Artist Profile
John August 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) and Frankenweenie (2012), and the novel Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire (2018). 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. August has written the screenplay for Walt Disney Pictures’ upcoming live-action musical fantasy film Aladdin, alongside Vanessa Taylor and director Guy Ritchie.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. Its origins and creation were documented in August’s podcast Launch. The sequels will follow in 2019 and 2020.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, voting in the Writers branch. 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.
