The Frame

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a scientist in “Z for Zachariah,” an apocalypse movie unlike any you’ve seen; Jenny Yang and Keiko Agena created a comedy festival as a showcase for Asian-American performers; actors really get tipsy on "Drunk History," which is exactly what creator Derek Waters wants.

Jeffrey Tambor and the "Transparent" cast and crew are shooting the second season of the hit show, which has garnered 11 Emmy nominations; a scene in the postponed season finale of "Mr. Robot" rekindles the debate over gun violence on television.

Lili Zanuck worked decades to produce her biopic of blues singer Bessie Smith, and to make sure Queen Latifah got the lead role; Sony bought the rights to 33 Van Morrison albums and will make many available digitally for the first time; Rob Cordrry and David Wain on making their spoof of medical dramas.

José Padilha tells the story of Pablo Escobar in the new Netflix series, "Narcos;" The indie band Gardens and Villa has an artist compound near Dodger Stadium; Warner Bros. is in talks to co-finance a slate of movies made in China; 40 years ago today, Bruce Springsteen released his landmark album, “Born to Run.”

Yo La Tengo's new album has the trio reimagining songs they love by other artists; Regal Cinemas steps up security measures at movie theaters; Emmy-nominated actor Titus Burgess from "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"; Neil Young's Pono needs money

Jim Reid says he couldn't imagine the band's 1985 debut album, "Psychocandy," remaining popular 30 years later; "Sneakerheadz" is a documentary about obsessive sneaker collectors; writer Steven Johnson says the digital age has not brought on the expected apocalypse for the creative class.

Doug Aitken didn't want a traditional documentary about his music and art-filled train project, so he instead made 62 one-minute films; FYF founder Sean Carlson talks about the music festival's growing pains; for bands like Lower Dens and The Drums, FYF is another stop on a never-ending road trip.

"Jackass" stunt master Johnny Knoxville made a documentary, "Being Evel," about his childhood hero; Mac Quayle went from producing dance music for the likes of Donna Summer to composing music for TV shows such as "American Horror Story"; a vote by SAG-AFTRA members could chart the future for Hollywood's biggest union.

“Straight Outta Compton" received rave reviews, but some critics say the movie minimizes the misogyny and violence against women at the heart of N.W.A.’s music; The L.A. band Health continues to rise in the music scene, but is the band at its peak?; poet Claudia Rankine’s book on racism and prejudice gets adapted to the stage.

Ice Cube is played by his son in "Straight Outta Compton" and the father/son duo tell us how they wanted the performance to be authentic; Guy Ritchie's "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." isn't your average, everyday spy movie; Star Wars Land and other Disney-related news from D23; Tracy Morgan to return as host of SNL.

Author, religion scholar and TV consultant Reza Aslan adds talk show host to his credits with "Rough Draft"; Oscar nominee Lon Burden breaks down the sound design for a crucial scene in "The Revenant"; the toughest Oscars trivia contest happens at a pub in Santa Monica.

The Black Version is a group of improv performers who put an Afro-centric spin on mainstream movies; Leonardo DiCaprio sees environmental parallels between the 1820s when "The Revenant" is set and modern-day America; eligibility rules for the Oscars raise questions for the original score nominees.

Will this year’s Academy Awards be the tipping point for racial representation in Hollywood? Marc Bernardin of The Hollywood Reporter weighs in; The Song Exploder podcast takes apart a song with the band Clipping; "Inside Out" writer Meg LeFauve gets a Pixar education and now takes on Ms. Marvel.

USC's Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg tracked the representation of women, people of color, and the LGBT community in film and television and found Hollywood is still "a straight, white boys club." Then co-star and co-creator of the HBO show 'Togetherness', Steve Zissis, mines his life-- failures and all-- for the show. And comedian Kamau Bell is excited to see Chris Rock turn #OscarsSoWhite into comic gold at the Academy Awards.

Comedian Paul Rust went from Iowa to working with his childhood heroes Judd Apatow and Paul Rubens, and now he's landed the Netflix series "Love," which comes out today. The Coen Brothers bring water ballet back to the big screen in "Hail, Caesar!" with the L.A. aquatic dance troupe Aqualillies. Also, we deconstruct the Oscar race for Best Picture with John Horn and Kyle Buchanan from The Awards Show Show.

Writer-director Robert Eggers' impressive feature debut is about witches in colonial New England; after camera assistant Sarah Jones was killed on a film set, her parents became advocates for production safety; the play 'Placas' tells the story of a man who escapes one of the world's most brutal gangs.

David Javerbaum created @TheTweetOfGod, which led to the hit Broadway play, "An Act of God," currently starring Sean Hayes; faced with low ratings, ABC fires network chief Paul Lee; singer-songwriter M. Ward revisits his early years in the Conejo Valley on his new album.

The producer of the Record of the Year Grammy talks about what went into making the dance hit, "Uptown Funk"; France's Academy Awards entry for Foreign Language Film was actually shot in Turkey by a Turkish-born filmmaker; Edward Gero played Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in a show at Arena Stage.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Alejandro G. Iñárritu of "The Revenant" are among the filmmakers and actors on The Frame's annual Academy Awards preview. You'll also hear from Sylvester Stallone, Brie Larson, Bryan Cranston and many others.

Sylvester Stallone turned down the part of an ailing Rocky Balboa in "Creed" twice before agreeing to do it-- with the help of an acting coach. Now he's nominated for an Oscar. Grammy nominated musician Lianne La Havas finds inspiration in Jamaica. How only Kanye West could pack Madison Square Garden while playing an album off his laptop.

The Marley family has launched a line of marijuana products to be distributed at dispensaries around the country; Catherine Opie shows a wide range of her work in three current L.A. exhibitions; John Horn and Kyle Buchanan assess the Academy Awards campaign season.

"The Hateful Eight" came along at the right time for Jennifer Jason Leigh, and won her an Oscar nomination; the infamous freeway chase was diligently re-created for "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson"; things are getting slightly better for female characters in movies, but only slightly.