The interviews probe the many comers of Altman's work, including his epic battles with Hollywood studios and producers, his deep commitment to independent production, his creative views on video and stage-to-screen adaptation (a major facet of his career), and his insistence that he is more an audiovisual artist than a storytelling entertainer. Altman's conversations cast light on his idiosyncratic personality, revealing his taste for intoxicating experiences both on and off the screen and suggesting links between his risk-taking behaviors at the gambling table and on the motion-picture set. This collection of interviews is a first-person portrait of a true American maverick who, in a freewheeling career, has waged a decades-long campaign against Hollywood complacency and served as an inspiration for new generations of independent screen artists.