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.

On today's show: TV critics Lorraine Ali (Los Angeles Times) and Daniel Fienberg (Hollywood Reporter) talk with John Horn about the broader issues raised by the "Roseanne" debacle; With "The Americans" coming to an end, we learn trade secrets from the show's costumer and makeup artist.

On today's show: Ted Johnson of Variety talks about ABC's dramatic move after Barr's racist tweet about former Obama official Valerie Jarrett; actress Shailene Woodley talks about her role in the new film, "Adrift"; L.A. Times art critic on how MOCA should solve its leadership issues.

The Frame's John Horn and L.A. Times reporter Jen Yamato guide you through the summer movie lineup. We've got interviews with Ethan Hawke, Shailene Woodley and Tessa Thompson, "Incredibles 2" director Brad Bird, and the paleontologist who consulted on all the "Jurassic" movies. Plus, John visits with concession stand vendors who are marketing the next generation of movie snacks.

On today's show: actor Jussie Smollett is an executive producer of "America Divided." His episode looks at the inheritance of slavery; songwriter Mary Gauthier wrote an entire album with veterans; an attorney who represents sexual harassment victims talks about the significance of Harvey Weinstein's arrest.

On today's show: The acclaimed filmmaker responded to the pope's invitation to make a documentary about the Catholic Church under his leadership; with "Solo: A Star Wars Story" opening, are fans suffering from galactic fatigue?; screenwriter Zak Penn on what makes for a successful Summer blockbuster.

On today's show: L.A. Times pop music critic emeritus Robert Hilburn talks about his new Paul Simon biography and about the singer/songwriter's final tour; the Portland-based musicians who record as Wonderly on how they created the theme song for The Daily — the radio version of the New York Times’ hugely popular daily news podcast.

On today's show: Olivia Milch wrote and directed the Netflix film, "Dude," and she co-wrote the much anticipated "Ocean's 8"; GLAAD's annual report says movie studios have regressed when it comes to LGBTQ representation; music producer Sebastian Krys' path from lowly intern to studio wizard.

On today's episode, filmmaker Jennifer Fox adds a personal chapter to the #MeToo movement with her film, "The Tale" (starring Laura Dern); Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com talks about the highlights of the Cannes Film Festival; and writer Robert Gordon explores Memphis blues and R&B.

The documentary, “Bombshell,” tells the amazing life story of movie star and wartime inventor Hedy Lamarr; YouTube will compete with Spotify and Apple Music through its new streaming platform; the schlocky horror comedy, "Killer Klowns from Outer Space," turns 30.

Broadcast networks finished pitching to advertisers today, with the news that "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" will end after next season; a look at the Billboard Top 40 charts reveals that rock just isn’t very popular these days; Canadian singer-songwriter Lindi Ortega's latest album was inspired by spaghetti Westerns, Ennio Morricone film scores and Quentin Tarantino movies.

Playwright David Henry Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori — both Tony Award winners — created a play with music that imagines China becoming the pre-eminent world power after the 2016 presidential election; it’s that time of year in Hollywood: the season known mostly by the acronym FYC — For Your Consideration.

Ethan Hawke has three movies coming out this year: "First Reformed," "Juliet, Naked" and “Blaze." Hawke opens up about his choices to make indie films and how he's wrestled with the notion of being a celebrity; a new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center looks at whether some movie violence should merit a new PG-15 rating.