Craig and John answer listener questions about writer agreements, videogame properties, and page one rewrites.

How should a writer decide whether it’s better to keep revising an unmade project, or start on something new? We try to offer guidelines for when to buckle down and when to move on.

Also, John coins a new term that will forever change film studies.

Links:

• Scriptnotes Midnight Blue T-Shirt
• Portal: No Escape (Live Action Short Film by Dan Trachtenberg)
• This is why you want a writer’s agreement
• WGA Collaboration Agreement
• Rebecca Solnit: The Loneliness Of Donald Trump
• Faraway Puzzle Escape
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

In a new installment of How Would This Be a Movie, John and Craig take a look at three stories in the news to discuss how to adapt them into award-winning movies.

We also discuss why the studios are allowed to negotiate as one for the WGA contract.

Midnight Blue Scriptnotes shirts are back up at Cotton Bureau for a short time, so don’t miss out. Link below.

Links:

• Scriptnotes Midnight Blue T-Shirt
• The Seed Vault is Fine
• You May Want to Marry My Husband
• Scriptnotes, Episode 293: Underground Railroad of Love
• The Beleaguered Tenants of ‘Kushnerville’
• My Family’s Slave
• The Mystery of the Wasting House-Cats
• Dear Mr Darcy
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro Dear Mr Darcy by Esther Longhurst and Jessica Messenger (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

Craig and John look at The Addams Family -- not just the 1991 film and its sequel, but the property itself to see what lessons we can learn when adapting for the big screen.

We also answer listener questions on what makes a scene work and writing pilots based on existing IP.

Links:

• Addams Family TV Show Opening
• The Addams Family Official Trailer
• Addams Family Values Trailer
• The Moon And Me
• Master of None - Season 2 | Official Trailer
• New Paint Colors Invented by Neural Network
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

Chris McQuarrie (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, VALKYRIE) joins us to talk through how he went from writing giant movies to directing them.

We talk about the pitfalls directors face as they move from indie features to tentpoles, and the advice he gives them. Chris is currently, and conveniently, in Paris directing the next Mission: Impossible.

Links:

• Chris McQuarrie
• Valkyrie Official Trailer
• Mission Impossible 5 - Rogue Nation
• AutoDraw
• Zip Zap
• Fidget Cube
• Chris McQuarrie on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

Craig and guest host Dana Fox welcome Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Rian Johnson (Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) to the live show at the Arclight. The four discuss breaking into Hollywood, handling rejection and sticking to your vision as a writer/director.

We also answer audience questions on motivation and holding onto hope.

Links:

• Rob McElhenney
• It's Always Sunny: The Gang Tends Bar
• Rian Johnson
• Looper Trailer
• The Last Jedi Trailer
• Dana Fox
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

Craig and John take on a new round of Three Page Challenges. There’s a fat “Elvis,” a bounty hunter White Rabbit, and a guy locked in the trunk of a speeding Mustang.

We also look at how characters move, and how screenwriters can use character movement to their benefit.

Links:

• Three Pages by Ted Wilkes
• Three Pages by Gerald Decker
• Three Pages by Phillip Rogers
• Kent Handmade Moustache Comb
• A Large-Scale Analysis of Technical Support Scams
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Andres Cantor (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

Craig and John investigate the future of the 007 franchise, script-reading robots, and the realities of overhauling a movie in the editing room.

We also look at another How Would This Be a Movie idea turning into reality.

The live show at ArcLight is a week away and tickets are almost sold out. Get yours now!

Links:

• Scriptnotes, Episode 214: Clerks and Recreation
• French Train Bros
• Scriptnotes, Episode 232: Fun with Numbers
• ScriptBook
• ScriptBook Sample Coverage
• The Battle for James Bond
• Passengers, Rearranged
• Important, Not Important
• Stephen King Pop Songs
• Pinball Arcade: The Addams Family
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John sits down with Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) for a bonus-length discussion of all things TV.

We focus on getting that first job, breaking story, and how writing rooms work. We also answer listener questions ranging from knowing when to let a pilot script die, to crediting original ideas.

Finally, we talk about the notion of Idea Debt, and how to say goodbye to projects you’ll never complete.

Links:

• Damon Lindelof
• The Leftovers: Final Season Trailer
• Jessica Abel on Idea Debt
• How I Got Out of Idea Debt by John Sexton
• Occupied
• City Girl
• John Hodgman's Only Child
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Rajesh Naroth (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

In this special mini-episode, John and Craig talk through the upcoming WGA strike authorization vote — what it actually means, and why they’re both voting yes.

Voting begins Tuesday in person, and Wednesday online.

We also discuss how strike authorization votes are a strange bit of negotiation theater, which Craig in particular would like to see end.

Links:

• Scriptnotes, Episode 289: WGA Negotiations 101
• WGA Strike Authorization

You can download the episode here.

Malcolm Spellman returns to help us answer a bunch of listener questions, including the most important one: what’s Malcolm up to? (Warning! Adult language.)

Along the way, topics include sex on screen, bad managers, and thanking the writer.

Tickets for the live show are now sale! Visit Hollywood Heart to get yours.

Links:

• Scriptnotes Live Show Tickets
• The Hatton Garden Job
• Patrick Lenton's Dog Story
• MLB The Show 17
• Fantastic Negrito
• Malcolm Spellman on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Find past episodes
• Outro by Jeff Bayson (send us yours!)

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.