John August

Last updated

John August
John August 2019.jpg
August in 2019
Born
John Tilton Meise

(1970-08-04) August 4, 1970 (age 53)
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • director
  • producer
  • novelist
Years active1998–present
Notable work Go
Big Fish
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire
Spouse
Michael August
​
(m. 2008)​
Children1

John August (born August 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is known for writing the films Go (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Big Fish (2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Frankenweenie (2012), the Disney live-action adaptation of Aladdin (2019), the novels Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire (2018), Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon (2019) and Arlo Finch in the Kingdom of Shadows (2020).

Contents

He hosts the popular screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes with Craig Mazin, maintains an eponymous screenwriting blog and develops screenwriter-targeted software through his company, Quote-Unquote Apps. [1] [2]

August is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, voting in the Writers branch. [3] In 2016, he was awarded the WGAw's Valentine Davies Award for his dignified contributions to the entertainment industry and the community-at-large, and has been nominated for a BAFTA and a Grammy. [4]

Early life

August was born John Tilton Meise in Boulder, Colorado, in 1970. [5] [6] Meise is a German-language surname he found was difficult to pronounce and wished to change; he eventually settled on August, coincidentally both his father's middle name and the month he was born. [7] He earned a degree in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa; while there, he participated in a summer film program at Stanford and decided to pursue screenwriting. [8] He went on to earn an MFA in film from The Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California. [9]

As part of his course at USC, August wrote a romantic tragedy called Here and Now. Though the script never sold, it resulted in August finding agent representation and helped launch his screenwriting career. [9]

Career

August's debut film was 1999's critically acclaimed crime-comedy Go , [10] directed by Doug Liman, for which he also served as co-producer and second unit director. [11] The film performed moderately at the box office, but was well received, and has since become a cult classic. [12]

After Go finished filming, August and Melissa McCarthy, who had a small role in the film, ran into each other in a coffee shop, and August told McCarthy that he had written a short film with her in mind. [13] The short film, God, was shot after Go, but finished and released before. [14] It has been credited as one of the early showcases of McCarthy's comedic talent. [13]

August created his first television show, D.C. , in 2000 for The WB. The series was produced by Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, with August serving as co-executive producer. [15] Seven episodes were produced, though only four aired. In the same year, August also wrote the animated science fiction feature Titan A.E. , and the McG-directed Charlie's Angels . [15]

In the fall of 1998, while Go was still in post-production, August had acquired the film rights to Daniel Wallace's novel Big Fish after reading it as a not-yet published manuscript. [16] His adaptation became the 2003 Tim Burton film of the same name and earned August a 2003 BAFTA Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. [17]

He returned to the world of Charlie's Angels to write its sequel, 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle . August has spoken about the difficult production process for the film. [18]

He reunited with Big Fish director Burton in 2005 for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , an adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book. August had written to Dahl as part of a third grade class project, and received a postcard reply. Though the reply was a form letter, August still had it, decades later, when he adapted the book. [19] He earned a 2006 Grammy nomination for his lyrics for “Wonka's Welcome Song” from the film. [20]

He collaborated for a third time with Burton on the stop-motion animated fantasy Corpse Bride , also released in 2005. The two films were in production simultaneously, with actors including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Christopher Lee appearing in both. [21] The film marked the third of five produced collaborations to date between August and Burton.

August made his feature directorial debut in 2007 with science fiction psychological thriller The Nines , starring Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, Hope Davis and Elle Fanning. The film, which August also wrote, premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival [22] and Venice Film Festival's Critics' Week. [23] One of McCarthy's characters in the film, Margaret, is the same one she played in August's 1998 short film God. [24]

In 2010, he partnered with game designer Jordan Mechner to pitch an adaptation of Mechner's Prince of Persia . August served as an executive producer on the resulting film, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , directed by Mike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. [25]

He reunited with Burton again in 2012 for the stop-motion fantasy horror comedy Frankenweenie, a remake of Burton's 1984 short film of the same name. August also received story credit on Burton's Dark Shadows adaptation. [26]

August returned to Big Fish for a 2013 Broadway musical adaptation, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. [27] The musical has subsequently been adapted all over the world, including a 2017 run on London's West End starring Kelsey Grammer. [28]

August co-wrote the screenplay for Walt Disney Pictures' live action musical fantasy film Aladdin (2019), alongside director Guy Ritchie. [29]

In July 2016, August signed a deal to write a three-book series aimed at middle-grade children, inspired by his experience as a Boy Scout. The first book in the series, Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire , was published on February 6, 2018 by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of the Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. [30] Its origins and creation were documented in August's podcast Launch. [31] Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon published in 2019, and the final book in the series followed in 2020.

