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.

In "Girl" director Lukas Dhont tells the true story of trans dancer Nora Monsecour and he defends his choice to cast a cis-male in the lead role; Hollywood Screenwriters argue with their talent agencies saying they're putting their companies' interests ahead of their clients.

Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's feature film debut is about a former inmate sent to a rehab program to train wild horses; a new study from the Berklee School examines at women in the music industry; a report from the SxSW Film Festival in Austin.

The filmmaker directs an HBO docu-series about the murder case made famous in the podcast, "Serial"; drummer Antonio Sanchez, who created the percussion score for the film, "Birdman," is performing his album, "Bad Hombre," live for the first time.

The playwright's drama, set in Northern Ireland during "The Troubles," is based on a real story; Spotify and other streaming services balk at paying more to songwriters; "Captain Marvel" is female-centric, down to the music.

It's hard to gain traction in the oversaturated podcast market, but Wondery has become know for its deep dives into true crime stories; one-half of Kevin & Bean is calling it quits; comedian Angelina Spicer found humor in her darkest moments.

A new documentary includes never-before-seen footage and newly discovered audio recordings to dramatize the 1969 moon landing.

"Gloria Bell," starring Julianne Moore, is a remake of the 2013 Chilean film "Gloria." Both are directed by Sebastián Lelio who celebrates a character usually sidelined in traditional movies. And we meet the Portland-based group Y LA BAMBA and we what learn what China can teach the world about music streaming.

He's a co-founder of the rock band The National, but also a sought-after composer of contemporary classical works; Dan Reed, director of the Michael Jackson documentary, "Leaving Neverland," on how his film came together; celebrating the 100th anniversary of the theremin.

Series co-creators Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine talk about capturing the awkward and hilarious middle school experience; Martin Scorsese may be forcing Netflix to change its theatrical screening strategy.

The actor didn't imagine he would write and direct the adaptation of "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind," but that's what happened; composer, conductor and pianist André Previn has died; Van Nuys High School students collaborate with the L.A. Master Chorale.

Musicians Inara George and Eleni Mandell host an occasional performance and conversation series with songwriters of all genres composing music around a common theme; is R. Kelly still getting paid?; TV composer Kurt Farquhar was once homeless.

The veteran R&B singer finds the soul in classics such as "It AIn't Me Babe" and "Mama, You Been On My Mind" on her latest album, "Things Have Changed"; Emma Thompson went public with her decision to pull out of a movie produced by the company that recently hired a disgraced former Pixar executive.