The Frame

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are on a roll: they wrote song lyrics for "La La Land" and the music and lyrics for the Broadway hit, "Dear Evan Hansen"; more than 3,500 companies are debuting their futuristic products at the annual, massive technology trade show.

Actor and documentary filmmaker Fisher Stevens jumped at the chance to make a documentary about the iconic showbiz mother-and-daughter, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher; Sorting through the Jan/Feb TV premieres and comebacks to watch for in 2017 with TV critic Whitney Friedlander.

"Hidden Figures" writer Allison Schroeder (who was just nominated for a Writer's Guild award) tells us why she was the right person to co-write the film “Hidden Figures”; In the film “A Monster Calls,” director J.A. Bayona talks about how families might view his dark and personal coming-of-age story; Elliott Smith’s landmark 1997 album, “Either/Or,” gets a 20th anniversary re-issue.

Clay Tarver is a writer and co-executive producer for HBO’s “Silicon Valley," but he recently reunited with his bandmates in the group Chavez to record their first new music in 20 years; there may be a more diverse roster of actor and actress nominees for the Academy Awards this year, but that doesn’t mean #OscarsSoWhite is a thing of the past, says April Reign, the writer and activist who coined the hashtag.

It's our last Frame episode of 2016! From Beyonce's "Lemonade" to Chance The Rapper's "Coloring Book," we look back at the year in music with MTV Executive Editor Alex Pappademas; Also, we revisit one of our favorite musician interviews of the year, soul singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc, who describes himself as an "artivist," someone who blends art with activism.

The singing voice of Debbie Reynolds echoes throughout the show today as we honor the actress who died yesterday; Los Angeles Times culture writer Carolina Miranda picks some of 2016's most impactful moments in culture; playwright Jon Robin Baitz challenged himself in 2016 to write a play responding to Donald Trump's candidacy and get it up before the election. He did that. Now what?

For our wrap up of the best in TV, Margaret Lyons of the New York Times talks with us about the most overrated, underrated and heavily debated shows of 2016; Among the most lauded performances on TV this year was Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark in the FX mini-series "The People v. O.J. Simpson." Paulson discusses how Clark had been scrutinized by the media and much of America during the trial.

Carrie Fisher imbued the role of Princess Leia with an assertiveness that set the tone for the future Star Wars heroines; Fisher was also the columnist of "Advice from the Dark Side" which ran in The Guardian; New York Times co-chief film critic Manohla Dargis joins John Horn to talk about some of the top film stories of the year.

The popular British singer-songwriter died from heart failure at the age of 53; Kristen Anderson-Lopez is working on a stage musical version of "Frozen," but for now she has another show on Broadway, "In Transit."

David Oyelowo is extremely selective about the roles he chooses to play, and also the kinds of parts he wants to avoid; the Presidential Inauguration Committee has gotten more nays than ayes from singers and bands.

The film festival high in the Rocky Mountains has an amazing track record of debuting movies that end up as Academy Award nominees and winners; singer Snoh Aalegra is an unlikely R&B artist, having grown up in Sweden as the daughter of Iranian immigrants; finding the spirit at Ambient Church.

The actor's Emmy-nominated role in "When They See Us" and his latest solo stage show, “Latin History for Morons,” have important messages about Latino history; even Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" can't convince movie theater owners to soften their stance on Netflix releases.

The actor already has Academy Awards for "Moonlight" and "Green Book," and now he has an Emmy nomination for "True Detective"; China is a huge and growing market for music streaming, but its biggest platform is under scrutiny by the government there.

A new report by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative shows an absence of Latino actors and directors; director Gavin Hood on his new film, "Official Secrets"; the summer box office report card for the studios.

We visit with Ava DuVernay at her company Array where she's disrupting the old Hollywood system; NYT culture critic Wesley Morris; 'Jawline' documentarian; filmmaker Issa López and more...

The former publicist is creating her own empire as a director, producer and distributor, housed in a rehabbed compound on the edge of downtown L.A.; the future of the Spider-Man film franchise.

The documentary by Liza Mandelup follows a 16-year-old on his journey to become a successful live-streamer; how TikTok became a powerful platform for music and pop culture; filmmaker Sacha Gervasi and actor Peter Dinklage on their Emmy-nominated movie, "My Dinner With Hervé."

The first release from their Higher Ground production company is a documentary by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar about the cultural struggles that surfaced in the takeover of a gutted GM factory in Ohio; the outsized influence of Colombian artists in the Latin music scene.

The filmmaker's latest is dark fairytale about a group of orphans, living on the streets amidst drug-related violence in their Mexican town; 'Chernobyl' has some present-day resonance; The Rolling Stones 1964 U.S. debut in San Bernardino.

Sian Clifford, who plays the sister of series star and creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, talks about their off-screen friendship; we also hear from Waller-Bridge's real-life sister, Isobel, who writes the music for the show; Variety senior film writer Matt Donnelly on the Fall movie season.

Richard Linklater on Texas pride and getting political. Taylor McFerrin sings on his new album. Bruce Springsteen love on the big screen in "Blinded By The Light." "Luce" Filmmaker confronts assumptions around race and privilege. We remember Peter Fonda.

The actor had directed several movies and TV projects, but never anything as grim as the Showtime series, and it paid off with an Emmy nomination for him; Latinos in the entertainment industry speak out on recent events.