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. FA 3 DIES

    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 h 4 min

  2. 27 DE GEN.

    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

  3. 20 DE GEN.

    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

  4. 13 DE GEN.

    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 h 4 min

  5. 6 DE GEN.

    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 h 10 min

  6. 30/12/2025

    718 - No Worries if Not

    John and Craig circle back on all the euphemisms and stock phrases that float around Hollywood. Using some favorite examples, they attempt to define and demystify the current industry-speak so everyone is looped in when we come up for air after the holidays. We also wrap-up 2025 with a look at Scriptnotes by the numbers, check-in on Disney's deal with OpenAI, follow up on that director who scammed Netflix out of $11 million, and answer listener questions on the guilds' involvement in video podcasts and reps who won't send out co-written scripts. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig navigate how to deal with difficult collaborators. Links: How Disney's OpenAI Deal Changes Everything by Steven Zeitchik and Julian Sancton for The Hollywood Reporter Guilty! Director Who Scammed Netflix Out Of Millions Faces Decades Behind Bars by Dominic Patten for Deadline Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon Down to Puck: Why Women Are Going Wild for 'Heated Rivalry' by Seth Abramovitch for The Hollywood Reporter Search Engine annual meeting Order a signed copy of the Scriptnotes Book! Charli XCX's Substack Trailer for Divinity by Larian Studios 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 (now with fewer emails!) 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. (46:41) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

    1 h 6 min

  7. 23/12/2025

    717 - The Screenwriting Life: The Craft Lessons That Matter Most

    In a Christmas crossover event, John and Craig join Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) and Lorien McKenna (Tab Time) on their podcast, The Screenwriting Life. We talk about why rigid structure can miss the point, how theme emerges from character, what fear and denial really look like on the page, and how writers can survive rejection without letting it define them. In our bonus segment for premium members, John breaks Drew's heart with his lovely memories of Rob & Michele Reiner. Links: The Screenwriting Life podcast 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 (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Mathew 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. (20:00) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

    54 min

  8. 16/12/2025

    716 - Personality Typologies

    John and Craig welcome back screenwriter Mike Makowsky (Death by Lightning, Bad Education) to ask, how do you dramatize a historical event that no one's heard of? They look at the dramatic engine behind the Garfield assassination, the long journey Death by Lightning had to getting made, and the importance of finding great stories in obscure history. We investigate the peculiar habits and compulsions of our own writing practices, and see how personality typologies can help figure out what makes our characters tick. We also follow up on a certain orange book, breaking into Hollywood in your 30's, and offer our thoughts on the impending sale of Warner Bros. In our bonus segment for premium members, which TV shows had the best "coaching trees"? We marvel at the writers' rooms that launched the most successful writers today. Links: Death by Lightning on Netflix Mike Makowsky on IMDb and Instagram Episode 448 (The last time Mike was on the podcast) Which TV Show Has the Best Coaching Tree? Alan Sepinwall for The Ringer Size matters: a single representation underlies our perceptions of heaviness in the size-weight illusion New evidence for the sensorimotor mismatch theory of weight perception and the size-weight illusion Friedman Personnel Agency Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard The Ballad of Guiteau from Assassins The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda Edelstein A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About to Get Its First Major Test by Emily Mullin for WIRED Heated Rivalry on HBO Max The Good Lord Bird 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 (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Luke Foster (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. (9:00) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

    1 h 7 min
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Informació

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.

Fitxa tècnica

  • Creació
    John August and Craig Mazin
  • Anys en actiu
    2011 - 2026
  • Episodis
    23
  • Qualificació
    Explícit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020
  • Lloc web del programa
    Scriptnotes Podcast

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