The Frame

A powerful documentary about the aftermath of the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; Rihanna's new album had a surprise (or maybe not?) release this week; the L.A. Art Fair aims to be the nexus for art from the Pacific Rim.

Nate Parker spent seven years making "The Birth of a Nation," and his efforts paid off as the breakout hit at the Sundance Film Festival; prominent comedians take to the stage to benefit Bernie Sanders' campaign; Larry Klein's work with Joni Mitchell made him a go-to producer for a wide variety of singers.

The legendary R&B singer has a new album and an HBO documentary coming up, but don't expect this to be her swan song; a film about Nat Turner's slave rebellion has set a sales record at the Sundance Film Festival; actresses Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas launched Broad Street to counter gender inequity in Hollywood.

With the top award from the Producers Guild, "The Big Short" is now frontrunner for the best picture Oscar. We chat with producers Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner; a Motion Picture Academy officer admits that the organization has been too slow to change; the band Foals has gone from playing house parties to arenas.

Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale has re-imagined an album from his long solo career, "Music For a New Society"; as the "X-Files" returns, we get the story behind its iconic theme music; even at the Sundance Film Festival, the talk of the town is #OscarsSoWhite.

Actor Matthew Spencer, who plays the lead in a new adaptation of George Orwell's dystopian novel, says the story has new resonance today; TV networks are casting doubt about the popularity of original programming on streaming services; Andrew Ahn passed up med school for a film career, and now his directing debut is at Sundance.

Carrie Brownstein, "Portlandia" co-creator and Sleater-Kinney co-founder, pulls back the curtain on her creative process; members of the U.K. punk band Savages reveal how they remain unpredictable on stage and in the recording studio; what's in store at this year's Sundance Film Festival?

In the two years since Lupita Nyong'o won an Oscar for "12 Years a Slave," no actor of color has been nominated for an Academy Award. Academy member Stephanie Allain says the Oscars reflect bigger problems in the industry; James Lecesne continues his advocacy for LGBTQ youth with "The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey."

Alicia Vikander's breakout year now includes an Oscar nomination for "The Danish Girl"; singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett deconstructs her song, "Depreston"; and we find out which new TV shows are on the must-watch list for the new year.

John Horn and Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com dig into the snubs and surprises in the Oscar nominations, and the return of #OscarsSoWhite. And we hear from the directors nominated for "Room" and "The Revenant."

Apple changed its tune after Taylor Swift (pictured) called out the company for not compensating labels and artists during the upcoming three-month trial for its streaming service; Patrick Clair, who won an Emmy for creating the main titles for the first season of "True Detective," is once again setting the mood for the dark subject matter at hand.

Comedian and podcaster Marc Maron tells us about his interview with President Obama. The brothers in the documentary "The Wolfpack" grew up worshipping movies — now they're the subject of one. We also talk with KPCC's Kevin Ferguson about our new "True Detective" podcast.

Is Apple the big bad wolf of the music streaming world? The tech giant will withhold all payments to labels and artists for the first three months of Apple Music. Runaway film score production leads Hollywood composers and musicians to take action. How the Pixar filmmakers created the world of a little girls mind and the character based on her emotions for "Inside Out." Arnold is back and scaring people on Hollywood Blvd.

Filmmaker Maya Forbes cast Mark Ruffalo to play her likable bipolar dad in "Infinitely Polar Bear" and shows the human side of mental illness. Singer/Songwriter Ryn Weaver's quick rise to fame and the internet haters that came with it. Report from the floor of the massive video game trade show E3; Neil Young v. Donald Trump

"Dope" filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa was influenced by Inglewood, Hip Hop and John Hughes movies. Author Jillian Lauren and her Weezer bassist husband share tales of a rock 'n' roll tour life with their young son. E3 Day one: Star Wars and virtual reality. Is Jeb Bush a "Die Hard" fan?

The 5 lessons to be learned from 'Jurassic World''s $500 million weekend. An experimental comedy show puts comedians in purgatory. Filmmaker Zoe Cassavetes takes on ageism in Hollywood. What the heck are Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig doing in a Lifetime movie?

Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen talk about depicting the inner life of a child’s mind in "Inside Out" (pictured); on our latest "Song Exploder" segment, the composer for "Game of Thrones" deconstructs his theme music; FIFA invested $32 million in a film that virtually no one will see.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon used his film, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" (pictured), to process his father’s death; a long-lost silent cartoon by Walt Disney finally gets a musical score; Rupert Murdoch takes the next step for his sons' future at 21st Century Fox.

As Pixar readies the release of "Inside Out," we visit the animation studio's Bay Area campus (pictured); former NBA star Baron Davis co-directed a documentary that takes him back to his basketball roots; the Ojai Music Festival presents the West Coast premiere of a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams.

'The Wolfpack' is a documentary about six brothers, sheltered in a New York apartment, who look to movies as their refuge (pictured); FFS is a new supergroup that combines the bands Franz Ferdinand and Sparks; the Charles Manson case continues to reverberate in pop culture through a TV series, feature film and podcast.

Apple finally announced its streaming service, with a little help from Drake (pictured); the 21st annual Los Angeles Film Festival will once again include a showcase called LA Muse; the Tony Awards made some Broadway history with a first-time win for women composers.

Popular comics are tackling more serious issues these days, says Megan Garber in her essay, "How Comedians Became Public Intellectuals" (pictured: John Oliver); Joan Scheckel is a popular teacher for many directors, writers and actors, but what goes on inside her studio?; Australian singer Vance Joy talks about the ups and downs of life on tour.