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.

Megyn Kelly's "Today Show" debuted to mixed reviews and negative social media chatter; coming soon to an L.A. film festival is a little-seen North Korean film with an incredible back story; Clive Davis reflects on six decades in the music business, making stars and shepherding careers.

"Stronger" tells the inspiring true story of Jeff Bauman, a man who after enduring the Boston Marathon bombing, lost both legs and became a reluctant hero. Jake Gyllenhaal, who stars in and produced the film, discusses how personal the story was and answers criticisms that the lead should not have been played by an able-bodied actor; we look at Hugh Hefner lesser known history as a regular backer and producer of documentaries about pioneering women in early Hollywood.

Actor-turned-director John Carroll Lynch talks about making "Lucky" with Stanton, who died earlier this month; the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is moving toward a 2019 opening; after Sofia Maldonado finished a mural in Long Beach, her return home was canceled by Hurricane Maria.

Zach Anner has cerebral palsy, which helps him as a writer on the TV series, "Speechless"; voice actors who work on video games end their long strike against game producers; Facebook has a new feature where you can watch original video content.

Hannah Beachler's career as a production designer is booming — from "Fruitvale Station" to "Moonlight," "Lemonade" and "Black Panther"; how will the clash between the NFL and President Trump affect TV ratings?; "It" is now the highest grossing R-rated horror film of all time, so who is that little girl featured in the creepy score?

In "Unrest," Jennifer Brea documents life with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or ME–commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. By turning the camera on herself and others she hopes to teach audiences about this misunderstood illness; In 1992, a 24-year-old black man named William Ford, Jr. was shot and killed by a white man in Long Island. Now, his brother, Yance Ford has made the documentary “Strong Island" to uncover why it happened and what the aftereffects were.

Choreographer Matthew Bourne has made a career out of adapting his favorite movies and novels into dance productions. His latest work is based on the 1948 film, "The Red Shoes"; the new streaming service Revry is filling a niche that other platforms miss by targeting an LGBTQ audience; the family of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar ratchets up their trademark dispute with Netflix over "Narcos," while refusing to comment on the killing of a crewmember in Mexico.

Director Darren Aronofsky explains his divisive thriller, "mother!"; MacArthur fellow and USC professor Josh Kun and percussionist Alberto Lopez discuss their curation of the soundtrack to "Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA"; The new players who replaced the familiar, traditional buyers at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

Director Angelina Jolie and producer Rithy Panh discuss their new film, "First They Killed My Father," about the Cambodian genocide. The film was made was made with an entirely Cambodian cast and crew and is the country's official foreign language entry for the Oscars. The online platform Patreon was created in 2013 to help artists connect with patrons. CEO Jack Conte explains what $60 million in new funding will mean for the site.

'Battle of the Sexes' co-directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton say their movie about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs is both about the public fight for gender equity and King's private struggle with her sexuality; newly minted Emmy winner Reed Morano on directing the first three episodes of 'The Handmaid's Tale'; What were the highs and lows of last night's Emmys?

We discuss some of the films that screened at TIFF and look at how the triad of fall film festivals (which includes Venice and Telluride) have already begun to shape the awards races; Reality TV veteran Jonathan Murray's latest show "Born This Way," follows a group of seven young adults with Down syndrome and their families.

The Pacific Standard Time art extravaganza features more than 60 institutions across Southern California presenting Latino art; Hollywood Reporter TV critic Daniel Fienberg chats about who will win at the Emmy Awards; actress Natalie Portman has helped turn Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, “Eating Animals," into a documentary of the same name.