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Emmys Weekend! Predictions, Parties, Red Carpet Preview; 28 TV Execs Get Candid

September 16, 2016

Happy Friday! It's Emmys weekend, time to make your final predictions and binge-watch a few contenders before Sunday night. Plus: Network executives open up about TV's big challenges, Spike Lee gets a Netflix series and Rogue One makes another major change after reshoots. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman.

28 Network Chiefs Speak Out...

As fall series arrive, 28 TV execs share their candid thoughts on everything from Peak TV to their hardest shows to cancel and the awards campaigning game. A few newsy excerpts from Lesley Goldberg and Lacey Rose's full Q&A session:

► Have we reached Peak TV?

JOHN LANDGRAF (FX): "I think we'll hit it in 2017 or 2018, and there will be over 500 scripted original shows."

GARY NEWMAN (FOX): "We know we will have reached Peak TV when dinner-party conversations turn away from, 'What are you watching?' and go back to, 'Seen any good movies lately?'"

CINDY HOLLAND (NETFLIX): "I don't think we've reached the peak for on-demand TV, but I think it's probably true that there's too much mediocre television built for the linear age."

CHARLIE COLLIER (AMC): "I'll just keep working until John Landgraf calls and tells me it's OK to go home."

► The recent trend that has me most frustrated is…

CHANNING DUNGEY (ABC): "The presumption that a show is better just because it's on streaming or premium cable."

COURTENEY MONROE (NAT GEO): "The amount of money that goes into Emmy Award campaigns and the gaming of that system."

BILL ABBOTT (HALLMARK): "The media's never-ending focus on cord-cutting."

Elsewhere in TV...

► Spike Lee heads to Netflix with She's Gotta Have It series. The streamer has greenlit a new series based on the 1986 indie film. Lee, who created the series, will direct all episodes and exec produce with his wife, producer Tonya Lewis Lee.

► Alex Gibney teams with Downton Abbey producers. Gibney will turn his cyber warfare doc Zero Days into a drama series (working title Stuxnet) alongside Carnival Films, Stephen Schiff (The Americans) and Marc Shmuger.

↱ Black Mirror, reviewed. Chief TV critic Tim Goodman calls Netflix's season 3, which begins streaming today, "chillingly creative" and its creator Charlie Brooker "prophetically spot-on as usual." ↲

► Leslie Moonves: No CBS plans for Viacom merger. Since Shari Redstone took over embattled Viacom, there has been talk that the two companies, once corporate siblings, would reunite. But Moonves on Thursday said that's unlikely to happen: "We're not in active discussions."

► NBCU exec Ted Harbert to exit. A former Comcast exec, Harbert was named chairman of NBC Broadcasting in 2011 after the Comcast takeover, overseeing local and syndication ad sales, owned stations and more.

↱ About Trump's return to Jimmy Fallon. Critic Frank Scheck writes: It was a kinder, gentler Donald Trump who showed up on The Tonight Show last night. When Fallon asked him about his propensity for saying shocking things, Trump replied, "I'm trying not to, anymore," and you could feel the effort he was putting in. ↲

► Amazon's Hand of God to end. The streaming service will wrap the dramatic thriller starring Ron Perlman with its second season, which will return at a yet-to-be announced date in 2017.

► Syfy adds three pilot orders. The Machine, based on the film of the same name, horror drama The Haunted, and an adaptation of Grant Morrison's graphic novel Happy are joining Superman prequel Krypton on the network.

Hollywood's top 25 real estate agents revealed. THR's top agents tout the Teflon markets they dominate — from the Westside to Hidden Hills — where no client request is too outrageous, as two agency upstarts look to shake up the L.A. "knife fight." Full list.

No "Film of the Summer"?

Earlier this year, a Washington Post pop culture critic wrote that "There is no song of the summer." Could the same be said for pop blockbusters? Heat Vision editor Aaron Couch chats with writer Graeme McMillan about the nagging feeling of sameness on the big screen:

COUCH: I liked Civil War quite a bit and Star Trek Beyond delivered what it needed to. But there was no Fury Road or Guardians of the Galaxy or Avengers. There was no blockbuster that gave us something we'd never see onscreen before.

MCMILLAN: This summer was very odd — not only was there no blockbuster that gave us something we'd never seen onscreen, but it didn't feel like there was "a film of the summer," if that makes sense? Lots of things came out, but what really sticks in the mind are the disappointments people expressed about films not living up to their expectations rather than the films themselves.

COUCH: For disappointments, a lot of people might name Suicide Squad or Ghostbusters, but really it's the lack of that one transcendent movie that is missing for me, as much as I liked seeing Tony and Cap go at it. As I get more distance from Suicide Squad, I like it more than I initially did.

► Full debate I Poll: Which recent blockbuster movie season was best?

Elsewhere in film...

