Scriptnotes Podcast

John and Craig examine how to best use your connections to help yourself and others. They look at ways to identify the strength of a connection, leverage them without being manipulative, the nitty-gritty of approaching others for a favor, and the important ways to be generous in return. We also look at the good news in the WGA’s 2025 Screen Compensation Guide, follow-up on creator pay through streaming services, and answer listener questions on how to tell if you’re improving something, and whether having kids changes our storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig piece together their feelings on modern LEGO sets. Links: * Scriptnotes Book is now on Goodreads! [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221251835-scriptnotes?ref=nav_sb_noss_l_11] * Scriptnotes 700 on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/live/RBBWV0ZiDqk] * Episode 645 with Meredith Scardino [https://johnaugust.com/2024/the-third-season] * Vimeo on Demand [https://vimeo.com/ondemand] * Kanopy [https://www.kanopy.com/en] * WGAw Screen Compensation Guide [https://www.wga.org/members/employment-resources/writers-deal-hub/screen-compensation-guide] * NYT Connections [https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections] * Pips [https://www.nytimes.com/games/pips] * 50 Things I Know [https://usefulfictions.substack.com/p/50-things-i-know?r=3dw6x&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true] by Cate Hall * Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! [https://scriptnotesbook.com/] * Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! [https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast] * Check out the Inneresting Newsletter [https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/] * Become a Scriptnotes Premium member [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/], or gift a subscription [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts] * Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptnotesPodcast] * Scriptnotes on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/scriptnotespodcast/] * John August on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en] * Outro [http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros] by Spencer Lackey (send us yours! [http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed]) * Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt [https://www.drewmarquardt.com/] and edited by Matthew Chilelli [https://www.matthewchilelli.com/]. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here [http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/701standard.mp3].

To celebrate our 700th episode, John and Craig open the phone lines for a live late-night call-in show (recorded at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday). Through the power of Zoom (and YouTube), listeners ask questions about rewrites in post, avoiding traps as a production designer, changing characters in a rewrite, and advice on leaving the entertainment industry. We also welcome back familiar faces from Scriptnotes history for a brand-new segment, “People, Places and Things,” where we look at movie stills and ask how we might describe them on the page. Also for debate, what is the boundary between “spoiler” and “what’s happening in culture”? In our bonus segment for premium members, we keep the videophone lines open for more listener questions on juggling multiple projects, preparing alt lines for production, and whether studios option projects just to kill them. You can (and should!) watch the entire episode on our YouTube channel. Just search for Scriptnotes Podcast. While you’re there, give us a Like and a Follow. Links: * Watch episode 700 on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/live/RBBWV0ZiDqk?si=5CQt03QAEzUKeDXX] * Stuart Friedel [https://stustustu.com/stustustu], Megan McDonell [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6876585/], and Megana Rao [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11625734/] * Weapons [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26581740/] * The Hunting Wives [https://www.netflix.com/title/82013700] on Netflix * Vince Gilligan YouTube video [https://youtu.be/JD2phFNQpZc?si=OicBfOHSVe4fpi9H] * Our Back to School collection [https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/featured-friday-back-to-school/] on Weekend Read [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/weekend-read-2/id1534798355] * Play along with People, Places and Things: Woman one [https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/small_OYNNIH5L.jpg], woman two [https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/small_GIS10ZCV.jpg], man one [https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/small_9KVZ4GSV.jpg], kid duo [https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/small_YSND9R7Y.jpg], oceanside [https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/small_MO2201ZK.jpg], house [https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/small_C1N48WN6.jpg], and city [https://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/small_369RRQ3I.jpg]. * Scriptnotes Episode 399: Notes on Notes [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HZisUeazwY] * Spike tape [https://www.amazon.com/Tape-Colored-Gaffers-Fluorescent-Pinstripe/dp/B07DQBY5MY/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZeBnmOibujf9FPg-jiJdqvHsvjuLF6I7FDfvednaofM8Aq2JBywglccqDIgSM0MI_YPb56z1tFSWeOuaJxqQ6BdoW1ElB0oIs5aN3lJIxhZhTZA5DNcbOX3WcjZ8brB1IKwcRSuq2laGM0pq8Rh0Z0kB-IBYobIB9O5NdGPycyXi7e1by80UpaZ-fiWaBvi4IAeViFzf8Dihrjv-E4HAz60bjUMvk_7lcQjgN9fTH9Y.4so5tQFaqDL8zAORFbn18cyx488K01kko7Vg2rds2eo&dib_tag=se&hvadid=694064742937&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9030961&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=5927019391879671451--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5927019391879671451&hvtargid=kwd-486424841688&hydadcr=7497_13184007&keywords=spike%2Btape%2Bamazon&mcid=fb885823380935cbbb5cb5e0952feda4&qid=1754950056&sr=8-4&th=1] * Bridge Base Online [https://www.bridgebase.com/] * Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! [https://scriptnotesbook.com/] * Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! [https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast] * Check out the Inneresting Newsletter [https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/] * Become a Scriptnotes Premium member [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/], or gift a subscription [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts] * Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptnotesPodcast] * Craig Mazin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/] * John August on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en] * Outro [http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros] by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours! [http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed]) * Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt [https://www.drewmarquardt.com/] and edited by Matthew Chilelli [https://www.matthewchilelli.com/]. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here [http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/700standard.mp3].

