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.

Show biz veterans run a TV channel at an industry retirement home (pictured); the head of UCLA's Center for African American Studies weighs in on e-mails from studio executives joking about President Obama's taste in films; and acclaimed photographer Sebastião Salgado gets the documentary treatment from his son.

Julianne Moore talks about her role as an Alzheimer's patient in "Still Alice" (pictured); the British holiday stage tradition known as panto comes to the Pasadena Playhouse; and a movie marketing executive assesses Sony's challenge with "The Interview."

Several Screen Actors Guild award nominees took risky bets that paid off; Singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno rewrites some holiday classics; and director Laura Poitras talks about her Edward Snowden documentary, "Citizenfour."

There's some casting controversy over Ridley Scott's Biblical tale, "Exodus" (pictured); Sean Rameswaram of the Sideshow podcast leads us through the gems and lumps of coal among this year's holiday albums; and playwright Rebecca Gale mines the social welfare system in "Luna Gale."

World premieres at next month's Sundance Festival include Paul Weitz's "Grandma," starring Lily Tomlin (pictured); as "Boyhood" garners more praise, Ethan Hawke talks about the film's effect on audiences; artist Jennifer Moon gets her inspiration behind the wheel; and Jean-Marc Vallee says he didn't choose "Wild," the project chose him.

Grammy nominations are out: What did voters get right/wrong?; LACMA curator Franklin Sirmans attends Art Basel Miami and lives to tell the story; Chadwick Boseman has played Jackie Robinson, James Brown (pictured) and soon will play Marvel’s first black superhero; Robert Downey Sr. on his film retrospective.

NBC's coverage of the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree lighting ceremony was almost disrupted by protests (pictured); Alexandre Desplat is one of Hollywood’s busiest and most celebrated composers; a neuroscientist on how cinema manipulates our minds; and why the current dearth of great sitcoms?

Filmmaker Kyle Alvarez on the thrill of being invited to the Sundance Film Festival; why Kevin Costner reached into his own pocketbook for "Black or White" (pictured); “Into the Woods” is back onstage and headed for the multiplex; and Daniel Catán's operatic legacy won't end with 'Florencia en el Amazonas.'

As movie award season gets underway, talk inevitably returns to the novelty of "Boyhood," which was named 2014's best film by New York critics; the Wende Museum in Culver City turns East German artifacts into artwork; and Carmen Esposito may be the hardest-working comedian in show biz.

Sony Pictures computers were hacked last week, resulting in several unreleased films being leaked. We also talk about the wider effects of film piracy; actress Reese Witherspoon (pictured in "Wild") and her producing partner, Bruna Papandrea, talk about how they're working to change the film industry.

CalTech physicist Kip Thorne talks about getting the science right for "Interstellar"; Tim Robbins' Actors' Gang theater company works to rehabilitate inmates; and Margaret Lyons of Vulture.com has some viewing suggestions after the mashed potatoes turn you into a couch potato.

Killer Mike talks about performing in St. Louis on the night the Ferguson decision came down; actor Benedict Cumberbatch shares the tragic story of the genius who broke the Enigma code; the indie film version of the Oscars unveils its nominations; and musician Ben Watt talks about his solo career.