains hand creme O’Keefe’s Working Hands cream Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Mastodon Outro by Ryan Dunn (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. 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 explore character agency in everything from scenes to entire series. They look at what agency looks like on the page, which characters should have agency, and what to do when you feel your characters sleepwalking through the plot. We also strategize ways to move forward after the recent US election, and answer listener questions on writing sign language, screenwriting software for the blind, and how writing credits work when your TV series gets turned into a movie. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig escape to a world where where the story is always on rails — Disneyland! Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter Even Under Trump, California (Yes, That Hellscape) Will Keep Moving the World Forward by James Fallows for WIRED The Great Big Book of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle of History’s 100 Worst Atrocities by Matthew White And Yet It Moves by Ken White Martha on Netflix Replacement ear pads for Sony MDR-7506 headphones The Quantum Geometry That Exists Outside of Space and Time by Charlie Wood for WIRED Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, and is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig look at how writers (and other humans) handle the anxiety of uncertainty, from election nights to green lights. We’ll talk through strategies for navigating situations where your circle of concern doesn’t match your circle of control. Then we travel back to the 1980s and 90s, when many studios were run by ambitious strivers in their late 20s and early 30s. As the decades have passed, the players in these positions have held onto their posts, leaving the next generation stuck mid-ladder. We discuss what impact the aging of Hollywood has had on its output, and where the new guard might find an opening. We also ask, is development wage theft? And answer listener questions on reusing material written for a different project, and the cost-plus model of production. And in our bonus topic for premium members, what aspects of pandemic life have we incorporated into our daily routines? Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter AlphaBirds Game Night at Village Well The Big Squeeze: Why Everyone in Hollywood Feels Stuck by Mia Gallupo for the Hollywood Reporter ‘Development is Wage Theft’: Pilot Season Death Morphs Into Year-Round Hell by Elaine Low for The Ankler Isle of Arrows Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte Mr. McMahon on Netflix Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig make their triumphant return to the Austin Film Festival for a wild night full of Emmy winning writers. They welcome Shōgun co-creators Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks to look at their process for structuring a series-long adaptation, keeping translations eloquent and accurate, and writing together as a married couple. We then welcome Susan Soon He Stanton (Succession, Dead Ringers) and Megan Amram (The Good Place, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin) to discuss staffing on shows and crafting jokes. We also invite two audience members to play a new game: IMDB Sweeney Todd. In our bonus segment for premium members, the panel answers audience questions on adaptations, a crossover with Succession and The Good Place, entering Hollywood from outside the U.S., and navigating Hollywood’s current contraction. Links: Austin Film Festival Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks Megan Amram Susan Soon He Stanton Decoder Ring – “The Wrongest Bird in Movie History” Vote Out Ted Cruz Brick App r/TVTooHigh Bliss Lau A Dream of Islands by Gavan Daws Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig answer twenty listener questions on craft, career, and the future of the industry. Questions include: How do you correct well wishes you haven’t earned? What kind of relationship should you have with the person who created your source material? How do you keep your reps invested? What’s going on with that Stereophonic lawsuit? And are writers retreats helpful or a total waste of time? In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig celebrate the new D&D Player’s Handbook by looking back through every edition since 1978. Like the handbook, it gets less dense as it goes. Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! at Austin Film Festival Drew’s Emmy certificate Why AI Isn’t Going to Make Art by Ted Chiang for The New Yorker The Stereophonic Lawsuit Rachel Bloom’s “Death, Let Me Do My Special” on Netflix Warner Bros. Studios Burbank Save Scarecrow Video in Seattle Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (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.

Why is screenwriting so difficult, even for the smartest people? John and Craig look at the relationship between intelligence and wisdom, the kinds of problems writers attempt to solve, and the unmeasurable skills that screenwriters need to succeed. Then it’s another round of the Three Page Challenge, where they give their honest feedback on three listener-submitted scripts. We also follow up on Moneyball, green envelopes, shorts, script coordinating, and what Craig means by writers being “calculating.” In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you talk about movies and TV shows without spoiling them? John and Craig reason out how to dance around the twist that the two leads are actually the same perso– oh, shoot! Links: Quote-Unquote Marketing Director – Apply Here! Veteran Script Coordinator on YouTube Why aren’t smart people happier? by Adam Mastroianni Middle Aged Man – SNL FLUNGE by J Wheeler White, COWS by John and Mark DiStefano, and NEVER DIE ALONE by Yeong-Jay Lee The Cutting Edge Strange Darling My Old Ass Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (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 Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Fleishman is in Trouble) for a deep dive on 2011’s sports drama Moneyball. What makes Moneyball work? Is it a traditional underdog movie, or does it break all the rules? Is Billy Beane a hero or a villain? What advantages do sports movies give you, and how much do you have to explain to your audience? How are movies like this developed? And how can you not be romantic about baseball? In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Taffy dig further into the ways money is used to determine a person’s value. Links: Moneyball on IMDb Moneyball screenplay Taffy Brodesser-Akner Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Scriptnotes LIVE! at the Austin Film Festival Highland Pro Austin launch party – sign up here! ABBA Voyage Opti-V fireplace Ken Medlock Imprint App Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Spencer Lackey (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 are on opposite sides of the world this week, so they’re revisiting an episode from 2016 to look at the many psychological barriers facing writers tackling big projects, and offer practical strategies for actually getting the work done. They also discuss the then-upcoming election (same as it ever was), and answer a listener question about how autism spectrum disorder might impact a screenwriting career. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew reflect on what’s changed in the eight years since this episode last aired, and then like all conversations in 2024, they just start talking about Moo Deng. Links: Episode 271: Buckling Down – Transcript Inevitable Foundation Forest, Snowstorm and Howling Wind ambiance tracks Julia Roberts To Star In Feature Film About PTA Mom Framed For Drug Possession by Nellie Andreeva for Deadline Here’s How to Finish That F*ing Book, You Monster by Chuck Wendig Wikitravel The Writers Guild Foundation Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Pedro Aguilera (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Godwin Jabangwe. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) to look at three stories of real people with too much money and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include strategies for dating Leonardo DiCaprio, the rise-fall-rise of inventor Palmer Luckey, and a council built to give away a fortune. We also go feral over Marielle’s new movie Nightbitch, as she shares the joys of adapting something that feels personal and her tricks to directing dogs and children. But first, we take a look at a new study on which movies studios are developing, and share exciting news for those joining us at the Austin Film Festival. In our bonus segment for premium members, Marielle and John remember the terror, nerves and euphoria of premiering your movie at film festivals. Links: Nightbitch | Official Trailer Marielle Heller Highland Pro Austin launch party – sign up here! MacGruber on Peacock Hollywood’s 10 Percent Problem by Matt Belloni at Puck Dating a Celebrity – Thread by bo.predko American Vulcan by Jeremy Stern for Tablet How to Give Away a Fortune by Joshua Yaffa for The New Yorker You Get to Be Fulfilled Now by Teresa Jusino Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones by Priyanka Mattoo Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Spencer Lackey (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 revisit their legendary conversation with screenwriter-turned-psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo to discuss writer’s block, procrastination, partnerships and more. It’s a can’t-miss episode for aspiring writers and professionals alike. In our bonus segment for premium members, we travel back to episode 425 where John and Craig debate when to practice self care or tough love, and how to evaluate when each of them are helpful. Links: Dennis Palumbo Written by Magazine Dennis’s books on Goodreads Impostor Syndrome on Wikipedia The Imposter Paper Karma helps you control your mailbox The Secret in Their Eyes Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Stuart Friedel (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here. The original transcript for this episode can be found here.

John and Craig open the mailbag to answer a swath of listener questions that make Craig’s blood boil. They offer insights and umbrage on when you can turn down projects early in your career, picking the right day job, maintaining visibility when you’re taken off a project, the next steps after a successful short, when NDA’s are necessary, and how to credit unpublished source material. We also say goodbye to green envelopes as we celebrate the arrival of direct deposit residuals, and follow up on AI training and GitHub for screenplays. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig abandon their superciliousness look at the English words they kind of know but are too chicken to actually ever use. Links: Move Over Green Envelopes, WGA Rolls Out Direct Deposits For Residuals by Peter White for Deadline WGA Screen Credits Manual CDC Recommends Updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines for Fall/Winter Virus Season Hide posts on Threads Baldur’s Gate 3 Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (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 Ryan Reynolds for an in-depth look at his creative process bringing the character of Deadpool to the screen. As co-writer, producer and star of the Deadpool franchise, Ryan leads us through his first introduction to the character, the rough journey getting to greenlight, and the challenges presented by an often-faceless protagonist. Along the way, they talk tone and dialogue, collaboration and rule-breaking, respect and irreverence, and the importance of listening to the movie. Ryan also has some writing questions for John and Craig. In our bonus segment for premium members, we look at Ryan’s flair for marketing and the creative freedom he’s found in advertising. Links: Ryan Reynolds on Instagram, TikTok and X Deadpool & Wolverine He’s So Annoying by Jesse David Fox for Vulture Buster Keaton – The Art of the Gag by Every Frame a Painting TCM – Turner Classic Movies Ryan Reynolds Guest Programmer | TCM via YouTube How The Onion is saving itself from the digital media death spiral by Nilay Patel for The Verge Vancouver, BC Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Tim Englehard (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 welcomes journalist/screenwriter Max Read to look at the emerging sub-genre “halogencore” – stories of corporate malfeasance that are less about uncovering corruption as they are about characters learning to ignore it. They look at the evolution of the sub-genre, how these movies function, and why it’s important to define genres at all. We also explore the current state of independent journalism and freelance writing, and follow up on Hallmark movies and playwrights turned screenwriters. The new Highland (including support for iOS) is now in beta — Sign up in the link below! In our bonus segment for premium members, does it feel like time has sped up this summer? Like, even more than usual? John and Max slow it down and find the silver linings of an accelerated world. Links: Beta test the new Highland – sign up here! Max Read’s newsletter READ MAX Shiva Baby and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande How many Hallmark Christmas movies are there?! by Stephen Follows The Read Max ‘Halogencore’ Guide Max Read’s Halogencore list on Letterboxd Where Are You Now? by Sara Schaefer Billy Strings – Dust in a Baggie In Ascension by Martin MacInnes Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Tim Brown (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.