► NBCUniversal to lay off 200 at DreamWorks Animation. In the wake of Comcast's acquisition of DreamWorks, Universal film chief Jeff Shell said that it will cut back jobs focused in the corporate overhead ranks, distribution and consumer products.

► Another Rogue One shake-up. Michael Giacchino, the composer behind the Star Trek reboot and Pixar's Inside Out, will score the upcoming movie, stepping in for Alexandre Desplat, who was originally slated. The recent reshoots are behind the switch.

► Margot Robbie's Terminal sells worldwide. Vaughn Stein's noir thriller, starring Robbie, has sold out around the world. The film, which recently wrapped principal photography, also stars Simon Pegg, Max Irons, Dexter Fletcher and Mike Myers.

► Terrence Howard to star in Rogue. The Empire star will play an ex-cop on the run in the upcoming drama, inspired by the true events surrounding one of the largest manhunts in American history, written and directed by Mark F. Kindred.

↱ New trailers: Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, released its first full teaser ... Disney debuted a full Moana trailer ... Fifty Shades Darker dethroned The Force Awakens as the most-viewed trailer in its first day ... Owen Wilson, Ed Helms road trip to find their father in the Bastards trailer. ↲

► Jonah Hill cancels press promotion for War Dogs in France. The actor will not go through with planned press appearances for the Warner Bros. film after a Le Grand Journal co-host made fun of him on air. What happened.

► Adam Scott and Evangeline Lilly join Little Evil. The actors will star in Netflix's horror comedy. Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil) wrote and will direct the film, which also stars Donald Faison and Chris D'Elia.

► Indie A Question of Faith nabs leads. C. Thomas Howell and Richard T. Jones will star in the feature from Silver Lining Entertainment. Principal photography on the faith-based film has begun in Atlanta with a release eyed for 2017.

► The Black List opens up. The screenplay database is opening up to students training to be producers and directors at selected college programs. The first school to take part will be Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. Details.

Updated: Oscar race post-Toronto. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg has unveiled the latest edition of his forecast this morning, including one new addition to the "frontrunners" section for best picture and two adds for the "major threats" for best director. Full forecast.

At Last, the Emmys Are Here

At the very least, Emmys host Jimmy Kimmel is ready. On the homestretch before Sunday, here's a primer for the big night, including Scott Feinberg and Tim Goodman's final assessment of the big drama winner:

WILL WIN: Game of Thrones. Mr. Robot is a strong first-year option, but 2015's winner returns as this year's most buzzed-about (see: "Battle of the Bastards") and most nominated (its 23 noms include acting, directing and writing) series. A popular ballot only will help its chances.

SHOULD WIN: The Americans (FX). It will be nearly impossible to unseat Game of Thrones, but The Americans already subverted the impossible by getting this long-overdue nomination after being on the air for four seasons, so why not the win? It's the best drama on television.

And more...

► PARTY GUIDE: Get ready for three days more of champagne and chit-chat as the competition to win the weekend’s best party begins now. All A-list gatherings.

► BRUTALLY HONEST BALLOT: An anonymous Emmys voting member gets uncensored about who really deserves a win as the voter makes a case for favorites Mr. Robot, Silicon Valley and Fargo. Full ballot.

► HOST Q&A: Jimmy Kimmel sits down with longtime pal Tim Goodman to talk about his hatred of the phrase "late-night landscape" and why he refused to campaign for an award this year. Full story.

► BALLOT COUNTING: For 17 years, Ernst & Young accountant Andy Sale has been counting Emmy ballots, a task that became a lot less strenuous since ditching the old Scantron ballots in favor of an almost entirely digital system. His team’s cloak-and-dagger strategies.

► Full categories: Who will win | Full noms list | Creative Arts winners.

The Red Carpet in the Age of Feminism

Emmys Friday question: Will actresses still be asked to stop for the mani-cam on the red carpet? Style editor Booth Moore writes:

The question of whether the red carpet is sexist has been part of the conversation for a while, with #AskHerMore campaign urging journalists to ask women questions beyond, "Who are you wearing?" and stars less likely to take part in E's "mani-cam."

But actresses have to reconcile their feminist leanings with their financial motives. As part of their multifaceted commercial contracts with brands, actresses are obligated to promote the designer clothing and jewelry they're wearing. Depending on the contract, an actress can make up to seven figures annually from a single fashion and beauty deal.

"Hollywood and fashion have always gone hand in hand," says Melissa Rivers. "It's a catch-22: It is sexist in a way, but women and actresses also use it to showcase themselves. It's all so double-edged."

Today's Birthdays: Nick Jonas, 24, Alexis Bledel, 35, Fan Bingbing, 35, Amy Poehler, 45, Marc Anthony, 48, Molly Shannon, 52, Mickey Rourke, 64, Ed Begley Jr., 67.