“I Love Dick,” “One Mississippi” and “Jean-Claude Van Johnson” have all been canceled by the streamer. “The Tick” was picked up for a second season earlier today.

More to come…

The awards, whatever they might be, are hosted on the Republican Party’s official website, GOP.com. Trump tweeted the link to the awards, only to have traffic crash the site. As of this writing, the “Fake News Awards” page still isn’t loading for anyone to see the Trump’s sick burns against his enemies in the press, namely CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

And the FAKE NEWS winners are…https://t.co/59G6x2f7fD

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018

Trump announced his “Fake News Awards” earlier is month, but with few details as to what they actually were or how they would work. He did say that the awards would cover “Dishonesty & Bad Reporting,” with little else to go on. Given the president has been claiming that any reporting he doesn’t seem to like is “fake news” since before he was elected, however, the entire affair sounded like an extension of his usual anti-press rhetoric.

I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018

Trump later changed the date of the “Fake News Awards,” citing a high level of interest in them. He and the GOP apparently didn’t know exactly how much interest there would be, since the GOP website hasn’t been able to handle traffic.

The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018

What exactly the awards were, when they would happen and where wasn’t clear even on the day Trump said they’d come up. White House officials had little to add: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the awards a “potential event” Tuesday before they were set to go live. During Wednesday’s daily press briefing, Sanders said something would be happening later in they day, but with zero other details.

“Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” is expected to stay No. 1 for a third straight weekend as its long-burning streak of success continues, while Warner Bros./Alcon’s “12 Strong” will challenge Fox’s “The Post” for the No. 2 spot.

“12 Strong,” which is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with Alcon and Black Label Media, will roll out to 3,002 locations and is expected to have an opening in the mid-teens. Warner Bros.’ is handling distribution through its deal with Alcon.

Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon star in a fact-based military tale about a CIA paramilitary operative and U.S. Special Forces who team up with the Afghani Northern Alliance in the first battles of the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks.

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Early reviews have given the film a 59 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes

Expected to finish on the lower end of the top five this weekend is STX’s Gerard Butler thriller “Den of Thieves,” which follows the interwoven lives of an elite team in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a team of thieves planning a dramatic heist on L.A.’s Federal Reserve Bank.

The film is expected to make around $9 million from 2,300 locations, which should put it against the second weekend runs of “Paddington 2” and “The Commuter.”

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“Jumanji,” meanwhile, is expected to stay just above “12 Strong” with a fifth weekend total of $18-20 million.

That will be enough to push the film past “Thor: Ragnarok” to become the seventh-highest domestic grossing release of 2017 and put it in position to pass “It” for the No. 6 spot sometime next week.

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The former “High School Musical” star posted the first image from his upcoming crime biopic, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” on Instagram on Wednesday — and his resemblance to the infamous serial killer is uncanny.

“Meet Ted,” Efron captioned the scenes photo.

Meet Ted. #behindthescenes ????

A post shared by Zac Efron (@zacefron) on Jan 17, 2018 at 11:41am PST

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“Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” follows one of America’s most notorious murderer’s from the perspective of his girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer (played by Lily Collins), who struggled to accept the reality of her boyfriend’s nature.

The thriller is directed by “Paradise Lost” helmer Joe Berlinger and also stars John Malkovich as Edward Cowart, the judge who presided over Bundy’s trial in 1979.

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Shortly before his execution in 1989 and after more than a decade of denials, Bundy confessed to 30 homicides that he committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. However, the true total of his victims may never be known.

Filming on “Extremely Wicked” begins Thursday and it does not yet have a release date.

Collins and Berlinger also posted teasers from the set on social media.

Camera testing 1,2,3…

A post shared by Lily Collins (@lilyjcollins) on Jan 16, 2018 at 11:31am PST

#Excited to be #doingtime on my new @zacefron and @lilyjcollins #movie … we start #shooting #tomorrow … #moviemagic

A post shared by Joe Berlinger (@joeberlingerfilms) on Jan 17, 2018 at 7:30am PST

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“These accusations are completely false,” Wahlberg’s rep told TheWrap.

In a recorded phone call from the Brooklyn Detention Center in New York, Rodriguez told YouTube user Jon Bravo — who identifies himself as a filmmaker — that the actor was involved in his illegal operation.

Wahlberg has never even heard of Rodriguez, according to another person close to the actor who spoke with TheWrap, nor has he ever used steroids, the source said.

“I’m not trying to monetize anything at all,” Rodriguez said when asked by Bravo why he’s naming names. “You know, at the end of the day, I’m just trying to clear my name. The bust at my company did not just involve one person — it was a slew of individuals.”

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One of those, he said, was Walhberg. The two met through a strength and conditioning coach, Rodriguez said.

“This is an individual that’s very well-known and will help me in extending into a market that I’m very interested in,” Rodriguez said, referring to the market of A-list celebrities. “The individual’s name is Mark Wahlberg.”

“He used to get creative with ways in which to ship the particular products to certain countries and areas where we can receive the products — but not necessarily under his name,” Rodriguez said of Wahlberg, who allegedly used aliases like “a doctor’s name” or a “female’s name” to receive product.

“[Wahlberg] was a really good person, but as it started to get more in-depth — our relationship — he just started to become a little bit more demanding,” Rodriguez continued on the “Pain and Gain” star. “I just chose to — once I started to see his true colors — to sever my ties.”

Wahlberg famously packed on 40 pounds of muscle in two months for the aforementioned body-building buddy comedy, which co-starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Wahlberg told Men’s Fitness that he ate 12 meals a day to bulk up.

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Nine people were arrested in February 2017 “for operating an international steroid distribution ring.” Rodriguez was the big fish among them. Read the Eastern District of New York’s media release from back then here.

Rodriguez took a plea deal and never went to trial, he said on the call from prison.

Watch the video interview here:

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One of the first campaigns to launch is a double-header from PepsiCo featuring two of its iconic brands — Doritos and Mountain Dew — and two of the most beloved actors in Hollywood — Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman.

In the hilarious teaser, the “Game of Thrones” actor (representing Doritos Blaze) faces down the “Shawshank Redemption” actor (as Mountain Dew Ice) with the steadfast glare that he uses on Cersei Lannister.

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But unlike his evil on-screen sister, Freeman responses with a simple “Boo!” — as Missy Elliott blasts in the background.

With a runtime of 14 seconds, the clip is short and sweet — just like Dinklage — but is a taste of more to come as Super Bowl commercial seasons heats up. The full ad will run 60 seconds.

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As the world’s biggest tech company dips its toes into the original content waters with a $1 billion budget, its agreed to lease a 128,000 square-foot building in Culver City, California, according to The Real Deal. Terms were not disclosed.

Apple did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

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The new SoCal base would expand Apple’s presence between Hollywood and Santa Monica, where the entertainment business is concentrated; Apple already has a Culver City office up and running, and it’s moving to close a deal on another 85,000 square-foot office in the city, according to TRD.

The 128,000 square-foot building is a four-story complex located at 8777 Washington Boulevard in Culver City. It is located near to Beats Electronics, a subsidiary of Apple, and Sony Pictures Studios.

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Earlier on Wednesday, Apple announced it had inked Kristen Wiig to star in a Reese Witherspoon-produced project underway as part of its push into original content.

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The company plans an April 20 theatrical release for the doc, which records an actual exorcism performed by the Vatican’s Father Gabriele Amorth as he fights to expel Satan from an Italian woman.

The film, produced by LD Entertainment’s Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon, arrives 45 years after Friedkin directed the blockbuster, “The Exorcist.” Friedkin had received permission to travel to Rome and meet with 91-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, the “Vatican Exorcist,” to film a real-life exorcism.

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“The world’s fascination with William Friedkin’s ‘The Exorcist’ as a piece of art and a debate about religion and spirituality has never waned,” Paul Davidson, The Orchard’s EVP Film and Television, said in a statement.  “We share his fascination with the topic and the evolution of the discussion that is front and center in ‘The Devil & Father Amorth’ and are honored to be partnering with him to bring the film to audiences.”

“In the early 1970s when I directed ‘The Exorcist’ I had not witnessed an exorcism but I wondered how close I had come to portraying reality,” said Friedkin. “I had been curious to meet Father Amorth for many years and when he granted permission to meet and film him in Rome last May, it was the opportunity to complete the circle and see how close that film came to reality.”

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A Vikings wide receiver, the latest bachelor and a “Stranger Things” fan favorite had viewers talking passionately on social media over the past seven days.

The Wrap has partnered with Canvs, the emotion measurement company, for a weekly look at some of the characters and personalities that have TV viewers the most worked up on social media. The data below covers Jan. 10-16 and is drawn from the most emotionally reacted-to television programs, including broadcast, cable, streaming and PPV.

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The New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings football game, broadcast on Fox, was a nail-biter that came down to the last seconds and inspired 420,403 Emotional Reactions (ERs), making it the most reacted-to program on TV during the period measured. During the final play of the game with mere seconds on the clock, Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs made a 61-yard touchdown to bring his team to victory. Simply put, people went absolutely nuts and the positive messages for Diggs poured out over social media.

STEFON DIGGS I LOVE YOU????????

— ✞Justin Pic✞ (@justin_picinic) January 15, 2018

STEFON DIGGS so legendary for that

— びJohnny Cび (@___JohnnyB) January 15, 2018

STEFON DIGGS YOU ARE MY HERO

— Garret Greenlee (@g_greenlee6) January 15, 2018

YEEE HOOO STEFON DIGGS

— S (@GodSufixaL) January 15, 2018

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The most recent episode of “The Bachelor” on ABC inspired 25,968 ERs and the main man himself, Arie Luyendyk Jr., was the most-mentioned. Unfortunately for him, much of the discussion leaned toward the negative, with viewers complaining that he’s boring, lame and in some cases a little creepy. But that isn’t necessarily bad news for ABC — as we’ve mentioned before, “hate-watching” is a sport in and of itself and when it comes to reality TV, it can be a big driver of conversation.

Arie is such a dork ???? #TheBachelor

— B (@BrittneyTrill_) January 16, 2018

Arie is creepy. #TheBachelor

— Kasey (@She_W0LFE) January 16, 2018

Arie is kinda a jerk #thebachelor

— Simone Wilson (@simone_sherie) January 16, 2018

Ok. Arie is weird. #thebachelor

— Erin???? (@eturnxo) January 16, 2018

David Harbour was the most-mentioned celebrity during the 23rd Annual Critics Choice Awards (26,588 ERs), which aired on The CW on Jan. 11. The “Stranger Things” star was awarded Best Supporting Actor and gave an inspiring acceptance speech that applauded his “sparring partner” Millie Bobby Brown. Fans lapped it up, sending messages of congratulations and adoration across the Twittersphere.

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DAVID HARBOUR IS SO /POWERFUL/

— tay (@avlosersclub) January 12, 2018

Just real fast, I’m not a critic, I have no say in any of these things, but David Harbour is so gosh darn good on STRANGER THINGS. It’s a sometimes quiet but strong, subtle, intense, heartfelt portrayal and I am really happy he was recognized for it tonight.

— Clarke Wolfe (@clarkewolfe) January 12, 2018

Congrats to David Harbour! #StrangerThings #CriticsChoiceAwards

— Megan (@earendilstar) January 12, 2018

David Harbour’s speech was so beautiful. He truly realized and encaptured his supporting role as Hopper. I’m so glad he won!

— Nicole Zumbado♡ (@nicole_zumbado) January 12, 2018

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An elegantly stitched romance of vector-crossing emotional neediness, it’s set in an evocative ecosphere of haute couture fashion. But by the time it reaches its appetizingly perverse end, the film primarily reaffirms Anderson’s own skill at hand-crafting exquisitely conflicting interior and external worlds.

Advance word zeroed in on the movie’s status as three-time Academy Award-winner Daniel Day-Lewis’s swan song from acting. (One of those wins was for Anderson’s “Blood.”) And without a doubt, his portrait of moody, demanding dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock is as richly drawn as you’d expect, if not the kind of turn likely to win him a fourth Oscar.

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He’s equally matched here by Luxembourgian actress Vicky Krieps (“A Most Wanted Man”) as Woodcock’s chosen muse Alma, and the ever-magnetic Lesley Manville (“Another Year”) as his quietly imperious sister and business partner Cyril. They are as formidable a trio of intersecting personalities as you’ll find in any movie of recent vintage.

A white-gloved beehive staffed during the day by seamstresses, cutters and fitters, all dedicated to outfitting society’s grandest females, London’s House of Woodcock is also a multi-tiered manifestation of its star creator’s temperament. Reynolds lives to see his wealthy clients look beautiful in immaculately customized lace, satin, and velvet.

But they’re not the only women who come and go in that gorgeous townhome: casually dismissing his latest model-turned-lover who became little more than a nuisance during his quiet-time-mandated breakfast, Reynolds’s sister/enforcer Cyril cruelly notes that she was also gaining weight “waiting for you to fall in love with her again.” Needle mishaps aren’t the only pinpricks to be felt in this intensely orderly, relationship-unfriendly place.

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On a weekend outing to his country home to decompress, Reynolds falls for a gangly, sweet-faced, Eastern European-accented waitress named Alma, who knows how to flirt back. As first dates go, it’s geared toward his tastes: a fancy dinner out, getting-to-know-you talk, then — what else? — a private fitting for a Woodcock original, with a brief appearance by Cyril to record measurements. Like our reaction, Alma’s face betrays how odd and cool and funny it all is, but Reynolds knows the power of his attention; dressing, rather than undressing, is how he woos.

Immediately, as if Reynolds were replacing batteries, Alma becomes part of the humming Woodcock operation as model, white-smocked worker, resident, and main squeeze, with a front row view to his perfectionist highs and distancing lows. She watches as he charms a Belgian princess (Lujza Richter) in preparation for creating her bridal gown. She also gets protectively angry for him when, at the wedding of an obnoxious socialite client (Harriet Sansom Harris, “Love Is Strange”) whom Reynolds despises but tolerates, the rich lady passes out in one of his creations.

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But is it true love? Or a hierarchy-affected companionship that’s ultimately doomed? Reynolds knows Alma is not like the others but bristles when she attempts to assert herself. And Alma is smartly attuned to Reynolds’s hidden vulnerabilities, like the phrases or names he sews into the linings of outfits that only he knows about. As Anderson’s delicately witty and suspenseful screenplay reveals, Reynolds and Alma are both prisoners — him to an ego-driven routine of work and release, she to a relationship with little agency for her own way to love (and with Cyril as warden) — and it’s when their relationship is brought to the brink that their out-of-synch obsession for each other takes the most breathtaking of twists.

To give that away would be like a cook revealing a secret ingredient, so I’ll only say: You haven’t seen desire, manipulation, and theatrical acquiescence in a Gothic romance play out quite like this, and with such strange, off-handedly humorous tension. As memorable as Day-Lewis usually is with intelligent, scary men of appetites, he’s also got a charismatic, boyishly funny side, and Anderson utilizes it well in keeping him from being just a self-consuming handful. As for Krieps, whose features would have disarmed Vermeer, she handles the audience-surrogate elements and the more deliciously mysterious parts of her nature with the same crafty finesse.

Steeped as it is in the vagaries of love and creation (since every filmmaker ultimately makes a movie about being a director, this could easily qualify as Anderson’s), “Phantom Thread” is only tangentially about fashion per se. But when Anderson’s camera isn’t trained on its wonderful leads, it captures a vivid, textured picture of couture house swirl — drawing, draping, sewing, eyeing — without over-glamorizing the milieu. (There’s no credited cinematographer, with Anderson, in interviews, calling the 35mm look a team effort.) Needless to say, costumer Mark Bridges’ era-specific tailored suits, gowns, and work clothes are a handsomely photographed detail, as are the cozy interiors of Woodcock’s wood-side house and the posh, lofty gleam of his London digs.

Dancing across the surface of the movie is Anderson regular Jonny Greenwood’s enchanting music score, too, which boasts one of the more sublime and transporting piano themes in recent memory. It instantly puts you in the mood for a story of active hearts, emotional tyranny, and consuming passions, and even preps you for the movie’s ticklish aberrance. At heart, “Phantom Thread” is a classy, curious fractured fairy tale and, on the runway of Anderson’s career, a beautiful head-turner.

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That’s not even fair to the Hallmark movies, which would have at least given the female lead something of a personality and a plot arc; this movie’s all about the celebrity and his emotional journey, while the woman stands around like a prize waiting to be won, the Blessed Hometown Honey.

It’s a surprise, then, that the writer-director of “Forever My Girl” is a woman, Bethany Ashton Wolf (“Little Chenier”), whose main accomplishment here is making a movie that seems like a faith-based story (the country singer is a preacher’s kid) but isn’t (alcohol is casually consumed, Jesus is barely mentioned).

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Eight years ago, Liam Page (Alex Roe, “The 5th Wave”) bolted from the small town of St. Augustine, Louisiana, ditching his fiancée Josie (Jessica Rothe, “Happy Death Day”) at the altar to pursue his dreams of fame. Now he’s packing arenas and turning up on the cover of supermarket magazines — the art department does a terrible job mocking up fake versions of People and Us — and completely miserable.

When he learns that a childhood friend has died in a car accident, Liam walks out on his tour to go home for the funeral, where he’s forced to face not only Josie but also his disapproving father Brian (John Benjamin Hickey). It’s not long before Liam encounters Josie’s seven-year-old daughter Billy (Abby Ryder Fortson, “Ant-Man”); doing the math, both Liam and Josie figure out what’s up — he had no idea Josie was pregnant when he walked out — and the two begin tentatively forging a father-daughter relationship.

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Even a casual Hallmark viewer will track this story through every predictable beat, from Josie allowing Liam to sweep her off her feet to the revelation of past secrets that conveniently explain Liam’s bad behavior to the moment where it looks like all will be lost. (There’s even a dead rose garden that’s brought back to life, lest anyone miss the metaphor.) Movies like this are about the journey rather than the destination, yes, but as road trips home go, this one’s a slog.

Roe has matinee-idol looks — he comes off like a lab-splicing experiment involving Joshua Jackson, Jason Priestley and a set of eight-pack abs — and the British-born actor nails the Louisiana accent well enough, but he’s never convincing as either the love of Josie’s life or the kind of music dynamo who can enrapture thousands of people from the stage. It certainly doesn’t help that the movie can’t decide whether or not Liam has a substance-abuse problem.

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Meanwhile, both Rothe and Forston give it their all for a script that lets both down; Josie comes off as something of a non-entity while Billy says the sort of adorably precocious bon mots that only happen in bad screenplays.

Cinematographer Duane Manwiller (“The Walking Dead”) bathes the small town in a golden light, but the camera isn’t always where it needs to be: when Liam and Josie first reunite, she gives him a well-deserved punch in the stomach, but it’s shot from behind Liam, and at a bit of a distance, which diminishes the moment.

Even Liam’s country hits are fairly forgettable, although “Forever My Girl” does throw in a Travis Tritt cameo so that fans of the genre don’t go home completely empty-handed. Aficionados of Nicholas Sparks movies may swoon over this film’s distressed T-shirts and kudzu-choked back roads, but lovers of love stories deserve much better.

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But first, we have to figure out what’s going to get nominated — and while five or six films and more than a dozen actors seem secure in their chances of scoring nods, there are plenty of question marks up and down the Oscar ballot.

In all likelihood, Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” will lead all films in nominations — I have it nabbing 12 nominations, which would put it two shy of the record shared by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.” That seems a little high, but the runners-up — “Dunkirk” with eight, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” with seven and “Lady Bird,” “Get Out” and “Call Me by Your Name” with five — feel about right.

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Here are my best guesses in all 24 categories, with potential nominees listed in order of likelihood:

BEST PICTURE
Five films seem very safe in the Oscars’ top category, and two more relatively safe: “Lady Bird,” “The Shape of Water,” “Get Out,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Dunkirk” as the top five, with “Call Me by Your Name” and “The Post” just behind (though the lack of guild support for Steven Spielberg’s drama is troubling). With the Academy’s system capable of producing anywhere from five to 10 Best Picture nominees, I have a feeling this year could only yield those seven, though history suggests that eight or nine films often make the cut.

If so, the final one or two will likely be drawn from “Phantom Thread,” which just might have enough fanatic devotees to benefit from the preferential system; “I, Tonya” and “Molly’s Game,” which have done very well in guild voting; “The Florida Project,” which once seemed to be a likely nominee and could still squeeze in; “Darkest Hour,” which also seemed likely as well; and “The Big Sick” and “Mudbound,” which received key SAG ensemble nominations.

Predicted nominees: “The Shape of Water,” “Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Dunkirk,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “The Post”
If nine films are nominated (which experience says might happen): “I, Tonya,” “The Florida Project”
If somehow 10 films get in (which they won’t): “The Big Sick”

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BEST DIRECTOR
The Directors Guild nominated Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”), Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), Martin McDonagh (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Christopher Nolan (“Dunkirk”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”).

Most years, the Academy goes for four of the five DGA nominees, which might mean dropping Peele, Gerwig or McDonagh in favor of Sean Baker (“The Florida Project”), Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me by Your Name”) or Steven Spielberg (“The Post”).

Certainly, the Academy’s Directors Branch has confounded expectations before, and in the last two years the branch has grown by more than 25 percent — largely with the admission of international voters who may be harder to predict. Heck, they could even make up for snubbing Ridley Scott for “The Martian” by nominating him for his 11th-hour save of “All the Money in the World,” though that’s a complete long shot. But here’s guessing that for once, they stick with the DGA slate.

Predicted nominees: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”; Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”; Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”; Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

BEST ACTOR
There’s one big question in this category: Will James Franco get a nomination? The “Disaster Artist” director and star seemed on track for one until a number of women surfaced to accuse him of sexual misconduct in the wake of his Golden Globes win. The most damning of those accusations came only one day before Oscars voting ended — so while the accusations undoubtedly cost him some votes, he probably already had enough to get in.

Gary Oldman and Timothée Chalamet are locks for “Darkest Hour” and “Call Me by Your Name,” and “Phantom Thread” star Daniel Day-Lewis probably is as well — so if Franco gets in, the last slot will go to Tom Hanks (“The Post”), Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”), Jake Gyllenhaal (“Stronger”) or Denzel Washington (“Roman J. Israel, Esq.”). Hanks is Oscar royalty, but he hasn’t been nominated since 2000, and Kaluuya’s film has real heat.

Predicted nominees: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”; Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”; Daniel Day-Lewis,”Phantom Thread”; Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”; James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Also Read: Gary Oldman, Joe Wright on 'the Icon and the Myth' of Winston Churchill (Video)

BEST ACTRESS
In one of the Oscars’ most competitive categories, Frances McDormand, Saoirse Ronan and Sally Hawkins feel like locks for “Three Billboards,” “Lady Bird” and “The Shape of Water,” respectively. “I, Tonya” star Margot Robbie, who initially seemed to be on the bubble, now seems secure — which means that while Meryl Streep (“The Post”) holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for acting, she’s fighting for the fifth spot with a variety of other contenders, including Jessica Chastain (“Molly’s Game”), Judi Dench (“Victoria & Abdul”) and Michelle Williams (“All the Money in the World”).

The guilds liked “Molly’s Game” more than “The Post,” so I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that Chastain will pull an upset and edge out Streep.

Predicted nominees: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”; Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”; Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”; Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards”) and Willem Dafoe (“The Florida Project”) for sure. Rockwell’s co-star Woody Harrelson has been coming on strong lately. “Call Me by Your Name” sports a pair of strong contenders in Armie Hammer and Michael Stuhlbarg. Richard Jenkins provides the audience’s way into “The Shape of Water.” And Christopher Plummer could be rewarded for jumping into the Kevin Spacey role in “All the Money in the World.”

Predicted nominees: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”; Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”; Armie Hammer, “Call Me by Your Name”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The three actresses who play difficult moms — Allison Janney in “I, Tonya,” Laurie Metcalf in “Lady Bird” and Holly Hunter in “The Big Sick,” in level of increasing likability — should all get nominations. Then there’s Mary J. Blige in “Mudbound,” Hong Chau in “Downsizing,” Octavia Spencer in “The Shape of Water,” Lesley Manville in “Phantom Thread” and even Tiffany Haddish in “Girls Trip.” Chau could sneak in as the only part of Alexander Payne’s movie that has clicked with voters, but the film’s overall reception could hurt her.

Predicted nominees: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”; Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”; Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”; Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”; Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Also Read: Laurie Metcalf, Holly Hunter and Allison Janney on the Mother of All Oscar Races

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The thinner of the Oscars’ two screenplay categories will certainly contain “Call Me by Your Name” and will likely have “Molly’s Game,” “The Disaster Artist” and “Mudbound” as well, unless voters balk at the last film’s Netflix provenance. After that, it’s anybody’s guess, with “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” “Wonder,” “The Beguiled,” “Victoria & Abdul” and WGA nominee “Logan” among the films that have a chance. We give a slight edge to “Wonder,” which came in late but was loved by most of those who saw it.

Predicted nominees: “Call Me by Your Name,” “Molly’s Game,” “The Disaster Artist,” “Mudbound,” “Wonder”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Can “The Shape of Water” or “Dunkirk” get in, and by doing so increase their chances of winning Best Picture? Or will “The Big Sick” and “I, Tonya” push them out? In a fiercely competitive category where “Get Out,” “Lady Bird” and “Three Billboards” seem assured of nominations and “The Post” and “Coco” also sit on the bubble, I have a feeling there’s too much affection for “The Shape of Water” to leave it out, and too much admiration for the verbal fireworks of “I, Tonya.”

Predicted nominees: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” “I, Tonya,” “The Shape of Water”

Also Read: 'Three Billboards' Director Martin McDonagh Blasts Hollywood's 'Bland PC Filmmaking'

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yes, Roger Deakins will get his 14th nomination for “Blade Runner 2049” — and this time around, he might even win his first Oscar and erase that inexplicable smudge on the Academy’s record.

“Dunkirk” and “The Shape of Water” seem assured nominations as well. And in a field of contenders that includes “The Post,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Darkest Hour” and “Mudbound,” the last of those films would give the Academy its first-ever female cinematography nominee, Rachel Morrison.

Predicted nominees: “Blade Runner 2049,” “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Mudbound”

BEST FILM EDITING
This could be the category that tells us whether “Lady Bird” or “Get Out” could win Best Picture — because for the past 36 years, every best-pic winner except “Birdman” (which was designed to look like a continuous shot) was nominated here. “Lady Bird” is the longer shot in a category that usually saves a couple of slots for big, muscular movies.

Predicted nominees: “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Get Out,” “Baby Driver,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
We expect voters to go for the elaborately constructed worlds of “The Shape of Water” and “Blade Runner 2049” and then turn to the lavish period pieces that often dominate the category, “Darkest Hour” and “Murder on the Orient Express” perhaps edging out “Victoria & Abdul,” “The Greatest Showman” and “Wonderstruck.” And as long as voters don’t think the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” was simply a copy of the animated film, it should be safe. But watch out for “Phantom Thread,” too.

Predicted nominees: “The Shape of Water,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Darkest Hour,” “Murder on the Orient Express”

Also Read: Vicky Krieps on How 'Phantom Thread' Depicts Love, Power and Poisonous Relationships (Video)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Oscars voters won’t resist “Phantom Thread,” in which Daniel Day-Lewis plays a costume designer. “Beauty and the Beast” is just too gorgeously frilly to bypass (not to mention all those costumes that help turn people into household objects). And the skating outfits are a key to “I, Tonya.” Then it’s a matter of whether voters want to go elaborate (“The Greatest Showman,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Wonderstruck”) or functional (“The Post,” “Dunkirk,” “Darkest Hour”). We’ll take one of each.

Predicted nominees: “Phantom Thread,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “I, Tonya,” “Darkest Hour,” “The Greatest Showman”

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
It’ll be hard for voters to resist the makeup that will help Gary Oldman and Margot Robbie land acting nominations, so “Darkest Hour” and “I, Tonya” should make the cut. Then voters could either opt for the elaborate sci-fi makeup of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” or “Ghost in the Shell,” or the character makeup of “Wonder.” Since “Guardians” already got a nomination with its first film, maybe they’ll go in a different direction.

Predicted nominees: “Darkest Hour,” “I, Tonya,” “Wonder”

Also Read: Wonder How to Tell All 5 of This Year's 'Wonder' Films Apart? (Photos)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat and Hans Zimmer should pick up their eighth and 11th nominations, respectively, for “The Shape of Water” and “Dunkirk.” But those guys pale next to John Williams, who should land his 51st for “The Post” and might even get his 52nd for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to boot. But Williams is more likely to stick with one nod and leave space for Dario Marianelli’s “Darkest Hour” score and for one of the year’s most adventurous works, Jonny Greenwood’s music for “Phantom Thread.” Thomas Newman is also in the running for “Victoria & Abdul.”

Predicted nominees: “The Shape of Water,” “Dunkirk,” “The Post,” “Darkest Hour,” “Phantom Thread”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
In a packed race, the likeliest nominees are probably two theatrical songs, “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” and “Remember Me” from “Coco.” But Diane Warren and Common’s “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall” is close behind, as are Alan Menken’s new “Beauty and the Beast” song “Evermore,” Elvis Costello’s “You Shouldn’t Look at Me That Way,” Sufjan Stevens’ two songs from “Call Me by Your Name,” Mary J. Blige’s “Mighty River,” Questlove’s “It Ain’t Fair,” Sara Bareilles’ “If I Dare,” Taylor Swift’s and Ryan Tedder and T Bone Burnett’s “Truth to Power,” among many others.

A real wild-card possibility: Music Branch bigwig Alan Bergman’s “Just Getting Started” from the documentary “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast.”

Predicted nominees: “Remember Me” from “Coco”; “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”; “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall”; “You Shouldn’t Look at Me That Way” from “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”; “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name”

Also Read: An Opinionated Guide to a Wild Year for Oscar Songs

BEST SOUND EDITING
In the 11 years since the Oscars expanded the Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing categories to five nominees each, four out of the five nominees in the two categories have almost always matched, and at least one has been different. Sound Editing tends to reward the biggest films with the most artificially created sound effects, so “The Shape of Water” might fall out here in favor of “War for the Planet of the Apes” or “Wonder Woman.”

Predicted nominees: “Dunkirk,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Baby Driver,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Wonder Woman”

BEST SOUND MIXING
In Sound Mixing, meanwhile, voters typically drop in one or two musicals or impressively mounted Best Picture nominees. “The Shape of Water” will likely land a spot here over “The Greatest Showman,” “The Post” or “Coco.” Otherwise the landscape remains similar to Sound Editing.

Predicted nominees: “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Baby Driver”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Unlike, say, the makeup category, VFX voters tend not to nominate terrible movies with great effects, the odd “Transformers” nod notwithstanding. That could be bad news for the spectacularly awful “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” regardless of how jaw-dropping its effects are. Voters will also go for subtler effects in the service of a better story, which could help “Dunkirk” and “The Shape of Water.”

If they don’t want to make “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” the eighth “Star Wars” movie to be nominated in the category, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” or the Korean oddity “Okja” could slip in — but it seems unlikely they’re tired of “Star Wars” just yet.

Predicted nominees: “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

Also Read: 'War for the Planet of the Apes': How the VFX Team Created the Most Realistic Apes Yet

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Once you get past Pixar’s “Coco,” it was not a particularly strong year for major-studio animated features. That should open the category to the Irish indie “The Breadwinner” and the animated oil paintings of “Loving Vincent.”

But the last two slots could go to another foreign indie like “The Girl Without Hands” or “Mary and the Witch’s Flower,” rather than to DreamWorks Animation’s “The Boss Baby,” Illumination’s “Despicable Me 3” or Fox’s “Ferdinand.” Or one of the two Lego movies could get in, as something of an apology for not even nominating “The Lego Movie” three years ago.

Predicted nominees: “Coco,” “The Breadwinner,” “Loving Vincent,” “Ferdinand,” “The Lego Batman Movie”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
This category might be the most confounding of all, because we have no idea who’s voted. A change in the rules opened the second-round voting to far more members, particularly internationally, which could dramatically change the sensibility and expand the number of voters.

“The Square” and “Loveless” are still the most acclaimed, “The Insult” and “In the Fade” perhaps the most crowd-pleasing, “Foxtrot” the most challenging, “A Fantastic Woman” the timeliest and “Felicite,” “The Wound” and “On Body and Soul” the most intriguing.

But without having a real sense of who’s going to be voting to narrow the shortlist down to the final five, we’re guessing about what they’ll respond to, with “The Wound” narrowly edging out “The Insult” in our reckoning.

Predicted nominees: “The Square,” “Loveless,” “A Fantastic Woman,” “In the Fade,” “The Wound”

Also Read: Oscars to Invite More Voters for Foreign Language Nominees, Allow International Streaming (Exclusive)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
On a strong shortlist of 15 films, Brett Morgen’s “Jane” and Agnes Varda and JR’s “Faces Places” have stood out from the beginning. But “Strong Island” is the most awarded nonfiction film of the year, while “Icarus” was at least partly responsible for the recent banning of Russia from the Winter Olympics.

For the last slot, while it would be great to think that the Academy might honor Steve James (“Abacus”) or Frederick Wiseman (“Ex Libris”), it may well come down to Syria or the L.A. riots, “City of Ghosts” v. “LA 92.”

Predicted nominees: “Jane,” “Faces Places,” “Strong Island,” “Icarus,” “LA 92”

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Over the years, voters in this category have shown a marked preference for 30-to-40-minute films about serious social and cultural problems. That’s perfect for films like the sadly timely “Heroin(e)” and the devasting “Kayayo,” but it could hurt a wry film like “Ten Meter Tower.”

In a strong group, other films that tick the right boxes include “116 Cameras” (a new way of looking at the Holocaust), “Edith+Eddie” (a character study that will leave most viewers infuriated at the elder-care system) and “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405” (a less depressing character study of an artist). But “Traffic Stop” could well land a nomination, too.

Predicted nominees: “Heroin(e),” “Kayayo: The Living Shopping Baskets,” “116 Cameras,” “Edith+Eddie,” “Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Pixar is almost always nominated, and “Lou” is an amusing but affecting work from that company. The hand-drawn “Dear Basketball” adds a genuinely touching visual component to Kobe Bryant’s farewell poem, with music by no less than John Williams. “In a Heartbeat” is a student Oscar winner that should advance on the strength of its prot-LGBT message, if not its animation. Among the others, the wit of “Life Smartphone” and the visual beauty of “Fox and the Whale” make them contenders, but the Roald Dahl adaptation “Revolting Rhymes” and the stop-motion “Negative Space” might have the upper hand.

Predicted nominees: “Dear Basketball,” “Lou,” “In a Heartbeat,” “Negative Space,” “Revolting Rhymes”

Also Read: Tribeca: Kobe Bryant on His New Career as Storyteller, Moviemaker

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
In the past, this category was often dominated by European shorts, often with darkly humorous twist endings. This year’s shortlisted films are largely international as well, but there’s not much humor here outside of the Australian film “The Eleven O’Clock.” These are films about terrorism (“Watu Wote,” “Witnesses”), school violence (“DeKalb Elementary”), racial violence (“My Nephew Emmett”), immigration (“Icebox,” “Facing Mecca”) and more.

“Rise of a Star,” a ballet film featuring Catherine Deneuve, might also stand out as something of a chance of pace, as could the Jack London adaptation “Lost Face,” but essentially voters can choose the story that hits the hardest — which makes it a hard category to predict, with the abundance of hard-hitting stories to choose from.

Predicted nominees: “DeKalb Elementary,” “Facing Mecca,” “Watu Wote/All of Us,” “Icebox,” “The Eleven O’Clock”

But first, we have to figure out what’s going to get nominated — and while five or six films and more than a dozen actors seem secure in their chances of scoring nods, there are plenty of question marks up and down the Oscar ballot.

In all likelihood, Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” will lead all films in nominations — I have it nabbing 12 nominations, which would put it two shy of the record shared by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.” That seems a little high, but the runners-up — “Dunkirk” with eight, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” with seven and “Lady Bird,” “Get Out” and “Call Me by Your Name” with five — feel about right.

Also Read: From 'Get Out' to 'The Post,' the Guilds Create Winners and Losers as Oscars Voting Begins

Here are my best guesses in all 24 categories, with potential nominees listed in order of likelihood:

BEST PICTURE
Five films seem very safe in the Oscars’ top category, and two more relatively safe: “Lady Bird,” “The Shape of Water,” “Get Out,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Dunkirk” as the top five, with “Call Me by Your Name” and “The Post” just behind (though the lack of guild support for Steven Spielberg’s drama is troubling). With the Academy’s system capable of producing anywhere from five to 10 Best Picture nominees, I have a feeling this year could only yield those seven, though history suggests that eight or nine films often make the cut.

If so, the final one or two will likely be drawn from “Phantom Thread,” which just might have enough fanatic devotees to benefit from the preferential system; “I, Tonya” and “Molly’s Game,” which have done very well in guild voting; “The Florida Project,” which once seemed to be a likely nominee and could still squeeze in; “Darkest Hour,” which also seemed likely as well; and “The Big Sick” and “Mudbound,” which received key SAG ensemble nominations.

Predicted nominees: “The Shape of Water,” “Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Dunkirk,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “The Post”
If nine films are nominated (which experience says might happen): “I, Tonya,” “The Florida Project”
If somehow 10 films get in (which they won’t): “The Big Sick”

Also Read: Why Oscars Could Produce Only 7 Best Picture Nominees This Year

BEST DIRECTOR
The Directors Guild nominated Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”), Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), Martin McDonagh (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Christopher Nolan (“Dunkirk”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”).

Most years, the Academy goes for four of the five DGA nominees, which might mean dropping Peele, Gerwig or McDonagh in favor of Sean Baker (“The Florida Project”), Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me by Your Name”) or Steven Spielberg (“The Post”).

Certainly, the Academy’s Directors Branch has confounded expectations before, and in the last two years the branch has grown by more than 25 percent — largely with the admission of international voters who may be harder to predict. Heck, they could even make up for snubbing Ridley Scott for “The Martian” by nominating him for his 11th-hour save of “All the Money in the World,” though that’s a complete long shot. But here’s guessing that for once, they stick with the DGA slate.

Predicted nominees: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”; Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”; Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”; Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

BEST ACTOR
There’s one big question in this category: Will James Franco get a nomination? The “Disaster Artist” director and star seemed on track for one until a number of women surfaced to accuse him of sexual misconduct in the wake of his Golden Globes win. The most damning of those accusations came only one day before Oscars voting ended — so while the accusations undoubtedly cost him some votes, he probably already had enough to get in.

Gary Oldman and Timothée Chalamet are locks for “Darkest Hour” and “Call Me by Your Name,” and “Phantom Thread” star Daniel Day-Lewis probably is as well — so if Franco gets in, the last slot will go to Tom Hanks (“The Post”), Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”), Jake Gyllenhaal (“Stronger”) or Denzel Washington (“Roman J. Israel, Esq.”). Hanks is Oscar royalty, but he hasn’t been nominated since 2000, and Kaluuya’s film has real heat.

Predicted nominees: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”; Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”; Daniel Day-Lewis,”Phantom Thread”; Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”; James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Also Read: Gary Oldman, Joe Wright on 'the Icon and the Myth' of Winston Churchill (Video)

BEST ACTRESS
In one of the Oscars’ most competitive categories, Frances McDormand, Saoirse Ronan and Sally Hawkins feel like locks for “Three Billboards,” “Lady Bird” and “The Shape of Water,” respectively. “I, Tonya” star Margot Robbie, who initially seemed to be on the bubble, now seems secure — which means that while Meryl Streep (“The Post”) holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for acting, she’s fighting for the fifth spot with a variety of other contenders, including Jessica Chastain (“Molly’s Game”), Judi Dench (“Victoria & Abdul”) and Michelle Williams (“All the Money in the World”).

The guilds liked “Molly’s Game” more than “The Post,” so I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that Chastain will pull an upset and edge out Streep.

Predicted nominees: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”; Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”; Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”; Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards”) and Willem Dafoe (“The Florida Project”) for sure. Rockwell’s co-star Woody Harrelson has been coming on strong lately. “Call Me by Your Name” sports a pair of strong contenders in Armie Hammer and Michael Stuhlbarg. Richard Jenkins provides the audience’s way into “The Shape of Water.” And Christopher Plummer could be rewarded for jumping into the Kevin Spacey role in “All the Money in the World.”

Predicted nominees: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”; Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”; Armie Hammer, “Call Me by Your Name”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The three actresses who play difficult moms — Allison Janney in “I, Tonya,” Laurie Metcalf in “Lady Bird” and Holly Hunter in “The Big Sick,” in level of increasing likability — should all get nominations. Then there’s Mary J. Blige in “Mudbound,” Hong Chau in “Downsizing,” Octavia Spencer in “The Shape of Water,” Lesley Manville in “Phantom Thread” and even Tiffany Haddish in “Girls Trip.” Chau could sneak in as the only part of Alexander Payne’s movie that has clicked with voters, but the film’s overall reception could hurt her.

Predicted nominees: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”; Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”; Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”; Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”; Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Also Read: Laurie Metcalf, Holly Hunter and Allison Janney on the Mother of All Oscar Races

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The thinner of the Oscars’ two screenplay categories will certainly contain “Call Me by Your Name” and will likely have “Molly’s Game,” “The Disaster Artist” and “Mudbound” as well, unless voters balk at the last film’s Netflix provenance. After that, it’s anybody’s guess, with “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” “Wonder,” “The Beguiled,” “Victoria & Abdul” and WGA nominee “Logan” among the films that have a chance. We give a slight edge to “Wonder,” which came in late but was loved by most of those who saw it.

Predicted nominees: “Call Me by Your Name,” “Molly’s Game,” “The Disaster Artist,” “Mudbound,” “Wonder”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Can “The Shape of Water” or “Dunkirk” get in, and by doing so increase their chances of winning Best Picture? Or will “The Big Sick” and “I, Tonya” push them out? In a fiercely competitive category where “Get Out,” “Lady Bird” and “Three Billboards” seem assured of nominations and “The Post” and “Coco” also sit on the bubble, I have a feeling there’s too much affection for “The Shape of Water” to leave it out, and too much admiration for the verbal fireworks of “I, Tonya.”

Predicted nominees: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” “I, Tonya,” “The Shape of Water”

Also Read: 'Three Billboards' Director Martin McDonagh Blasts Hollywood's 'Bland PC Filmmaking'

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yes, Roger Deakins will get his 14th nomination for “Blade Runner 2049” — and this time around, he might even win his first Oscar and erase that inexplicable smudge on the Academy’s record.

“Dunkirk” and “The Shape of Water” seem assured nominations as well. And in a field of contenders that includes “The Post,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Darkest Hour” and “Mudbound,” the last of those films would give the Academy its first-ever female cinematography nominee, Rachel Morrison.

Predicted nominees: “Blade Runner 2049,” “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Mudbound”

BEST FILM EDITING
This could be the category that tells us whether “Lady Bird” or “Get Out” could win Best Picture — because for the past 36 years, every best-pic winner except “Birdman” (which was designed to look like a continuous shot) was nominated here. “Lady Bird” is the longer shot in a category that usually saves a couple of slots for big, muscular movies.

Predicted nominees: “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Get Out,” “Baby Driver,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
We expect voters to go for the elaborately constructed worlds of “The Shape of Water” and “Blade Runner 2049” and then turn to the lavish period pieces that often dominate the category, “Darkest Hour” and “Murder on the Orient Express” perhaps edging out “Victoria & Abdul,” “The Greatest Showman” and “Wonderstruck.” And as long as voters don’t think the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” was simply a copy of the animated film, it should be safe. But watch out for “Phantom Thread,” too.

Predicted nominees: “The Shape of Water,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Darkest Hour,” “Murder on the Orient Express”

Also Read: Vicky Krieps on How 'Phantom Thread' Depicts Love, Power and Poisonous Relationships (Video)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Oscars voters won’t resist “Phantom Thread,” in which Daniel Day-Lewis plays a costume designer. “Beauty and the Beast” is just too gorgeously frilly to bypass (not to mention all those costumes that help turn people into household objects). And the skating outfits are a key to “I, Tonya.” Then it’s a matter of whether voters want to go elaborate (“The Greatest Showman,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Wonderstruck”) or functional (“The Post,” “Dunkirk,” “Darkest Hour”). We’ll take one of each.

Predicted nominees: “Phantom Thread,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “I, Tonya,” “Darkest Hour,” “The Greatest Showman”

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
It’ll be hard for voters to resist the makeup that will help Gary Oldman and Margot Robbie land acting nominations, so “Darkest Hour” and “I, Tonya” should make the cut. Then voters could either opt for the elaborate sci-fi makeup of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” or “Ghost in the Shell,” or the character makeup of “Wonder.” Since “Guardians” already got a nomination with its first film, maybe they’ll go in a different direction.

Predicted nominees: “Darkest Hour,” “I, Tonya,” “Wonder”

Also Read: Wonder How to Tell All 5 of This Year's 'Wonder' Films Apart? (Photos)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat and Hans Zimmer should pick up their eighth and 11th nominations, respectively, for “The Shape of Water” and “Dunkirk.” But those guys pale next to John Williams, who should land his 51st for “The Post” and might even get his 52nd for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to boot. But Williams is more likely to stick with one nod and leave space for Dario Marianelli’s “Darkest Hour” score and for one of the year’s most adventurous works, Jonny Greenwood’s music for “Phantom Thread.” Thomas Newman is also in the running for “Victoria & Abdul.”

Predicted nominees: “The Shape of Water,” “Dunkirk,” “The Post,” “Darkest Hour,” “Phantom Thread”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
In a packed race, the likeliest nominees are probably two theatrical songs, “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” and “Remember Me” from “Coco.” But Diane Warren and Common’s “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall” is close behind, as are Alan Menken’s new “Beauty and the Beast” song “Evermore,” Elvis Costello’s “You Shouldn’t Look at Me That Way,” Sufjan Stevens’ two songs from “Call Me by Your Name,” Mary J. Blige’s “Mighty River,” Questlove’s “It Ain’t Fair,” Sara Bareilles’ “If I Dare,” Taylor Swift’s and Ryan Tedder and T Bone Burnett’s “Truth to Power,” among many others.

A real wild-card possibility: Music Branch bigwig Alan Bergman’s “Just Getting Started” from the documentary “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast.”

Predicted nominees: “Remember Me” from “Coco”; “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”; “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall”; “You Shouldn’t Look at Me That Way” from “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”; “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name”

Also Read: An Opinionated Guide to a Wild Year for Oscar Songs

BEST SOUND EDITING
In the 11 years since the Oscars expanded the Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing categories to five nominees each, four out of the five nominees in the two categories have almost always matched, and at least one has been different. Sound Editing tends to reward the biggest films with the most artificially created sound effects, so “The Shape of Water” might fall out here in favor of “War for the Planet of the Apes” or “Wonder Woman.”

Predicted nominees: “Dunkirk,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Baby Driver,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Wonder Woman”

BEST SOUND MIXING
In Sound Mixing, meanwhile, voters typically drop in one or two musicals or impressively mounted Best Picture nominees. “The Shape of Water” will likely land a spot here over “The Greatest Showman,” “The Post” or “Coco.” Otherwise the landscape remains similar to Sound Editing.

Predicted nominees: “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Baby Driver”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Unlike, say, the makeup category, VFX voters tend not to nominate terrible movies with great effects, the odd “Transformers” nod notwithstanding. That could be bad news for the spectacularly awful “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” regardless of how jaw-dropping its effects are. Voters will also go for subtler effects in the service of a better story, which could help “Dunkirk” and “The Shape of Water.”

If they don’t want to make “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” the eighth “Star Wars” movie to be nominated in the category, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” or the Korean oddity “Okja” could slip in — but it seems unlikely they’re tired of “Star Wars” just yet.

Predicted nominees: “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Dunkirk,” “The Shape of Water,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

Also Read: 'War for the Planet of the Apes': How the VFX Team Created the Most Realistic Apes Yet

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Once you get past Pixar’s “Coco,” it was not a particularly strong year for major-studio animated features. That should open the category to the Irish indie “The Breadwinner” and the animated oil paintings of “Loving Vincent.”

But the last two slots could go to another foreign indie like “The Girl Without Hands” or “Mary and the Witch’s Flower,” rather than to DreamWorks Animation’s “The Boss Baby,” Illumination’s “Despicable Me 3” or Fox’s “Ferdinand.” Or one of the two Lego movies could get in, as something of an apology for not even nominating “The Lego Movie” three years ago.

Predicted nominees: “Coco,” “The Breadwinner,” “Loving Vincent,” “Ferdinand,” “The Lego Batman Movie”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
This category might be the most confounding of all, because we have no idea who’s voted. A change in the rules opened the second-round voting to far more members, particularly internationally, which could dramatically change the sensibility and expand the number of voters.

“The Square” and “Loveless” are still the most acclaimed, “The Insult” and “In the Fade” perhaps the most crowd-pleasing, “Foxtrot” the most challenging, “A Fantastic Woman” the timeliest and “Felicite,” “The Wound” and “On Body and Soul” the most intriguing.

But without having a real sense of who’s going to be voting to narrow the shortlist down to the final five, we’re guessing about what they’ll respond to, with “The Wound” narrowly edging out “The Insult” in our reckoning.

Predicted nominees: “The Square,” “Loveless,” “A Fantastic Woman,” “In the Fade,” “The Wound”

Also Read: Oscars to Invite More Voters for Foreign Language Nominees, Allow International Streaming (Exclusive)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
On a strong shortlist of 15 films, Brett Morgen’s “Jane” and Agnes Varda and JR’s “Faces Places” have stood out from the beginning. But “Strong Island” is the most awarded nonfiction film of the year, while “Icarus” was at least partly responsible for the recent banning of Russia from the Winter Olympics.

For the last slot, while it would be great to think that the Academy might honor Steve James (“Abacus”) or Frederick Wiseman (“Ex Libris”), it may well come down to Syria or the L.A. riots, “City of Ghosts” v. “LA 92.”

Predicted nominees: “Jane,” “Faces Places,” “Strong Island,” “Icarus,” “LA 92”

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Over the years, voters in this category have shown a marked preference for 30-to-40-minute films about serious social and cultural problems. That’s perfect for films like the sadly timely “Heroin(e)” and the devasting “Kayayo,” but it could hurt a wry film like “Ten Meter Tower.”

In a strong group, other films that tick the right boxes include “116 Cameras” (a new way of looking at the Holocaust), “Edith+Eddie” (a character study that will leave most viewers infuriated at the elder-care system) and “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405” (a less depressing character study of an artist). But “Traffic Stop” could well land a nomination, too.

Predicted nominees: “Heroin(e),” “Kayayo: The Living Shopping Baskets,” “116 Cameras,” “Edith+Eddie,” “Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Pixar is almost always nominated, and “Lou” is an amusing but affecting work from that company. The hand-drawn “Dear Basketball” adds a genuinely touching visual component to Kobe Bryant’s farewell poem, with music by no less than John Williams. “In a Heartbeat” is a student Oscar winner that should advance on the strength of its prot-LGBT message, if not its animation. Among the others, the wit of “Life Smartphone” and the visual beauty of “Fox and the Whale” make them contenders, but the Roald Dahl adaptation “Revolting Rhymes” and the stop-motion “Negative Space” might have the upper hand.

Predicted nominees: “Dear Basketball,” “Lou,” “In a Heartbeat,” “Negative Space,” “Revolting Rhymes”

Also Read: Tribeca: Kobe Bryant on His New Career as Storyteller, Moviemaker

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
In the past, this category was often dominated by European shorts, often with darkly humorous twist endings. This year’s shortlisted films are largely international as well, but there’s not much humor here outside of the Australian film “The Eleven O’Clock.” These are films about terrorism (“Watu Wote,” “Witnesses”), school violence (“DeKalb Elementary”), racial violence (“My Nephew Emmett”), immigration (“Icebox,” “Facing Mecca”) and more.

“Rise of a Star,” a ballet film featuring Catherine Deneuve, might also stand out as something of a chance of pace, as could the Jack London adaptation “Lost Face,” but essentially voters can choose the story that hits the hardest — which makes it a hard category to predict, with the abundance of hard-hitting stories to choose from.

