The Frame

A new report by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA says movies and TV shows with diverse casts (such as "Empire," pictured) make good financial sense; Song Exploder breaks down the theme song for "House of Cards"; a new stage production at CalTech takes "Alice Through the Wormhole."

How did Amy Poehler's sitcom (pictured) survive seven seasons of average ratings?; Sam Beam, aka Iron & Wine, returns to his musical roots with "Archive Series Volume Number One"; Wes Anderson's Oscar-winning film is the subject of a new book; the L.A. Philharmonic stages a multimedia production of "Alice in Wonderland."

Sam Beam -- better known by his stage name Iron and Wine -- started writing stripped down folk songs more than a decade ago in his bedroom in Miami, Florida. After experimenting with Jazz, R&B and Pop, he returns to his quiet folk music roots with “Archive Series Volume No. 1.” Iron and Wine performs a live-set of songs new and old for The Frame. Set List: "Everyone’s Summer of ’95” “Two Hungry Blackbirds” “Low Light Buddy of Mine” Our interview with Beam and more here: http://www.scpr.org/programs/the-frame/2015/02/20/41644/iron-wine-performs-songs-from-archive-series-volum/ Video produced by Zach Stamey, James Kim and Maya Sugarman.

A special edition of The Frame examines Hollywood's diversity challenge with screenwriter José Rivera, producer Effie Brown and Frank Leonard, CEO of the The Black List screenplay project.

Many of the winners of the 87th Academy Awards joined us on The Frame to talk about their work. Hear from Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Best Adapted Screenplay winner Graham Moore (pictured), Best Actress Julianne Moore and ... more!

“Comedy Bang Bang” host Scott Aukerman (far right, with sidekick Reggie Watts) loves and laughs at late-night talk shows; How the "Interstellar" sound editor created the sound of gravity; The indie film crowd gets raucous at the Independent Spirit Awards; How "Hero" by Family of the Year became the unofficial theme song of “Boyhood."

Photographer Sandro Miller talks about how he recreated some of the world’s most famous portraits with actor John Malkovich (pictured) as his muse; Kate Burton and Jason Robards talk about being second-generation actors; The sound designer from "Birdman" breaks down a scene from the film.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail have another stage hit with their hip-hop musical, "Hamilton" (pictured); How the sound editors for "Unbroken" created a pivotal scene for the movie; Thomas Lennon plays Felix Unger in CBS' remake of "The Odd Couple."

Jason Blum made his name producing successful, low-budget horror films, but he could get an Oscar as part of the producing team for "Boyhood" (pictured); the Sundance Institute pairs composers and filmmakers at Skywalker Ranch; Simon Rich's "Man Seeking Woman" is one of the most bizarre sitcoms on TV.

Our interviews with the best actors, best directors and more ahead of the Academy Awards. Hear from Wes Anderson, Alejandro Iñárritu (far right, with Michael Keaton), Richard Linklater, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Reese Witherspoon and more.

Considering the success of TV shows such as "Fresh Off the Boat" (pictured), two casting directors discuss whether the demand for diversity has turned into a new form of affirmative action; filmmaker Noah Baumbach joins us for a discussion about his new film, "While We're Young."

Last year, for the first time, the record industry made more money from streaming services than from the sale of CDs; British singer/songwriter Laura Marling (pictured) talks about her love-hate relationship with L.A.; “Justified” creator Graham Yost on how the show maintained its spirit after the death of co-creator, Elmore Leonard.

NPR music critic Ann Powers provides a rundown of standout acts, including Leon Bridges (pictured), at SxSW; Twin Shadow goes from indie rock to pop music on his latest album, “Eclipse"; Lacey Schwartz talks about uncovering her secret racial identity in her documentary, "Little White Lie."

This weekend GLAAD honors entertainment and media that best represent LGBT characters. But handing out awards isn’t the group's only job in Hollywood; Why the Iranian band Kiosk had to flee their country to fully realize their art; Suge Knight's bail is set to $25 million, and his lawyers accuse the prosecution of equating Knight with "Empire."

James Corden reveals his hopes and fears as host of the revamped "Late Late Show." Actor Ethan Hawke and pianist Seymour Bernstein talk stage fright and their new documentary. Mr. T gets a reality show gig.

ASCAP president and board chairman Paul Williams (pictured) advocates better pay for songwriters; The Emmys define TV comedies by length; Hammer Museum celebrates the work of artist Charles Atlas.

Apple plans to offer an online package of 25 TV channels including ABC, CBS and FOX, perhaps as soon as this fall; singer/songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. turned his misfortune into a music career that's blowing up.

Violinist Bing Wang (pictured) is one of the 120-plus L.A. Philharmonic musicians on a two-week tour of Asia; HBO's "The Jinx" is just the latest documentary to play a key role in a criminal case; hanging out with the dudes at the 14th annual celebration of "The Big Lebowski."

How is SxSW in Austin different from all other film festivals?; artist Charles Gaines (pictured) reflects on being black in the art world and gets a retrospective of his very own at the Hammer Museum.

The L.A. Philharmonic is set to leave on a tour of Asia, where it will make its first visit to mainland China and conductor Gustavo Dudamel will work with a youth orchestra born out of the Fukushima disaster in Japan; We take an audio tour of the Bjork exhibit at MOMA that's generating so much snark

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.