The Treatment

Writer-director and sometimes-actor Mike White has mastered the comedy and drama of the outsider. His scripts include School of Rock, The Good Girl, Nacho Libre and his newest, Year of the Dog .   We discuss his shaggy career.

Shaun of the Dead started as a satire of zombie films but shifted into making points about friendship and loss.  Hot Fuzz parodies the 80's action film and Bruckheimer excess.  British director and co-writer Edgar Wright (UK TV series Spaced , 'fake' trailer segment in Grindhouse ) discusses the weight of comedy - or laughs it off.

Wry, thoughtful, but not detached, David Duchovny ( House of D, Trust the Man, Bones ) ironic yet emotional approach to acting gave The X-Files a center and also grounds his satiric new film, The TV set .

From Little Man Tate to Out of Sight , screenwriter Scott Frank ( Get Shorty, Minority Report ) has written scripts about emotional honesty in intense situations.  His first film as director, The Lookout , continues in that vein.

Composer John Frizzell 's score have covered a wide and deep expanse, from the excentricity of Office Space to the large-scale registers of Alien Resurrection .  He talks about The Reaping , and bringing the music in his head to the movies.

Since creating El Mariachi , writer, director, cinematographer and composer Robert Rodriguez has done it his way with Spy Kids, Sin City and, his newest, Planet Terror . It's part of the Grindhouse double feature which he'll unspool for us.

Writer-director Quentin Tarantino works when he wants to on what he wants. Reserve Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown , the Kill Bill films and, now, his newest part of a double bill, Death Proof .

Chris Rock 's first film as actor and director, Head of State , was a comedy about a black presidential candidate.   His newest, I Think I Love My Wife , is, for him, even more political, a romantic comedy about the black middle class.   He'll see if he can get your vote.

Documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy ( American Hollow ) has melded her curiosity to subjects of social injustice.  Her new documentary, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib , took on different shadings as she learned.

The TV series Lost has changed television.  But has it lost its way? We ask executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse .

In 1975, a comedy series connected to the politics and pop culture of young people, NBC's Saturday Night Live debuted.  Its first season is now on DVD.  Anne Beatts , one of a handful of women writers on the original Saturday Night Live , drops in to talk about being a pioneer among a group of pioneers.

Writer Gay Talese 's fame as a journalist began with his fine profiles for Esquire and continued with non-fiction books such as Honor Thy Father and Thy Neighbor's Wife .  With his new book, A Writer's Life , he turns his eye on himself.

The book, Scenes from the City: Filmmaking in New York , is not only a sumptuous and evocative photo-history of New York filmmaking, it's a sharp and compelling look at city's cultural and social history through cinema.  Its editor, James Sanders (co-writer or the Emmy Award-winning PBS series New York: A Documentary Film and its companion volume, New York: An Illustrated History , as well as Cell...

Breaking and Entering , the title of director Anthony Minghella 's new film, could be used to describe the furtive movement between classes dramatized in his work.  It's found in his Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain and here.

There's not as big a gap between the Mad Max cycle of films, the Babe movie and Happy Feet as you might think. They all come from filmmaker George Miller , whose instincts as a entertainer also connect to using film as fable.  He discusses the difference between making film for kids and for adults.

Christine Vachon , one of most prolific forces in independent films, has opened the door for some of the most singular talent in movies.

Communication is not only a theme in the films of Alejandro González Iñárritu .  In Amores Perros, 21 Grams and his newest, Babel , it's also a plot point.

Writer-director Bill Condon adapted Chicago , and he finally brings Dreamgirls to the big screen.

Director Steven Soderbergh ( Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Erin Brockovich, Traffic ) likes to use each film he makes as a way to clear his head and palate. He goes from low budget, stark digital film to lush the studio film, The New German . He'll discuss navigating both worlds and what they have in common.

As creator and executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond , Phil Rosenthal did more than just add humor. He helped the cast--from novice to veteran--understand its reality.  It's all in his book, Youre Lucky You’re Funny .

Writer-director Brad Silberling ( Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Moonlight Mile ) came up with the film 10 Items or Less about an iconic star affair to dip his doe into indie-film waters. Morgan Freeman ( Million Dollar Baby, The Shawshank Redemption ) decided to take the role as star and producer.  Hear all about the ripple effect.

Integrating movie stars into ensemble dramas is not just a social experiment for director Ed Zwick ( About Last Night, Glory, Thirtysomething, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai ), it's how he works.  You can see it in his new film, Blood Diamond.

Writer-director Darren Aronofsky ( Pi, Requiem for a Dream ) continues exploring themes of life, death and rebirth in his new film, The Fountain . It's a lot to cram into an action-adventure, melodramatic epic.

Envy. Pettiness. Betrayal.  They're all elements of –comedy?  Yes, if you're talking about the work of writer-director-actor Christopher Guest .  He follows Best in Show and Mighty Wind with For Your Consideration , inside dealist showbiz. It's all for your consideration.

Gorillas in the Mist.   Coalminer's Daughter . Many of director Michael Apted 's films have a journalistic bent. But his documentaries have a soulful touch, like the series following a group of 12 people.   The first one was called 7 Up . The new one is 49 Up .   We'll discuss marking time--on film.