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.

The issue of representation for women in film has come up at the Cannes Film Festival, where the festival’s leaders have pledged to reach 50/50 parity for women filmmakers by 2020. We get a report from Rico Gagliano; In "I'm Sorry," actress Andrea Savage plays a "heightened" version of herself: a comedian with wildly inappropriate jokes who's also the mother of a young girl; We meet the Iranian singer Googoosh, who performed Saturday night at a packed Hollywood Bowl.

Director Jason Reitman has collaborated with screenwriter Diablo Cody on three films — "Juno," "Young Adult," and now, "Tully," which stars Charlize Theron; why Spotify's decision to take R. Kelly’s music off its curated playlists is so controversial; the documentary "Unrest" raises awareness about chronic fatigue syndrome, a common but poorly understood disease;

The second season of Justin Simien's "Dear White People" has a lot to say about race, truth and what it means to be an American; YouTube's foray into the original content game includes "Cobra Kai," a sequel to "Karate Kid" with original star Ralph Macchio.

Arranged marriage in modern day India is explored in "A Suitable Girl," which tries to dispel Western misconceptions about the tradition; it's that time of the year when TV networks must decide which shows are renewed and which ones are toast; Ellen Reid's new work hopes to capture the nation’s sense of urgency.

With rock 'n' roll bands no longer headlining top music festivals, is the genre finally dead?; what to expect from this year's Cannes festival; comedic actor Drew Droege came to L.A. with glamorous dreams of making it in Hollywood, only to find success with a viral video.

Writer Tanya Saracho talks about her arc in the TV business — from being a "diversity hire" on "Devious Maids" to creating her own show "Vida" about two Latinx sisters who move back home after their mother's death; and Goldenvoice, the concert promoter of FYF Fest has canceled this year's festival because of low ticket sales. Is it a case of festival fatigue or something else?

Jim DeRogatis has been reporting on allegations of sexual abuse against R. Kelly for nearly two decades including a new report in Buzzfeed today – why this singer may be finally facing his #metoo moment; and as costume designer for "The Crown," Jane Petrie discusses the pressure to get the look of the royal family just right.

A new exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Arts Center celebrates the life and work of composer Leonard Bernstein; the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes to expel Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski; and Memphis-based author and filmmaker Robert Gordon captures the grit of his hometown's music in his new book “Memphis Rent Party.”

Actor Martin Freeman goes from 'The Office,' to 'Black Panther,' into two small-scale horror films; Billionaire businessman Wang Jailin of the Dalian Wanda Group hoped that Hollywood studios would see China as a location for making movies, but the Wall Street Journal reveals that’s not happening; We go inside the new production called, “theater is a blank space,” which takes you from Powell Library to the rafters of UCLA’s Royce Hall, literally.

"Mean Girls” and “SpongeBob” led this year’s Tony nominations with 12 picks each. New York Times theater reporter Michael Paulson helped break down the nominations for us; We talk with 'RBG' co-director Betsy West about convincing Justice Ginsburg to give them access to her life; “Spongebob Squarepants the Musical” snagged 12 Tony nominations today, including the top prize, best musical. We talk with playwright Kyle Jarrow.

The screenwriters of "Avengers: Infinity War" explain how the sitcom "Frasier" influenced the film; the Hulu documentary “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie” shows how executives at Mattel went about changing the body shape of their iconic and controversial doll.

Alia Shawkat co-wrote and stars in “Duck Butter," a movie about two women who spend 24 hours doing nothing but being with each other and having sex; San Francisco's Grace Cathedral holds a Beyoncé-themed service; YouTube struggles to clean up its act.