The Frame

The actor worked with filmmaker Cary Fukunaga and hundreds of non-professional actors to make "Beasts of No Nation;" Grantland's Andy Greenwald gives a status report on the new TV season; the Isango Ensemble transports Bizet's opera to a South Africa township.

Choreographer Twyla Tharp has kept her company and artistic vision going for 50 years with unflagging determination; after spending time in Ghana, ethnomusicologist Brian Shimkovitz scoured the continent and then launched the label, Awesome Tapes from Africa; author Salman Rushdie considers the literary merits of the rapper, Drake.

The actress' next role as a fighter for women's voting rights is in keeping with her activist profile in Hollywood; Kyle Eastwood has scored films for his dad, Clint, but he's made his own name as a jazz bassist and composer; saxophonist Phil Woods was a jazz great, but became known for his solo on a huge pop hit.

Deaf West Theatre's production of "Spring Awakening" started out in a small theater on L.A.'s Skid Row, and now it's on Broadway; Showtime's David Nevins kicks off our talks about the state of the TV industry; Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields deconstructs a song from the band's new album in a new installment of Song Exploder.

Mark Pellington has applied his distinct style to music videos, feature films and now NBC's "Blindspot," about a woman whose tattooed body holds clues to crimes; Trevor Powers records as Youth Lagoon and his new album chronicles some personal losses; How do TV networks choose among streaming services?

Performer Geoff Sobelle has turned the Kirk Douglas Theatre into a warehouse of boxed-up memories; Carolina Miranda of the L.A. Times on the trend toward mega-galleries in Los Angeles; Charlton Heston's family will auction three works by Andrew Wyeth that the actor collected.

Los Lobos' Louie Pérez offers insights into the band's new album, "Gates of Gold"; Margaret Cho has become a role model for a new generation of Asian-American comedians; J.A. Micheline is glad Ta-Nehisi Coates will write some Black Panther comic books, but she says the industry has more work to do regarding diversity.

Playwright Rolin Jones reimagines Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," setting it in London's swingin' 1960s; Prince and the publishing house claiming a copyright to "Happy Birthday to You" both lose in court; Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre moves its soap opera dance-drama around L.A.

Box office hits such as "Bridesmaids" are being cited as part of an effort to push for more movies and TV shows by, for and about women; The Budos Band makes do as a part-time group; The new TV season is chock-full of new shows that were once feature films.

Emily Mortimer, Dolly Wells and their husbands and kids star in HBO's "Dolly & Em," but it's not about them; Diversity and gender equity were top of mind at the Emmy Awards; The Toronto International Film Festival supplied its annual dose of Oscar buzz.

Why was an ad attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez allowed to air during the Democratic candidates debate?; N.Y. Times TV critic James Poniewozik on his new book, “Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television and the Fracturing of America”; "This Close" is a first: a TV show starring, created and written by deaf people.

The L.A.-based Grammy-winning quartet defies genres on its new album; a proposed state law could have major ramifications for independent musicians; in an excerpt from the podcast Song Exploder, Swedish singer and songwriter Robyn breaks down the title track from her 2018 album, "Honey."

The comedic actor talks about his live show, "All Rise," which he sees as medicine for a divided country; movie critic Beandrea July reports from the Toronto International Film Festival.

What's behind the rising price of concert tickets?; Grammy-winning classical music guitarist Sharon Isbin; photographer Robert Frank, RIP.

The singer is on top of the charts and she's in the upcoming movie, "Hustlers"; a preview of Variety's first-ever Climate Crisis issue; singer John Paul White.

Linda Ronstadt doc filmmakers reveal her range ; Eddie Redmaye and Felicity Jones show their new film in Telluride; Flor de Toloache is a modern mariachi band in more ways than one; the Oregon Shakespeare Festival gets a new Artistic Director and filmmaker Justin Chon takes us to Koreatown.

The festival is one of the leading regional theaters in the country, presenting traditional and non-traditional classics, along with cutting-edge new plays; the state of the music industry; the documentary, "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice."

L.A.'s Koreatown is the setting for the filmmaker's new movie about a young woman who has to defer her musical dreams; what's new — and good — on TV right now; Flor de Toloache is not your traditional mariachi group.

The pioneering queer performance artist and writer talks about his evolution as an activist; highlights from the Telluride Film Festival; "Untouchable" is a new documentary about Harvey Weinstein and the multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment that he faces.

Filmmaker Stanley Nelson talks about his new documentary on the iconic jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis; with more streaming services coming online, is binge watching the best way to enjoy TV?; producer Larry Klein takes "world music" literally on his new project.

Emmy nominees John Leguizamo ("When They See Us") and Mahershala Ali ("True Detective") talk about their acclaimed performances; Renée Zellweger chats with John Horn at the Telluride Film Festival about portraying Judy Garland.

The actress plays Judy Garland in a biopic that's premiering at the Telluride Film Festival; SAG-AFTRA keeps its president ahead of a crucial year; singer R&B singer Michael Marshall transforms a '60s hippie anthem for "The Last Black Man in San Francisco."