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...
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694 - Reviving the Spoof Movie
Scriptnotes Podcast
in theaters August 1st! and Doug and Dan’s last time on the show, and Melodramas: , , Sexual thrillers: , , (Bonus: , ) by Larry McMurtry Adult Romantic Dramas: , , , Mid-Budget Adventure Films: , by Hatty Willmoth for BBC Science Focus by Erika Edwards for NBC News by Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha for WSJ from The Sun UK , or Craig Mazin on John August on and by Ryan Gerberding () Scriptnotes is produced...
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693 - Setups That Don’t Feel Like Setups
Scriptnotes Podcast
John and Craig plant the idea for setups that have the most satisfying payoffs. Different from exposition, setups introduce ideas and concepts to an audience, priming them for a later revelation. They look at the sleight of hand required to have your setups deftly planted, take root in your audience’s mind, and grow into something delightful. But first, we look at the new California tax credits, the 2025 WGA annual report, follow up on AI and VFX, postmodernism, and verticals. We also answer listener questions on music videos and outing yourself to potential employers. In our bonus segment...
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692 - Crafting the Perfect Villain
Scriptnotes Podcast
In this craft compendium, John and Craig take a look at everything you need to make your bad guys compelling, memorable, and the perfect antagonist for your story. Using some favorite villains as examples, they look at the importance of understanding their motivations and offer seven tips for making a villain unforgettable. We also take a look at lackeys, henchmen and making sure your evil organizations are believable. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig shift their focus to monsters, and why even though those scary creatures are dangerous, they’re not always the...
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691 - Collaborative Storytelling and RPGs
Scriptnotes Podcast
John and Craig welcome author Stu Horvath to look at the rich history of tabletop role playing games. From Stu’s collection of over 2300 RPGs, they look at the evolution of collaborative storytelling, interactive narrative design, and the communities of players they inspire. We also discuss the complicated influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft on the world of D&D, and how the need to escape their derivative influences pushed RPGs to new heights of world-building and storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, Stu leads us down down down to discuss a surprisingly...
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690 - Living and Writing in Sci-Fi Times
Scriptnotes Podcast
How do you write science fiction when technology is moving so quickly? John and Craig welcome back journalist and screenwriter Max Read to look at the trickiness of predicting the future, how our imagined futures can affect our reality, and ways that writers can protect their work from becoming dated before it’s even released. We also follow up on the new Dogma manifesto, words we don’t have in English, questioning ChatGPT, and answer listener questions on hosting your scripts on your website, offline writing software and how to find the time to goof around. In our bonus segment for...
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689 - The Old New Video Problem
Scriptnotes Podcast
New forms of video creation are coming to disrupt the entertainment industry, but will they succeed? John and Craig look at verticals and Veo 3 to see where we might be heading, and what our industry’s past innovations might tell us about about the future. We also look at Memorial Day’s banner box office, and answer listener questions on bereavement during production, momentum, scene geography and how to fight motion smoothing. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig travel back in time to find which moments in history they wish they could see in person. Links: ...
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688 - Writing Jokes with Mike Birbiglia
Scriptnotes Podcast
John and Craig welcome back writer, director, and comedian Mike Birbiglia (Don’t Think Twice, Sleepwalk with Me) to take a look at several true news stories and ask, how would this be a joke? Stories include run-club haters, a conflicted bone marrow donor, and the coyotes roaming San Francisco. We also look at how Mike developed his new Netflix special, The Good Life, and answer listener questions on taking an idea from a podcast and knowing when you’ve broken a story. In our bonus segment for premium members, Mike walks us through how he’s able to market his work without it feel like...
info_outlineIn this episode from 2012, John and Craig sit down with producer and former studio executive Lindsay Doran (Sense and Sensibility, Stranger than Fiction) at the Austin Film Festival to explore the producer’s relationship with the screenplay.
The look at how the role of producer has changed, the ideal development process, how she developed Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, and staying true to your values in a fickle business.
In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John back in 2025 to consider the value of a good alumni program, and how an alma mater that under-delivers can be the pits.
Links:
- Lindsay Doran on IMDb
- The original episode transcript
- Perfectly Happy, Even Without Happy Endings by Carrie Rickey for the New York Times (including a great photo of Lindsay’s hair)
- Lindsay’s TEDx presentation: Saving the World vs Kissing the Girl
- Scriptnotes, Episode 17: What do producers do?
- Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
- Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
- Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
- Craig Mazin on Instagram
- John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram
- Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
- This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
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You can download the episode here.