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.

On today's show: TV critics Lorraine Ali (Los Angeles Times) and Daniel Fienberg (Hollywood Reporter) talk with John Horn about the broader issues raised by the "Roseanne" debacle; With "The Americans" coming to an end, we learn trade secrets from the show's costumer and makeup artist.

On today's show: Ted Johnson of Variety talks about ABC's dramatic move after Barr's racist tweet about former Obama official Valerie Jarrett; actress Shailene Woodley talks about her role in the new film, "Adrift"; L.A. Times art critic on how MOCA should solve its leadership issues.

The Frame's John Horn and L.A. Times reporter Jen Yamato guide you through the summer movie lineup. We've got interviews with Ethan Hawke, Shailene Woodley and Tessa Thompson, "Incredibles 2" director Brad Bird, and the paleontologist who consulted on all the "Jurassic" movies. Plus, John visits with concession stand vendors who are marketing the next generation of movie snacks.

On today's show: actor Jussie Smollett is an executive producer of "America Divided." His episode looks at the inheritance of slavery; songwriter Mary Gauthier wrote an entire album with veterans; an attorney who represents sexual harassment victims talks about the significance of Harvey Weinstein's arrest.

On today's show: The acclaimed filmmaker responded to the pope's invitation to make a documentary about the Catholic Church under his leadership; with "Solo: A Star Wars Story" opening, are fans suffering from galactic fatigue?; screenwriter Zak Penn on what makes for a successful Summer blockbuster.

On today's show: L.A. Times pop music critic emeritus Robert Hilburn talks about his new Paul Simon biography and about the singer/songwriter's final tour; the Portland-based musicians who record as Wonderly on how they created the theme song for The Daily — the radio version of the New York Times’ hugely popular daily news podcast.

On today's show: Olivia Milch wrote and directed the Netflix film, "Dude," and she co-wrote the much anticipated "Ocean's 8"; GLAAD's annual report says movie studios have regressed when it comes to LGBTQ representation; music producer Sebastian Krys' path from lowly intern to studio wizard.

On today's episode, filmmaker Jennifer Fox adds a personal chapter to the #MeToo movement with her film, "The Tale" (starring Laura Dern); Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com talks about the highlights of the Cannes Film Festival; and writer Robert Gordon explores Memphis blues and R&B.

The documentary, “Bombshell,” tells the amazing life story of movie star and wartime inventor Hedy Lamarr; YouTube will compete with Spotify and Apple Music through its new streaming platform; the schlocky horror comedy, "Killer Klowns from Outer Space," turns 30.

Broadcast networks finished pitching to advertisers today, with the news that "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" will end after next season; a look at the Billboard Top 40 charts reveals that rock just isn’t very popular these days; Canadian singer-songwriter Lindi Ortega's latest album was inspired by spaghetti Westerns, Ennio Morricone film scores and Quentin Tarantino movies.

Playwright David Henry Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori — both Tony Award winners — created a play with music that imagines China becoming the pre-eminent world power after the 2016 presidential election; it’s that time of year in Hollywood: the season known mostly by the acronym FYC — For Your Consideration.

Ethan Hawke has three movies coming out this year: "First Reformed," "Juliet, Naked" and “Blaze." Hawke opens up about his choices to make indie films and how he's wrestled with the notion of being a celebrity; a new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center looks at whether some movie violence should merit a new PG-15 rating.