In this compendium episode, John and Craig look at two of the most fundamental building blocks of compelling stories – conflict and stakes. We define six forms of conflict common in movies, and explore ways to sustain conflict within a scene and throughout a story. We also look for ways to find the root of your character’s stakes, pick the right stakes for the world around them, and the importance of making everything personal. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at Whiplash and how it finds conflict at the perfect tempo. Links: John’s Video Game Job Posting Episode 179 – The Conflict Episode Episode 402 – How Do You Like Your Stakes? Snowpiercer – Left or Right by Every Frame a Painting on YouTube Star Trek: The Next Generation In 40 Hours by Max Temkin Harris’ or Harris’s? Apostrophe row divides grammar nerds from The Guardian The Heights Deli & Bottle Shop Cheerios Veggie Blends Special K Zero Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Tim Brown (send us yours!) Segments originally produced by Stuart Friedel and Megana Rao. 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 stand waist-deep in rotten tomatoes and ask, what can we learn from bad movies? Resisting the urge to walk out, they explore ways to evaluate a movie’s problems, interrogate your taste, and turn a real stinker into an opportunity to grow as a writer. We also follow up on Lifetime movies, colored pages and AI screenwriting, and answer listener questions on weirdo characters and the validity of a ghostwriter. In our bonus segment for premium members, when is it okay to bail on something you no longer enjoy? We look at when to bounce on books, friendships and more. Links: WGAW Good and Welfare Emergency Assistance Loans AI Screenwriter job posting Pageant of the Masters Pageant of the Masters Brings Art to Life from the Wall Street Journal on YouTube Arrested Development – The Living Classics Severance on Apple TV+ Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Pascui Rivas (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 welcomes writer-director Betsy Thomas (Superior Donuts, Superstore) to finally discuss writing multi-camera sitcoms. Using famous sitcom scripts as guides, they look at how multi-cam sets itself apart through its unique formatting and production, how it utilizes blocking, its surprising limitations in post, and the live studio audience. But Betsy is more than just a talented creative – she’s also the secretary-treasurer of the WGA West. Who better to lead us through the WGA annual report and look at writer income and residuals in the wake of the strike? We also follow up on gains for writing teams and un-locked pages, and answer listener questions on flashbacks, punctation, and untrustworthy producers. In our bonus segment for premium members, Betsy explains to John and Megana what makes golf such a wonderful sport. Links: Betsy Thomas on Wikipedia and IMDb Megana Rao on Twitter and IMDb WGA West Annual Report Writer Earnings Fell $600 Million Due to Strike and Industry Contraction, WGA Says by Gene Maddus for Variety Cheers – “Give Me a Ring Sometime” by Glen and Les Charles Cheers – “Father Knows Last” Night Court – “Pilot” by Dan Rubin Friends – “Pilot” by David Crane & Marta Kauffman What My Adult Autism Diagnosis Finally Explained by Mary HK Choi for The Cut Unstable – Season 2 on Netflix (hooray Megana Rao!) Wicked Little Letters on Netflix Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, X and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with help this week by Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back Megana Rao to look at rituals and what they can tell us about our characters. But what are characters doing deliberately, and what is just routine? They separate routines from rites, and how both can help deepen our understanding of characters and the threats that face them. We also follow up on un-locking pages, industry software and health insurance for writing teams, before answering a listener question on transitioning from writing plays to writing movies. In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Megana talk about coming-of-age rituals, and Craig reveals the theme of his Bar Mitzvah (it’s even nerdier than you think). Links: Standard Operating Procedures from Writer Emergency Pack Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Free AF non-alcoholic cocktails Microsoft Re-Designs the iPod Packaging Fantasmas on HBO/Max AlphaBirds Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, X and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help this week by Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig finally become writing partners and edit the opening to one chapter of the upcoming Scriptnotes book live on-air. They wrestle with word choices, adapting the phrasing of a spoken conversation and finding a unified voice as they pass the keyboard back and forth. We also catch up Craig on what he’s missed since he’s been away, follow up on #payuphollywood, and answer a host of listener questions on personal stories, backstories, sharing credit, Lifetime movies, and disliking your protagonist. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig deal out their favorite card games. Links: AlphaBirds #PayUpHollywood Scriptnotes Episode 427 – The New One with Mike Birbiglia and Scriptnotes Episode 640 – Can You Believe It? A.I. Needs Copper. It Just Helped to Find Millions of Tons of It. by Max Bearak for the New York Times Love Good Protein Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, X and Mastodon Outro by Tim Englehard (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 welcomes back Mike Schur (The Good Place, Parks and Recreation) to ask, how do you fix an overwritten script? They discuss ways to rebuild scenes and restore muddy characters that have become burdened by too many notes, all while making sure your script retains its voice. We also look at the new IATSE deal with the AMPTP, the WGA’s back-pay settlement with CBS, Skydance purchasing Paramount, and follow-up on our idea of keeping pages un-locked. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Mike listen to the AI generated songs named in the RIAA’s current lawsuit and wonder, did they really steal from copyrighted material? (The answer is yes.) Links: Mike Schur on Wikipedia Weekend Read 2 IATSE tentative basic agreement David Ellison’s Skydance Taking Over Paramount After $8 Billion Investment by Dade Hayes for Deadline WGA West Reaches $3 Million Settlement With CBS Studios Over Writer Fees and Benefit Payments by Cynthia Littleton for Variety Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Alphabirds Should We Go Extinct? by Todd May Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Vance Lovett (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Jonathan Wigdortz. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome Aline Brosh McKenna to look at what writers mean by a “voice,” and how it develops. Some screenwriters’ voice develops long before their craft, leading people to label them as “promising” even though the scripts themselves are a mess. Other writers get all the technical stuff right from the start, but have a hard time finding something distinctive about how they write. From there, we segue into one of the most contentious Three Page Challenges we’ve ever done, with wildly split opinions. In our bonus segment for premium members, John the Eagle Scout gives Drew practical advice for wilderness camping in 2024. Links: Aline Brosh McKenna on Instagram Spy Magazine Recitative on Wikipedia Three pages by James Topham Three pages by Cheryl Laughlin Three pages by Chris Vieira Submit for the Three Page Challenge Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilleli (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes Simon Rich (Man Seeking Woman, Miracle Workers) to look at how he crafts a comedic premise. Using his work on SNL, his time writing Inside Out at Pixar and his plethora of short stories, they look at how he develops a funny idea into a story with narrative and emotional punch. We also follow up on the Harry Potter TV series, and answer listener questions on the downsides of writing in other mediums and adapting your screenplay into a novel. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you get your work into magazines? Simon walks through his experience, from rejection letters to being published in the New Yorker. Links: Glory Days by Simon Rich “Gifted” by Simon Rich Rocket Dog sketch Howtown with Joss Fong and Adam Cole Dr. Eckener’s Dream Machine: The Great Zeppelin and the Dawn of Air Travel by Douglas Botting Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Nico Mansy (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Jonathan Wigdortz. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Aline Brosh McKenna to help figure out how to say goodbye… in your story. Using examples from some of their favorite movies, they explore how farewell scenes work, what sets them apart from the average see-you-later, and leaving a lasting effect on your characters and the audience. We also look at the summer box office, George Gallo’s Bad Boys lawsuit, Sony’s purchase of Alamo Drafthouse, and answer listener questions on bad ex-managers, second steps, NDA’s, fairies, and how to take advantage of downtime in LA. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Aline discuss journaling. Should we be keeping track of what we’ve been doing all day? Links: ‘Bad Boys’ Settlement by Dominic Patten for Deadline Why did Sony buy Alamo Drafthouse — and is it actually a good thing? by Ryan Faughnder for LA Times The Nine Enneagram Type Descriptions Farewell – Casablanca Farewell – Past Lives Farewell – Lost in Translation Farewell – Weekend Farewell – Philadelphia Farewell – The Shawshank Redemption Farewell – Harold and Maude Farewell – Terminator 2 Farewell – The Way We Were Farewell – The Wizard of Oz Farewell – E.T. Farewell – Toy Story 3 Farewell – Dead Poets Society Revival Hub LA Visit Malta Peel off lip stain Dirt Man by Carter Vail, and some of Aline’s favorite remixes, via TikTok Phil Collins’ Houdini Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Eric Pearson (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Jonathan Wigdortz. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In this compendium episode, John and Craig fast-forward to the third act to talk about endings. How do they work? What makes them great? And how do you fix them when they’re not working? They look at how to connect your ending to your characters, crafting a twist that surprises (but doesn’t confuse), the function of the climax, the importance of the denouement, and how to make it all satisfying for your audience. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew welcome back Megana Rao to ask: do we still need reunions in the age of social media? Links: Episode 44 – Endings for beginners Episode 170 – Lotteries, lightning strikes and twist endings Episode 366 – Tying Things Up Episode 392 – The Final Moment Episode 524 – The Home Stretch Too Many Cooks America’s best decade, according to data by Andrew Van Dam for The Washington Post All Fours by Miranda July Callipeg Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Segments originally produced by Stuart Friedel, Megan McDonnell and Megana Rao. 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 decode the current state of software in the film and television industry. With dozens of programs needed for every project, they look at why bad and outdated programs continue to have a hold on the industry, why it’s so hard to build something better, and how these programs find financial success in such a small and specialized market. Then it’s another round of the Three Page Challenge, where they give their honest feedback on three listener-submitted scripts. They offer insights into quickly establishing information, those scenes that can be written but not filmed, the tricky dynamics of a meet-cute, and why broad comedy demands logic. