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."

On today's show: Lea Thompson didn’t always like the way women were depicted in movies. So she directed a female-positive feature — written by and starring her daughter; mixed news for people who work in Hollywood; Jeff Tomsic, director of the buddy comedy, "Tag."

On today's show: Hanks is spending a good chuck of his summer playing Falstaff in "Henry IV" under the stars on the grounds of the V.A. campus in Brentwood; Spotify's curated playlists are hugely influential, but are they also sexist?

On today's show: Director Domee Shi mined her childhood for the story about a Chinese dumpling that comes to life in the animated short, "Bao"; Fox can only hope for the best as the World Cup kicks of without the U.S. team; between streaming services and countless cable channels, why are there still movies that can't be seen?

On today's show: the British actress has gone from an Oscar-nominated role in "Phantom Thread" to sharing the stage with Jeremy Irons; the E3 gaming convention is not just about guns and bombast; a new episode of Song Exploder features Liz Phair revisiting her 1993 debut album, "Exile in Guyville."

On today's show: Director X (that's what he goes by) says his film is a "re-imagining" of the '70s blaxploitation classic; what does it mean that the major film critics are overwhelmingly white and male?; we take you out to the ol' ballgame with the L.A. Dodgers' organist.

On today's show: actress Toni Collette talks about her intense performance in the new horror film, "Hereditary"; remembering Anthony Bourdain, the author and TV host who had a profound influence on food culture; a preview of the Tony Awards with New York Times co-theater critic Jesse Green.

On today's show: the theater satire trio known as Culture Clash revisits the volatile region in its latest show, “Bordertown Now”; the ReFrame coalition is partnering with IMDbPro to recognize standout, gender-balanced film and TV projects; the L.A.-based American Contemporary Ballet performs at its studio on the 32nd floor of a downtown high-rise.

On today's show: director Brad Bird explains the long gestation between the original and "Incredibles 2"; is the traditionally conservative country music industry changing its stripes?; the PLAY organization helps people tap into their creative, playful selves.

On today's show: 50 years after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, filmmaker Dawn Porter talks about her Netflix docu-series, "Bobby Kennedy For President"; until recently, singer-guitarist Naia Izumi could barely survive by performing on the streets of L.A. Now, he’s on his very first national tour after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Song Contest.

On today's show: Filmmaker Morgan Neville adds Fred Rogers to his eclectic list of documentary subjects; Jihan Zencirli is unlike any balloon artist you've ever encountered.

On today's show: Samantha Bee said she crossed a line with her vulgar comment about Ivanka Trump, but where is that line these days on TV?; actor Simon Baker makes his film directing debut with "Breath"; music under the stars at the Mt. Wilson Observatory.

On today's show: Writer/director Bart Layton talks about the true story behind his new heist film, "American Animals"; Spotify's founder admits the company erred in its attempt to punish some recording artists accused of misconduct; The Miracle Project brings together teenagers and young adults with autism to create and perform a musical.