The Frame

Zoe Lister-Smith directed “Band Aid,” a hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival that just got picked up for distribution; Fox's new “24” reboot is being criticized because the villains on the series are from the Middle East; Andrew Lockington talks about his untraditional score for the new movie, “The Space Between Us.”

For bands, landing a song in a Super Bowl ad (or any other televised event) is a HUGE pay day; how 'Jackie' composer Mica Levi created a mesmerizing score for Pablo Larrain's psychological drama; Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck could have made a conventional documentary about James Baldwin, but instead he uses only Baldwin’s words to create his powerful film, “I Am Not Your Negro."

The madcap "Billy on the Street" TV series has added a political edge; arts leaders from Western states visit D.C. to advocate for the National Endowment for the Arts; the latest Hollywood story from USC has more dire news for women in the industry.

Muslim-American writer, producer and author Reza Aslan's family fled the Iranian Revolution when he was 7-years-old — now believes that the best way to change American hearts and minds about Islam is through entertainment; Sony Pictures is reporting a $1 billion loss in its third quarter alone. The report comes as the company embarks on a new head for the studio, which executives in Japan maintain is not for sale.

How SAG Award winners used the platform to comment on Trump's executive order barring refugees from select Muslim-majority countries; one L.A.-based concert promoter had to cancel shows with Iranian musicians planning to play in the U.S.; "Cries from Syria" filmmaker wants to generate understanding and empathy for Syrian refugees with his new doc, airing on HBO in March.

"Nobody Speak" looks at free press issues through the Hulk Hogan lawsuit and the presidential election; "The Salesman" is the latest from Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi; the Wallis Youth Theater Company is breaking new ground.

How Late Night host Seth Meyers is seizing the Trump era for political commentary and comedy; rapper Roxanne Shanté's life is the basis of a new Sundance biopic "Roxanne Roxanne;" Bryan Fogel is a cyclist who set out to document his experiments with performance-enhancing drugs only to find himself making a movie that uncovers a massive doping scandal inside Russia.

Director David O. Russell remembers working with Mary Tyler Moore in his 1996 dysfunctional family comedy "Flirting with Disaster," then the married couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon turned their real-life love story into the new romantic comedy "The Big Sick" which just sold to Amazon at the Sundance Film Festival.

The Frame host John Horn reports from Sundance where he interviews Lakeith Stanfield (“Atlanta” and "Crown Heights"), and talks Oscars nominations with Vulture's Kyle Buchanan.

The Frame host John Horn reports from Sundance where he interviews Jessica Williams (“The Incredible Jessica James”), and documentary director Peter Bratt ("Dolores") and the subject of his film, activist Dolores Huerta.

Director Josie Rourke talks about her mission to reconsider history through a modern perspective on gender, power and sexuality; former L.A. Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen will succeed Michael Tilson Thomas at the San Francisco Symphony; two generations of African-American harpists talk about their musical tradition.

The pianist and composer talks about and performs music from the movie about Don Shirley; what were the most streamed songs and albums of 2018?

Gabriel Cordell's attempt to roll across the country in a manual wheelchair is the subject of Lisa France's documentary; the endless options for TV cord-cutters

Executive producer Eric Newman talks about pivoting the focus of the Netflix series from Colombia to Mexico; YouTube is scaling back the scripted output for its streaming service; music veterans Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore collaborate on an album, "Downey to Lubbock."

Yalitza Aparicio went from being a fledgling school teacher to playing a pivotal role in Alfonso Cuarón's "Roma"; the New York Times reports that a faded talent agent and an actress client of his could ruin Les Moonves' chance of receiving any severance from CBS; this season's crop of new Christmas music has a little bit of everything.

The filmmaker has made some downright odd movies (e.g., "The Lobster"), but he takes a more accessible route with his new period drama; Emma Stone talks about her role in "The Favourite"; who's getting into the 2019 Sundance Film Festival?

The playwright and director talks about the real-life events in California's Central Valley that inspired the WWII-era drama, "Valley of the Heart"; Fox Nation launches as a streaming service; the pioneering post-punk band, The Raincoats.

The former Monty Python member revisits his life and career in the memoir, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography"; Luciana Souza puts Leonard Cohen poems to music.

To make "Of Fathers and Sons", documentary filmmaker Talal Derki put his life on the line when he embedded with a Syrian terrorist grooming his sons for Jihad; an art installation at The Broad museum in downtown LA is a tribute to American liberalism; and what to watch on TV over Thanksgiving weekend.

The actor plays a nightclub bouncer who is hired to drive a black pianist (Mahershala Ali) through the segregated South; director Steve McQueen directs "Widows," a heist film with a twist.

The director had the unenviable task of making sure Melissa McCarthy was an unsympathetic character in the new movie; Disney's challenge to promote princesses in a changing culture.

For "Roma," filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón meticulously recreated his childhood home and cast lookalikes to play his family, his nanny and his neighbors. He tells John Horn about mining his and others' memories to tell the collective story of his family and his nanny from one tumultuous year in the early 1970's.