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.

Playwright Heidi Schreck and actress Maria Dizzia on how the nation’s most treasured document connects with violence against women; can the best picture win for "Parasite" be attributed to the Motion Picture Academy's diversification efforts?

Conversations with Oscar nominees and stories about how the most loved films of the year came to be; interviews with actors Renee Zellwegger, Cynthia Erivo, and Adam Driver and filmmakers Greta Gerwig, Taika Waititi and Bong-Joon Ho among others.

The actress, who stars in the film, talks about her personal connection to the story about mental illness with director Jeff Baena; how much has the Motion Picture Academy membership actually changed?; the L.A. post-punk band, French Vanilla.

The singer-songwriter wrote and recorded the album, "The Gospel of Water," after being diagnosed with cancer; Jeff Kanew talks about directing Kirk Douglas in the actor's one-man stage show; a campaign for the DGA to improve its parental leave policy.

The filmmaker's first feature has won her a prize from the Directors Guild and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Awards; The Lucas Museum has acquired a prominent collection of ephemera related to African American film history.

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho talks about his surprise hit, which has six Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture; Disney takes full control of Hulu; "JoJo Rabbit" costume designer Mayes Rubio.

The former Police frontman is front and center in a musical that's set in his hometown; Hollywood's awards season is nearing its conclusion; WWI through the ears of the Oscar-nominated sound team behind “1917.”

With the final episodes of "BoJack Horseman" dropping today, we revisit an archival interview with the series creator; could the Obamas win an Oscar for "American Factory"?; animator Glen Keane recalls working with Kobe Bryant on "Dear Basketball."

"The Good Place" has been one of the few broadcast network breakout hits in recent years. With the series ending tonight, we revisit our interviews with series creator Michael Schur, writer Jen Statsky, and cast member D’Arcy Carden.

The writer/director has an Academy Award nomination for her adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic; photographer Thomas Kiefer turns border detritus into art.

The veteran animator talks about collaborating with the NBA legend on their Academy Award-winning short animated film; Carlos Lopez Estrada's "Summertime" is a collaboration with 25 spoken word poets; the Oscar-nominated production design for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

The film festival presented the premiere of "Hillary," a four-part series coming to Hulu in March; filmmaker Gotham Chopra talks about his 2015 documentary, “Kobe Bryant’s Muse.”