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."

Lauren Morelli created the Netflix reboot of a 1994 PBS series that was ahead of its time; screenwriter Max Landis faces multiple allegations of sexual abuse and harassment; the band Big Thief.

The prolific artist wrote many songs that were recorded by other artists. Susannah Melvoin talks about "Nothing Compares 2 You"; Hollywood gets caught up in China trade war; film composer Bear McCreary ("Child's Play").

The Irish actress plays a Scottish singer trying to make it big in Nashville in what she hopes is her breakout movie role; is "Men in Black: International" the latest proof that audiences are suffering from sequel fatigue?; the Cuban singer known as Cimafunk draws comparisons to James Brown.

Bryan Cranston wins a Tony; Eleni Mandell makes music with prisoners; playwright Lucas Hnath tells brings the true story of his mother's kidnapping to stage. Also, a top film critic wants Hollywood to bring back sex scenes of yore and best friends made a love letter to their city with the film "The Last Black Man in San Francisco."

The legendary singer-songwriter's 1975 tour is revisited in a new documentary by Martin Scorsese; the cultural week-in-review with L.A. Times TV critic Lorraine Ali; the new surf film, "Self-Discovery for Social Survival.”

After a Broadway run, her play about a 1920s obscenity trial comes to Los Angeles; the annual E3 convention draws to a close with plenty of news from the gaming world; the band Making Movies got a boost on its latest album from Ruben Blades.

The singer-songwriter's latest album, "Wake Up Again," was inspired by teaching songwriting at a women’s prison in Southern California; Washington Post movie critic Ann Hornaday wonders why American movies shy away from sex scenes; media critic and feminist Anita Sarkeesian on sexist and misogynist depictions in video games.

A new docu-drama by Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce explores the car designer's turbulent career and flamboyant life; YouTube’s struggle to dealing with hateful and harmful content; 'Baskets' returns for its fourth season.

The film is loosely based on the story of actor Jimmie Fails. He once lived with his friend Joe Talbot, who would eventually direct and co-write the film; re-capping the Tony Awards, and revisiting our interview with Bryan Cranston, who won Best Leading Actor in a Play.

Emma Thompson talks about her new movie "Late Night." Neil Gaiman adapts his novel "Good Omens" into an Amazon series. Plus, we meet up with Mexico guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela in a Los Angeles guitar shop. All that, and more, on this debut episode of The Frame Weekend.

Barak Goodman's new documentary looks at the many challenges the festival's promoters encountered as they planned and produced the event that helped define a generation.

The acclaimed playwright fashioned a show from interviews his mother conducted that recount her five-month abduction in 1997.