THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Taking place on the last night of a long-running radio series, Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion is a bittersweet ode to performance and the iconic director’s best film in years. By Matthew Ross.

L.A. STORIES

Matthew Ross talks with legendary writer-director Robert Towne about his filmic meditations on Los Angeles, including his latest, Ask the Dust, an adaptation of John Fante’s classic novel.

TEENAGE WASTELAND

Scott Macaulay talks with David Slade about his searing story of vigilante justice, Hard Candy.

BIRTHDAY GIRL

Peter Bowen learns how Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland turned the story of a young Latina’s 15th birthday into a Sundance prize winner.

BLOOD BROTHERS

With The Proposition, rock star Nick Cave writes and scores a Peckinpah-influenced revisionist Western for director John Hillcoat. Scott Macaulay reports.

MAN IN THE RING

After producing films like Monster’s Ball and The Woodsman, Lee Daniels steps behind the camera to direct a stylish arthouse thriller, Shadowboxer. By Scott Macaulay.

HOLLYWOOD PANOPTICON

Josh Horowitz anticipates Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko follow-up, Southland Tales.

TO LIVE AND SKATE IN L.A.

Blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, director Larry Clark trains his camera on a group of South Central skate punks and comes up with his most poignant film yet. Peter Bowen reports.

ARCHITECTURE, DIGESTED

Adam Pincus talks with director Sydney Pollack about his first documentary, Sketches of Frank Gehry.