Welcome

For many filmmakers, collaborating with actors is the last frontier—the scariest part and the part they long for—the human part, the place where connection happens. Judith’s newest book, Directing Actors: 25th Anniversary Edition, covers the challenges of the actor-director relationship—the pitfalls of “result direction”; breaking down a script; how to prepare for casting sessions; when, how and whether to rehearse—but with updated references, expanded ideas, more detailed chapters on rehearsal and script analysis (using a scene from The Matrix)—and a whole new chapter on directing children. Directing Actors has been, for decades, the industry standard for instilling confidence in filmmakers, and now the 25th Anniversary Edition brings these principles and tools into the 21st century—and takes directors, actors and writers deeper into the exhilarating task of creating characters the world will not forget. 

Judith Weston has brought tools and confidence to thousands of film and television directors, screenwriters, writer-directors, and actors around the world. In 2015, after 30 years of teaching in-person workshops and classes, Judith closed her studio space and shifted her focus to one-on-one consultations with directors and writer-directors of film and television as they prepare to bring their projects to life. She has also continued to give Zoom Q&As and workshops for schools, festivals, and organizations, such as the Sundance Collab, Film Fatales, Tisch/NYU, Directors Guild Canada, New Orleans Film Festival, Sony TV Diverse Directors Program, British Film Institute, Tallinn (Estonia) Film School. If your school, festival, or organization is interested in booking Judith for a zoom workshop, please contact us at john@judithweston.com.  

Judith Weston has been a teacher of directors, actors, and writers since 1985. Her students include: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant, Birdman, Biutiful, Amores Perros; Ava DuVernay, Origin, When They See Us, Selma, Queen Sugar, 13th, Middle of Nowhere; Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Boy, Flight of the Conchords; Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave, Small Axe, Shame, Hunger; Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Mustang, Handmaid’s Tale, Perry Mason; Alma Har'el, Honey Boy; Andrew Stanton, WALL-E, Finding Dory, Finding Nemo, Better Call Saul, Stranger Things; Pete Docter, Soul, Inside Out, Up; Vicky Jenson, Shrek; Steph Green, Watchmen, The Americans; Fred Toye, The Boys, Westworld; Ritesh Batra, The Lunchbox; Nzingha Stewart, Daisy Jones and the Six, Little Fires Everywhere; Sarah Adina Smith, Lessons in Chemistry, Buster's Mal Heart; Andrés Muschietti, It, The Flash, Mama; Michael Gracey, The Greatest Showman; Terry Zwigoff, Bad Santa, Ghost World; Patricia Cardoso, Real Women Have Curves; Lucy Tcherniak, The end of the F***ing world, Wanderlust; Hanelle Culpepper, Star Trek Picard, The Flash(TV), How to Get Away with Murder; Lawrence Trilling, Goliath, Rectify; Mark Fergus, The Expanse; Andrea Toyias, World of Warcraft; Caitriona Balfe, Outlander; David Chase, The Sopranos

 

  • “I am eternally grateful for your help.”

    TAIKA WAITITI, writer-director, JOJO RABBIT, THOR RAGNAROK, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, BOY, EAGLE VS SHARK, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS

  • “I took a seminar with an acting teacher named Judith Weston. I learned a key insight to character. She believed that all well-drawn characters have a spine, and the idea is that the character has an inner motor, a dominant, unconscious goal that they’re striving for, an itch that they can’t scratch. I took to this like a duck to water.”

    ANDREW STANTON [from his Feb 2012 TED Talk] writer-director, FINDING DORY, WALL-E, FINDING NEMO, A BUG’S LIFE; director, BETTER CALL SAUL, STRANGER THINGS; writer, TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, TOY STORY 3

  • "Judith's method is wonderful because it is practical. She has given me numerous tools to solve problems on the set and to earn the trust of actors. Her classes and her book are invaluable resources to any director."

    LAWRENCE TRILLING, director, GOLIATH, RECTIFY, PARENTHOOD, MASTERS OF SEX, PUSHING DAISIES, DAMAGES, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, NIP/TUCK, MONK, SCRUBS, INVASION, ALIAS, FELICITY

  • "Thank you for teaching me how to direct actors. Taking your classes made me believe I could direct. Taking your classes gave me a base, a foundation, a framework to find my own style. To step out on faith. I'm forever grateful. Love and respect to you, magnificent Judith Weston." 

    AVA DuVERNAY, director, WHEN THEY SEE US, QUEEN SUGAR, A WRINKLE IN TIME, SELMA, SCANDAL, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

  • "Everything you taught me was more than useful. I am deeply grateful."

    ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU, director, THE REVENANT, BIRDMAN, BIUTIFUL, BABEL, 21 GRAMS, AMORES PERROS