Every writer has to pitch themselves, but how do you do it without sounding like a tool? John welcomes back Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) for a big talk about small talk and general meetings. They offer practical tips on what to expect, how to get people to open up, navigating NDAs, staying true to yourself, and organically moving the conversation away from the weather and towards your work. We also look at a pernicious effect of underemployment (starting with a prompt from Ryan Knighton,) and answer listener questions on alternating POV, reusing adjectives, and giving your story beats cause and effect. In our bonus segment for premium members, we get meta as we discuss the modern podcast landscape and next era of Scriptnotes. Links: * Scriptnotes Episode 700 – LIVE [https://youtube.com/live/6xlEOsrOoVg] * Pamela Ribon [https://pamie.com/] * My Year of Dicks [https://myyearofdicks.com/] * Rental Family trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0pqP6ClcE8] * Japan’s Rent-A-Family Industry [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/30/japans-rent-a-family-industry] by Elif Batuman for The New Yorker * 37 Seconds [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6156138/] * Good conversations have lots of doorknobs [https://www.experimental-history.com/p/good-conversations-have-lots-of-doorknobs?hide_intro_popup=true] by Adam Mastroianni * Real Time Lightning Map [https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=ses;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;y=-81.9969;x=37.6611;z=5;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;] * Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) [https://www.studentsengaged.org/] * Who Is Watching All These Podcasts? [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/style/podcast-video-audience.html?searchResultPosition=3] by Joseph Bernstein for NYT * Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! [https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast] * Check out the Inneresting Newsletter [https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/] * Become a Scriptnotes Premium member [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/], or gift a subscription [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts] * Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptnotesPodcast] * Craig Mazin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/] * John August on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en] * Outro [http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros] by Nick Moore (send us yours! [http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed]) * Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt [https://www.drewmarquardt.com/] and edited by Matthew Chilelli [https://www.matthewchilelli.com/]. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here [http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/699standard.mp3].