Awards

August was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2003 for Big Fish. [17]

He earned a 2006 Grammy nomination for his lyrics for "Wonka's Welcome Song" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. [20]

In 2016, he was awarded the WGAw's Valentine Davies Award for his dignified contributions to the entertainment industry and the community-at-large. [4]

Other work

johnaugust.com

In 2003, August established johnaugust.com as a repository for the 100+ screenwriting advice columns he had written for IMDb. The site now has over 1,500 posts. [32]

August established a complementary site, screenwriting.io, to provide concise answers to a wide range of screenwriting craft-related questions. [4]

Quote-Unquote Apps

He founded Quote-Unquote Apps in 2010, which develops software related to film and the film industry. Their releases include FDX Reader Archived November 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , an iOS application that displays Final Draft files; [1] Less IMDb Archived December 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , a browser extension for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox that reorganizes the layout of IMDb pages; and Bronson Watermarker, an OS X watermarking application that supports multiple outputs. He also commissioned the typeface Courier Prime from Alan Dague-Greene, intended to be a more readable alternative to Courier New. [33]

In 2012, the Quote-Unquote team, along with Stu Maschwitz, developed Fountain, a simple markup syntax for screenplays. [34] Later that year, Quote-Unquote released the first public beta of Highland, an OS X utility that converts screenplays between PDF, FDX, and Fountain formats, and works as a Fountain text editor. [35]

In 2014, the company released Weekend Read, a freemium iOS app for reading screenplays. The app can open PDF, Final Draft, Fountain, Markdown and text files. [36] iPad support was added in 2015. The app features a 'For Your Consideration' section featuring awards season screenplays, as well as August's own scripts. [37]

In 2015, they released Assembler, a Mac app for instantly combining text files. [38]

Scriptnotes

Since the summer of 2011, August and fellow screenwriter Craig Mazin have hosted the Scriptnotes podcast, a weekly podcast on the craft of screenwriting and the film industry. [39] It consistently ranks among iTunes's top TV & Film podcasts. [40]

Writer Emergency Pack

August launched a 2014 Kickstarter for Writer Emergency Pack, a deck of cards designed to help writers when they're stuck. The Kickstarter raised $158,104 from 5,714 backers, [41] and the pack is now for sale to the public. [42] August worked with NaNoWriMo to distribute Writer Emergency Pack to more than 2,000 classrooms worldwide. [43]

One Hit Kill

In May 2015, August launched a second Kickstarter for a card game called One Hit Kill. The Kickstarter raised $76,038 from 1,951 backers. [44]

Launch

August debuted a second podcast in January 2018. Titled Launch, the six-episode series is produced by Wondery, and chronicles August's experience writing, selling and releasing his debut novel, Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire . [31] On its first day of release, Launch reached the top 10 on the iTunes podcast chart. [45]

Personal life

August lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Michael August, and their daughter. [46] [47] From 2016 to 2017, he spent a year living in Paris. [48]

Filmography

Film writer

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1998GodHimselfShort film
1999 Go Doug Liman Also 2nd unit director and co-producer
2000 Titan A.E. Don Bluth
Gary Goldman
Charlie's Angels McG
2003 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Nominated- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay
Big Fish Tim Burton Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Also wrote the lyrics to "Wonka's Welcome Song"
Corpse Bride Tim Burton
Mike Johnson 		Also wrote the lyrics to "Remains of the Day",
"Tears to Shed" and "According to Plan"
2007 The Nines Himself
2012 Dark Shadows Tim Burton Story only
Frankenweenie
2019 Aladdin Guy Ritchie
TBA Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz Alex Timbers In-production

Executive producer

Television

YearTitleWriterExecutive
Producer		Notes
2000 D.C. YesCo-executiveAlso creator
2003AlaskaYesYesTV movie

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Burton</span> American filmmaker and animator (born 1958)

Timothy Walter Burton is an American director, producer, writer, and animator. Known for pioneering goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his gothic horror and fantasy films. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and three BAFTA Awards. He was honored with the Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2007 and was given the Order of the Arts and Letters by Culture Minister of France in 2010.

<i>Adaptation</i> (film) 2002 American film

Adaptation is a 2002 American meta comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. It features an ensemble cast led by Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper, with Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston, and Maggie Gyllenhaal in supporting roles.

<i>Reading Rainbow</i> American childrens television series

Reading Rainbow is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterward PBS Kids from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes were produced over 23 seasons. Before its official premiere, the show aired for test audiences in the Nebraska and Buffalo, New York markets.

