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.

The Marley family has launched a line of marijuana products to be distributed at dispensaries around the country; Catherine Opie shows a wide range of her work in three current L.A. exhibitions; John Horn and Kyle Buchanan assess the Academy Awards campaign season.

"The Hateful Eight" came along at the right time for Jennifer Jason Leigh, and won her an Oscar nomination; the infamous freeway chase was diligently re-created for "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson"; things are getting slightly better for female characters in movies, but only slightly.

“The Big Short” was originally to be released this year, but writer-director Adam McKay pushed it up and the result is five Oscar nominations; "Daily Show" Samantha Bee made a strong debut with her new late night show; with the primaries in full swing, which candidates are getting support from Hollywood?

The McFerrins recently performed their first-ever full concert together, and the father-and-son spoke about it after the show; Beyoncé surprised her fans with a new song and video that quickly dominated the cultural conversation; Big Freedia is the Big Easy's queen of bounce music.

After making three films with Joel and Ethan Coen, Josh Brolin says he still sometimes can't figure out their cryptic directing; the artists who installed a teahouse in Griffith Park last year are now transforming a downtown L.A. alley for one day; the Sundance Film Festival's commitment to inclusion has become a beacon for filmmakers such as Jason Lew.

The latest offbeat comedy from Jonathan Krisel is "Baskets," which stars Zach Galifianakis as a struggling clown; virtual reality projects had a huge presence at this year's Sundance Film Festival; "Kung Fu Panda 3" is the first big studio film to screen in English and a Chinese language in the U.S.

Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander, creators of "The People v. O.J. Simpson," talk about finding new ways to tell the familiar story; Slate TV critic Willa Paskin on why viewers are ignoring Trevor Noah; Drake's use of "Hotline Bling" for a phone ad was inevitable.

Brian Oakes tells the story of his childhood friend who became a conflict journalist in "Jim: The James Foley Story"; Mark Mangini made a battle truck sound like a living beast in "Mad Max: Fury Road"; residents of Leimert Park and Montebello connect in "Through the Looking Glass."

Elba's trophy for best supporting actor in "Beasts of No Nation" rekindles debate over his Academy Award snub; James Schamus used to buy films at Sundance as the head of Focus Features, but this year he was there with his directorial debut.

It's a new chapter in U.S.-Chinese relations — cinematically speaking. “Kung Fu Panda 3” opened simultaneously here and in China, thanks to a partnership between DreamWorks and its partners there; writer-director Sian Heder's feature debut was inspired by her experiences as a nanny.

A powerful documentary about the aftermath of the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; Rihanna's new album had a surprise (or maybe not?) release this week; the L.A. Art Fair aims to be the nexus for art from the Pacific Rim.

Nate Parker spent seven years making "The Birth of a Nation," and his efforts paid off as the breakout hit at the Sundance Film Festival; prominent comedians take to the stage to benefit Bernie Sanders' campaign; Larry Klein's work with Joni Mitchell made him a go-to producer for a wide variety of singers.