Scriptnotes Podcast

They break down the flash-forward opening and when it helps or harms a story. They survey listener habits and toss around new segment ideas. They critique examples like Chernobyl, warn about delaying a true start, and give concrete tips for timeline clarity. Quick writing craft tips include ending scenes, handling “unfilmable” moments, and selling films with child leads.

Katie Dippold, writer-showrunner known for Widow's Bay, Ghostbusters and The Heat, joins to revisit her early self and career pivot. They dig into how Widow's Bay evolved from a comedic logline into a spooky comedy, writers' room rhythms and running a TV production for the first time. They also answer listener dilemmas about stolen ideas and positioning past credits that don't match your voice.

Ali Barthwell, television writer and comedy teacher (Last Week Tonight, The Second City), discusses whether comedy can be taught. She shares how improv and sketch tools reboot honesty and presence. They talk sketch structure, blackouts, running order, and when to bet on your creative career. Practical tips and classroom-tested exercises pepper the conversation.

Haley Z. Boston, writer and showrunner behind Something Very Bad is Going to Happen (credits include Cherry Flavor and Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities). She discusses evolving a snowy-wedding horror concept, running her first writers room, constructing terror on the page, handling mountains of notes, casting choices, on-set multitasking, and the feminist pull of the genre.

They flip motivation and ask what characters are actually running from. They trace avoidance through film and TV examples, showing how fear and love shape arcs. They debate whether a screenplay page equals a minute and follow up on WGA rules, residuals after death, and writing with a romantic partner. They also spotlight a cryptic word game and a nuanced take on AI.

They unpack the new 2026 WGA Minimum Basic Agreement and the committee process behind it. They focus on emergency health fund fixes, contribution caps, and member cost changes. AI reuse protections and new notice/negotiation rights get attention. They cover pay rules like page-one rewrites, guaranteed rewrites, limits on unpaid producer requests, and changes to TV if-come deals.

They debate a $23M G.I. Joe lawsuit and how prewriting and studio practices create legal risks. They run down visual clichés filmmakers should stop using. They explore why writers should think visually and unpack different kinds of scene-to-scene transitions, from sound and size tricks to misdirects and when to save big moves for impact.

A candid Q&A about how a screenwriting career changes over time and the mistakes that shape it. Conversations cover kicking bad writing habits, choosing projects that fit your voice, and whether age or location limits opportunities. There are practical takes on pitching, notes, outlining versus pantsing, and the quirky sidekick problem in animation.

A replayed compendium on crafting satisfying endings, focusing on rooting finales in character and the power of the denouement. Short segments explore wants versus needs in climaxes, Pixar-style tests that reveal change, and goodbye scenes that linger. They stress writing the last pages early, using full-circle callbacks, and how endings can shift during production.

Drew Goddard, writer-director behind The Martian and Project Hail Mary, talks craft and adaptation. He explains turning story beats into full scenes, using beat sheets to free creativity, translating book moments into silent visual sequences, and the tough choices of cutting material when adapting novels. He also shares practical writers' room and production-minded advice.