The Frame

You know him from comedies like "Beverly Hills Cop" and "The Nutty Professor," but Eddie Murphy's return to the big screen is the dramatic lead role in “Mr. Church"; Vulture.com senior editor Kyle Buchanan tells us what's hot at the Toronto Film Festival, which kicks off today; Filmmaker Ryan Suffern on his new doc, "Finding Oscar," about the aftermath of the civil war in Guatemala.

"Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins adapted the script for his new movie from a Tarell McCraney play, but it's a truly personal story for him. The movie is set in the Miami neighborhood where both he and McCraney grew up and borrows from both men's biographies; A new USC study looks at 800 Hollywood films and finds the same old thing — a lack of diversity both on and off the screen.

Eastwood directs Hanks in the story of the airline pilot who safely landed his damaged plane in the Hudson River with 155 people onboard; the three-day electronic music festival at the San Manuel Amphitheater saw hundreds of arrests, mostly for drug possession or being under the influence.

The new boxing drama "Bleed For This" tells the real life story of Vinny Pazienza's rise in the boxing world, and how a car accident nearly paralyzed him. The film made its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.

Amy Adams is at the 43rd Telluride Film Festival for the North American premiere of her movie “Arrival." She's also being honored by the festival for her body of work. This Q&A was recorded in front of an audience and covers a wide range of topics, from how she got started doing dinner theater and her early years struggling in L.A., to her recent run of successful movies like "American Hustle" and "Her."

Casey Affleck is at the Telluride Film Festival for his new drama, "Manchester By The Sea" and a career tribute for his more than twenty years of acting. He had a live Q&A with The Frame's John Horn in which he reflected on a time when he was disillusioned with acting. He also talked about his creative partnerships with directors Gus Van Sant and Kenneth Lonergan and actors Rooney Mara, Christian Bale, and his longtime friend Joaquin Phoenix.

As part of NPR's "A Nation Engaged," project we look at America's changing role as the world's leading exporter of pop culture; David Schwartz writes wacky music for Maria Bamford’s wacky show, “Lady Dynamite”; a San Francisco theater company wrestles with the use of "yellowface" makeup for "The Mikado"

Actress Tika Sumpter was also a producer on "Southside with You," the film about The First Couple's first date; this weekend's Telluride Film Festival once again features Oscar-hopefuls; Melora Marshall takes on an acting marathon every weekend at Theatricum Botanicum.

Matt and Ross Duffer are the brothers behind the hit Netflix show, "Stranger Things"; as part of our Cops on TV series, professor Kathleen Donovan connects the dots between TV dramas and our attitudes about police; there's a new battlefront in the fight for subscribers between Apple and Spotify.

"Complete Unknown," starring Rachel Weisz, is Joshua Marston's third film, but his first in English; in a new epsiode of "Song Exploder," Andra Day dissects "Forever Mine"; more people than ever are canceling pay TV services, and that has networks worried.

The legendary R&B singer has a new album and an HBO documentary coming up, but don't expect this to be her swan song; a film about Nat Turner's slave rebellion has set a sales record at the Sundance Film Festival; actresses Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas launched Broad Street to counter gender inequity in Hollywood.

With the top award from the Producers Guild, "The Big Short" is now frontrunner for the best picture Oscar. We chat with producers Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner; a Motion Picture Academy officer admits that the organization has been too slow to change; the band Foals has gone from playing house parties to arenas.

Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale has re-imagined an album from his long solo career, "Music For a New Society"; as the "X-Files" returns, we get the story behind its iconic theme music; even at the Sundance Film Festival, the talk of the town is #OscarsSoWhite.

Actor Matthew Spencer, who plays the lead in a new adaptation of George Orwell's dystopian novel, says the story has new resonance today; TV networks are casting doubt about the popularity of original programming on streaming services; Andrew Ahn passed up med school for a film career, and now his directing debut is at Sundance.

Carrie Brownstein, "Portlandia" co-creator and Sleater-Kinney co-founder, pulls back the curtain on her creative process; members of the U.K. punk band Savages reveal how they remain unpredictable on stage and in the recording studio; what's in store at this year's Sundance Film Festival?

In the two years since Lupita Nyong'o won an Oscar for "12 Years a Slave," no actor of color has been nominated for an Academy Award. Academy member Stephanie Allain says the Oscars reflect bigger problems in the industry; James Lecesne continues his advocacy for LGBTQ youth with "The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey."

Alicia Vikander's breakout year now includes an Oscar nomination for "The Danish Girl"; singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett deconstructs her song, "Depreston"; and we find out which new TV shows are on the must-watch list for the new year.

John Horn and Kyle Buchanan of Vulture.com dig into the snubs and surprises in the Oscar nominations, and the return of #OscarsSoWhite. And we hear from the directors nominated for "Room" and "The Revenant."

Actress Judith Light has been passionate about LGBT issues for decades, which makes her a natural fit for Amazon's "Transparent"; Spotify has partnered with Genius to augment music with a feature called "Fact Track"; Contra-Tiempo is a dance company with a social conscience.

"Making a Murderer" continues to spark debate about the intersection between art, journalism, public reaction and the law; the Directors Guild Award nominees are announced; "Star Wars" opens in China, but the world's second largest movie market is a challenge for the franchise.

We pay tribute to David Bowie's life and career with Los Angeles Times critic-at-large Sasha Frere-Jones, Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh, poet Tracy K. Smith, singer/actress Lea DeLaria, and New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley.

In our continuing series of conversations with TV network chiefs, ABC's Paul Lee talks about how diversity has become a cornerstone for the company; the Palm Springs Film Festival is a showcase for foreign films from around the world.