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.

Actress Brit Marling and director Zal Batmanglij talk about their mysterious new Netflix series, "The OA"; comedian Chonda Pierce has built a huge career outside the show biz mainstream; Hollywood and the gun industry have a mutually beneficial relationship.

Mills' movie is a tribute to his mother, a unconventional woman who raised him in '70s Santa Barbara; "The Joy Luck Club," released in 1993, was supposed to usher in a new era for Asian-American storytelling in Hollywood. That hasn't been the case.

The song cycle, "Notes of a Native Song," by the duo Stew & Heidi, plays like a love letter to James Baldwin; SAG Award noms are out! Alex Jung of Vulture.com discusses the TV categories; We visit members of the L.A. theater troupe, Impro, as they rehearse their improvised holiday play that spoofs those 1960's variety shows;

Tori Amos discusses "Flicker" the song she wrote for the documentary "Audrie & Daisy," a film about sexual assault, an issue that is close to Amos' heart; Franklin Leonard, founder of The Black List, discusses the topics and trends of his 2016 list of the best unproduced screenplays, and screenwriter Cat Vasko shares what getting on the list has meant for her career.

Gael García Bernal discusses his most recent movies, "Neruda" and "Desierto," provoking a dynamic conversation about poetry, politics, and migration; musician Kim Gordon opens up about her life after Sonic Youth with her new band, Body/Head; with awards season in full swing, we check in with Vulture.com's Kyle Buchanan for an update on the race.

While Denis Villeneuve awaits awards news for "Arrival," he's busy editing "Bladerunner 2049"; what does it mean that Donald J. Trump will remain as executive producer on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice"?; there's a particular glass ceiling for women who work in animation.

The Oscar-winning rapper, actor and producer talks about the importance of artists using their passions to bring about social change; music streaming is no longer the future of the industry, it is the industry.

A new documentary web series, "The Secret Lives of Muslims," aims for true and often humorous portrayals of American Muslims; Shane Smith says Vice is just like other big media companies, just "weirder" and "younger."

Writer-director Damien Chazelle talks about directing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in his musical love letter to L.A.; Beyoncé leads the pack with nine nominations as hip-hop, rap and R&B dominate the Grammy list; an annual holiday musical at the Falcon Theatre adapts pop music into Christmas carols.

After Nick Cave's son died in a tragic accident, he asked filmmaker Andrew Dominik to document the recording of his next album. The result: the haunting documentary, “One More Time With Feeling"; Emilie Friedlander of Vice Media says the fire-ravaged warehouse in Oakland that was home to artists is not a rarity; Sandra Bernhard on blending comedy, music and commentary in her new cabaret-style stage show.

Pharrell Williams is mainly known for his music career, but he's branched out into producing films and his latest is "Hidden Figures"; China’s increasing involvement in Hollywood is an issue both Democrats and Republicans actually agree on; The Secret City is a theater experience that's part cabaret, part joyful tent revival, and all about worshipping art;

Actress Emma Stone sings, tap dances and floats among the stars in the new movie musical, “La La Land"; film critics are making their best-of-the-year picks. But who are these critics and how do their biases play a role?; one movie poster artist has played a big role in pop culture — and many people consider his posters not ads, but art.