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John August panel at Austin Film Festival

Sat in on John August's panel, we actually had a chance to sit and talk a bit beforehand (we've emailed a few times back and forth between our blogs) and chat about his progress on what he's calling The Movie.

Here's my raw notes taken as I could type'em, typos, mental flow mistranscriptions and all:


How became a screenwriter: grew up in Boulder, liked movies but didn't think about it too much, watched War of the Roses as a kid, brother and he watched it and wrote down the dialog, realized as a kid that "Oh, somebody had to write this down!"

"Naive but hey, that's how it's done."

There's media about screenwriting now, but

Got into a producer's program in LA, 25 people in his class group, learned it all there

read first copy of Variety - couldn't understand it, read every issue twice, figure out where the studios are

-had a great script library

-started reading bad scripts - worked as a reader for a tiny company, doing coverage

-at that point started figuring out he could do it

-Hollywood was this thing in the distance, as he got closer, he realized there isn't a line or barrier, it is just a lot of little steps

-once you're writing you're in the industry, it doesn't feel like that

-met Spielberg, like a mythical firgure, talking to him realized he's not magical, just working really hard. Kind of dissapointing, but realized that while tallented, he just works really hard

-been a lot of work to get to where he is

-perception that it is a lottery attitude - only time you read about it is because somebody gets $2M for a screenplay...only read about it because so rare

-usually doing 8th draft of a revision for something you don't really care aboutanymore - that is the reality

-either writing by yourslef, or in a mtg w/a jnr exec who might not know who you are

-"if I can deflate your dreams at all I'll be happy to do that"

opens it up for Q&A
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Q: Willy Wonka - once in factory, focus shifts from Charlie's movie to Willy's movie, assumed Burton's move, but actually John likes the shift

A: done 3 movies with him, he's maybe spent 24 hours aggregately with him, usually 20 minutes at a time, been to his house one or two times.

He loved the book, had never seen the original movie. The story is about Charlie gets the ticket to go to factory and win it, but it isn't rewarding as a movie experience. A lot of stuff just happens, nothing changes over the course. Charlie the kid is perfect, never does anything wrong. Classically the protagonist who changes and antagonist motivates change.

Wonka closes down factory - what's his damaage? Why is he this way?

Let's build in a greater backstory for Wonka's damage and how Charlie helps him overcome that.

If he gave Charlie the factory at the end, nothing would change.

Charlie gets the factory, Willy gets a family.

Q: Samples - how much?

A: full scripts, but classically over-written - all over the gamut, everything shoved in there that didn't have to be there. Comedy samples was from Natural Born Killers the book.

Q: when did he decide to have a blog?

A: about 5 years ago, imdb.com asked about a weekly advice column, said great, answered one a week, enjoyed it, but it was one way, and couldn't go back through old stuff, odd that a popular site still feels like 1994 design. Took all the imdb type stuff and made his own blog.

(John mentions me about blogging)

Figuring out the limit between public and private, mentioning his partner and daughter but not by name, where to find the line. Josh Friedman talks about everythign in his life, but John wanted to draw a line there.

He spends more time on it that he planned (yeah, I think it is fun too)

After a certain amount of established work behind you, the freedom of what you say becomes different. Some tiptoe around some issues (don't badmouth a producer or whatever).

At this point, on the site he's pretty upfront about not publicly dissing, since it is PERMANENT. He has his own list of people he'll never work with, but he won't say it "because it ends up being this whole tangle of everything."

There are projects he wants to have happen, but the wrong guy is attached, or he won't work on it until he gets it in writing that so and so won't be involved. Limits to what you get control over in a film.

Q: how'd he get from short film to feature (Go)

A: friend asked him to write something smallish, but containable and shootable.

Wanted to do a story about cahsier girls in a grocery store and something goes awry. The Ronna storyline from Go is this part.

Wrote it and friends dug it.

Later, he went back and knew what their other stories were for the other storylines. Reservoir Dogs came out and he saw that structure and saw it could be done. Wrote full feature version of it, had a new agency, took it out as a spec sale situation.

