The Frame

Actress Judith Light has been passionate about LGBT issues for decades, which makes her a natural fit for Amazon's "Transparent"; Spotify has partnered with Genius to augment music with a feature called "Fact Track"; Contra-Tiempo is a dance company with a social conscience.

"Making a Murderer" continues to spark debate about the intersection between art, journalism, public reaction and the law; the Directors Guild Award nominees are announced; "Star Wars" opens in China, but the world's second largest movie market is a challenge for the franchise.

We pay tribute to David Bowie's life and career with Los Angeles Times critic-at-large Sasha Frere-Jones, Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh, poet Tracy K. Smith, singer/actress Lea DeLaria, and New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley.

In our continuing series of conversations with TV network chiefs, ABC's Paul Lee talks about how diversity has become a cornerstone for the company; the Palm Springs Film Festival is a showcase for foreign films from around the world.

Writer/director David O. Russell has completed a trifecta with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in his latest film, "Joy"; the Producers Guild and the Writers Guild have announced their award nominees, one week before the Motion Picture Academy does the same; there really is a company called Central Casting that's been casting extras for 90 years.

Sarah Silverman's career took a serious turn when she took on the lead role in "I Smile Back," and now she's getting award buzz; Phyllis Nagy worked for 18 years to adapt a Patricia Highsmith novel for the movie, "Carol"; composer and conductor Pierre Boulez had a long connection to the Ojai Music Festival.

Diane Warren's latest success is “Til It Happens to You,” which Lady Gaga performed for the documentary, “The Hunting Ground”; Coachella's headliners include Guns N' Roses and LCD Soundsystem; The Discovery Channel is scaling back on reality shows to get back to its original mission.

HBO chief Michael Lombardo joins us for an intimate chat about what he learned from "True Detective" and more; Then, 2015 was a record year at the box office, but most of the ticket sales came from just a handful of movies. Ben Fritz of the Wall Street Journal helps shed light on this trend.

We put together a special episode of The Frame, featuring interviews with George Clooney, "Empire" creator Lee Daniels, musician Jenny Lewis, actress Julianne Moore, "Transparent" creator Jill Soloway and the R&B singer Miguel.

Don Randi's memoir, "You've Heard These Hands," details his years with the L.A. studio band that played on hundreds of hits in the 1960s and '70s; Kelly Sue DeConnick revamped the "Captain Marvel" series, but her "Bitch Planet" titles are with a smaller publisher that allows her to control her work.

Sam Beam -- better known by his stage name Iron and Wine -- started writing stripped down folk songs more than a decade ago in his bedroom in Miami, Florida. After experimenting with Jazz, R&B and Pop, he returns to his quiet folk music roots with “Archive Series Volume No. 1.” Iron and Wine performs a live-set of songs new and old for The Frame. Set List: "Everyone’s Summer of ’95” “Two Hungry Blackbirds” “Low Light Buddy of Mine” Our interview with Beam and more here: http://www.scpr.org/programs/the-frame/2015/02/20/41644/iron-wine-performs-songs-from-archive-series-volum/ Video produced by Zach Stamey, James Kim and Maya Sugarman.

A special edition of The Frame examines Hollywood's diversity challenge with screenwriter José Rivera, producer Effie Brown and Frank Leonard, CEO of the The Black List screenplay project.

Many of the winners of the 87th Academy Awards joined us on The Frame to talk about their work. Hear from Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Best Adapted Screenplay winner Graham Moore (pictured), Best Actress Julianne Moore and ... more!

“Comedy Bang Bang” host Scott Aukerman (far right, with sidekick Reggie Watts) loves and laughs at late-night talk shows; How the "Interstellar" sound editor created the sound of gravity; The indie film crowd gets raucous at the Independent Spirit Awards; How "Hero" by Family of the Year became the unofficial theme song of “Boyhood."

Photographer Sandro Miller talks about how he recreated some of the world’s most famous portraits with actor John Malkovich (pictured) as his muse; Kate Burton and Jason Robards talk about being second-generation actors; The sound designer from "Birdman" breaks down a scene from the film.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail have another stage hit with their hip-hop musical, "Hamilton" (pictured); How the sound editors for "Unbroken" created a pivotal scene for the movie; Thomas Lennon plays Felix Unger in CBS' remake of "The Odd Couple."

Jason Blum made his name producing successful, low-budget horror films, but he could get an Oscar as part of the producing team for "Boyhood" (pictured); the Sundance Institute pairs composers and filmmakers at Skywalker Ranch; Simon Rich's "Man Seeking Woman" is one of the most bizarre sitcoms on TV.

Our interviews with the best actors, best directors and more ahead of the Academy Awards. Hear from Wes Anderson, Alejandro Iñárritu (far right, with Michael Keaton), Richard Linklater, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Reese Witherspoon and more.

Best-selling author Michael Connelly has taken his famous detective, Harry Bosch, off the page and onto the screen (pictured); Oscar-nominated short doc "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1;" L.A. screenwriters in coffee shops; Paying tribute to the original Carpetbagger of The New York Times, David Carr.

The creative process behind the Oscar-nominated song "Everything Is Awesome" from "The Lego Movie"; "Fifty Shades of Grey" gives a boost to adult toy retailers; GKIDS Films brings animated movies from around the globe to U.S. audiences and Oscar ballots; An artist whose love of heavy metal music informs his quilting.

Jon Stewart dropped a bombshell when he said he'll leave his show later this year; Richard Linklater's longtime film editor, Sandra Adair, cut 12 years of footage for "Boyhood"; If you want to make it as a stand-up comic, move to L.A.

Wes Anderson (at left, with Jude Law) talks about seeing his words come to life in his Oscar-nominated "The Grand Budapest Hotel;" Can Marvel Studios breathe new life into the "Spider-Man" franchise?; At the Huntington Museum: the work of two American photographers abroad; David Oyelowo to be a presenter at the Oscars.