Emmys Producers Talk 'Friends' Dilemma, Mama Doris and More

►"We tried to really stay in the vein of celebrating television." THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to Jesse Collins and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, the executive producers of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, the day after the critically lauded ceremony. The duo reveal who couldn't make the telecast's many reunions, explain how they navigated a particularly stacked In Memoriam segment — no, the cast of Friends was never invited — and examine how an awards show managed to end literally one second ahead of schedule. The interview. 

—Victory lap. HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys was especially cheery on Tuesday, the day after the network and streamer collected 31 Emmys across 11 programs, including a drama series win for the final season of Succession. THR's Lesley Goldberg spoke to Bloys about the Emmys success and what’s next for HBO/Max. The interview. 

—Yikes. Airing four months later than usual and on an especially crowded night of TV, the Emmy Awards drew their smallest audience ever. Fox’s broadcast averaged 4.3m viewers, according to fast national ratings from Nielsen. That’s down 27 percent from the previous low of 5.92m for the 2022 Emmys, which aired on NBC. The awards hit a low in viewers for the fifth time in the past six years. The ratings.

Disney Rejects Peltz's Board Noms; Iger's Pay Hits $31.6M

►No dice. Amid an activist investor fight with Nelson Peltz and his Trian fund, Disney formally rejected nominations that Peltz offered for the board of directors and put forward its own slate. Disney’s board presented these nominees: Mary T. Barra, Safra A. Catz, Amy L. Chang, D. Jeremy Darroch, Carolyn N. Everson, Michael B.G. Froman, James P. Gorman, Robert A. Iger, Maria Elena Lagomasino, Calvin R. McDonald, Mark G. Parker and Derica W. Rice. Additionally, the company revealed CEO Bob Iger's fiscal 2023 pay was $31.6m. The story.

—🤝 Settled 🤝 Disney and 20th Century Studios have settled a breach of contract lawsuit from film financier TSG Entertainment, which accused them of withholding profits and self-dealing to boost subscriber numbers for their streaming platforms. Lawyers for both sides notified the court on Jan. 5 of a deal to resolve the dueling suits. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed. The case centered on an independent audit of three films TSG invested in, including best picture winner The Shape of Water, that revealed it’s owed at least $40m. The story. 

—Bob's on board. Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek has found his next gig. The executive is joining the board of directors of Masimo, the medical device company currently embroiled in a dispute with Apple over certain features of the tech giant’s Apple Watch. Imports of the Apple Watch were halted after Masimo accused the company of infringing on its patents. Apple said that it will redesign the watch to remove a blood oxygen measurement functionality to avoid the ban. The story. 

—🤝 Third term 🤝 Charles Rivkin’s contract as chairman-CEO of the Motion Picture Association has been renewed for a third term, making him the longest running head of the trade organization since the legendary Jack Valenti. Rivkin arrived at the MPA in January 2018 and one of his first acts was to open up the membership ranks to include Netflix alongside Hollywood’s legacy movie and TV studios. The story. 

—Critics in crisis. THR's Scott Feinberg reports that the board of the Critics Choice Association has notified members who are also members of the Hollywood Creative Alliance that they must now pick one or the other. The CCA board says that it has uncovered “evidence that a representative of the HCA has improperly suggested to at least one studio (and we suspect more) that it could influence Critics Choice Awards voting,” and that this "led that studio to reach out to CCA and request that action be taken to protect the integrity of our awards." The story.  

Dolan Named In Sex Trafficking Suit Involving Weinstein

►"Unlawful and unwelcome sex acts." The network of Hollywood executives and companies alleged to have known about and facilitated sex crimes by Harvey Weinstein is growing, with a lawsuit filed against James Dolan, the live events mogul behind Madison Square Garden Entertainment and AMC Networks. A woman claims the mogul pressured her into sex and set up a meeting with Weinstein in 2014 that led to her being assaulted. Both men denied the allegations. The story.  

—Cause of death revealed. All My Children actor Alex Musser died by suicide from a shotgun wound to the chest, the San Diego County Medical Examiner has concluded. The actor’s fiancée, Paige Press, who discovered Musser’s body, first shared the news of his death after he died Friday night at age 50 at their home in Del Mar, California. The story.

