Writing Heads

Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon"), John Carpenter ("Halloween"), Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"), William Goldman ("The Princess Bride"), Paul Schrader ("Taxi Driver"), and dozens of other Hollywood screenwriters share hilarious anecdotes and penetrating insights in "Tales from the Script," the most comprehensive documentary ever made about screenwriting. By analyzing their triumphs and recalling their failures, the participants explain how successful writers develop the skills necessary for toughing out careers in one of the world's most competitive industries. They also reveal the untold stories behind some of the greatest screenplays ever written, describing their adventures with luminaries including Harrison Ford, Stanley Kubrick, Joel Silver, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. The film was produced in tandem with the upcoming HarperCollins book of the same name.

An intimate conversation between filmmakers, chronicling De Palma’s 55-year career, his life, and his filmmaking process, with revealing anecdotes and, of course, a wealth of film clips.

One-man armies, meet-cutes, casual strolls away from huge explosions — stars and industry insiders toast and roast these cinematic chestnuts and more.

In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

A comprehensive 12-part documentary on the making of "Spider-Man 2," covering everything from pre-production to premiere.

Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.

A poetic journey into the visual world of the legendary filmmaker and actor Orson Welles (1915-85) that reveals a new portrait of a unique genius, both of his life and of his monumental work: through his own eyes, drawn by his own hand, painted with his own brush.

For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office across eight terrifying, spectacular films.

This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.

The definitive 3½-hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.

Filmmaker Lawrence Shapiro discusses voice-over acting with the talented people behind the characters.

Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.

“Showrunners” is the first ever feature length documentary film to explore the fascinating world of US television showrunners and the creative forces aligned around them. These are the people responsible for creating, writing and overseeing every element of production on one of the United State’s biggest exports – television drama and comedy series. Often described as the most complex job in the entertainment business, a showrunner is the chief writer / producer on a TV series and, in most instances, the show’s creator. Battling daily between art and commerce, showrunners manage every aspect of a TV show’s development and production: creative, financial and logistical.

A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film industry, a pioneer of independent filmmaking and discoverer of new talent.

An appreciation of Dressed to Kill by Keith Gordon

Rarely in the history of the cinema, a company films productions will have marked the history and the culture of its country like "Svensk Filmindustri". Since its creation in 1919 by Charles Magnusson, Svensk Filmindustri have produced 1200 films including the major works of Mauritz Stiller, Victor Sjöström and Ingmar Bergman. The uncontested talent of the actresses Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman have given Swedish cinema a world recognition, a cinema that celebrates the power of the forces of nature, and where the inner life of its characters remains in our memories.

Exploring the edits to receive an R rating from the MPAA.

An overview of the iconic actresses' legendary careers, as well as the rivalry that colored "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

Germán Cipriano Gómez Valdés Castillo, a young radio announcer from Cuidad Juárez, succeeds in drawing attention to the pachuco movement through his character Tin Tan, laying the groundwork for a new form of binational and mass linguistic expression: Spanglish. He soon became a leading figure in theater and film on the American Continent. Singled out by critics as a destroyer of the language, he quickly won the approval of the public. His ability to improvise revolutionized the film industry. His talent as an actor, singer, dancer and comedian contributed to the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. From El Hijo Desobediente to Capitán Mantarraya, from Cuidad Juárez to Havana, from mambo to rock, the legacy of Tin Tan makes him one of the great icons of Mexico today. This film tells his story as it has never been told before.

A documentary by Olivier Gonard, shot partly in Paris’s Musée d’Orsay, that examines Olivier Assayas' film Summer Hours, and its approach to art.

The intricate history of UFA, a film production company founded in 1917 that has survived the Weimar Republic, the Nazi regime, the Adenauer era and the many and tumultuous events of contemporary Germany, and has always been the epicenter of the German film industry.

Documentary about Spanish director Luis García Berlanga's "The Executioner" (1963)

Documentary about the making of Lars von Trier's 1991 film.

Documentary about the making of Nagisa Oshima's 1976 film.

Documentary about the Parisian locations for the film by Louis Malle.

Behind-the-scenes documentary about a fundraiser which was staged for Robert Altman's film "The Player" (1992).

Documentary about Nicholas Ray's film "In a Lonely Place" (1950).

In 1967, Canadian documentarian James Beveridge traveled to Kolkata to film director Satyajit Ray at work. The resulting program, produced for the American public television series “The Creative Person,” features interviews with Ray, several of his actors and crew members, and film critic Chidananda Das Gupta.

With more than 70 films and 160 million cumulative tickets in France, Jean-Paul Belmondo is one of the essential stars of French cinema.

A funny walk through the life story of Billy Wilder (1906-2002), a cinematic genius; a portrait of a filmmaker who never was a boring man, a superb mind who had ten commandments, of which the first nine were: “Thou shalt not bore.”

Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

An overview of the making of Terrence Malick's The New World (2005).

Documentary about the making of Alexander Payne's 1999 film "Election" featuring on-set footage and interviews with cast and crew.

Documentary about the making of David Lean's 1945 film "Brief Encounter".