693 - Setups That Don’t Feel Like Setups

John and Craig plant the idea for setups that have the most satisfying payoffs. Different from exposition, setups introduce ideas and concepts to an audience, priming them for a later revelation. They look at the sleight of hand required to have your setups deftly planted, take root in your audience’s mind, and grow into something delightful. But first, we look at the new California tax credits, the 2025 WGA annual report, follow up on AI and VFX, postmodernism, and verticals. We also answer listener questions on music videos and outing yourself to potential employers. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at the New York Times’ new list of the 100 best movies of the 21st century. We all know Craig loves pitting movies against each other, so there’s definitely no umbrage here. Links: The Best Movies of the 21st Century by NY Times California lawmakers approve expanded $750-million film tax credit program by Samantha Masunaga for LA Times WGA Annual Report – employment and earnings, residuals Michael Graves How ReelShort CEO Joey Jia Used a Chinese Trend to Disrupt the U.S. Entertainment Industry by Chad De Guzman for Time Magazine Sundance Labs Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild DJ Snake, Lil Jon – Turn Down for What Madonna – Vogue a-ha – Take On Me Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye Phil Collins – Don’t Lose My Number 30 minutes with a stranger by Alvin Chang for The Pudding Chris Perkins Mike Birbiglia’s top ten movies of the 21st century Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky 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.

In this craft compendium, John and Craig take a look at everything you need to make your bad guys compelling, memorable, and the perfect antagonist for your story. Using some favorite villains as examples, they look at the importance of understanding their motivations and offer seven tips for making a villain unforgettable. We also take a look at lackeys, henchmen and making sure your evil organizations are believable. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig shift their focus to monsters, and why even though those scary creatures are dangerous, they’re not always the villain. Links: Scriptnotes Episode 75 – Villains Scriptnotes Episode 590 – Anti-Villains Scriptnotes Episode 465 – The Lackeys Know What They’re Doing Scriptnotes Episode 257 – Flaws are Features Every Villain is a Hero Writing Better Bad Guys Screenwriting and the Problem of Evil Mama The 1000 Deaths of Wile E. Coyote by T.B.D. Why do good people do bad things? by Daniel Effron Why some people are willing to challenge behavior they see as wrong despite personal risk by Catherine A. Sanderson The Monsters Know What They’re Doing blog and book Austin Powers deleted scene, “Henchman’s Wife” Redshirt 7 Tips for Creating Unforgettable Villains How Christopher Nolan writes a movie on our YouTube! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Segments produced by Stuart Friedel, Megana Rao, and Drew Marquardt. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome author Stu Horvath to look at the rich history of tabletop role playing games. From Stu’s collection of over 2300 RPGs, they look at the evolution of collaborative storytelling, interactive narrative design, and the communities of players they inspire. We also discuss the complicated influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft on the world of D&D, and how the need to escape their derivative influences pushed RPGs to new heights of world-building and storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, Stu leads us down down down to discuss a surprisingly recent narrative staple: dungeons. Links: Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath VintageRPG.com by Stu Horvath D&D 5th Edition Amateur press association (APA) Little Wars by H.G. Wells Peter Cushing painting his minifigs Chainmail by Gary Gygax & Jeff Perren Chaosium Tunnels & Trolls Dread RPG Fiasco Scriptnotes episode 142: The Angeles Crest Fiasco Critical Role Alien: The Roleplaying Game Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game Traveller 2024 D&D Player’s Handbook Blackoath Entertainment Thousand Year Old Vampire Tales From the Loop RPG Honey Heist WWDC live translation She Used to Be Mine performance and vocal coach reaction Kolchak: The Night Stalker Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram 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.

How do you write science fiction when technology is moving so quickly? John and Craig welcome back journalist and screenwriter Max Read to look at the trickiness of predicting the future, how our imagined futures can affect our reality, and ways that writers can protect their work from becoming dated before it’s even released. We also follow up on the new Dogma manifesto, words we don’t have in English, questioning ChatGPT, and answer listener questions on hosting your scripts on your website, offline writing software and how to find the time to goof around. In our bonus segment for premium members, Max walks us through his Letterboxd lists and proposes a new, niche film genre. Links: Max Read’s newsletter Read Max and his Letterboxd Dogma 25 Explodes at Cannes by Annika Pham, Marta Balaga for Variety Maze by Christopher Manson Blue Prince Graham’s source for Egypt’s GDP and John’s sources Neal Stephenson William Gibson Red Rooms This Strange Mutation Explains the Mystifying Color of Orange Cats by Gayoung Lee for Scientific American The Simulation is Failing. by Jessica Mazin r/OneOrangeBraincell Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

