The Frame

Adrian Tomine's most recent book, "Killing and Dying," is showing up on a lot of "Best of 2015" lists; Lucas Hnath, who once considered becoming a preacher, addresses themes of faith and salvation in "The Christians"; young British actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley are in "The Force Awakens"

Will Smith reveals why he was reluctant to be in "Concussion" and how he sees Hollywood's diversity problem; Star Wars mega premiere and Disney's plans to monetize the new movie to the tune of billions; Spike Lee commends J.J. Abrams

Mary Steenburgen may be the busiest actress in TV. She can be seen on "Togetherness,” “Orange Is the New Black” and “The Last Man on Earth”; the annual list of the top un-produced screenplays is out; The Force is strong on the shelves of grocery and drug stores where you’ll find an endless variety of "Star Wars" tie-ins.

Nick Hornby is an esteemed novelist who also adapts other authors for the big screen, including his latest, "Brooklyn"; composer Dustin O’Halloran deconstructs his theme music from "Transparent" for Song Exploder; the Havana Film Festival showcases the nascent Cuban indie film movement.

The screenwriter talks about dramatizing the Apple co-founder's story and how Donald Trump "may be the end of political satire"; John Malkovich's reading of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" has been set to music by Yoko Ono, Ric Ocasek and other musicians.

The premise of the comedy "You're the Worst," created by Stephen Falk, is that even the most flawed people deserve to find love; the Screen Actors Guild Award nominations provide an early indicator of Oscar choices; The Beach Boys' album, "Pet Sounds," gets a spoken word treatment, of sorts.

Nathan Fielder offers off-the-wall business advice on his Comedy Central series, "Nathan For You"; the Grammys could be a face-off between friends Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar; Scott Fagan's 1968 album, "South Atlantic Blues," gets new life thanks to Light In the Attic records.

Daniel Wu was born in California but launched his acting career in China. Now he's starring in an AMC series that puts his martial arts background to good use; Katie Couric and Stephanie Soechtig will debut "Under the Gun" at the Sundance Film Festival.

At 82, Michael Caine plays the lead in 'Youth' but for the most part he considers himself retired; Roy Orbison's son releases his dad's 1969 lost album 'One Of The Lonely Ones'; The Oscar short list for documentaries is out and Sundance is the big winner.

Alan Yang says the Netflix series he created with Aziz Ansari was sparked by their shared experiences as millennials and second-generation Americans; Hollywood power brokers have ideas for improving the standing of women in the entertainment industry; the Sundance festival will include the directing debut of actress Clea Duvall.

"Mockingjay" director Francis Lawrence admits he reads reviews; Pasadena Playhouse takes a risk with "Stop Kiss," a show about a lesbian love affair; Beyonce’s least known collaborator goes by the name of Boots; and how did Mike Tyson end up with a TV cartoon?

Five musicians were charged with adding music to Bob Dylan lyrics from the 1960s for a Showtime documentary (pictured); country singer Ty Herndon challenges Nashville conservatism; Lily Amirpour on her quirky “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”; vocal lessons from a metal singer.

The producer of "The Graduate" talks about working with Nichols; why Sandra Oh went from “Grey’s Anatomy” to producing a crowd-funded animated film; was Atari’s “ET” one of the worst video games ever made?; and musician George Clinton spills all the funk in his new memoir.

NBC has decided to shelve its development deal with Bill Cosby for a new sitcom that was slated for next year; comedian Alonzo Bodden talks about Cosby's legacy; director Amir Bar-Lev on “Happy Valley," his new feature documentary about the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Disney has mounted "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (pictured) at the La Jolla Playhouse as a Broadway tryout; The "Music & Memory" program provides iPods as therapy for victims of Alzheimer's disease; Like reading? Try 200 books in six months as an awards judge.

The director of "Banksy Does New York" (pictured) talks about how the elusive street artist took the Big Apple by storm; NBC had no comment today on the status of its planned Cosby show as rape allegations swirl around him; and Hollywood prepares to use virtual reality as the next tool for storytelling.

E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman spent years trying to get the screenplay for “Foxcatcher” (pictured) just right; Gael Garcia Bernal plays an Iranian journalist in “Rosewater”; a section of the Berlin Wall has become a work of art in L.A..

Cindy Lauper on why she was fearless about writing her first Broadway show; What would happen if Hasbro buys DreamWorks Animation?; Pete Nowalk talks about creating "How to Get Away with Murder"; Jill Soloway on the first time she saw a set being built for a script she wrote.

"The Daily Show" host (far right) talks about his film directing debut, "Rosewater"; how is the LGBT community faring in depictions on television?; Jake Gyllenhaal tells us about the first time he realized he wanted to act; and singer Perla Batalla recalls her family-run record store that is gone, but not forgotten.

Hilary Swank talks about her unglamorous role in “The Homesman" (pictured); Mexico's most acclaimed filmmakers criticize the handling of a student massacre in their homeland; the grandson of General George S. Patton on how filmmaking can help veterans deal with PTSD; and Amazon unveils its next slate of TV shows.

The director on why "Interstellar" is his "most aggressive" attempt at a family blockbuster; how a high school teacher works the arts into the classroom; the butler from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” becomes King Lear; Jon Stewart tells us about the first time he bombed as a stand-up comic.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art gets a collection (including a Monet, pictured) valued at $500 million; Herbie Hancock talks about the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in L.A.; James Marsh's 'Theory' tells the Stephen Hawking story; and the AARP puts on its second film festival in L.A. (Did you know the "R" no longer stands for "retired"?)