—"I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued." Noah Schnapp addressed online criticism of his comments regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict, stating that he stands “against any killing of any innocent people” and has had “learned a lot” from “open discussions with friends from a Palestinian background.” The Stranger Things actor shared his statement in a TikTok posted Monday night, and it comes following online calls to boycott the final season of the Netflix hit over the content of his social posts. The story. 

—New reality. Netflix is hiring a new residuals expert following a round of union contract negotiations that saw significant changes to the way streamers compensate above-the-line talent for reuse. The streamer has posted a job for a residuals-focused financial analyst whose main function will be "interpreting and analyzing residual impact in accordance with various guilds, unions and production service agreements." The story. 

—"Uncharted territory." The 2023 Hollywood strikes decimated filming in Los Angeles, with the region recording close to the lowest production levels on record. The decline marks the fourth consecutive quarterly shooting drop, capping off a year in which filming was blocked for over four months. The report from FilmLA said that the three-month period from October to December saw 5,520 shoot days, which represents a roughly 36 percent decline from the same quarter last year. The work stoppages from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA concluded on Sept. 27 and Nov. 9 respectively. The story. 

'White Lotus' S3 Adds 5 to Cast 

►🎭 Ensemble grows 🎭 The third season of HBO’s The White Lotus, which is set to film in Thailand beginning in February, has added five more actors to its cast: Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Aimee Lou Wood. As with previous casting announcements, details of their roles aren’t being made public for now. The large ensemble already includes Leslie Bibb, Miloš Biković, Carrie Coon, Christian Friedel, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Parker Posey, season one regular Natasha Rothwell and Tayme Thapthimthong. The story. 

—🎭 In demand 🎭 THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on LaKeith Stanfield joining Mark Wahlberg in Play Dirty, the crime thriller that Shane Black is directing for Amazon MGM Studios. An adaptation of Donald E. Westlake’s Parker novels, the feature stars Wahlberg as the hardened professional thief who is double-crossed and left for dead. The Book of Clarence star will play an actor-slash-con artist named Grofield. The project was previously being produced by Joel Silver, but he was fired in November over claims of verbal abuse. The story. 

—Looking for a home. Borys and Aaron Couch have the scoop on Searchlight Pictures officially dropping Jonathan Majors' bodybuilding drama Magazine Dreams, allowing the filmmakers to shop the feature elsewhere. Searchlight delivered the news to the Magazine Dreams team late last week, according to sources. The move comes weeks after Majors was convicted of assault and harassment, stemming from an incident involving his ex-partner, Grace Jabbari. The story.  

—There can only be one project. Chad Stahelski is finally making the Highlander movie. The John Wick director has been developing the project since 2016, and now has set it as his next film. Henry Cavill is attached to star in the reimagining of the 1986 film of the same name that starred Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery as warrior immortals. The green light is part of a sweeping new deal Stahelski and Lionsgate announced Tuesday. The pact will give Stahelski oversight of two franchises: Highlander and John Wick. The story. 

'Fargo' Boss Breaks Down That Finale Final Scene

►"Right or wrong, it’s a beautiful idea." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to Fargo series creator Noah Hawley about the season five finale of the FX drama. Hawley discusses where the finale leaves Dot and Roy, his view of the modern American experience and the future of Fargo beyond season five: "I don't have an idea at this moment, but they seem to come." Warning: Spoilers! The interview. 

—"I need to look into the abyss and see what’s staring back." THR's Rebecca Sun spoke to Beef creator Lee Sung Jin the day after his show swept the Emmys, and he picked up three awards himself. Lee discusses the lessons learned as a first-time showrunner as well as what he would do with a potential (not yet officially greenlit) second season of the Netflix hit. The interview. 

—"I’ve been preparing my whole life to play this role." THR's Scott Roxborough spoke to The Book of Clarence star Nicholas Pinnock on playing Jesus in Jeymes Samuel's Biblical epic. The British actor says he "expects and welcomes" a backlash from conservatives to his groundbreaking performance: "Bring it on!" The interview. 

—"It was my first job back after having a baby, and I was still feeling my way back into my body in terms of my physicality in the role." THR's Brian Davids spoke to Ahsoka star Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The actress discusses how her dynamic with co-star Rosario Dawson on the Ahsoka set felt similar to Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof set in 2006. She also explains why she doesn’t expect a second season of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anytime soon. The interview. 

