About Max Weinstein

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April 10, 2017
When it comes to movie violence, a perennial question for writers of sanguinary screenplays is, “Am I only writing violence for […]
April 7, 2017
Fists and sight gags fly in this breakdown of Jackie Chan’s principles of action comedy. Watch this video to learn what he does right that others get wrong.
April 7, 2017
In this script-to-screen video analysis, Francis Ford Coppola reveals the Hitchcockian method that helped him design a pivotal sequence from The Godfather.
March 23, 2017
Watch DP Toby Oliver’s commentary on two scenes from Get Out to learn what to use and how to shoot to pull off “day-for-night” and “dry-for-wet” sequences.
March 22, 2017
What makes a scene work? Does it lie in the carefully executed plans of a film’s cast and crew? Or […]
March 14, 2017
Kevin Williamson’s Scream script changed the game, and the face, of horror for generations. This video shows how its red herrings kept audiences guessing.
March 14, 2017
Adapting boxing champ Jake LaMotta’s life for the screen, says director Martin Guigui, involved a constant battle between hard facts and creative license.
March 9, 2017
What are “aspect-to-aspect” transitions, and how can they help you make your movie? Watch this video on their role in Ghost In The Shell to find out.
March 3, 2017
For George Miller, the sound asses being kicked is, literally, music to the ears. Watch this video on Mad Max: Fury Road’s rhythmic action to discover how.
March 3, 2017
Watch writer/director/producer/actor Kris Avedisian’s commentary on going for both style and efficiency when shooting his dark cringe comedy, Donald Cried.
March 1, 2017
Watch director Ed Gass-Donnelly’s commentary on how he shot two scenes from his hallucinatory thriller Lavender, starring Abbie Cornish and Dermot Mulroney.
February 28, 2017
This video version of Roger Ebert’s review of Mike Figgis’ Stormy Monday is a love letter to cinema’s sensory pleasures that every moviemaker should watch.
February 20, 2017
Watch this brief history of Robert Altman’s work as a television director for some insight into how he developed his distinct cinematic authorship.
February 13, 2017
Welcome to the jungle… The Asphalt Jungle. We discuss what moviemakers can learn about adaptation from the Criterion edition of John Huston’s crime caper.
February 7, 2017
The founder of Southern City explains how he delivered a robust cultural experience and hands-on film education to the small town of Aiken, South Carolina.
January 9, 2017
Watch this video essay to see the mother-son motif of director J.A. Bayona’s (The Orphanage, The Impossible, A Monster Calls) filmography in action.
January 7, 2017
This thought-provoking, evocative video essay speculates that perhaps Martin Scorsese’s camera is taking cues from a higher power.
January 6, 2017
Watch this slice of film history on Princess Mononoke’s long road from idea to animation classic, drawn over decades by the Studio Ghibli animation team.
December 30, 2016
Watch this rhythmic cut of the many bangs, thuds, cracks, claps, shots and snorts that comprise the harsh soundscapes of Paul Thomas Anderson’s films.
December 23, 2016
Director Darren Lynn Bousman narrates two scenes from his time-hopping horror-noir, Abattoir, featuring Jessica Lowndes, Lin Shaye and Dayton Callie.
November 30, 2016
Watch Moonlight writer-director Barry Jenkins discover links between the universes of his film and Wong Kar-wai’s widely influential In the Mood for Love.
November 1, 2016
Film/TV heavyweights Effie Brown (Dear White People) and Sam Esmail (Mr Robot) gave insightful, instructive keynote speeches at Film Independent Forum 2016.
October 28, 2016
Our latest Criterion Crash Course draws moviemaking lessons from Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth.
October 24, 2016
Moore’s on-screen agency in Michael Moore in Trumpland veers quite literally into center-stage territory, as the film captures a one-night only performance.