KCRW's The Treatment

In the ten years since he’s been making feature films, writer-director Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Prestige, Batman Begins) has been making films in which the protagonists' emotional chaos has been mirrored in the physical world around them. His second Batman film, The Dark Knight, is said to the the pinnacle of that.

What do you get when you bring Ben Kingsley, Method Man, Josh Peck and Mary-Kate Olsen together? Besides the dream episode of Access Hollywood, you get writer-director Jonathan Levine's first, film, The Wackness.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Elvis Mitchell hosts writer-director-producer Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room, Taxi to the Dark Side) whose latest documentary is Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

Animated films have had many stars: animals, fish, toys, bugs, cars... WALL-E is the first with a lead with no face. It's a trash compactor. Is this the future of cartoons? We ask WALL-E director Andrew Stanton (A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo)

In the 1930's and 40's, comic books were as popular as movies -- and more influential. So much so that serious steps were taken to stop them. Writer David Hajdu (Lush Life, A Biography of Billy Strayhorn, Positively 4th Street) examines this controversy in his new book, The Ten-Cent Plague, and illustrates it.

Some Like It Hot, The Magnificent Seven, In the Heat of the Night, the original Pink Panther. If you're lucky, you've seen these films. Walter Mirisch produced them. I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History is his new book.

For writer-director Michael Patrick King (Will and Grace, Murphy Brown) every season of Sex in the City was about changing expectations, which means he had his work cut out for him with the Sex in the City movie. See if the shoe fits.

What's crazier than Austin Powers or Meet the Fockers? The 2000 presidential vote count, perhaps. It's the subject of Jay Roach's new film, Recount. Count yourself in when Elvis Mitchell speaks with Roach.

As a writer, Henry Bean is responsible for films about self-destructive protagonists who skirt justice in Deep Cover Internal Affairs. With his directorial debut, The Believer, he took that character one step further. Now with his newest film, Noise, he moves into the realm of fable. We discuss his holy war: the brain versus the heart.

Documentary filmmaker Doug Pray manages to nose his way into outcast societies -- de facto families -- with his films. Hype, on the 90's Seattle music world, and Scratch on the DJ culture. His latest, Surfwise, is about the most exclusive family, father Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, who turns his nine kids into champion surfers. It's all about tribal rights.

Jon Favreau understands power. As an actor, he broke through by writing a roll for himself in Swingers. Then he made the move behind the camera as the director of Zathura and Elf and, now, the box-office smash Iron Man.

If you were creating an indie comedy about two London boys coming into their own in the 80's, the last title you'd use is Son of Rambow – unless you're writer-director Garth Jennings (The Hitchkikers Guide to the Galaxy).

There are few figures in American culture as with as potent a step as David Mamet (American Buffalo, House of Games, Heist), first as a playwright, then as a filmmaker. With his new movie, Redbelt, he takes on a new frontier, the action film. We hear how he came to climb that mountain.

It's not often that filmmakers turn to literary devices rather than film conventions for their work. It happens to be the case for director Vadim Perelman for both House of Sand and Fog and his newest, The Life Before Her Eyes.

It's not often that filmmakers turn to literary devices rather than film conventions for their work. It happens to be the case for director Vadim Perelman for both House of Sand and Fog and his newest, The Life Before Her Eyes.

It's not often that filmmakers turn to literary devices rather than film conventions for their work. It happens to be the case for director Vadim Perelman for both House of Sand and Fog and his newest, The Life Before Her Eyes.

The late writer-director Anthony Minghella (Michael Clayton, Cold Mountain, The English Patient, Truly, Madly, Deeply) focused on characters trying to come to terms with themselves and found drama in the misperceptions in films both epic and intimate. We use this sad occasion to revisit his thoughtful interview on his last film, Breaking and Entering. (This show originally aired February 7, 2007.)

The late writer-director Anthony Minghella (Michael Clayton, Cold Mountain, The English Patient, Truly, Madly, Deeply) focused on characters trying to come to terms with themselves and found drama in the misperceptions in films both epic and intimate. We use this sad occasion to revisit his thoughtful interview on his last film, Breaking and Entering. (This show originally aired February 7, 2007.)

The late writer-director Anthony Minghella (Michael Clayton, Cold Mountain, The English Patient, Truly, Madly, Deeply) focused on characters trying to come to terms with themselves and found drama in the misperceptions in films both epic and intimate. We use this sad occasion to revisit his thoughtful interview on his last film, Breaking and Entering. (This show originally aired February 7, 2007.)

He's one of America---s premier filmmakers and has devoted his career to bringing a nuanced portrayal of the African American experience to the screen. Writer-director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, My Brother's Wedding, American Family) describes what got him into the movies and how stereotypes is still a battle worth fighting.

He's one of America’s premier filmmakers and has devoted his career to bringing a nuanced portrayal of the African American experience to the screen. Writer-director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, My Brother's Wedding, American Family) describes what got him into the movies and how stereotypes is still a battle worth fighting.

He's one of America’s premier filmmakers and has devoted his career to bringing a nuanced portrayal of the African American experience to the screen. Writer-director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, My Brother's Wedding, American Family) describes what got him into the movies and how stereotypes is still a battle worth fighting.

What a difference a decade makes. In the 1990's, director Kimberly Peirce brought Boys Don---t Cry to the big screen. Almost a decade later, she returns with Stop-Loss.

What a difference a decade makes. In the 1990's, director Kimberly Peirce brought Boys Don’t Cry to the big screen. Almost a decade later, she returns with Stop-Loss.

What a difference a decade makes. In the 1990's, director Kimberly Peirce brought Boys Don’t Cry to the big screen. Almost a decade later, she returns with Stop-Loss.

What do Dr. Doolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who---s Coming to Dinner, Bonnie and Clyde and In the Heat of the Night all have in common. All play a prominent role in movie history, as Mark Harris (Entertainment Weekly) notes in his new book, Pictures at a Revolution. It's history with a surprise ending.

What do Dr. Doolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Bonnie and Clyde and In the Heat of the Night all have in common? All play a prominent role in movie history, as Mark Harris (Entertainment Weekly) notes in his new book, Pictures at a Revolution. It's history with a surprise ending.

What do Dr. Doolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Bonnie and Clyde and In the Heat of the Night all have in common? All play a prominent role in movie history, as Mark Harris (Entertainment Weekly) notes in his new book, Pictures at a Revolution. It's history with a surprise ending.

The book Inside Inside not only takes a behind-the-scenes look at the television show Inside the Actors' Studio, but at its creator and host, James Lipton. This time, it's questions for the interrogator!

The book Inside Inside not only takes a behind-the-scenes look at the television show Inside the Actors' Studio, but at its creator and host, James Lipton. This time, it's questions for the interrogator!