The Frame

Alison Bechdel says she thought the idea of having her graphic novel memoir turned into a musical was "insane"; composer John Adams says his landmark opera, "Nixon in China," is as timely as ever; NBC has invested $500 million in Snapchat with big plans for using the social media platform.

Bruna Papandrea has produced hit films such as "Wild" and "Gone Girl," and now she's part of the team behind HBO's "Big Little Lies"; Netflix has a new reality competition series that's being produced for six global markets simultaneously.

C-SPAN anchor Steve Scully (aka "the most patient man on television") talks with The Frame about C-SPAN's origin story, its mission and the role it fills in today's media landscape; Then, actress Jane Kaczmarek explains why she's spending her post "Malcolm In the Middle" years doing theater like Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night."

When Asghar Farhadi won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, he did not pick up his statue in person. But he was in L.A. last year following our election and he spoke with us about his movie, "The Salesman," and then-President elect Trump; R&B producer and musician Raphael Saadiq has branched out to scoring movies and TV shows.

Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black created the ABC miniseries, "When We Rise," to bring the history of the gay rights movement into America's living rooms in the hopes of bridging a divided nation and inspiring activism in a new generation; The Oscars are finally over. What must Hollywood do to become more inclusive?

On this year's Frame Oscar preview, get to know some nominees ahead of the big night. Among the guests are the writer/directors of "La La Land" and "Moonlight," actors Ruth Negga, Emma Stone, Dev Patel, and Andrew Garfield; Documentary filmmakers Ava Duvernay and Ezra Edelman; the screenwriters for "Hidden Figures" and "The Lobster," and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. Plus, John Horn and his co-host in The Awards Show Show podcast, Kyle Buchanan, make predictions.

Comedian and art collector Cheech Marin walks the galleries of Frank Romero's retrospective with the artist himself; "Hacksaw Ridge" sound mixer Kevin O'Connell has 21 Oscar nominations but no win ... yet; political and topical ads are likely during the Academy Awards. Who's advertising and how are they hoping to benefit?

Melanie Lynskey felt a deep connection with her character in the Sundance hit, "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore"; a federal judge issues an injunction against a law that prevented websites such as IMDb from publishing the birthdate of actors.

Jordan Peele (of "Key & Peele" fame) makes his film directing debut with the horror movie, “Get Out," which takes on racism in the creepiest fashion; John Horn debates how to improve the Academy Awards broadcast with his "Awards Show Show" podcast co-host, Kyle Buchanan, and TV mavens Alex Jung and Jen Chaney.

The Oscar-nominated movie "Lion" is based on the memoir of Saroo Brierly, whose unbelievable life story was turned into a two-hour film by screenwriter Luke Davies; an annual report on diversity in Hollywood makes a strong case that on-camera diversity is directly linked to box office and ratings success; the WGA honored the screenwriters of "Moonlight" and "Arrival."

Lauren Morelli created the Netflix reboot of a 1994 PBS series that was ahead of its time; screenwriter Max Landis faces multiple allegations of sexual abuse and harassment; the band Big Thief.

The prolific artist wrote many songs that were recorded by other artists. Susannah Melvoin talks about "Nothing Compares 2 You"; Hollywood gets caught up in China trade war; film composer Bear McCreary ("Child's Play").

The Irish actress plays a Scottish singer trying to make it big in Nashville in what she hopes is her breakout movie role; is "Men in Black: International" the latest proof that audiences are suffering from sequel fatigue?; the Cuban singer known as Cimafunk draws comparisons to James Brown.

Bryan Cranston wins a Tony; Eleni Mandell makes music with prisoners; playwright Lucas Hnath tells brings the true story of his mother's kidnapping to stage. Also, a top film critic wants Hollywood to bring back sex scenes of yore and best friends made a love letter to their city with the film "The Last Black Man in San Francisco."

The legendary singer-songwriter's 1975 tour is revisited in a new documentary by Martin Scorsese; the cultural week-in-review with L.A. Times TV critic Lorraine Ali; the new surf film, "Self-Discovery for Social Survival.”

After a Broadway run, her play about a 1920s obscenity trial comes to Los Angeles; the annual E3 convention draws to a close with plenty of news from the gaming world; the band Making Movies got a boost on its latest album from Ruben Blades.

The singer-songwriter's latest album, "Wake Up Again," was inspired by teaching songwriting at a women’s prison in Southern California; Washington Post movie critic Ann Hornaday wonders why American movies shy away from sex scenes; media critic and feminist Anita Sarkeesian on sexist and misogynist depictions in video games.

A new docu-drama by Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce explores the car designer's turbulent career and flamboyant life; YouTube’s struggle to dealing with hateful and harmful content; 'Baskets' returns for its fourth season.

The film is loosely based on the story of actor Jimmie Fails. He once lived with his friend Joe Talbot, who would eventually direct and co-write the film; re-capping the Tony Awards, and revisiting our interview with Bryan Cranston, who won Best Leading Actor in a Play.

Emma Thompson talks about her new movie "Late Night." Neil Gaiman adapts his novel "Good Omens" into an Amazon series. Plus, we meet up with Mexico guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela in a Los Angeles guitar shop. All that, and more, on this debut episode of The Frame Weekend.

Barak Goodman's new documentary looks at the many challenges the festival's promoters encountered as they planned and produced the event that helped define a generation.

The acclaimed playwright fashioned a show from interviews his mother conducted that recount her five-month abduction in 1997.