The Frame

Taylor Mac is the theater artist, drag performer, MacArthur fellow and creative mind behind a 24-hour-long retelling of American history through popular songs; was James Levine allowed to remain in power at the Metropolitan Opera because of "maestro worship"?

Boots Riley of the hip-hop group The Coup talks about his directing debut, "Sorry To Bother You" – a satire about race in America; “High Maintenance” co-creator Katja Blichfeld says she and fellow co-creator Ben Sinclair kept the show intact despite their breakup; the massive SxSW tech, film and music fest is underway in Austin.

"A Wrinkle In Time" author Madeleine L'Engle mixed spirituality and science in her controversial book, now it's a big Disney movie; filmmaker Alma Har'el challenges the advertising business to hire more women to direct commercials; Spotify promises to expand your musical choices, but does it?

Hiro Murai had only directed music videos when Donald Glover tapped him to direct "Atlanta"; Amy Adrion's documentary, "Half the Picture," takes an empowering view of women in filmmaking; Tom Brosseau's latest album is titled "Treasures Untold."

The company that produced "The Wolf of Wall Street" is fined $60 million in embezzlement case; Shawn Colvin's new album is made for kids and their parents; Quiara Alegría Hudes' trilogy of plays gets a first-ever simultaneous staging.

Aparna Nancherla manages to find comic relief in her own depression and anxiety; how to fix an Academy Awards broadcast that hit an all-time ratings low; Tamar-kali's score for "Mudbound" is "the blood beneath the mud."

From the diversity seen on the red carpet and onstage, to the pointed messages delivered during the ceremony, the movie industry is at a tipping point.

We take one last look at the nominees and the larger cultural and political issues surrounding the ceremony; talent agencies have been in the middle of Hollywood's abuse scandals. Maha Dakhil talks about what role the agencies should play to protect their clients.

Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz's book, “The Big Picture: The Fight for the Future of Movies,” examines the fallout from Sony's computers being hacked; Spotify seeks cash infusion as it prepares to sell stocks in the company; the Independent Spirit Awards take place on the eve of the Oscars.

John Horn & Rebecca Keegan of Vanity Fair look at key Academy Award nominees in a year that saw significant contributions by women. And, at least this year, it's not #OscarsSoWhite.

In "The Handmaid's Tale" Yvonne Strahovski plays Serena Joy. Her cruelty and coldness toward Offred (Elisabeth Moss) — who is essentially a sex slave — made her easy to hate. But as the Hulu series unfolds so do the layers of her character. Dwain Worrell was living an expat's life in China when he submitted his script for "The Wall" to an online Amazon contest. Quickly it got greenlit and now it's a film, starring John Cena and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Sam Hodges and Michael Killen are commercial directors turned TV showrunners whose debut series “Downward Dog" premieres tonight on ABC; Playwright Anna Ziegler puts a microscope on the issue of consent and sexual assault on college campuses in her provocative new play, "Actually."

Did Conan O'Brien steal jokes from another comedian? A jury may soon deliberate over that very question. Actor and playwright Wallace Shawn wrote "The Designated Mourner" in 1996. Now the play, which is about totalitarianism and anti-intellectualism, is being remounted by director André Gregory. And the artist known as Perfume Genius breaks down a song off his new album in an episode of Song Exploder.

Bryan Fuller and Michael Green open up about turning the Neil Gaiman book 'American Gods' into the new television series for Starz. They discuss how they approached issues of religion, race, immigration, sex and violence in the show. And Brad Grey, the former CEO of Paramount Pictures, passed away last night. In the wake of his death we discuss his legacy and the fact that he was the sort of movie mogul that Hollywood studios don't hire anymore.

Eleanor Coppola writes and directs her first feature film 'Paris Can Wait.' She opens up about her marriage with Francis, her daughter Sophia, and her lifelong struggle to find artistic fulfillment. An LA actor takes his Trump impersonation into the land of improv. A star-studded cast in NY engages in "documentary theater" with a reading of the play “All the President’s Men?”

Yes, there is too much TV content these days, but the field is winnowing; Graham Nash says he's found a new life at the ripe young age of 75; Diane Rodriguez's play, "The Sweetheart Deal," looks at labor politics and personal sacrifice in California, circa 1970.

Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead has coveted a part in FX's "Fargo," and she finally got her wish in the current third season; Summer will bring the usual slate of remakes and sequels, but there are also some promising original films on the horizon.

Now that ABC is resurrecting "American Idol," we discuss why the network would do such a thing; how will TV networks prove that they're still the best place for advertisers to spend their ad money?; playwright Dan O'Brien tells us how he created a play out of his family’s history of betrayal, isolation and secrets.

A new documentary aims to give proper credit to storyboard artist Harold Michelson and his researcher wife, Lillian; John Oliver once again goes after the FCC over net neutrality debate; San Miguel Perez recorded his debut album in L.A. with help from Colin Hay of Men at Work.

“The Lost City of Z,” writer/director James Gray talks about how he approached adapting the source book for the screen; Facebook announced it’s shutting down its in-house virtual reality studio; “The Circle” director James Ponsoldt about his film and his own social media habits.

Does the Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why,” glorify teen suicide? How can the streaming service better warn audiences about sensitive topics?; Why Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House in L.A. was built for theater but didn't stage a play until now; Brett Berns makes "Bang! The Bert Berns Story," a documentary tracking his father's legendary career in the music business.

Debra Winger co-stars in the new movie "The Lovers" with Tracy Letts. It's the kind of character-driven film that Hollywood movie studios might have made in the 1980's when Winger was racking up Oscar nominations. She reflects on the changing business and her place in it. Hulu made news today at the Newfronts with streaming deals for "This is Us" and "Atlanta" and their live TV bundle.