Weekend Read, our app for reading scripts on your phone, features a new curated collection of screenplays each week. This week, we look at the series nominated across all categories at the upcoming 76th Emmy Awards. (In some cases, we’re using the pilot, so you don’t worry about spoilers for later seasons.) Our collection includes: […] The post Featured Friday: Emmy Nominees first appeared on John August ..read more

Weekend Read, our app for reading scripts on your phone, features a new curated collection of screenplays each week. This week, we look at stories told through the lens of a child’s imagination, and how those fantastical fictions can help them overcome real-life adversity. Our collection includes: A Little Princess by Richard LaGravenese A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness Beasts of the Southern Wild by Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin Coraline by Henry Selick Heavenly Creatures by Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro The Secret Garden by Caroline Thompson The Wizard of ..read more

Back in 2017, friends and I came up with a fun little game called AlphaBirds.1 We’ve been playing it in the office nearly every Friday since then. It’s a word game like Scrabble or Wordle, but faster and more fun. And it’s ridiculously simple to learn. On your turn, draw two cards. Play one card in front of you, and one in front of any other player. Make words if you can. Longer words are worth more points. Yes: there are more rules. But that’s the gist. Most players pick it up in 30 seconds or less. It’s the perfect game for lunchtime or beer o’clock. You can carry on a conversation while p ..read more

John welcomes back Mike Schur (The Good Place, Parks and Recreation) to ask, how do you fix an overwritten script? They discuss ways to rebuild scenes and restore muddy characters that have become burdened by too many notes, all while making sure your script retains its voice. We also look at the new IATSE deal with the AMPTP, the WGA’s back-pay settlement with CBS, Skydance purchasing Paramount, and follow-up on our idea of keeping pages un-locked. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Mike listen to the AI generated songs named in the RIAA’s current lawsuit and wonder, did they ..read more

The original post for this episode can be found here. John August: Hey, this is John. Heads up that today’s episode has just a little bit of swearing in it. Hello and welcome. My name is John August. Craig Mazin: My name is Craig Mazin. John: This is Episode 646 of Scriptnotes, a podcast about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters. There are many software products aimed at the film and television industry, and more in development. But why do the bad ones persist, and why is it so hard for the better ones to succeed? Today on the show, we’ll look at the challenges and o ..read more

The original post for this episode can be found here. John August: Hello and welcome. My name is John August, and you’re listening to Episode 645 of Scriptnotes, a podcast about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters. For showrunners, the first season of a television show is often a trial by fire as they figure out what show they’re actually making and how to do it. The second season can be both easier and more difficult, as showrunners have the benefit of experience but also the burden of expectation. Today on the show, we have two showrunners who have just delivered t ..read more

The original post for this episode can be found here. John August: Hello and welcome. My name is John August. Craig Mazin: Meow. My name is Craig Mazin. John: This is Episode 644 of Scriptnotes, a podcast about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters. Today on the show, we will sing the praises of the cold open. Those scenes that occur at the beginning of an episode, often before the opening titles. We’ll discuss how they work and how to make them work for you. We will also check out new requirements for loan-out corporations and answer listener questions on exposition ..read more

Weekend Read, our app for reading scripts on your phone, features a new curated collection of screenplays each week. This week, we look at how writers have adapted, remixed, distorted and exploded the story of Frankenstein’s Monster. Our collection includes: Edward Scissorhands by Caroline Thompson Ex Machina by Alex Garland Frankenweenie by John August Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by Steph Lady Poor Things by Tony McNamara Stranger Things – “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers” by The Duffer Brothers The Fly by David Cronenberg and Charles Edward Pogue The Monster Squad by Shane Black a ..read more

John and Craig welcome Aline Brosh McKenna to look at what writers mean by a “voice,” and how it develops. Some screenwriters’ voice develops long before their craft, leading people to label them as “promising” even though the scripts themselves are a mess. Other writers get all the technical stuff right from the start, but have a hard time finding something distinctive about how they write. From there, we segue into one of the most contentious Three Page Challenges we’ve ever done, with wildly split opinions. In our bonus segment for premium members, John the Eagle Scout gives Drew practical ..read more

John welcomes Simon Rich (Man Seeking Woman, Miracle Workers) to look at how he crafts a comedic premise. Using his work on SNL, his time writing Inside Out at Pixar and his plethora of short stories, they look at how he develops a funny idea into a story with narrative and emotional punch. We also follow up on the Harry Potter TV series, and answer listener questions on the downsides of writing in other mediums and adapting your screenplay into a novel. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you get your work into magazines? Simon walks through his experience, from rejection letters ..read more