Scriptnotes Podcast

• 676 - Writing while the World is on Fire

  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, writer-turned-psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo. They discuss the many feelings that catastrophic events can bring up in artists, the personal narratives that often inform those feelings, and how to keep moving forward when you feel like the band on the Titanic. We also follow up on AI, and answer listener questions on competing with brain trusts and how to support a friend embroiled in controversy. In our bonus segment for premium members, Dennis guides us through the best examples and worst mistakes of portraying therapists on screen. Links: “Am I Just Fiddling While Rome Burns?” by Dennis Palumbo for Psychiatric Times Scriptnotes 99 – Psychotherapy for Screenwriters ShotDeck River Runner Global At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell 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 BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram 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.

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• 675 - Say Nothing with Joshua Zetumer

  Craig welcomes writer and showrunner Joshua Zetumer, creator of the limited series Say Nothing, to explore the process of dramatizing real events — particularly when the subject matter can be volatile. They discuss how to keep a sprawling historical epic from feeling like a lecture, keeping a consistent tone, humanizing complicated people, and how not to get sued by the people who were really involved. They also answer listener questions on following up with people after the fires, charting the emotional journey of the audience, and whether writers need to cite their sources when writing about real events. In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig and Joshua pretend to be civil engineers and ask, how can we make Los Angeles function better? Links: Say Nothing Joshua Zetumer Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe Difficult Men by Brett Martin Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk 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 BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (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.

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• 674 - The One vvith Robert Eggers

  Hearken well! John sitteth in discourse with the learned Robert Eggers, weaver of dreadsome visions (The Witch, The Lighthouse), whose latest labour bringeth forth Nosferatu from the mistes of antiquity. Together, they dost unravel the craft of breathing newe life into the ghastly count of olde, how Robert didst hone his vision through toil and cunning in his firste labours, and the summoning of terror moste unholy upon the silver’d screen. We do also taketh to hand the queries of our faithful listeners on the perils of o’ermuch detail in one’s scribings, on what may be done when one doth feel oneself a dullard, and whether those who spin tales be ill-fitted for matters of courtship and love. In our boon segment for those of premium patronage, Robert doth speak of his fervent love for the wheeled steed and pursuits beyond the shaping of moving pictures. Links: Robert Eggers Nosferatu | Screenplay Robert Eggers’ shorts Hansel and Gretel and The Tell-Tale Heart The Girl with the Needle Making School Cafeteria Pizza from the 1980s & ‘90s 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 BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Guy Fee (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help this week from Zoe Black, and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

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• 673 - Structure, and How to Enjoy a Movie

  Structure is the fundamental skeleton of every story ever told, so why does it flummox so many writers? John and Craig outline what structure really is, ways to find it in your story, and how to keep it from tying your brain in knots. We also look at ways to find nuance in our appreciation of movies, follow up on erotic fiction, and answer listener questions on how to work with a director and point of view shots. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig measure the helpfulness of their wearable body monitors. Links: Weekend Read on the App Store Oscar nominations 2025 IVF Mixup movies: Parallel Mothers, Maybe Baby, Good Newwz, Daughter from Another Mother Manhunt The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood How to like everything more by Sasha Chapin Growing a Human: The First 30 Weeks by Maggie Appleton 2024 Player’s Handbook 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 BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Guy Fee (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.  

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• 672 - Navigating Loss with Jesse Eisenberg

  After a difficult few weeks in Los Angeles, John welcomes writer, director and actor Jesse Eisenberg to peel apart the complicated human reactions to grief and loss. They look at how both collective and personal grief inform the characters of Jesse’s latest film, A Real Pain, and reflect on the ongoing LA fires and the loss of David Lynch. They also explore Jesse’s evolution as a writer, directing himself as an actor, and answer listener questions on artistic signatures and simultaneous perspectives in action. In our bonus segment for premium members, Jesse and John look at the creative opportunities and frustrating restrictions of making radio dramas and audiobooks. Links: A Real Pain | Screenplay Jesse Eisenberg WGAW Wildfire Resources David Lynch Mongolia by Jesse Eisenberg, Tablet Magazine Jesse’s plays The Revisionist and The Spoils Network of Time Floyd Collins the Musical 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 BlueSky, Threads and Instagram Outro by Nico Mansy (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.

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