John and Craig explore character agency in everything from scenes to entire series. They look at what agency looks like on the page, which characters should have agency, and what to do when you feel your characters sleepwalking through the plot.

We also strategize ways to move forward after the recent US election, and answer listener questions on writing sign language, screenwriting software for the blind, and how writing credits work when your TV series gets turned into a movie.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig escape to a world where where the story is always on rails — Disneyland!

Links:

• Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter
• Even Under Trump, California (Yes, That Hellscape) Will Keep Moving the World Forward by James Fallows for WIRED
• The Great Big Book of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle of History’s 100 Worst Atrocities by Matthew White
• And Yet It Moves by Ken White
• Martha on Netflix
• Replacement ear pads for Sony MDR-7506 headphones
• The Quantum Geometry That Exists Outside of Space and Time by Charlie Wood for WIRED
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, and is edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig look at how writers (and other humans) handle the anxiety of uncertainty, from election nights to green lights. We’ll talk through strategies for navigating situations where your circle of concern doesn’t match your circle of control.

Then we travel back to the 1980s and 90s, when many studios were run by ambitious strivers in their late 20s and early 30s. As the decades have passed, the players in these positions have held onto their posts, leaving the next generation stuck mid-ladder. We discuss what impact the aging of Hollywood has had on its output, and where the new guard might find an opening.

We also ask, is development wage theft? And answer listener questions on reusing material written for a different project, and the cost-plus model of production.

And in our bonus topic for premium members, what aspects of pandemic life have we incorporated into our daily routines?

Links:

• Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter
• AlphaBirds Game Night at Village Well
• The Big Squeeze: Why Everyone in Hollywood Feels Stuck by Mia Gallupo for the Hollywood Reporter
• ‘Development is Wage Theft’: Pilot Season Death Morphs Into Year-Round Hell by Elaine Low for The Ankler
• Isle of Arrows
• Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
• Mr. McMahon on Netflix
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig make their triumphant return to the Austin Film Festival for a wild night full of Emmy winning writers. They welcome Shōgun co-creators Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks to look at their process for structuring a series-long adaptation, keeping translations eloquent and accurate, and writing together as a married couple.

We then welcome Susan Soon He Stanton (Succession, Dead Ringers) and Megan Amram (The Good Place, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin) to discuss staffing on shows and crafting jokes. We also invite two audience members to play a new game: IMDB Sweeney Todd.

In our bonus segment for premium members, the panel answers audience questions on adaptations, a crossover with Succession and The Good Place, entering Hollywood from outside the U.S., and navigating Hollywood’s current contraction.

Links:

• Austin Film Festival
• Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter
• Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks
• Megan Amram
• Susan Soon He Stanton
• Decoder Ring – “The Wrongest Bird in Movie History”
• Vote Out Ted Cruz
• Brick App
• r/TVTooHigh
• Bliss Lau
• A Dream of Islands by Gavan Daws
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig answer twenty listener questions on craft, career, and the future of the industry.

Questions include: How do you correct well wishes you haven’t earned? What kind of relationship should you have with the person who created your source material? How do you keep your reps invested? What’s going on with that Stereophonic lawsuit? And are writers retreats helpful or a total waste of time?

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig celebrate the new D&D Player’s Handbook by looking back through every edition since 1978. Like the handbook, it gets less dense as it goes.

Links:

• Scriptnotes LIVE! at Austin Film Festival
• Drew’s Emmy certificate
• Why AI Isn’t Going to Make Art by Ted Chiang for The New Yorker
• The Stereophonic Lawsuit
• Rachel Bloom’s “Death, Let Me Do My Special” on Netflix
• Warner Bros. Studios Burbank
• Save Scarecrow Video in Seattle
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

Why is screenwriting so difficult, even for the smartest people? John and Craig look at the relationship between intelligence and wisdom, the kinds of problems writers attempt to solve, and the unmeasurable skills that screenwriters need to succeed.

Then it’s another round of the Three Page Challenge, where they give their honest feedback on three listener-submitted scripts. We also follow up on Moneyball, green envelopes, shorts, script coordinating, and what Craig means by writers being “calculating.”

In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you talk about movies and TV shows without spoiling them? John and Craig reason out how to dance around the twist that the two leads are actually the same perso– oh, shoot!

Links:

• Quote-Unquote Marketing Director – Apply Here!
• Veteran Script Coordinator on YouTube
• Why aren’t smart people happier? by Adam Mastroianni
• Middle Aged Man – SNL
• FLUNGE by J Wheeler White, COWS by John and Mark DiStefano, and NEVER DIE ALONE by Yeong-Jay Lee
• The Cutting Edge
• Strange Darling
• My Old Ass
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Fleishman is in Trouble) for a deep dive on 2011’s sports drama Moneyball.

