John and Craig circle back on all the euphemisms and stock phrases that float around Hollywood. Using some favorite examples, they attempt to define and demystify the current industry-speak so everyone is looped in when we come up for air after the holidays.

We also wrap-up 2025 with a look at Scriptnotes by the numbers, check-in on Disney's deal with OpenAI, follow up on that director who scammed Netflix out of $11 million, and answer listener questions on the guilds' involvement in video podcasts and reps who won't send out co-written scripts.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig navigate how to deal with difficult collaborators.

Links:

How Disney's OpenAI Deal Changes Everything by Steven Zeitchik and Julian Sancton for The Hollywood Reporter
Guilty! Director Who Scammed Netflix Out Of Millions Faces Decades Behind Bars by Dominic Patten for Deadline
Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too! by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon
Down to Puck: Why Women Are Going Wild for 'Heated Rivalry' by Seth Abramovitch for The Hollywood Reporter
Search Engine annual meeting
Order a signed copy of the Scriptnotes Book!
Charli XCX's Substack
Trailer for Divinity by Larian Studios
Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription (now with fewer emails!)
Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
Scriptnotes 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 ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

(46:41) Scriptnotes: A Book About Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters (Unabridged)

The Majestic Jesus A

Grace to You: Radio Podcast

I Am: Presence and Redemption

The AI-powered Podcast Player