The Treatment

Comedy about shifting definitions of masculinity is where writer-director John Hamburg ( Zoolander, Safe Men, Meet the Fockers )  finds laughs. His newest film is I Love You, Man , starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.

A world where the protagonist and the viewer doesn't know where he stands. From the Bourne films, to Michael Clayton and the new film, Duplicity . It's what writer-director Tony Gilro y does. More duplicity from the horse's mouth.

Cinematographer turned filmmaker, Ellen Kuras ( Summer of Sam, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan )  dedicated years of her life to making the documentary, The Betrayal , a look at a family devastated by abandonment...

Elvis hosts writer-director Jody Hill ( The Foot Fist Way ) whose latest work is the HBO TV series Eastbound & Down .

From the blogosphere to an Oscar ( Juno ) to Showtime. It’s quite a career for screenwriter Diablo Cody . Her series, The United States of Tara , looks at multiple personalities. She just might know something about that.

Elvis hosts writer-director James Gray ( The Yards, We Own the Night, Little Odessa ) whose latest film is Two Lovers , starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Isabella Rossellini.

As America's only black-and-white comedy team, Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen wrote the book on comedy. Now they've written a book ...

Medicine for Melancholy , the debut film from writer-director Barry Jenkins , takes a dreamy contemplative look at a young African American couple in San Francisco. It's a black art film when art films are in trouble.

Director Danny Boyle ( Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Millions ) has moved from suspense film to post-punk despair, to zombies, to the center of the sun. He combines all that for Slumdog Millionaire and adds a musical number to the mix. It's a Bollywood happy ending.  

In just six films, director David Fincher ( Seven, Panic Room, Fight Club ) has established themes and textures. So much so that his latest, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , both conforms and contradicts that work. Note: This show first aired January 7 and is being repeated in recognition of it's having received thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Actress Sally Hawkins has had quite a year, stemming from her third collaboration with writer-director Mike Leigh. Happy-Go-Lucky is bright-eyed comedy-drama that's won her audiences and accolades.

Director Edward Zwick has made films ( The Siege, Glory, Blood Diamond ) about social causes, but also about social responsibility. His newest, Defiance , examines that as deeply as any of his others.

In the 20 years since Sex, Lies and Videotape , director Steven Soderbergh ( Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Oceans Eleven/Twelve/Thirteen ) has made 20 films. His newest, the epic Che , is both formalist and intimate.

In just six films, director David Fincher ( Seven, Panic Room, Fight Club ) has established themes and textures. So much so that his latest, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , both conforms and contradicts that work.

Elvis Mitchell hosts actress-teacher-writer Jenny Lumet , whose screenplay Rachel Getting Married has been made into a critically acclaimed film, starring Anne Hathaway and directed by Jonathan Demme.

Director Darren Aronofsky is know for portraying anguish in his films ( Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain ) with dazzling stylistic flourish. With The Wrestler , the tale unfolds with a stark minimalism.

Frost/Nixon , from director Ron Howard ( Happy Days, Arrested Development, Apollo 13, A Dangerous Mind ) is the the interview as blood sport, with a fallen president and a desperate talk-show host going toe to toe...

You may know actor Richard Jenkins in his role as the dead father in Six Feet Under , or his films with the Coen Brothers, Mike Nichols of the Farley Brothers. Now the cosmic character actor stars in The Visitor .

There's probably no director working who's made films focusing on a characters with a compact with loneliness the way that Marc Forster has. ( Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball, The Kite Runner ) He's brought James Bond into that world in which Bond has to figure out his own compact with loneliness. The new bond film is Quantum of Solace .

For writer-producer Tim Kring ( Chicago Hope, Crossing Jordan ), his series Heroes was a way to bring a full meal to audiences...

Though Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine are different shows, both took times to catch on. Julia Jouis-Dreyfus talks about the move from cult hit to the mainstream.

Low-key photorealism, well-chosen non-actors and an achingly heart-felt drama played out in the Mississippi Delta. That's Ballast , the feature film directing debut of Lance Hammer. Elvis Mitchell hosts writer/director/producer/editor Lance Hammer , whose directorial feature debut, Ballast , has been the recipient of several film festival awards, including the Directing Award and Cinematography Aw...

WEB EXCLUSIVE! Actor John Malkovich ( The Killing Fields, Dangerous Liaisons, Being John Malkovich, The Sheltering Sky ) John MalKovich has to be engaged, and when he is, it shows. Whether it’s in films by Spielberg, Bertolucci, Eastwood ( Changling ), or Burn after Reading by the Coen Brothers. He talks about being turned on – and off.  

Before the Swift Boat Veterans and the dirty tricks of Karl Rove, Lee Atwater treated political ads as trailers for horror films. Director Stefan Forbes ' new documentary, Boogie Man , examines Atwater and the wages of fear.

No living writer/director has influenced TV in the way that Steven Bochco has.