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J. Elvis Weinstein

J. Elvis Weinstein

Writer, actor, producer and director, also editor · Born May 21, 1971 (55) · Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA

Joshua Stuart Weinstein began his stand-up comedy career at age 15 in Mpls. Minnesota. At 17, he was one of the founding writer/performers of the cult sci-fi comedy TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) as the original voice/puppeteer of robots Tom Servo and Gypsy, and the role of Dr. Lawrence Erhardt. He adopted the name "J. Elvis Weinstein" to avoid confusion with another writer named Josh Weinstein (known for his work on The Simpsons). Since moving to Los Angeles, he has worked as a writer/producer on a wide range of network TV comedy, including Freaks and Geeks, Malcolm and Eddie, Dead Last, and My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star. He was also the Head Writer on America's Funniest Home Videos and Later with Greg Kinnear. In 2008 he reunited with his MST3K co-stars to form Cinematic Titanic, which toured U.S. Theaters as a live show and produced 12 DVDs, now available as a box set. Weinstein has written and directed three films – two feature documentaries (I Need You to Kill and Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me to Be?) and a comedy short (The Mediocre Samaritan). As a performer, he continues to perform stand-up, co-hosts the podcast Thought Spiral with comedian Andy Kindler, and recently co-starred in the feature film The Fiddling Horse.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 21, 1971 (55)
From
Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA
Works as
Writer, actor, producer and director, also editor
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 28 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 10% in 30 days

What are J. Elvis Weinstein's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Ideas.

Genres

Comedy5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 85th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Documentary3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 80th percentile
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
35%
Ideas
29%
Society
16%
Bonds
6%
Survival
6%
Morality
5%
Power
4%
Identity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt4 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame2 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Wry: How sincerely it treats its story and characters, from ironic to earnest. Browse their wry movies.
Tone · Sincerity
ironicearnest

A split, not a type: Ironic 5 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3

Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 7 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 7 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 6

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
7
Joyful
4
Warm
5
Contemplative
4
Tense
2

How their films linger

Fun8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous4

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch J. Elvis Weinstein's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for J. Elvis Weinstein's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

28 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.

  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Show as Dr. Laurence Erheardt/Tom Servo

  • Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me to Be?(2015)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Fiddling Horse(2019)

    as Philip Ainsworth

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • I Need You to Kill(2017)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Mystery Science Theater 3000(2017)

    Show 2 episodes · as Dr. Laurence Erhardt

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows

  • Cinematic Titanic: The Astral Factor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Writer · as J. Elvis Weinstein

  • Cinematic Titanic: Rattlers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Writer · as Self

  • Cinematic Titanic: War of the Insects (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Writer · as Self

  • Darkstar: Terror at the Edge of Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Captain Stone

  • Cinematic Titanic: Danger on Tiki Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Writer · as Self

  • Cinematic Titanic: The Alien Factor(2010)

    Writer · as Himself

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Andy Kindler: I Wish I Was Bitter(2014)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Cinematic Titanic: East Meets Watts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Writer · as Self

  • Cinematic Titanic: Blood of the Vampires (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Writer · as Self

  • Cinematic Titanic: Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks(2008)

    Writer · as Himself

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Cinematic Titanic: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Writer · as Himself

  • Cinematic Titanic: Legacy of Blood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Writer · as Self

  • Cinematic Titanic: The Wasp Woman(2008)

    Producer · Writer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Cinematic Titanic: Doomsday Machine(2008)

    Writer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Cinematic Titanic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Show 13 episodes · Writer · as J. Elvis Weinstein

  • Cinematic Titanic: The Oozing Skull (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Writer · as Self

  • My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

  • Dead Last (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Show 13 episodes · Producer

  • Freaks and Geeks(1999)

    Show 17 episodes · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • Fast Food Films (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show Creator

  • Malcolm & Eddie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Show 21 episodes · Producer · Writer

  • America's Funniest Home Videos(1989)

    Show 21 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows

  • Mystery Science Theater 3000(1988)

    Show 13 episodes · Writer · as Tom Servo (archive audio) · as Tom Servo (voice) / Dr. Laurence Erhardt

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

Career shape

Star power in the 6th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 28 titles from 1989 to 2022.

Highest rated

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)

Midcredits 86th

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting7 of 28: 5 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting2 of 28: 2 only directing, 0 with another roleWriting18 of 28: 14 only writing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score86thProducing4 of 28: 2 only producing, 2 with another roleOther crew1 of 28: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

28 titles, 4 with more than one role — writing and acting overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1980s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew1990s3 · crew2000s12 · 1 acting · 12 crew2010s9 · 4 acting · 6 crew2020s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do J. Elvis Weinstein's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 80th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

16thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th1
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 12 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · actor

The Fiddling Horse (2019)

91st percentile spread · 73% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer, producer

Freaks and Geeks (1999)

Midcredits 98th · 92% liked

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does J. Elvis Weinstein work with?

People who share at least 2 of J. Elvis Weinstein's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tim Ford shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers