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Books By Judith Weston

 Directing Actors 25th Anniversary             The Firlm Director's Intuition 

Please check out Directing Actors 25th Anniversary Edition. It's a complete updating and revision to Judith’s bestselling book Directing Actors. Available at Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, mwp.com,. independent bookstores and many libraries. 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. Judith's goal with the 25th Anniversary Edition was to bring these principles and tools into the 21st century—and take directors, actors and writers deeper into the exhilarating task of creating characters the world will not forget. 

And now, in April 2024, a wonderful new publication—the audiobook version of The Film Director's Intuition! Judith was allowed to lightly revise and update the text—and record the narration herself. It’s available at: Audible.com, Spotify, Apple, Google Play, Walmart (and Kobo), and a host of other outlets, including most libraries.

If you are gifting a director, actor, or writer (or anyone creative or creative-curious) with one of Judith's books—or if you are thinking it might be time to reread your thumbed-over and highlighted copy of Directing Actors or The Film Director's Intuition—please consider instead Directing Actors: 25th Anniversary Edition or the audiobook version of The Film Director's Intuition.

Both of these publications were written from the point of view of film directors, and directors all over the world have come to rely on them. But many others have also found them helpful—screenwriters, actors, professionals in film, television, photography, theater—and really anyone who wants to live creatively. The tools and principles of the books are simple and practical, but more than that—readers find a deep contact with the magic and mystery of the creative process, and tools to access emotion. Many say the books' communication tools and storytelling principles offer lessons in life, and support for their efforts to achieve confidence, self-respect, and joy in their work.

The original Directing Actors has been translated into Spanish, Iraqi Kurdish, Farsi, Estonian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, German, Japanese, Finnish, Korean, Greek, and Polish.

Here are links for purchasing “Dirigir Actores” (the Spanish language edition of Directing Actors, published by C.U.E.C.):

Both Directing Actors and The Film Director's Intuition are published by Michael Wiese Productions, and available at Amazon.com, Bookshop.com, and many independent bookstores.

  • “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