The Frame

Writer/director John Ridley (far right, with actor Timothy Hutton) talks about his edgy new TV series, “American Crime"; We crash a viewing party for the breakout TV hit, “Empire"; Musician and attorney Joe Escalante on the fallout from the “Blurred Lines” verdict.

A jury ruled that Robin Thicke (pictured) and Pharrell Williams violated the copyright to Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up"; an assistant director on the film "Midnight Rider" was found guilty of charges relating to the death of a camera assistant; producer David Shore revived a TV project created a dozen years ago by Vince Gilligan, before his "Breaking Bad" success.

"Midnight Rider" director Randall Miller was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to charges resulting from the death of a crew member on the set; Clint Eastwood talks about "American Sniper" (pictured) becoming the biggest-grossing film released in 2014; actress Gillian Jacobs has added director to her resumé with a documentary about computer pioneer Grace Hopper.

A fan laments that legendary radio DJ Art Laboe (pictured) can't be heard in L.A., at least for now; Robert Christgau, the Dean of American Rock Critics, has a memoir covering his 40-plus years on the music beat; Claire Keane is a third-generation artist who left a cushy job to write and illustrate children's books.

The trial for the lawsuit brought by Marvin Gaye's children against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams is nearing an end; how "Dead Man Walking" was transformed from a movie to an opera (pictured); comedian Wayne Federman rounds up his hilarious friends to host a film festival where they chose the lineup; comic book writer Scott Snyder put his anxieties into his version of "Batman."

Ed Piskor’s "Hip Hop Family Tree” (pictured) takes a look at the music's history in a comic book series; young comedians test their chops in roast battles; the Writer's Guild examines the lack of racial and gender diversity among TV writers.

Late night host Conan O'Brien tells us about his trip to Cuba and his thoughts on the late night TV shuffle; Vulture.com's Margaret Lyons recommends some TV shows that have an air of optimism; comic book writer Ed Brubaker goes from Captain America and Batman to a Hollywood noir graphic novel.

Will Smith's "Focus" (pictured) did middling business in its opening weekend, so where does this leave his career?; filmmaker Ed Burns on the highs and lows of his career since bursting on the scene with "The Brothers McMullen" in 1995; Valiant Entertainment has a simple goal: make comic books like they used to be made.

Leonard Nimoy (pictured) died today. We discuss his artistic journey as an actor, writer and photographer; the copyright trial pitting Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. against Marvin Gaye's children is underway; Will Forte is "The Last Man on Earth," a new Fox comedy.

Singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane (pictured) wrote "The Ambassador," a song cycle inspired by architectural landmarks around L.A.; Yann Demange's new film is set amidst the violent Northern Ireland conflict known as The Troubles; a new study concludes that watching even just one film can change minds about a topic as charged as politics.

Rock star Courtney Love has acted in films and TV, but now she's hitting the boards in Todd Almond's "Kansas City Choir Boy"; the "Steve Jobs" biopic got good reviews from critics, but audiences are staying away in droves; Upright Citizens Brigade is taking its comedy franchise online.

Sean Rameswaram of WNYC and Soraya Nadia McDonald of the Washington Post talk about the week's top stories from the wide world of culture; the new music ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars performs Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" for the first time in an American airport.

Mark Mothersbaugh, a founding member of the new wave band Devo, is also a film and TV composer with a long list of credits that includes "The Last Man on Earth"; an exhibition of Cuban art arrives as the island nation develops a new relationship with the United States.

"Suffragette" screenwriter Abi Morgan and director Sarah Gavron made a period film that has current-day resonance; Disney is going all out to sell "Star Wars" in the world's second-biggest film market; Pakistani and L.A. musicians collaborated to create a new East-meets-West sound.

Filmmaker James Vanderbilt revisits the story that led to Dan Rather and a "60 Minutes" producer losing their jobs at CBS; producer Noah Hawley says the key to making "Fargo" a TV series was to not be bound by the Coen brothers movie.

As the most prominent woman on HBO's "Project Greenlight," film producer Effie Brown has had to address race and gender issues; Lenny Abrahamson wrote a long letter to "Room" novelist Emma Donoghue to convince her that he was the right director for the film version.

FX chief John Landgraf says his warning of there being too much TV for the industry to bear -- and the consumer to watch -- struck a chord with other network heads; How composer Jóhann Jóhannsson created the haunting score for 'Sicario'

The actor has directed a documentary about the rise and fall of the once powerful record store chain; the first-ever Politicon was a sort of Comic-Con for political junkies, journalists and jokesters; Fox is developing more TV shows with comic book heroes, including "X-Men" characters.

Kelly Sue DeConnick describes her feminist sci-fi series, "Bitch Planet," as "Margaret Atwood meets Inglourious Basterds”; Cary Fukunaga encountered severe challenges while shooting "Beasts of No Nation" in Ghana.

Producer Aline Brosh McKenna wants to upend genre stereotypes on her new CW network comedy. (Cue the band!) ; several films hitting theaters this fall are tackling stories of women striving for equality; Kurt Vile has a new album of chilled-out folk music.

The actress is getting raves for her role in "Room" as a kidnap victim raising a son in captivity; Jeff Russo has gone from rock band guitarist to Emmy-nominated composer; Warner Bros.' big budget "Pan" opened badly, but the company's other divisions are performing well.

The actor/comedian is also a noted art collector and now he's curating a show of work by Canadian painter Lawren Harris; El Teatro Campesino collaborates with Center Theatre Group and Boyle Heights residents for a show at Grand Park; Jafar Panahi is banned from making films in his homeland, but that hasn't stopped him.