The Frame

Author, religion scholar and TV consultant Reza Aslan adds talk show host to his credits with "Rough Draft"; Oscar nominee Lon Burden breaks down the sound design for a crucial scene in "The Revenant"; the toughest Oscars trivia contest happens at a pub in Santa Monica.

The Black Version is a group of improv performers who put an Afro-centric spin on mainstream movies; Leonardo DiCaprio sees environmental parallels between the 1820s when "The Revenant" is set and modern-day America; eligibility rules for the Oscars raise questions for the original score nominees.

Will this year’s Academy Awards be the tipping point for racial representation in Hollywood? Marc Bernardin of The Hollywood Reporter weighs in; The Song Exploder podcast takes apart a song with the band Clipping; "Inside Out" writer Meg LeFauve gets a Pixar education and now takes on Ms. Marvel.

USC's Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg tracked the representation of women, people of color, and the LGBT community in film and television and found Hollywood is still "a straight, white boys club." Then co-star and co-creator of the HBO show 'Togetherness', Steve Zissis, mines his life-- failures and all-- for the show. And comedian Kamau Bell is excited to see Chris Rock turn #OscarsSoWhite into comic gold at the Academy Awards.

Comedian Paul Rust went from Iowa to working with his childhood heroes Judd Apatow and Paul Rubens, and now he's landed the Netflix series "Love," which comes out today. The Coen Brothers bring water ballet back to the big screen in "Hail, Caesar!" with the L.A. aquatic dance troupe Aqualillies. Also, we deconstruct the Oscar race for Best Picture with John Horn and Kyle Buchanan from The Awards Show Show.

Writer-director Robert Eggers' impressive feature debut is about witches in colonial New England; after camera assistant Sarah Jones was killed on a film set, her parents became advocates for production safety; the play 'Placas' tells the story of a man who escapes one of the world's most brutal gangs.

David Javerbaum created @TheTweetOfGod, which led to the hit Broadway play, "An Act of God," currently starring Sean Hayes; faced with low ratings, ABC fires network chief Paul Lee; singer-songwriter M. Ward revisits his early years in the Conejo Valley on his new album.

The producer of the Record of the Year Grammy talks about what went into making the dance hit, "Uptown Funk"; France's Academy Awards entry for Foreign Language Film was actually shot in Turkey by a Turkish-born filmmaker; Edward Gero played Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in a show at Arena Stage.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Alejandro G. Iñárritu of "The Revenant" are among the filmmakers and actors on The Frame's annual Academy Awards preview. You'll also hear from Sylvester Stallone, Brie Larson, Bryan Cranston and many others.

Sylvester Stallone turned down the part of an ailing Rocky Balboa in "Creed" twice before agreeing to do it-- with the help of an acting coach. Now he's nominated for an Oscar. Grammy nominated musician Lianne La Havas finds inspiration in Jamaica. How only Kanye West could pack Madison Square Garden while playing an album off his laptop.

A vocal group from "Pitch Perfect 2" (pictured) takes us inside the world of competitive singing; a week after Chris Burden died, his final work launches at the L.A. County Museum of Art; the Minnesota Orchestra plays a role in normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba; critics are effusive about the debut album by Shamir.

You know who’s really sad to see “Mad Men” end? The local businesses that supplied all that vintage clothing and furniture; musician Robert Cray and filmmaker Antoine Fuqua pay tribute to blues legend B.B. King (pictured); director Andrew Niccol’s new film, “Good Kill,” examines the difficult life of an Air Force drone pilot.

"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner (far right) talks about the show's legacy; if Harry Shearer leaves "The Simpsons," what would Ned Flanders, Kent Brockman and Mr. Burns say?; Chad Hodge sheds some light on his confusing new series, "Wayward Pines"; CBS' fall plans include "Supergirl."

Marc Maron (pictured) does stand-up, hosts a popular podcast, and his TV show is beginning its second season; at the TV upfronts in New York, the never-ending search for Latino audiences goes on; an artist-turned-radio producer seeks to find out why he's compelled to draw while riding the subway.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" has the hottest trailer, the best reviews and one of the oldest working filmmakers. We go deep with director George Miller (pictured with Charlize Theron); Crash the red carpet with our sneak peek of the Cannes Film Festival; ABC doubles down on diversity for fall season.

Reggie Watts (pictured), the one-man band from "Comedy Bang Bang," has moved on to become a bonafide bandleader on CBS' "The Late Late Show"; L.A. Times art critic Christopher Knight discusses the work of the late Chris Burden, who created two popular installations at the L.A. County Museum of Art.

As the Los Angeles County Museum of Art marks its 50th anniversary, CEO Michael Govan discusses the museum's past, present and future; the museum's coming exhibitions include a showcase for the late L.A. assemblage artist, Noah Purifoy.

As the big TV networks prep to unveil their new Fall line-ups, one show looms large — "Empire"; a new film about Gloria Trevi, known as "The Mexican Madonna"; former MTV news correspondent Tabitha Soren has a new photo exhibit of her work documenting the careers of minor league baseball players (pictured).

CalArts marks the 25th anniversary of its Community Arts Partnership with an annual stage show at Plaza de la Raza; Chaz Budwick is the musical talent behind Toro y Moi; first-time filmmakers Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel were fortunate to get Jack Black for "The D Train" (pictured).

Disney is in a dispute with theater owners over box office revenue from "Avengers: Age of Ultron"; the defunct TV show "Revolution"gets new life as a digital comic book; Best Coast (pictured) continues its love affair with California on the band's new album.

A writer asks: How Much Is Music Worth?; an L.A. teen is a finalist in the August Wilson Monologue Competition on Broadway; composer Brian Tyler creates movie magic with his scores to films like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (pictured) and "Furious 7"; and "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin is a Deadhead.

New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz says the new Whitney Museum is showing up the rest of the art scene; a new exhibit at Sotheby’s (pictured) pairs work by prominent African-American artists with a soundtrack curated by rapper Drake; Rebekah Maysles, daughter of the late documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, worked with her father on one of his last films, “Iris.”