John and Craig descend into development hell to look at films that almost but never quite existed. Using both widely-publicized and little-known examples, they examine common patterns that keep movies frozen in script form. We also follow up on solar storms, writer education and genres people should see at least one of. We then answer listener questions on writing empathetically, late-career stamina, non-English dialogue, multi-part movies, and the Scriptnotes theme itself. In our bonus segment for premium members, if John and Craig were never paid to write in the screenplay format again, would they still do it? Links: * Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! [https://scriptnotesbook.com/] * Birdigo [https://store.steampowered.com/app/3264170/Birdigo__bird_word_game/] on Steam * Aurora by David Koepp [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/aurora-david-koepp?variant=41369586237474] * Pale Flower [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056327/] * Deep Red [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073582/] * Suspiria [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076786/] * Hands on a Hard Body [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116481/] * American Movie [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181288/] * Wonderland [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120529/] * Hands on a Hardbody the musical [https://playbill.com/production/hands-on-a-hardbody-brooks-atkinson-theatre-vault-0000013986] * Cure [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123948/] * Pulse [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286751/] * Moft magnetic wallet stand [https://www.moft.us/products/iphone-stand-wallet-magsafe-compatible?variant=41799750025303] * Total Party Skill podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/total-party-skill/id1756939023] * Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! [https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast] * Check out the Inneresting Newsletter [https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/] * Become a Scriptnotes Premium member [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/], or gift a subscription [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts] * Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptnotesPodcast] * Craig Mazin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/] * John August on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en] * Outro [http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros] by Steve Pietrowski (send us yours! [http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed]) * Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt [https://www.drewmarquardt.com/] and edited by Matthew Chilelli [https://www.matthewchilelli.com/]. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here [http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/698standard.mp3].

The Scriptnotes Book is real, and now available for preorder! John and Craig take a look through its 335 pages to explore the topics, guests and deep-dives we’ve assembled from over 1,000 hours of this podcast, creating what is sure to be your favorite bathroom book. Then it’s another round of How Would This Be a Movie?, where we look at four stories in the news to see whether they’re ripe for adaptation. Stories include a mother taking on the revenge porn industry, a wife navigating her husband’s longtime crush, a government worker who was secretly recorded on a date, and the potential destruction of solar storms. We also answer a listener question on current filmmaking technology. In our bonus segment for premium members, what is kindness? John and Craig talk through what sets this undervalued quality apart from niceness and other traits we mistake for kind. Link: * Preorder the Scriptnotes book! [https://scriptnotesbook.com/] * Send your pre-order receipt to Drew at ask@johnaugust.com * A Mother’s Revenge [https://slate.com/life/2025/07/porn-mother-daughter-revenge-law.html] as told to Christina Cauterucci for SLATE * Charlotte Laws’ fight with Hunter Moore, the internet’s revenge porn king [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/mar/30/charlotte-laws-fight-with-internet-revenge-porn-king] by Carole Cadwalladr for The Guardian * Help! My Husband’s Manic Pixie Past Has Become a Full-Blown Threat to My Sanity [https://slate.com/advice/2025/07/dear-prudence-chat-manic-pixie-past.html], Dear Prudence column for SLATE * SNL’s What’s That Name [https://youtu.be/rImxuuD_kwM?si=aFl25b_ydjDPkmSU] * An Offhand Remark About Gold Bars, Secretly Recorded, Upended His Life [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/climate/gold-bars-titanic-epa-date.html] by Lisa Friedman for NYTimes * The Unseen Fury of Solar Storms [https://www.noemamag.com/the-unseen-fury-of-solar-storms/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email] by Henry Wismayer for Noema * TRMNL [https://usetrmnl.com/] * Steve Ballmer: Developers [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhh_GeBPOhs] * The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered [https://elderscrolls.bethesda.net/en-US/oblivion-remastered] * Birdigo [https://store.steampowered.com/app/3264170/Birdigo__bird_word_game/] * Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! [https://cottonbureau.com/people/scriptnotes-podcast] * Check out the Inneresting Newsletter [https://blog.quoteunquoteapps.com/] * Become a Scriptnotes Premium member [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/], or gift a subscription [https://scriptnotes.supportingcast.fm/gifts] * Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptnotesPodcast] * Craig Mazin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clmazin/] * John August on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/johnaugust.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/johnaugust/?hl=en] * Outro [http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros] by Nick Moore (send us yours! [http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed]) * Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt [https://www.drewmarquardt.com/] and edited by Matthew Chilelli [https://www.matthewchilelli.com/]. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here [http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/697standard.mp3].