The Frame

John Horn is off to the film festival, where the schedule includes a documentary about Hillary Clinton and a feature film, "The Assistant," largely inspired by stories of working for Harvey Weinstein; Jonathan Pryce, Academy Award best actor nominee for "The Two Popes," talks about portraying Pope Francis.

The actress and writer heads for the Sundance Film Festival with a TV project that is partially inspired by her Iranian immigrant family; opening arguments take place today in Harvey Weinstein's trial; the controversy shrouding the Grammy Awards continues to evolve.

The former R.E.M. frontman retreated from music after the band split up in 2011, but he's back with two new songs; wrapping up the Television Critics Assn. winter tour, which previewed what's coming up from networks, cable channels and streaming services.

Michael Stipe has two new solo singles; Victoria Mahoney is the first woman and first person of color behind a camera on a "Star Wars" movie, Mary Steenburgen turns a bizarre brain phenomenon into a music career; "American Factory" gets an Oscar nomination; Franklin Leonard makes an alt Oscar ballot.

An exhibition at New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage attempts to fight growing ignorance about the Holocaust; turmoil at the Grammy organization; a new fund aims to improve equity and inclusion in film and TV.

The prolific author examines his craft in “Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different"; J. Clara Chan of The Wrap reports from the Harvey Weinstein trial; the satirical comedy group Culture Clash takes on a Baroque opera;

Justin Levine, music supervisor for the Broadway adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film, talks about adapting recent pop songs for the period musical; The Lucas Museum has acquired a prominent collection of ephemera related to African American film history; Mary Steenburgen's sudden and odd songwriting career.

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns on how she and director Sam Mendes penned the script knowing the film would be shot as if it was one continuous take; an alternate history of this year's Oscar nominations; multimedia artist Miwa Matreyek takes her environmental activism to the stage.

The Academy Award nominations include only one non-white artist among the 20 nominees in the acting categories. And women are again shut out in the directing category.

Jon Batiste reveals how he and Stephen Colbert first bonded; Zahra Noorbakhsh, a proud "feminist, Muslim, Iranian-American comedian" uses her voice more than ever; Cristela Alonzo reflects on her life in a new memoir; meet the man behind the Daptone sound and more...

Justin Simien reflects on how the 2016 election factored into the TV version of "Dear White People"; a tentative deal has been reached between the Writers Guild of America and TV/film producers, averting a strike; bass saxophonist Colin Stetson on the intricate method for recording his latest album and the physical demands of his sound.

In the new documentary "Risk," Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras grapples with unexpected contradictions about Julian Assange and Wikileaks. And as talks between the WGA and AMPTP come close to an end, the creators of two new TV shows, "Dear White People" and "Downward Dog," weigh in on what a strike could mean.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the LA Riots, actor-writer Roger Guenveur Smith's fiery solo show “Rodney King” has been turned into a Spike Lee film in which Smith places the beating of King in a broader social context. How did the 2007 writers strike affect the wider economy of LA and California and who would be affected if they strike again? The Fyre Festival is a fiasco.

Filmmaker (and self-professed troublemaker) John Waters spits some wisdom about living life by your terms and offers his advice for young people in his new book, "Make Trouble"; A look at the women of the real and the fictional 'Silicon Valley'; Summer blockbusters hitting theaters sooner and sooner and what actually defines a summer movie is rapidly changing.

Jodie Foster and Tom Hanks share memories of filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who died at the age of 73; executive producer/director Reed Morano talks about adapting Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" for television.

The unsolved JonBenet Ramsey murder became the focal point of a documentary that looks at the making of a film about the case; 50 years ago, the Sunset Strip became an outdoor gallery of billboards that promoted new albums; The Writers Guild was formed in 1921 as a social group.

How filmmaker J.D. Dillard went from receptionist to directing and co-writing the Sundance feature "Sleight." Why disputes over the Armenian genocide have plagued two recently released films including "The Promise." And Actress Vera Farmiga and Kerry Ehrin, co-creator of "Bates Motel," say goodbye to their beloved character, Norma Bates.

"Mystery Science Theater 3000" gets a reboot with comedian Jonah Ray taking over as host. Ray tells The Frame that to make fun of bad movies they actually have to be kind of good; We unpack the religious themes in Kendrick Lamar's new album "Damn"; Art studios and CalArts students pitch their creative ideas "Shark Tank" style.

The Oscar-winning screenwriter makes a documentary about the L.A. riots, 25 years after they happened; two powerhouse theater companies – one in L.A. and one in N.Y. – join forces to take new plays to Broadway; and a Mexican movie theater chain beckons families with an in-theater playground.

As Aloy in "Horizon Zero Dawn," actress Ashly Burch gets to be more than "just a gun with legs"; members of the Writers Guild of America are in the process of taking a strike authorization vote.

When the film's original director dropped out, longtime producer Denise Di Novi decided to take a turn in the director's chair; non-commercial stations that sold some of their broadcast bandwidth are cashing in with tens of millions of dollars.

'Veep' has returned for a new season and Matt Walsh, who plays Mike McClintock, tells The Frame how the show dovetails and collides with reality. On a Song Exploder segment Damon Albarn break down a tune from a new Gorillaz album. In a Coachella recap we hear what happened with Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Radiohead.