Scriptnotes Podcast (.mp3)

Craig and John discuss the 31 superhero movies slated for the next few years. Is it good business or a trainwreck in the making? How do you move from a vague idea to an actual pitch? We talk about what you say when you’re in the room pitching on a project, and why passion trumps plot in most cases. We also look at copyright and how the current system is broken for everyone. Next week will be Craig...

John and Craig were delighted to join the Slate Culture Gabfest on stage to talk about the gulf between critics and creators. We have the audio from that, and additional thoughts on the issue. Then, how many characters does your movie need? We talk about how to figure out the Goldilocks spot where you have enough characters to make your world feel real, but not so many that they’re tripping over e...

Craig and John discuss that delusional period in which you’re convinced your script is the best thing ever written — and the inevitable heartbreak when someone tells you it isn’t. (TPS is close cousins to the Oscar Speech in the Shower.) Also this week: SF terms and tropes, Adam Sandler’s Netflix deal, and what the WGA should focus on. Links: Get your flu shot ! Get tickets now for tomorrow’...

Craig and John talk with Guardians co-writer Nicole Perlman about the development of this summer’s blockbuster, and her two years as part of Marvel’s in-house writing program. It’s a great look at how movies get started, and the dozens of drafts you didn’t see on the big screen. Nicole stays with us as we discuss which city would take over if Hollywood fell into the sea, why IMDb credits rarely re...

Craig loves the 1990 blockbuster Ghost. John? Ditto. Written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker, Ghost set the template for the modern romantic drama. It was Twilight before Twilight, Titanic before Titanic. It won hearts, weekends and Oscars, including best screenplay. We tackle Ghost scene-by-scene, imagining all the terrible notes that must have come up in development, and how fix...

This week, Craig and John tackle listener questions. Why do some giant books get crammed into a single movie, while others get split into multiple films? How do you write a movie if you can’t even get your computer fixed? What should a screenwriter do if, after nine years of trying, he still can’t catch a break? We don’t always have simple answers, but at least we have t-shirts. The new batch is a...

To celebrate the third anniversary of Scriptnotes, John and Craig invite Aline Brosh McKenna and her limitless analogies back to discuss box-office journalism, scene geography, emotional IQ and flipping the script. It’s a jam-packed episode. In fact, there was so much we cut part of it out as a bonus Overtime show that will show up for premium subscribers later this week. In it, we make prediction...

John and Craig spend the hour discussing the number one topic whenever screenwriters are done complaining about studio notes: the end of the world, and how to get ready for it. From zombies to asteroids to plagues, we make so many movies and TV shows about the extinction of the human race. But why? What is it about the Death of Everything that is so appealing to writers, and how should we approach...

John and Craig take a look at four new entries in the Three Page Challenge, ranging from galactic drama to medieval comedy. Along the way, they talk about the nature of one-hour teasers, trust, plausibility, and how to properly address religious authorities. Screenwriting is often described as a compressed form of writing, but one can take it too far. “The” and “a” are often useless articles &#821...

From Amazon to animation, there’s drama this week about prices for books and movies and even internships. John and Craig take a look at what happens when companies wrestle over how much things cost, and the effect it has on people trying to make a living as writers. We recorded this episode with a live audience listening in online. It went well enough that we’ll try to do it occasionally. Craig wo...

Craig and John discuss the accusations of plagiarism surrounding True Detective — and what plagiarism even means in the context of filmed entertainment. Movies don’t have footnotes, so how should screenwriters give attribution? Next it’s time for a look at the major Hollywood studios, and what would happen if any of them were to merge, like Fox and Warners seemed poised to do. Following that...

John and Craig revisit one of their favorite episodes, in which they sit down with screenwriter-turned-psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo to discuss writer’s block, procrastination, partnerships and more. It’s a can’t-miss episode for aspiring writers and professionals alike. LINKS: Dennis Palumbo , author and psychotherapist Dennis’s book Night Terrors: A Daniel Rinaldi Mystery on Amazon Impost...

