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.

Now that "Game of Thrones" is over (and many viewers are over it), HBO and other networks are looking for The Next Big Thing; Andrew Bird's latest album is cleverly titled, "My Finest Work Yet"; rapper Little Simz explores the "Grey Area."

The popular HBO series concludes this Sunday, but can it possibly go out on a high note?; Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt talk and perform as their musical altar egos, Nancy and Beth.

The comedian was the victim of a rumor that his wife had left him, so he wrote an entire album of heartbreak songs inspired by his non-existent divorce; Amy Lemisch talks about her long tenure as head of the California Film Commission.

Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine co-created and co-star in the Hulu series that finds all the awkwardness and humor in being a young teen; broadcast and cable networks continue to pitch their Fall schedules to advertisers in New York City.

The singer, who has roots in both Mexico and the U.S., has a new album that takes on issues of the day; TV networks are laying out their fall plans for advertisers and the press; a new KPCC series reunites artists with the high school teachers who influenced them.

KPCC's newest podcast, "Tell Them, I Am," profiles Muslims from various walks of life who defy stereotypes about Islam and its followers; comedian Ramy Youssef has a new series on Hulu; the Japanese pop-punk band, Chai.

Actress D'Arcy Carden has become a fan favorite on the popular NBC series, but her success didn't come overnight; a preview of the Cannes Film Festival.

The Tony Award-winning actor and playwright has an ambitious podcast musical titled “Anthem: Homunculus”; Disney's $400 million bet on Vice Media is coming up dry; Anita Sarkeesian is out to halt harmful depictions of LGBTQ characters in video gaming.

The anniversary festival is up in the air as the promoter and his one-time backer are at odds; Max Joseph made a film that's a paean to bookstores and reading; Song Exploder deconstructs a song from The Cranberries' final album.

"Gay of Thrones" is the hilarious Funny or Die web series that recaps each episode of the HBO hit; Georgia's governor signed an abortion bill that might impact film and TV production in the state; the singer who goes by Cimafunk is known as "the Cuban James Brown."

The Korean boy band performed two shows to loud audiences, cementing its place in the global pop music world; filmmaker Mike Mills made an unlikely collaboration with the band, The National; the Write Girl program gives teen girls a boost.

Latinos go the movies in numbers that far surpass their percentage of the U.S. population. So why don't studios cater more to that audience?; the HBO documentary, "At the Heart of Gold," looks at the U.S. gymnastics sexual abuse scandal; creating a soundtrack for "Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes."