Hosted by John August and Craig Mazin · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 20 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
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.
John August and Craig Mazin hosts Scriptnotes Podcast, a tv show with 20 episodes published.
John and Craig welcome Curry Barker, the writer-director behind this summer's surprise blockbuster, Obsession. It's a rom-com, a horror film and a great example of trusting your audience. We discuss Curry's roots, his wr
This week, Craig answers listener questions about rewriting on set, AI coverage, when and how to kill off characters, sizing up producers, and more. There's also an extra-special guest appearance for this week's One Cool
Why is it so satisfying to watch a highly-skilled character complete their goals? And why can it be equally hilarious to watch an incompetent character bumble through a slew of screw-ups? In this episode, John and Craig
John and Craig welcome writer and showrunner David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal) to look at his process for adapting books to TV, particularly with his latest series Margo's Got Money Troubles. They explore wh
John welcomes writer and showrunner Courtney Kemp (Power, Nemesis) to ask, how do you find an audience and build momentum on television? They look at how writers can match their voice to an underserved audience, the pitf
John welcomes back Phil Hay (Destroyer, The Invitation) to ask, how do you get a movie made with independent financing? They look at how indie movies get made, where you get the money, deciding when to go indie, and whet
John and Craig welcome back Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) to explore the timely questions about art and human labor posed by her long-awaited sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2. We'll warn
John and Craig go back to the beginning to examine the mechanics of the flash-forward opening — or as it's known on this podcast, the "Stuart Special." They look at what makes a strong flash-forward, when to avoid them,
John and Craig welcome back Katie Dippold (Widow's Bay, Ghostbusters) to ask, what advice would you give to your younger self? They revisit the writers they used to be, offer specific guidance to each one, and demystify
John welcomes five-time Emmy-winning writer Ali Barthwell (Last Week Tonight) to ask, can writers learn to be funny? Drawing from her time as a teacher at The Second City, they look at what writers can learn from sketch
John welcomes writer/showrunner Haley Z. Boston for a post-mortem on her terrifying new series, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. They look at how the series evolved from initial idea through production, her experie
John and Craig flip the idea of motivation on its head and ask, what are your characters running from? Using examples across film and TV, they look at the psychological underpinnings of discomfort, and how to use avoidan
There's a brand new agreement between the WGA and the AMPTP! And since John was the co-chair of the negotiating committee, he's excited to share all the details of the 2026 MBA. Links: The 2026 MBA agreement memorandum J
John and Craig connect the dots on transitions and how they can be just as important as the scenes themselves. They look at how to get your scenes flowing into one another, the many different types of transitions, when t
John sits down with the Northwest Screenwriters Guild at an event to promote the Scriptnotes book, and ends up having a poignant conversation about how the career of screenwriting has changed, missteps John made througho
In our first sequel compendium, John and Craig revisit four of their best segments dedicated to crafting a satisfying and emotional ending to your story. They look at rooting your ending in character, the function of the
John welcomes back Drew Goddard (Project Hail Mary, High Potential) to ask, how do you turn the beats of your story into full scenes? Using Drew's script for The Martian, we look at how he translates moments in a book in
John and Craig revisit a favorite episode focused on a single topic: bad movies and how they happen. Using first-hand experience, they look at how bad ideas make it to the screen, how good ideas go wrong, and the range o
John and Craig tackle the scourge of free work and offer strategies to avoid it. They look at established norms, potential remedies, the things that should work but often don't, and how writers should think about the tim
John welcomes writer-directors Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh (Two People Exchanging Saliva) to ask, what happens when your short film is nominated for an Oscar? They look at each step from their initial idea to aw
Sponsor detection runs nightly. Check back soon.
No public pitch examples yet for this show.
Generate your own personalised pitchBased on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:
Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.
Shows with the most semantically similar episode content. Pitch one, pitch all; producers cluster.
Scriptnotes Podcast has a verified contact on file. Create a free PitchCentric account to access it and generate a personalised pitch in seconds. Research at least 3 recent episodes first and lead with a specific angle that serves their tv audience.
Scriptnotes Podcast is hosted by John August and Craig Mazin. The show is categorised under tv (film) and has published 20 episodes.
Scriptnotes Podcast has published 20 episodes.
Scriptnotes Podcast regularly covers tv, film. It sits in the tv category, with a film focus.
Scriptnotes Podcast is accessible for guests with genuine tv expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
Scriptnotes Podcast hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of Scriptnotes Podcast average 57 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
Our data rates Scriptnotes Podcast's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
Methodology. Booking Probability™ blends Listen Score, 30-day Virality, open-to-guests detection, and Apple ratings. Data refreshed every 60 minutes. Listen Score and Booking Probability are calculated by PitchCentric. Last enriched 11 days ago.
