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.

Artist Ai Wei Wei, now no longer under house arrest in China, spent a year traveling around the world to track the global refugee crisis for his documentary, "Human Flow." He tells The Frame he wants audiences to realize this crisis is a human crisis that cannot be ignored. And actor Giancarlo Esposito reveals the personal reasons he wanted to direct, produce and star in "The Show"– a satire about society's obsession with sensationalized reality TV.

Actress Greta Gerwig goes behind the camera for her directing debut, "Lady Bird"; despite claims from studios, there's no apparent corollary between Rotten Tomatoes scores and box office performance; the Diaz sisters, aka Ibeyi, break down their song, "Deathless."

For his new movie, "Brad's Status," writer-director Mike White taps into his relationship with his father. The Whites discuss how their social anxieties are reflected in Ben Stiller's character in the film; we revisit conversations with Creative Arts Emmy winners: songwriter Common, voiceover actor Ashly Burch and "Fargo" composer Jeff Russo.

Actor and producer Nnamdi Asomugha ("Crown Heights") reveals how he made the transition from pro football player to Hollywood; the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) begins with hot movies starring the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Shia LeBoeuf; how the Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez and High School students turned the crosswalks outside the Broad museum into colorful art.

The French street artist JR has installed a provocative image on the U.S.-Mexico border; Oscar's new president, John Bailey, inherits big challenges; "Trophy" examines the politics and controversy of big-game hunting.

The filmmaker debuted his new movie at the Telluride Film Festival — an unlikely love story between a cleaning lady and an amphibious creature being held by the government; DACA recipient Christian Hurtado is included in a documentary about abuse of construction workers in Texas.

The Telluride Film Festival premiered the movie about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs; "Dolores" tells the story of the woman who co-founded the United Farm Workers union.

Several venues in Houston's downtown theater district suffered flood damage from Hurricane Harvey; director Scott Cooper debuts his period western, "Hostiles," at the Telluride Film Festival; a new virtual reality experience puts you in flatline mode.

The Telluride festival has become a reliable bellwether for Academy Award attention; Kira Kelly is a Hollywood rarity: an African-American female cinematographer; behind the scenes with the sound engineers at the Bowl.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, we revisit our recent interview with former Vice-President Al Gore about his latest climate change documentary; in "Patti Cake$," Danielle MacDonald plays a rapper from New Jersey whose rocky road is not unlike the path traveled by the actress herself.

The Playhouse's new producing artistic director inherits a theater organization at a crossroads; KC Green created the "On Fire" comic that's become a popular meme; Apple TV is having trouble negotiating movie rights with studios.

Actor Lakeith Stanfield caps a busy year with his starring role in "Crown Heights"; Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, breaks down her song, "New York," for Song Exploder; Cinefamily is temporarily closed while it deals with sexual harassment complaints and resignations.