The Frame

The late L.A. artist Carlos Almaráz is the subject of a new exhibition at the L.A. County Museum of Art; filmmaker Gregory Monro spotlights Jerry Lewis' directing career in "The Man Behind the Clown;" playwright Gretchen Law remembers comedian and activist Dick Gregory, the subject of her play, "Turn Me Loose."

First-time director Geremy Jasper drew from his musical past to make "Patti Cake$," the story of an overweight, white female rapper; the film 'La La Land' gets a drag parody that's so bad it's good; summer box office numbers are down 12 percent from last year. What's keeping fans away from the multiplex?

Spotify takes down some white supremacist music; Disney Jr. show "Doc McStuffins" draws praise and some criticism for a recent episode that includes a family with same-sex parents; “Gook,” a new film written, directed by and starring Justin Chon, revisits the 1992 L.A. riots from the perspective of Korean Americans.

Apple plans to spend $1 billion on original content to rival streaming services; "Lemon" filmmakers Janicza Bravo and Brett Gelman channel their own anxieties into an uncomfortable comedy; Adam Langdon plays a character with an unspecified disorder in the stage adaptation of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time."

What goes into playing Jaime Lannister on "Game of Thrones?" Where did Nikolaj Coster-Waldau find the time to make the new movie "Shot Caller?" The Danish actor opens up about all this and more; investigations are underway in Vancouver where a fatal stunt occurred Monday on the set of “Deadpool 2.”

Producer Will Packer has several hit movies under his belt, and now he has the provocative TV series, "Black America," in the works at Amazon; Shonda Rhimes' move is a major development in the networks’ ongoing struggle with the aggressive streaming services.

Choreographer Kenny Ortega talks about his long-time love of musicals and his dream to make a musical about a gay teenager who comes out; Soundcloud was on the brink of shutting down until new investors surfaced; in "Morningside 5," filmmaker Mike Tollin revisits the subjects of "Hardwood Dreams," his film about high school NBA hopefuls.

In part 2 of our chat Steven Soderbergh, he talks about why "Logan Lucky" was the movie to bring him back to filmmaking. Then, we go behind the scenes at the Hollywood Bowl to find out what exactly goes into making that music sound so good out there, and with the TCA press tour over we find out what's to be learned about the state of the TV business.

With "Logan Lucky," Soderbergh returns to the big screen with a new strategy for indie filmmaking; Disney decides to go its own way with plans to launch two streaming services; a new virtual reality experience puts you into flatline mode.

Aubrey Plaza is changing things up with her role in the FX show, “Legion,” and in two movie parts this summer, including the mentally unbalanced title character in “Ingrid Goes West”; When actor Algee Smith auditioned for “Detroit,” director Kathryn Bigelow did not give him the script or tell him much about the film. Smith chats with John about Bigelow’s unusual process.

Actress Isabelle Huppert and writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve talk about their film, "Things To Come," about a middle-aged philosophy teacher who's forced to reconsider her life; we talk with filmmakers Jeff Orlowski ("Chasing Coral") and Marina Zenovich ("Water & Power") about their climate change docs screening at the Sundance Film Festival.

Alena Smith’s new play, “Icebergs,” tackles climate change, infertility, hate crimes, sexism and divorce — and it’s a comedy; actress Zooey Deschanel and singer/songwriter M. Ward, aka She & Him, have a new Christmas album; with critically-acclaimed films such as "Moonlight" and "Loving," the next Oscar nominations should be more diverse than in recent years.

Natalie Portman talks about playing Jacqueline Kennedy in "Jackie," which follows her in the days and weeks following the assassination of JFK; now that Fidel Castro is dead, how might things change for Cuba's artists?; Leo Matsuda's "Inner Workings" is a short animated Disney film that is screening with "Moana."

Actress Jenny Slate and her father talk about their book of stories inspired by their family life in Massachusetts; we break down the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards; in the 1940s, a Silicon Valley start-up came up with an invention that revolutionized pop music.

Brian K. Vaughan, author of the popular sci-fi comics "Saga" and "Y: The Last Man," uses the medium to talk about issues such as immigration, the Cold War, and being a father; The Gilmore Guys talk about the return of "The Gilmore Girls;" Amazon wants to replace your cable with its own bundle.

Erin McKeown had never written a musical, but she couldn’t turn down the offer to work on "Miss You Like Hell"; N.Y. Times theater critic Ben Brantley on the impact of the incident between the cast of "Hamilton" and VP-elect Mike Pence; composer Jóhann Jóhannsson talks about his score for the movie, “Arrival."

Ford's 2009 directing debut, "A Single Man," was no lark. He's back with "Nocturnal Animals," a moody drama that stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams.

Kelly Craig's directing debut on “The Edge of Seventeen" was made with the help of her mentor, James L. Brooks; now that Donald Trump is headed to the White House, is it possible the presidential election could also change the fortunes of movies that are competing for the Academy Awards?

Actress Ruth Negga may be Irish, but she says she related to Ruth Loving, the American woman she plays in “Loving.” Both women are of mixed race, a fact that got Ruth and her husband, Richard, into legal trouble when interracial marriage was illegal in some states.

Eric Heisserer, screenwriter for the new film "Arrival" (starring Amy Adams), reflects on why it was so important to him that the scientists in the movie speak the way real scientists do. He talks about working with director Denis Villeneuve and how the themes tribalism and fear of the "other" resonate with issues in the real world today.

The eight-part PBS documentary series presents "Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music," from the 1950s to present day. Featured artists include Sly Stone, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beck, Bon Iver, and Public Enemy.

Fifty years ago, Judy Collins recorded Leonard Cohen's “Suzanne” and introduced him to the wider world; music producer Hal Willner talks about the project that pulled Cohen out of semi-retirement; Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokno discusses artists' activism in the U.S. and Russia in the wake of Trump’s election; a visit to an open mic night where veterans jam and bond.