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 negotiations
• Scriptnotes, Episode 389 – The Future of the Industry
• One Revolution Per Minute by Erik Wernquist
• American Dream on IMDb
• Christopher Keyser on IMDb
• Chris Keyser at The Oxford Union Society vs. The Harvard Debate Council, 1982
• 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 Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

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You can download the episode here.