The Frame

The singer/songwriter wrote his Grammy-nominated album, "American Utopia," prior to our recent political discord, but he remains determined to find the silver lining in society; studio executives are talking the talk but not walking the walk when it comes to hiring women directors.

Kit Steinkellner talks about creating the Facebook Watch series about a widow dealing with her husband's unexpected death; the 2019 Coachella headliners include Childish Gambino(!) and Ariana Grande(?); Janelle Monáe breaks down a song from her Grammy-nominated album, "Dirty Computer"

The stage director made history with "The Lifespan of a Fact" by assembling the first all-female design team for a Broadway show; Netflix has pulled an episode of Hasan Minhaj's "Patriot Act" from its service in Saudi Arabia after a protest from the Saudi government; Mary Gauthier's "Rifles and Rosary Beads" has a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.

The former Monty Python member revisits his life and career in the memoir, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography"; Luciana Souza puts Leonard Cohen poems to music.

José James pays tribute to singer/songwriter Bill Withers with his new album "Lean on Me."

Alfonso Cuarón reveals the intense process of mining his own memory, and those of his siblings and childhood nanny, to recreate their shared story for the screen in "Roma."

Rosamund Pike reveals how she channeled the late war reporter Marie Colvin in the film "A Private War."

Afghan-American artist Ariana Delawari documents the process of recording an album of music in her family's homeland; Max Baca of the band Texmaniacs on covering the Woody Guthrie song "Deportee"; Boz Scaggs still sings the blues.

We bring you some of our favorite interviews from the year — covering television, movies, music and the arts. Guests include Tessa Thompson, Riz Ahmed, Lena Waithe and Hannah Gadsby.

John C. Reilly joins "Stan & Ollie" director Jon S. Baird to talk about making a movie about the legendary comedic duo Laurel and Hardy. Then, Joanna Kulig stars in "Cold War," Poland's official submission for Oscar which is also the story of filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski's parents.

In our fourth and final dispatch from Telluride, The Frame host John Horn interviews Ethan Hawke and musician Seymour Bernstein. Hawke directed the documentary, "Seymour: The Introduction," chronicling Bernstein's devotion to teaching students to love music and overcome creative pitfalls. Telluride also saw the premiere of "The Imitation Game," a film about the WWII British code breaker Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), which already has Oscar buzz. We spoke with the film's writer, Graham Moore, both before and after the first public screening of his first produced screenplay. And we also chatted with the film's Norwegian director, Morton Tyldum, debuting his first English-language feature.

In our latest podcast from the Telluride Film Festival, The Frame host John Horn talks with the acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who, with "Birdman," takes a somewhat lighter approach from his previous films such as "Biutiful" and "Amores Perros." In the dark comedy, Michael Keaton plays a film action hero who's trying to establish his artistic credibility on Broadway.

In our second dispatch from the Telluride Film Festival, "The Frame" host John Horn interviews Jon Stewart. The "Daily Show" host makes his feature directing debut with "Rosewater," the story of Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari (played by Gael Garcia Bernal), who was arrested and tortured while covering Iran's 2009 presidential election.

"The Frame" crew is in Colorado covering the 2014 Telluride Film Festival. In this first festival dispatch, "The Frame" host John Horn moderates a Q&A with the cast and filmmaker behind "Wild." Hear Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, director Jean-Marc Vallée ("Dallas Buyers Club") and author Cheryl Strayed talk about bringing her book to the big screen. "Wild" Q&A photos by Merrick Chase

Today on The Frame, we hear from 'Training Day' director Antoine Fuqua about his unfinished Showtime documentary on Suge Knight and how he got the news the rap mogul had recently been shot six times. Then, we talk to director Xavier Dolan at the Telluride Film Festival where his feature, "Mommy," is screening after winning the Jury Prize at Cannes. We also hear from 27-year-old Brad Colburn on how he amassed a following of people who watch him play video games online, (Yes, that's a thing.) Plus, why the Converse shoe brand is paying for up-and-coming musicians' studio time.

In our second podcast, we discuss TV's biggest night, the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Then we meet "Mad Men" writer/producer Tom Smuts, who is organizing a bike ride to the Emmys with a group of fellow nominees. Singer/Songwriter Dan Bern performs two songs riffing on the nominees for the Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series Emmys. We take a listen to Lauryn Hill's song "Black Rage," which she released in response to the turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri. Finally, La Santa Cecilia and the Yuval Ron Ensemble mash-up their influences.

Our inaugural podcast looks at how artists respond to social and racial strife; the odd couple of Zach Galifianakis and President Obama wins a Creative Arts Emmys; and the roots of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles phenomenon.