The Frame

Young Jean Lee's play, "Straight White Men," is an examination of privilege that provokes and challenges audiences; movie theater owners are getting creative about selling "Star Wars" merchandise and concessions; Lorely Rodriguez, aka Empress Of, is getting raves for her debut album.

Spike Lee's latest provocation likens the level of gun violence in Chicago to a war zone; Rooney Mara's performance in "Carol" adds to her already impressive list of credits; the beloved "Charlie Brown" holiday special, now in its 50th year, wasn't originally embraced by network executives.

Eddie Redmayne, last year’s best actor Oscar winner for “The Theory of Everything,” talks about portraying a trans-woman in “The Danish Girl”; Latin Grammy-winner Natalia Lafourcade deconstructs her song, “Hasta La Raíz”; This year's Independent Spirit Award winners will likely differ a lot from the Oscars.

As producer of the "Hunger Games" movies and a former studio executive, Nina Jacobson has a platform to demand gender equality in Hollywood; Pixar president Ed Catmull has helped build the studio into the empire it is today.

Ryan Coogler grew up watching the "Rocky" movies, and now he's director and co-writer of the spin-off, "Creed"; How "Toy Story" saved a struggling special effects firm called Pixar; "The Hunting Ground" inspires the question: can journalism and advocacy co-exist in documentaries?

Todd Haynes has directed several films with women as protagonists and his latest is “Carol,” which stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara; MADtv debuted 20 years ago and managed to stay on the air for 14 seasons; a club owner considers L.A. nightlife after the Paris attacks.

Series creator Kurt Sutter is disappointed but not bitter about the cancellation of "The Bastard Executioner"; it's been 20 years since MADtv set out to be the west coast version of "Saturday Night Live"; "The Hunting Ground" examines sexual assaults on college campuses.

Writer-producer John McNamara and director Jay Roach talk about the struggle to make "Trumbo," about the 1940s Hollywood blacklist victim; Nancy Tartaglione, international editor for Deadline.com, on the importance of cinema in France; Rashard Bradshaw, aka Cakes da Killa, is a loud and proud gay rapper.

The Marvel comics character Jessica Jones has a dark backstory, which is what inspired producer Melissa Rosenberg to create a TV series about her; in the documentary "Song of Lahore," a group of Pakistani musicians use a jazz standard and You Tube to find a global audience; Pandora will enter the on-demand music streaming business.

After taping an episode in Cuba earlier this year, Conan O'Brien travels to Armenia with his assistant, who gets to visit her family's homeland; the terrorist attacks in Paris have caused two networks to postpone sensitive episodes, and several bands have canceled European dates.

Apple changed its tune after Taylor Swift (pictured) called out the company for not compensating labels and artists during the upcoming three-month trial for its streaming service; Patrick Clair, who won an Emmy for creating the main titles for the first season of "True Detective," is once again setting the mood for the dark subject matter at hand.

Comedian and podcaster Marc Maron tells us about his interview with President Obama. The brothers in the documentary "The Wolfpack" grew up worshipping movies — now they're the subject of one. We also talk with KPCC's Kevin Ferguson about our new "True Detective" podcast.

Is Apple the big bad wolf of the music streaming world? The tech giant will withhold all payments to labels and artists for the first three months of Apple Music. Runaway film score production leads Hollywood composers and musicians to take action. How the Pixar filmmakers created the world of a little girls mind and the character based on her emotions for "Inside Out." Arnold is back and scaring people on Hollywood Blvd.

Filmmaker Maya Forbes cast Mark Ruffalo to play her likable bipolar dad in "Infinitely Polar Bear" and shows the human side of mental illness. Singer/Songwriter Ryn Weaver's quick rise to fame and the internet haters that came with it. Report from the floor of the massive video game trade show E3; Neil Young v. Donald Trump

"Dope" filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa was influenced by Inglewood, Hip Hop and John Hughes movies. Author Jillian Lauren and her Weezer bassist husband share tales of a rock 'n' roll tour life with their young son. E3 Day one: Star Wars and virtual reality. Is Jeb Bush a "Die Hard" fan?

The 5 lessons to be learned from 'Jurassic World''s $500 million weekend. An experimental comedy show puts comedians in purgatory. Filmmaker Zoe Cassavetes takes on ageism in Hollywood. What the heck are Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig doing in a Lifetime movie?

Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen talk about depicting the inner life of a child’s mind in "Inside Out" (pictured); on our latest "Song Exploder" segment, the composer for "Game of Thrones" deconstructs his theme music; FIFA invested $32 million in a film that virtually no one will see.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon used his film, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" (pictured), to process his father’s death; a long-lost silent cartoon by Walt Disney finally gets a musical score; Rupert Murdoch takes the next step for his sons' future at 21st Century Fox.

As Pixar readies the release of "Inside Out," we visit the animation studio's Bay Area campus (pictured); former NBA star Baron Davis co-directed a documentary that takes him back to his basketball roots; the Ojai Music Festival presents the West Coast premiere of a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams.

'The Wolfpack' is a documentary about six brothers, sheltered in a New York apartment, who look to movies as their refuge (pictured); FFS is a new supergroup that combines the bands Franz Ferdinand and Sparks; the Charles Manson case continues to reverberate in pop culture through a TV series, feature film and podcast.

Apple finally announced its streaming service, with a little help from Drake (pictured); the 21st annual Los Angeles Film Festival will once again include a showcase called LA Muse; the Tony Awards made some Broadway history with a first-time win for women composers.

Popular comics are tackling more serious issues these days, says Megan Garber in her essay, "How Comedians Became Public Intellectuals" (pictured: John Oliver); Joan Scheckel is a popular teacher for many directors, writers and actors, but what goes on inside her studio?; Australian singer Vance Joy talks about the ups and downs of life on tour.