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Scriptnotes Podcast

Scriptnotes Podcast

By: John August and Craig Mazin
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 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.© Copyright 2020 Art
Episodes
  • 696 - A Screenwriter’s Guide to Directors

    696 - A Screenwriter’s Guide to Directors
    Jul 22 2025

    In this compendium episode, John and Craig set their focus on directors — and how to work with them as a screenwriter. They look at the inner-workings of the writer-director relationship, etiquette on set, how to communicate notes from pre-production through post, and outline the qualities of the “perfect” director.

    We also offer advice to a first time director, looking at how to prep a project, how to run a set, working with actors, and how to inspire a crew to make the best movie possible.

    In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John back in 2025 for advice about casting, and what to do when actors pass on your project.

    Links:

    • Episode 4 – Working with directors
    • Episode 176 – Advice to a First-Time Director
    • Scrappy
    • HyperCard
    • Mount Wilson Observatory
    • John’s shorts God and The Remnants
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
    • Segments produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

    Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

    You can download the episode here.
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    54 mins
  • 695 - Advice to a Young Film Student (with Scott Frank)

    695 - Advice to a Young Film Student (with Scott Frank)
    Jul 15 2025

    John and Craig welcome back Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit, Dept. Q) to offer their best advice to film students and the people who teach them. They look at ways to improve how we educate writers, and offer advice to an aspiring development executive.

    We also look at the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations of characters in Scott’s new series, Dept. Q, follow up on the decline of sex in movies, and ask, what genres of movies should people see at least one of?

    In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Scott take a broader view of education in America to see what they’ve learned and what they would change.

    Links:

    • Dept. Q on Netflix
    • Scott Frank
    • Scott’s last time on Scriptnotes, Episode 476: The Other Senses
    • Everyone Is Beautiful And No One Is Horny by RS Benedict for Blood Knife
    • Scriptnotes 639: Intrinsic Motivation
    • Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading by Nadia Asparouhova
    • Elmore Leonard’s Perfect Pitch by Anthony Lane for The New Yorker
    • Richard Price’s Street Life by Kevin Lozano for The New Yorker
    • McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants’ Data to Hackers Who Tried the Password ‘123456’ by Andy Greenberg for Wired
    • Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
    • Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
    • Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
    • Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
    • Craig Mazin on Instagram
    • John August on Bluesky and Instagram
    • Outro by Nico Mansy (send us yours!)
    • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

    Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

    You can download the episode here.
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • 694 - Reviving the Spoof Movie

    694 - Reviving the Spoof Movie
    Jul 8 2025
    John welcomes back Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, Pretty Smart) to ask, how do you revive a dead genre? Using their upcoming movie The Naked Gun, they look at why the spoof genre fell apart, the challenges of introducing it to a new generation, and why turning genre tropes into jokes will always resonate with an audience. We also look at other genres they don’t make anymore, follow up on Dogma 25, and answer listener questions on complicated rewrites and whether or not to hire a publicist. In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Doug and Dan look at the movies that Gen Z hasn’t seen (and whether they even need to). Links: The Naked Gun in theaters August 1st!Dan Gregor and Doug MandDoug and Dan’s last time on the show, Episode 548: Made for StreamersBottoms and Dicks: The MusicalMelodramas: Now, Voyager, It Ends with Us, SpencerSexual thrillers: Body Heat, Jagged Edge, (Bonus: Altered States, Dead Ringers) You Must Remember Thins: Erotic 80sLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryAdult Romantic Dramas: The English Patient, Out of Africa, Past Lives, MaterialistsMid-Budget Adventure Films: Romancing the Stone, The Lost City John’s Aladdin residuals Breakthrough cholesterol treatment can cut levels by 69% after one dose by Hatty Willmoth for BBC Science Focus One dose of experimental drug nearly wipes out stealthy cholesterol in ‘remarkable’ trial by Erika Edwards for NBC News The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America’s UFO Mythology by Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha for WSJCalvin Kang on IngstagramWeekend Read 2 Top movies that Gen Z have never watched revealed – including Oscar-winning classics from The Sun UKGet a Scriptnotes T-shirt!Check out the Inneresting NewsletterBecome a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscriptionSubscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTubeCraig Mazin on InstagramJohn August on Bluesky and InstagramOutro by Ryan Gerberding (send us yours!)Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
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