Hosted by former New Line Cinema president Mike De Luca, The Dialogue is an ongoing series of feature-length conversations with prominent screenwriters. Obviously geared towards young hopefuls, The Dialogue is still fairly slim on focused educational content; in other words, this isn't quite "film school in a box". Instead, these sessions primarily offer viewers a glimpse into the screenwriters' personal history: their early years, their first major breaks and a few unsavory tales from the darker side of the film industry. It's a lightweight but potent formula, but is it strong enough to stand on its own two feet?

The second volume in the series features David Goyer, the writer (or co-writer) of films like Dark City, Batman Begins and the Blade Trilogy. Goyer speaks candidly from start to finish, offering plenty of personal anecdotes regarding the above projects---not to mention others, like the independent film Zigzag and the forthcoming Flash. He even speaks briefly about his pre-film days, including his desire to become a homicide detective in his home state of Michigan…that is, until his teachers persuaded Goyer's parents to send him away to film school. We also learn a bit about his personal workspace, writing habits and why (and how) fear can pay the bills.

As host, De Luca plays it fairly safe but keeps things moving. Since he and Goyer seem to have a mutual respect and admiration for one another (especially since they've collaborated on a few projects), this session plays a bit more like a breezy audio commentary than anything else---not that this is always a problem, but it's hard to shake the fact that a more neutral host may have made things more exciting. Even so, this 79-minute main feature is worth a look; though fans of Goyer (and aspiring screenwriters) may not learn a great deal, they'll enjoy watching it at least once.

Presented on DVD in a relatively simple fashion, The Dialogue: An Interview With Screenwriter David Goyer is a lightweight release but still deserves a closer look. The technical presentation isn't perfect but gets the job done, but those looking for meaty bonus features will be sorely disappointed. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The menu screens (seen above), presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, are simply designed and easy enough to navigate. The 79-minute main feature has been divided into 14 chapters; no layer changes were detected during playback, though each chapter break triggered a slight pause. The packaging for The Dialogue is simple but nicely designed, as this one-disc release is housed in an attractive slim digipak case. No inserts are included, but a chapter listing is printed on the inside of the case.

Unfortunately, no bonus features were included with this release, save for an Index of other titles in the series; incidentally, these include chats with writers like Jim Uhls (Fight Club), Stuart Beattie (Collateral), Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby) and several others.

Though entertaining from start to finish, it's still hard to recommend An Interview With Screenwriter David Goyer as a stand-alone release. In all honesty, it would serve its purpose better as a bonus feature on one of Goyer's films, but that's not to say fans won't enjoy it on its own terms. The DVD presents this session with a solid technical presentation, but the light amount of total content makes it a tough sell for all but the most ardent fans of Goyer and his work. Even so, interested parties should certainly want to give this one a look over the weekend. Rent It.