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.

Julius Onah directed the movie about a former child soldier in Africa who seems to fully adapt to his new life in America; how and why YouTube became the world's most popular music streaming site; a new documentary tells the story of the Bay Area's thrash metal scene.

Writers and comedians Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin talk about their new IFC series that's a fake documentary about a fake "Soul Train"-like music show; N.Y. Times co-theater critic Jesse Green on the legacy of Broadway legend Harold Prince, who died at the age of 91.

Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine get a writing nomination for their comedy series set in middle school; Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg News on musicians seeking representation in Washington; Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera talk about their film, "The Infiltrators," which tells the true story of two undocumented immigrants who go inside America’s for-profit, immigrant detention system.

Inara George and Greg Kurstin previously released an album of Hall & Oates covers, and now they've turned to songs made famous by Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth; is there a rift in the Writers Guild leadership?; do faith-based movies need film critics?

How Quentin Tarantino and his team recreated 1969 Hollywood. Director Gigi Saul Guererro tells an immigration story as a horror film and the Alamo Drafthouse (finally) opens in DTLA. All that plus documentaries about Mike Wallace and Cambridge Analytica. Plus, we remember New Orleans music legends.

Veteran cinematographer Robert Richardson talks about shooting "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood"; the documentary "For Sama" is an unflinching look at the war in Syria; Michael McDonald on being the ultimate backup singer.

The Texas-based theater chain has been working on a complex here for six years and the owners are hoping audiences will connect with the in-seat food service and bar; film festival season is upon us; re-creating the streets of L.A. circa 1969 for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

The documentary by Ari Belkin examines the life and career of the famed journalist; Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter previews Television Critics Association press tour; the indie video game market.

Writer and director Pippa Bianco talks about her first feature film, which was adapted from her 2015 short; why are artists pulling their work from the Whitney Biennial?; the host of the "Mueller, She Wrote" podcast preps for the big day.

Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim co-directed the documentary about the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook controversy; all the news from Comic-Con; Rodrigo y Gabriel have guitars, will travel.

Marc Maron shines in a new improvised film from Lynn Shelton. Linda Ronstadt gets celebrated for a life in music. David Crosby makes a mea culpa documentary with Cameron Crowe and "Apollo 11" reveals a hidden side to the moon landing.

We mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing by revisiting our interviews with "First Man" director Damien Chazelle and screenwriter Josh Singer, and with the film's sound editors, Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan, who were nominated for an Academy Award; Todd Douglas Miller, director of the groundbreaking documentary, "Apollo 11."