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Anti-Villains

Episode - 590

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March 7, 2023 Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig twirl their mustaches and discuss what motivates our villains. Why does past trauma lead some characters to become villains, while others become heroes? What separates good and evil, and what makes a villain great?

We also celebrate Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy TV special, and follow up on office phones, #PayUpHollywood, and American military influence in film.

In our bonus segment for premium members, we discuss Craig’s new tattoo of Ellie’s switchblade, and our first tattoo experiences.

Links:

  • Amtel Systems
  • The U.S. military’s Hollywood connection by Rebecca Keegan for Los Angeles Times
  • How E-girl influencers are trying to get Gen Z into the military by Günseli Yalcinkaya for DAZED
  • Warren Beatty Appears in Bizarre Dick Tracy TCM Special in Apparent Film-Rights Ploy by Dan Clarendon
  • The 1000 Deaths of Wile E. Coyote by T.B.D.
  • Why do good people do bad things? by Daniel Effron
  • Why some people are willing to challenge behavior they see as wrong despite personal risk by Catherine A. Sanderson
  • WGAw Late Pay Desk
  • The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are by Jennifer Senior for The Atlantic
  • Tattoo artist Yeono
  • Craig’s Tattoo
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
  • Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
  • Craig Mazin on Instagram
  • John August on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • John on Mastodon
  • Outro by Dilo Gold (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Chris Csont and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@dev.johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 4-27-23: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Getting Staffed in 2021

February 9, 2021 News, PayUpHollywood, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig debate best practices for writers looking to staff for television rooms–including whether you should be on social media and how to approach a showrunner meeting.

We also take a look at the GameStop story and discuss whether and how this should be a movie. Then Liz Alper and Jamarah Hayner join us to discuss the impact of covid shutdowns on assistants.

Finally in our bonus segment for premium members, we share our awkward dating stories.

Links:

  • Lil Yachty Uno Movie
  • PayUpHollywood Results and article
  • Thank you to Liz Alper and Jamarah Hayner!
  • The Gamestop movie at Netflix, MGM, and RatPac
  • Rachel Miller Twitter Thread
  • Check out Rachel’s nonprofit Film2Future here!
  • What the next generation of editors need to tell their political reporters by Dan Froomkin
  • Whitney Houston and Brandy singing Impossible from Cinderella
  • Stella Zawistowski
  • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
  • Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription, also we’re now offering annual memberships!
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@dev.johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 2-12-21 The transcript for this episode can now be found here.

Minimum Viable Movie

October 22, 2019 Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig discuss how to figure out if a given idea can work as a movie. What are the minimum requirements for story and vision a writer should consider before starting on a screenplay?

We also invite Megana Rao and Bo Shim to follow up on our discussion of low assistant pay. Plus follow up from the WGA and video game industry awards, and a look ahead to the Austin Film Festival.

Links:

  • Austin Film Festival Schedule
  • Taylor Swift Tiny Desk Concert on NPR
  • What Is the Time Signature of the Ominous Electronic Score of The Terminator? by Seth Stevenson
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Outro by Tyler Adams (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@dev.johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here

UPDATE 10-29-2019 The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Assistants Aren’t Paid Nearly Enough

October 15, 2019 Scriptnotes

John and Craig tackle the issue of assistant pay in Hollywood. Last week they called for assistants to share how much they were getting paid and the impact of those wages. They received a record number of responses highlighting the inequities in the industry. Using these emails, they take a look at the biggest issues with current pay and the challenges ahead.

We also discuss videogame writing, spec features, and thesauri.

Thank you to all of the Hollywood assistants who wrote in for this episode!

Links:

  • Hollywood’s Grueling Hours & Drowsy-Driving Problem: Crew Members Speak Out Despite Threat To Careers
  • WGA Will No Longer Award Video Game Writing
  • John’s Post on Assistant Pay
  • Untitled Goose Game
  • Queer Qrosswords
  • John August on Twitter
  • Craig Mazin on Twitter
  • John on Instagram
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
  • Outro by Naomi Randall (send us yours!)

Email us at ask@dev.johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here

UPDATE 11-11-19 The transcript for this episode can be found here.

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