Scriptnotes Podcast

John and Craig lawyer up with criminal defense attorney Ken White (aka Popehat) to look at legal scenes in movies and TV, and separate the tropes from the truth.

How do lawyers actually prepare a case? Will they meet a client in jail? Do they need to gather evidence themselves? And what happens when they go to trial? What are the rules for examining witnesses? How often do people represent themselves in court? And do judges really bang their gavel like that?

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig invite Ken to imagine traveling somewhere worse than prison — the beach.

Links:

• Ken White on BlueSky, Facebook and Threads
• Serious Trouble podcast
• The Popehat Report by Ken White
• Hello, My Name Is Stephen Glass, and I’m Sorry by Hanna Rosin for The New Republic
• LibreOffice
• Sovereign Citizens Getting Owned
• The Rest is History podcast
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
• John August on Threads, Instagram and Twitter
• John on Mastodon
• Outro by Lou Stone Borenstein (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.

Craig answers listener questions ranging from craft to career: how do you find your voice? What questions should you ask before writing a new project? When should silence carry a scene? Craig offers professional advice and gets dangerously close to starting a cult.

We follow up on Barton Fink, writer’s block, and keyboards.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig and Megana discuss millennials and how Hollywood can invest in R&D.

Links:

• Logitech K860 has Bluetooth!
• Take this typing test – Craig got a 110 wpm!
• Barton Fink
• Chernobyl, Chernobyl Podcast and The Dropout
• 60 Seconds With Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon and puzzle here
• Not Past It Podcast
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John August 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 [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) to look at three stories of real people with too much money and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include strategies for dating Leonardo DiCaprio, the rise-fall-rise of inventor Palmer Luckey, and a council built to give away a fortune.

We also go feral over Marielle’s new movie Nightbitch, as she shares the joys of adapting something that feels personal and her tricks to directing dogs and children. But first, we take a look at a new study on which movies studios are developing, and share exciting news for those joining us at the Austin Film Festival.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Marielle and John remember the terror, nerves and euphoria of premiering your movie at film festivals.

Links:

• Nightbitch | Official Trailer
• Marielle Heller
• Highland Pro Austin launch party – sign up here!
• MacGruber on Peacock
• Hollywood’s 10 Percent Problem by Matt Belloni at Puck
• Dating a Celebrity – Thread by bo.predko
• American Vulcan by Jeremy Stern for Tablet
• How to Give Away a Fortune by Joshua Yaffa for The New Yorker
• You Get to Be Fulfilled Now by Teresa Jusino
• Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones by Priyanka Mattoo
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram
• John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon
• Outro by Spencer Lackey (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.

John, Drew and Megana read through the details of the WGA’s Tentative Agreement to see what was initially proposed and what was ultimately won.

Links:

• WGA Tentative Agreement Summary
• 2023 MBA Tentative Agreement
• Megana Rao on Twitter
• John on Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.

John and Craig celebrate the 500th episode of Scriptnotes by welcoming back former Scriptnotes producers Stuart Friedel (Clifford the Big Red Dog, Vampirina), Godwin Jabangwe (Tunga), Megan McDonnell (WandaVision), and longtime editor Matthew Chilelli (Escape the Dark). The guys ask the producers questions about development, feedback, and writers rooms, uncovering Scriptnotes secrets along the way.

We also share a special announcement! Then we invite two superfans to play a game of trivia–do you know which guest was asked never to return?

Finally in our bonus segment for premium members, the producers flip the script and ask John and Craig questions about the past 500+ hours of Scriptnotes.

Links:

• Find out more information about the The Scriptnotes Book
• Review the past 500 episodes at The Scriptnotes Index
• Stuart Friedel on the web
• Godwin Jabangwe on Twitter
• Megan McDonnell on IMDb
• Matthew Chilelli on Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, and the web
• Megana Rao on Twitter
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Outro (and intro!) by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.