The Frame

The Oscar-winning rapper, actor and producer talks about the importance of artists using their passions to bring about social change; music streaming is no longer the future of the industry, it is the industry.

A new documentary web series, "The Secret Lives of Muslims," aims for true and often humorous portrayals of American Muslims; Shane Smith says Vice is just like other big media companies, just "weirder" and "younger."

Writer-director Damien Chazelle talks about directing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in his musical love letter to L.A.; Beyoncé leads the pack with nine nominations as hip-hop, rap and R&B dominate the Grammy list; an annual holiday musical at the Falcon Theatre adapts pop music into Christmas carols.

After Nick Cave's son died in a tragic accident, he asked filmmaker Andrew Dominik to document the recording of his next album. The result: the haunting documentary, “One More Time With Feeling"; Emilie Friedlander of Vice Media says the fire-ravaged warehouse in Oakland that was home to artists is not a rarity; Sandra Bernhard on blending comedy, music and commentary in her new cabaret-style stage show.

Pharrell Williams is mainly known for his music career, but he's branched out into producing films and his latest is "Hidden Figures"; China’s increasing involvement in Hollywood is an issue both Democrats and Republicans actually agree on; The Secret City is a theater experience that's part cabaret, part joyful tent revival, and all about worshipping art;

Actress Emma Stone sings, tap dances and floats among the stars in the new movie musical, “La La Land"; film critics are making their best-of-the-year picks. But who are these critics and how do their biases play a role?; one movie poster artist has played a big role in pop culture — and many people consider his posters not ads, but art.

Actress Isabelle Huppert and writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve talk about their film, "Things To Come," about a middle-aged philosophy teacher who's forced to reconsider her life; we talk with filmmakers Jeff Orlowski ("Chasing Coral") and Marina Zenovich ("Water & Power") about their climate change docs screening at the Sundance Film Festival.

Alena Smith’s new play, “Icebergs,” tackles climate change, infertility, hate crimes, sexism and divorce — and it’s a comedy; actress Zooey Deschanel and singer/songwriter M. Ward, aka She & Him, have a new Christmas album; with critically-acclaimed films such as "Moonlight" and "Loving," the next Oscar nominations should be more diverse than in recent years.

Natalie Portman talks about playing Jacqueline Kennedy in "Jackie," which follows her in the days and weeks following the assassination of JFK; now that Fidel Castro is dead, how might things change for Cuba's artists?; Leo Matsuda's "Inner Workings" is a short animated Disney film that is screening with "Moana."

Actress Jenny Slate and her father talk about their book of stories inspired by their family life in Massachusetts; we break down the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards; in the 1940s, a Silicon Valley start-up came up with an invention that revolutionized pop music.

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.