The Frame

George C. Wolfe, an accomplished writer and theater director, talks about his Broadway musical, inspired by the 1921 show, “Shuffle Along"; The Broadway hit "Hamilton" won't be on the West Coast until 2017, but devoted fans here have figured out a way to bring it to life now.

Oscar-winning documentarian Charles Ferguson turns his camera to the climate crisis with "Time To Choose"; Stephanie Allain, Director of the L.A. Film Festival is on a mission to showcase filmmakers who Hollywood typically ignores; The rock duo The Kills are back with a new album, and they reveal why they don't have a drummer.

Comedian Quincy Jones was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but that didn't stop him from achieving his goal of filming a stand-up special. This week it airs on HBO; Fandango Fronterizo is an annual event that brings together musicians across the U.S.-Mexico border in celebration and in protest; L.A. theater company Chalk Rep mounts a play in a cluttered garage to bring an immersive experience to their audience.

Bryan Cranston is busier than ever with a number of films in various stages of production and distribution. He reflects on his life in acting — lessons learned and given; Slate culture writer Aisha Harris discusses the piece she co-wrote with Dan Kois, "The Black Film Canon: The 50 Greatest Movies by Black Directors."

"Honky" is a play by Greg Kallares that takes a humorous and provocative look at race, racism and marketing; Starting in September, Netflix will have exclusive rights to valuable Disney titles; South Africa is an increasingly popular locale for American films and TV shows.

Aziz Ansari wasn't happy with the parts he was being offered, so the comic actor created “Master of None” for Netflix; Ellis Ludwig-Leone of the band San Fermin brings together classical music and pop for his own brand of indie rock; Slate culture writer Aisha Harris previews this year's highly-anticipated slate of summer movies.

Kate Beckinsale opens up about Lady Susan, her role in "Love & Friendship," an 18th Century character who behaves very much like a 21st Century woman; DC Comics reboots its universe of familiar characters with "Rebirth"; the González siblings prepare to perform together for the first time in 20 years.

Director Susanne Bier on adapting John Le Carré's novel 'The Night Manager' for TV and lifting women filmmakers by example; meet musician Will Toledo, aka Car Seat Headrest, whose latest album is getting good reviews; Spotify is the leading streaming service with close to 100 million users, but the Swedish company isn't yet making a profit.

Nick Stoller's huge success directing the first "Neighbors" movie led to the inevitable sequel, which centers around a sorority; Asian-American men have a particularly difficult time landing lead roles in films and TV shows; HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo steps down and leaves challenges for his successor.

We visit the set of Maria Bamford's Netflix show “Lady Dynamite” to see how she blends the absurd with autobiography. The filmmakers of the documentary "Song of Lahore" track how musicians revived their art form and found an international audience with their cover of the Dave Brubeck song, "Take Five." What's hot and not at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

At 82, Michael Caine plays the lead in 'Youth' but for the most part he considers himself retired; Roy Orbison's son releases his dad's 1969 lost album 'One Of The Lonely Ones'; The Oscar short list for documentaries is out and Sundance is the big winner.

Alan Yang says the Netflix series he created with Aziz Ansari was sparked by their shared experiences as millennials and second-generation Americans; Hollywood power brokers have ideas for improving the standing of women in the entertainment industry; the Sundance festival will include the directing debut of actress Clea Duvall.

Young Jean Lee's play, "Straight White Men," is an examination of privilege that provokes and challenges audiences; movie theater owners are getting creative about selling "Star Wars" merchandise and concessions; Lorely Rodriguez, aka Empress Of, is getting raves for her debut album.

Spike Lee's latest provocation likens the level of gun violence in Chicago to a war zone; Rooney Mara's performance in "Carol" adds to her already impressive list of credits; the beloved "Charlie Brown" holiday special, now in its 50th year, wasn't originally embraced by network executives.

Eddie Redmayne, last year’s best actor Oscar winner for “The Theory of Everything,” talks about portraying a trans-woman in “The Danish Girl”; Latin Grammy-winner Natalia Lafourcade deconstructs her song, “Hasta La Raíz”; This year's Independent Spirit Award winners will likely differ a lot from the Oscars.

As producer of the "Hunger Games" movies and a former studio executive, Nina Jacobson has a platform to demand gender equality in Hollywood; Pixar president Ed Catmull has helped build the studio into the empire it is today.

Ryan Coogler grew up watching the "Rocky" movies, and now he's director and co-writer of the spin-off, "Creed"; How "Toy Story" saved a struggling special effects firm called Pixar; "The Hunting Ground" inspires the question: can journalism and advocacy co-exist in documentaries?

Todd Haynes has directed several films with women as protagonists and his latest is “Carol,” which stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara; MADtv debuted 20 years ago and managed to stay on the air for 14 seasons; a club owner considers L.A. nightlife after the Paris attacks.

Series creator Kurt Sutter is disappointed but not bitter about the cancellation of "The Bastard Executioner"; it's been 20 years since MADtv set out to be the west coast version of "Saturday Night Live"; "The Hunting Ground" examines sexual assaults on college campuses.

Writer-producer John McNamara and director Jay Roach talk about the struggle to make "Trumbo," about the 1940s Hollywood blacklist victim; Nancy Tartaglione, international editor for Deadline.com, on the importance of cinema in France; Rashard Bradshaw, aka Cakes da Killa, is a loud and proud gay rapper.

The Marvel comics character Jessica Jones has a dark backstory, which is what inspired producer Melissa Rosenberg to create a TV series about her; in the documentary "Song of Lahore," a group of Pakistani musicians use a jazz standard and You Tube to find a global audience; Pandora will enter the on-demand music streaming business.

After taping an episode in Cuba earlier this year, Conan O'Brien travels to Armenia with his assistant, who gets to visit her family's homeland; the terrorist attacks in Paris have caused two networks to postpone sensitive episodes, and several bands have canceled European dates.