Actor and comedian T.J. Miller was "dumb, and not in a funny way," in the big-screen flop Yogi Bear in 3D. And he's game for trotting out the memory of that critical drubbing if it means driving viewers to a presumably better use of their time—his hosting gig at the 21st annual Critics' Choice Awards.
The show, airing live Jan. 17 on A&E, Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network, launches the year's award-season broadcasts, so expect a steady stream of Hollywood backslapping to follow. And Miller, currently hot for his role on HBO's biting satire Silicon Valley, shows off his self-deprecating loveable loser persona in several promos from L.A.-based Stun Creative.
He's hapless but in a funny way. (He wore cut-off tux pants under that sophisticated black tie, execs at Stun say, and destroyed about 50 champagne glasses in his attempt to serve a cocktail).
For those interested in the awards themselves, which combine movies and television for the first time into one three-hour self-congratulatory extravaganza, the year's most nominated film is Mad Max: Fury Road, and on the TV and streaming side, FX's Fargo and Amazon's Transparent lead the pack.
There's a whiff of controversy over the 11th hour addition of Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a best picture nominee. The film didn't screen in time to be considered, but the Broadcast Film Critics Association took a member poll and decided to tack it onto the list of 10 already nominated pictures.
Will that help the show's modest ratings? Maybe. Miller could also be a draw, especially with the young techy crowd. Though he didn't fare too well in 2010's Yogi Bear, he's on a roll these days. He won a Critics' Choice Award himself last year for best supporting actor in a TV comedy, and his mouthful-of-food acceptance speech at the dinner event might have paved his way as a newly minted master of ceremonies.