The Frame

Rankine, whose poetry has examined everyday racism in America, and Wolfe, whose music addresses issues of the American worker, were both named MacArthur Foundation fellows; as the Fall TV season launches, we visit with producer Betsy Beers at Shondaland, one of the most successful companies in the industry.

Diavolo Dance Theatre is reinventing modern dance by combing architecture and wildly physical choreography; media critics have been piling on NBC for going soft on the GOP nominee, and now late night host Samantha Bee has joined the fray; Richard Nelson keeps his election-themed plays current by writing until the last minute.

The new documentary, “The Lovers and the Despot,” tells the true story of what happened in 1978 when Kim Jong-il ordered the kidnapping of a filmmaking couple from South Korea to jumpstart North Korea's movie industry; William Bell has revived the classic Stax sound; a new report shows that the music business is actually making money in the streaming age.

Playwright and performer Lucy Alibar draws on her Southern childhood for “Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up"; Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, who won a writing Emmy for "Master of None," talk about their approach to diversity; the Toronto International Film Festival kicked off a lot of Academy Award talk.

Kent McCord of the 1960-70s TV cop show, "Adam-12," which was produced in partnership with the LAPD. McCord says a show about cops who aren't "edgy" wouldn't sell in today's TV business; In advance of TV's big awards night, we discuss what goes into an Emmy campaign, and how valuable is a nomination or a win in this era of "too much TV"?

Cheo Hodari Coker, creator and showrunner of the Netflix series "Luke Cage," unpacks the idea of building a show around a superhero who also happens to be a "bullet-proof black man" in a hoodie; Can Pandora and Amazon be the next disruptors in the streaming music space? They hope so.

The documentary "Audrie & Daisy" examines the sexual assault and cyber-shaming of two teen girls; with its third album, the band Local Natives remains entrenched in Silver Lake's indie rock scene; a group of songwriters is challenging the Dept. of Justice's control over royalty rates.

How do unconscious biases affect hiring practices in Hollywood? To dig deeper into this issue, Cathy Schulman (Oscar-winning producer/Women In Film) and Judith Williams (Global Head of Diversity at Dropbox) put Frame host John Horn to the test as if he's a studio executive; In 2005 Jackie Lopez co-founded the hip hop troupe "Versa Style" to teach kids not only how to dance but the cultural history behind hip hop.

"Kicks" filmmakers discuss how being outsiders who didn't fit society's views of manhood fueled the making of their lyrical coming-of-age drama; A new documentary explores why Brad Bird's 1999 animated film "The Iron Giant" was a critical darling, but a box office bomb; Inside Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" press conference at TIFF; Can you scream like Nicholas Cage?

Every August, cultural festivals take over the Scottish city of Edinburgh with thousands of performances taking place day and night. This year The Frame host John Horn immersed himself in shows and brings an audio postcard of his creative excursion; TV reporter Whitney Friedlander joins us to preview some new and returning television shows that are worthy of our time and DVR space this fall.

Alexandra Dean's documentary, “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story,” reveals the actress' other life as an inventor; director Bryan Singer was fired and sued this week; Alynda Segarra of the band Hurray for the Riff Raff explores her Puerto Rican roots.

Morris' new documentary examines the mysterious 1953 death of a government biochemist who was given LSD by the CIA; John Adams and Peter Sellars collaborate on the opera "Girls of the Golden West"; SoCal wildfires are affecting TV and film production.

Brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick think musicals are a little absurd, so they wrote the parody, “Something Rotten!”; six women have filed a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein and they're seeking class action status; Cornerstone marks its 25th year in L.A. with the culmination of an eight-play cycle.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" is now a Broadway musical. Playwright Kyle Jarron reveals how the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon was adapted for the stage; Russia's banishment from the 2018 Olympics is connected to Bryan Fogel's documentary "Icarus" about trying to dope his way through bicycle races.

"Beauty and the Beast" lyricist died before the original film was complete. We put together this remembrance of his life and legacy; "Call Me By Your Name" screenwriter James Ivory talks about adapting the celebrated gay love story for the screen; a pot entrepreneur takes issue with Hollywood portrayals of the pot industry.

Actor Doug Jones has made a career of playing monsters in Guillermo del Toro films. His latest is half-man, half-fish; Women in Film holds gathering to discuss how to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.

Franco directs and stars (with his brother, Dave) in a film about the making of "The Room" — considered one of the worst movies ever made; Amy Adrion directed a documentary that examines the long history of systemic discrimination against women filmmakers

The director's WWII film returns to theaters as awards season heats up in Hollywood; "The Today Show" co-host Matt Lauer was fired amid allegations of sexual misconduct; the group Women in Film is launching a help line to support victims of harassment.

Jay-Z led the pack with 8 nominations, including his first ever Album of the Year nod, in a year when rap and R&B dominate the major categories; Mary Harron talks about directing the TV adaptation of another Margaret Atwood book.

Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina co-wrote and co-directed the latest hit from Pixar Animation; Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com looks at the early contenders for the Academy Awards.

We revisit two of our favorite interviews of the year: Jordan Peele on his hit social thriller; and Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, creators of the Netflix series about women's wrestling in the 1980s.

Anthony McCarten was inspired by Winston Churchill's oratorical skills for his "Darkest Hour" screenplay; Pixar chief John Lasseter is the latest Hollywood figure accused of sexual harassment; two companies led by women are interested in buying all or some of The Weinstein Co.