Scriptnotes Podcast

750 - Quinceañera

The year was 2011. We had Occupy Wall Street, Hangover II, 50 Shades of Grey… and a podcast named Scriptnotes. On this episode, John and Craig celebrate their podcast Qui

749 - Famous People with Taffy Brodesser-Akner

John and Taffy sit down for a candid conversation surrounding fame, interacting with famous people, and the depiction of fame on screen. They also answer a listener que

748 - One Room Movies

John and Craig lock in on one-room movies. How does confinement change character behavior? What opportunities can a single location give you? Plus, they consider how mu

747 - Wrapping It Up with Hacks

John welcomes Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs to talk about the emotional and logistical process of closing out their five-season series, Hacks. Paul and Lucia also ste

746 - How Would This Be a Crime?

In today's edition of "How Would This Be a Movie?" John and Craig convert felonies into films. Together, they take a few crime-related news stories and decide how they mi

745 - Road Trip

Buckle up! John and Craig discuss the elements that make up a classic road movie. They cover the quintessential scenes, common pitfalls, and the economic quandaries you'l

744 - The Invite with Rashida Jones and Will McCormack

John and Craig invite over Rashida Jones and Will McCormack to chat about their new film The Invite, out in theaters now. Rashida and Will divulge the origin story and

676 - Writing while the World is on Fire (Encore)

How do you keep doing creative work when the world is falling apart around you? To sift through the despair and doubt, John welcomes back legendary Scriptnotes guest, wri

743 - Thinking on Your Feet with Ryan Condal

John and Craig sit down with Ryan Condal, showrunner of House of the Dragon, just as its third season airs. They dive into Ryan's late start in Hollywood, spec scripts,

742 - Obsession with Curry Barker

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 trusti

741 – Craig Takes Questions

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 ext

740 - On Competence

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 s

739 - The One with David E. Kelley

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

738 - Building Your Audience with Courtney Kemp

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 matc

737 - Studio-Adjacent

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

736 - The Devil You Know

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-a

735 - The Flashforward Fallback

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

734 - A Box Full of Teeth

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, o

733 - Learning Comedy

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

732 - Something Very Bad is Going to Happen

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