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). He hosts the screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes with Craig Mazin, maintains an eponymous screenwriting blog, and develops screenwriter-targeted software through his company, Quote-Unquote Apps. August 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article John August, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 4, 1970 (56)
- Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Writer, director and producer, also actor
- 12 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
What are John August's films like?
Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 9
Light 8 · Serious 5 · Dark 0
Grounded 1 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 11
Gentle 2 · Charged 8 · Intense 3
Steady 5 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 3
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 2
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 5
Casual 5 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 9 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 0
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet5
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch John August's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (4).
Subscription and free streaming for John August's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
15 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Aladdin(2019)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Frankenweenie(2012)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Dark Shadows(2012)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
The Nines(2007)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Corpse Bride(2005)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Big Fish(2003)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Charlie's Angels(2000)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Titan A.E.(2000)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Go(1999)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
God (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of Wizard of Oz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Teen Missing Mother Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 15 titles, 13 of them dated from 1998 to 2019.
Biggest box office
Aladdin (2019)
Highest rated
Big Fish (2003)
Most popular right now
Corpse Bride (2005)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
1 major award from 4 major nominations, 2004–2016.
- Writers Guild Award, won · Valentine Davies Award
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Screenplay - Adapted
+1 other major body · 1 nomination
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Writer
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do John August's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 63rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 12 titles divides audiences: 7 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 55/100 and the plot and story 45/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is John August's work okay for kids?
Across up to 12 MovieCove titles with content scores, alcohol & drugs runs lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does John August work with?
People who share at least 2 of John August's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tim Burton shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Tim BurtonShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Big Fish (2003)See all 5 shared titles with Tim Burton
- McGShared titles: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Charlie's Angels (2000)See all 2 shared titles with McG
Writers
- Ben RobertsShared titles: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Charlie's Angels (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Ben Roberts
- Ivan GoffShared titles: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Charlie's Angels (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Ivan Goff
Actors
- Helena Bonham CarterShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Big Fish (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Helena Bonham Carter
- Johnny DeppShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Johnny Depp
- Drew BarrymoreShared titles: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Charlie's Angels (2000), Titan A.E. (2000)See all 3 shared titles with Drew Barrymore
- Richard E. GrantShared titles: Attack of the Hollywood Cliches! (2021), Corpse Bride (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Richard E. Grant
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Chris LebenzonShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Big Fish (2003)See all 5 shared titles with Chris Lebenzon
- Danny ElfmanShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Big Fish (2003)See all 5 shared titles with Danny Elfman
- Philippe RousselotShared titles: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Big Fish (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Philippe Rousselot
- Edward ShearmurShared titles: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Charlie's Angels (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Edward Shearmur
Producers
- Derek FreyShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005)See all 4 shared titles with Derek Frey
- Katterli FrauenfelderShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Big Fish (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Katterli Frauenfelder
- Richard D. ZanuckShared titles: Dark Shadows (2012), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Big Fish (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Richard D. Zanuck
- Allison AbbateShared titles: Frankenweenie (2012), Corpse Bride (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Allison Abbate