Predicted nominees: “DeKalb Elementary,” “Facing Mecca,” “Watu Wote/All of Us,” “Icebox,” “The Eleven O’Clock”

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At that average, the estimated number of movie tickets sold last year is 1.23 billion. While that is only a rough estimate that does not account for the higher ticket prices for premium formats and theaters in more expensive cities like New York and Los Angeles, NATO’s estimate is the lowest since 1993, when “Jurassic Park” was the top grossing film of the year and an estimated 1.24 billion tickets were sold.

“2017 highlighted once again the importance of a balanced, 52 week movie calendar,” said NATO in its analysis. “A record Q1 (in box office and admissions) was offset by a disappointing summer, with a range of sequels that were not embraced by audiences in the numbers we are accustomed to. Summer 2017 was 92 million admissions short of summer 2016. An unusually empty August accounted for half of summer 2017’s shortfall. Q4 2017 was nearly equal to Q4 2016, with 315 million tickets sold, compared to 319 million.”

While annual box office revenue stayed above $11 billion for the third consecutive year, revenue over the summer season plummeted to 18-year lows. Historic lows were also reached for Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. The 2017 box office was a case of bookends, as the struggling summer sat in between industry record highs for March and September that were powered by family films like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Boss Baby” as well as adult blockbusters like “Logan” and “It.”

Attendance has been on a downward trend since 2005, though small rebounds were seen in 2012 and 2015. A similar rebound is expected in 2018, with heavily anticipated films like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story” expected to provide a more robust summer.

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Hollywood venue The Sayers Club, fan experience company 1iota Productions, and Beem Networks are amongst the clients joining her as anchor clients. The new eponymous company, Joyce Sevilla Public Relations, will celebrate with a launch party at hotspot Avenue this weekend.

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“As the industry continues to evolve, it’s important to progress with it,” Sevilla told TheWrap. “From years of being on the front lines working events and launching new brands, having my finger on the pulse allows me the advantage of always staying a step ahead.  My agency will offer a fresh, forward-thinking and multi-dimensional approach which will get us to the finish line first.”

Also Read: IMDb Launches Weekly Series With Kevin Smith as Exec Producer, Contributor (Exclusive)

Over ten years at EFG, Sevilla, known amongst friends by her nickname “Golden Lady,” led event projects and client accounts with Tinder, DeLeon Tequila, and Marquee Dayclub in Las Vegas. Focusing on events favored by young Hollywood, her red carpets have rolled out for Rolling Stone and Playboy events at various Super Bowls, Nylon’s New York Fashion Week gatherings, and Brent Bolthouse’s popular annual Neon Carnival near that giant music festival in Indio.

“Joyce has been an integral part of building the company, spearheading the Consumer/Lifestyle PR division for over a decade,” Rembrandt Flores, founder of EFG, told TheWrap. “This was the next logical step for her and EFG, especially as our agency has evolved beyond PR in the past few years. We support Joyce in her new venture and will continue to work together on future projects.”

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Sevilla began her career at the top of the charts, working on the team at JIVE Records during the peak of label stars Britney Spears, *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

The firm will be based in West Hollywood.

Many indie film buyers and sellers are openly questioning how aggressive unit chiefs Nancy Utley and Steve Gulila will be with a cloud hanging over their future — despite an established track record as producers and acquirers of Oscar-winning hits like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Juno” and “Black Swan.”

“What we are told is that they are going to be a real buyer [but] the conversation they are having with Disney, their buying ability might be affected,” said one top sales agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Also Read: Golden Globes: Raising One Last Glass to 20th Century Fox as We Know It

Content makers, reps from talent agencies and producers have been assured that the full acquisition team from Fox Searchlight will be on the ground in Park City, as well as 20th Century Fox Film head Stacey Snider, multiple individuals who spoke with TheWrap said.

Fox Searchlight had no comment, but a studio insider told TheWrap that any shift in the unit’s direction under Disney would not take place until after the deal closes, fully 12 to 18 months from now. “Fox Searchlight has a business model that still has accountability in it,” the insider said, adding that it’s been more than a decade since Searchlight has left Sundance without buying a single film.

Still, those mouse ears is already casting a shadow. “I think they’re going to be cautious,” another senior deal maker with multiple titles in the market said. A third film rep wondered if sellers might be wary of selling to Searchlight with a Disney transition imminent.

Also Read: Fear, Anxiety Sink In at 20th Century Fox After Disney Takeover News

In analysis of the Disney deal, many industry experts said Searchlight was the most likely to emerge unscathed after the merger. In recent years, Walt Disney Pictures has never shown the prowess for prestige movies or the ability to capture awards attention the way Searchlight has — and it has also shied away from the more adult-oriented and R-rated fare that is a staple of the indie unit’s slate.

Searchlight’s most recent original productions — “The Shape of Water,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Battle of the Sexes” this year — have been solid art-house performers at the box office. The first two are prominent players in this year’s awards race.

That’s an area that Disney has consistently de-emphasized since selling its Miramax unit in 2010 and giving up a multiyear distribution deal with DreamWorks.

Also Read: 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' Cancels Fantastic Fest Screening

Searchlight’s Sundance strategy might be further complicated by its recent track record with pricey acquisitions in Park city that have stumbled at the box office.

The company famously ponied up $17.5 million for Nate Parker’s 2016 historical drama “The Birth of a Nation,” which grossed only $15.8 million in the wake of resurfaced rape allegations against its star-director-cowriter (he was acquitted of the charges, which stemmed from his college days).

Last year’s rap drama “Patti Cake$,” bought by Searchlight for $9.5 million, earned just $800,000 domestically ($1.5 million worldwide), while the feel-good documentary “Step” has grossed $1.1 million after a $4 million purchase last January.

Searchlight’s biggest Sundance success story was 2006’s “Little Miss Sunshine,” which it picked up in Park City for $10.5 million and turned into a $60 million box office hit that earned two Oscars.

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Sloan, the former chief of MGM Studios, and Sagansky, an ex-Sony and CBS executive, have raised a combined $1.3 billion since 2011 for their other acquisition vehicles — Global Eagle Acquisition, Silver Eagle Acquisition, and Double Eagle Acquisition.

“With our fourth acquisition vehicle, we will continue to look for companies where we can add value based on our experience, particularly media and entertainment companies that can benefit from the digital disruption that has transformed the business on a global basis,” said Sagansky in a statement. “As always, we will target fast growing businesses that can benefit from a Nasdaq listing, access to capital, and experienced sponsors.”

Platinum Eagle closed its IPO with 32.5 million units at $10 per unit, including 2.5 million units at $25 million sold pursuant to the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option. It’ll trade on Nasdaq under the “EAGLU” ticker symbol. When the units begin separate trading, the Class A shares will be listed under “EAGL” and “EAGLW.”

Eli Baker, who has worked with Sagansky at his previous firms, will join as president and chief financial officer of Platinum Eagle. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are acting as the representatives of the underwriters for the offering and I-Bankers is serving as a manager.

Sloan was chairman and CEO of MGM from 2005 to 2009, while Sagansky has worked in Hollywood for thirty years, serving as president of CBS Entertainment from 1990 to 1994.

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Because it’s been over two years since the series wrapped (and three since Glover’s exit), fans may be wondering if the actors are just as close as they appeared in the Dan Harmon-created series. Well, we were too, so TheWrap asked Pudi during the Television Critics Association press tour last week. And, as you may have guessed, the answer is yes.

“I mean we’re, you know, we’re brothers. We’ve gone through a very unique experience,” Pudi told TheWrap, laughing. “And an amazing experience. So I think we’ll always be tight because of that. You know?”

Also Read: Yes, Danny Pudi 'Absolutely' Still Wants to Do a 'Community' Movie

As for how he feels about his buddy’s professional milestones since “Community” ended, the “Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits and Monsters” actor couldn’t be happier.

“Yes [I did]! Yeah, yeah it’s a big deal,” Pudi said of congratulating Glover after he won both Best Actor and Best Director at the 2017 Emmys for the freshman season of his FX series “Atlanta.”

“And it’s incredible to see him, and others, like Alison [Brie], at the Golden Globes,” Pudi continued, giving a nod to another “Community” alum, who is currently starring in Netflix’s “GLOW.” “And other people just kind of move on and do different things. You know?”

Also Read: 'Community' Creator Dan Harmon Apologizes Again, Details Sexual Harassment of Show Writer

The series also starred Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Ken Jeong, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jim Rash and Chevy Chase.

“We’re still very tight — all of us, as a group,” Pudi said. “I think in some ways we’ll always be. Because we went through a very strange, wonderful, up and down process. And that really brings you together.

Oh, we hope they stay that way, since we’re holding out for the “movie” part of the fans’ “six seasons and a movie!” battle cry. But don’t worry, Pudi tells us he is too. You can read more about that here.

Also Read: Dan Harmon Apologizes for 'Abusing My Position' With Female 'Community' Writer

In case you’ve forgotten how amazing Troy and Abed’s friendship was, check out one of their classic “Community” scenes below.

“Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters” will premiere on truTV this summer.

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The actor finally did speak out this week with “InfoWars” host Alex Jones.

“This is just a complete tragedy,” Seagal told Jones in an interview from Japan on Monday. “This isn’t just me, but hundreds of people around the world,” he said, adding that “many of those people are completely innocent.”

More than a dozen women have accused Seagal of sexual misconduct since the early 1990s. TheWrap reported last week that two women recently filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department against the actor. Former actress Regina Simons said Seagal raped her in 1993 after she appeared as an extra in “On Deadly Ground.” Another woman, Dutch former model Faviola Dadis, told TheWrap Seagal groped her during an audition in 2002.

Also Read: Steven Seagal Accused of 1993 Rape: 'Tears Were Coming Down My Face'

Some of the arguments Seagal made — including that there is a conspiracy to bring down high-profile men — have not been proven. Others are flatly wrong. Among them:

1. “People have lied and been paid to lie about me without any evidence, any proof, any witnesses and I think without any due process.”

Simons’ mom, ex-husband and ex-boyfriend all told TheWrap that Simons told them about the incident years ago. So did a bishop at her church. A therapist told TheWrap she diagnosed Simons with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which she believes was triggered by the rape.

“Due process” often begins with an accuser bringing a complaint to the police, as Simons says she has done. Police are also investigating another complaint against Seagal from 2005.

We would welcome any evidence from Seagal that anyone has been paid to lie about him.

2. Seagal said his accuser “can’t even produce a picture with me”

Simons did provide TheWrap with a picture from the audition where she says she met Seagal. We included it in our story last week. Here it is again:

Also Read: Steven Seagal Denies Sexual Assault Accusation by Bond Girl

3. Seagal said we contacted his “children,” adding, “to me that’s war.”

We did not contact any children. We did contact Seagal’s 42-year-old son in an effort to relay a message to Seagal that we were seeking his side of the story. We contacted actor and model Kentaro Seagal through his own IMDb page, asking if he knew how to reach his father’s representatives. Kentaro said he did not.

You can watch Seagal’s full interview below.

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Andy Cohen is set to guest star on the CW hit series in March, and individual close to the production told TheWrap. Of course, Cohen also tweeted the news (see below). The “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” host will begin filming later this week.

The network told TheWrap that Cohen “will be playing himself.He’s an old friend of the Lodges who has come to Riverdale to offer Hermione [Marisol Nichols] a helping hand.”

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I’M COMING TO #RIVERDALE!! https://t.co/YFI4lvjd8w

— Andy Cohen (@Andy) January 17, 2018

A helping hand with what, we wonder — with keeping headstrong Veronica in line? Or maybe with dealing with matters of the heart, as Hermione’s relationship with her husband and Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) has been decidedly strained of late.

Cohen’s IRL pal Mark Consuelos plays Hiram Lodge, so it should be a fun cameo to watch. Plus, we can totally imagine Veronica (Camila Mendes) bragging about knowing the Bravo stalwart to the rest of the crew.

Entertainment Weekly first reported the news of Cohen’s guest appearance.

You can watch “Riverdale” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

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Back on Jan. 2, Trump tweeted that about a week later, on Jan. 8, he’d be announcing “THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR.” He later changed the date to Jan. 17 — today. But after two full weeks, it really doesn’t seem like Trump’s “Fake News Awards” are actually ever going to happen.

I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018

Also Read: 26 Old, Angry Trump Tweets that Sound Like He's Mad at Himself

Trump tweeted to suggest that it was an abundance of interest in his Fake News Awards that forced him to push them back more than a week, from Jan. 8 to today, in a tweet on Jan. 7. But as late as Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn’t seem to know where, when, or if it was even happening, according to the Washington Post.

The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018

“We’ll keep you posted on any details around that potential event and what that would look like,” Sanders told reporters the day before Trump had said the Fake News Awards would take place. The use of the words “potential events” suggests nobody really knows if Trump actually plans to go through with the awards, or how he might do it.

On Wednesday, the day of the awards, Sanders mentioned them again in the daily White House Press Briefing, saying they would be coming in the afternoon, but offered no additional details as to their nature. And Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said on Fox News that the White House is “very excited about the Fake News Awards” without saying what they were, as Mediaite reported.

Trump originally said he’d “announce” the awards at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 7, which has the air of a Twitter rant about it, or maybe a White House press release.

