585 - Do Muppets Bleed?
Scriptnotes Podcast
John August
4.8 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 31 January 2023
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
John and Craig take a look at ‘writer fingerprints.’ They break down how idiosyncratic choices make up an individual’s style on-the-page and offer advice on how to mimic someone else’s voice.
Follow up includes pet rock, a defense of script consultants, the preface page in Tár, and the anti-“actually” mindset.
In our bonus segment for premium members, we offer advice to a producer who needs help working with a writer who can’t seem to finish — or deliver — a script.
Links:
- Scriptnotes episodes with 2023 Oscar Nominees Sarah Polley, Rian Johnson, Daniels, Pamela Ribon
- Weekend Read Beta Try it out — now updated with all FYC scripts!
- Writing in another writer’s style on John’s blog with advice from Dara Resnick Creasey
- Algorithms were able to figure out that Robert Galbraith was JK Rowling
- Good Conversations Have Lots of Doorknobs by Adam Mastroianni
- The Case of The Golden Idol game
- 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 Luke Yoquinto, who discovered it in the score to Coming to America by Nile Rodgers (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. My name is John August. My name is Craig Mason. |
| 0:06.7 | And this is episode 585 of Script Notes. A podcast about screenwriting and things that |
| 0:11.2 | are interesting to screenwriters. Today on the show, what are the unique characteristics |
| 0:15.6 | that allow you to distinguish one writer's writing from another's? We'll talk about |
| 0:19.0 | writer fingerprints, voice, and situations where you may need to mimic someone else's |
| 0:22.8 | style. Plus, we have a lot of listener follow-up. Good. And in our bonus segment for premium |
| 0:27.6 | members, well, we often answer writer questions about producers. But here we have one from |
| 0:32.1 | a producer asking about how to best handle a writer who can't seem to finish or deliver |
| 0:36.2 | on a script. So if you want to know what advice Craig, Megana, and I have for this producer, |
| 0:41.7 | you can find out as a premium member in about one hour when we get to that segment. |
| 0:45.4 | Oh, that'll be, that's worth the five bucks right there. Right there. Right there. |
| 0:49.6 | You know, it's worth more than five dollars. What segment, man? A spot on script notes. |
| 0:56.0 | You are a writer because we are the number one podcast for getting Oscar nominees to |
| 1:00.9 | happen. That's what I've decided. I think you might be right about this. |
| 1:05.0 | Our track record this year pretty darn good. Sarah Polly and Oscar nominee. Yep. Ryan Johnson, |
| 1:10.6 | Oscar nominee. Yep. Daniels, Oscar nominees. You can count them as one or two people. |
| 1:15.0 | I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I'm one by person duo, ology. Absolutely. |
| 1:20.8 | And although she wasn't on the podcast this year, she was a previous guest, Pamela Ribbon. |
| 1:25.4 | She was one cool thing. So I think that counts for her animation nomination. Absolutely. |
| 1:29.6 | For her by your objects. And I don't know if you've, it's not funny. Your |
| 1:34.6 | objects triggered something. The title or the film itself? The title because I was so glad |
| 1:46.9 | I got to say that. And it's preserved eternally. Yeah. So have you watched poker face yet? |
... |
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