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.

The new Netflix documentary series, "Making a Murder," is being favorably compared to the podcast "Serial" and HBO's "The Jinx"; meet the "Star Wars" fans who are members of the R2 Builders Club; Disney has a marketing challenge in China, where the first "Star Wars" movies were never seen.

David Lang wrote the music for "Youth," a film about a composer struggling with loss and aging; in 1981, George Lucas allowed a public radio station to turn the first three "Star Wars" films into radio plays; new research shows that moviegoers believe theater owners aren't doing enough to keep them safe.

Adrian Tomine's most recent book, "Killing and Dying," is showing up on a lot of "Best of 2015" lists; Lucas Hnath, who once considered becoming a preacher, addresses themes of faith and salvation in "The Christians"; young British actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley are in "The Force Awakens"

Will Smith reveals why he was reluctant to be in "Concussion" and how he sees Hollywood's diversity problem; Star Wars mega premiere and Disney's plans to monetize the new movie to the tune of billions; Spike Lee commends J.J. Abrams

Mary Steenburgen may be the busiest actress in TV. She can be seen on "Togetherness,” “Orange Is the New Black” and “The Last Man on Earth”; the annual list of the top un-produced screenplays is out; The Force is strong on the shelves of grocery and drug stores where you’ll find an endless variety of "Star Wars" tie-ins.

Nick Hornby is an esteemed novelist who also adapts other authors for the big screen, including his latest, "Brooklyn"; composer Dustin O’Halloran deconstructs his theme music from "Transparent" for Song Exploder; the Havana Film Festival showcases the nascent Cuban indie film movement.

The screenwriter talks about dramatizing the Apple co-founder's story and how Donald Trump "may be the end of political satire"; John Malkovich's reading of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" has been set to music by Yoko Ono, Ric Ocasek and other musicians.

The premise of the comedy "You're the Worst," created by Stephen Falk, is that even the most flawed people deserve to find love; the Screen Actors Guild Award nominations provide an early indicator of Oscar choices; The Beach Boys' album, "Pet Sounds," gets a spoken word treatment, of sorts.

Nathan Fielder offers off-the-wall business advice on his Comedy Central series, "Nathan For You"; the Grammys could be a face-off between friends Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar; Scott Fagan's 1968 album, "South Atlantic Blues," gets new life thanks to Light In the Attic records.

Daniel Wu was born in California but launched his acting career in China. Now he's starring in an AMC series that puts his martial arts background to good use; Katie Couric and Stephanie Soechtig will debut "Under the Gun" at the Sundance Film Festival.

At 82, Michael Caine plays the lead in 'Youth' but for the most part he considers himself retired; Roy Orbison's son releases his dad's 1969 lost album 'One Of The Lonely Ones'; The Oscar short list for documentaries is out and Sundance is the big winner.

Alan Yang says the Netflix series he created with Aziz Ansari was sparked by their shared experiences as millennials and second-generation Americans; Hollywood power brokers have ideas for improving the standing of women in the entertainment industry; the Sundance festival will include the directing debut of actress Clea Duvall.