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.

As the second season of HBO's "Westworld" approaches, we revisit our interview with actress Thandie Newton; according to the Hollywood Reporter, there's a battle going on to control the 95-year-old Lee's estate; the N.Y.-based Bedlam company performs "Hamlet" and "Saint Joan" in repertory.

“Stealing The Show: How Women are Revolutionizing Television" is a new book from journalist Joy Press that tracks 30 years in the TV business and the women who've transformed it; Facebook is in hot water over data sharing but among their new critics are viral video creators who once made money off the site.

Writer-director Lynn Shelton's latest film is a drama that stars Jay Duplass and Edie Falco; filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour talks about the cultural changes coming to her Saudi homeland; a non-profit offers financial planning workshops for women artists.

What can we learn about Hollywood from the way female characters are described in movie screenplays? Vulture.com analyzed 50 iconic female roles to find out; in her directing debut, Kay Cannon puts a fresh spin on the teen sex comedy genre.

Production designer Paul Harrod helped oversee the design and building of Wes Anderson's fantasy version of Japan; domestic receipts were down in 2017, but foreign box office continued to grow for Hollywood movies; the L.A. version of Switzerland's Locarno Festival readies its second local event.

“First Match” is a new coming-of-age movie about a girl who tries out for her high school's boys wrestling team; the U.S. Dept. of Justice is reportedly examining Live Nation's business practices; Pinar Toprak is the rare female composer who works in the superhero genre.

"Jessica Jones" creator Melissa Rosenberg talks about her career and the show’s second season; prolific TV producer Steven Bochco died Sunday at the age of 74. Among his many hits were “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law" and NYPD Blue; Song Exploder takes apart the theme song for "The Daily" podcast.

The actress and stand-up comedian draws on her experience with anxiety and depression to make audiences laugh.

The screenwriter adapted Ernest Cline's popular novel and was able to attract a filmmaker who goes by the name of Steven Spielberg.

David Collins is creator of the original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and executive producer of the Netflix reboot, "Queer Eye." The new incarnation is set in the South and addresses more serious topics; Sara Holdren, theater critic at New York Magazine, reviews the revival of “Angels in America” and Disney’s new “Frozen” musical.

From his hideaway studio in Northeast L.A., Younge creates modern music that's inspired by classic R&B and film scores from the '70s.

In the 1960s, Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez. But for years, Huerta didn't get nearly the same recognition as Chavez for leading the farm worker movement. The documentary, “Dolores,” aims to set the record straight.