Scriptnotes Podcast

John moderates Breaking the Stigma, a panel on addiction and mental health with guests Gemma Baker (creator of CBS’s Mom), Dr. Corey Waller (specialist in pain, addiction and emergency medicine), Dr. Holly Daniels (specialist in eating disorders and mental health issues), and journalist Zachary Siegel. We discuss how addiction and mental health issues are portrayed in film and TV, more authentic ways of telling these stories, and how writers and creators can take care of their own mental health. In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John to talk about the etiquette of thank you notes and follow-up emails. Links: Episode 412 – TranscriptHollywood, Health & Society – USC Annenberg Norman Lear CenterEighth Grade6 Balloons Motivational InterviewingNarcanGemma BakerDr. Holly DanielsTwitterZachary SiegelSubstackTwitterGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Megana RaoMatthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig investigate their anxiety and ask, why is the future so hard to predict right now? They discuss everything from what’s going at OpenAi, the upcoming elections, a new service that uses AI to generate script coverage, and muse about how to move forward in a time of unprecedented uncertainty. We also follow up with two listeners who wrote in for advice, and answer new questions on composite characters, being inspired by reddit, and how to maintain a long running D&D group. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig freestyle the introduction to the upcoming Scriptnotes Book. Links: The Strange $55 Million Saga of a Netflix Series You’ll Never SeeDigital background actors in Disney’s Prom Pact Sacking, revolt, return: how crisis at OpenAI over Sam Altman unfoldedAlex Edelman: Just for Us Weber Connect Smart Grilling HubGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes Jesse David Fox (Comedy Book, Good One) and Greg Iwinski (Last Week Tonight, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) to “explain the joke” and discuss how comedy works. They explore everything from harnessing your comedic voice, building a career in comedy, the importance of diversity in late night, to fundamental questions about the art form: How do jokes work? Is laughter always the primary goal of a comedy? Do you need to put your work online? How has the algorithm changed our consumption of comedy? And where does comedy go from here? In our bonus segment for premium members, Greg, Jesse and John talk about their shared love for The Simpsons. What makes it so funny, and how has it shaped a generation of comedy nerds? Links: Greg IwinskiTwitterInstagramJesse David FoxInstagramTwitterComedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It WorkGood One: Podcast About Jokes Julia The Great Stewardess RebellionEverything You Want (ft. MUNA)Have You Heard of Christmas?Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John offers a host of career-focused insights as he tackles our overflowing mailbag to answer as many listener questions as he can. What’s the best way to keep track of shower thoughts? How do you build a good creative workplace? How do you disclose your past wrongs to a future employer? What is Appendix A? And who picks up the tab at a coffee meeting? In our bonus segment for premium members, bells are ringing as John and newlywed Drew discuss what makes a wedding work. Links: Oppenheimer: The Official ScreenplayWGA Appendix A An Extremely Detailed Map of New York City NeighborhoodsTFI Photo Lab in Danvers, MAGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

After 118 days on strike, SAG-AFTRA has a tentative deal with the AMPTP. John and Drew look through the details of the agreement to see what gains the actors union was able to make on streaming, self-tapes, performance capture, AI protections, and residuals. What are the current effects of this agreement? And what’s next for organized labor in Hollywood? Links: SAG-AFTRA Summary of 2023 Tentative Agreement SAG-AFTRA 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts HubTwitterInstagramMastodon Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig host an in-depth look at the 1987 classic, The Princess Bride, recorded live at the WGA Theatre in 2019. They discuss how the “abridged” structure brings us only the best parts of the story and what this means for the characters and world. From the frame story to the myth of the Dread Pirate Roberts, The Princess Bride shaped decades of screenwriters but would be inconceivable to produce today. