The Frame

Actress and "Daily Show" veteran Jessica Williams is now starring in "The Incredible Jessica James," her first feature film; the California Film Commission announced tax incentives for eight movies, including titles with budgets over $75 million; and Hollywood Reporter film writer Borys Kit talks about the winners and losers at Comic-Con.

Thomas Wilkins wears many musical hats, including being the principal conductor for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have collaborated on film scores and Nine Inch Nails albums, and now they're bandmates; Jeffrey Katzenberg is seeking backers for his idea to create high-quality content for mobile devices.

Edie Falco has gone from “The Sopranos” to “Nurse Jackie,” and now her latest is the indie film, “Landline”; “Hansel & Gretel” at New York's Park Avenue Armory is an installation by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron that explores the meaning of public space in our surveillance-laden world.

The filmmakers behind "Chasing Coral" hope to show the world how dire things are under the sea; the annual pop culture nerd-fest known as Comic-Con prepares to welcome huge crowds to the San Diego Convention Center.

The virtuoso bass player Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, is a key part of a jazz and R&B renaissance in L.A.; there's more to "Baby Driver" than the hip soundtrack; Netflix is growing fast, but can it make the economics work in the long run?

We look at the legacy of horror movie director George Romero and the work he left behind; veteran stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano talks about how safety has improved on TV and film sets; real-life married couple Francesa Delbanco and Nick Stoller collaborated on the new Netflix series, "Friends from College.”

Filmmaker Marti Noxon drew on her own experience with eating disorders for her movie, “To the Bone”; Universal Music has exited its $31 million deal to acquire the distribution rights to much of Prince’s music; With “Game of Thrones” returning, one of the show’s sound designers talks about how she creates those dragon sounds. (Hint: think giant tortoises having sex. Really.)

What do the nominations tell us about today's television landscape? And how does our social-political climate affect what's been nominated?; "The Cake" is a new play about a conservative Christian baker who's deeply conflicted when she gets asked to make a cake for a lesbian wedding.

The Broadway production of “1984" is a chilling adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian novel whose graphic torture scenes are eliciting intense reactions from audience members; After “Lady Macbeth” opens this weekend, young actress Florence Pugh will likely surface on Hollywood's radar.

Filmmaker Matthew Heineman's timely new documentary, “City of Ghosts,” follows a group of Syrian citizen journalists who have been reporting on the battle for the city of Raqqa; The New York Musical Festival is underway is an annual showcase of works-in-progress whose creators have Broadway dreams.

On Today's Show:

The co-star and Emmy nominee says she isn't daunted by challenges being faced by the cast; ever seen James Corden and friends performing a musical on the streets outside CBS on Fairfax? That's the work of Emmy-nominated choreographer Chloe Arnold.

The Emmy-nominated director of "Atlanta" talks about his collaborations with Donald Glover, his love of the Coen brothers and how the show set out to accurately portray life in urban Georgia; in the documentary, "What Haunts Us," Paige Goldberg Tolmach examines multiple suicides at her prep school alma mater; director Jesse Peretz and actor Chris O'Dowd talk about their movie, "Juliet, Naked."

Sarah Paulson has a lead actress Emmy nomination for "American Horror Story: Cult" — the seventh season of the anthology series; Bing Liu's videos of his skateboarding pals turned into the intimate documentary, "Minding the Gap."

Wayne Kramer, guitarist and leader of the Detroit rock band MC5, discusses his new memoir, "The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities"; Amazon is in the running to buy Landmark Theatres.

The iconic singer has died at the age of 76. We hear from her longtime bass player, Chuck Rainey; why has a documentary about her landmark 1972 performance at a Baptist church in Los Angeles never been released?; Daphne Brooks, a professor of African American Studies and Theater Studies at Yale University on the transcendent power of Aretha's voice.

The new Hulu series unites themes and worlds that will be familiar to King's loyal fans; in a new episode of Song Exploder, singer-songwriter Neko Case dissects her song, "Last Lion of Albion"; why is TV's new "Batwoman" raising such a ruckus?

The Emmy-nominated actor talks about his role as the rapper Paper Boi on Donald Glover's offbeat series; film critic Justin Chang on the "flawed but vital milestone" that is "Crazy Rich Asians"; a look back at a landmark movie with an all-Asian cast: "The Joy Luck Club."

The actress, writer and musician has an Emmy nomination for directing an episode of "Portlandia"; John David Washington and the man he portrays, Ron Stallworth, in "BlacKkKlansman"; singer-songwriter Sam Buck contrasts '90s pop country with personal anecdotes of queer identity.

Desiree Akhavan talks about directing and co-writing the teen coming-of-age film, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post"; Spotify cuts a deal with Samsung, the biggest smartphone maker in the world; a new wave of protest songs by Radney Foster and Gaby Moreno.

The singer revisits work from his 50 years of writing and recording music; the semi-annual TV critics press tour has ended, so what's in store for viewers this Fall?; a new campaign calls for Hollywood to place a priority on telling stories about and by transgender people.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced some surprising changes to the Oscar broadcast today, including a new category for 'popular film'; Sarah Silverman talks about her Emmy-nominated Hulu series, "I Love You, America."