Also Read: 14 Times Donald Trump and His Team Were Confused About History (Photos)

So the Fake News Awards seem to be on the way even if nobody has made clear what they are. That’s despite objections from GOP Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, who criticized the president for his attacks on the press. Flake gave a speech on the Senate floor condemning Trump for his attacks on the press, and McCain penned an opinion piece for the Washington Post imploring Trump to stop his attacks on the media.

What exactly the Fake News Awards will entail, whether a Twitter rant from the president, a press release from the White House, or something more, remains to be seen. But the awards apparently are happening sometime today. If Trump’s original tweet might still apply, expect the Fake News Awards to be unveiled around 5 p.m. Eastern time.

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Replying to a Twitter user who asked her, “Do you believe the story of The Presidents [sic] fling with the Storm?” James responded, “It’s just stupidity. Whether he screwed a pornstar while married or not, will not change a thing. We all knew who Trump was when we elected him. His penis size is irrelevant to his fan base. The dems need to refocus.”

Jameson also suggested that Daniels should have “kept her trap shut,” and that the Trump story could amount to “career suicide.”

Also Read: Porn Star Stormy Daniels Old Interview About Affair With Trump Surfaces

“Great PR for the porn star though,” one Twitter user wrote to Jameson. “Her name will be published in every lefty news source possible and her Google hits will go through the roof.”

“I actually think it’s career suicide. The left looks at her as a whore and just uses her to try to discredit the president,” Jameson replied. “The right look at her like a treacherous rat. It’s a lose lose. Should have kept her trap shut.”

Asked if she thought the story about Daniels and Trump was true, Jameson spilled about her own run-in with Trump which she said occurred in 2006 — the same year that Daniels reportedly met Trump.

Also Read: Fox News Denies Shelving Story on Stormy Daniels-Trump Affair Before 2016 Election

“I can say this… I first met Donald Trump in 2006 in my ‘prime’ by the pool at the Beverly Hills hotel. I was in a bikini and he was so unbelievably respectful,” Jameson tweeted. “He told me he thought I was incredibly smart and thought I had an incredible business acumen.”

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Daniels was paid $130,000 in hush money to keep quiet about the alleged sexual encounter in October 2016. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen stated that the adult film performer denied the accusations. But WSJ reporters were not able to verify that directly with Daniels.

On Wednesday, In Touch Weekly ran a years-old interview in which Daniels reportedly detailed her relationship with Trump.

“[The sex] was textbook generic,” Daniels said, in an interview that In Touch chose not to run in 2011. It “was nothing crazy. It was one position, what you would expect someone his age to do.”

Also Read: DC Bar Serves Up Trump Special Cocktail: 'The Stormy Daniels'

Neither the White House nor Daniels responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. But Trump’s lawyer once again told In Touch the president “vehemently” denies “any such occurrence, as has Ms. Daniels.”

It’s just stupidity. Wether he screwed a pornstar while married or not, will not change a thing. We all knew who Trump was when we elected him. His penis size is irrelevant to his fan base. The dems need to refocus. https://t.co/2jn3qGhQWf

– Jenna Jameson (@jennajameson) January 17, 2018

I actually think it’s career suicide. The left looks at her as a whore and just uses her to try to discredit the president. The right look at her like a treacherous rat. It’s a lose lose. Should have kept her trap shut. https://t.co/epaio49P32

– Jenna Jameson (@jennajameson) January 17, 2018

I can say this… I first met Donald Trump in 2006 in my “prime” by the pool at the Beverly Hills hotel. I was in a bikini and he was so unbelievably respectful. He told me he thought I was incredibly smart and thought I had an incredible business acumen. https://t.co/pFglCAywOU

– Jenna Jameson (@jennajameson) January 17, 2018

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“Of all the disciplines to cross over, actors have probably had the best track record,” producer and former Universal chief Tom Pollock said.

And history tells us that performers-turned-directors do exceedingly well at awards time, most particularly with their early works. Robert Redford and Kevin Costner earned Oscars for their first stabs at taking the helm, “Ordinary People” and “Dances With Wolves.”

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Some point out that the largest bloc of the academy is comprised of actors, and they may like celebrating their own. Or, more selfishly, paving the way for others to do the same. Whatever the motivations, directing Oscars have also been showered on Clint Eastwood, who has won twice, (his next, “The 15:17 to Paris” arrives in February) Mel Gibson for “Braveheart,” Woody Allen for “Annie Hall,” and Warren Beatty for “Reds.”

Though their most recent films have not fared well, Rob Reiner and Ron Howard became better directors than they were actors. The same could be said of Jon Favreau (working on the non-animated version of “The Lion King”), Peter Berg and Tom McCarthy. Many argue that Ben Affleck has also turned into a more impactful director than actor.

Either out of creative restlessness, or control freaking, many other actors have also taken a turn behind the camera, including Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller and Denzel Washington. This is not entirely new, of course. Charlie Chaplin was a major auteur-actor and his movies certainly hold up. Of course, he didn’t have to worry about much dialogue. Orson Welles, who worried a lot about his dialogue, had an ego as big as his figure, and managed to make some classics before flaming out.

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Actors seemingly like being directed by those who have at some point toiled in their profession. Many esteemed directors, such as Elia Kazan and Sydney Pollack, started as stage actors. In the ’60s, John Cassavetes turned to directing, and created a unique form of what might be considered high-end home movies starring his Oscar-nominated wife, Gena Rowlands.

Cassavetes, like Chaplin and Welles, often appeared on screen as well, a challenging feat. We were once at a gathering where Warren Beatty was probing Paul Newman on his experience handling both jobs. Newman, who was a pinch-hit director on “Sometimes a Great Notion,” said he would not recommend simultaneously starring in a film while directing.

He told Beatty, who was already a hugely successful producer, that if he was going to attempt to direct himself, “get a partner the first time.” Beatty’s next film was “Heaven Can Wait” and sure enough, it was co-directed by Buck Henry. Likewise, dancer-choreographer-actor Gene Kelly started his transition by co-directing “On the Town.”

Also Read: Directors Guild TV Nominations Include 'Handmaid's Tale,' 'Big Little Lies'

One can imagine studios hesitant to greenlight a film helmed by, but not starring, a box office name. Which may explain why Bradley Cooper directs as well as stars (with Lady Gaga) in the upcoming remake of “A Star Is Born.” And let’s face it, the rapacious entertainment media will pay more attention to a film when the director just happens to also be a popular celebrity.

Nevertheless, actors seeking to stretch are finding more places open to their desires. A24 Films, for example, last year distributed both “Lady Bird” and James Franco’s “The Disaster Artist.” Redford’s Sundance Institute has been actively involved with actors taking on directing duties. This month’s festival features films directed by Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano and Rupert Everett. “Sundance has always been supportive of actors broadening their engagement with storytelling,” said Michelle Satter, founding director of the Sundance Feature Film Program.

The number of films directed by women pales compared to men, so it has been even more daunting for actresses to make the leap. Which is why Greta Gerwig’s first outing is such a triumph. Along with Sarah Polley and other actresses transitioning to directing, Gerwig chose not to appear on camera in her “Lady Bird.” Angelina Jolie has done a better job as a director when she stays off camera. (“By the Sea,” anyone?)

Also Read: Number of Top Women Directors Climbs From Atrociously Low to Woefully Unacceptable

Among women, Penny Marshall, Jodie Foster and Barbra Streisand have probably made the actor-to-director shift most smoothly. Streisand was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in “Yentl” but won for Best Director — the only woman to earn that prize at the Globes.

These days, women won’t be stopped. Brie Larson has directed “Unicorn Store,” which premiered at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival and is still awaiting distribution. Courteney Cox directed several episodes on television — a medium historically more accessible to actresses — before helming the 2014 indie “Just Before I Go.” “I’m never more creatively fulfilled than when I’m directing,” Cox said. “I love immersing myself in every aspect, including surrounding myself with incredibly talented people interested in supporting that vision.”

Now Gerwig carries the torch for female actor/directors in this tumultuous awards season. “Greta Gerwig made a first movie as a director that in no way looked like a first movie,” said Bob Berney, the head of marketing and distribution at Amazon Studios. May “Lady Bird” be more than beginner’s luck.

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After four weekends in theaters, the numbers for the sequel to Robin Williams’ 1995 adventure film sit at $291 million domestic and $676 million worldwide, good for eighth and twelfth respectively among all 2017 releases. Later this week, it will pass the $304 million domestic total made by the 2012 James Bond film “Skyfall” and become Sony’s highest grossing domestic release outside the “Spider-Man” series, and by the end of this weekend, it is expected to pass the $313 million made by “Thor: Ragnarok.”

Also Read: 'Jumanji' Passes 'Justice League' at the Box Office, Hunts More Franchises

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was expected to be the big moneymaker of the holiday season, but “Jumanji” has been the surprise, pushing Sony’s 2017 domestic revenue above $1 billion, the first time the studio has reached that level since 2014. Over the past few years, Sony has been in need of more major franchise draws outside the “Spider-Man” series, and while “Welcome To The Jungle” ends on a seemingly final note that puts an end to the franchise’s deadly game once and for all, don’t be surprised if the studio tries to bring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan in some way to turn “Jumanji” into a series.

But what has allowed “Jumanji” to show such legs? Paul Dergarabedian of comScore points to a trend that tends to pop up around this time of year and which has been taken advantage of by several holiday releases like “Night At The Museum” and “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”: the mid-December release slot.

“If you look historically, some of the longest running films at the box office have been mid-December releases that are able to get lots of mileage thanks to strong reviews that bring in a good opening weekend crowd, who in turn build good word-of-mouth that lasts for several weeks.”

“This is especially good for family films like ‘Jumanji,’ because families are always going to come out to theaters from Christmas to MLK weekend, and ‘Jumanji’ filled that demand by providing another offering for the school break other than ‘Star Wars,'”

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Had “Jumanji” been released in summer, it would have been one option at theaters among many for families with older kids. But instead of competing against the likes of “Wonder Woman” and other seasonal blockbusters, Sony set the release date the Wednesday before Christmas, just five days after “The Last Jedi” hit theaters. Against the most anticipated release of the year, “Jumanji” got off to a slow start, as the typical lull that comes on Christmas Eve also hampered ticket sales. By the end of Sunday, the film had only made $52.7 million, with $36.1 million coming over the weekend.

But on Christmas Day, the word of mouth from early moviegoers made “Jumanji” a popular “Star Wars” alternative for families, leading to a $19.1 million single-day haul for the holiday. From there, the film’s popularity snowballed, leading to a four-day New Year’s weekend in which “Jumanji” took in $66.2 million. Since then, its weekend performance has remained on the same level as that of its Xmas start, with $37 million in its third weekend and $35 million on MLK weekend.

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The result? “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” has now shown more legs at the box office than any of the top 15 highest grossing releases in 2017. The $52 million made from its opening Wednesday through its first weekend only accounts for 18 percent of the film’s total domestic revenue, lowest in the top 15. Even when Christmas Day totals are factored in, that percentage only increases to 24 percent, and will likely settle around 20-22 percent by the end of the film’s run. By comparison, openings for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Beauty and the Beast” account for around 35 percent of their respective totals, and even “Wonder Woman,” which made box office headlines for its impressive endurance through the summer, has a opening/total percent of 25 percent.

With the release slate slowing down over the next couple of weeks, “Jumanji” should still bring in solid numbers in the late stages of its run, which should be some help for theaters that will likely see fewer moviegoers over the next month until “Black Panther” brings them back on Feb. 16. But even more than Sony and exhibitors, the biggest winner of “Jumanji” is Dwayne Johnson, who is back to being one of Hollywood’s biggest draws after his last film, “Baywatch,” fell flat on Memorial Day Weekend.

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The investigation involves an alleged assault against an unnamed man in the London borough of Westminster in 2005. It follows assault claims filed against the actor that allegedly occurred in the southern borough of Lambeth in 2005 and 2008.

“On 13 December we received an allegation that the man sexually assaulted a man (Victim 3) in 2005 in Westminster,” a Scotland Yard rep told TheWrap Wednesday in a statement. “Officers from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command are investigating.”

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The investigations come after the Old Vic Theater, the Lambeth theater where Spacey was artistic director from 2004 to 2015, opened a confidential line for anyone abused by Spacey during his time there. In November, the Old Vic said that it had received more than 20 complaints of “inappropriate behavior” against Spacey, and advised 12 of the complainants to bring their accounts to the police.

Spacey has not been served with criminal charges for any of the accusations made against him since actor Anthony Rapp accused him of assaulting him as a teenager, but it has cost the actor his career, losing his lead role on the Netflix series “House of Cards” while reshoots were ordered to replace his role in Ridley Scott’s “All The Money In The World” with Christopher Plummer.

Spacey’s reps did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

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Rights to the bestselling tell-all have been acquired by Endeavor Content, TheWrap has learned. Wolff will executive produce the series with Two Cities Television CEO Michael Jackson. No network is attached to the project yet.

“Fire and Fury,” published earlier this month, became a bestseller after an excerpt was published in New York magazine and portrayed a version of the Trump administration run by chaos. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was quoted in the story calling Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with Russian officials “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”

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The book had even more wide-ranging consequences once Trump issued a statement distancing himself from Bannon and calling into question the former official’s mental state. Bannon subsequently lost the backing of major Republican donors and was ousted from his role as chairman of Breitbart News.

