John August: “a strong collective of screenwriters is needed to achieve good jobs and fair remuneration”

The screenwriter of films such as 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' or 'The Corpse Bride' and creator of several series for The WB, Fox and ABC participates in a Masterclass organized by ALMA in which he explained his work routines.

John August, screenwriter and frequent collaborator of Tim Burton in films such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory o The Corpse Bride, gave a Screenwriting Masterclass last weekend in Madrid where he expressed the need for there to be a strong and united group of screenwriters to be able to do good work and obtain fair remuneration, as happens in the United States.

August encouraged Spanish creators to join ALMA Screenwriters with the aim of achieving the ideal conditions to develop their professional work with stability, something that “is only achieved with the support of the rest of the screenwriters, as happens in Hollywood,” he assured.

Throughout the six hours that the Master Class lasted, August addressed all kinds of topics, explained his work routines, talked about the creation of the characters, the audience's expectations and how to meet them or how to manage the relationship with the producers of the films and series, among many other topics.

August, committed to his profession, defined the craft of screenwriter as “an invisible art, a medium that most people are unaware of: they don't usually know that there is someone who writes all those movies they see.”
The Master Class, held at the Conde Duque Center in Madrid, hung the “Sold Out” sign and thus adds to the success of previous editions in which showrunners and scriptwriters from productions such as The Simpsons, Mad Men o The Affair.

With these Screenwriting Master Classes, the ALMA union seeks to promote the learning of professionals to adapt our formats and ways of conceiving fiction, to be competitive in international markets and to have a greater presence abroad, as well as to value the figure of the screenwriter as a fundamental pillar of series or cinema.

A versatile screenwriter

John August's filmography as a screenwriter includes titles such as Living Without Limits, Big Fish, Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the saga of Charlie's Angels. His directorial debut, The Nines, premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. On television, he has created series for The WB, Fox and ABC. He has written the libretto for the Broadway musical adaptation of Big Fish. His company, Quote-Unquote Apps, has created several useful apps for screenwriters, especially the iPhone screenwriting app Highland and Weekend Read. He has also created the Writer Emergency Pack. John co-hosts the Scriptnotes podcast with Craig Mazin and frequently serves as an advisor to the Sundance Screenwriter Lab.