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 director presents a gritty version of the city in the movie about a former undercover cop confronted with her past; Producers Guild of America co-president Lucy Fisher on how the organization is operating in the #MeToo era.

The future Supreme Court Justice endured a lot of sexism in her career, and so has the director of the biopic, "On the Basis of Sex"; writer/director Adam McKay takes on Dick Cheney in the darkly comedic "Vice."

The actor has two movies debuting in the coming days, and another that opened earlier this fall, "Beautiful Boy," is still in theaters; the annual so-called "Black List" of exceptional un-produced scripts has been released.

The "Big Bang Theory" actor stars in a radio play production of "It's a Wonderful Life" at the Pasadena Playhouse.

The late night host takes aim at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in her version of a holiday special; the top five Latin albums you may have missed in 2018.

New York Times theater critic Jesse Green reviews the year on the major stages; "Caparnaum" is a heart-breaking film from Lebanon about a neglected street urchin; Lindsay Buckingham dissects Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" for Song Exploder.

The prolific producer has created shows for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and, now, PBS Kids; a media expert on the problem with Kidz Bop.

The director follows up the Academy Award Best Picture-winning "Moonlight" with "If Beale Street Could Talk," an adaptation of the Baldwin novel that plays like a tone poem; composer Nicholas Britell collaborates with Jenkins once again.

The virtuoso specializes in Bartók and her recording of his Piano Concerto No. 2 is nominated in the Classical Instrumental Solo category; Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez won an Academy Award for their song from "Coco," "Remember Me," and now it's up for a Grammy; “La Bohème” gets a hipster twist in L.A.

The musical revisits the story of the passengers from 38 airplanes who were stranded in Canada on that fateful day; Taylor Mac turns the Christmas pageant on its head with "Holiday Sauce."

Lady Gaga’s song “Shallow,” from the movie “A Star is Born,” earned four Grammy nominations today and it's an Oscar favorite too. Meet Mark Ronson, the man who co-wrote and produced it; Shirley Halperin, executive editor for music at Variety, talks about the other 2019 Grammy nominees; who should host the Oscars?

Alexis Bloom's documentary examines the life and career of the late political operative and TV news executive; how casting agents get pulled into sexual harassment incidents; an ex-pat Iranian composer maintains his musical ties.