John and Craig tackle their overflowing mailbag to answer some long-delayed listener questions on subtext, divorce, set decoration, and more! We also follow up on news about management companies and how this affects writers. Finally, in our bonus segment for premium members, we’ll talk about headshots and our experiences getting our photos taken. Links:   Pete Micelli/Steve Cohen Management Launch Adds WME’s Rich Cook, UTA’s Roussos, Fox, Mckinnies, Moorhead To CAA’s Whigham, Sullivan, Bugliari, Cooper  The Great Agency Exodus: Top Reps Flee the Majors As Management Civil War Looms  After Agency Exodus, New Firm Pitches Investors On Star-Driven Production “Cash Cow” (Exclusive) Batman Teaser Mike Selinker on Twitter Zionor Swim Goggles  Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! John August on Twitter Craig Mazin on Twitter John on Instagram Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.  Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

466 - Questions! Or You've Got Moxie

Screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin discuss screenwriting and related topics in the film and television industry, everything from getting stuff written to the vagaries of copyright and work-for-hire law.

TV & Film

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.

642 - It’s Brutal Out 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.         

641 - What Characters Know

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.

640 - Can You Believe It?

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.

639 - Intrinsic Motivation

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.

466 - Questions! Or You've Got Moxie

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