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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

You can download the episode here.