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig discuss William Goldman’s famous (and often misapplied) quote abut Hollywood: “Nobody knows anything.” Links: Episode 386 – The Princess Bride Episode 221 – Nobody Knows Anything (including what this quote means)The Princess Bride The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High AdventureAdventures in the Screen TradeWilliam GoldmanThe Dread Pirate Roberts The Bechdel TestGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Mad scientists John and Craig dissect monsters and how they function in the stories we tell. How do monsters differ from the average villain? What makes them tick? And how do you make them fascinating? We also discuss how narratives are applied to real-life news, follow up on aphantasia and diabetes, and answer a listener question on characters in cosplay. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig fire up their dial-up modems to reminisce about the old internet. Links: Aaron Sorkin on This Cultural LifeSerious Trouble podcastLEGO TitanicInternet ArtifactsGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, Good Omens) to discuss the serialized storytelling of comics and screenwriting. Using Neil’s script for issue 24 of The Sandman, they look at how comics are written, communicating with other artists, using the medium to your advantage, and finding unique ways to deliver your story. Neil also shares how he developed his voice as a writer, from the origin of his religious and mythological curiosities to the importance of doing it wrong, defining style, and his advice to young writers. In our bonus segment for premium members, Neil sticks around to talk with John and Craig about the projects we never got around to writing. Links: Neil GaimanInstagramTwitter Read Neil’s script for The Sandman #24Starfield An American Puzzle: Fitting Race in a Box The Riddle of the Traveling SkullHarry Stephen KeelerGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig talk about the importance of visualization for screenwriters, and the fact that some very successful writers can’t do it. They share what’s going on inside their brains as they write, their processes for imagining a scene, and what writing is like across the spectrum of aphantasia. But first, we look at Marvel’s new approach to TV and follow-up on diabetes, studio distribution, and a word John has been using incorrectly for years. We also answer listener questions about choosing the right medium for your story, credit in anthology films, and co-writing credit disputes. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig discuss the pros and cons of being given the opportunity you’ve always dreamt of. Links: ‘Daredevil’ Hits Reset Button as Marvel Overhauls Its TV Business Episode 530: The One with Jack ThorneJohn Green Tweet Discovering aphantasiaAphantasia – A Different Kind of Blindness Here’s What It’s Like To Not Have An Internal Monologue WGA Membership DepartmentBoobie_Klapper Uniqlo Colorful 50 SocksUniqlo RFID Automated CheckoutGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

It’s official – the WGA has ratified its contract with the AMPTP. John and Drew look at how the votes were distributed, what happens next, and what to keep in mind as SAG-AFTRA moves forward in their negotiations. Links: 2023 MBA Ratified – WGASAG-AFTRA on Strike!WGA Solidarity with SAG-AFTRATwitterInstagramMastodon Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John sits down with WGA Negotiating Committee co-chair Chris Keyser to look at how writers crafted the narrative of the strike. From establishing the premise and themes, identifying characters, and all the way down to specific word choices, we dissect the choices, revisions, and tactics used to guide the MBA negotiations to a successful conclusion. We also answer listener questions on foreign levies and writers’ relationship with the studios going forward. In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss Chris Keyser’s debate career and make a strong argument for how it shaped his skills as an orator. Links: Chris Keyser’s speech to members at the start of negotiationsScriptnotes, Episode 389 – The Future of the IndustryOne Revolution Per MinuteAmerican DreamIMDbChris Keyser at The Oxford Union Society vs. The Harvard Debate Council, 1982Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig take an in-depth look at the deal points of the WGA’s tentative agreement with the AMPTP, which ended the 2023 WGA strike after 148 days. Together they break down what gains were made, how they work, and why they are important for writers everywhere. We also open a time-capsule email from 2018, follow up on five year old predictions, and send our predictions for 2028 off into the future. