Max Lanman – What Would John Do?

INFO

I'm a 21 year-old filmmaker from the San Francisco Bay Area, currently finishing my senior year at Yale University as a Film major. Growing up the with four brothers (two older and two younger), I have come to appreciate being the middle child. We each have a very competitive spirit, and have always challenged each other - either in jokes, when we one-up each other, or in sports, school, or the arts- each brother wants to be better than the next, and the best in the family at something. My parents have had a positive influence on all of us in pursuing our individual interest, and for me this has really strengthened my approach to filmmaking. I've learned to take any opportunity I can to better myself or to move my career forward, and to create opportunities for myself by working hard and being proactive. I am a big proponent of the "School for Hands On," the idea of learning your craft through experience. This has been my approach to honing my filmmaking skills, and in the process of doing so, it's allowed me to expose myself to a broad variety of different filmmaking. Some of my experiences include shooting: several short comedy sketches, a few short dramas, a couple of short documentaries, a few music videos, a comedy music video, a corporate sponsored viral video, a half hour situational comedy show, live music, acoustic sessions, and most recently a 33-minute short dramatic film called "Walter's Happiness," which you can see scenes of in my reel.
  My script, What Would John Do, the story of two best friends and their adventures in Mexico helping people in the small town of Santa Ines. Patrick Wilson takes us through the story of his lifelong friendship with John Marshall, whom he believes could be Jesus Christ reincarnated. Themes of the story deal closely with religion, but also with camaraderie, bravery, immigration, and moral development. It is an adventure, comedy, action, and drama fused into one exciting story meant to entertain, and to provoke thought and conversation.