<i>Pee-wees Big Adventure</i> 1985 film by Tim Burton

Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his feature-film directing debut. It is the first installment of the Pee-wee Herman trilogy. Starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol, along with E.G. Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, and Judd Omen. Described as a "parody" or "farce version" of the 1948 Italian classic Bicycle Thieves, it tells the story of Pee-wee's nationwide search for his stolen bicycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Kaufman</span> American filmmaker and novelist

Charles Stuart Kaufman is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He both wrote and directed the films Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015), and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). In 2020, Kaufman released his first novel, Antkind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screenwriting</span> Art and craft of writing screenplays

Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.

Andrew Kevin Walker is an American screenwriter. He is known for having written Seven (1995), for which he earned a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, as well as several other films, including 8mm (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999) and many uncredited script rewrites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Goldman</span> British screenwriter and producer

Jane Loretta Anne Goldman is a British screenwriter and producer. She is mostly known for collaborating with director Matthew Vaughn on the screenplays of Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and its sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), as well as X-Men: First Class (2011), Kick-Ass (2010) and Stardust (2007). Goldman also worked on the story of X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), the sequel to First Class, again in partnership with Vaughn. Both met high critical praise for their work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Mazin</span> American screenwriter and film director

Craig Mazin is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for creating, writing, and producing the HBO miniseries Chernobyl (2019) and co-creating, co-writing, and executive producing the HBO series The Last of Us (2023–present), the latter alongside Neil Druckmann. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and Outstanding Limited Series. Before his work on drama shows gained widespread attention, he was primarily known for his writing work on comedy films such as Scary Movie 3 (2003), Scary Movie 4 (2006), The Hangover Part II (2011), The Hangover Part III (2013), and Identity Thief (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski</span> American screenwriting team

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are an American screenwriting duo, best known for writing postmodern biopics with larger-than-life characters. They coined the term "anti-biopic" to describe the genre they invented: Movies about people who don't deserve one. They are uninterested in the traditional "great man" story, focusing instead on obscure strivers in American pop culture. Their works in this genre include Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon, Big Eyes, Dolemite Is My Name, and the series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aline Brosh McKenna</span> American screenwriter, producer, and director

Aline Brosh McKenna is an American screenwriter, producer and director. Her credits include writing The Devil Wears Prada (2006), 27 Dresses (2008), Morning Glory (2010), We Bought a Zoo (2011) and co-creating The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Screenwriting software are word processors specialized to the task of writing screenplays.

Blake Snyder was an American screenwriter, consultant, author and educator based in Los Angeles. His screenplays include the comedies Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) and Blank Check (1994).

<i>Frankenweenie</i> (2012 film) 2012 stop-motion animated film by Tim Burton

Frankenweenie is a 2012 American 3D stop-motion animated science fiction horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by John August, and starring Charlie Tahan, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Atticus Shaffer, and Winona Ryder. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it is a feature-length remake of Burton's 1984 short film of the same name, and is also both a parody of and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 book Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Set in 1957, the film follows a boy named Victor Frankenstein who uses the power of electricity to resurrect his dead Bull Terrier, Sparky, but his peers discover what he has done and reanimate their own deceased pets and other creatures, resulting in mayhem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Burton filmography</span>

Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, artist, writer, animator, puppeteer, and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fade In (software)</span>

Fade In Professional Screenwriting Software is screenwriting software for writing screenplays in the professional, industry standard format used in Hollywood and elsewhere. It can also be used for teleplays, stage plays, radio plays, multimedia, graphic novels, and other similar script formats.

<i>Scriptnotes</i> Podcast about screenwriting

Scriptnotes is a weekly podcast that began airing on August 30, 2011. It is billed as "a podcast about screenwriting, and things that are interesting to screenwriters." The podcast is hosted by screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin, with new episodes released every Tuesday.

<i>Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire</i>

Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire is a middle-grade fiction fantasy novel, written by American screenwriter John August. It was published on February 6, 2018 by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. It is the first book in a planned Arlo Finch trilogy, and is based on August's own experience as a Boy Scout.

Derek Frey is an American film producer and director who is the current head of Tim Burton Productions and Lazer Film Productions. He has been a producer on numerous Tim Burton-directed films including Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Frankenweenie, Big Eyes, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, and others.

Megan McDonnell is an American screenwriter best known for her work on Marvel Cinematic Universe projects WandaVision (2021) and The Marvels (2023).

