John and Craig break out of coverage to look at oners and long shots, cutting through any directorial showboating to compare the pros and cons and cons and cons of those unbroken takes, offering ways to decide when they are necessary or purposeful, and how to recognize when it’s better to cut.

We also look at changes to Sundance and the Nicholl Fellowship, answer listener questions on house lights in movie theaters, Oscar voting, improv movies, and share a few horror stories from John and Craig’s early career.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at their relationship with their phones and consider dumbing down.

Links:

• HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast
• Sundance is moving to Boulder, Colorado!
• Changes to the Academy Nicholl Fellowship
• Adolescence | The Studio
• Meryl Streep and Viola Davis in Doubt
• The Alien RPG by Free League
• Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
• The Show 25
• The DIY Dumbphone Method by Casey Johnston
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Instagram
• John August on Bluesky, Threads, 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.