Emmys: Who Will Win, Who Should Win

►If there's any justice. Ahead of tonight's show, THR's awards expert Scott Feinberg and chief TV critic Dan Fienberg hash out the likely Emmy winners and the most deserving, respectively.​ The story. 

—"I didn’t get this far by playing it safe." Emmys host Anthony Anderson spoke to THR's Lacey Rose about fronting the long-delayed telecast, plans to honor Norman Lear and the perk of taking jabs at friends and performers from stage: "Does Jason Sudeikis need another f***ing Emmy?" The interview. 

—"You couldn’t pay me to watch House of the Dragon." An anonymous member of the TV Academy’s Producers Peer Group shares his candid thoughts on this year’s Emmys race, including why this was Ted Lasso’s weakest season, and why Dolly Parton deserves a Nobel Prize (but not a nomination). The brutally honest ballot. 

—Toasting the stars of the small screen. THR's nicest man Chris Gardner goes inside the A-list parties that led up to the 75th Emmy Awards. Hollywood was back on the party circuit with a slate of events leading up to the milestone ceremony, with Netflix, Disney, HBO, Apple, UTA and more all hosting celebrations. The parties. 

Critics Choice Awards 2024

►Cillian upset. Oppenheimer was named best picture at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards, which were handed out Sunday night. The film’s haul — a leading eight total wins — also included wins for best acting ensemble and Robert Downey Jr. as best supporting actor in a film. Barbie, The Holdovers and American Fiction also picked up film awards. On the TV side, there were wins for Succession, The Bear and Beef. The nominees. 

—"Thank you for laughing at that. My writers wrote it." Chelsea Handler took a jab at Golden Globes host (and her ex-boyfriend) Jo Koy during her monologue at the Critics Choice Awards. The jokes were a reference to Koy struggling to generate laughs during his Globes monologue, which included throwing his writers under the bus. The monologue.

—The best bits. From Handler's monologue, the big wins for Oppenheimer, Barbie, Beef and The Bear and more, THR's Beatrice Verhoeven has all the best moments from the 29th Critics Choice Awards. The recap.  

—"We are all worthy of being seen — Black, brown, indigenous Asian, trans, disabled, any body type, any gender." America Ferrera was honored with the SeeHer Award at the Critics Choice Awards. Introduced by her Barbie co-star Margot Robbie, Ferrera delivered a rousing and inspirational speech. The speech. 

More from the Critic's Choice Awards... 

—Harrison Ford gets emotional accepting career achievement honor

—Margot Robbie, Pedro Pascal, Billie Eilish and more stars walk the Critics Choice red carpet

David O. Russell to Direct Linda Ronstadt Biopic 

►Helmer in place. David O. Russell is attached to direct the prospective Linda Ronstadt biopic starring Selena Gomez. Russell has been nominated for five Oscars for directing as well as writing on projects such as Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and The Fighter. The biopic, which is not yet set up at a studio, first came to public light last week, when Gomez shared a post to her Instagram Stories featuring Ronstadt’s 2013 memoir, Simple Dreams. The story. 

—"I would not be surprised to get a call." THR's Chris Gardner caught up with Neve Campbell on Saturday afternoon at the BAFTA Tea Party in Beverly Hills, and the subject of the Scream franchise came up. After losing stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon, all eyes are on Campbell, despite her own highly publicized exit in June 2022 over a dispute about pay. The story. 

—Dropped. Jonathan Majors is no longer attached to play Dennis Rodman in the feature 48 Hours in Vegas. Lionsgate is no longer developing the film that hails from Lord Miller, and the project will now be shopped to other potential buyers. Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Aditya Sood are on board as producers. The news comes ahead of a Feb. 6 sentencing for Majors on assault and harassment convictions stemming from an incident involving ex-partner Grace Jabbari in March. The story. 

—Suit filed. Mia Goth has been sued by a background actor, who accused her of intentionally kicking him in the head during a scene for Maxxxine. Director Ti West and A24 were also named in the complaint over the alleged injury the actor suffered during the shooting of the last installment of the horror trilogy, which also includes X and Pearl. In the scene, Hunter was told to lay down in the dirt and play dead, and it is alleged Goth purposely kicked him in the head with her boot. The story. 

—"Good news!" Author R.L. Stine revealed on social media Saturday that a new Fear Street movie is in the works at Netflix. The film is set to be adapted from Stine’s 1992 novel The Prom Queen, which is part of the Fear Street book series. A trilogy, consisting of Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666, was previously released on Netflix over three consecutive weeks in 2021. The story. 

