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.

Rock the Vote, the non-profit founded by music industry pros doing PSAs on MTV, is still rockin'. The organization has hired a former Bernie Sanders operative to do marketing and was present at both the GOP and Democratic conventions; Bonnie Raitt opens up about a life in music.

Filmmaker Paul Greengrass returns to make a new Jason Bourne movie, this time with cyber security on his mind; Now that Verizon is buying Yahoo!, what will become of the search engine's streaming TV shows?; A Sophocles play gets a modern update with veterans in the cast; Bill Clinton, binge watcher.

What happens when an aspiring filmmaker works as a nanny for wealthy L.A. mothers? Naturally, she comes up with a movie idea. Writer-director Sian Heder talks motherhood, movie-making and "Tallulah;" and a “Star Wars” movie set accident that could have killed Harrison Ford ends with a guilty plea.

The Congressman and civil rights icon was at Comic-Con to introduce the third part of his graphic novel memoir, "March"; there was plenty of news and previews at Comic-Con to keep the fanboys (and fangirls) happy.

The filmmaker leads a tour of the dwelling that houses his extensive collection of horror memorabilia and serves as his retreat; the Republican Convention had plenty of drama, but how much of it was scripted?

The annual pop culture extravaganza is underway in San Diego, with more than 100,000 fans expected to attend; CURRENT: LA chose 16 artists to make water-themed site-specific artwork around the city; "Lights Out" producer Lawrence Grey on why every big Hollywood director secretly wants to do a horror film.

Comedian Mike Birbiglia's new film is about improv, friendship and the struggles that go along with striving for your big break; "The Wolf of Wall Street" producer Red Granite Pictures is at the center of a federal complaint alleging that the film was financed with embezzled funds from Malaysia; We look into the history of pop song usage at political conventions.

R&B singer Irma Thomas never got the acclaim of Aretha Franklin or Etta James, but she is still the undisputed Soul Queen of New Orleans; actor LeVar Burton narrates the kids audio tour of The Broad museum because he's compelled to teach; after tragic shootings of police officers, the USA Network postpones its new series, "Shooter," to the fall.

Singer/songwriter Perla Batalla and playwright Oliver Mayer are collaborating on a new project about the iconic Mexican artist; California Light and Space artist Robert Irwin debuts a new work in West Texas; artists are going public with work at the Republican National Convention.

Betty Buckley offers a feminist take on Edie Bouvier in the musical "Grey Gardens," adapted from the Maysles brothers documentary of the same name; musician Rubén Guevera recounts a life in rock and roll; movie marketing in a time when real violence is all too prevalent.

Joe Weisberg and Joel Field, writers and executive producers for "The Americans," talk about the joy and surprise at getting the nominations that long eluded the show; Emmy-nominated hairstylist Amanda Mofield shares her secrets for creating hundreds of looks for "Key & Peele;" "Ghostbusters" screenwriter Katie Dippold defends her movie against critics.

Neil Druckmann is a writer and creative director who has won acclaim for his cinematic approach to video games such as "The Last of Us" and "Uncharted 4"; Eric Glatt was a lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Fox Searchlight after working as an unpaid intern on "The Black Swan." The case has settled, but his mission to challenge what he calls "wage theft" continues.