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.

Julius Onah directed the movie about a former child soldier in Africa who seems to fully adapt to his new life in America; how and why YouTube became the world's most popular music streaming site; a new documentary tells the story of the Bay Area's thrash metal scene.

Writers and comedians Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin talk about their new IFC series that's a fake documentary about a fake "Soul Train"-like music show; N.Y. Times co-theater critic Jesse Green on the legacy of Broadway legend Harold Prince, who died at the age of 91.

Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine get a writing nomination for their comedy series set in middle school; Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg News on musicians seeking representation in Washington; Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera talk about their film, "The Infiltrators," which tells the true story of two undocumented immigrants who go inside America’s for-profit, immigrant detention system.

Inara George and Greg Kurstin previously released an album of Hall & Oates covers, and now they've turned to songs made famous by Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth; is there a rift in the Writers Guild leadership?; do faith-based movies need film critics?

How Quentin Tarantino and his team recreated 1969 Hollywood. Director Gigi Saul Guererro tells an immigration story as a horror film and the Alamo Drafthouse (finally) opens in DTLA. All that plus documentaries about Mike Wallace and Cambridge Analytica. Plus, we remember New Orleans music legends.

Veteran cinematographer Robert Richardson talks about shooting "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood"; the documentary "For Sama" is an unflinching look at the war in Syria; Michael McDonald on being the ultimate backup singer.

The Texas-based theater chain has been working on a complex here for six years and the owners are hoping audiences will connect with the in-seat food service and bar; film festival season is upon us; re-creating the streets of L.A. circa 1969 for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

The documentary by Ari Belkin examines the life and career of the famed journalist; Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter previews Television Critics Association press tour; the indie video game market.

Writer and director Pippa Bianco talks about her first feature film, which was adapted from her 2015 short; why are artists pulling their work from the Whitney Biennial?; the host of the "Mueller, She Wrote" podcast preps for the big day.

Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim co-directed the documentary about the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook controversy; all the news from Comic-Con; Rodrigo y Gabriel have guitars, will travel.

Marc Maron shines in a new improvised film from Lynn Shelton. Linda Ronstadt gets celebrated for a life in music. David Crosby makes a mea culpa documentary with Cameron Crowe and "Apollo 11" reveals a hidden side to the moon landing.

We mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing by revisiting our interviews with "First Man" director Damien Chazelle and screenwriter Josh Singer, and with the film's sound editors, Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan, who were nominated for an Academy Award; Todd Douglas Miller, director of the groundbreaking documentary, "Apollo 11."