"Sun Tzu may have the market covered on war, but when it comes to the art of directing actors, Judith Weston reigns supreme. Seven years after the publication of her seminal 'Directing Actors,' she's at it again with 'The Film Director's Intuition.' Rather than retread any of what she's covered before, this book offers a whole new insight into the role the director - this time turning the topic inward. Here, she teaches directors that it's all about accessing their own intuition - their own 'inner actor' - that will allow them the most effective collaboration on-set. With Henry Bean and Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu counted among her legions of fans, who are we to argue? Like her first book, 'The Film Director's Intuition' is a title that belongs on every director's bookshelf and film set!"
MovieMaker Magazine
"Wow. What isn't covered in Judith Weston's take on the slippery subject of analyzing scripts and applying that insight to help an actor work? The weaving of relevant stories--from top directors, writers, actors, and others--helps drive home the salient points of Weston's very practical handbook."
Millimeter Magazine
"For directors, this book is worth its weight in gold. Weston's approach to script analysis is very thorough and imaginative (THE keyword of her approach). Her passion is to improve the way directors deal with actors, and to this end she has developed a number of techniques and theories which are intended to help directors immerse themselves completely in the scripts they work on, and to help them understand the work actors do and communicate more effectively with them. Weston's techniques can also be applied by writers, especially when it comes to engaging all their senses imaginatively in making the script come alive."
Screentalk Magazine
"One book that doesn't need a discount -- in fact it's worth its weight in Spirit Awards -- is Judith Weston's 'The Film Director's Intuition.' In splendidly direct yet graceful prose, Weston goes into script analysis, employing scenes from 'Clerks,' 'Tender Mercies,' and 'sex, lies, and videotape'; rehearsal techniques; and ever so much more. What seems like it might be deadly dry is filled with insights into the directorial/acting process from the likes of Stanley Tucci, Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman, and Judi Dench ('Don't play the line, ever. It's like layers. The line is the top. The one you're playing might be the 14th down. You don't play anything on the button, as it were.'). Weston's closing advice: 'Follow your heart. Be honest with yourself. Let love guide you.' Only a book this wise could conclude with such sentiments and not make you gag."
IndiWIRE
"The Film Director's Intuition is a box of magical tools to inspire every director, thereby enabling them to inspire actors to wonderful performances. This is a seminal text in the field and a brilliant gift from Judith Weston to everyone who seeks to understand dramatic art."
DEBORAH BROCK, writer/co-executive producer HONEY, I BLEW UP THE KID; co-producer BUFFALO '66
Judith's second book, "THE FILM DIRECTOR'S INTUITION: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques," published by Michael Wiese Productions, is available - on the Internet at mwp.com or Amazon.com – also at Samuel French Bookstores in Los Angeles and New York – and at many other bookstores (although it might be wise to call ahead to bookstores to make sure they have copies on hand.)
"THE FILM DIRECTOR'S INTUITION" investigates territory attempted by no other book for film directors. Using the craft of acting as a metaphor, "The Film Director's Intuition" explores the nature of imagination itself. Via discussions of script analysis and rehearsal techniques, the book examines in depth the director's relationships to actors, to characters, and to story structure. Actors and writers, producers and executives - as well as directors - will find its insights illuminating and inspiring.