What do producers do?
Craig and John explain what producers do — at least, what they’re supposed to do — and discuss the myriad subclasses of producers that litter the opening titles of many movies. Which is the more...
View ArticleCasting and positive outcomes
Craig and John discuss the screenwriter’s role in casting, then segue to the New York Times profile of producer/executive Lindsay Doran and her approach to story. Doran argues (persuasively) that...
View ArticleProducers and pitching
What’s the difference between a reader and a producer? Much more than one high-profile online analyst seems to believe. John and Craig discuss what producers do, and how one plausibly gets started....
View ArticleTalking Austen in Austin
Craig and John chat with Lindsay Doran, a producer and former studio exec who’s made terrific movies, ranging from Sense and Sensibility to Stranger than Fiction. Topics include the role of producers,...
View ArticleNotes on the death of the film industry
John and Craig discuss the death of the film industry as foretold by four prominent filmmakers. Is the way we make movies unsustainable? Is the system fundamentally broken, or just changing into...
View ArticleLong movies, producer credits and price-fixing
John and Craig discuss the Apple ebook price-fixing lawsuit and its lessons for Hollywood, before segueing to the new credits system for producers. Then: Have movies gotten too long, and would making...
View ArticleScriptnotes, the 100th episode
John and Craig are joined by Aline Brosh McKenna and Rawson Thurber for the 100th episode of Scriptnotes, recorded live at the Academy Lab in Hollywood. It was a great night with an amazing audience....
View ArticleLet me give you some advice
Craig and John go back to basics with an all advice episode, looking at the Dear J.J. recommendations for Star Wars, Tony Gilroy’s advice to screenwriters and whatever’s up with Max Landis. From there,...
View ArticleYoung Billionaire’s Guide to Hollywood
John and Craig offer advice for super-rich aspirants about the film and television industry. If you have enough money to do anything, what should you do first? Do you want to make money, or make art?...
View ArticleScriptnotes Holiday Spectacular
‘Twas the Holiday Scriptnotes and at our behest, Craig and John were joined by our six favorite guests. “Now Kelly! Now Lindsay! Now Richard and Rawson! On Aline and on Franklin! (Whose Black List is...
View ArticleSelling without selling out
In their first-ever live streaming episode, John and Craig open the mailbag to answer a bunch of listener questions. What research should a writer do before soliciting an agent or manager? What should...
View ArticleDevelopment Emergencies
Vineet Dewan, who was nice enough to co-star in the Kickstarter video for Writer Emergency Pack, decided to film his own version pitched at development executives: So, yeah. Sigh. I can imagine Writer...
View ArticleThe long and short of it
John and Craig dig into the listener mailbag and take questions on TV producer credits, jealousy over other writers’ success, writing tight vs writing long and plenty of other follow up. It’s a jam...
View ArticleHow do bad movies get made?
Craig and John tackle a single topic: bad movies and how they happen. Having experienced the process first-hand, they report on how bad ideas make it to the screen, and how good ideas go wrong. There’s...
View ArticleBack to 100
This week, we time-travel back to our first centennial, a live show in Hollywood with special guests Aline Brosh McKenna and Rawson Thurber. We discuss the rise of the “writer-plus,” the importance of...
View ArticleSexy But Doesn’t Know It
John and Craig look at how to introduce characters in a screenplay — and how to avoid being mocked by a Twitter feed for it. We go back through previous Three Page Challenges and several of the...
View ArticleThe job of writer-producer
Dana Fox joins John and Craig to discuss her role as both screenwriter and producer of How to Be Single. Like Simon Kinberg and Chris Morgan, Dana is one of a handful of feature writers taking...
View ArticleDavid Mamet and the producer pass
In an episode consisting entirely of answers to listener questions, John and Craig discuss David Mamet, internet trolls, post-credit scenes and English actors attempting American accents. Plus, who...
View ArticleNo More Milk Money
Craig and John welcome back Aline Brosh McKenna to discuss what she learned going from writing features to show-running Crazy Ex-Girlfriend — and what’s waiting for her back in movie-land. The three of...
View ArticleTelevision Economics for Dummies
Jonathan Groff — the Black-ish writer/producer, not the actor — joins John and Craig to explain the new vocabulary of television and why companies are all about ownership. Then it’s another round of...
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