The Treatment

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 Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies), connects the dots, from Marlon Brando to Woody Allen.

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.

George Miller is a celebrated filmmaker known for his iconic work on the Mad Max films, as well as Babe and Happy Feet. He reveals the surprising connections between these diverse projects, emphasizing storytelling that resonates with both children and adults. The discussion covers inspirations drawn from documentaries like March of the Penguins, and how fables shape personal and communal narratives. Miller also explores the influence of Bollywood on Happy Feet's animation and music, all while reflecting on humanity’s relationship with nature.

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.