The friend Jim read it, everybody liked it, but was told "we can't make this" they wanted a feel good movie where the girl takes her glasses off (She's All That). It's not that movie.

The agent got it to Banner entertainment, paid the least they possibly could, and he got co-producer status, they figured he'd go away, but he STAYED. For all casting session, everything, it was his film school. The first day "Crap there's a ton of trucks here...oh wait, they're here for the movie!" 5 days in they were 3 days behind, started directing 2nd unit.

The plan was to sell off foreign rights, 3 weeks before production, got a call from producer saying foreign money fell out. "We need a white male star in this age range to star in this movie" Michael Douglas was not going to be in this movie.

By that time, they had a good cast together for an American studio picked them up as a marketable cast. This was his film school.

What would he do different - he wrote features to start, should've written spec episodes of TV show he loved, should've written for videogames, would now do a movie for Youtube, there's a more open world now - those walls are different.

Q: How to you take a concept and make it go

A: He's not an index card guy - he wrote a pilot with another guy, there he did cards out of necessity. He'll outline certain products. A loose outline in his head is how he does it, once has that, has to start writing.

He writes out of sequence, he writes whatever he feels like writing that day. You're going to go back to it anyway, write the other bit and come back to that piece he's avoiding. Sometimes do both ends of script and then come back for the middle. Write the ending where you still love it and don't hate it. Some movies seem to get sloppier towards the end - perhaps because they were unhappy with it and wanted to get done.

Friends that he shows stuff too - that was important early on, but now he trusts himself. Now he knows about the craft of it, and gets paid on a weekly basis, and can tell people "that'll take me 3 days". Some things are inspiration and some things are muscle, and he's better at the muscle stuff now.

Pilots for TV - it moves so quickly, you can't be precious about it, GIT'R DONE.

Q: how many did he write before he thought he knew what he was doing. How many drafts do you go through?

A: After Go, wasn't sure that he knew what he was doing it right, first time it felt naturally. Blue Streak was written for Nicholas Cage, rewrite for Martin Lawrence, rewarding to see that he could actually do that. Be able to do it on demand. That was about 4 feature scripts before he felt he knew what he was doing. He'll hand in a first draft sometimes now, but only with craft and experience can he do that now - the same way a DoP can know how to light a scene.

When he was first handing in, he'd do 3 or 4 drafts before calling something a first draft.

Tough to write at all, but if he's early for a Dr. appt., he'll scribble something down, and isn't precious about This Paper or That Pen. He'll hand write 50 pages, does by hand so he CAN'T edit and shoot out a draft fax it out so it is GONE. In 2 weeks he's going to Chicago to start on something and looking forward to just barricading himself in to work on it.

Q: Research and time to do drafts?

A: depends on project, sometimes gotta research, the PROCESS of researching is more useful than the research - finding the interesing questions to ask. Sometimes helpful, sometimes not, just go in and do it. 6 weeks is typical to do a draft, had to in 3 weeks and that kills you. 9am to 6pm is his workday. Not writing that whole time. Blog is something else to do to stay productive. 3 or 4 hours actual writing in a day is a good day's work, 5 pages is a good day. Some days require 17 pages in a day. TV is a monster that needs scripts, is good practice.

Q: If left feeatures to do TV, would you?

A: life of television is worse than features as a writer - "here's what's wrong with TV" -

-one hour drama is better than it has ever been, amazing things
-but people have foresaken their lives to do it
-he wrote a script for a film, cast it, figured out how to produce it, found locations, found sets, shot, edited, in sound now, sell it and market and promote it later is going on, took a year
-in TV you're writing next week's, casting something, rewriting this weeks, dealing with the network, etc....and it is all going through the showrunner person who has to do it all

-in The Movie, he found he was floating outside his body - he found it not healthy or good or anything, for all the good shows out there, wouldn't trade places with anybody in that role - it is busy and their lives aren't as happy, due to schedule

Q; as the Go To Guy, what about own stuff?