Endeavor Content, formed last October in a reorganization of WME and IMG’s film and scripted television finance and sales groups, already has a deal with Chernin Entertainment to produce scripted TV projects, as well as a film adaptation of the David Barclay Moore book “The Stars Beneath Our Feet” to be directed by Michael B. Jordan.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.

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Daniels — whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — made it clear that the man known for “The Art of the Deal” was less than artful in the bedroom, according to the report.

“[The sex] was textbook generic,” Daniels told the publication. It “was nothing crazy. It was one position, what you would expect someone his age to do.”

The magazine said it was able to corroborate Daniels’ account with two different people. Daniels also passed a polygraph test, according to the report.

When TheWrap asked In Touch why they didn’t publish the article back in 2011, a spokeswoman for the magazine indicated Trump wasn’t a relevant enough public figure back then. “Donald Trump is clearly a more relevant public figure now than he was in 2011,” she said.

Earlier this week Fox News denied a CNN report that it shelved a story about a sexual relationship between the adult film actress and Trump before the 2016 election.

Also Read: Fox News Denies Shelving Story on Stormy Daniels-Trump Affair Before 2016 Election

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Daniels was paid $130,000 in hush money in October 2016. Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen stated that the adult film performer denied the accusations. But WSJ reporters were not able to verify that directly with Daniels.

In Touch told TheWrap the WSJ story inspired its reporters to surface their Stormy Daniels interview from seven years ago. “In Touch reporters who worked on the story originally brought In Touch’s 2011 interview with Stormy Daniels to our attention including the transcript, polygraph tests and other documentation,” she said.

According to In Touch, Daniels told the magazine she met the then-“Apprentice” host at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada in 2006 — a year after Trump had married Melania and just a few months after the birth of their son, Barron.

According to Daniels, Trump invited her to his hotel room, where they had sex. She said that Trump also asked her to sign a copy of one of her X-rated movies.

Daniels said Trump told her he’d call her and, at one point, said: “We have to get you on ‘The Apprentice.'”

Also Read: DC Bar Serves Up Trump Special Cocktail: 'The Stormy Daniels'

Daniels also said that the two met up a few more times after that, including once in his office at Trump Tower in 2007,  another time at the Miss USA pageant that same year and once in his private bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Neither the White house nor Daniels responded to TheWrap’s requests for comment. But Trump’s lawyer once again told In Touch the president “vehemently” denies “any such occurrence, as has Ms. Daniels.”

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“I’ve been smiling for 11 years!” As Sue Ann Nivens on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” we were introduced to an actress who could never not be smiling, even as she poured her heart out.

“I wouldn’t say you were dreary unless you were really dreearrryyyy,” a flamboyant Paul Lynde says to a smitten White in this sketch from “The Donny & Marie Osmond Show.” White has such a sweet glow in this scene, even when her glasses go askew and she doesn’t fix them. “Oh, you’re just being kind, I know I’m exceptional.”

This “Golden Girls” rehearsal clip shows what a naturally gifted comic White was, thinking on her feet even during a rehearsal when the cameras weren’t supposed to be on.

White was the queen of game shows, appearing on “Match Game,” “Password” and as the host of the game show “Just Men!” starting in 1983. Here she is making a quick bundle during the final round of “The $25,000 Pyramid.”

If Johnny Carson was going to take his shirt off for a sketch, better call Betty White. She once played Jane to his Tarzan after years of a disgruntled marriage, and in this sketch, she uses her often smutty sense of humor to bat around some balls with a nude Carson in a baseball locker room.

White has been a talk show staple for so many decades and been such a present figure on our TVs that it isn’t crazy to think she reminds us of a mother or grandmother. But later in her life she found enough attitude that she could make even David Letterman blush.

White has been around so long that she got her lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild in 2009 and still had a lot ahead of her. She’s always given off that earnest, humble warmth even when she’s playing a bit naughty. “I actually know many of you and worked with you…maybe had a couple.”

No matter how old you live, there aren’t many actors who can boast three successful TV shows. In “Hot in Cleveland,” White got to feel sexy and wanted and better yet got to do whatever she wanted, even if that meant squeeze a football player’s pecs.

And just because it would be impossible not to, here’s White making out with Bradley Cooper, probably one of his finest moments even more so than hers.

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Someone was killing African-American boys in Atlanta, and the city was burning through money trying to capture him. Davis convinced Sinatra to join him for a benefit concert at the Atlanta Civic Center, where police thought their efforts might have another benefit — drawing out the killer.

That’s one of the surreal stories told in the second episode of the excellent new podcast “Atlanta Monster,” and it’s the focus of our latest “Shoot This Now,” in which Matt Donnelly and I talk about incredible stories we want to see made into movies.

Also Read: Shoot This Now: Why the Anti-Hitchcock Story 'The Living Room' Should Be a Movie

As “Atlanta Monster” explains, many celebrities expressed solidarity with Atlanta. (Today we learned that Robert De Niro wore a green ribbon at the 1981 Academy Awards to honor the victims — long before ribbons were de rigueur at awards ceremonies.)

The FBI turned out in force at the concert because of certainty that the killer would make an appearance. He didn’t — but the suspect’s father did. Soon after Homer Williams photographed the concert, his son, Wayne Williams, was arrested in the murders.

The story only gets stranger from there. As “Atlanta Monster” will discuss in future episodes, many believe the Ku Klux Klan, not Williams, was to blame for at least some of the killings.

Here’s our podcast for iTunes listeners…

And normal people.

Or you can just check it out here:

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Sarah Sanders Blasts Jeff Flake: 'He Has Terrible Poll Numbers' pic.twitter.com/8oIPK8zW2Q

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders responded to Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) who compared President Trump’s hostile treatment of the media to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin on the Senate floor earlier today.

“He’s not criticizing the president because he’s against oppression, he’s criticizing the president because he has terrible poll numbers and he is, I think, looking for some attention. I think it’s unfortunate,” said Sanders.

“We welcome access to the media every day,” she added. “To act as if we’re anything but open to that back and forth exchange is utterly ridiculous.”

Also Read: Sarah Sanders: If Trump's a Racist, 'Why Did NBC Give Him a Show for a Decade?'

In her response, Sanders also brushed aside a question about Trump’s now much-anticipated “fake news awards,” telling reporters that the White House would have something on that “later today.”

In addition to his Stalin comparison, Flake reaffirmed the importance of the Russia investigation of meddling in the 2016 election and defended the need for a robust free press.

“It is past time to stop excusing, or ignoring, or worse, endorsing these attacks on the truth,” said Flake. “For if we compromise the truth for the sake of our politics, we are lost.”

Flake’s speech, however, was widely panned online, with Pro-Trump Republicans blasting Flake as a turncoat, and Democrats saying his words didn’t erase his consistently pro-Trump voting record.

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“The Dream of the ’90s”

In the space of a catchy song, the show’s very first sketch sums up everything that would come to define “Portlandia.” It’s an irreverent musical number that’s a stylish genre parody with a deep affinity for Portland culture. Also check out how Fred and Carrie revisited the song with “The Dream of the 1890s.”

“Did You Read It?”

This sketch pokes fun at the idea that keeping up with lengthy think pieces and magazine profiles isn’t about being informed but is all about hipster cred. It’s smart satire, but this is an early example of how “Portlandia” finds its distinct humor in incredibly fast editing and Fred and Carrie’s snappy cadence.

The Simply Everything Plus Plan

Fred and Carrie played their share of frustratingly helpful employees and store clerks in their day, but Kumail Nanjiani was always best at it. From gleefully describing the ups and downs of horrible cell phone plans to endlessly listing ways to spice up your meal at a restaurant with seemingly unlimited options, “Portlandia” had a knack for driving you up the wall with calmly pleasant hipster entrepreneurs with good intentions.

“Thai Food Bridgetown Weekly”

What else does an alt-weekly need but a movie critic who likes Paul Thomas Anderson movies, music festival roundups, a punny cover story about legalizing weed, and Dan Savage? This is inspired, an underrated example of how “Portlandia” spins something as mundane as bad Thai food into a nonsensical conspiracy.

“Battlestar Galactica”

“Portlandia” didn’t invent “binge watching,” but they might’ve been the first to satirize it. Fred and Carrie’s crazed intensity over absorbing all of “Battlestar Galactica” makes this clip one of the show’s best on its own, but they take it to a hilarious degree when they imagine Fred and Carrie approaching the wrong Ronald D. Moore, yet still recruit Edward James Olmos to re-enact their last bit of fan fiction. Also check out “Spoiler Alert!” for a good companion sketch.

“Social Bankruptcy”

“Social Bankruptcy” is a great example of how the show has evolved over the years. A social media overload themed sketch might not’ve registered in the same way in 2011, but today the idea that erasing your online presence might as well mean you’re dead is as relevant as ever.

“Recording Studio”

This one’s all Armisen, a chance for him to showcase that he’s actually a good drummer while doing an inane character more quietly in awe of gear and sound quality than anyone alive. And you know you’ve hit the nail on the head when your guest star can literally materialize out of thin air, not say a word and still serve a hilarious punchline.

“Put a Bird On It!”

I’m honestly more impartial to other business ideas from the wonderfully named Brice Shivers and Lisa Eversman, but “Put a Bird On It!” is the signature “Portlandia” sketch, sprucing up the world with one plastic sticker and an exclamation point at a time. Of course what has made “Portlandia” special” is how Fred and Carrie escalate the show’s randomness to include some emotional crisis at the hands of any of their bumbling caricatures.

“The Artisanal Knot Store”

Jeff Goldblum was destined to be on this show before it existed. The difference between his Knot Store and other examples of the show’s artisan light bulbs or movie theater food is that he’s a convincing enough salesman that you’d actually want to spend $50 on one of his tangled messes of headphones.

“Baseball”

I adore Kyle MacLachlan’s exuberant mayor with half-brained plans for Portland and a minimal attention span. This early entry shows how he uses his optimistic charm to will Fred and Carrie into doing just about anything, even making a Sunday morning cartoon with a character as lame as “Batty Batterson.”

“Journaling Class”

There are too many good “Women and Women First” sketches to choose from. Candace and Toni have been recurring favorites for a reason, transforming from droopy, uber-feminists to being outright belligerent over nothing. But I’m impartial to Heather Graham appearing in their journaling class and writing about how much she loves (gasp!) her boyfriend.

“Bad Art Good Walls”

Fred and Carrie have a wonderful chemistry and repartee whenever they’re put in an office setting. “Bad Art Good Walls” is them riffing at their finest as they answer the eternal question, “Just where in the world did this coffee shop find that thing?”

“911 Beets Emergency”

You wouldn’t expect “Portlandia” to pull off a “CSI” parody, but while this isn’t a riff on hipsters, it’s the show at its most irreverent best. “It’s always beets!”

“Shooting Star Preschool”

If “Parks and Recreation” perfected lunatic Midwesterners in town halls, this sketch is “Portlandia’s” more indie twist on community and parent outrage. “She probably likes ‘Rock and Roll High School’ by The Ramones.” I mean, how can this woman be teaching our children!

“The Best Part is Going Home”

This will be familiar to anyone who goes to shows regularly. It would’ve been enough to imagine the annoyances of any concert ever, but what makes the sketch great is its blissful reverie in slow motion about finally taking off that wristband and collapsing into bed. Oh, and don’t forget to wake up to buy Prince tickets!

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“Jersey Shore” alum Sorrentino and his brother-manager Marc Sorrentino will plead guilty in a tax fraud case against them, according to paperwork from the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a letter to federal judge Susan D. Wigenton, the Department of Justice said that the two parties “have agreed to plead guilty.”

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The Sorrentinos were initially indicted in 2014 and were accused of failing to properly pay taxes on $8.9 million in income that the reality star raked in from promotional activities.

Both Sorrentinos were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. In addition, Marc Sorrentino was charged with three counts of filing false tax returns for 2010 through 2012, while Mike Sorrentino faced two counts of the same charge, along with an additional count of failing to file a tax return for 2011.

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Last year, the brothers were indicted on additional charges, including tax evasion, structuring and falsifying records.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the Sorrentinos submitted or caused to be submitted false documents understating the gross receipts received by the brothers and their two companies, MPS Entertainment, LLC and Situation Nation, Inc. The pair are also accused of submitting false tax returns that failed to report all of their income.

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Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine-produced project is Apple’s first half-hour scripted comedy. Inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld’s upcoming short story collection “You Think It, I’ll Say It,” the show has received a 10-episode order by the tech company.

The untitled show marks Wiig’s first regular TV series role since she exited “Saturday Night Live” in 2012.

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Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter will executive produce for Hello Sunshine, with Wiig also receiving an EP credits on the series. Colleen McGuinness created the show and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Sittenfeld will act as consulting producer.

This marks the third project Apple has ordered from Hello Sunshine, including Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston’s morning show drama and Octavia Spencer’s “Are You Sleeping,” which is co-produced by Chernin Entertainment.

Those series join the tech companies lineup of originals, including Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories,” Ron Moore’s space drama, the drama “See” from Steven Knight and Francis Lawrence, and the docuseries “Home” from Matt Tyrnauer and Matthew Weaver.

