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Apr 30, 2013

John and Craig discuss when to stop rewriting a project and accept that it's just not going to become a movie. Then we go bigger to look at when to give up on the dream of being a screenwriter -- which starts with a hard look at why people seek out the career in the first place.

Also in this episode, we talk reviews and...


Apr 23, 2013

Craig leads the discussion on how to survive a notes meeting. As screenwriters, our instinct is to defend, deny and debate -- but these are almost always the wrong choice. By reframing the discussion about the movie rather than the script, you can often end up at a better place.

From there, John opens the listener...


Apr 16, 2013

John and Craig discuss the odd dislocation writers experience when writing movies in coffeeshops and windowless offices. We're literally "someplace else" with our characters, but learning how to work in less-than-ideal circumstances is part of the screenwriter's trade.

Then it's another round of Three Page Challenges,...


Apr 9, 2013

Craig and John look at two recent court decisions that could have a big impact on how movies get sold and resold and how writers get paid. First-Sale Doctrine is one of those intractable issues that involves freedom and control, bits and atoms, creators and consumers.

From there, we take a look at whether comedy is...


Apr 2, 2013

Writer Derek Haas (Wanted, 3:10 to Yuma) joins John and Craig to discuss gay slurs, refrigerator logic and his TV show, Chicago Fire.

In addition to writing for big and small screens, the extraordinarily prolific Haas writes books, including The Right Hand and The Silver Bear. He also created the short story...