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.

Now that "Game of Thrones" is over (and many viewers are over it), HBO and other networks are looking for The Next Big Thing; Andrew Bird's latest album is cleverly titled, "My Finest Work Yet"; rapper Little Simz explores the "Grey Area."

The popular HBO series concludes this Sunday, but can it possibly go out on a high note?; Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt talk and perform as their musical altar egos, Nancy and Beth.

The comedian was the victim of a rumor that his wife had left him, so he wrote an entire album of heartbreak songs inspired by his non-existent divorce; Amy Lemisch talks about her long tenure as head of the California Film Commission.

Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine co-created and co-star in the Hulu series that finds all the awkwardness and humor in being a young teen; broadcast and cable networks continue to pitch their Fall schedules to advertisers in New York City.

The singer, who has roots in both Mexico and the U.S., has a new album that takes on issues of the day; TV networks are laying out their fall plans for advertisers and the press; a new KPCC series reunites artists with the high school teachers who influenced them.

KPCC's newest podcast, "Tell Them, I Am," profiles Muslims from various walks of life who defy stereotypes about Islam and its followers; comedian Ramy Youssef has a new series on Hulu; the Japanese pop-punk band, Chai.

Actress D'Arcy Carden has become a fan favorite on the popular NBC series, but her success didn't come overnight; a preview of the Cannes Film Festival.

The Tony Award-winning actor and playwright has an ambitious podcast musical titled “Anthem: Homunculus”; Disney's $400 million bet on Vice Media is coming up dry; Anita Sarkeesian is out to halt harmful depictions of LGBTQ characters in video gaming.

The anniversary festival is up in the air as the promoter and his one-time backer are at odds; Max Joseph made a film that's a paean to bookstores and reading; Song Exploder deconstructs a song from The Cranberries' final album.

"Gay of Thrones" is the hilarious Funny or Die web series that recaps each episode of the HBO hit; Georgia's governor signed an abortion bill that might impact film and TV production in the state; the singer who goes by Cimafunk is known as "the Cuban James Brown."

The Korean boy band performed two shows to loud audiences, cementing its place in the global pop music world; filmmaker Mike Mills made an unlikely collaboration with the band, The National; the Write Girl program gives teen girls a boost.

Latinos go the movies in numbers that far surpass their percentage of the U.S. population. So why don't studios cater more to that audience?; the HBO documentary, "At the Heart of Gold," looks at the U.S. gymnastics sexual abuse scandal; creating a soundtrack for "Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes."