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. 5 DAYS AGO

    711 - The State of Pitching

    John welcomes back Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Devil Wears Prada) to ask, what do executives expect from a pitch these days? They look at the typical structure of a pitch deck, how that differs from lookbooks, how pitches have evolved over the years, and best practices for pitching on Zoom. Also, what happened to single-lady sitcoms? If you remember Monday nights in the 90's, you know what we're talking about. We reflect on what they did for the culture and how social media and reality TV may be taking their place. In our bonus segment for premium members, Aline tells us what it was like being back on the set for The Devil Wears Prada 2. Gird your loins, people! Links: Preorder the Scriptnotes book! Scriptnotes LIVE at Dynasty Typewriter in LA, November 30th! Only a few tickets left! Dick's Sporting Goods Launches Entertainment Studio by Etan Vlessing for The Hollywood Reporter The Ladies of Monday Night I Love LA on HBO Max The Diplomat on Netflix Shotdeck Stranger Things pitch deck Paramount Makes Big Buy of Comedy Spec Script 'Bald Eagles' by Borys Kit for The Hollywood Reporter Big A## Calendar Rareform bags Aline and John talk about writing memorable endings on YouTube Preorder 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 Aline Brosh McKenna (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.

    58 min

  2. 4 NOV

    710 - What Happened To Weird?

    John and Craig look at all the pleasant, normal people around them and ask, what happened to the weirdos? They root out the causes of cultural stagnation, offer potential solutions, and explore the entertainment that still finds a way to be weird. We also look at the tipping point between "wanting to write" and "actually writing," follow up on printer prices and billboard queens, and answer listener questions on soundtracks, adapting a podcast and feeling ownership over your ideas. In our bonus segment for premium members, we try to remember how we construct our personal narratives, and the pros and cons of remembering our past. Our LIVE book release show will be at Dynasty Typewriter in LA on November 30th — get your tickets now! Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! Book release show tickets at Dynasty Typewriter in LA The Uncool by Cameron Crowe Meet the Sisters Battling to Become L.A.'s New Billboard Queen by Mickey Rapkin for The Hollywood Reporter The Decline of Deviance by Adam Mastroianni Too Many Cooks Happiness (1998) Ken Russell Community tries to figure out if Nicholas Cage is good or bad Homecoming on Prime Video ChannelVue Servant of the Lake Some People Can't See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound by Larissa MacFarquhar for The New Yorker Preorder 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 Jim Bond (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 hr

  3. 28 OCT

    709 - Live at the Austin Film Festival 2025

    John and Craig return to Texas for their 11th show at the Austin Film Festival. They welcome writer Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) and showrunner Anthony Sparks (Queen Sugar, Bel-Air) to look at what makes character relationships compelling, and how to build a writing career later in life. We also answer lister questions on getting un-stuck in a script, how podcasting has made us better writers, the limits of exposition, using AI for sizzle reels, and where we get the cajones selling a screenwriting book after slagging-off screenwriting books for fourteen years. In our bonus segment for premium members, we invite two Scriptnotes super-fans up to the stage to compete for the ultimate prize: an early, signed copy of the Scriptnotes book. Links: Pamela Ribon and Anthony Sparks Austin Film Festival Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Our Moneyball episode Enter the Relationship Matrix by Chris Csont Bring It On toothbrush scene STOMP Writer Emergency Pack 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 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 2m

  4. 21 OCT

    708 - Ambition Meets Fabrication

    John and Craig look at three tales of lies, betrayal and deceit and ask, How Would This be a Movie? Stories include a flamboyant show-business grifter, a sibling rivalry between two LA billboard queens, and American students tricked into attending a fake Oxford college. We also follow up on audio dramas, last looks, and answer listener questions on a suspicious AI story and what do do with producers that are too keen. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you watch TV when you're away from home, particularly overseas? We share the joys and frustrations of tuning in while you're on the road. Links: Preorder a signed copy of the Scriptnotes book! The Many Faces Of "Sir" Marco Robinson, The Man Who Grifted Aspiring Filmmakers With Claims About Being A "#2 Netflix" Producer by Jake Kanter for Deadline Trailer for Marco Robinson's TV show Get a House for Free Meet the Sisters Battling to Become L.A.'s New Billboard Queen by Mickey Rapkin for The Hollywood Reporter Dynasty (1981) Rica Famosa Latina on YouTube Fake Oxford by Josh Levin for Slate Fawlty Towers and Father Ted 'Run It Through GPT-5': The Phrase Changing Hollywood Overnight by Erik Barmack for The Ankler Sydney, Australia Ghost of Yōtei Preorder 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 Jeff Ross (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 2m