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig explore the exciting possibilities that comes from playing D&D campaigns with no magic and other strict constraints. Links: Follow along with our Three Page Challenge Selections: PLANET B by Christopher James, THE LONG HAUL by Becca Hurd, and THE RIGHT TO PARTY by Lucas McCutchen Submit your script for our Three Page Challenge! David Zucker’s 15 Rules of Comedy Space Cadet (2024) Movie Magic Scheduling Scenechronize PIX Qtake BOX Frame.io Evercast Scripto Fuzzlecheck Ripley on Netflix Watchmen – “This Extraordinary Being” Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Eric Pearson (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Jonathan Wigdortz. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes Meredith Scardino (Girls5eva) and Jen Statsky (Hacks) to discuss the highs and lows of writing the third season of a hit comedy. But how do you push a series forward without violating the premise or retreading familiar terrain? Are the shows still the shows they pitched? How has streaming changed since their shows first went on the air? And how do you plan for your series’ future? They also answer listener questions on non-binary characters, past tense emotions in action lines, and how to make the most of a mentorship. In our bonus segment for premium members: Two years ago John sent a letter to Jen with his predictions for what would happen in the third season of Hacks. That letter has remained sealed until now. Were John’s predictions correct, close, or way off the mark? Links: Meredith Scardino on Instagram Jen Statsky on Instagram Girls5eva on Netflix Hacks on Max Chris Fleming Chris Fleming: HELL on Peacock Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go on Max Stouchi iPhone Camera Mount Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Rodger Corser (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 explore one of the most powerful and versatile tools in episodic television: the cold open. But how does it work? What kind of scenes does it showcase best? How can it play with point of view, perspective and time? What makes it memorable? And how do you make it work for your story? We also discuss new requirements for loan-out corporations, follow up on streaming ads and AI-generated coverage, and answer listener questions on titles, exposition and disabled representation. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig check out OpenAI’s flirty new chat capabilities and ask, do they have any love for talking to human-like AI’s? Links: Scriptnotes hats and drinkware! John jumps out of a plane on Instagram Corporate Transparency Act: An Overview of Impending Reporting Obligations MoviePass, MovieCrash | Official Trailer from HBO The Film Fund and the Reddit thread LOST – Desmond in the Hatch Suwada Nail Clippers Song Exploder – Madonna’s “Hung Up” The Ladder by Hatch Escapes Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Eric Pearson (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 joins Mike Birbiglia on his podcast Working It Out to share direct, practical screenwriting advice that you’ll actually use, whether you’re an aspiring screenwriter or you want to pursue creative work of any kind. They explore John’s screenwriting process, from defining his expression “breaking the back of the script,” through the different forms of conflict and navigating the murky middle of the story. John shares the best writing advice he’s ever received, the screenplays everyone should read, what he appreciates in standup specials and why cool people aren’t funny. They also revisit the gains made on AI as a result of the writers strike. Links: Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out Watch this episode of Working It Out on YouTube See Mike Birbiglia Live The Old Man & the Pool on Netflix Scriptnotes, Ep 179: The Conflict Episode Aliens screenplay by James Cameron Sex, lies and videotape screenplay by Steven Soderbergh Miry’s List Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Working It Out is produced by Mike Birbiglia, Peter Salomone, Joseph Birbiglia and Mabel Lewis. Associate producer: Gary Simons. Consulting producer: Seth Barrish. Video consultant: Graham Willoughby. Special Thanks to Marissa Hurwitz, Josh Upfal, David Raphael, Nina Cwik, J. Hope Stein, and Oona. Music by Jack Antonoff and Bleachers Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In this compendium episode, John and Craig demystify the the relationship between writers and the people who represent them, looking at how to acquire, work with and (if necessary) fire your agents and managers. How do you get an agent or a manager? What are they looking for in a potential client? What frustrates them? How do you position yourself for success? And what should you be looking for in an agent? How should they treat their clients? What is in their job description? How do you navigate disagreements, and what are best practices for when you have to part ways? In our bonus segment for premium members, John discusses how and why he changed his mind and signed with his first-ever manager just a few weeks ago. Links: Episode 2 – How to get an agent and/or manager Episode 172 – Franz Kafka’s brother, and the perfect agent Episode 7 – Firing a manager, and trying new software How ‘Go,’ the Wildest, Druggiest, Horniest Cult Movie of 1999 Got Made (And Almost Didn’t) by Paul Schrodt for GQ Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by James Llonch (send us yours!) This episode’s segments were originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Why are things so rough in Hollywood right now? John and Craig look at the industry’s current contraction, its historical analogues, and offer suggestions for what might fix it. We also follow up on streaming ad breaks and New York accents, before answering listener questions on being paralyzed, whether it’s by your second draft or writing professional emails. