by 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.
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🇺🇲
Publishing Since
10/24/2023
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April 15, 2025
<p>John and Craig break out of coverage to look at oners and long shots, cutting through any directorial showboating to compare the pros and cons and cons and cons of those unbroken takes, offering ways to decide when they are necessary or purposeful, and how to recognize when it’s better to cut.</p> <p>We also look at changes to Sundance and the Nicholl Fellowship, answer listener questions on house lights in movie theaters, Oscar voting, improv movies, and share a few horror stories from John and Craig’s early career.</p> <p>In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at their relationship with their phones and consider dumbing down.</p> <p>Links:</p> <ul> <li><a href= "https://listen.hbo.com/the-last-of-us-podcast?c=j7OtnzLuMXqeSoftILkGSQ&h=fa178b525d63bd924"> HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.sundance.org/new-sundance-film-festival-home/">Sundance is moving to Boulder, Colorado!</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.oscars.org/nicholl">Changes to the Academy Nicholl Fellowship</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.netflix.com/title/81756069">Adolescence</a> | <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-studio/umc.cmc.7518algxc4lsoobtsx30dqb52">The Studio</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThsZ8wfhJpk">Meryl Streep and Viola Davis in Doubt</a></li> <li><a href="https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/alien/">The Alien RPG</a> by Free League</li> <li><a href= "https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/assassins-creed/shadows">Assassin’s Creed: Shadows</a></li> <li><a href="https://theshow.com/">The Show 25</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.shesabeast.co/the-diy-dumbphone-method/">The DIY Dumbphone Method</a> by Casey Johnston</li> <li><a href= "https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast">Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!</a></li> <li><a href="https://inneresting.substack.com/">Check out the Inneresting Newsletter</a></li> <li><a href="https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts">Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription</a> or <a href= "https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/">treat yourself to a premium subscription!</a></li> <li>Craig Mazin on <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/">Instagram</a></li> <li>John August on <a href= "https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.net/@johnaugust">Threads</a>, and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li><a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros">Outro</a> by Nick Moore (<a href="http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed">send us yours!</a>)</li> <li>Scriptnotes is produced by <a href= "https://www.drewmarquardt.com/">Drew Marquardt</a> and edited by <a href="https://www.matthewchilelli.com/">Matthew Chilelli</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Email us at [email protected]</p> <p>You can download the episode <a href= "http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/683standard.mp3">here</a>.</p>
April 8, 2025
<p>In 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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Links:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0233386/">Lindsay Doran</a> on IMDb</li> <li><a href= "https://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-68-talking-austen-in-austin-transcript"> The original episode transcript</a></li> <li><a href= "http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/movies/lindsay-doran-examines-what-makes-films-satisfying.html?pagewanted=all"> Perfectly Happy, Even Without Happy Endings</a> by Carrie Rickey for the New York Times (including a great photo of Lindsay’s hair)</li> <li>Lindsay’s TEDx presentation: <a href= "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=752INSLlyf0">Saving the World vs Kissing the Girl</a></li> <li>Scriptnotes, Episode 17: <a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2011/what-do-producers-do">What do producers do?</a></li> <li><a href= "https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast">Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!</a></li> <li><a href="https://inneresting.substack.com/">Check out the Inneresting Newsletter</a></li> <li><a href="https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts">Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription</a> or <a href= "https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/">treat yourself to a premium subscription!</a></li> <li>Craig Mazin on <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/">Instagram</a></li> <li>John August on <a href= "https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.net/@johnaugust">Threads</a>, and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li><a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros">Outro</a> by Matthew Chilelli (<a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed">send us yours!</a>)</li> <li>This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by <a href= "https://www.drewmarquardt.com/">Drew Marquardt</a> and edited by <a href="https://www.matthewchilelli.com/">Matthew Chilelli</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Email us at [email protected]</p> <p>You can download the episode <a href= "http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/68RBstandardV2.mp3">here</a>.</p>
April 1, 2025
<p>John and Craig welcome writer and showrunner Tony Gilroy (Andor, Michael Clayton) for an in-depth look at crafting a second season of a hit TV show. They look at ways to find your season’s structure, setting your production up for success, controlling the energy your audience spends on information, and how to wrap up your story before the show eats you alive.</p> <p>They also answer listener questions on what to do when a movie that’s similar to yours is wildly successful, and whether being a movie critic could hurt your writing career.</p> <p>In our bonus segment for premium members, Tony sticks around to ponder which words we wish existed in English, and how we’d use them in our scripts.</p> <p>Links:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006904/">Tony Gilroy</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOfBli5P7fs">Here’s a recap of Andor Season 1!</a></li> <li>Andor Season 2: <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE4wxt70aUM">Trailer 1</a> | <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duN-KQgOjYs">Trailer 2</a> | <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feJSTZRRaFQ">Special Look</a></li> <li><a href= "https://johnaugust.com/2025/writing-action-set-pieces">Episode 680 – Writing Action Set Pieces</a> with Christina Hodson</li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VrLQXR7mKU">I’m Not a Robot</a> short by Victoria Warmerdam</li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtkXbPjHOQo">I’m Not a Robot</a> short by Jason Speir</li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Schiff">Stephen Schiff</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.startpage.com/en/">Startpage</a></li> <li><a href="https://500songs.com/">A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs</a></li> <li><a href="https://johnaugust.com/raindrop.io">Raindrop</a></li> <li><a href= "https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast">Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!</a></li> <li><a href="https://inneresting.substack.com/">Check out the Inneresting Newsletter</a></li> <li><a href="https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts">Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription</a> or <a href= "https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/">treat yourself to a premium subscription!</a></li> <li>Craig Mazin on <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/">Instagram</a></li> <li>John August on <a href= "https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.net/@johnaugust">Threads</a>, and <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en">Instagram</a></li> <li><a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros">Outro</a> by Spencer Lackey (<a href= "http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed">send us yours!</a>)</li> <li>Scriptnotes is produced by <a href= "https://www.drewmarquardt.com/">Drew Marquardt</a> and edited by <a href="https://www.matthewchilelli.com/">Matthew Chilelli</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Email us at [email protected]</p> <p>You can download the episode <a href= "http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/682standard.mp3">here</a>.</p>
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