The Frame

Comic strip artist Lalo Alcaráz draws on his own border upbringing as a writer/producer on Fox's typically irreverent animated comedy, "Bordertown"; writer/director László Nemes breaks away from the usual Hollywood treatment of Holocaust movies with his debut, "Son of Saul"

The screenwriter Charlie Kaufman wrote a play that ended up being turned into the stop-motion animated film, "Anomalisa"; filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky relied heavily on footage shot by Ukrainian protestors for the documentary, "Winter on Fire"

Carter Burwell had a busy 2015, scoring five films including Todd Haynes' "Carol" and Charlie Kaufman's "Anomalisa"; Haskell Wexler had a long and illustrious career as a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker; musician Blair Tindall's memoir is the basis for the Amazon series, "Mozart In the Jungle."

We put together a show with some of our favorite conversations of 2015. Hear interviews with Meryl Streep, composer Philip Glass, "Orange is the New Black" actors Uzo Aduba and Lea DeLaria, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner.

After more than 40 years as a recording artist, James Taylor had an album debut atop the Billboard charts for the first time this year; Tom Hooper is getting praise for directing “The Danish Girl," the true story of one of the first gender confirmation surgeries in the world, which took place in the 1920s.

Stacey Sher worked with Quentin Tarantino on “Pulp Fiction” and “Django Unchained,” so she's familiar with his methods and madness; "The Hateful Eight" was mostly filmed on a scenic ranch in Telluride, Colorado; holiday music to enjoy and avoid.

The director of the Oscar-winning "Birdman" is likely to get another nomination for "The Revenant"; Björk deconstructs the song "Stonemilker" from her latest album; the California Film Commission awards tax credits to 11 TV shows in the latest round of production incentives.

The actress and her co-star, Tom Courtenay, talk about playing a long-married couple in "45 Years"; Disney intends to put out a new “Star Wars” movie every year for as long as people will buy tickets; Cirque du Soleil's new show,"Kurios," will appeal to fans of the steampunk aesthetic.

The new Netflix documentary series, "Making a Murder," is being favorably compared to the podcast "Serial" and HBO's "The Jinx"; meet the "Star Wars" fans who are members of the R2 Builders Club; Disney has a marketing challenge in China, where the first "Star Wars" movies were never seen.

David Lang wrote the music for "Youth," a film about a composer struggling with loss and aging; in 1981, George Lucas allowed a public radio station to turn the first three "Star Wars" films into radio plays; new research shows that moviegoers believe theater owners aren't doing enough to keep them safe.

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."