The Frame

The iconoclastic theater/opera director Peter Sellars (pictured) uses Los Angeles as his base while he travels the world to mount work with themes of social justice; a new investigation concludes North Korea wasn't behind the Sony hack; and a look at the top films of 2014.

We break down the Christmas weekend box office and video-on-demand numbers for the controversial film, "The Interview"; writer/director J.C. Chandor talks about his latest film, "A Most Violent Year," starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain (pictured); David Lynch's artwork is featured in a major museum exhibition.

Alamo Drafthouse cinema on convincing Sony to release "The Interview"; The screenwriter of ‘The Imitation Game’ always wanted to tell the true story of Alan Turing; Celebrating 10 years of The Black List, the place where Oscar winners “Argo,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The King’s Speech” debuted; What television to binge-watch over the holidays.

Sony will allow "The Interview" to be seen after all! We talk to the founder of the Downtown Independent about his quest to get the film at his theater; The screenwriters of “Big Eyes” spent a decade trying to get their movie about kitschy art made —and it cost them dearly; Song Exploder dissects a tune from the rock band, The National; Meet the L.A. rabbi with a side job in television.

Playwright James Lapine compares the Hollywood and Broadway versions of "Into The Woods"; "Nightcrawler" writer/director Dan Gilroy weighs in on the Sony hack and "The Interview" scandal; and a Festivus for the rest of us.

Director Angelina Jolie talks about her personal commitment to bring Lou Zamperini’s story to the screen in the movie “Unbroken.” Seth Rogen and James Franco, the stars of “The Interview,” got a special shout-out from President Obama at a White House news conference.

Since you won't see "The Interview," we have a recap of the film, and two critics weigh in on whether the movie is worth all the drama; The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach has the first solo U.S. museum exhibition of contemporary Cuban artist Esterio Segura; and we end our Colbert Countdown.

Sony won't release "The Interview" amid threats and the largest theater chains declining to screen the film; writer/director Judd Apatow weighs in on potential harm to the industry; Day 3 of our countdown to the end of 'The Colbert Report'; Rafe Fiennes on working with Wes Anderson.

The Japanese rock star Miyavi was picked by Angelina Jolie to play a WWII prison commandant for his first acting role; what makes Stephen Colbert geek-out, and what did an appearance on "The Colbert Report" do for author Gregory Rodriguez?; artist Ben Noam looks for inspiration in a park.

Dan Sterling talks about the genesis of "The Interview" (starring James Franco, left, and Seth Rogen, right) and how North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un made his way into the script; we launch our week-long farewell tribute to "The Colbert Report."

"Midnight Rider" director Randall Miller was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to charges resulting from the death of a crew member on the set; Clint Eastwood talks about "American Sniper" (pictured) becoming the biggest-grossing film released in 2014; actress Gillian Jacobs has added director to her resumé with a documentary about computer pioneer Grace Hopper.

A fan laments that legendary radio DJ Art Laboe (pictured) can't be heard in L.A., at least for now; Robert Christgau, the Dean of American Rock Critics, has a memoir covering his 40-plus years on the music beat; Claire Keane is a third-generation artist who left a cushy job to write and illustrate children's books.

The trial for the lawsuit brought by Marvin Gaye's children against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams is nearing an end; how "Dead Man Walking" was transformed from a movie to an opera (pictured); comedian Wayne Federman rounds up his hilarious friends to host a film festival where they chose the lineup; comic book writer Scott Snyder put his anxieties into his version of "Batman."

Ed Piskor’s "Hip Hop Family Tree” (pictured) takes a look at the music's history in a comic book series; young comedians test their chops in roast battles; the Writer's Guild examines the lack of racial and gender diversity among TV writers.

Late night host Conan O'Brien tells us about his trip to Cuba and his thoughts on the late night TV shuffle; Vulture.com's Margaret Lyons recommends some TV shows that have an air of optimism; comic book writer Ed Brubaker goes from Captain America and Batman to a Hollywood noir graphic novel.

Will Smith's "Focus" (pictured) did middling business in its opening weekend, so where does this leave his career?; filmmaker Ed Burns on the highs and lows of his career since bursting on the scene with "The Brothers McMullen" in 1995; Valiant Entertainment has a simple goal: make comic books like they used to be made.

Leonard Nimoy (pictured) died today. We discuss his artistic journey as an actor, writer and photographer; the copyright trial pitting Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. against Marvin Gaye's children is underway; Will Forte is "The Last Man on Earth," a new Fox comedy.

Singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane (pictured) wrote "The Ambassador," a song cycle inspired by architectural landmarks around L.A.; Yann Demange's new film is set amidst the violent Northern Ireland conflict known as The Troubles; a new study concludes that watching even just one film can change minds about a topic as charged as politics.

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.