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.

On today's show: Lea Thompson didn’t always like the way women were depicted in movies. So she directed a female-positive feature — written by and starring her daughter; mixed news for people who work in Hollywood; Jeff Tomsic, director of the buddy comedy, "Tag."

On today's show: Hanks is spending a good chuck of his summer playing Falstaff in "Henry IV" under the stars on the grounds of the V.A. campus in Brentwood; Spotify's curated playlists are hugely influential, but are they also sexist?

On today's show: Director Domee Shi mined her childhood for the story about a Chinese dumpling that comes to life in the animated short, "Bao"; Fox can only hope for the best as the World Cup kicks of without the U.S. team; between streaming services and countless cable channels, why are there still movies that can't be seen?

On today's show: the British actress has gone from an Oscar-nominated role in "Phantom Thread" to sharing the stage with Jeremy Irons; the E3 gaming convention is not just about guns and bombast; a new episode of Song Exploder features Liz Phair revisiting her 1993 debut album, "Exile in Guyville."

On today's show: Director X (that's what he goes by) says his film is a "re-imagining" of the '70s blaxploitation classic; what does it mean that the major film critics are overwhelmingly white and male?; we take you out to the ol' ballgame with the L.A. Dodgers' organist.

On today's show: actress Toni Collette talks about her intense performance in the new horror film, "Hereditary"; remembering Anthony Bourdain, the author and TV host who had a profound influence on food culture; a preview of the Tony Awards with New York Times co-theater critic Jesse Green.

On today's show: the theater satire trio known as Culture Clash revisits the volatile region in its latest show, “Bordertown Now”; the ReFrame coalition is partnering with IMDbPro to recognize standout, gender-balanced film and TV projects; the L.A.-based American Contemporary Ballet performs at its studio on the 32nd floor of a downtown high-rise.

On today's show: director Brad Bird explains the long gestation between the original and "Incredibles 2"; is the traditionally conservative country music industry changing its stripes?; the PLAY organization helps people tap into their creative, playful selves.

On today's show: 50 years after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, filmmaker Dawn Porter talks about her Netflix docu-series, "Bobby Kennedy For President"; until recently, singer-guitarist Naia Izumi could barely survive by performing on the streets of L.A. Now, he’s on his very first national tour after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Song Contest.

On today's show: Filmmaker Morgan Neville adds Fred Rogers to his eclectic list of documentary subjects; Jihan Zencirli is unlike any balloon artist you've ever encountered.

On today's show: Samantha Bee said she crossed a line with her vulgar comment about Ivanka Trump, but where is that line these days on TV?; actor Simon Baker makes his film directing debut with "Breath"; music under the stars at the Mt. Wilson Observatory.

On today's show: Writer/director Bart Layton talks about the true story behind his new heist film, "American Animals"; Spotify's founder admits the company erred in its attempt to punish some recording artists accused of misconduct; The Miracle Project brings together teenagers and young adults with autism to create and perform a musical.