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.

Costume designer Ruth Carter and production designer Hannah Beachler played key roles in creating the look of "Black Panther"; singer/songwriter Moses Sumney breaks down his song, "Quarrel."

Filmmaker Agnes Varda and the street artist JR joined forces to capture faces from the French countryside; "Aleppo" director Feras Fayyad hopes his partners can attend the Oscars; the musical "Allegiance," starring George Takei, is finally coming to Los Angeles.

Gary Oldman convinced Kazuhiro Tsuji to transform the actor into Winston Churchill for "Darkest Hour"; "Black Panther" is a phenomenon before it even opens; “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna” (To Cross the Face of the Moon) is believed to be the first mariachi opera.

Mary J. Blige is the first person to get an Academy Award acting nomination and a best song nod for the same film ("Mudbound”); married songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez have an Oscar nomination for “Remember Me” from “Coco”; Ryan Murphy, the producer behind the “American Horror Story” and “American Crime Story” franchises, is leaving Fox for Netflix.

At the age of 23, Saoirse Ronan already has two Academy Award nominations as a lead actress, including for "Lady Bird"; Barack and Michelle Obama's official portraits have people talking; inside an audition for "America's Got Talent."

Actress Allison Janney has an Oscar nomination for playing Tonya Harding's mother in "I, Tonya"; several Olympic ice skaters are using songs from Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge"; the N.Y. attorney general filed a civil rights lawsuit that could halt sale of The Weinstein Co.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, the Oscar-nominated co-writers of "The Big Sick," talk about the eventful year since their semi-autobiographical film debuted; Oscar-nominated actor Willem Dafoe explains why the first-time actors in "The Florida Project" had a leg up on him.

How much does The Peacock Network have riding on the Winter Games? A lot.; "The Trade" is Showtime's bracing documentary series about the opiod epidemic; James Ivory's screenplay for "Call Me By Your Name" could finally give him his first Oscar.

Dee Rees on her film "Mudbound," about the harsh reality of life in the Jim Crow South, and its new resonance today; morality clauses meant to curb workplace harassment enter Hollywood contracts; after years of estrangement, photographers (and brothers) Andrew and Stuart Douglas reunite with an LA photo exhibition.

The rapper and veteran songwriter collaborated on the Oscar-nominated "Stand Up for Something"; playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes trilogy of plays get a concurrent staging in L.A.; this year's Havana Jazz Fest featured first-time performances by a few expats.

Salim Akil, creator of the CW series, "Black Lightning," says black superheroes are needed more than ever; after Uma Thurman accused Tarantino of abusing her and putting her at risk on a movie set, will his next film proceed as planned?; hardcore movie fans now have a fantasy league of their own.

Justin Timberlake is back at the Super Bowl, but why isn't Janet Jackson?; Jennifer Fox's "The Tale" is the true story of the sexual abuse inflicted by her riding coach when she was a teen; women in the music industry are calling for Grammy president Neil Portnow to resign.