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  • 697 - We Wrote a Book!

    697 - We Wrote a Book!
    2025/07/29

    The Scriptnotes Book is real, and now available for preorder! John and Craig take a look through its 335 pages to explore the topics, guests and deep-dives we’ve assembled from over 1,000 hours of this podcast, creating what is sure to be your favorite bathroom book.

    Then it’s another round of How Would This Be a Movie?, where we look at four stories in the news to see whether they’re ripe for adaptation. Stories include a mother taking on the revenge porn industry, a wife navigating her husband’s longtime crush, a government worker who was secretly recorded on a date, and the potential destruction of solar storms. We also answer a listener question on current filmmaking technology.

    In our bonus segment for premium members, what is kindness? John and Craig talk through what sets this undervalued quality apart from niceness and other traits we mistake for kind.

    Link:

    • Preorder the Scriptnotes book!
    • Send your pre-order receipt to Drew at ask@johnaugust.com
    • A Mother’s Revenge as told to Christina Cauterucci for SLATE
    • Charlotte Laws’ fight with Hunter Moore, the internet’s revenge porn king by Carole Cadwalladr for The Guardian
    • Help! My Husband’s Manic Pixie Past Has Become a Full-Blown Threat to My Sanity, Dear Prudence column for SLATE
    • SNL’s What’s That Name
    • An Offhand Remark About Gold Bars, Secretly Recorded, Upended His Life by Lisa Friedman for NYTimes
    • The Unseen Fury of Solar Storms by Henry Wismayer for Noema
    • TRMNL
    • Steve Ballmer: Developers
    • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
    • Birdigo
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Nick Moore (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.
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    59 分
  • 696 - A Screenwriter’s Guide to Directors

    696 - A Screenwriter’s Guide to Directors
    2025/07/22

    In this compendium episode, John and Craig set their focus on directors — and how to work with them as a screenwriter. They look at the inner-workings of the writer-director relationship, etiquette on set, how to communicate notes from pre-production through post, and outline the qualities of the “perfect” director.

    We also offer advice to a first time director, looking at how to prep a project, how to run a set, working with actors, and how to inspire a crew to make the best movie possible.

    In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John back in 2025 for advice about casting, and what to do when actors pass on your project.

    Links:

    • Episode 4 – Working with directors
    • Episode 176 – Advice to a First-Time Director
    • Scrappy
    • HyperCard
    • Mount Wilson Observatory
    • John’s shorts God and The Remnants
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
    • Segments produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

    Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

    You can download the episode here.
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    54 分
  • 695 - Advice to a Young Film Student (with Scott Frank)

    695 - Advice to a Young Film Student (with Scott Frank)
    2025/07/15

    John and Craig welcome back Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit, Dept. Q) to offer their best advice to film students and the people who teach them. They look at ways to improve how we educate writers, and offer advice to an aspiring development executive.

    We also look at the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations of characters in Scott’s new series, Dept. Q, follow up on the decline of sex in movies, and ask, what genres of movies should people see at least one of?

    In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Scott take a broader view of education in America to see what they’ve learned and what they would change.

    Links:

    • Dept. Q on Netflix
    • Scott Frank
    • Scott’s last time on Scriptnotes, Episode 476: The Other Senses
    • Everyone Is Beautiful And No One Is Horny by RS Benedict for Blood Knife
    • Scriptnotes 639: Intrinsic Motivation
    • Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading by Nadia Asparouhova
    • Elmore Leonard’s Perfect Pitch by Anthony Lane for The New Yorker
    • Richard Price’s Street Life by Kevin Lozano for The New Yorker
    • McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants’ Data to Hackers Who Tried the Password ‘123456’ by Andy Greenberg for Wired
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Nico Mansy (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.
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    1 時間 16 分
  • 694 - Reviving the Spoof Movie

    694 - Reviving the Spoof Movie
    2025/07/08
    John welcomes back Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, Pretty Smart) to ask, how do you revive a dead genre? Using their upcoming movie The Naked Gun, they look at why the spoof genre fell apart, the challenges of introducing it to a new generation, and why turning genre tropes into jokes will always resonate with an audience. We also look at other genres they don’t make anymore, follow up on Dogma 25, and answer listener questions on complicated rewrites and whether or not to hire a publicist. In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Doug and Dan look at the movies that Gen Z hasn’t seen (and whether they even need to). Links: The Naked Gun in theaters August 1st!Dan Gregor and Doug MandDoug and Dan’s last time on the show, Episode 548: Made for StreamersBottoms and Dicks: The MusicalMelodramas: Now, Voyager, It Ends with Us, SpencerSexual thrillers: Body Heat, Jagged Edge, (Bonus: Altered States, Dead Ringers) You Must Remember Thins: Erotic 80sLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryAdult Romantic Dramas: The English Patient, Out of Africa, Past Lives, MaterialistsMid-Budget Adventure Films: Romancing the Stone, The Lost City John’s Aladdin residuals Breakthrough cholesterol treatment can cut levels by 69% after one dose by Hatty Willmoth for BBC Science Focus One dose of experimental drug nearly wipes out stealthy cholesterol in ‘remarkable’ trial by Erika Edwards for NBC News The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America’s UFO Mythology by Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha for WSJCalvin Kang on IngstagramWeekend Read 2 Top movies that Gen Z have never watched revealed – including Oscar-winning classics from The Sun UKGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterBecome a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscriptionSubscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTubeCraig Mazin on InstagramJohn August on Bluesky and InstagramOutro by Ryan Gerberding (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.
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    1 時間 3 分
  • 693 - Setups That Don’t Feel Like Setups

    693 - Setups That Don’t Feel Like Setups
    2025/07/01

    John and Craig plant the idea for setups that have the most satisfying payoffs. Different from exposition, setups introduce ideas and concepts to an audience, priming them for a later revelation. They look at the sleight of hand required to have your setups deftly planted, take root in your audience’s mind, and grow into something delightful.