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig wonder what to do with their digital lives once they’ve shuffled off this mortal coil, and how do you keep it from getting creepy? Links: The Life and Death of Hollywood by Daniel Bessner for Harpers One weird trick for fixing Hollywood by Max Read Moloch Trap Lola Dupre Codenames Duet 2 Kings 2:23-24 Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Ben Singer (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 investigate what characters know and how we know they know what they know. It’s something that can be as confusing as that last sentence was, but they offer clear guidance on building informed characters, audience expectations, and how to get everybody on the same page. We also look at how ad breaks in streaming are interrupting established act breaks. But first we follow up on AI transcription and character voice, and answer listener questions on authentic depictions and how to ask for a WGA contract. In our bonus segment for premium members, how should you act when you meet a famous person? John and Craig have big (but well-concealed) feelings. Links: Do I Sound Gay? Documentary International Dialects of English Archive Accent Tag on YouTube Chilean beer ads in Star Wars Letter Jam TacticalMap Fallout on Prime Video Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Nica Brooke (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 welcomes writer and comedian Alex Edelman to look at how he wrote his solo show Just For Us, and dig into the meaning of “write what you know.” They discuss finding your voice as a writer, developing your story with an audience, why Alex doesn’t write his shows down, and the sample that first got him staffed. We also answer listener questions on what to do when your manager doesn’t understand your comedy, and the value of characters speaking to themselves. In our bonus segment for premium members, John asks Alex, how do you set boundaries on material when you’re dating another comedian? Links: Alex Edelman Just For Us on HBO Replay by Jordan Mechner Replay by Ken Grimwood Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Ali Clifton (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 can’t help but look at intrinsic motivations — those specific internal drives that guide characters behavior. They discuss how to structure and expose that internal drive, the importance of an innate irritability, how it can stop your characters from becoming flat, and rewarding that intrinsic motivation with choice. But first, we follow up on AI training, blueprints and “important” movies. We also weigh in on a high-school senior’s college dilemma and answer a listener question on writing with your trailer in mind. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig parse out their reasons for why humans may – or may not – ever leave the solar system. Links: My Pal Foot Foot by The Shaggs Braid by Jonathan Blow Connections from the New York Times Q: Who Found a Way to Crack the U.K.’s Premier Quiz Show? by David Segal for The New York Times On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsic v. extrinsic motivation by Laurel S. Morris, Mora M. Grehl, Sarah B. Rutter, Marishka Mehta, and Margaret L. Westwater Why are there so many illegal weed stores in New York City? by PJ Vogt Shōgun on FX Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Ben Singer (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 lawyer up with criminal defense attorney Ken White (aka Popehat) to look at legal scenes in movies and TV, and separate the tropes from the truth. How do lawyers actually prepare a case? Will they meet a client in jail? Do they need to gather evidence themselves? And what happens when they go to trial? What are the rules for examining witnesses? How often do people represent themselves in court? And do judges really bang their gavel like that? In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig invite Ken to imagine traveling somewhere worse than prison — the beach. Links: Ken White on BlueSky, Facebook and Threads Serious Trouble podcast The Popehat Report by Ken White Hello, My Name Is Stephen Glass, and I’m Sorry by Hanna Rosin for The New Republic LibreOffice Sovereign Citizens Getting Owned The Rest is History podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Lou Stone Borenstein (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 look at four unbelievable stories in the news and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include a finance journalist who was scammed out of her savings, men who offer dating bounties, a franken-sheep made of cloned animal parts, and how standardized tests changed one woman’s life. We also reveal which modern classics we’ve never seen (We meant to! We’re sorry!) to decide which – if any – we need to watch. But first, we follow up on D&D for kids, ESL, AI in reality TV, and Tiffany problems before answering listener questions on formats and recommending your spouse. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at new guidelines for AI and how they might affect our future. Links: Weekend Read 2 “Creep” post by @davo_arid on Twitter Full list of movies we haven’t seen The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger by Charlotte Cowles for The Cut Wanted: True Love. Reward: $100,000 by Angela Chen for the NYT Montana Man Pleads Guilty to Creating Massive Franken-Sheep With Cloned Animal Parts by Matt Novak for Gizmodo How the SAT Changed My Life by Emi Nietfeld for the NYT D.C. – What It Is Fighting Fantasy books LA Hero Workshop Sodalitas OSR’s Oz and Neverland Questlings Color My Quest WyrdScouts The Excellents and Nancy Druid Hero Kids TTRPGkids Hide’n’Treat and Snuffle Mat Jaina Grey’s reviews for WIRED Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Tim Brown (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 welcomes back Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) to quietly ask: what’s with all the whispering in movies these days? They discuss trends and techniques in voice and volume, picking the right moment to whisper, and the value of voices across decibel levels. We also revisit Pamela’s work on Moana to look at what you can learn from reading early drafts, ponder the threat of TikTok and YouTube, follow-up on vetting potential co-workers, and answer a listener question on writing animation. In our bonus segment for premium members, Pam shares all her star-studded stories from sitting in the 5th row at this year’s Oscars. Links: Pamela Ribon on Instagram Listen to Sassy My Year of Dicks Nimona on Netflix