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."

From The Frame's vaults: actress and writer Zoe Kazan was speaking about rampant sexual harassment in Hollywood months before the Harvey Weinstein floodgates broke; singer and performer Lizzo on her wild year that started with a fateful appearance on Samantha Bee's show.

“The Post" screenwriters Elizabeth Hannah and Josh Singer talk about writing a movie with a woman— Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham — as the hero; Los Angeles Times pop music critic Mikael Wood shares some of his picks for the best music of 2017.

The film “Hostiles,” written and directed by Scott Cooper, both indulges in and overturns some of the familiar tropes of the Western genre; Rotten Tomatoes senior editor Grae Drake looks back on the year in film reviews and addresses some of the controversy surrounding the movie review aggregation site.

Writer/director Dee Rees on her film "Mudbound," about the harsh reality of life in the Jim Crow South, and its new resonance in 2017; Pasadena Playhouse brings the 1947 'Miracle on 34th Street' radio play to the stage; Facebook makes a play for YouTube's hold on music videos.

Questlove, drummer and leader of "The Tonight Show's" house band The Roots, talks about the emotional ballad he wrote for the movie "Detroit"; Actor/tax attorney Sandra Karas explains Actors' Equity Association's opposition to the tax overhaul that Congress passed today.

For his role in "The Florida Project" Willem Dafoe immersed himself into the world of the "hidden homeless;" A new website called Rotten Apples allows users to search TV shows and movies to see if anyone on the projects was accused of sexual misconduct; Italian filmmaker Marta Savina revisits a landmark rape case from 1965 in her short film “Viola, Franca."

Meet Hong Chau, the actress from Alexander Payne's movie "Downsizing," who's grabbing attention even before the film opens; how the radio drama version of "Star Wars" helped put NPR on the map; and three film critics (who happen to be under the age of 10) weigh in on "The Last Jedi."

DeLappe's play about high school girl soccer players was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama; what effect will the Net Neutrality vote have on content creators and distributors?; an old fashioned marquee gives a theater company a new identity.

Director Steven Spielberg, producer Amy Pascal and Tom Hanks discuss the present-day resonance of their new film 'The Post'; with Disney buying much of 21st Century Fox we look at what that means for Hulu; and Canadian singer Elise LeGrow taps Chicago roots in her debut album.

SAG announced its nominees for their awards and that all the presenters plus the host of the telecast will be women. How else will Hollywood awards shows amplify women's voices in this #metoo era?; Trans actress Daniela Vega from the Chilean film "A Fantastic Woman" hopes it teaches audiences empathy; watching Pixar's "Coco" in Mexico is a singular experience.

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.