So: to quiet things down, there’s sort of a resolution in the brouhaha over Mark Wahlberg’s pay discrepancy with Michelle Williams over the movie “All the Money in the World.”

It was revealed this week by USA Today that Wahlberg got $1 million bucks to come back for reshoots with Christopher Plummer. Michelle Williams got expenses and a bus token worth $1,000. It was outrageous (and a good scoop) especially in this moment when women are on the move for pay parity and the right to be treated without violence. (Is it really 2018? Not 1952?)

Now Wahlberg is donating back his fee plus $500,000. WME, the agency that reps Williams (but didn’t seem to have much regard for her) is also donating $500,000 to the newly formed TimesUp group to battle discrimination and sexual assault, help victims etc. Wahlberg said in a  statement: “Over the last few days my reshoot fee for All The Money in the World has become an important topic of conversation. I 100% support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the $1.5 million to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name.”

pic.twitter.com/jvGDGVZqPQ

— Mark Wahlberg (@mark_wahlberg) January 13, 2018

But what none of this addresses, of course, is Williams and what she was worth– that she wasn’t worth the same amount as Wahlberg in the minds of the filmmakers, studio, and agents. It seemed perfectly appropriate to pay Williams almost nothing despite her being a person just like Wahlberg, head of a house hold, multiple Oscar nominee, and lead actor in the movie.

You know what would have been better? If Wahlberg had kept his $1 mil and other $1 mil went straight to Williams.  And by the way: her performance was worth it.

The Critics Choice Awards were a lot of fun, but long…so I learned a lot…

“Darkest Hour” director Joe Wright will spend the summer in East Haddam, Connecticut with girlfriend Haley Bennett. The talented actress must be able to sing because she’s signed on star as Nancy in a new production of “Oliver!” She gets to sing Lionel Bart’s wonderful classic “As Long as He Needs Me.” And that might be prophetic since now I also read in Page Six that Wright has just split up with his wife, Anoushka Shankar, gifted musician daughter of the late Ravi Shankar and sister of Norah Jones. The Wrights have two children. Joe was also engaged at one time to Rosamund Pike….

Nicole Kidman completely lost her voice before the Critics Choice show started. She’d been working all day, filming a new movie with Tatiana Maslany, playing a police detective. There must have been some yelling in the script because Nicole opened her mouth to say hello to me and almost nothing came out. “Oh dear,” she said. Luckily, she had some time before her category was called and she won yet another statue for “Big Little Lies.” When she hit the stage you could hear her hoarseness but the mic helped. Nicole thanked “all of my children” including her older ones, Connor and Isabella. She told me that she’d spoken to each of them in last day or so, by the way. They are very close.

Ann Dowd is one of my heroes. She’s an adult and she’s been working as a journeyman actor since 1985. Five years ago she appeared in a little indie film called “Compliance,” in a main role, and lightning struck. She was discovered! She hasn’t stopped working since then. On Thursday night she won a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I was sitting next to the cast and they all jumped when her name was announced, starting with Elisabeth Moss. What a story! She told me she never gave up and just kept going all these decades. Mazel tov!

I did sit among not one but three Supporting Actor  nominees: Armie Hammer and Michael Stuhlbarg from “Call Me By Your Name,” as well as Willem daFoe from “The Florida Project.” I had to cheer them all on equally– and then none of them won! (I was lucky Richard Jenkins was sitting far away, and Sam Rockwell wasn’t even there.)  Dafoe was sitting next to “Florida Project” director Sean Baker (who should have been nominated by the DGA this week). After 7 year old Brooklynn Prince won her award, she came over to see both of them and burst into tears.  Next year she’ll be such a big star they won’t be able to get her on the phone!

James Franco has won a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice Award and a Gotham Award for playing loser Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist.”

But Franco’s accusations of sexual misconduct are now impacting the movie’s box office– and the awards don’t matter.

Thursday night’s numbers indicate a 28% drop from Wednesday numbers. The Thursday take was just $83,103.

The movie was already slowing down as it tries desperately to make $20 million. With the awards, A24 could have trotted out some ads. But now that the impact of the scandal has kicked in there should be a significant drop off over the weekend.

Of the five films Franco himself has directed, this is the first to make over $40,000–yes, forty thousand dollars. He’s pretty much squandered millions of investor dollars on badly made vanity projects up til now. And it’s from those movies–that usually feature gay or porn themes– that the many accusations have come.

You can’t say the Critics Choice Awards weren’t interesting. Hosted by Olivia Munn, the long ceremony– broadcast live from a hanger at the Santa Monica Airport– put the Oscar race into focus. Guillermo del Toro won Best Picture and Best Director for “The Shape of Water,” sending that movie into lead position for the Oscars.