Hire Survivors Hollywood Dune: Part Two Clip ‘Fundie Baby Voice’ Seems To Be Everywhere Now. Here’s What You Should Know by Caroline Bologna for Huffpost In a World – Smoothie Natural Born Killers 1990 Draft Natural Born Killers 1993 Draft Lin-Manuel Miranda on ‘I Want’ Songs, Going Method for ‘Moana’ and Fearing David Bowie More (Outtake) from Moana How Far I’ll Go from Moana How Bad Can It Get for Hollywood? by Mark Harris for NYT This Sitcom Got WEIRD When Nobody Watched It by David Friedman Researching An Old Sitcom With AI by David Friedman Coucou French classes Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Vincent DeVito (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 wring their hands and ask, how do you make sure the person you’re hiring isn’t a monster? They look at best practices for vetting colleagues, sussing out problematic people, and managing your own emotions when you’re the person with power. We also discuss writing for non-native English speakers, using three examples to illustrate the importance of syntax, musicality and authenticity. But first, we answer listener questions on giving notes and kids playing D&D. In our bonus segment for premium members, we spill the kool-aid on our fears and fascinations with cults. Links: Strands from the New York Times Anatomy of a Fall – Clip Past Lives by Celine Song Irma Vep – Clip Is This Hollywood’s #MeanToo Moment? by David Mack for Slate How to play Dungeons and Dragons for kids RuPaul Doesn’t See How That’s Any of Your Business by Ronan Farrow for The New Yorker Recursion – Glitch Games Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Eric Pearson (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 explore the counterfactuals of Hollywood history — the relatively small moments that, if the coin toss had gone the other way, would have massive ramifications on the world as we know it. What if Edison was allowed to keep his monopoly on motion pictures? What does our industry look like without the Paramount Consent Decree? What if George Lucas died in his car accident? Would superhero movies have dominated our culture if Iron Man had bombed? What studios would have gone down if Titanic had sunk? And what if Netflix had stayed with its DVD-only model? In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig talk capitalism and solve its problems once and for all. Links: What If? by Robert Cowley Thomas Edison: The Unintentional Founder of Hollywood by Garrett O’Brien for the Saturday Evening Post United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. on Wikipedia George Lucas: The Car Wreck That Changed His Life and Led Him to ‘Star Wars’ by Tim Ott for Biography When ‘Titanic’ Was Expected to Be a Huge Flop by Jake Rossen for Mental Floss ‘John Carter’ Changed Hollywood, but Not in the Way Disney Hoped by Richard Newby for THR Financial Interest and Syndication Rules Post-Quantum Cryptography S’more! S’more! His artisanal marshmallows were the greatest. Then he tried to scale them. by Adam Rogers Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Zach Lo (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 welcomes back John Gatins (Flight, Coach Carter) to talk about reviving a dormant project and actually getting it made – like he just did with his new film Little Wing. They look at how films die, what brings them back to life, and go deep into the mechanics of sports movies. We also follow up on flu tests, the Tiffany problem and pet names before answering listener questions on professionalism, mid-credit scenes, and work ethic. In our bonus segment for premium members, John Gatins talks abut transitioning into a writing team and reveals his process of negotiating credits. Links: Little Wing – On Paramount+ March 13th John Gatins on Wikipedia and IMDb Little Wing by Susan Orlean for the New Yorker LUCIRA by Pfizer COVID-19 & Flu Home Test Merlin Bird ID The Facts of Life – Attempted Spin-offs Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Alee Karim (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 has the flu (or does he?) and Craig is missing, so we’re going back through the vaults to look at the mechanics of mystery and suspense. How do writers exploit the audience’s curiosity? What builds and breaks their trust? How do you use suspense across genres? And what do these techniques look like on the page? But first, we look at the current agency shakeups and share our thoughts on OpenAI’s new engine, Sora. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew talk about their experience with the Apple Vision Pro. Links: Scriptnotes 269 – Mystery vs. Confusion Scriptnotes 332 – Wait for It A3 Artists Agency Shuts Down by Aaron Couch and Rebecca Sun for The Hollywood Reporter Verve CEO and Co-Founder Bill Weinstein Leaves Agency After 14 Years by Cynthia Littleton for Variety A few thoughts on Sora by John August GOODY-2 Meet the Pranksters Behind Goody-2, the World’s ‘Most Responsible’ AI Chatbot by Will Knight for Wired Claire Keegan Contextual computing with Vision Pro: My Writing Cabin by David Sparks Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Eric Pearson (send us yours!) Segments originally produced by Godwin Jabangwe and Megan McDonnell. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes writer and showrunner Francesca Sloane (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Atlanta) to talk about her process of bringing a big-screen property to television. She shares how she and Donald Glover found their way into the story, how it evolved in development, building a room that was all women of color, re-writing on set, and the many lessons she learned as a first time showrunner. We also follow up on writing partners and phonetic alphabets before answering listener questions on writing samples, casting on the page and why some screenplays are free to read. In our bonus segment for premium members, we dig into the benefits (and drawbacks) of film schools and fellowships. Links: Francesca Sloane on Instagram Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Amazon Prime Video ISPA: Inter-Species Phonetic Alphabet for Transcribing Animal Sounds