Scriptnotes Podcast (.mp3)

John and Craig talk about perspective — both within a scene and the overall story. It’s not always obvious to the reader which characters are in the driver’s seat, so it falls on the screenwriter to make that clear. We have four new Three Page Challenges this week, with genres ranging from horror to sex comedy. John begs you to never try to establish a character’s backstory...

Craig and John take a break from writing scripts to talk about how screenwriters should read scripts. Paper or iPad? Single or double-sided? And how do you keep track of your notes for future conversations? Then it’s a session of roleplaying and maximum umbrage as we look at the logic and fallacies behind one-step deals for screenwriters. Cleansing our palette, we look at Skyfall. Spoilers,...

John and Craig talk about everything that comes after the oft-discussed First Three Pages, speculating on the kinds of issues they’d spot if they were looking at full scripts. They also answer listener questions on topics ranging from proper spacing protocol to novelists rewriting their screenplay adaptations. LINKS: “The exception that proves the rule” on Wikipedia Stuart’...

Screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein sit down with John and Craig to talk about writing movies, writing television and writing together. We met at the Austin Film Festival, which is where we recorded this episode. Both John and Craig assumed Abby and Marc were a couple — but it’s a lot more complicated than that, and any screenwriting teams who have considered sharing more than...

Craig and John dive back into the Three Page Challenge entries, along with an overview of the 500+ contenders that have been submitted. In response to listener curiosity, John and Craig also talk about their recording set-ups, and then follow-up on Star Wars, Karateka and Derek Haas’s busy schedule. All this and more on the 63rd installment of Scriptnotes. Audio Technica AT2020 USB microphon...

John and Craig discuss the big movie news of the week: Disney buying Lucasfilm, and with it, the rights to Star Wars. Everyone’s already talked about what it means for fans and stock prices, but what does it mean for screenwriters? It could lead to new jobs creating extensions to the Star Wars universe — both in film and television — but does the reliance on giant brands make it...

Craig and John ret-con the Austin Film Festival, placing themselves on panels in which they didn’t participate. It’s a chance to give the answers they would have given without the bother of being asked (or listening to other people’s opinions). For example, Terry Rossio’s seminar on “The Throw” — his term for how you end a scene — was presumably terr...

Recording live at the Austin Film Festival, John and Craig take a look at The Black List’s pivot to a paid site, and what it means for screenwriters and the industry. Black List creator Franklin Leonard joins us for questions and criticism. Next, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada, We Bought a Zoo) joins us to talk about the difference between Movie Stories and A Stack o...

John and Craig discuss Frankenweenie and Superhero! before cracking open the mailbox to answer listener questions: What advice would they give to their younger selves? Is a spec with a similar high-concept premise doomed? Should Australian screenwriters use U.S. spelling conventions? Then, a discussion of what constitutes a plot hole and to what degree screenwriters are to blame. After that, two n...

In the spirit of Looper, Craig and John take a journey back in time, looking at the first scripts they read, the first scripts they wrote, and the common pitfalls of many first screenplays. Not only that: they share and critique the first three pages from the very first scripts they wrote. Does John’s romantic tragedy from 1994 show potential? Would Craig keep reading his high-concept comedy...

John and Craig discuss what makes an idea a movie idea, and how those differ from TV ideas, book ideas, and other narrative forms. Some properties — like Charlie’s Angels — work in more than one medium. We take a few hypothetical projects and explain how they might work as movies. The conversation then turns to press junkets. Fresh off John’s Frankenweenie rounds, we reveal...

John and Craig talk about the new show John sold to ABC, which leads to a conversation about the differences between studios and networks, and how writers end up having relationships with both. We answer a listener question about what writers mean by a “weekly.” The bulk of the podcast centers on four samples from the Three Page Challenge, covering a range of genres from heist movies t...