References

  1. 1 2 "Read Final Draft files on the iPad with FDX Reader". Macworld. May 25, 2011.
  2. ↑ "FDX Reader on CNET". Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Latest Academy News". Oscars.org – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. September 10, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Screenwriter John August to Receive WGAW's 2016 Valentine Davies Award" . Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  5. ↑ "John August". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Drew (October 3, 2012). "'Frankenweenie' Writer John August Talks Working With Tim Burton, Apps & The 'Big Fish' Musical". IndieWire. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Scriptnotes, Ep 307: Teaching Your Heroes to Drive — Transcript". Scriptnotes. July 10, 2017. So, for people who don't know the backstory, my original last name is German and it looks pronounceable, but we pronounced it weird. It was a challenging last name. And so I was deciding as I went through high school, like I think I'm going to use a different name for my career [...] I picked my dad's middle name, August, and it's worked out for me very, very well.
  8. ↑ "John August, from Drake to Broadway". Newsroom | Drake University. August 16, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Academy, The. "LESSONS LEARNED: John August on Screenwriting". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Go (1999)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  11. ↑ "Go (1999) – IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  12. ↑ "Looking Back On 'Go,' 15 Years Later". HuffPost UK. April 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  13. 1 2 "The 1998 Short Film That Showcased Melissa McCarthy's Early Comic Genius" . Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Lessons from God". johnaugust.com. December 2, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  15. 1 2 McNary, Dave (January 7, 2016). "'Big Fish' Writer John August Honored by Writers Guild". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Daniel Wallace website". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  17. 1 2 "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
  18. ↑ "Interview | John August on Screenwriting, Interviewing and 'Scary Stories' – CraveOnline". CraveOnline. November 12, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  19. ↑ Baker, Bob (May 22, 2005). "Advanced Screenwriting According to Me". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  20. 1 2 "The 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards Roundup: Film/TV/Visual Media". GRAMMY.com. January 24, 2006.
  21. ↑ "12 Lively Facts About Corpse Bride". December 19, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  22. ↑ "2007 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FILMS IN THE PREMIERES, SPECTRUM, NEW FRONTIER, PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT AND FROM THE SUNDANCE COLLECTION SECTIONS" (PDF). Sundance Film Festival. November 30, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 17, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  23. ↑ Levy, Emanuel (July 23, 2007). "Venice Film Fest 2007: Critics Week Selection". EmanuelLevy. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  24. ↑ "#TBT: A Look Back At Melissa McCarthy's First Acting Role". Fast Company. April 7, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Prince of Persia announced". johnaugust.com. March 4, 2004. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  26. ↑ Taylor, Drew (October 3, 2012). "'Frankenweenie' Writer John August Talks Working With Tim Burton, Apps & The 'Big Fish' Musical". IndieWire. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  27. ↑ Gioia, Michael (September 5, 2013). "Andrew Lippa and John August's Big Fish Swims Onto Broadway Beginning Sept. 5". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Big Fish". London Theatre. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  29. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 10, 2016). "Guy Ritchie To Direct Live Action 'Aladdin' For Disney". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  30. ↑ Busch, Anita (July 19, 2016). "'Big Fish' & 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' Scribe John August Signs 3-Book Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  31. 1 2 "Introducing Launch, A New Podcast from Wondery". Quick and Dirty Tips. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  32. ↑ "About John August - johnaugust.com". johnaugust.com.
  33. ↑ August, John. "About John August" . Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  34. ↑ Weber, Harrison (February 9, 2012). "Fountain is a Markup Language for Screenplays". The Next Web.
  35. ↑ "With Public Beta, 'Highland' Screenwriting Software Steps Up from Converter to Editor". No Film School. May 25, 2012.
  36. ↑ Macaulay, Scott. "John August Launches iPhone Screenplay Reader, Weekend Read | Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Need to Read a Screenplay on Your iPhone? Try Weekend Read (It's Free)". No Film School. February 19, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Assembler on the Mac App Store". Mac App Store. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Scriptnotes Podcast on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. March 12, 2024.
  40. ↑ "podbay.fm". podbay.
  41. ↑ "Writer Emergency Pack – helping writers get unstuck". Kickstarter.
  42. ↑ "Is Your Script Stuck? John August's Writer Emergency Pack Is On Sale Now". No Film School. April 8, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire | John August | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  44. ↑ "One Hit Kill". Kickstarter.
  45. ↑ "iTunesCharts.net: 'Launch' by Wondery (American Podcasts iTunes Chart)". www.itunescharts.net. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  46. ↑ "I got married". johnaugust.com. June 30, 2008.
  47. ↑ "Two big debuts". johnaugust.com. July 21, 2005.
  48. ↑ August, John (September 3, 2016). "I moved to Paris". JohnAugust.com. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.