Calabasas teen an award-winning filmmaker

Fun hobby has become his passion



ACTION!—Benjamin Steinberg, second from right, directs his actors. Jaxon Schriever is the cinematographer. The actors, from left, are Carolyn Reese Crotty, Owen Gatlin and Jeff Alan-Lee. Courtesy photo

ACTION!—Benjamin Steinberg, second from right, directs his actors. Jaxon Schriever is the cinematographer. The actors, from left, are Carolyn Reese Crotty, Owen Gatlin and Jeff Alan-Lee. Courtesy photo

It’s said that the trick to enjoying work is loving what you do.

For Benjamin Steinberg, 19, that’s making movies. What started as a fun hobby for the Calabasas native has begun taking him places. His 14-minute film “The Existential Crisis of Maxwell Anderson” has been making the rounds at short film festivals around the country and has even won a few awards.

“(The movie) is about a depressed teenager who gets addicted to laughing gas,” Steinberg said. “I had my teeth pulled in surgery a few years ago, and I was inspired by that and also how taking medicine can drastically change how you feel. I also watched ‘Harold and Maude,’ and that inspired me with some of the characters and story.”

Steinberg is a film student at Cal State Northridge. He hopes to become a writer and director of feature-length films. Right now he’s just honing his craft and making connections.

“Maxwell Anderson” is his most professional movie to date—he worked with a crew including a cinematographer, audio engineer and multiple actors.

Benjamin Steinberg Courtesy photo

Benjamin Steinberg Courtesy photo

All of his previous efforts have been do-it-yourself endeavors starring his friends or family. Some of his early works were filmed on a laptop webcam rather than with an actual camera.

In addition to his film classes, he’s a student at the Young Actor’s Studio in North Hollywood and takes classes at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

Using his connections at all the institutions, he workshopped his script and found his actors and crew.

Once he found them, they got to work. But just because it’s a short film, doesn’t mean it was completed overnight.

“Once I got the script done it took about three days of filming and maybe three months of editing,” Steinberg said. “I had some technical difficulties with the footage while editing. That was hard. I had to wait longer. I enjoy the writing process and filming (more).”

Steinberg started making movies when he was 9. He said trips to the movie theater with his mother inspired him to pick up the camera. He started writing scripts and making movies.

With a decade of experience behind him, Steinberg decided to take on a challenge and make “Maxwell Anderson.”

At 14 minutes, it’s his longest work yet. His previous films rarely went beyond the six-minute mark.

“(Short films) are harder than making feature films. You have to fit everything into 13 minutes,” Steinberg said. “I like it. Short films are different. You can watch it and get a full beginning, middle and end in a short time and still feel like you’ve seen a full story.”

He said it’s all practice right now. If he can master the broad strokes and tell a complete story in a matter of minutes, then when he’s got hours to work with he’ll be able to make the most of every scene.

He thinks he’ll be ready for the silver screen in about five years, after he’s completed his classes at CSUN and has a network of filmmakers he can call on to help him.

He’s got ideas for feature films, but right now he’s focused on “Maxwell Anderson.”

Steinberg said that when he was working on the short film, it was just another movie, something he was doing for himself and for the experience. But he had an inkling it could be something more.

“I knew I liked it personally, so I didn’t really think about it too much, I just submitted it. . . .” he said. “I had a unique story, it was something different.”

He made the movie when he was still a high school student, so it’s been screened as a student film. But it wasn’t a school project. Steinberg made the movie on his own and took advantage of the independence to write whatever he wanted, and ended up making a comedy/drama about a teen addicted to laughing gas.

Despite a premise that could be seen as no laughing matter, the film has been well-received.