What’s the difference between a reader and a producer? Much more than one high-profile online analyst seems to believe. John and Craig discuss what producers do, and how one plausibly gets started. From there, we talk pitching. Beyond the plot points, you need to be able to show why you’re dying to write this story, and why you’d pay money to see it. In follow-up, we talk about v...

John and Craig tackle eight questions on the profession of screenwriting, ranging from studio execs to sharing credit to pitching via video. It’s a big show. We cover a lot. And then we talk for quite a while about the unique beauty of Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper, because that’s what real screenwriters talk about. And there’s news! Hangover 3 is in production, Big Fish has ann...

John and Craig are all action this week, looking at how screenwriters write those things characters do in a movie. It’s a part of the craft that often goes unnoticed — unlike dialogue, you don’t hear the writer’s work — but smartly-written action pays dividends, helping readers see the movie you want them to make. We follow-up our discussion with a look at four (!) sa...

Craig and John celebrate one year of the podcast by going H.A.M. on the passive voice, the present progressive and other reductive nonsense rules. While you should feel free to split infinitives, we’d strongly recommend you avoid the 100+ lines of really bad dialogue you’ll hear far too often in movies. Thanks to Go Into the Story for compiling these. After that, it’s time for si...

John and Craig answer four listener questions, on topics ranging from scene headers to ticket sales. And which is better for an aspiring screenwriter: a low-level job at a major agency, or a steady 9-to-5 job that allows time to write? Then it’s another round of the Three Page Challenge, with three new samples submitted by brave listeners. Our ongoing thanks to everyone who sent in pages. We...

Screenwriters are often not the healthiest folk. We do our work at computers, surrounded by snacks, so it’s no surprise many of us get fat. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Screenwriters are often not the healthiest folk. We do our work at computers, surrounded by snacks, so it’s no surprise many of us are not our fittest. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We’re not doctors or nut...

John and Craig talk critics, and how trying to anticipate their reviews can cause paralysis. It’s funny how the screenwriter only seems to get mentioned in negative reviews. Well, not funny, actually. Frustrating. And possibly statistically verifiable, so listen in if you’re looking for a research project. Also this week: Craig’s insomnia, traffic apps, bake-offs done better, and...

Craig and John look at the results of the WGA screenwriter survey, which found widespread reports of bake-offs, prewriting and other shenanigans. If there’s any solace to be found, it’s that it’s not just you. Things are frustrating for the vast majority of screenwriters. After some follow-up discussion about the low percentage of women screenwriters, we get to the meat of this w...

Craig and John tackle a question screenwriters ask themselves at every stage in their careers: of all things I could write, which thing should I write? For working screenwriters, these questions are complicated by rights and money and personalities. But for the aspiring screenwriter, the choice is just as daunting. A screenplay is a huge undertaking, involving months or years of work. Each script...

Craig and John skip Comic-Con so they can discuss annoying and unproductive habits of development executives, along with advice for working with screenwriters. The back half of the podcast is devoted to the first-ever three page challenge, in which we critique listeners’ samples and offer suggestions. If you have a chance to read the samples before listening to the podcast — they&#8217...

It’s two parts craft and one part business as Craig and John discuss the alarming earnings report coming out of the WGA, plus a deeper look at setting and POV. For feature screenwriters, it’s hard to find a silver lining in the WGA’s report on 2011 earnings. Numbers are down significantly, both in total dollars and the number of writers earning anything at all. Of course, you don...

John and Craig look at how to write satisfying third acts. That doesn’t necessarily mean a happy ending, but rather one that feels earned. If the first 10 pages of a script establish a contract between reader and writer — give me your undivided attention and I will make it worthwhile — the last 10 pages are where that contract is paid out. This is where screenwriters generally ne...

This week, John is a bit under the weather, so Craig takes over moderator duties as they tackle four listener questions: ➤ When you spec a script based on a producer’s idea, who owns it? ➤ And on that topic, do producers ever really buy an idea? ➤ How much divine intervention — or other coincidence — can a movie support? ➤ How do pen names work for screenwriters? In follow-up, Cl...