The Frame

Hello from Park City! Host John Horn, editor Darby Maloney and producer Michelle Lanz check in to talk about a few of the standout films they've seen so far, as well as which filmmakers you can look forward to hearing on The Frame in the coming weeks.

The Frame host John Horn reports from Sundance on the festival's opening night and he interviews director Sydney Freeland (“Deidra and Laney Rob a Train”) and the husband-and wife team of Janicza Bravo and Brett Gelman ("Lemon").

Sundance's new initiative, "The New Climate," features documentaries that are focused on the environment; Solange Knowles dissects “Cranes In the Sky” from her breakthrough album, “A Seat at the Table.”

Composer Nicholas Britell talks about combining classical music with hip-hop production techniques to create his compelling score; the 2017 Sundance festival is expecting nearly 50,000 movie lovers, Hollywood executives, filmmakers and entertainment journalists.

After John Lewis was criticized by President-elect Donald Trump, the Congressman's grahic novel trilogy about the Civil Rights Movement shot to the top of Amazon's best-seller list; Netflix has a new version of the Norman Lear sitcom that puts a 21st Century spin on matters.

Andrew Garfield, who can be seen in two current films,"Silence" and "Hacksaw Ridge," reflects on Meryl Streep's Golden Globes speech and opens up about how he finds meaning in his work as an artist; Oscar-winning editor William Goldenberg shares secrets from the editing room; and a new exhibit at the J. Paul Getty Museum has artists turning their attention to the news as a muse.

News that filmmaker George Lucas will build a museum for his personal art collection in Los Angeles has a lot of people talking about "Star Wars" but this passion project will house more than memorabilia, says L.A. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne; and Jeffrey Kahane, the musician and conductor who led the LA Chamber Orchestra for two decades now leads the Lift Every Voice music festival which challenges racial and religious injustice.

A new study reports that there is more violence in PG-13 films than ever — even more than in R-rated movies; you may not recognize Finn Wittrock by name, but you surely know his face from FX's "American Horror Story" to big films such as "The Big Short;" Sarah Megan Thomas is adapting her female-centric film, "Equity," for the small screen.

The new comic book anthology, "Love Is Love," was curated by Marc Andreyko, who marshaled an army of artists in the wake of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando; meet a music supervisor who worked with Issa Rae and Solange Knowles on HBO's "Insecure;" the Producers Guild of America makes its picks for the best films of 2016.

Is Hollywood pushing a liberal agenda through the entertainment it makes? If you watched Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes last night you might think so. Mary McNamara of the LA Times and James Poniewozik of the New York Times join The Frame to discuss; Then theater director Pam MacKinnon shares how she turned the beloved film "Amélie" into a stage musical with "Hamilton" star Phillipa Soo in the lead.

Between "Portlandia," "Documentary Now" and "Seth Meyers: Late Night," Fred Armisen may be the hardest working man in show business; since its release in May, Ezra Edelman's "O.J.: Made in America" continues to resonate as a chronicle of the relationship between African-Americans and law enforcement.

Google announced a slew of new products today, including the Pixel phone, Chromecast Ultra and the Daydream VR headset; Willie Bobo was a Latin music legend from the '60s-'80s. His son, Eric, has assembled an album of his father's previously unreleased music; for 40 years, filmmaker Terrence Malick has been working on a documentary about the origins of the universe. We talk to the producers who shepherded the project into existence.

We debate the issues surrounding the film, "The Birth of a Nation," and its writer-director-star, Nate Parker; remembering two L.A. cultural icons: Gordon Davidson of the Center Theatre Group and conductor Sir Neville Marriner, the first music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

The creators of “For the Record” build cabaret-like stage shows around classic pop songs used by top filmmakers; "Saturday Night Live" returns in the heat of the presidential campaign; L.A. singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart uses the city as inspiration on his latest album.

Bell says the title of his new comedy album refers to his being called on as a news show commentator only after more prominent people are unavailable; Kirsten Johnson is an award-winning documentary cinematographer who has woven footage from her 25-year career into a documentary memoir called “Cameraperson."

Filmmaker Andrea Arnold cast “American Honey” with amateur actors, including Sasha Lane, who was discovered on a beach in Florida; the Wanda Group's purchase of American movie theaters and production companies has some members of Congress worried; there's an effort to make vinyl copies of a recording of life on earth that was sent into outer space.

The success of "Between Two Ferns" with Hillary Clinton explains why Funny or Die opened a bureau in the nation's capitol; a new state bill aims to prevent websites like IMDb from publishing the age of actors and actresses; Grammy nominee Austin Wintory composed the music for the new video game, "Abzu."

Director Mira Nair's new movie, "Queen of Katwe," tells an inspirational story that's set in Uganda, showing a side of Africa not often seen in big studio movies; TV producers are high on reboots and remakes, with no sign of slowing; photographer Phil Toledano's bizarre attempt to deal with his death anxiety is documented in the film, "The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano"

Rankine, whose poetry has examined everyday racism in America, and Wolfe, whose music addresses issues of the American worker, were both named MacArthur Foundation fellows; as the Fall TV season launches, we visit with producer Betsy Beers at Shondaland, one of the most successful companies in the industry.

Diavolo Dance Theatre is reinventing modern dance by combing architecture and wildly physical choreography; media critics have been piling on NBC for going soft on the GOP nominee, and now late night host Samantha Bee has joined the fray; Richard Nelson keeps his election-themed plays current by writing until the last minute.

The new documentary, “The Lovers and the Despot,” tells the true story of what happened in 1978 when Kim Jong-il ordered the kidnapping of a filmmaking couple from South Korea to jumpstart North Korea's movie industry; William Bell has revived the classic Stax sound; a new report shows that the music business is actually making money in the streaming age.

Playwright and performer Lucy Alibar draws on her Southern childhood for “Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up"; Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, who won a writing Emmy for "Master of None," talk about their approach to diversity; the Toronto International Film Festival kicked off a lot of Academy Award talk.