The Frame

With the State of the Union upon us, Bill Pullman recalls his roles as Commander-in-Chief; trans actress Daniela Vega plays a groundbreaking trans role; Rachel Morrison is the first woman nominated for an Academy Award in cinematography.

The Grammys are slammed for under-representing women; a New York Times essay argues that the Time's Up movement is subverted by award shows; Aimee Mann won the Best Folk Album Grammy — one of the few women to take home a trophy.

How did Pati Jinich, the granddaughter of Eastern European immigrants, end up hosting a popular Mexican food show?; the NAMM show is a dizzying array of instruments and gadgets; The Secret Sisters are nominated for best folk album at the Grammys.

The Irish actor traverses big budget movies like "Star Wars" and indie films like “A Futile and Stupid Gesture”; a new USC study shows how women are underrepresented in pop music; Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are nominated for the Broadway musical, “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Best jazz album nominee Billy Childs talks about how L.A. inspired his hybrid style; as the music industry gathers for the Grammys, what are its challenges?; two filmmakers step out from the shadow of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki.

Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com and film critic Amy Nicholson maintain that younger and more diverse nominees are a result of the academy broadening its membership; "Baby Driver" director is a Grammy nominee for the film's pop-heavy soundtrack.

John Horn chats with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal about their ode to Oakland; the SAG Awards put the spotlight on women and the road ahead to gender equality on Hollywood; PJ Morton is nominated for best R&B album (“Gumbo”) and best R&B song (“First Began”).

A report from John Horn at Sundance, where the festival offerings include a film about a certain Supreme Court justice; Pacific Standard Time LA/LA includes a performance festival with Latino/a artists from the U.S., Mexico and South America.

"Small Mouth Sounds" was inspired by the playwright's experience at a three-day silent retreat; the bro-centric Spike TV channel is re-branded as The Paramount Network; composer Gabriel Kahane took a cross-country train trip and the result was a song cycle about Trump-era America.

Matt Ingebretson and Jake Weisman's "Corporate" is a workplace comedy that heads into some very bleak territory; Rachel Morrison was behind the camera for "Mudbound" and "Black Panther"; Harvey and Bob Weinstein are reportedly pushing for their former studio, Miramax, to buy The Weinstein Co.

TV and film writer and producer Judd Apatow returns to his stand-up comedy roots in a special for Netflix; The Black List is an annual compilation of highly regarded, but unproduced scripts that are floating around town.

Actress Margot Robbie says she has empathy for the misunderstood skater Tonya Harding, who suffered from abuse; Disney is reportedly close to a deal to purchase Fox's movie studio and some TV assets; the art world came to Miami for Art Basel and related showcases.

Alexandra Dean's documentary, “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story,” reveals the actress' other life as an inventor; director Bryan Singer was fired and sued this week; Alynda Segarra of the band Hurray for the Riff Raff explores her Puerto Rican roots.

Morris' new documentary examines the mysterious 1953 death of a government biochemist who was given LSD by the CIA; John Adams and Peter Sellars collaborate on the opera "Girls of the Golden West"; SoCal wildfires are affecting TV and film production.

Brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick think musicals are a little absurd, so they wrote the parody, “Something Rotten!”; six women have filed a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein and they're seeking class action status; Cornerstone marks its 25th year in L.A. with the culmination of an eight-play cycle.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" is now a Broadway musical. Playwright Kyle Jarron reveals how the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon was adapted for the stage; Russia's banishment from the 2018 Olympics is connected to Bryan Fogel's documentary "Icarus" about trying to dope his way through bicycle races.

"Beauty and the Beast" lyricist died before the original film was complete. We put together this remembrance of his life and legacy; "Call Me By Your Name" screenwriter James Ivory talks about adapting the celebrated gay love story for the screen; a pot entrepreneur takes issue with Hollywood portrayals of the pot industry.

Actor Doug Jones has made a career of playing monsters in Guillermo del Toro films. His latest is half-man, half-fish; Women in Film holds gathering to discuss how to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.

Franco directs and stars (with his brother, Dave) in a film about the making of "The Room" — considered one of the worst movies ever made; Amy Adrion directed a documentary that examines the long history of systemic discrimination against women filmmakers

The director's WWII film returns to theaters as awards season heats up in Hollywood; "The Today Show" co-host Matt Lauer was fired amid allegations of sexual misconduct; the group Women in Film is launching a help line to support victims of harassment.

Jay-Z led the pack with 8 nominations, including his first ever Album of the Year nod, in a year when rap and R&B dominate the major categories; Mary Harron talks about directing the TV adaptation of another Margaret Atwood book.

Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina co-wrote and co-directed the latest hit from Pixar Animation; Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com looks at the early contenders for the Academy Awards.