The Treatment

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, 200...

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 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!

As a filmmaker, director Brett Morgen ( The Kid Stays in The Picture ) is attracted to real-life subjects about bigger-than-life figures. Chicago 10 is his biggest yet.  

You may know the name Jon Poll from his work as editor on Meet the Parents and two of the Austin Powers films. He's just directed his first film, Charlie Bartlett , starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey, Jr. and Hope Davis. He discusses being the guy that makes the cut and the guy who says, "Cut."

You might think it difficult to make fear, weakness bulling a career. Writer-director Neil LaBute ( In the Company of Men, Nurse Betty ) disagrees with you. He's proved it works in film, on stage and with the West Coast premiere of his new play, Some Girls .  

Yes, Lars and the Real Girl is about a man who falls for a sex doll. It's also about the women who help pull him out of his shell – and a lot more. Screenwriter Nancy Oliver ( Six Feet Under ) talks about the work behind building the real girl.

In just two films, writer-director Jason Reitman ( In God We Trust ) has found comedy in the realm of personal responsibility. First, Thank You for Smoking and, now, Juno . For this Oscar nominee, the first and second times are the charm.

Not only has screenwriter Tony Gilroy ( The Devil's Advocate, Dolores Claiborne ) had quite a career, but quite a year as well. He adapted the Bourne books, including Ultimatum . Now he makes his directorial debut with Michael Clayton . NOTE: This encore presentation of The Treatment will not be heard live on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special post-primary election coverage.  

Elvis Mitchell hosts director-writer-producer Paul Thomas Anderson ( Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love ) whose latest film is There Will Be Blood . This critically acclaimed, epic film has just received eight Academy Award nominations, including two for Anderson in the categories of Directing and Adapted Screenplay.

Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934 is not only a mouthful as a title, but this DVD set deals with plain-spoken and direct controversy on the big screen in the silent era. You can hear all about it from its curator, Scott Simmon .

After Malcolm X and The Hurricane , you'd think Denzel Washington had enough of real life. But The Great Debaters , his second film as director, shows why fact drew him back. It's life as drama.

It's an unusual grouping of films for Marc Forster : Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball, Stranger than Fiction and his newest, The Kite Runner . And many of them deal with storytellers. It's narratives and narrators.

With Basquiat, Before Night Falls and his newest, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , artist and director Julian Schnabel turns film biography into art. He discusses separating fiction from fact.

Elvis Mitchell hosts writer-director Tamara Jenkins ( Slums of Beverly Hills ) whose latest film is The Savages , starring Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Since 1984, writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen ( Blood Simple, Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou? ) have taken the chase and made some of best films of the past decade about it. Their newest, an adaptation of Colmac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men , is a high-octane version of that. Start your engines!

Family, the ties that bind and, sometimes, strangle. Writer-director Andrew Wagner 's made this the subject of two movies, including his newest, Starting Out in the Evening .

In writing and directing his first feature film, Great Wall of Sound , Craig Zobel drew from his real life and focuses the film on the south that few see. It's a low-budget comedy about predators who are also prey. Note: This show will not be broadcast on 89.9 FM due to special holiday programming but it will be available online.

Should a director court controversy? If you're  Brian De Palma you might answer that with a question. How can you not? The man who made Carrie, Dressed to Kill, The Untouchables and Scarface is back with Redacted , a look at US involvement in Iraq. He'll discuss the court of public opinion.

Elvis Mitchell hosts  writer-director Julien Temple ( Vigo, The Great Rock n Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners, Glastonbury ) whose new film is Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten .

This year, director Ridley Scott celebrates 30 years of filmmaking, a career that includes Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and his newest, American Gangster . Past, present and future.

Dan in Real Life is not only a family comedy, it's a comedy about family. Writer-director Peter Hedges ( What's Eating Gilbert Grape, About a Boy screenplay; Pieces of April writer/director) talks about noise and quiet that define family.