Peacock's NFL Playoff Game Sets Streaming Record

►"It’s a very proud moment." The Kansas City Chiefs’ 26-7 win over the Miami Dolphins in the wild card round averaged 23m viewers on Peacock, local NBC affiliates in the teams’ home markets and on the NFL+ mobile app, according to custom fast national data from Nielsen. Per NBC Sports, the game is the most streamed live event in U.S. history and accounted for 30 percent of internet traffic while it streamed. The story. 

—Getting closer. A new take on The Office is inching close to becoming a reality. Sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg that creator Greg Daniels is assembling a writers room in his continued efforts to revive the former NBC comedy with a new take. Universal Television, which produced the original show, is the studio and declined comment but has been keen for years to bring back one of television’s most iconic and successful comedies. NBC tried a few years ago to mount a new take with a new cast, but it did not move beyond the development stage. The story. 

—"Such a wonderful, funny good man." Alec Musser, best known for playing Del Henry on the ABC soap opera All My Children, has died. He was 50. The actor’s fiancée, Paige Press, took to her Instagram Stories on Saturday to share the news of his death and told TMZ that he died Friday night at his home in Del Mar, California. A cause of death was not revealed. The obituary. 

—"I never got a phone call." Eduardo Franco, who played fan favorite Argyle in season four of Stranger Things, may not be joining the gang in their final showdown with Vecna. The hit sci-fi series began production on the final season on Jan. 8, and the team announced the news with a black and white cast photo, which did not include Franco. In a podcast appearance, Franco confirmed he had not had heard from producers about returning for season five. The story. 

Why Fantasia Barrino Paused Therapy While Filming 'Color Purple'

►"I thank God for Celie because she continued the healing for me." THR's co-editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody spoke to Fantasia Barrino about her process in order to play Celie in The Color Purple. The actress and singer reveals she felt that she had to take a break from therapy during production on the musical film if she was truly going to tap into Celie's pain, a character who has endured sexual and domestic abuse since childhood. The interview.

—"Something is dying." The Sopranos creator David Chase has criticized streaming executives, suggesting they’re collectively making television less sophisticated. In a new interview, the Emmy-winning writer-producer claims TV quality is going backwards, becoming more like when he first disrupted the industry with HBO’s The Sopranos in 1999. Chase declared his iconic hit’s 25th anniversary should be “a funeral” for the industry instead of a celebration. The story. 

—"We’ll whiten your teeth, darken your hair, we’ll give you a personal trainer so you can lose weight and look the part." Succession star Sarah Snook says a movie producer once chastised her for eating cake, and a casting director once called her a “nobody.” In a new interview, the Emmy nominee recalled that after getting a film role (she did not name the movie), its casting director told her, “We don’t really want you because you’re a nobody, but the director and the writer think you’re good for the role. So, what we’ll do is change all of you so that you’re marketable." The story. 

—"Those gigs aren’t good gigs for comics." Add Kevin Hart to the list of comedians who believe awards shows are not the best environment for standups. Hart told Sky News he would never host the Oscars, saying awards shows are “very cold” and not for everyone. The comments come on the heels of Jo Koy receiving criticism after some of his jokes fell flat while hosting the Golden Globes. Hart was set to be the Oscars host in 2019 but stepped aside after past offensive tweets of his came to light. The story. 

'Mean Girls' Opens to $32M, 'Beekeeper' Debuts to $19M

►The Stath stays in the mix. Mean Girls easily won the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend box office with an estimated domestic opening of $32m. An updated tally will be issued Monday since it’s a four-day holiday, but the movie is certain to come in ahead of expectations. Overseas, it launched in only a few major markets but got off to a first-rate start in Australia and Mexico, where it came in No. 1. Its foreign opening tally is $6.5m for a global start of $37.5m against a production budget of $36m before marketing.

THR's Pamela McClintock writes that females turned out in force to see Mean Girls, making up 76 percent of ticket buyers. Younger females in particular were keen to see the musical right away. Nearly 70 percent of all ticket buyers were between ages 18 and 34, including 60 percent under the age of 25.

Amazon/MGM’s The Beekeeper, the latest action pic starring Jason Statham, is also exceeding expectations and buzzed to a second-place finish with an estimated four-day opening of $19.1m from 3,303 theaters. It received a B CinemaScore. The film hoped to serve as counterprogramming for men and is doing just that. Males made up 62 percent of Friday’s audience. Those between the ages of 25 and 34 made up the largest segment of ticket buyers, or 36 percent, although plenty of older men showed up as well, with 38 percent of the audience 45 and up.

Among other MLK nationwide openers, Legendary Pictures’ Black-led biblical satirical drama The Book of Clarence bombed, and badly. The film, which also received a B CinemaScore, is headed for a four-day haul of roughly $2.5m to $3m from 2,010 theaters, putting it outside the top 10. The box office report.

'True Detective' Stars Jodie Foster, Kali Reis Explain Premiere Tension

►"They absolutely hate each other." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to True Detective: Night Country stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, as well as director Issa Lopez, about the season four premiere of the HBO show. Foster and Reis, who play law enforcement officers Danvers and Navarro, discuss the frosty relationship between their characters. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.

—"A dirtbag is just someone who's really in nature, who's constantly on the road." THR's Mikey O'Connell spoke to Jason Momoa about his upcoming Max travel show On the Roam. The actor, who identifies as a "dirtbag," partially undresses over Zoom, revisits his nomadic youth and very briefly touches on Aquaman: “That job’s been done for I don't know how long.” The interview.

—Ted talk. THR's resident rapscallion Ryan Gajewski spoke to Seth MacFarlane about his new "outrageously expensive" Peacock series Ted. The creator and voice talent behind the films and new streaming show discusses getting the freedom to tell raunchy jokes, while also giving updates on The Orville and the planned reboot of the Naked Gun franchise that has Liam Neeson attached. The interview. 

—"The only allegiance is to great storytelling." THR's Ashley Cullins spoke to For All Mankind star Krys Marshall about the season four finale of the Apple TV+ show. Marshall discusses her character's suprising fate, why working on the sci-fi series is "a wild ride" and how she hopes her journey as an actor inspires those waiting for their breakout roles. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. 

TV Review: 'Monsieur Spade'

►"Not the stuff dreams are made of, but Clive Owen shines." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews AMC's Monsieur Spade. Creators Scott Frank and Tom Fontana take Dashiell Hammett's Maltese Falcon investigator Sam Spade to the South of France for retirement and a new murder case. The review. 

In other news...

—Kristen Stewart, Abel Ferrara, Amos Gitai films set for Berlinale special lineup

—Exclusive photos: Jenna Ortega, Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo at MPTF’s Evening Before

—Emma Stone is selling her charming L.A. home for $4m

—Joyce Randolph, Trixie on The Honeymooners, dies at 99

—Tom Shales, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post critic, dies at 79

—Peter Crombie, Seinfeld and House of Frankenstein actor, dies at 71

—Ruth Ashton Taylor, pioneering female newscaster and reporter, dies at 101

—April Ferry, costume designer on Big Trouble in Little China, Rome and Game of Thrones, dies at 91

—Tisa Farrow, actress and sister of Mia Farrow, dies at 72

​​​What else we're reading...

—With his new film The Beekeeper earning decent reviews and opening strong, Adam Nayman reflects on Jason Statham's ability to remain endearing after a 25-year-long career of doing more or less the same thing [Ringer]

—Miriam Balanescu looks into why the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black is angering fans [BBC]

—Austen Goslin writes that True Detective: Night Country gets the True Detective vibe better than any other True Detective ever has [Polygon]

—Ben Jacobs reports from Iowa, where no one wants to admit the truth about what the Iowa caucus has become [Slate]

—In the wake of the Alaska Airlines blowout on Jan.5, Sharon Terlep and Andrew Tangel have an in-depth report on the manufacturing problems that have been plaguing Boeing for years [WSJ]

Today...  

...in 2010, Warner Bros. released The Hughes Brothers' The Book of Eli in theaters. The post-apocalyptic neo-Western, starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman, received mixed reviews but scored $157m worldwide at the box office. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Regina King (53), Mario Van Peebles (67), Dove Cameron (28), Karen Carlson (79), Jessy Schram (38), Andrea Martin (77), James Nesbitt (59), Eddie Cahill (46), Jamie Clayton (46), Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (42), Chad Lowe (56), Ernie Reyes Jr. (52), Kellita Smith (55), Dorian Missick (48), Victor Rasuk (40), Chris Warren (34), Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier (50), Meredith Bishop (48)