“It’s an honor just to be name-checked in Inneresting.”
Okay, maybe that’s not the cliché (yet). But we hope the writers in this year’s Academy Award nominees for screenwriting feel the love. This week, we’re looking at the Academy Award nominees for Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
All Quiet on the Western Front (Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell)
Edward Berger talks tone in this interview, including looking for places away from the front lines where soldiers (and the audience) can pause and laugh. Berger also gave thought to what it means for this story to be told from a German perspective, bringing a sense of shame and guilt, as well as how it differs from war narratives told from the perspective of the victors.
Glass Onion (Rian Johnson)
There’s a lot going on in when Glass Onion’s main characters meet Benoit Blanc for the first time, and Johnson takes us through the scene in detail. To hear more from Rian, you can check out his three previous appearances on Scriptnotes:
Episode 579, featuring a conversation with John and Craig about Glass Onion and beginning with structure.
Episode 299, where Craig and guest host Dana Fox talk with Rian and Rob McElhenney about rejection and sticking to your creative vision.
Episode 115, a special Austin Film Festival episode with Rian and Kelly Marcel.
Living (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Ishiguro speaks to the idea of the “lonely sense of triumph” that comes from a person living a small but full life in this interview about transposing the ideas of Ikiru into a new context. For more on the connections between the two films, take a look at Aparita Bhandari’s essay on re-watching Ikiru shortly after a screening of Living. For more insight into the kind of films that excite him, the Criterion Collection released a top ten of Ishiguro’s favorite films from their library.
Top Gun: Maverick (Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks)
Eric Warren Singer shares his research speaking with pilots to help ground the details of the film’s missions with the realities of naval aviation. Chris McQuarrie and Justin Marks cover a lot of territory talking about air sickness, learning about military culture, and balancing nostalgia with new material in a sequel. For more in-depth conversations with Chris McQuarrie, Scriptnotes has you covered:
In Episode 400, McQuarrie joins John and Craig to talk about how to revitalize genres that don’t get much attention any more.
Episode 300 features a conversation about making the jump from Writer to Writer-Director.
Women Talking (Sarah Polley)
Sarah Polley was drawn in by the original novel, and used at as a springboard for her first feature in ten years. Looking at the central role of conversation and debate, Polley sits down with Jeffrey Brown to talk about the power of talking about things previously unspoken. She also recently joined John and Craig on Scriptnotes to cover the writing of the film, her book Run Towards the Danger, and her perspective as a former child actor.
Next Week: More on the nominees for Writing (Original Screenplay)…
Weekend Read 2 Public Beta
The original Weekend Read made it easier to read screenplays on an iPhone. Now we’re preparing to launch a sequel!
Can you hunt for bugs?
Can you load in scripts with different file formats to test compatibility?
Can you test if it feels like the best way to read a screenplay on your phone?
Then we need your help.
Anyone with an iOS or iPadOS device can use TestFlight to download a copy of this app in progress. Your feedback helps speed up the process of getting the best version of this app to the App Store.
And you get a sneak peak at some of the new features we’ve built in!
Download the beta through TestFlight and let us know what you think!
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Reading the room
Get inspired to Write Sprint
This week, we’re asking Sprinters to share the writing that inspires them. What have you been reading? What have you watched that made you stand up and notice the writing?
Share your answers this week as you join us to sprint!
What’s a Write Sprint?
John wrote up an explanation, but here’s the short version: Set a timer for 60 minutes, close down all distractions, and do nothing but write until that timer goes off.
Shout out this week to Sprinters Quinn Emmett, Dallas Gow, Alee O. Karim, Alberto Acosta, Andrew Heard, Aimee Link, Brian Matusz, and John Harvey!
Previously on Inneresting…
In case you missed it, in last issue’s most clicked link Jim Vorel looks at a list of adjective-worthy filmmakers and how their identities connect to their work.
Other Inneresting Things…
TIL that blackberries are not even close to being considered berries, but pumpkins count as berries. Botanical categories are wild.
NASA wants your help with Citizen Science projects!
Airports name runways based on their orientation with Earth’s magnetic field. This means changes in the magnetic field force airports to rename runways.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from readers like you and the entire Quote-Unquote team.
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🗣 Have ideas for future topics (or just want to say hello)? Reach out to Chris via email at inneresting@johnaugust.com, Twitter @ccsont, or Mastodon @ccsont@mastodon.art