704 - Places, Everyone
Scriptnotes Podcast
John welcomes back Liz Hannah (The Post, The Girl from Plainville) to discuss how to construct and communicate setting in a script. They talk about the balance between establishing a sense of space while avoiding the beginner’s mistake of over-blocking. We also follow up on accountability groups, last looks, and French composers. Then, we answer listener questions on revisions and getting your Hollywood Card revoked. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Liz consider how to explain screenwriting to your kids (and others). LINKS: Interested in being our new UI/UX...
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703 - Getting Period Right
Scriptnotes Podcast
Interested in being our new UI/UX designer? by Ben Child for The Guardian Marielle Heller’s and () by Jason Barlow for Wired , or Scriptnotes on John August on and by Whit Morliss () Scriptnotes is produced by and edited by . Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode .
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702 - Last Looks
Scriptnotes Podcast
by Katie Seward, by Holden Potter, and by Sylvia-Anne Parker Megana Rao on and by Hollis Robbins , or Scriptnotes on John August on and by NIck Moore () Scriptnotes is produced by and edited by . Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode .
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701 - Connections
Scriptnotes Podcast
John and Craig examine how to best use your connections to help yourself and others. They look at ways to identify the strength of a connection, leverage them without being manipulative, the nitty-gritty of approaching others for a favor, and the important ways to be generous in return. We also look at the good news in the WGA’s 2025 Screen Compensation Guide, follow-up on creator pay through streaming services, and answer listener questions on how to tell if you’re improving something, and whether having kids changes our storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and...
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700 - The Live Call-In Show
Scriptnotes Podcast
To celebrate our 700th episode, John and Craig open the phone lines for a live late-night call-in show (recorded at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday). Through the power of Zoom (and YouTube), listeners ask questions about rewrites in post, avoiding traps as a production designer, changing characters in a rewrite, and advice on leaving the entertainment industry. We also welcome back familiar faces from Scriptnotes history for a brand-new segment, “People, Places and Things,” where we look at movie stills and ask how we might describe them on the page. Also for debate, what is the boundary between...
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699 - How to Talk About Yourself
Scriptnotes Podcast
Every writer has to pitch themselves, but how do you do it without sounding like a tool? John welcomes back Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) for a big talk about small talk and general meetings. They offer practical tips on what to expect, how to get people to open up, navigating NDAs, staying true to yourself, and organically moving the conversation away from the weather and towards your work. We also look at a pernicious effect of underemployment (starting with a prompt from Ryan Knighton,) and answer listener questions on alternating POV, reusing adjectives, and giving your story...
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698 - Movies that Never Were
Scriptnotes Podcast
John and Craig descend into development hell to look at films that almost but never quite existed. Using both widely-publicized and little-known examples, they examine common patterns that keep movies frozen in script form. We also follow up on solar storms, writer education and genres people should see at least one of. We then answer listener questions on writing empathetically, late-career stamina, non-English dialogue, multi-part movies, and the Scriptnotes theme itself. In our bonus segment for premium members, if John and Craig were never paid to write in the screenplay format again,...
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697 - We Wrote a Book!
Scriptnotes Podcast
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...
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696 - A Screenwriter’s Guide to Directors
Scriptnotes Podcast
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,...
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695 - Advice to a Young Film Student (with Scott Frank)
Scriptnotes Podcast
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...
info_outlineJohn welcomes back Aline Brosh McKenna to help figure out how to say goodbye… in your story. Using examples from some of their favorite movies, they explore how farewell scenes work, what sets them apart from the average see-you-later, and leaving a lasting effect on your characters and the audience.
We also look at the summer box office, George Gallo’s Bad Boys lawsuit, Sony’s purchase of Alamo Drafthouse, and answer listener questions on bad ex-managers, second steps, NDA’s, fairies, and how to take advantage of downtime in LA.
In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Aline discuss journaling. Should we be keeping track of what we’ve been doing all day?
Links:
- ‘Bad Boys’ Settlement by Dominic Patten for Deadline
- Why did Sony buy Alamo Drafthouse — and is it actually a good thing? by Ryan Faughnder for LA Times
- The Nine Enneagram Type Descriptions
- Farewell – Casablanca
- Farewell – Past Lives
- Farewell – Lost in Translation
- Farewell – Weekend
- Farewell – Philadelphia
- Farewell – The Shawshank Redemption
- Farewell – Harold and Maude
- Farewell – Terminator 2
- Farewell – The Way We Were
- Farewell – The Wizard of Oz
- Farewell – E.T.
- Farewell – Toy Story 3
- Farewell – Dead Poets Society
- Revival Hub LA
- Visit Malta
- Peel off lip stain
- Dirt Man by Carter Vail, and some of Aline’s favorite remixes, via TikTok
- Phil Collins’ Houdini
- 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 Twitter
- John on Mastodon
- Outro by Eric Pearson (send us yours!)
- Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Jonathan Wigdortz. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at [email protected]
You can download the episode here.