John and Craig look at the trend towards hiring two writers to work on separate drafts of the same project. Is it better to have writers in parallel than serially? Or does it end up with studios ordering off a Chinese menu: this scene, that character, that other set piece? Both Craig and John just started new first drafts, so we talk about the difference between the Map and the Territory, and how...

John and Craig talk structure and escalation. Structure is simply what happens when. Escalation is how things get tougher. In features, characters are usually going on a journey that can only happen once, so you need to make sure that the events in your story are constantly challenging your heroes in new ways so they can continue to grow. In television, you’re often telling stories in which the ch...

In their first-ever live streaming episode, John and Craig open the mailbag to answer a bunch of listener questions. What research should a writer do before soliciting an agent or manager? What should a writer be willing to give up in order to make her first sale? Does a Mormon writer face special challenges in drink-and-drugging Hollywood? Why doesn’t Highland exist on Android? What determi...

Aline Brosh McKenna joins Craig and John to talk about the difficult journey through pages 70-90 of your feature. After that, we talk about procrastination, the Panic Monster and our inner Instant Gratification Monkeys. Screenwriting books always talk about structure, but never about tone, which is much more important for distinguishing great writing. So we spend some time looking at what tone fee...

John and Craig discuss why most characters are liars, and how that’s actually a good thing. John offers seven suggestions for picking character names that will help your readers. Then we look at a three page challenge that’s been filmed to see what worked on the page versus on screen. In follow-up, we discuss the Aereo decision and our mutual love of Slate’s Culture Gabfest. Finally, we answer a r...

Craig and John take a swing at several of the week’s hyperbolic headlines, from conflict-free comedy to Fitzgerald’s failures to Strong Female Characters with nothing to do. In each case, there’s a valid idea lurking beneath the overstated claim, but it’s important to separate good examples from bad. We then answer a stack of listener questions, ranging from slow contracts to strange emails to fri...

John and Craig open the vault to bring you a never-before-heard episode recorded live at the 2013 Austin Film Festival, where we did a Three Page Challenge and met with the writers. We’ve kept this episode banked for months just in case we can’t record a new episode. But we didn’t want to wait any longer. We’ll be back with a normal episode next week. Links: The Austin Film Festival Three Pages by...

John and Craig talk about what screenwriters can learn from the structure of classical music, then invite journalist Scott Tobias on to discuss how day-and-date video-on-demand releases make it hard to know how indie films are doing, individually and as a group. We also talk about the future of the Three Page Challenge, Reboots vs. Remakes, and how everyone in Hollywood is just a little bit off. L...

John and Craig discuss whether screenwriters are better off pursing writing assignments or working on their own material. They also look at the visual comedy of Edgar Wright, and The Shawshank Redemption’s 20th anniversary. Links: WWDC14 Bronson Watermarker PDF is available now! (And is half-off thru June 8th) Highland and Weekend Read Unlimited are also half off thru June 8th Steve Ballmer on dev...

Writer-Director David Wain joins John and Craig to talk about the long journey to bring They Came Together to the screen (on June 27th), the changing nature of spoofs, and the seminal summer camp film Wet Hot American Summer. We also touch on the origins of the three act structure, getting started right out of film school, and the odd financing of Legends of Oz. Links: David Wain , and on IMDb and...

Craig and John, along with their talented panelists, answer questions from the audience at the May 15, 2014 live show. One listener references Episode 99, Psychotherapy for Screenwriters, which remains one of our favorites. You listen to it and the whole back catalog by subscribing at Scriptnotes.net for just $1.99/month. Subscribing gives you access to all episodes through our apps for iOS and An...

John and Craig are joined by the writers of the some of the biggest superhero movies to talk about why these characters resonate. Andrea Berloff looks for the primal essence of Conan. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely discuss the challenge of bringing Captain America to a global audience. David Goyer talks about keeping Batman grounded even while Superman flies. Then the whole panel gets busy...

In a wide-ranging episode, Craig and John look at a 1912 screenwriting book, Levinson’s beef with the WGA, and the Periodic Table of Storytelling. We also answer listener questions about keeping secrets from readers, firing managers, and what happens to a Broadway show after Broadway. Plus, more follow-up on old One Cool Things. There are still (maybe?) tickets for the live show on the 15th....