The Frame

After the 2016 Presidential election, the singer/songwriter took a cross-country train trip and then wrote a song cycle of character sketches and personal reflections; Taylor Swift's recording contract is about to expire, giving her a world of options; Boots Riley's "Sorry to Bother You" is one of the year's biggest critical hits.

Director Chris Weitz's film 'Operation Finale' tells the amazing story of the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann; fans begin to pay their respects to the Aretha Franklin at the Museum of African American History in Detroit; and Cuban jazz pianist Dayramir Gonzalez is a rising star.

Breaking down the scene between Michelle Yeoh and her would be daughter-in-law, Constance Wu; documentary filmmaker Steve James spent a year inside a Chicago high school for the series, “America to Me”; remembering playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon, who died at the age of 91.

The former "Gilmore Girls" co-star has an Emmy nomination for her role in the dystopian world of "The Handmaid's Tale"; Harvey Weinstein's legal woes seem to be mounting; Aneesh Chaganty, director and co-writer of the film, "Searching," has created a hyper-modern day thriller.

On Today's Show:

The co-star and Emmy nominee says she isn't daunted by challenges being faced by the cast; ever seen James Corden and friends performing a musical on the streets outside CBS on Fairfax? That's the work of Emmy-nominated choreographer Chloe Arnold.

The Emmy-nominated director of "Atlanta" talks about his collaborations with Donald Glover, his love of the Coen brothers and how the show set out to accurately portray life in urban Georgia; in the documentary, "What Haunts Us," Paige Goldberg Tolmach examines multiple suicides at her prep school alma mater; director Jesse Peretz and actor Chris O'Dowd talk about their movie, "Juliet, Naked."

Sarah Paulson has a lead actress Emmy nomination for "American Horror Story: Cult" — the seventh season of the anthology series; Bing Liu's videos of his skateboarding pals turned into the intimate documentary, "Minding the Gap."

Wayne Kramer, guitarist and leader of the Detroit rock band MC5, discusses his new memoir, "The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities"; Amazon is in the running to buy Landmark Theatres.

The iconic singer has died at the age of 76. We hear from her longtime bass player, Chuck Rainey; why has a documentary about her landmark 1972 performance at a Baptist church in Los Angeles never been released?; Daphne Brooks, a professor of African American Studies and Theater Studies at Yale University on the transcendent power of Aretha's voice.

From Stephen Colbert's late-night foray to Kim Jeong's new sitcom, we recap the news from the Television Critics Association press tour; Thundercat breaks down his song "Them Changes" in the latest Song Exploder podcast; Cheating death and finding love while making the documentary 'Meru'. The Log Lady is ready for the new "Twin Peaks."

F. Gary Gray dealt with drama both on and off set to get his vision right for "Straight Outta Compton"; comedian Jen Kirkman takes us backstage at Outside Lands Fest; it's got an Emmy nomination but what the hell is Acorn TV?

The new Broad Museum is getting ready for its close-up. We get a sneak peek at the work it takes to curate and install hundreds of piece of art; The spectacular demise of “Fantastic Four” offers a case study in what can go wrong when a studio rushes a film into production and clashes with its director; John Ridley and actor Richard Cabral on how life imitated art in the ABC series "American Crime."

The hip-hop producer hasn't released an album in 16 years, but he's back with a collection inspired by the movie, "Straight Outta Compton"; Roberto and Kim Benabib combine comedy with global conflict in HBO's “The Brink”; MuseIque makes orchestral music more accessible with eclectic programs.

Kacee Clanton is one of two performers who play rock icon Janis Joplin in a classic jukebox musical; Vice's content tends to skew male, so it's targeting women with a new online channel; Will Geer started producing theater in Topanga Canyon more than 60 years ago, and his family is keeping up the tradition.

Before he landed on "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart was the host of several short-lived shows; a lifelong fascination with Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" led to Salma Hayek turning the book into an animated film; composer Reinhold Heil provides the tense score for the Sundance Channel's "Deutschland 83"

British actress Bel Powley is decidedly American in "The Diary of a Teenage Girl"; the Eagle Rock Gospel Choir is not a church-based group, but they've got the spirit; LA's theater community mourns the passing of playwright Lynn Manning.

The musician (Meryl Streep) at the heart of screenwriter Diablo Cody's "Ricki and the Flash" represents the common female struggle to balance family and work; an electronic dance festival in L.A. County is marred by two suspected drug-related deaths; Jon Stewart has inspired a group of Iraqi comedians to create a "Daily Show"-like web series.

Bob Thiele leads The Forest Rangers, a band that was spawned by the "Sons of Anarchy" TV series; comedian Andy Kindler takes no prisoners when he gives his annual State of the Industry speech; a filmmaker is challenging the copyright claim to "Happy Birthday to You," which keeps the song out of many TV shows and movies.

When Marlon Brando died, he left hundreds of hours of himself on tape, which were culled for the documentary, "Listen to Me Marlon"; a 1965 gospel concert at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium was special not only for its stars, but also because it was recorded — a rarity for its day; NBC Universal will reportedly invest $250 million in BuzzFeed's growing digital empire.

Five finalists were chosen to develop pilot scripts for a TV series that calls for a female engineer protagonist; Summer can be a great time to watch TV, if you know where to look; the singer Little Boots was once signed to Atlantic Records, but she decided having her own label is a better fit.

A comedy writer has sued Conan O'Brien, claiming his show stole jokes that were first posted on Twitter; on "Song Exploder," Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie dissects "El Dorado"; director James Ponsoldt was initially skeptical that a book about being on tour with writer David Foster Wallace could be a movie.