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig discuss a topic we’ve slept on for too long: dreams! Links: WGA Tentative Agreement SummaryScriptnotes, Episode 369 – What is a Movie, Anyway?Scriptnotes, Episode 108 – Are two screens better than one?24 Hours in an Invisible Epidemic Melissa Smith, longtime head of ACT’s MFA program, dies at 64 Rusty Lake Underground BlossomGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Recorded live from Paramount and Amazon Studios, John and Drew talk with actors and writers marching in support of SAG-AFTRA as they re-enter negotiations with the AMPTP. Thanks to everyone who talked with us! Links: SAG-AFTRA on Strike!WGA Solidarity with SAG-AFTRAWGA Contract Ratification – Vote HereWGA Contract 2023 Tentative AgreementTwitterInstagramMastodon Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John, Drew and Megana read through the details of the WGA’s Tentative Agreement to see what was initially proposed and what was ultimately won. Links: WGA Tentative Agreement Summary2023 MBA Tentative AgreementTwitterTwitterInstagramMastodon Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Greta Gerwig (Barbie, Little Women and Lady Bird) discuss adaptation, ambition and authorship. With the screenplay in front of them, they look at specific scenes in Little Women and explore how its non-linear timeline changed how the movie works. We also answer listener questions on writing for the page and starting a family as an aspiring writer. In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig shares what it was like winning a Golden Globe for Chernobyl. Links: The Original Episode: 433 – The One with Greta GerwigFollow along with the Little Women script in Weekend Read 2 Little Women ScriptGreta Gerwig Hollywood Assistants Are Fed UpMothers: An Essay on Love and CrueltyNew York in Color Jigsaw Puzzle Behave by Robert SapolskyGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

After 146 days on the picket line, the WGA has reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP. John walks through the very exciting email that was sent out to members, outlining what it means, what happens next, and reflects on how far we’ve come. Links: Summary of Negotiations: WGA proposals and AMPTP responsesSAG-AFTRA Picket Schedule and LocationsStrike Rules FAQhere at WGAContract2023.orgTwitterInstagramMastodon Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig test out a dreamy thesis: that all fish out of water stories are either The Wizard of Oz or Splash. What are the differences? Are Splash movies funnier? And what are the hidden pitfalls of placing our characters in unfamiliar worlds? We also look at how Rotten Tomatoes works (and how it’s manipulated). But first, we follow up on physical media and lining up in size order before answering a listener question on writing gibberish. In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig shares a personal diagnosis in an effort to help other adults with diabetes. Links: The Decomposition of Rotten TomatoesFrankenweenie script hereWeekend Read 2StarfieldManhattan Bus MapMTAHighland 2 Writer Emergency Pack XLGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Drew talk about one of the best things writers can do to keep their skills sharp during the strike: reading. They discuss where to find scripts, what you can learn from other people’s writing, and what they’ve been working on while pencils are down. Links: Weekend Read 2Scriptslug.com Summary of Negotiations: WGA proposals and AMPTP responses2023 WGA Strike RulesStrike Rules FAQ Picket Schedules and Locationshere at WGAContract2023.orgTwitterInstagramMastodon Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig talk action! It’s an all-craft episode about how words on the page become high-adrenaline events on the screen. Using a variety of different scripts, we look at how different styles of action sequences can be used to clearly communicate what is meant to happen in a scene and how it’s supposed to feel. In our bonus segment for premium members we try to discuss the Emmys but mostly talk about teenage girls’ obsession with Criminal Minds. Links: Action Scenes PDFScriptnotes Episode 463: Writing ActionEntertainment Community Fund – Emergency Financial Assistance CAA Lays Off Agents and Employees From 2020: WGA East and West members voted to approve the new contract Good SudokuGood Sudoku AppGhosts of TsushimaGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterGift a Scriptnotes Subscriptiontreat yourself to a premium subscription!ThreadsInstagramThreadsInstagramTwitterJohn on MastodonOutrosend us yours!Matthew Chilelli Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Live from New York, John talks with writers and actors about the differences between LA and NYC pickets, anxiety, and how joy can be a form of protest. Featuring Christopher Kyle and Wilson Cruz. Big thanks to everyone who talked with us! Links: East & NY Strike ResourcesWriters Guild of America East Summary of Negotiations: WGA proposals and AMPTP responses2023 WGA Strike RulesStrike Rules FAQ Picket Schedules and Locationshere at WGAContract2023.orgTwitterInstagramMastodonCory Reeder Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.