567 - No Stars, Please
Scriptnotes Podcast
John August
4.8 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2022
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
John and Craig discuss movie and television stars. When do you want to cast a huge star, and when is it not a good idea? From big names in small parts to new names in big parts, they try to calculate how much fame a role requires.
We follow up on the editing process and share advice on staying nimble. We also answer listener questions on recorded pitches, writing left behind, and time management with multiple contracts.
In our bonus segment for premium members, we play a round of Two Truths and a Lie to test our deception skills.
Links:
- Get tickets for the Scriptnotes Live Show Livestream
- Order Writer Emergency Pack XL here!
- Learn more about the original Writer Emergency Pack here
- WGA No Writing Left Behind
- A Year Ago, Nicole Kidman Tried To Save The Movies. She Had No Idea What Would Come Next. by David Mack for Buzzfeed
- Murray Bartlett and his Emmy’s acceptance speech.
- Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
- Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
- Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
- Craig Mazin on Twitter
- John August on Twitter
- John on Instagram
- Outro by Adam Pineless (send us yours!)
- Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com
You can download the episode here.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome. |
| 0:03.0 | My name is John August. |
| 0:04.0 | My name is Craig Mason. |
| 0:07.2 | And this is episode 567 of Script Notes. |
| 0:10.2 | It podcasts about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters. |
| 0:14.0 | Today on the show, when do you want to cast a recognizable star? |
| 0:17.6 | And when do you not? |
| 0:18.6 | We'll talk about how much fame you want and need in a given role. |
| 0:22.0 | We'll also talk about cutting characters, juggling multiple projects, and staying nimble |
| 0:26.2 | who nimble. |
| 0:27.2 | Nimble. |
| 0:28.2 | So when I segment for premium members, Megan says I'm too good of a liar. |
| 0:31.2 | We'll see whether she's right. |
| 0:32.7 | When we play two truths at a lie, that's worth the $5 subscription right there. |
| 0:37.9 | And you know why you're too good of a liar. |
| 0:39.9 | You know why is that? |
| 0:40.9 | Why is that? |
| 0:41.9 | Because I see you're synthetic. |
| 0:42.9 | No, no. |
| 0:43.9 | It's because I prepare. |
| 0:45.4 | And we prepare the outline overall, but I will say that I spent at least 45 minutes yesterday |
| 0:49.4 | thinking through some options for two truths. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John August, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John August and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.