Scriptnotes Podcast

John August and Craig Mazin

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.

  1. VOR 1 STD.

    726 - So you've been nominated for an Oscar

    John welcomes writer-directors Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh (Two People Exchanging Saliva) to ask, what happens when your short film is nominated for an Oscar? They look at each step from their initial idea to awards season to see how they positioned their short to be considered for an Academy Award. We also reflect on the lessons learned from short films, and answer listener questions on how to give actors your script and finding representation after your Oscar heat has cooled. In our bonus segment for premium members, we turn up the contrast on the many reasons for shooting in black and white. Links: Two People Exchanging Saliva Taika Waititi's Two Cars One Night Andrea Arnold's Wasp Martin McDonagh's Six Shooter Damien Chazelle's Whiplash short film Jim Cummings' Thunder Road short film David F. Sandberg's Lights Out short Troy by Mike Donahue The New York Public Library's Picture Collection ReMarkable tablet 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 Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our Director of Photography is Jonathan Pope. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

    1 Std. 5 Min.

  2. 17. FEB.

    725 - Torn from the pages of Squash Magazine

    John and Craig gather our listeners' favorite news articles and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include an underground network delivering menstrual supplies in Minneapolis, a millennial travel group, how the US hacked ISIS, and a fake college squash team. But first we follow up on modern comps, email issues, teaching screenwriting, and what it means to be undeniable. We also answer listener questions on querying reps with a published book and whether writers really need to repeat the plot for a second-screen audience. In our bonus segment for premium members, what do we do with all our old CDs and DVDs? We weigh the pros and cons of physical media. Links: How an errand for a 12-year-old immigrant in Minneapolis became an underground operation by Jasmine Garsd and Sarah Ventre for NPR I Went on a Package Trip for Millennials Who Travel Alone. Help Me. by Caity Weaver for The New York Times How the US hacked ISIS by Dina Temple-Raston for NPR Whitman College: The Best College Squash Team in History by James Zug for Squash Magazine Shipping Out by David Foster Wallace Email deliverability tester Disempowerment patterns in real-world AI usage by Cornell University and Anthropic The world's greatest song that simply shouldn't exist 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 Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Gloom Canyon (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.

    56 Min.

  3. 10. FEB.

    724 - Introductions with Joachim Trier

    John welcomes writer and director Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value, The Worst Person in the World) to ask, how do you introduce your characters and their world to the audience? Using the screenplay for Sentimental Value, Joachim lays out how he sets up his themes, characters, conflicts and narrative authority in the first few pages. We also look at Joachim's process of developing stories with his co-writer Eskil Vogt, and answer listener questions on endings, casting, and work-life balance. In our bonus segment for premium members, Joachim and John flip through how we present screenplays on screen, why Joachim translates his scripts in pre-production, and the one little detail you might not have noticed in Sentimental Value. Links: Sentimental Value | Screenplay Joachim Trier Notorious (1946) The Lindy Effect Chris Ware Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware 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 Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Jeff Hoeppner & Richard Kraft (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.

    51 Min.

  4. 3. FEB.

    723 - Blank Meets Blank

    John and Craig ask, what makes a useful comp? Writers often use comparisons when pitching or discussing projects, but what separates good comps from bad comps, why do we use them, and when do comps hurt more than they help? Basically, it's The Studio meets My Dinner with Andre. We also follow up on orality and "film by" credits, answer listener questions on getting AI feedback and attaching an actor to a microbudget feature, plus bring you another installment of John Recently Learned. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig are having weird issues with their email servers and need your help! Links: The Sheep Detectives trailer The Great Gazoo Ben Turpin The Party (1968) Fulla Regrets on Instagram Kitty Carlisle Bobbie Wygant interviews Jodie Foster by Jack Plotnick on Instagram Catherine O'Hara dies via Variety 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 Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Pete White (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.

    1 Std. 4 Min.

  5. 27. JAN.

    722 - Orality, or Writing to be Spoken

    John and Craig ask, are screenwriters just oral storytellers who happen to write things down? They compare the literate and oral markers of the medium, how it separates screenplays from other literary forms, and consider whether screenplays are just one long pitch. We also look at the upcoming WGA member meetings, follow up on having enough time in the edit bay, Steve Jobs, Eva Victor, justifiable Dad pride, and answer listener questions on deliverables and what makes a script "undeniable." In our bonus segment for premium members, we look at the incredible slate of upcoming movies and make predictions for the 2026 box office. Links: Steve Jobs' email to himself How Will the Miracle Happen Today? by Kevin Kelly Havelock's orality tester Quantum computing for lawyers by JP Aumasson Swoop Inhibiting a master regulator of aging regenerates joint cartilage in mice by Krista Conger The Sheep Detectives trailer 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 Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Jennifer Lucy Cook (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.

    54 Min.

  6. 20. JAN.

    721 - Preparing to Direct (with Eva Victor)

    John and Craig welcome the actor-writer-director of the acclaimed indie Sorry, Baby to discuss preparing to direct your first feature. Eva Victor's year-long bootcamp included reverse-shotlisting movies, shadowing other directors, and lots of visual development. It earned them Best Directorial Debut by the National Board of Review. We also examine how Eva chose which scenes to cut, answer a listener question on how to talk to actors, and follow up on some excellent reviews of the Scriptnotes Book. In our bonus segment for premium members (like Eva!), Eva revisits their early career to think about how short-form video intersects with Hollywood. Links: Sorry, Baby Read the Sorry, Baby screenplay Eva vs. Anxiety Eva's straight pride parade video on X Demetri Papadimitropoulos's review of the Scriptnotes Book Certain Women I Saw the TV Glow Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert Vancouver SkyTrain Nutella mini jars rainymood.com 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 Scriptnotes 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.

    59 Min.

  7. 13. JAN.

    720 - Watch Your Tone

    John welcomes back Susanna Fogel and David Iserson (The Spy Who Dumped Me) to steal their secrets on creating an original tone in their new series PONIES. They look at how the writers room was built to match their sensibilities, using characters to anchor the audience, and what it takes to sell and produce an original period TV series in 2026. We also talk about the pros and cons of filming in Budapest, and answer listener questions on trusting your judgement, recognizing your talent, differentiating character voices, and whether spec pilots are out of fashion. In our bonus segment for premium members, Susanna and David look at how our taste develops, including what we can learn about taste from The Beatles. Links: PONIES Trailer | On Peacock January 15th Susanna Fogel and David Iserson The last time Susanna and David were on the show (Episode 361) The Work of Art by Adam Moss So You Want to De-Bog Yourself by Adam Mastroianni Procreate emulators True Grit and Retro Supply Co. International Society of Character Artists' character resolution 2026 The Plague (2025) The Taste Gap by Ira Glass 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 Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (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.

    1 Std. 4 Min.

  8. 6. JAN.

    719 - When Good Enough Isn't Enough

    John and Craig consider all the words they have to write and ask, how do you know when something deserves your best effort? They offer a useful rubric for deciding when something is worth perfecting, and when over-optimization is a waste of time. We also follow up on compulsive writing habits, industry euphemisms, back issues, and the impact and legacy of the WGA's 2019 agency negotiations. In our bonus segment for premium members, it's a new year! John looks back at things he accomplished in 2025 and his goals for 2026, while Craig sighs and gestures in the direction of The Last of Us. Links: Jamie Lee Curtis says "Trauma" Concept Creep: Psychology's Expanding Concepts of Harm and Pathology by Nick Haslam Young Connor Storrie on YouTube Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone Elon Musk announces the Cybertruck Valentina Vee on TikTok and Instagram Birth by Madison Karrh John's What I Did in 2025 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 Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Eric Pearson (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.

    1 Std. 10 Min.
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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.

Informationen

  • Erstellt von
    John August and Craig Mazin
  • Jahre aktiv
    2011 - 2026
  • Folgen
    23
  • Bewertung
    Anstößig
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020
  • Sendungswebsite
    Scriptnotes Podcast

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