The Making of 'The Zone of Interest'

►"This is not something safely in the past, but a story of the here and now." THR's Scott Roxborough spoke to The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer, producer James Wilson, cinematographer Lukasz Zal and more of the creative team behind the harrowing historical drama. Glazer and his team used multiple cameras, cutting-edge digital technology and a radical approach to storytelling to make a film about Auschwitz in 1943 feel as modern and current as last night's news. The story. 

—🏆 Huge list 🏆 GLAAD has unveiled the nominees for the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards. It’s a huge list that singles out 310 nominees across 33 categories, including some standouts of awards season like films All of Us Strangers and The Color Purple and buzzy TV shows Fellow Travelers and The Last of Us. The nominees. 

—🏆 "Best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling" 🏆 Gareth Edward's innovative sci-fi feature The Creator, with visual effects work primarily completed at Industrial Light and Magic, leads the 22nd Visual Effects Society Awards feature competition with seven nominations. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with work shared by roughly 10 VFX companies including Framestore, Weta FX and Crafty Apes, follows with six noms. The nominees. 

—🏆 Sound choices 🏆 Oppenheimer leads the theatrical feature competition of the 71st Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards, with a trio of nominations in the categories for effects/foley, dialogue/ADR and music. Close behind with two apiece are Barbie, Maestro, Napoleon and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Oppenheimer, Barbie, Maestro and Napoleon are shortlisted for the Oscar in sound alongside Ferrari, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Killer and The Zone of Interest, which received one MPSE nom apiece. The story.  

—Spring launch. The Great Gatsby musical, the highest grossing show in Off-Broadway theater Paper Mill Playhouse’s history, will be coming to Broadway this spring. The musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s acclaimed novel will debut at The Broadway Theatre on April 25, the show’s lead producer Chunsoo Shin announced on Tuesday. Directed by Marc Bruni, Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada are set to reprise their Off-Broadway roles as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, with previews beginning March 29. The story. 

TV Review: 'The Woman in the Wall'

►"A haunting tale rooted in history." THR's Angie Han reviews Showtime's The Woman in the Wall. Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack headline this thriller that centers on a Magdalene laundry survivor who wakes up to discover a dead body in her house, and a detective investigating the murder of a beloved priest. The review.

In other news...

—Adam Sandler is a husband adrift in space in Spaceman trailer

—Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat to headline Coachella Festival

—Most anticipated concert tours of 2024

—Charlotte St. Martin to retire as president of the Broadway League

—Imax hires veteran exec Anne Globe as CMO

—Adobe launches $6m film and TV fund to support underrepresented creators

—BAFTA to honor June Givanni, pioneering film curator, with special award

​​​What else we're reading...

—Stephen Battaglio looks into the reasons why old-fashioned linear TV is still the winning ticket for political ads [LAT]

—Reggie Ugwu interviews Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Ava DuVernay on their emotional journey making Origin [NYT]

—John Herrman writes that with the proliferation of AI and deep fake tech becoming cheaper and cheaper, the lives of celebrities like Taylor Swift and MrBeast is increasingly becoming hellish [Intelligencer]

—Theo Francis and Stephanie Stamm report that corporate spending on private jets for execs has climbed 50 percent since before the pandemic [WSJ]

—Laura He and Simone McCarthy report that China’s population has declined for a second straight year as the economy continues to stumble [CNN]

Today...  

...in 1940, Remember the Night opened at the Paramount Theatre in Times Square, with the film grossing $45,000 in its first week "in spite of the freezing weather which cuts into all Broadway Theatre receipts," THR noted a week later. The original review.

Today's birthdays: James Earl Jones (93), Song Kang-ho (57), Jim Carrey (62), Zooey Deschanel (44), Steve Harvey (67), Kelly Marie Tran (35), Naveen Andrews (55), Leigh Whannell (47), Amy Sherman-Palladino (58), Brian Helgeland (63), Willa Fitzgerald (33), Sadie Soverall (22), Lucy Boynton (30), Joshua Malina (58), Denis O'Hare (62), Freddy Rodríguez (49), Cathy Belton (54), Scott Mechlowicz (43), David Blue (42), Isa Briones (25), Indya Moore (29), Nigel Lindsay (55), Ryan Gage (41), Joanna David (77), Susanna Hoffs (65), Linda Kash (63), Genndy Tartakovsky (54), Charithra Chandran (27), Bart Freundlich (54), Todd Susman (77), D.J. Caruso (59), Diogo Morgado (43)