When Ben Lewin decided to tell the story of poet and journalist Mark O’Brien, the Polish-born Australian-American writer-director knew he had a few hurdles to overcome. O’Brien, who died in 1999, was a childhood polio victim and spent most of his adult life in an iron lung. That presented several challenges: How to make an engaging, … More Interview: The Sessions Writer-Director Ben Lewin

A film about a young couple dealing with how much they drink, Smashed defies most of the narrative and emotional conventions you might expect when you hear “alcoholism movie.” Smashed was written by Susan Burke and James Ponsoldt, directed by Ponsoldt, and stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) and Aaron Paul (Breaking … More Interview: Smashed Star Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Co-Writer-Director James Ponsoldt

It’s always exciting to watch a talented young performer get his or her start, then move on to defy earlier typecasting, and finally reach that coveted career tipping point where suddenly he or she is everywhere. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s been through the first two stages, and in the last couple years has continued what seems … More Interview: Looper Star Joseph Gordon-Levitt

One of the year’s biggest small-cinema surprises is author Stephen Chbosky’s deftly affecting screen adaptation and direction of his own 1999 semi-autobiographical novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The film, like the novel, chronicles the coming of age of sensitive freshman Charlie (Percy Jackson & the Olympians‘ Logan Lerman) as he navigates the social … More Interview: The Perks of Being a Wallflower's Author and Writer-Director Stephen Chbosky

As a screen writer, David Ayer made a name for himself in the early ’00s with high-octane, macho guy action scripts for Training Day, S.W.A.T., and The Fast & the Furious. Almost all of Ayer’s films (including 2005’s Harsh Times, which he wrote and directed, and 2008’s Street Kings which he directed) take place on … More Interview: End of Watch Star Michael Peña and Writer-Director David Ayers

It’s understandable if some scratch and/or shake their heads over the need for (and wisdom of) a new Judge Dredd movie 17 years after Sylvester Stallone completely missed the point in 1995. But writer-producer and long-time Danny Boyle collaborator Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine) has come up with a gritty, stylish new … More Interview: Dredd 3D Star Karl Urban

Written and directed by Craig Zobel, the tremendous psychological drama Compliance is based on a series of true crimes in which a man pretending to be a police officer “prank”-called fast-food restaurants. Over the phone, often over the course of hours, the caller used a mix of manipulation, coercion, flattery, and sometimes bullying to convince … More Interview: Compliance Writer-Director Craig Zobel

When Katie Anne Naylon and Lauren Miller first met at college a decade ago, they couldn’t have known the basics of their experience (their completely different personalities and styles, Katie’s past work as a phone-sex operator) would inspire their co-authored For a Good Time Call… screenplay. The R-rated but charming raunch-com For a Good Time … More Interview: For a Good Time Call… Star Ari Graynor, Co-star and Co-writer Lauren Miller, Co-writer Katie Anne Naylon, and Director Jamie Travis

In 2008, author Matt Bondurant published his second novel, The Wettest County in the World, a fictionalized historical account of his own grandfather and grand uncles’ real-life experiences as rural-Virginia moonshiners in the early 1930s. Bondurant based the novel on family stories and historical records from Franklin County, Virginia, about his grandfather Jack Bondurant and … More Interview: Lawless' Matt Bondurant, Author of The Wettest County in the World

It seems the world of animated features for children is forever growing more crowded, more competitive, louder, and more about marketing and studio brands than genuinely imaginative and entertaining works. But every year (a couple times, if we’re lucky) an animated film comes along that doesn’t pander to kids and fast-food toys and leaves grown up … More Interview: ParaNorman's Writer and Co-Director Chris Butler and Co-Director Sam Fell