What makes Moneyball work? Is it a traditional underdog movie, or does it break all the rules? Is Billy Beane a hero or a villain? What advantages do sports movies give you, and how much do you have to explain to your audience? How are movies like this developed? And how can you not be romantic about baseball?

In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Taffy dig further into the ways money is used to determine a person’s value.

Links:

• Moneyball on IMDb
• Moneyball screenplay
• Taffy Brodesser-Akner
• Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
• Scriptnotes LIVE! at the Austin Film Festival
• Highland Pro Austin launch party – sign up here!
• ABBA Voyage
• Opti-V fireplace
• Ken Medlock
• Imprint App
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig are on opposite sides of the world this week, so they’re revisiting an episode from 2016 to look at the many psychological barriers facing writers tackling big projects, and offer practical strategies for actually getting the work done.

They also discuss the then-upcoming election (same as it ever was), and answer a listener question about how autism spectrum disorder might impact a screenwriting career.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew reflect on what’s changed in the eight years since this episode last aired, and then like all conversations in 2024, they just start talking about Moo Deng.

Links:

• Episode 271: Buckling Down – Transcript
• Inevitable Foundation
• Forest, Snowstorm and Howling Wind ambiance tracks
• Julia Roberts To Star In Feature Film About PTA Mom Framed For Drug Possession by Nellie Andreeva for Deadline
• Here’s How to Finish That F*ing Book, You Monster by Chuck Wendig
• Wikitravel
• The Writers Guild Foundation
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Pedro Aguilera (send us yours!)
• This episode was originally produced by Godwin Jabangwe. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) to look at three stories of real people with too much money and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include strategies for dating Leonardo DiCaprio, the rise-fall-rise of inventor Palmer Luckey, and a council built to give away a fortune.

We also go feral over Marielle’s new movie Nightbitch, as she shares the joys of adapting something that feels personal and her tricks to directing dogs and children. But first, we take a look at a new study on which movies studios are developing, and share exciting news for those joining us at the Austin Film Festival.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Marielle and John remember the terror, nerves and euphoria of premiering your movie at film festivals.

Links:

• Nightbitch | Official Trailer
• Marielle Heller
• Highland Pro Austin launch party – sign up here!
• MacGruber on Peacock
• Hollywood’s 10 Percent Problem by Matt Belloni at Puck
• Dating a Celebrity – Thread by bo.predko
• American Vulcan by Jeremy Stern for Tablet
• How to Give Away a Fortune by Joshua Yaffa for The New Yorker
• You Get to Be Fulfilled Now by Teresa Jusino
• Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones by Priyanka Mattoo
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig revisit their legendary conversation 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.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we travel back to episode 425 where John and Craig debate when to practice self care or tough love, and how to evaluate when each of them are helpful.

Links:

• Dennis Palumbo
• Written by Magazine
• Dennis’s books on Goodreads
• Impostor Syndrome on Wikipedia
• The Imposter
• Paper Karma helps you control your mailbox
• The Secret in Their Eyes
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Stuart Friedel (send us yours!)
• This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

The original transcript for this episode can be found here.

John and Craig open the mailbag to answer a swath of listener questions that make Craig’s blood boil. They offer insights and umbrage on when you can turn down projects early in your career, picking the right day job, maintaining visibility when you’re taken off a project, the next steps after a successful short, when NDA’s are necessary, and how to credit unpublished source material.

We also say goodbye to green envelopes as we celebrate the arrival of direct deposit residuals, and follow up on AI training and GitHub for screenplays.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig abandon their superciliousness look at the English words they kind of know but are too chicken to actually ever use.

Links:

• Move Over Green Envelopes, WGA Rolls Out Direct Deposits For Residuals by Peter White for Deadline
• WGA Screen Credits Manual
• CDC Recommends Updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines for Fall/Winter Virus Season
• Hide posts on Threads
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back Ryan Reynolds for an in-depth look at his creative process bringing the character of Deadpool to the screen.

As co-writer, producer and star of the Deadpool franchise, Ryan leads us through his first introduction to the character, the rough journey getting to greenlight, and the challenges presented by an often-faceless protagonist. Along the way, they talk tone and dialogue, collaboration and rule-breaking, respect and irreverence, and the importance of listening to the movie. Ryan also has some writing questions for John and Craig.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we look at Ryan’s flair for marketing and the creative freedom he’s found in advertising.

Links:

• Ryan Reynolds on Instagram, TikTok and X
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• He’s So Annoying by Jesse David Fox for Vulture
• Buster Keaton – The Art of the Gag by Every Frame a Painting
• TCM – Turner Classic Movies
• Ryan Reynolds Guest Programmer | TCM via YouTube
• How The Onion is saving itself from the digital media death spiral by Nilay Patel for The Verge
• Vancouver, BC
• 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, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Tim Englehard (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.