by Masato Hagiwara, Marius Miron and Jen-Yu Liu Bluets by Maggie Nelson A Unified Theory of F-cks by Mandy Brown Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Eric Pearson (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 welcomes Celine Song (Past Lives) to chart her journey from playwright to Oscar-nominated screenwriter. We discuss the intricacies of writing bilingually, the similarities between theater and a writers room, finding the right collaborators and how writing prepared Celine for for the rigors of directing. We also follow up on foreign courts, the Tiffany problem, and answer listener questions on American grad schools and table reads. In our bonus segment for premium members, Celine looks back on her production of The Seagull in The Sims 4 and reflects on the importance of experimenting with form. Links: Celine Song on IMDb and Instagram Past Lives The Seagull on The Sims 4 The Wheel of Time A real bald eagle call vs a red-tailed hawk Deadwood and The American President Shottr Baldur’s Gate 3 Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Nico Mansy (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 host another round of the Three Page Challenge, where they give their honest feedback on three listener-submitted scripts. They offer insights into using sound realistically, writing action that can be easily directed, finding subtext in dialogue, and navigating complex points of view. But first, we dig into several tricky listener questions: How does a writing team discuss their individual work with their reps? When is it ok to say no to inclusive casting? And how do you break up with a producer? In our bonus segment for premium members, we delve into tough questions and offer advice to our younger selves. Links: Weekend Read 2 ROUTES by Colton W. Miller, MEGHA GENESIS by Priti Trivedi, and THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS by Eric Hunsley Delve Deck Zarak by Afghan Kitchen – Vancouver Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Matt Davis (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 discuss the dynamics of fandom, attempting to chart how things get cool, then hot, then terrible. But how are fandoms organized? Where do subcultures start? And how should you engage with the community that forms around your work? We also look at an alternative screenplay format from one of last year’s best screenplays, and follow up on bake-offs, distracting accuracies in fiction, and UK writing credits. We then answer questions on original songs, packaging your script, and what you can do when you suspect you’ve been ripped off. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at the many various fandoms and do their best to enrage them. Links: The Tiffany Problem ‘Harry Potter’ TV Series Zeroes In On Premise As Selected Writers Pitch Their Ideas To Max WGGB Screenwriting Credits Agreement Ig Nobel Prize – “Please stop, I’m Bored” Anatomy of a Fall – Screenplay Podcasters Took Up Her Sister’s Murder Investigation. Then They Turned on Her by Sarah Viren for the New York Times Geeks, MOPs, and sociopaths in subculture evolution by David Chapman Going Zero by Anthony McCarten The Devil by Jessica Mazin on Spotify Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Jessica Mazin (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.

The DGA surprised the town yesterday, announcing an update to their already-signed agreement with the AMPTP. The new deal includes select pay bumps and the streaming bonus gained by WGA and SAG-AFTRA after their lengthy strikes. John and Drew are back to look at what we know about this off-cycle development and ask questions like huh? And how? And why? Links: DGA Announces Revisions To Film & TV Contract, Including Addition Of Streaming Bonus To Match WGA’s by Katie Campione for Deadline John on Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Aline Brosh McKenna to look at how both you and your characters can become more “agentic.” What are the traps and pitfalls of going after what you want? How do you get people to engage with your protagonist, especially when the protagonist is yourself? Then it’s another round of How Would This be a Movie? We look at stories about a harm-reduction hotline, countertop cancer, loyalty testers and a mathematician who exploited the lottery. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Aline talk about their strange new reality of being empty nesters. Links: How to be More Agentic by Cate Hall What’s Stopping You? by Neel Nanda Seven ways to become unstoppably agentic by Evie Cottrell “Agency” needs nuance by Evie Cottrell The Woman on the Line by Aymann Ismail and Mary Harris for Slate California workers who cut countertops are dying of an incurable disease by Emily Alpert Reyes and Cindy Carcamo for the LA Times Would Your Partner Cheat? These ‘Testers’ Will Give You an Answer by Gina Cherelus for the New York Times The man who won the lottery 14 times by Zachary Crockett for The Hustle Musely So you wanna de-bog yourself by Adam Mastroianni Aline Brosh McKenna Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Larry Douziech (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 investigate those details that are accurate and authentic, but can pull viewers out of the story. They look for ways to balance what is realistic with what is believable, and how to get rid of distractions and keep your audience focused on what matters. We also discuss popular names, follow up on Icelandic pronunciations and the Mazinga toy, and answer listener questions on period details, defining biopics, writing during production, and whether or not to read the script before watching the movie. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig swallow their pride and ask, how can you tell when someone is just being nice? Links: First baby of the new year arrives at Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital Mazinger Z Regicide The Last of Us Comes in First at Saturday Creative Arts Emmys Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter John on Mastodon Outro by Sudarshan Kadam (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.