This is tricky since “Shape of Water” has not produced any acting wins and it’s hard to have a Best Picture without actors. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” garnered Best Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Supporting Actor for Sam Rockwell, neither of whom attended the ceremony.

Rockwell had a good excuse- he’s  hosting “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. McDormand just didn’t show up.

So now what? Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” needs a jolt from Oscar nominations or it’s over. Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” was ignored tonight as was Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.” Can they come back?

One strange phenomenon: Allison Janney, Best Supporting Actress for “I, Tonya,” seems to be pulling Margot Robbie along— the opposite of how it usually works. This is hurting Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf from “Lady Bird.”

If you’re voting an Oscar ballot this morning, my Best Actress choices remain Meryl Streep, Ronan, Judi Dench, McDormand, and Michelle Williams, with Jessica Chastain as a backup and then Robbie.

PS Nicole Kidman thanked “all of my children,” to rebuke criticism from the Golden Globes that she’d forgotten her older kids. A source told me she’d just spoken to daughter Bella, and that contrary to reports, all their relationships are fine.

WINNERS OF THE 23^RD ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS

FILM:

BEST PICTURE – “The Shape of Water”

BEST ACTOR – Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

BEST ACTRESS – Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS – Brooklynn Prince, “The Florida Project”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE – “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST DIRECTOR – Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – James Ivory, “Call Me By Your Name”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Roger Deakins, “Blade Runner 2049”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau, Jeff Melvin, “The Shape of Water”

BEST EDITING (TIE) – Paul Machliss, Jonathan Amos, “Baby Driver”

BEST EDITING (TIE) – Lee Smith, “Dunkirk”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN – Mark Bridges, “Phantom Thread”

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP – “Darkest Hour”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – “War for the Planet of the Apes”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – “Coco”

BEST ACTION MOVIE – “Wonder Woman”

BEST COMEDY – “The Big Sick”

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY – James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY – Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”

BEST SCI-FI OR HORROR MOVIE – “Get Out”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – “In The Fade”

BEST SONG – “Remember Me” from “Coco”

BEST SCORE – Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”

TELEVISION:

BEST COMEDY SERIES – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,Amazon

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES – Ted Danson,The Good Place, NBC

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES – Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES– Walton Goggins, Vice Principals, HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES – Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory, CBS

BEST DRAMA SERIES – The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us, NBC

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES – Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – David Harbour, Stranger Things, Netflix

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES– Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu

BEST LIMITED SERIES – Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TV – The Wizard of Lies, HBO

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Ewan McGregor, Fargo, FX

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Laura Dern, Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST TALK SHOW – Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC

BEST ANIMATED SERIES – Rick and Morty, Adult Swim

BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES – Born This Way, A&E

BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES – Shark Tank, ABC

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES – The Voice, NBC

BEST REALITY SHOW HOST – RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race, VH1

Disney and LucasFilm are about to cut bait on “The Last Jedi.”

This Friday– the beginning of Week 5–  they’ll cut the number of theaters for “The Last Jedi” by 1,100.

By contrast, in its fifth week, “The Force Awakens” lost only 300 locations.

Right now, after 26 days, “The Last Jedi” has $576 million in its US box office and another $651 million from around the world. In China, demand has been disappointing with just $28 million.

After day 26, “The Force Awakens” was at $826 million US.

But let’s face it, Disney and Lucas has done everything possible to make this film a monster hit. And it has been– just as not as big a monster as its predecessor. It’s likely nothing else will ever match that high mark. “The Last Jedi” currently ranks as the 6th biggest movie of all time, which is pretty pretty good.

It was without a doubt a brilliant and daring undertaking. In light of Donald Trump’s flagrant disregard for a free press, Steven Spielberg decided to address the problem quickly and head on. He would take two of Hollywood’s top tier stars and make a  movie about how Richard Nixon tried to block publication of The Pentagon Papers. The parallels were too good, and the moment was exactly right. And he completed the project — which received rave reviews– in less than five months.

But now. 19 days after release, the fate of “The Post” depends on tonight’s Critics Choice Awards. Fox has kept “The Post” in limited release and depended on reviews to make $4 million in 36 theaters. To go wide, “The Post” is waiting for awards to trumpet its importance and urgency.

But the movie struck out at the Golden Globes last Sunday. And it received no Best Ensemble nomination from the Screen Actors Guild. Today, the Directors Guild overlooked Spielberg. The only citations it’s received are from the National Board of Review, which gave it Best Picture, Actor (Tom Hanks) and Actress (Meryl Streep).  But the NBR is like your grandma saying your kid is really smart. That won’t get you into college.

