The Frame

The Marley family has launched a line of marijuana products to be distributed at dispensaries around the country; Catherine Opie shows a wide range of her work in three current L.A. exhibitions; John Horn and Kyle Buchanan assess the Academy Awards campaign season.

"The Hateful Eight" came along at the right time for Jennifer Jason Leigh, and won her an Oscar nomination; the infamous freeway chase was diligently re-created for "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson"; things are getting slightly better for female characters in movies, but only slightly.

“The Big Short” was originally to be released this year, but writer-director Adam McKay pushed it up and the result is five Oscar nominations; "Daily Show" Samantha Bee made a strong debut with her new late night show; with the primaries in full swing, which candidates are getting support from Hollywood?

The McFerrins recently performed their first-ever full concert together, and the father-and-son spoke about it after the show; Beyoncé surprised her fans with a new song and video that quickly dominated the cultural conversation; Big Freedia is the Big Easy's queen of bounce music.

After making three films with Joel and Ethan Coen, Josh Brolin says he still sometimes can't figure out their cryptic directing; the artists who installed a teahouse in Griffith Park last year are now transforming a downtown L.A. alley for one day; the Sundance Film Festival's commitment to inclusion has become a beacon for filmmakers such as Jason Lew.

The latest offbeat comedy from Jonathan Krisel is "Baskets," which stars Zach Galifianakis as a struggling clown; virtual reality projects had a huge presence at this year's Sundance Film Festival; "Kung Fu Panda 3" is the first big studio film to screen in English and a Chinese language in the U.S.

Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander, creators of "The People v. O.J. Simpson," talk about finding new ways to tell the familiar story; Slate TV critic Willa Paskin on why viewers are ignoring Trevor Noah; Drake's use of "Hotline Bling" for a phone ad was inevitable.

Brian Oakes tells the story of his childhood friend who became a conflict journalist in "Jim: The James Foley Story"; Mark Mangini made a battle truck sound like a living beast in "Mad Max: Fury Road"; residents of Leimert Park and Montebello connect in "Through the Looking Glass."

Elba's trophy for best supporting actor in "Beasts of No Nation" rekindles debate over his Academy Award snub; James Schamus used to buy films at Sundance as the head of Focus Features, but this year he was there with his directorial debut.

It's a new chapter in U.S.-Chinese relations — cinematically speaking. “Kung Fu Panda 3” opened simultaneously here and in China, thanks to a partnership between DreamWorks and its partners there; writer-director Sian Heder's feature debut was inspired by her experiences as a nanny.

Writer/director John Ridley (far right, with actor Timothy Hutton) talks about his edgy new TV series, “American Crime"; We crash a viewing party for the breakout TV hit, “Empire"; Musician and attorney Joe Escalante on the fallout from the “Blurred Lines” verdict.

A jury ruled that Robin Thicke (pictured) and Pharrell Williams violated the copyright to Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up"; an assistant director on the film "Midnight Rider" was found guilty of charges relating to the death of a camera assistant; producer David Shore revived a TV project created a dozen years ago by Vince Gilligan, before his "Breaking Bad" success.

"Midnight Rider" director Randall Miller was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to charges resulting from the death of a crew member on the set; Clint Eastwood talks about "American Sniper" (pictured) becoming the biggest-grossing film released in 2014; actress Gillian Jacobs has added director to her resumé with a documentary about computer pioneer Grace Hopper.

A fan laments that legendary radio DJ Art Laboe (pictured) can't be heard in L.A., at least for now; Robert Christgau, the Dean of American Rock Critics, has a memoir covering his 40-plus years on the music beat; Claire Keane is a third-generation artist who left a cushy job to write and illustrate children's books.

The trial for the lawsuit brought by Marvin Gaye's children against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams is nearing an end; how "Dead Man Walking" was transformed from a movie to an opera (pictured); comedian Wayne Federman rounds up his hilarious friends to host a film festival where they chose the lineup; comic book writer Scott Snyder put his anxieties into his version of "Batman."

Ed Piskor’s "Hip Hop Family Tree” (pictured) takes a look at the music's history in a comic book series; young comedians test their chops in roast battles; the Writer's Guild examines the lack of racial and gender diversity among TV writers.

Late night host Conan O'Brien tells us about his trip to Cuba and his thoughts on the late night TV shuffle; Vulture.com's Margaret Lyons recommends some TV shows that have an air of optimism; comic book writer Ed Brubaker goes from Captain America and Batman to a Hollywood noir graphic novel.

Will Smith's "Focus" (pictured) did middling business in its opening weekend, so where does this leave his career?; filmmaker Ed Burns on the highs and lows of his career since bursting on the scene with "The Brothers McMullen" in 1995; Valiant Entertainment has a simple goal: make comic books like they used to be made.

Leonard Nimoy (pictured) died today. We discuss his artistic journey as an actor, writer and photographer; the copyright trial pitting Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. against Marvin Gaye's children is underway; Will Forte is "The Last Man on Earth," a new Fox comedy.

Singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane (pictured) wrote "The Ambassador," a song cycle inspired by architectural landmarks around L.A.; Yann Demange's new film is set amidst the violent Northern Ireland conflict known as The Troubles; a new study concludes that watching even just one film can change minds about a topic as charged as politics.

A new report by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA says movies and TV shows with diverse casts (such as "Empire," pictured) make good financial sense; Song Exploder breaks down the theme song for "House of Cards"; a new stage production at CalTech takes "Alice Through the Wormhole."

How did Amy Poehler's sitcom (pictured) survive seven seasons of average ratings?; Sam Beam, aka Iron & Wine, returns to his musical roots with "Archive Series Volume Number One"; Wes Anderson's Oscar-winning film is the subject of a new book; the L.A. Philharmonic stages a multimedia production of "Alice in Wonderland."