  5. 14 OCT

    707 - After the Hunt

    John welcomes writer and actress Nora Garrett to look at how her first screenplay, After the Hunt, took her from being un-repped to working with director Luca Guadagnino. They discuss her path from acting to writing, how her script went from being rejected by screenplay competitions to landing on Julia Roberts' desk, and how she constructed her complex power dynamics on the the page. They also answer listener questions on building tension and knowing when to tell rather than show. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Nora talk day jobs and how to balance focusing on your craft wi– shhh! The boss is coming, get back to work. Links: Read along with our excerpts from After the Hunt Nora Garrett After the Hunt Episode 667 – The One with Justin Kuritzkes The Rehearsal Flesh World by Jessica DeFino Big Reader Bad Grades BenDeLaCreme on Good One Preorder 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.

    1h 10m

  6. 7 OCT

    161 - A Cheap Cut of Meat Soaked in Butter (Encore)

    John and Craig invite Aline Brosh McKenna back to celebrate the third anniversary of Scriptnotes. It's a jam-packed, glass-and-a-half of wine, listener-favorite episode. They look at ways to breathe new life into scenes and characters that aren't working, box office journalism and how Hollywood is always dying, scene geography, and the role of emotional intelligence (or EQ) in a writer's career. In our bonus segment for premium members, we have original outtakes from the episode where we look at what changed in the world in our first three years on air, make predictions for what's to come, re-invent Spanx, and of course talk about D&D. Links: Going to the 2025 Austin Film Festival? Submit to our LIVE Three Page Challenge here! The original episode 161 and its transcript Aline Brosh McKenna on Instagram and IMDb Why do people throw tomatoes? from How Stuff Works The Knowledge Global Entry From 2014: Movies Have Worst Summer Since 1997 by Brooks Barnes Mimeographs on Wikipedia and eBay Maguire Watch on Everything is Terrible! Filthy Scriptnotes episodes The Angeles Crest Fiasco and The Dirty Show The Honourable Woman This Movie Will Require Dinosaurs by C. W. Neill N3TWORK Preorder 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 Robert Hutchison (send us yours!) This episode was originally 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.

    1h 10m

  7. 30 SEPT

    706 - Is TV Better Now?

    John and Craig wonder, how has TV changed in the last ten years? They compare what's better and worse, the tradeoffs between quality and quantity, how curation is changing, the pros and cons of shorter seasons, and what this all means for writers and viewers. We also look forward to our time at the Austin Film Festival, offer paths for writers to keep their health insurance, follow up on Three Page Challenge selections that actually got made, and answer listener questions on adapting a screenplay into an audio drama and payment for work after a script is turned in. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig looks at what makes a damn fine cup of coffee. Links: Going to the Austin Film Festival this year? Submit for our LIVE Three Page Challenge here! Entertainment Community Fund Services & Programs Signed editions of the Scriptnotes Book Destination: Earth audio drama Weekend Read Episode 163: Ghost WGA Showrunner Training Program Phantom Ink The House of Tesla Preorder 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.

    43 min

  8. 23 SEPT

    705 - Short Films and Existential Threats

    John and Craig discuss short films: what makes a great short, when should you make one, and what should you realistically expect out of it? We also update our predictions on whether the career of "screenwriter" can survive potential global catastrophes. We then answer listener questions on staff writer wages and using URLs in a script. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig talk intermissions and why more movies should have them. Links: Remembering Sundance Institute Founder, Robert Redford John's post on Robert Redford Digital Dungeons and Dragons Die Tally to vote for Scriptnotes Live Shows Scriptnotes Episode 334, Worst Case Scenarios, Transcript Maccy App DEVO Documentary on Netflix Megana Rao on Instagram and X Preorder 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 Luke Davis (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.

    58 min
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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 - 2025
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020
  • Show Website
    Scriptnotes Podcast

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