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."

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.

"Twilight" actor Robert Pattinson hopes to shake-off his heartthrob rep with the new movie "Good Time"; filmmaker Alejandro Iñárritu uses virtual reality to replicate a border crossing through the desert; "Whose Streets?" documents how the shooting death of Michael Brown inspired grassroots activism in Ferguson, Missouri.

The band Spoon formed in Austin, TX 25 years ago. Lead singer Britt Daniel talks about the band’s new album, “Hot Thoughts," and the many changes in the music industry; YouTube has created a new breed of reviewer: TV and movie superfans; We all gravitate toward different kinds of music, but there is one album we found with sounds that are literally out of this world.

The filmmakers of 'Brigsby Bear' discuss their off-beat comedy and their rise from youtube stars, to SNL, to feature film. The Television Critics Association summer press tour (aka TCA's) continues this week where the subject of who is included in the TV universe – on and off screen– was debated and discussed. And the fallout continues from the cyber attack on HBO which could be larger that the one that hit Sony in 2014.

In the new documentary "Step", filmmaker Amanda Lipitz shows the power of sisterhood, school and stepping in a Baltimore girls inner city school. She and the subjects of her movie tell The Frame what they hope people take away from their story. The French band Phoenix breaks down a song off their new album.

Filmmaker Bryan Fogel set out to make a documentary about performance enhancing drugs and cycling. But once a prominent Russian doping expert got involved, things got really weird; HBO is the latest Hollywood victim of a cyber crime.

The actor and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright is remembered by longtime collaborators, Ed Harris and Peter Coyote; USC researchers watched 900 movies and found women are often sidelined, sexualized or outright invisible; La Cuneta puts its small country on the musical map.

Filmmaker Joshua Weinstein used non-professional actors for his film set inside an insular Jewish community; TV journalists gather to get the lowdown on shows premiering in the coming months; a new opera digs into the life story of the Apple icon.

The former vice president is back with the timely “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power"; American Ballet Theater dancer Tiler Peck has curated a showcase called BalletNow; June Foray voiced Rocky the Flying Squirrel and the Russian spy Natasha on the Bullwinkle cartoons.

Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt on the spare staging of "Heisenberg" at the Mark Taper Forum; inside a rehearsal with Nancy Keystone – a theater artist from L.A. whose new production will open the REDCAT's New Original Works Festival; Hollywood Reporter film writer Tatiana Siegel discusses the rocky relationship between Hollywood studios and outside financiers.

“Atomic Blonde" director David Leitch is a former stunt man and coordinator, but this is his first solo directing effort; Musician Flying Lotus called on British animator David Firth to help him make his debut film, "Kuso"; Film composer Michael Giacchino has written scores for every reboot and remake from his childhood, including “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and “Mission Impossible."