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.

Actress and "Daily Show" veteran Jessica Williams is now starring in "The Incredible Jessica James," her first feature film; the California Film Commission announced tax incentives for eight movies, including titles with budgets over $75 million; and Hollywood Reporter film writer Borys Kit talks about the winners and losers at Comic-Con.

Thomas Wilkins wears many musical hats, including being the principal conductor for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have collaborated on film scores and Nine Inch Nails albums, and now they're bandmates; Jeffrey Katzenberg is seeking backers for his idea to create high-quality content for mobile devices.

Edie Falco has gone from “The Sopranos” to “Nurse Jackie,” and now her latest is the indie film, “Landline”; “Hansel & Gretel” at New York's Park Avenue Armory is an installation by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron that explores the meaning of public space in our surveillance-laden world.

The filmmakers behind "Chasing Coral" hope to show the world how dire things are under the sea; the annual pop culture nerd-fest known as Comic-Con prepares to welcome huge crowds to the San Diego Convention Center.

The virtuoso bass player Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, is a key part of a jazz and R&B renaissance in L.A.; there's more to "Baby Driver" than the hip soundtrack; Netflix is growing fast, but can it make the economics work in the long run?

We look at the legacy of horror movie director George Romero and the work he left behind; veteran stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano talks about how safety has improved on TV and film sets; real-life married couple Francesa Delbanco and Nick Stoller collaborated on the new Netflix series, "Friends from College.”

Filmmaker Marti Noxon drew on her own experience with eating disorders for her movie, “To the Bone”; Universal Music has exited its $31 million deal to acquire the distribution rights to much of Prince’s music; With “Game of Thrones” returning, one of the show’s sound designers talks about how she creates those dragon sounds. (Hint: think giant tortoises having sex. Really.)

What do the nominations tell us about today's television landscape? And how does our social-political climate affect what's been nominated?; "The Cake" is a new play about a conservative Christian baker who's deeply conflicted when she gets asked to make a cake for a lesbian wedding.

The Broadway production of “1984" is a chilling adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian novel whose graphic torture scenes are eliciting intense reactions from audience members; After “Lady Macbeth” opens this weekend, young actress Florence Pugh will likely surface on Hollywood's radar.

Filmmaker Matthew Heineman's timely new documentary, “City of Ghosts,” follows a group of Syrian citizen journalists who have been reporting on the battle for the city of Raqqa; The New York Musical Festival is underway is an annual showcase of works-in-progress whose creators have Broadway dreams.

“GLOW” (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) is a new Netflix series loosely based on women’s wrestling from the 1980s. Creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch reveal some behind-the-scenes stories from the set; Kirsten Tan's debut film, "Pop-Aye," is a road movie where the buddies on the surreal journey are an aging architect and his long lost elephant.

Filmmaker Edgar Wright has made an action movie that revolves around an extensive playlist of pop, rock and R&B songs; the National Geographic channel presents "Earth Live," a real-time special broadcast from six continents.