New forms of video creation are coming to disrupt the entertainment industry, but will they succeed? John and Craig look at verticals and Veo 3 to see where we might be heading, and what our industry’s past innovations might tell us about about the future. We also look at Memorial Day’s banner box office, and answer listener questions on bereavement during production, momentum, scene geography and how to fight motion smoothing. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig travel back in time to find which moments in history they wish they could see in person. Links: Highland Pro student licenses! Collaborate on a tabletop RPG with John! Tom and Jerry and Hanna-Barbera Accidental Triplets with the Billionaire on Reel Short A Mistaken Surrogate for the Ruthless Billionaire on GoodShort WebToon Werewolf Billionaire CEO Husbands are Taking Over Hollywood by EJ Dickson for Rolling Stone Veo 3 fake news example by Alejandra Caraballo on Bluesky More Veo 3 examples by Promptastic on Bluesky Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50 The Last of Us Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Steve Pietrowski (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back writer, director, and comedian Mike Birbiglia (Don’t Think Twice, Sleepwalk with Me) to take a look at several true news stories and ask, how would this be a joke? Stories include run-club haters, a conflicted bone marrow donor, and the coyotes roaming San Francisco. We also look at how Mike developed his new Netflix special, The Good Life, and answer listener questions on taking an idea from a podcast and knowing when you’ve broken a story. In our bonus segment for premium members, Mike walks us through how he’s able to market his work without it feel like marketing. Links: Mike Birbiglia The Good Life on Netflix Mike’s previous episodes: 121, 168, 261, 427, 443, and Working it Out: Screenwriting Advice You’ll Actually Use Episode 660 – Moneyball Ira Glass on Mike’s podcast Working it Out Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk The Run Club Haters by Melissa Dahl for Curbed I Hadn’t Heard From My Dad in Over a Decade. Now He’s Returned With a Brazen Request. I’m Actually Considering It. from Slate’s Care and Feeding The Coyotes of San Francisco by Heather Knight and Loren Elliot for NY Times Coyote Vest Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney Chris Fleming Blue Prince Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription! Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.

John and Craig dig through the mailbag to answer some of our trickiest listener questions. They lay out their best advice for first-time feature directors — from picking department heads to making sure your movie actually gets seen — and look at how to adapt Craig’s “How to Write a Movie” for structuring a TV series. But that’s not all! Do you owe your writer’s group access to your contacts? How do you break out of the mailroom? Where should high-school students start? How far can adaptations stray from the source material? And how do you remain professional in the middle of a dumpster fire? We also follow up on tariffs, mysterious birds, and a different set of 36 Questions. In our bonus segment for premium members, we play John’s new game, Strong Opinions, where we all have to guess each other’s true feelings about things we didn’t know were controversial. Links: Scriptnotes on YouTube! Strong Opinions game Hollywood Unions letter to President Trump The Curious Case of the Pygmy Nuthatch by Forrest Wickman Foggy Brume on Twitch 36 Questions, the podcast musical Austin Film Festival My First Movie: 20 Celebrated Directors Talk about Their First Film Orange T-shirts are back! Aqua voice dictation software Ghost Town by Fireproof Games Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It’s edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at [email protected] You can download the episode here.  

John and Craig look at how writers and their characters handle the obstacles they encounter. They outline proven techniques for solving problems both in life and on the page, why it’s important to see characters solving problems in a story, and how taking big swings can open up exciting possibilities. We also follow up on episodes that focus on a single character, long takes, making your phone less interesting, words we don’t have in English, present the definitive guide to the lunch run, and look into this stupid movie tariff thing. In our bonus segment for premium members, John is back from Egypt and Jordan, and ready to answer all of our questions about tombs and travel in the Middle East. Links: The Production Assistant’s Guide to the Lunch Run Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Note On Long Takes by Aidan Moretti Video tour inside the Great Pyramid of Giza Donald Trump Says He’s Pursuing 100% Tariffs On Movies Produced Outside U.S. and John Voight’s proposal Sustainability by the Numbers by Hannah Ritchie Solving for Climate The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show by Rusty Lake Birdigo Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on 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.

John welcomes writer, director and playwright Leslye Headland (The Acolyte, Russian Doll) to ask, why are stage plays so challenging for screenwriters? Using her recent Broadway play Cult of Love, they look at different approaches to scene description, heightened and simultaneous dialogue, and strategies for adapting stage plays to film. We also chart Leslye’s career from theater kid to auteur filmmaker, her approach to time loops (because how could we not?), and answer listener questions about music cues and long scripts. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Leslye compare notes on how to keep up with what’s on stage, and what to do if you missed a production. Links: Leslye Headland Cult of Love – selected pages Bachelorette the play and the movie Fanny and Alexander John by Annie Baker Original Cast Album: Company Stephen Sondheim Waiting for Godot John Cassavetes Tár screenplay by Todd Field Arthur Aron’s 36 Questions Eva discloses her autism on Survivor Making Movies by Sidney Lumet On Filmmaking by Alexander McKendick Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Alicia Jo Rabins (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.

John welcomes writer and showrunner Eric Kripke (The Boys, Supernatural) to look at planning out a multi-season series. They chart Eric’s early career from shorts to showrunner, how he developed Supernatural, his process for structuring seasons of The Boys, and how great TV shows stick the landing. We also answer listener questions on lone character episodes and emulating comic panels on screen. In our bonus segment for premium members, Eric spills on everything blood, guts and gore. Links: Eric Kripke on IMDb and Instagram The Boys Battle of the Sexes short film Minions on the Seine! Strange Darling The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram 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.