Sean Burch contributed to this story.

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How hard is to remember to buy batteries?!?

Okay, to be fair, the Pearson clan had a lot going on during “Clooney,” the Jan. 16 episode of “This Is Us.” But fans everywhere will probably never forgive them for what the final scene of Tuesday night’s installment revealed: Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) absent-mindedly shrugging off the idea they had forgotten the one thing they went to the mall for, as the camera pulled back to reveal their smoke detector with a dangling wire and no batteries.

As every viewer who has been waiting to learn how Jack died for over a year now will remember, the end of the Season 2 premiere showed Rebecca crying her eyes out in front of the Pearsons’ burned-down house. And, of course, “This Is Us” producer Isaac Aptaker confirmed that Tuesday’s clue was definitely part of a plan to get viewers ready for the inevitable.

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“We’re trying to brace people and help people prepare. I think I told you that this was one where the impact of it sneaks up on you,” told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a way of showing that there’s so much going on in these characters’ lives right now, and there’s so much that they’re dealing with. It’s so easy to make a simple mistake. Of course, looking back, we all know what that leads to, but life is hectic. Sometimes you forget to get batteries.”

Aptaker wouldn’t say “exactly what episode we’re going to see the death” but admitted “we are very close.” “We’re not pulling any punches. This isn’t like, ‘Oh, they’re going to get batteries next week,’ and everyone will be on Twitter cursing us. [Laughs.] You are watching the events that lead to this man’s untimely death.”

Well, that’s fantastic. Can someone remember to buy tissues at the very least?

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And if you’re wondering exactly how this fire is going to go catch, Aptaker obviously won’t tell us that either. But we know it could be of the electrical variety.

“It’s entirely possible,” he said. “But then again, it’s sort of saying like how throughout our show to explore the way that life is totally unexpected, and we don’t necessarily see where the curveballs are coming from, yes, certainly it could be that electrical fire. Also, there’s lots of different ways that a house can catch on fire. It’s the kind of thing where you don’t really realize what’s important until you have all the information and can reflect on it, much like actual life.”

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Couric has previously worked the gig from Sydney in 2000, Salt Lake City in 2002 and Athens in 2004. She also covered six Olympics on the “Today” show during her run as co-anchor from 1991-2006.

“During my years at NBC, I loved covering the Olympics and showcasing the hard work, dedication and perseverance of athletes from around the world,” Couric said on Wednesday. “The Opening Ceremony will be a chance for South Korea to share its culture and customs and for the international community to celebrate this unparalleled display of athletic achievement and sportsmanship. There’s nothing quite like it.

“I’m also looking forward to working with Mike, who brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to everything he does,” she added.

Also Read: Katie Couric Breaks Silence on Matt Lauer: 'This Was Not the Matt We Knew'

Couric will contribute to NBC Olympics coverage in the days following the Opening Ceremony with commentary and Olympian interviews, per the network.

Tirico was previously announced as NBC Olympics’ primetime host, succeeding Bob Costas in the role.

Additionally, Joshua Cooper Ramo rejoins NBC’s Opening Ceremony coverage. He also worked the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony.

The Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony airs February 9 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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GOP Sen. Jeff Flake on Trump's attacks on the free press: "It is past time to stop excusing, or ignoring, or worse, endorsing these attacks on the truth. For if we compromise the truth for the sake of our politics, we are lost." https://t.co/pqMcna3ZMn https://t.co/9kI3mZZv11

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) issued a long denunciation of President Donald Trump on the Senate floor Wednesday and defended the American free press.

“It is past time to stop excusing, or ignoring, or worse, endorsing these attacks on the truth,” said Flake. “For if we compromise the truth for the sake of our politics, we are lost.”

Trump routinely attacks the media, who he has called the “enemy of the people.” Flake also said that Trump was channeling Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin when he made such statements.

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“Mr. President, it is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Joseph Stalin to describe his enemies,” Flake said.

Sen. Jeff Flake: “Mr. President, it is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own President uses words infamously spoken by Joseph Stalin to describe his enemies” https://t.co/ByDENxNNoF

– CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 17, 2018

Flake has been one of President Trump’s biggest critics within the GOP. While he has been a reliable Republican vote for the president’s agenda, the two men spent much of 2017 criticizing each other.

On Twitter, Flake’s speech was met with skepticism on both the left and the right. Pro-Trump Republicans blasted him as a traitor, while liberals dismissed Flake because of his conservative voting record.

“Before you get all misty eyed about @JeffFlake and his “scathing” Trump speech, remember that he has voted 90 percent with the president, and his rare opposition includes being on the wrong side of disaster aid to Puerto Rico.,” said MSNBC anchor Joy Reid.

“Jeff Flake is no hero.”

Before you get all misty eyed about @JeffFlake and his “scathing” Trump speech, remember that he has voted 90 percent with the president, and his rare opposition includes being on the wrong side of disaster aid to Puerto Rico. Jeff Flake is no hero. https://t.co/yj144te1eb

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 17, 2018

And it pretty much went from there.

"Hi, I'm Jeff Flake. I'm really worried about our Stalinist President, which is why I voted less than 24 hours ago to increase his domestic spying powers and prevent any safeguards or checks on how Stalin can use those powers. I'm available for cable TV interviews and praise!" https://t.co/occJV9oIfi

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 17, 2018

Jeff Flake just voted to hand Trump more domestic surveillance power yesterday. His words are beyond meaningless https://t.co/Q9XPDoJCte

— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) January 17, 2018

Does anybody have a video of Jeff Flake's condemning despotism on the Senate floor when Obama admin hacked Sharyl Attkisson's laptop & cell phone?! Or when Obama tapped the phones of AP reporters? Or snooped on reporter James Rosen?

Oh no, wait…

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) January 17, 2018

The suspicion that Jeff Flake is disingenuous shouldn’t stem from his votes for conservative bills that Trump signs, but from his complete unwillingness to use his oversight power, and inherent powers as a senator, to rein in Trump and stop his unprecedented corruption.

— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) January 17, 2018

Flake speech was kinda anticlimactic, IMHO. Only two senators (both Democrats) attended. If Trump is smart he won't acknowledge it with a tweet.

— David Martosko (@dmartosko) January 17, 2018

Flake is billed as a libertarian & says Trump is like Stalin. But this alleged libertarian Trump critic voted to give Trump more power to use the government’s surveillance apparatus.

There seems to be a gap between the libertarian brand, the anti-Trump rhetoric & the actions.

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) January 17, 2018

Jeff Flake pic.twitter.com/lkl2s50TZm

— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) January 17, 2018

One notable outlier was “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough, a Flake friend who tweeted this helpful image of Joseph Stalin admiring his — very large crowd size.

“Free press is the despot’s enemy.”
~Jeff Flake pic.twitter.com/oWuStxmtm2

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 17, 2018

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This year’s Slamdance Film Festival kicks off this Friday with an opening night film that could not be more adorable. Dana Nachman and Don Hardy’s documentary “Pick of the Litter” follows five puppies as they train to become guide dogs for the blind.

Spoiler alert: Patriot, Poppet, Potomac, Primrose and Phil don’t all make the cut to become full-fledged service animals.

“Pick of the Litter,” which premieres this Friday in Park City, follows a litter of puppies from the moment they’re born and begin their quest to become guide dogs. Cameras follow these pups through an intense two-year odyssey as they train to become dogs whose ultimate responsibility is to protect their blind partners from harm.

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Along the way, these remarkable animals rely on a community of dedicated individuals who train them to do amazing, life-changing things in the service of their human.

Nachman’s most recent film, “Batkid Begins” — on which Hardy served as director of photography — premiered at Slamdance in 2015 and quickly became one of the most successful docs of the year.

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Warner Bros. picked up worldwide distribution rights, as well as the rights to adapt the documentary into a narrative film with Julia Roberts attached to produce and star.

Nachman and Hardy previously co-directed the feature docs “The Human Experiment,” “Witch Hunt,” and “Love Hate Love.”

Watch the trailer above.

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The Emmy-winning series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is hitting Netflix for a reboot after a 15-year hiatus, and this time the Fab 5 are venturing outside New York.

The new guys include Antoni Porowski (Food & Wine), Bobby Berk (Interior Design), Karamo Brown (Culture), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming) and Tan France (Fashion). This season, they’ll trade in the show’s usual New York backdrop for Atlanta, Georgia, to give makeovers with a modern flair.

“The old show was fighting for tolerance,” France says in the trailer. “Our fight is for acceptance.”

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The new Fab 5 will meet men and women with different beliefs than their own, and help them get out of their comfort zones. The show will touch on social issues like LGBTQ rights — but there’s also plenty of lighthearted fun in store that just might include how to make the best farm-to-table guacamole.

“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” creator David Collins (Scout Productions) is executive producer on the new version of the show with producing partners Michael Williams and Rob Eric. David Eilenberg also executive produces in association with ITV Entertainment.

You can stream all episodes on Netflix Feb. 7.

Watch the trailer above.

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Posted anonymously, the “De-Feminized Fanedit (aka The Chauvinist Cut)” came to TheWrap’s attention via reddit. It erases strong female characters in the movie, like Laura Dern’s Admiral Holdo and Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

An example (major spoiler!): Without Holdo, the cut presents Poe (Oscar Isaac) as being the one who does her suicide hyperspace maneuver that rips Snoke’s command ship in half — effectively killing off BB-8’s best friend.

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Director Rian Johnson responded to a Twitter thread calling out the cut for its ridiculousness, adding a hearty “hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha” in response.

Priscilla hits all the major points here but I’ll just add hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha https://t.co/f0bKJ9NeUe

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 16, 2018

Star Mark Hamill, who plays the iconic Luke Skywalker, joined in, too, with 114 laughing emojis.

Agreed. But let me add
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????- mh https://t.co/H3jacep5sU

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) January 16, 2018

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John Boyega, who plays Finn, added, “Great points. Hope it’s okay to make a final point” and added his own laughing emojis to the bunch.

Great points. Hope it’s okay to make a final point…
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? https://t.co/YnXFrjW47r

— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) January 16, 2018

It’s clear that Johnson, Hamill and Boyega take the cut as a colossal joke, especially because the female characters in the movie are so important to the story.

Johnson responded to a Twitter user who said, “Please tell me this was the greatest troll in history and it’s not real because I can’t lose this much faith in humanity.”

“I actually do believe it’s gotta be a brilliant troll. It’s just too perfect,” Johnson said.

I actually do believe it’s gotta be a brilliant troll. It’s just too perfect.

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 16, 2018

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Johnson’s initial tweet was in response to a thread in which one Twitter user wrote: “too obvious of SJW [“social justice warrior”] thing. I won’t be surprised next time they will break the 4th wall and talk to viewers hey don’t vote for Trump like this.”

But a whole lot of those in the thread assumed the cut was made by a Men’s Rights Activist.

TheWrap’s Phil Owen “debated whether the ‘De-Feminized’ cut is the creation of an actual Men’s Rights Activist dork, or just total-commitment deadpan irony.”

“In this age of parodies that aren’t quite as ridiculous as the things being parodied, it is often hard to tell the difference,” he said in his analysis of the cut. “But I would guess it’s the real deal for two reasons: first, it’s a lot of work for somebody to do as a joke; and second, the joke is only funny when you read about the concept — actually watching this cut wouldn’t be fun or enjoyable in that way. Or in any way, really.”

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Even so, the best The CW could muster was a fourth-place tie in the key 18-49 demographic — and that only happened because parent network CBS was in reruns. To be fair, The CW is the youngest-skewing of the broadcast networks, and tends to measure its own success among adults 18-34.

NBC was first in ratings with a 2.1 rating/8 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 8.8 million, according to preliminary numbers. “Ellen’s Game of Games” at 8 landed a 2.2/8 and 8.8 million viewers. “This Is Us” at 9 scored a 2.5/9 and 9.8 million viewers. At 10, “Chicago Med” received a 1.5/6 and 7.9 million viewers.

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Fox was second in ratings with a 1.0/4 and third in viewers with 3.8 million. “Lethal Weapon” at 8 had a 1.2/4 and 5 million viewers. At 9, “LA to Vegas” got a 0.9/3 and 2.8 million viewers. “The Mick” at 9:30 closed Fox’s primetime to a 0.8/3 and 2.3 million viewers.

ABC was third in ratings with a 0.9/3 and fourth in viewers with 3.6 million. “The Middle” at 8 had a 1.4/5 and 6.1 million viewers. At 8:30, “Fresh Off the Boat” got a 1.0/4 and 3.9 million viewers. “Black-ish” at 9 received a 1.0/4 and 3.8 million viewers. Following a rerun, “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” managed a 0.6/2 and 2.6 million viewers.

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CBS and The CW tied for fourth in ratings, both with a 0.8/3. CBS was second in total viewers with 8.1 million, The CW was fifth with 2.4 million.

For The CW, “The Flash” at 8 had a 0.8/3 and 2.5 million viewers. At 9, “Black Lightning” got a 0.8/3 and 2.3 million viewers — both of which are the best for a CW series debut since “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” started.

Univision and Telemundo tied for sixth in ratings, both with a 0.5/2. Univision was sixth in total viewers with 1.6 million, Telemundo was seventh with 1.4 million.

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