The Frame

Bob Thiele leads The Forest Rangers, a band that was spawned by the "Sons of Anarchy" TV series; comedian Andy Kindler takes no prisoners when he gives his annual State of the Industry speech; a filmmaker is challenging the copyright claim to "Happy Birthday to You," which keeps the song out of many TV shows and movies.

When Marlon Brando died, he left hundreds of hours of himself on tape, which were culled for the documentary, "Listen to Me Marlon"; a 1965 gospel concert at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium was special not only for its stars, but also because it was recorded — a rarity for its day; NBC Universal will reportedly invest $250 million in BuzzFeed's growing digital empire.

Five finalists were chosen to develop pilot scripts for a TV series that calls for a female engineer protagonist; Summer can be a great time to watch TV, if you know where to look; the singer Little Boots was once signed to Atlantic Records, but she decided having her own label is a better fit.

A comedy writer has sued Conan O'Brien, claiming his show stole jokes that were first posted on Twitter; on "Song Exploder," Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie dissects "El Dorado"; director James Ponsoldt was initially skeptical that a book about being on tour with writer David Foster Wallace could be a movie.

The Beijing-based Wanda Group financed "Southpaw," just the latest example of Chinese investments in Hollywood; The Next MacGyver contest hopes to encourage women engineers with the promise of a TV pilot; Juilliard-trained Brad Segal has become the go-to composer for reality shows.

The British actor reunites with director Bill Condon to play a 93-year-old version of Sherlock Holmes in "Mr. Holmes" (pictured); Chinese authorities have returned the passport of dissident artist Ai Weiwei, who had been unable to leave the country since 2011; the makers of the documentary about crowd-funding, "Capital C," financed their film through a crowd-funding campaign.

Noted muralist Kent Twitchell (pictured) has created a new work for the Special Olympics; playwright Todd Almond was inspired by Matthew Sweet's 1991 album, "Girlfriend," for his musical about growing up gay; the Teragram Ballroom tries to carve out a niche on the local live music landscape.

Kurt Sutter has been writing film scripts while working on demanding TV shows, and now his first feature, "Southpaw" (pictured), is being released; the singer Miguel talks about growing up mixed-race in his beloved L.A.; the box office for "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" and "Dope" hasn't measured up to their indie darling hype.

A landmark album from 1966 (pictured) pairing the singer and bandleader is revisited as part of a Sinatra tribute at the Hollywood Bowl; YouTube is betting that audiences will pay for a commercial-free service; Camp Reel Stories is a summer camp designed to introduce teenaged girls to filmmaking.

Lisa Hanawalt's lifelong equine obsession pays off in her role as production designer for the animated series, "BoJack Horseman" (pictured); with embassies re-opening in Washington and Havana, cultural exchange could be on the upswing; costume designers for superhero movies take comic book drawings and turn them into flashy but practical outfits.

Director Patricia Riggen and cinematographer Checco Varese — her husband — were partners above and below ground on the mining disaster film, "The 33"; Boston Globe reporter Mike Rezendes is played by Mark Ruffalo in "Spotlight"; Song Exploder dissects a song by Dan Auerbach's side project, The Arcs.

One year out from the 2016 Presidential election, we hear from Beau Willimon, an executive producer of "House of Cards," and Jay Roach, director of an HBO film about Lyndon Johnson.

Ewan McGregor and filmmaker Rodrigo Garcia share stories of making their movie about Jesus wandering the desert; Leon Bridges' quick rise to soul stardom; Do box office results impact Oscar voting?

Michael Keaton leads the cast in "Spotlight," about the Boston archdiocese cover-up of sexual abuse cases; NBC and "Saturday Night Live" have resisted calls to remove Donald Trump as host of the show; Performance artist and composer Laurie Anderson examines love and loss in the documentary, "Heart of a Dog."

Director Catherine Hardwicke's new movie is written by and about women. As an advocate for women in Hollywood she practices what she preaches; Flailing TV shows remain on the air in this new era; Two Chicago institutions bring dance and sketch comedy together.

The actor says the experience of Dalton Trumbo and other blacklist victims still resonates today; Quentin Tarantino is facing a boycott of his films because of comments he made at a protest against police brutality; the German classic film, "M," was remade for American audiences but never released.

Disney is delaying publication of a companion book to "The Force Awakens" in hopes of keeping the story line under wraps; Jason Segel's performance as David Foster Wallace is another example of a cult figure on the big screen; Women wrote just 22 percent of the plays produced last year in the U.S.

The Irish actress plays a young immigrant in a story that mirrors what her own parents experienced; Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com assembled a list of women directors who Hollywood studios should be hiring; "Songs from Suicide Bridge" is another excavation project from Light In the Attic records.

The Walking Dead's Greg Nicotero's zombie lesson; LACMA brings rain to a drought-riddled city with The Rain Room; 'Saw' composer and former Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Charlie Clouser on how to score a scary movie.

LA-based opera company “The Industry” has created an experimental opera that takes place in 24 cars around the city. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht wants his channel to reach a diverse audience. LA taco place partners with bands.

Ilene Chaiken runs "Empire" while co-creator Lee Daniels develops his next show for Fox, "Star"; the SxSW Interactive Conference is getting heat for canceling sessions about sexism in the gaming industry; the Hammer Museum will benefit from UCLA's purchase of the Occidental Petroleum building.

The duo's production company, Smokehouse, has examined politics in the TV series, "K Street," and the films “The Ides of March" and "Good Night and Good Luck." Their latest is "Our Brand is Crisis."