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.

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.