    But first, we look at the new California tax credits, the 2025 WGA annual report, follow up on AI and VFX, postmodernism, and verticals. We also answer listener questions on music videos and outing yourself to potential employers.

    In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at the New York Times’ new list of the 100 best movies of the 21st century. We all know Craig loves pitting movies against each other, so there’s definitely no umbrage here.

    Links:

    • The Best Movies of the 21st Century by NY Times
    • California lawmakers approve expanded $750-million film tax credit program by Samantha Masunaga for LA Times
    • WGA Annual Report – employment and earnings, residuals
    • Michael Graves
    • How ReelShort CEO Joey Jia Used a Chinese Trend to Disrupt the U.S. Entertainment Industry by Chad De Guzman for Time Magazine
    • Sundance Labs
    • Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
    • DJ Snake, Lil Jon – Turn Down for What
    • Madonna – Vogue
    • a-ha – Take On Me
    • Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye
    • Phil Collins – Don’t Lose My Number
    • 30 minutes with a stranger by Alvin Chang for The Pudding
    • Chris Perkins
    • Mike Birbiglia’s top ten movies of the 21st century
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Spencer Lackey (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.
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    1 時間 3 分
  • 692 - Crafting the Perfect Villain

    692 - Crafting the Perfect Villain
    2025/06/24

    In this craft compendium, John and Craig take a look at everything you need to make your bad guys compelling, memorable, and the perfect antagonist for your story. Using some favorite villains as examples, they look at the importance of understanding their motivations and offer seven tips for making a villain unforgettable.

    We also take a look at lackeys, henchmen and making sure your evil organizations are believable.

    In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig shift their focus to monsters, and why even though those scary creatures are dangerous, they’re not always the villain.

    Links:

    • Scriptnotes Episode 75 – Villains
    • Scriptnotes Episode 590 – Anti-Villains
    • Scriptnotes Episode 465 – The Lackeys Know What They’re Doing
    • Scriptnotes Episode 257 – Flaws are Features
    • Every Villain is a Hero
    • Writing Better Bad Guys
    • Screenwriting and the Problem of Evil
    • Mama
    • The 1000 Deaths of Wile E. Coyote by T.B.D.
    • Why do good people do bad things? by Daniel Effron
    • Why some people are willing to challenge behavior they see as wrong despite personal risk by Catherine A. Sanderson
    • The Monsters Know What They’re Doing blog and book
    • Austin Powers deleted scene, “Henchman’s Wife”
    • Redshirt
    • 7 Tips for Creating Unforgettable Villains
    • How Christopher Nolan writes a movie on our YouTube!
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
    • Segments produced by Stuart Friedel, Megana Rao, and Drew Marquardt.
    • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

    Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

    You can download the episode here.
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    1 時間 16 分
  • 691 - Collaborative Storytelling and RPGs

    691 - Collaborative Storytelling and RPGs
    2025/06/17
    John and Craig welcome author Stu Horvath to look at the rich history of tabletop role playing games. From Stu’s collection of over 2300 RPGs, they look at the evolution of collaborative storytelling, interactive narrative design, and the communities of players they inspire. We also discuss the complicated influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft on the world of D&D, and how the need to escape their derivative influences pushed RPGs to new heights of world-building and storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, Stu leads us down down down to discuss a surprisingly recent narrative staple: dungeons. Links: Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu HorvathVintageRPG.com by Stu HorvathD&D 5th EditionAmateur press association (APA)Little Wars by H.G. WellsPeter Cushing painting his minifigsChainmail by Gary Gygax & Jeff Perren ChaosiumTunnels & TrollsDread RPGFiascoScriptnotes episode 142: The Angeles Crest FiascoCritical RoleAlien: The Roleplaying GameStar Wars: The Roleplaying Game Traveller 2024 D&D Player’s HandbookBlackoath EntertainmentThousand Year Old VampireTales From the Loop RPGHoney Heist WWDC live translationShe Used to Be Mine performance and vocal coach reaction Kolchak: The Night StalkerGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterBecome a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscriptionSubscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTubeCraig Mazin on InstagramJohn August on Bluesky and InstagramOutro by Nick Moore (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.
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    50 分
  • 690 - Living and Writing in Sci-Fi Times

    690 - Living and Writing in Sci-Fi Times
    2025/06/10

    How do you write science fiction when technology is moving so quickly? John and Craig welcome back journalist and screenwriter Max Read to look at the trickiness of predicting the future, how our imagined futures can affect our reality, and ways that writers can protect their work from becoming dated before it’s even released.

    We also follow up on the new Dogma manifesto, words we don’t have in English, questioning ChatGPT, and answer listener questions on hosting your scripts on your website, offline writing software and how to find the time to goof around.

    In our bonus segment for premium members, Max walks us through his Letterboxd lists and proposes a new, niche film genre.

    Links:

    • Max Read’s newsletter Read Max and his Letterboxd
    • Dogma 25 Explodes at Cannes by Annika Pham, Marta Balaga for Variety
    • Maze by Christopher Manson
    • Blue Prince
    • Graham’s source for Egypt’s GDP and John’s sources
    • Neal Stephenson
    • William Gibson
    • Red Rooms
    • This Strange Mutation Explains the Mystifying Color of Orange Cats by Gayoung Lee for Scientific American
    • The Simulation is Failing. by Jessica Mazin
    • r/OneOrangeBraincell
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!)
    • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli.

    Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

    You can download the episode here.
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    56 分