449 - The One with Sam Esmail

John hosts a discussion with writer/director Sam Esmail as a part of the Showrunner Sessions at the WGA. Sam describes his aversion to writing, where his inspiration comes from, and how he learned to run a room.

We also dig into craft, talking about parentheticals and mastering the tension between creating mystery versus confusing your audience.

Then, for our premium members on our bonus segment we air the audience Q&A from the Showrunner Panel. John and Sam cover the alchemy of surprising music in a scene and the importance of saying something with each character.

Links:

• Angelyne Trailer
• Watch Homecoming
• Mr. Robot
• Three Page Challenge participants — please share your updates and stories! We’d love to hear what happened to your story or career after the segment.
• Please reach out with your experiences working in a virtual writer’s room during Covid-19, email [email protected].
• AboveTek iPad Stand
• Just Watch
• Sign up for Scriptnotes Premium here.
• Sam Esmail on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at [email protected]

You can download the episode here.