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.

Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt on the spare staging of "Heisenberg" at the Mark Taper Forum; inside a rehearsal with Nancy Keystone – a theater artist from L.A. whose new production will open the REDCAT's New Original Works Festival; Hollywood Reporter film writer Tatiana Siegel discusses the rocky relationship between Hollywood studios and outside financiers.

“Atomic Blonde" director David Leitch is a former stunt man and coordinator, but this is his first solo directing effort; Musician Flying Lotus called on British animator David Firth to help him make his debut film, "Kuso"; Film composer Michael Giacchino has written scores for every reboot and remake from his childhood, including “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and “Mission Impossible."

Actress and "Daily Show" veteran Jessica Williams is now starring in "The Incredible Jessica James," her first feature film; the California Film Commission announced tax incentives for eight movies, including titles with budgets over $75 million; and Hollywood Reporter film writer Borys Kit talks about the winners and losers at Comic-Con.

Thomas Wilkins wears many musical hats, including being the principal conductor for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have collaborated on film scores and Nine Inch Nails albums, and now they're bandmates; Jeffrey Katzenberg is seeking backers for his idea to create high-quality content for mobile devices.

Edie Falco has gone from “The Sopranos” to “Nurse Jackie,” and now her latest is the indie film, “Landline”; “Hansel & Gretel” at New York's Park Avenue Armory is an installation by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron that explores the meaning of public space in our surveillance-laden world.

The filmmakers behind "Chasing Coral" hope to show the world how dire things are under the sea; the annual pop culture nerd-fest known as Comic-Con prepares to welcome huge crowds to the San Diego Convention Center.

The virtuoso bass player Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, is a key part of a jazz and R&B renaissance in L.A.; there's more to "Baby Driver" than the hip soundtrack; Netflix is growing fast, but can it make the economics work in the long run?

We look at the legacy of horror movie director George Romero and the work he left behind; veteran stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano talks about how safety has improved on TV and film sets; real-life married couple Francesa Delbanco and Nick Stoller collaborated on the new Netflix series, "Friends from College.”

Filmmaker Marti Noxon drew on her own experience with eating disorders for her movie, “To the Bone”; Universal Music has exited its $31 million deal to acquire the distribution rights to much of Prince’s music; With “Game of Thrones” returning, one of the show’s sound designers talks about how she creates those dragon sounds. (Hint: think giant tortoises having sex. Really.)

What do the nominations tell us about today's television landscape? And how does our social-political climate affect what's been nominated?; "The Cake" is a new play about a conservative Christian baker who's deeply conflicted when she gets asked to make a cake for a lesbian wedding.

The Broadway production of “1984" is a chilling adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian novel whose graphic torture scenes are eliciting intense reactions from audience members; After “Lady Macbeth” opens this weekend, young actress Florence Pugh will likely surface on Hollywood's radar.

Filmmaker Matthew Heineman's timely new documentary, “City of Ghosts,” follows a group of Syrian citizen journalists who have been reporting on the battle for the city of Raqqa; The New York Musical Festival is underway is an annual showcase of works-in-progress whose creators have Broadway dreams.