04: Screenwriting, Story & Final Draft

That Post Show #4: Screenwriting, Story & Final Draft

Hosted by: John Flowers

With Guests: David Stripinis and Michael Scott

David Stripinis works in Hollywood and is currently doing a lot of work for a certain epic film directed by a certain famous director. Michael Scott, known to the internet as Dorkman and the co-creator of the popular Star Wars fan-film, Ryan vs. Dorkman and Ryan vs. Dorkman 2.

David Stripinis is on Twitter at twitter.com/davidstripinis
Michael Scott is on Twitter at twitter.com/dorkmanscott

Note: We have moved the show to AAC (iTunes) format, from MP3. This reduces file size by a lot and allows us to have more content in less space. Plus, every modern system can play AAC (or, MP4 or M4A files).

This episode -- subtitled "That EPIC F***ing Post Show" -- is a discussion of screenwriting, directing, making movies, worrying about budget and just about everything else. We even squeeze in a comment or two about Final Draft. David "laughs out loud, five times." We discuss M. Knight's writing style, how you can only enjoy Sixth Sense twice, Hollywood "blockbusters" and directing someone else's writing.

We discuss several ways of finding movie scripts online.

We even pitch a few of our own movie ideas. One is apparently offensive to David, even though he likes the script "I WANT TO F*** YOUR SISTER."

Everyone likes Britney Spears naked in a sauna and Patton Oswalt's evil death bed.

Meanwhile, Michael doesn't really brag about creating Ryan vs. Dorkman and David doesn't actually brag about knowing Jim Cameron. John tries to brag, but doesn't find anything to brag about.

It's that kind of show.

Movies mentioned on the show:

Armageddon, Unbreakable, Deep Impact, Twister, The Bucket List, Epic Movie, In Bruges, The Sixth Sense, Memento, Signs, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Teeth, Saw, Harold and Kumar, Stranger Than Fiction, 3 Days of the Condor, SuperBad, The Breakfast Club, Never Back Down, Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Jaws, Terminator 2, Children of Men, David Fincher's anything

Television mentioned on the show:

True Blood, Dexter, Six Feet Under, Heroes (of course), Dollhouse, Firefly, LOST, The X-Files, Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, Big Bang Theory and Madmen

All the talk about Michael's trailer is related to this Youtube video.

Episode 4 can be downloaded at the following link or found on iTunes (preferred);

Download 04-ScreenwritingStoryFinalDraft

Don't take a drink whenever anyone says, "You know" or "uhm" or when Michael says "right" to David.  If you try this, you'll get alcohol poisoning before the show is half over.

Comments

[fred]

I've listen the whole marathon/episode, because I like the guests. I'd suggest in the future concentrating on the guests' own experiences, problems and process. Perhaps it would have been best to limit the scope to independent, or rebel film making, hell, even the tools and the reference works. Keeping it real.

The most interesting moment was the question: would you prefer to direct someone's work, or write something someone else will direct? That's a fascinating litmus test of your interests and confidence in your work.

From the title of the episode, I had expected references to Robert McKee.

[Ed. Note: I think we'll keep the show under 2 hours from now on, this episode - while it has had great feedback and positive reviews - was probably too long. Also, I think David did mention McKee a few times, didn't he?

Either way, thanks for listening and commenting! We appreciate it and are improving the show with every episode.]

[loothi]

Great show, but blimey, if I hadn't been mindlessly syncing rushes I am not sure I would have had the stamina to stick with it all the way through. :)

I like the open format and the guests are great, but I think John needs to be a tougher host, or someone needs to do some ruthless editing of the recording. 1 hour would be more palatable if possible!

That said, I am sure the show will find it's shape and form in due course. Keep up the good work. I'm enjoying hearing the opinions, especially getting some new perspectives on the industry, and I especially like the tips for films/TV to (re) watch and people's influences.

Oh, and unless I missed it, no-one has mentioned The Wire yet! I shall send a postcard to the first person to give that show some love. There are some great behind the scenes insights in this article: http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/inside-hbos-the-wire

Thanks!~loothi

[Chris Hocking]

Don't listen to them! I thought this episode was FANTASTIC! I really enjoy just "listening in" on other people's intelligent conversations about the art of film-making. The seemingly unstructured and smooth flowing nature of the show really works for me, especially as I spend a lot of time in the car travelling from one location to another. Personally, I don't think you should change a thing - except maybe the creepy music...

Keep up the great work people!

Chris!

[Ed. Note: Thanks for the seriously kind words. We're trying to make That Post Show even better in the future and appreciate you listening and commenting on it!

P.S. Creepy music noted. :) ]

[Frank]

OK, five months late but...
To second loothi's comment: all this talk about episodic TV with no mentions of The Wire !?!. Aiiiyyyee!
Granted: it has few (zero?) VFX but they did have a story (a 60+ hour one) that they managed to break into seasonal chunks each of which stands on their own fine but strongly compliment each other. On the surface it looks like Yet Another Cops and Gangbangers Show but if you give it a few episodes I think the bigger themes will draw you in.
Rich story, vivid characters, good stuff.