The Psychological Depth of Good Will Hunting

04/22/15 • 40 min

There's a scene in the movie Good Will Hunting where the character played by Stellan Skarsgard implores anyone in his class to solve this insurmountably difficult math problem, and of course, the one who solves it is a townie janitor played by Matt Damon. It turns out -- at least according to this video by a Cambridge mathematician -- that the problem itself wasn't so difficult. But the point remains: there's real intellectual heft to the film. And after this special screening of the film in partnership with The Alfred P. Sloan foundation, we'll hear from psychiatrist Paul Browde and World Science Festival co-founder Brian Greene about some of the math, science and psychology in movie.

Joining them on the panel is the film's director, Gus Van Sant, and actors Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgard.

Joining them on the panel is the film's director, Gus Van Sant, and actors Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgard.

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Creating the Sound of the Coen Brothers

Who could forget the psychedelic jams of The Big Lebowski; the old-timey ballads of the Soggy Bottom Boys in O Brother, Where Art Thou?; or the eerie silence, minus the sound of Javier Bardem's cattle prod, in No Country for Old Men? Composer Carter Burwell and sound mixer Skip Lievsay, who've worked on almost every Coen brothers movie, discuss the unique sound they create, and reveal further details on the upcoming Coen brothers movie Hail, Caesar!

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The Stars of SnapChat, Vine and YouTube

Iman Crosson, who's better known on social media as Alphacat, has been making YouTube videos since the site's inception. But he's now perhaps just as well known for his Vine videos, which include remarkable six-second impressions of President Obama that actually earned Crosson the opportunity to meet the president. And yes, he Vined it.

But social media filmmaking isn't just a hobby. Some of the top performers on Vine and SnapChat bring in up to $100,000 a week by making sponsored content and selling advertisements.

Joining Crosson on this panel about the art and business of social media storytelling are Michael and Even Gregory of The Gregory Brothers, famous for their Auto-Tune the News videos. And we'll hear from "the Godfather of SnapChat," Casey Neistat.