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."

As part of NPR's "A Nation Engaged," project we look at America's changing role as the world's leading exporter of pop culture; David Schwartz writes wacky music for Maria Bamford’s wacky show, “Lady Dynamite”; a San Francisco theater company wrestles with the use of "yellowface" makeup for "The Mikado"

Actress Tika Sumpter was also a producer on "Southside with You," the film about The First Couple's first date; this weekend's Telluride Film Festival once again features Oscar-hopefuls; Melora Marshall takes on an acting marathon every weekend at Theatricum Botanicum.

Matt and Ross Duffer are the brothers behind the hit Netflix show, "Stranger Things"; as part of our Cops on TV series, professor Kathleen Donovan connects the dots between TV dramas and our attitudes about police; there's a new battlefront in the fight for subscribers between Apple and Spotify.

"Complete Unknown," starring Rachel Weisz, is Joshua Marston's third film, but his first in English; in a new epsiode of "Song Exploder," Andra Day dissects "Forever Mine"; more people than ever are canceling pay TV services, and that has networks worried.

Fede Alvarez directed the thriller "Don't Breathe" with a $10 million budget and it grossed $26 million in its opening weekend; Kamala Lopez's documentary explains why women in the U.S. don't have equal protection under the law; Mexican singer Juan Gabriel died suddenly in L.A. at the age of 66.

Sam Esmail originally wrote "Mr. Robot" as a screenplay, but he realized it would work better as a TV series. The first season nabbed six Emmy nominations, including for Best Drama; Julia Holter's music is a blend of experimental compositions and indie pop.

"BoJack Horseman" creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg reveals how Hollywood awards culture led to the story arc for his show's third season; how Markees Christmas got his unexpected break as the lead in "Morris from America" after making a web series with his Big Brother mentor; are there too many mega music festivals?

Richard Tanne's film, "Southside with You," imagines the first date between Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson; "South Park" turns 20 with an interactive exhibit at the Paley Center for Media; Spanish-language TV powerhouse Univision has been buying popular English-language websites.

Jazz great Herbie Hancock has been a boundless musical explorer and now he's working with L.A. producer Flying Lotus; a U.S. District Court has ruled in favor of the Norton Simon Museum in a case involving ownership of 16th Century paintings of Adam and Eve; the Pokemon Go! craze seems to be waning.

As a fledgling screenwriter, Stephen Chin traveled to war-torn Iraq and lived to tell some of his stories in "War Dogs"; Cubans get current TV programming from the U.S. and other countries illicitly, but openly, through a home-delivery service; Paramount's woes continue with its big budget remake of a famous period film.

The filmmaker's new documentary is a look at how almost all aspects of our lives are somehow intertwined with the Internet; NBC's TV ratings for the Olympics are down, but online streaming is way up; indie director So Yong Kim's latest is "Lovesong."

The actress is both in front of and behind the camera for “A Tale of Love and Darkness”; author James Andrew Miller goes behind the scenes in “Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency”; a guerrilla arts group erected nude statues of Donald Trump in several cities.