Scriptnotes Podcast

John August and Craig Mazin
Scriptnotes Podcast

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. 5 DAYS AGO

    669 - They Ate Our Scripts

    Many of the biggest AI models have been trained on film and TV dialogue, and writers are furious. John and Craig explore the legal, ethical and philosophical implications of this revelation, our emotional reactions to it, and offer strategies for picking the right hills to die on. But first, we follow up on the definition of horror vs. thriller, generational narcissism, and young people’s ambition. We also answer listener questions on when to bail on a script and how to approach your first contract. In our bonus segment for premium members, we dig into the philosophical implications of Craig believing we live in a simulation, and whether that necessarily implies a creator. Woah, man. Links: Flightplan (and The Lady Vanishes) There’s No Longer Any Doubt That Hollywood Writing Is Powering AI by Alex Reisner for The Atlantic Vince Gilligan Statement on AI to USCO Lunchables The Serenity Prayer Jon Batiste hears Green Day for the First Time Tini’s Mac and Cheese on TikTok 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 BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon 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

  2. 10 DEC

    668 - Holiday Live Show 2024

    John and Craig welcome Brian Jordan Alvarez & Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher) and Jac Schaeffer (Agatha All Along, WandaVision) to join them for a live holiday benefit for Hollywood HEART. They discuss constructing Agatha All Along from blue sky to the Witches’ Road, “protagonizing” a villain, breaking in through YouTube and maintaining a working relationship with your best friend. We also play a new game, the Christmas Song Three Word Challenge, with former Scriptnotes producers Megan McDonnell (Dark Matter, The Marvels) and Megana Rao (Unstable). In our bonus segment for premium members, we answer an all-star round of audience questions in maybe the best Q&A we’ve ever had. Thanks to our fantastic audience, everyone at Dynasty Typewriter, and Hollywood HEART for putting the event together. Links: Hollywood HEART Jac Schaeffer Brian Jordan Alvarez and Stephanie Koenig Agatha All Along Fleetwood Mac – Silver Springs (Live) English Teacher A Spy Movie on YouTube Sitting My Old Ass The Downeaster “Alexa” The Later Daters on Netflix Sun lamps Thin Mint bites A Man on the Inside 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 BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon 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.

    1h 1m

  3. 3 DEC

    667 - The One with Justin Kuritzkes

    John welcomes playwright, novelist and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to discuss having his first two movies — Challengers and Queer — produced a single year. After charting his journey from playwright to screenwriter, we compare two drafts of Challengers to look at how the story changed during a hasty development, including crafting that iconic three-way. We also explore adapting William S. Burroughs’ novel Queer, and the film’s approach to showing sex on screen. In our bonus segment for premium members, Justin looks back on his time as a viral YouTube potion seller, and the value of that creative outlet early in his career. Links: Justin Kuritzkes on Instagram and YouTube Challengers and Queer Justin’s novel, Famous People Challengers – Production Draft Challengers – First Draft Queer by William S. Burroughs Potion Seller 3000 Miles to Graceland Why does my sign look like it has been burned? by Perth Graphics Centre Know Your Enemy podcast 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 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.

    55 min

  4. 26 NOV

    666 - Satanic Movies

    John and Craig take a deep dive with the Devil, exploring the unholy trinity of satanic films: Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen. They look at how these three horror classics work, where our modern conception of Satan comes from, and the future of the Devil on screen. We also answer listener questions on character arcs in horror, what separates horror movies from thrillers, and why the spooky stuff rarely gets awards attention. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig offer their nominations for the antichrist of our times. Links: Rosemary’s Baby – Screenplay The Exorcist – Screenplay The Omen – Screenplay Gifted by Simon Rich Say Nothing 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 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.

    50 min

  5. 19 NOV

    444 - Clueless (Encore)

    John and Craig analyze the iconic 1995 comedy Clueless, and why they’re majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with it. A contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma set in Beverly Hills, Clueless follows protagonist Cher as she tries to do ‘good’ through make-over montages and match-making attempts. We discuss how the movie sets up the characters in the first ten minutes, why Cher’s voiceover works so well, and how Clueless ushered in a new era of teen movies. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig share their own experiences learning to drive and how they’re preparing to teach their teenage daughters driving. Links: Clueless Clueless Script Episode Transcript 8D sound example Creme Mains hand creme O’Keefe’s Working Hands cream 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 Mastodon Outro by Ryan Dunn (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

    1h 6m

  6. 12 NOV

    665 - What Can You Even Do?

    John and Craig explore character agency in everything from scenes to entire series. They look at what agency looks like on the page, which characters should have agency, and what to do when you feel your characters sleepwalking through the plot. We also strategize ways to move forward after the recent US election, and answer listener questions on writing sign language, screenwriting software for the blind, and how writing credits work when your TV series gets turned into a movie. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig escape to a world where where the story is always on rails — Disneyland! Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter Even Under Trump, California (Yes, That Hellscape) Will Keep Moving the World Forward by James Fallows for WIRED The Great Big Book of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle of History’s 100 Worst Atrocities by Matthew White And Yet It Moves by Ken White Martha on Netflix Replacement ear pads for Sony MDR-7506 headphones The Quantum Geometry That Exists Outside of Space and Time by Charlie Wood for WIRED 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 Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, and is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

    51 min

  7. 5 NOV

    664 - Hollywood Got Old

    John and Craig look at how writers (and other humans) handle the anxiety of uncertainty, from election nights to green lights. We’ll talk through strategies for navigating situations where your circle of concern doesn’t match your circle of control. Then we travel back to the 1980s and 90s, when many studios were run by ambitious strivers in their late 20s and early 30s. As the decades have passed, the players in these positions have held onto their posts, leaving the next generation stuck mid-ladder. We discuss what impact the aging of Hollywood has had on its output, and where the new guard might find an opening. We also ask, is development wage theft? And answer listener questions on reusing material written for a different project, and the cost-plus model of production. And in our bonus topic for premium members, what aspects of pandemic life have we incorporated into our daily routines? Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter AlphaBirds Game Night at Village Well The Big Squeeze: Why Everyone in Hollywood Feels Stuck by Mia Gallupo for the Hollywood Reporter ‘Development is Wage Theft’: Pilot Season Death Morphs Into Year-Round Hell by Elaine Low for The Ankler Isle of Arrows Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte Mr. McMahon 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, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

    57 min

  8. 29 OCT

    663 - Live in Austin 2024

    John and Craig make their triumphant return to the Austin Film Festival for a wild night full of Emmy winning writers. They welcome Shōgun co-creators Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks to look at their process for structuring a series-long adaptation, keeping translations eloquent and accurate, and writing together as a married couple. We then welcome Susan Soon He Stanton (Succession, Dead Ringers) and Megan Amram (The Good Place, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin) to discuss staffing on shows and crafting jokes. We also invite two audience members to play a new game: IMDB Sweeney Todd. In our bonus segment for premium members, the panel answers audience questions on adaptations, a crossover with Succession and The Good Place, entering Hollywood from outside the U.S., and navigating Hollywood’s current contraction. Links: Austin Film Festival Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks Megan Amram Susan Soon He Stanton Decoder Ring – “The Wrongest Bird in Movie History” Vote Out Ted Cruz Brick App r/TVTooHigh Bliss Lau A Dream of Islands by Gavan Daws 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 Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

    1h 9m
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Hosts & Guests

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    John August and Craig Mazin
  • Years Active
    2011 - 2024
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020
  • Show Website
    Scriptnotes Podcast

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