A: The Movie is his own thing, studios have no idea what it is, he's been Go To Guy for rewrites, is rewarding and frustrating, people are happy to pay him to rewrite, but won't pay more than X to do his own thing. If he originates something, it isn't as worth as much to studios is a frustration. A conservatism from a big corporation, sense of must make $200M every movie, a creative conservative contraction. At his age in his career, having lunch w/a producer, tells about the product, producer says "looking for a younger writer" he's 30 at the time, but they really wanted a cheaper, younger, less experienced writer.

He wants to be the creator and oversee the life of something

Q: Art direction type stuff: very visually vivid and pop - how to imply that on the page w/out providing stuff

A: Rarely meets the art director, the Art Director on Wonka was kind enough to include him but that's RARE

Screenwriting is about the art of economy - with one sentence create a world

spends time on scene description because it is crucial - many people read it before it becomes a movie, if can give a sense of the texture/feel/etc. of it, is his job. Gave the Art Director the sense of how the scenes will be, and art director can execute from that feel

Q: What's up with Prince of Persia? Were approached or what?

A: is a video game, created in 88 or so, but different iterations have come out over the years. Doesn't say much on blog because too many dorks want to be Prince of Persia, or people want more info. Current status - he likes the underlying story of Jordan (creator's) ideas, he's supervised and worked with Jordan to help shape it to hire him to write the screenplay. Hit all studios in one day, hired a Town Car (that was a mistake).

It is essentially a Pirates/Raiders in 9th centry Persia, he's 3rd or 4th in line, king's favorite, can stop time with a magic dagger, in this world, the cool thing is the universe they're making - on edge of East/West/China cultures, ended up Bruckheimer for a bit, their process is maddening, Jordan had a good script, a zillion drafts, their process is "let's bring in this writer to do that" - the idea was John was to be the Fixer writer, but hasn't shaped up that way. The talk is that they may shoot next summer after Pirates 3, and it'll be absurdly expensive no matter what they do.

Q: the game has a turban on the lead - the ethnicity is an issue - is a flash point for Persian identity - what to do? LIke Hannibal movie - black or white person. Hopes Bruckheimer will find a great Persian actor, but whatever happens is beyond his control if they cast Orlando Bloom or somebody.

Ethnicity and cultural identity is one of those frustrating things. A Fox pilot for Ops that didn't happen - one character a former SEAL, lots of blog comments about "SEALs suck SEALS rule" - doesn't want to get tangled into that world. He doesn't want identity to get to be the big thing about it

Q: to break into industry today -

A: be flexible - realize that what you think is gonna be it isn't it, just follow whatever work pops up. If want to write the quirky indie, find the people that will make that movie, don't go knocking on Columbia's door is they aren't going to make that movie.

If you like TV, write TV -there's more opportunities there

-write whenever there is an opportunity to write, even if isn't somebody that you think won't be big isn't the case. Don't assume you know how things are going to turn out (good advice for ME to take - roll the dice more to increase your odds)

Q: move to LA?

A: if the movie syou like to write are valid for New York, be there. If you want to write Lord of the Rings, it is an LA kind of thing, or if a sitcom, gotta do LA

Q: Big Fish - how does he feel about it?

A: he loves it, was a book that he worked w/writer for a long time on, most autobiographical of the things he'd done, his father had died not too long before, knew how to write that experience without being cloying, that walking on eggshells quality about being around someone who dies; in the book he kept reading it and adding other things in that he connected to it. People who like it REALLY like it. If Burton hadn't signed on, wouldn't have been made. Was an expensive small movie. The bigness of the circus, location, cast and crew made it big. Shot in Alabama, for the Aisan sequence, finding 500 Asian people in Alabama to shoot was a challenge - found 50 and cloned them digitally in post.

He optined Big Fish from the author, Sony did it for him but he initiated it

Q: Charlie and Chocolate Factory - how to be original but be faithful to book AND the movie, but cover new ground w/out a scene by scene remake.

