By Sean Axmaker
December 16, 2005

"In the mid-1950s, director Budd Boetticher and actor Randolph Scott teamed up for a series of finely etched, elegiac westerns which count among the greatest glories of American cinema of the time." That's how the New York Film Festival announced the screening of the newly restored Seven Men From Now in 2000, finally out on DVD [Update, 11/4/08: And now the addition of five more of his films on disc! -- ed.]. Between 1988 and 1992, Sean Axmaker conducted a series of interviews with the late director. In these highlights, Boetticher talks about his work with two unique men, Scott and writer Burt Kennedy, 18-day shoots and gunslingers in love.

By Michael Guillen

"Let's not make this pretentious; but in some ways my films are dangerous because I work within limited financial means," Pedro Costa tells Michael Guillen. "They're dangerous in the sense that I have to risk each shot of my film. There's a French writer, Celine, who I like a lot. He wrote Journey to the End of the Night, a classic novel. He used to frequently say that the writer should 'put his skin on the table'; that was his expression. I feel the same way."

The interview touches on several of the films that have traveled the country as a retrospective that is currently screening at the Pacific Film Archive as Still Lives: The Films of Pedro Costa (through April 12). Fortunately for us, neither Michael nor the Portuguese director are in any rush to move on from one topic to the next.

The idea of two men directing a documentary about a summer camp for pre-teen girls might inevitably raise some red flags. But Arne Johnson and Shane King use their outsider status to craft an incredibly thoughtful and creative film about the Portland-based Rock'n'Roll Camp for Girls. The result, Girls Rock!, is a moving portrait of (to quote the luminous philosopher, Madonna) what it feels like for a girl, holding equal appeal for documentary film lovers, parents, fans of rock'n'roll and anyone who grew up as a weird kid in a town without pity.

Girls Rock! focuses on four girls attending the camp for the first time. Over the course of one week campers create bands, learn instruments, write songs and then perform for a sold out crowd. Because the concept of Rock'n'Roll camp grew out of a third wave feminist ethos, the campers are also taught basic media literacy, self-defense and how to communicate feelings of isolation or frustration that young people (especially girls) are often told to squelch. Erin Donovan spoke to Arne Johnson before he headed off to the True/False documentary film festival in Columbia, MO.

Girls Rock! opens in select cities March 7th.

By Michael Guillé

Tony Gilroy had been writing screenplays and watching directors turn them into movies for about a decade when he wrote Michael Clayton. For six years, the project simply would not get up off the ground. Then along came Jason Bourne. With the help of, among others, George Clooney, Sydney Pollack and Steven Soderbergh, he was finally able to get Michael Clayton made - and direct it himself.

The film was well-received when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival and lauded in Toronto. But when it hit theaters... well, you may have missed it. Now's your chance. It's out on DVD next week, just in time for the Oscars. It's been nominated for seven of those, including Best Picture. And Gilroy's been nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Michael Guillé/a> spoke with him on the eve of its theatrical run.