Scriptnotes Podcast

• 709 - Live at the Austin Film Festival 2025

  John and Craig return to Texas for their 11th show at the Austin Film Festival. They welcome writer Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) and showrunner Anthony Sparks (Queen Sugar, Bel-Air) to look at what makes character relationships compelling, and how to build a writing career later in life. We also answer lister questions on getting un-stuck in a script, how podcasting has made us better writers, the limits of exposition, using AI for sizzle reels, and where we get the cajones selling a screenwriting book after slagging-off screenwriting books for fourteen years. In our bonus segment for premium members, we invite two Scriptnotes super-fans up to the stage to compete for the ultimate prize: an early, signed copy of the Scriptnotes book. Links: Pamela Ribon and Anthony Sparks Austin Film Festival Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Our Moneyball episode Enter the Relationship Matrix by Chris Csont Bring It On toothbrush scene STOMP Writer Emergency Pack Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

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• 708 - Ambition Meets Fabrication

  John and Craig look at three tales of lies, betrayal and deceit and ask, How Would This be a Movie? Stories include a flamboyant show-business grifter, a sibling rivalry between two LA billboard queens, and American students tricked into attending a fake Oxford college. We also follow up on audio dramas, last looks, and answer listener questions on a suspicious AI story and what do do with producers that are too keen. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you watch TV when you're away from home, particularly overseas? We share the joys and frustrations of tuning in while you're on the road. Links: Preorder a signed copy of the Scriptnotes book! The Many Faces Of "Sir" Marco Robinson, The Man Who Grifted Aspiring Filmmakers With Claims About Being A "#2 Netflix" Producer by Jake Kanter for Deadline Trailer for Marco Robinson's TV show Get a House for Free Meet the Sisters Battling to Become L.A.'s New Billboard Queen by Mickey Rapkin for The Hollywood Reporter Dynasty (1981) Rica Famosa Latina on YouTube Fake Oxford by Josh Levin for Slate Fawlty Towers and Father Ted 'Run It Through GPT-5': The Phrase Changing Hollywood Overnight by Erik Barmack for The Ankler Sydney, Australia Ghost of Yōtei Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!) Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Jeff Ross (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

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• 707 - After the Hunt

  John welcomes writer and actress Nora Garrett to look at how her first screenplay, After the Hunt, took her from being un-repped to working with director Luca Guadagnino. They discuss her path from acting to writing, how her script went from being rejected by screenplay competitions to landing on Julia Roberts' desk, and how she constructed her complex power dynamics on the the page. They also answer listener questions on building tension and knowing when to tell rather than show. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Nora talk day jobs and how to balance focusing on your craft wi– shhh! The boss is coming, get back to work. Links: Read along with our excerpts from After the Hunt Nora Garrett After the Hunt Episode 667 – The One with Justin Kuritzkes The Rehearsal Flesh World by Jessica DeFino Big Reader Bad Grades BenDeLaCreme on Good One Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

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• 161 - A Cheap Cut of Meat Soaked in Butter (Encore)

  John and Craig invite Aline Brosh McKenna back to celebrate the third anniversary of Scriptnotes. It's a jam-packed, glass-and-a-half of wine, listener-favorite episode. They look at ways to breathe new life into scenes and characters that aren't working, box office journalism and how Hollywood is always dying, scene geography, and the role of emotional intelligence (or EQ) in a writer's career. In our bonus segment for premium members, we have original outtakes from the episode where we look at what changed in the world in our first three years on air, make predictions for what's to come, re-invent Spanx, and of course talk about D&D. Links: Going to the 2025 Austin Film Festival? Submit to our LIVE Three Page Challenge here! The original episode 161 and its transcript Aline Brosh McKenna on Instagram and IMDb Why do people throw tomatoes? from How Stuff Works The Knowledge Global Entry From 2014: Movies Have Worst Summer Since 1997 by Brooks Barnes Mimeographs on Wikipedia and eBay Maguire Watch on Everything is Terrible! Filthy Scriptnotes episodes The Angeles Crest Fiasco and The Dirty Show The Honourable Woman This Movie Will Require Dinosaurs by C. W. Neill N3TWORK Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Robert Hutchison (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

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• 706 - Is TV Better Now?

  John and Craig wonder, how has TV changed in the last ten years? They compare what's better and worse, the tradeoffs between quality and quantity, how curation is changing, the pros and cons of shorter seasons, and what this all means for writers and viewers. We also look forward to our time at the Austin Film Festival, offer paths for writers to keep their health insurance, follow up on Three Page Challenge selections that actually got made, and answer listener questions on adapting a screenplay into an audio drama and payment for work after a script is turned in. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig looks at what makes a damn fine cup of coffee. Links: Going to the Austin Film Festival this year? Submit for our LIVE Three Page Challenge here! Entertainment Community Fund Services & Programs Signed editions of the Scriptnotes Book Destination: Earth audio drama Weekend Read Episode 163: Ghost WGA Showrunner Training Program Phantom Ink The House of Tesla Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Scriptnotes on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

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