John welcomes Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs to talk about the emotional and logistical process of closing out their five-season series, Hacks.

Paul and Lucia also step up as guest readers for the Three Page Challenge, a segment where we look at the first three pages of a listener-submitted script and give honest feedback.

In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, John, Lucia and Paul talk about cameos. How do they happen? What's the real deal behind the scenes?

Scripts:

• Dying to Love You
• You're Dead to Me
• Monster Law

Links:

• You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall
• State and Local Election Alliance
• @luciaaniellosetfits
• @paulwdowns
• Cherlato Gelato

Get your copy of The Scriptnotes Book and become a Scriptnotes Premium member today! For more content on the craft of writing check out Inneresting our weekly-ish newsletter about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.

Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our Coordinator is Lauren Loesberg.
Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!).

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

Since the dawn of storytelling, there have been archetypes. What aspects of archetypes are actually useful for writers? And how do we move beyond tropes to create complex characters?

Pick a card, any card! John and Craig play around with the upcoming Creator Character Kit. They draw archetype cards and imagine multifaceted characters that embody those qualities.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig talk home cinema hardware: screens and projectors.

Links:

• Character Creator Kit
• L.A. World's "The One Street that Explains LA"

Download the episode here!

Get your copy of The Scriptnotes Book and become a Scriptnotes Premium member today! For more content on the craft of writing check out Inneresting our weekly-ish newsletter about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.

Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our coordinator is Lauren Loesberg.

Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

John and Craig welcome Curry Barker, the writer-director behind this summer's surprise blockbuster, Obsession. It's a rom-com, a horror film and a great example of trusting your audience.

We discuss Curry's roots, his writing process, learning from YouTube, as well as the pressure to follow up a hit.

In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, John and Craig pose the #1 most important question for all filmmakers to consider: What will the popcorn bucket be?

Links:

• Aaron Sorkin Masterclass
• The Chair by Curry Barker
• Milk & Serial by Curry Barker
• Humans Veer Left by Rachel Nuwer (NY Times)
• The Case of the Golden Idol
• Members Only Jackets
• Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
• Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
• Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
• John August on Bluesky and Instagram
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our intern is Lauren Loesberg.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.