If the Broadcast Critics, who vote the Critics Choice Awards (CW Network, 8pm Eastern) don’t give “The Post” some kind of help tonight, Fox has a problem. And it’s vexing because “The Post” should be the Best Film– it’s the Big Idea movie and tells an important piece of history. It’s also extremely entertaining. Its competitors are worthy but with caveats:  “Three Billboards” has divided loyalties. “Shape of Water” is a fantasy. Some of the others are small gems. Only “Dunkirk” equals “The Post” in scope.

Stay tuned…

The Directors Guild of America took a huge leap this morning. They snubbed Steven Spielberg for “The Post” and ushered in a new era.Their nominees are all first timers but for one — Christopher Nolan. Greta Gerwig is the 8th woman ever to be nominated. Jordan Peele is only the second African American director after Lee Daniels to achieve a nomination. Peele was not only nominated for Best Film with “Get Out,” but overlapped in the First Feature category. Also snubbed were other more veteran directors like Joe Wright and Paul Thomas Anderson.

In the First Time Directors category the DGA nominated Taylor Sheridan for “Wind River,” a movie that was released by the Weinstein Company, did well at the box office, but was then removed from the studio by its financiers. It’s nice to see  the DGA — which has since ousted Harvey Weinstein– didn’t penalize the film despite the mogul’s scandals.

If del Toro wins, he’ll be the third Mexican director to do so in the last five years– or technically fourth since 2013 because Alejandro Innaritu has won twice. (Alfonso Cuaron is the other.)

FILM

FEATURE FILM

Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

del Toro’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: J. Miles Dale
Production Manager: Dennis Chapman
First Assistant Director: Pierre Henry
Second Assistant Director: Tyler Delben

Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
(A24)

Gerwig’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Lila Yacoub, Danielle Blumstein, Jamin O’Brien (New York Crew)
First Assistant Directors: Jonas Spaccarotelli, Cedric Vara (New York Crew)
Second Assistant Director: Brendan Lee, Dana Zolli (New York Crew)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Lillian Awa, Teri Barber

Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

McDonagh’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Bergen Swanson
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Peggy Robinson
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Paula Case
Second Second Assistant Director: Spencer Taylor

Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
(Warner Bros.)

Nolan’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: David Witz, Christine Raspillere (France Unit), Chris Brock (UK Unit), Nicky Tüske (Netherlands Unit)
First Assistant Directors: Nilo Otero, William Pruss (France Unit), Willem Quarles van Ufford (Netherlands Unit)
Second Assistant Director: Eric Lasko, Nicolas Baldino (France Unit), Alexis Chelli (France Unit), Clément Comet (France Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Alina Gatti

Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
(Universal Pictures)

Peele’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Marcei A. Brown, Rick A. Osako (Fairhope Unit)
First Assistant Director: Gerard DiNardi
Second Assistant Directors: Ram Paul Silbey, Marc Newland (Fairhope Unit), Jack McKenna (New York Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Maggie Ballard
Location Manager: Kurt Enger (New York Unit)

FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM DIRECTOR:

Geremy Jasper, “Patti Cake$”
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Jasper’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Sara Blechman
First Assistant Director: Inna Braude
Second Assistant Director: Natasha Rivera
Second Second Assistant Director: Lucas Isabella
Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Alice Johnson

William Oldroyd, “Lady Macbeth”
(Roadside Attractions)

Oldroyd’s Directorial Team:
Production Manager: Robert K. Harm
Unit Manager: Eugene Galbrath
First Assistant Director: George Every
Second Assistant Director: Richard Stanley Jan Harris

Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
(Universal Pictures)

Peele’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Marcei A. Brown, Rick A. Osako (Fairhope Unit)
First Assistant Director: Gerard DiNardi
Second Assistant Directors: Ram Paul Silbey, Marc Newland (Fairhope Unit), Jack McKenna (New York Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Maggie Ballard
Location Manager: Kurt Enger (New York Unit)

Taylor Sheridan, “Wind River”
(Acacia Entertainment)

Sheridan’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Christopher H. Warner
First Assistant Director: Nicholas Harvard
Second Assistant Director: Jason Altieri
Second Second Assistant Director: Kristina Massie

Aaron Sorkin, “Molly’s Game”
(STX Entertainment)

Sorkin’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Lyn Lucibello-Brancatella, Stuart M. Besser, Michael Beugg (Los Angeles Unit)
Assistant Unit Production Manager: Bart Lipton (Los Angeles Unit)
First Assistant Director: Walter Gasparovic
Second Assistant Directors: Penny Charter, Travis Rehwaldt (New York Unit), Paula Case (Los Angeles Unit)
Second Second Assistant Directors: Conor Griff (New York Unit), Drew Ritson (New York Unit), Bryan Snodgrass (Los Angeles Unit)
Location Manager: Dena Ghieth (New York Unit)