A: Having not seen the orginial, he didn't see the film until after submitted script, Tim and John didn't like the original, but had to be respectful during press tour. So they went back to the book source for the movie. He doesn't know Tim all that well, but knows what Tim likes, so did the orthodontic headgear, and knew he'd like the squirrels. Knows Tim has things about how he deals with parent stuff, so he tried to write (like volleyball) to set for Tim to spike it in.

One of his non-credits was a re-write on The Rundown to write for Christopher Walken...but there's no top with Christopher Walken. Got to use "cooch" for the first time.

Talking about parents and Big Fish - parents are like a lottery - you get stuck with them, but everywhere else in life you get to pick who you hang out with. "We were like strangers who knew each other very well" He could predict their behaviors very well, but you don't understand them. Can predict what happens next, but can't explain it.

Q: Challenges of directing?

A: producers on The Movie did American Beuaty and Big Fish, were friends of his independently. They did Big Fish with him before, and set producer on Veronica Mars was the third producer.

In terms of money and stuff, they were tiny, and enough folks who "hey if you ever do a movie" - they'll try to get into Sundance, try to get into other festivals, not gonna make a ton of money, but it is the movie he wants to make. His job is often to keep the studios happy, but for this one he didn't want to have to do that - he wanted to make the movie he wanted to make, and not have to bend to another's requests.

Q: do drills to keep up?

A: does writing off the page often - spend an hour writing about how this character feels about something, that won't go in script but helps him understand the character; or in a place and write about an interesting place describing it;

Q: For the stuff he wasn't excited about (Martin Lawrence movie) - does it help you on other stuff?

A: he does some of those bandaids as favors - hopefully will be able to call in those favors later for his own stuff (Jurassic Park 3, Minority Report he did emergency work on). While shooting JP3, he got on a plane to Hawaii in a HOliday Inn, didn't meet w/director, slide pages under director's door, only met director on last day (a dick). Kept relationship going since Spielberg was supposed to do Big Fish at that time.

He couldn't make any reshoots get done, but work from what was already shot. Like parkingin a really small place? How are you going to fit this in here?

Q: At this stage, does he still get notes? Is it a pain?

A: You get spoken notes, and can have a conversation about, teh written notes make you want to kill yourself. He did for Warners, Tarzan. Doesn't usually do the big hero stuff, but this was the time to do it, he said he wanted to do it in modern civil unrest Africa, they were good with it. Spent a year on various drafts, gets a set of notes, says to put it back in 18th century, and nothing could be used from what he'd done, so he walked after that.

He had to learn how to write those notes, if done write can steer in a good way.

Q: Aside from biz and writing, what inspires/feeds you?

A: gets internal validation when he knows he's written somehing good, test screenings with an audience that goes well and they laugh if your joke is good. He reads the geeky/gadgetry stuff, he likes the computer of it all, his peers are the new tech guys blogwise, he loves TV and his TiVO is full.

Q: Was the airduct in Blue Streak his idea?

A: he revised the air duct (he hates jewel thief movies) premise...there's a reason why he's in the air duct. Air ducts are a horible cliche, hates it.

Q: The Movie: while writing, when did he decide to keep it for himself and decide to direct

A: called that for title clearance right now, wrote it from conception for himself. One part of the movie (3 different parts to this movie, one section is directly autobiographical). Isn't Charlie Kaufmann like in terms of tumbling in on itself...he shot in his house, wouldn't let anybody shoot there. He mentions talking to me (MIke Curtis) about figuring out what to shoot each portion on.

Q: screenwriters typically don't get much attention

A: there's more popular media press about screenwriters - greatest frustration is that the director gets credit if good, screenwriter blamed if a bad film. Typically he's only mentioned if a move turns out bad. Best screenplay should go to director who f*cked up screenplay least. "That movie was good...probably it was well written?"

: )

Next year the screenplay awards will be done with them posted online.

There's a higher profile for writers these days - the success of 1 hour dramas is higher than before.