Writer and director Richard LaGravenese joins Craig for an in-depth analysis of his 1994 comedy classic screenplay, THE REF. Together, Craig and Richard dig into the rules of farce, making hyper-verbal characters work, and the difference between a main character and a protagonist.

We also discuss how to write compelling monologues, engineering a character’s catharsis, and why coffee really is better with cake.

In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig and Richard discuss why it’s often so hard for men to make – and keep – close friends.

Links:

• The Ref on YouTube, Amazon and IMDb
• Richard LaGravenese on IMDb
• shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Henry_Red_Chief.pdf"> The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
• The Ref’s Opening Scene
• 201912.pdf">Puzzled Pint’s Code Sheet
• Levain Bakery
• 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 Twitter
• John on Instagram
• John on Mastodon
• Outro by Matt Davis (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.