Renée Zellweger’s ‘Yellowstone’ binge, Tina Fey’s desire to ‘street fight,’ and all the wild celebrity moments from NBCU’s Emmys kick-off

NBCUniversal brought out the big guns for this year's Emmy kick-off luncheon.

Renée Zellweger, Tina Fey, Natasha Lyonne, and Amanda Seyfried were among the bold-faced names making the scene at the SLS Hotel's Garden Room and Terrace in Beverly Hills. The annual event honors new and returning award-aspiring shows within the entire NBCU family. Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson served as the DJ.

"People are kind," Zellweger told Gold Derby about the positive fan reaction to her Peacock film Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. "I have wonderful conversations with folks about the things that they related to and how they felt in watching it. They really, like me, love spending time in her universe, so it's a cool thing when you walk around and have something in common with folks that you've never met before."

In her free time, the two-time Oscar-winning actress for Cold Mountain (2003) and Judy (2019) is "finally catching up on Yellowstone. I think I might be the last American [to watch it]," Zellweger laughed. "It's a great time for television right now. We're spoiled for riches out there. I've got like six or seven on deck that one day I'll get to." She added that she's looking forward to her upcoming role on Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building, along with fellow newcomers Christoph Waltz, Téa Leoni, and Keegan-Michael Key.

Lyonne was excited to introduce her "very nervous" Poker Face showrunner Rian Johnson to Fey, who was there to promote her Universal Television-produced Netflix comedy The Four Seasons. "I'm going to get that photo of them together," Lyonne declared. "I thought that might be a match made in brainiac heaven. Hilarity ensues."

Fey's eyes lit up when she saw Ted Danson and Michael Schur, the star and showrunner of A Man on the Inside, across the room. "Ahh, I wanna hug Ted Danson!" she told us. "I haven't seen him in a while." She also wanted to "street fight Mike Schur." (She was joking. We think.) Fey revealed that she can't wait for Emmy voters to see her Four Seasons cast in action, name-dropping "Oscar nominees" Steve Carell and Colman Domingo, plus Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Marco Calvani.

"I've literally met everybody," declared Seyfried of the all-star luncheon. "When I was much younger, I used to come to these events and feel so fish-out-of-water, and now I feel like I'm home. And it feels earned." The actress even recalled her previous gig with Hacks showrunner Lucia Aniello: "She directed me on a Walmart commercial with [Mean Girls costars] Lindsay Lohan and Lacey Chabert!"

George Lopez (Lopez vs. Lopez) claimed he's currently obsessing over the canceled sitcom The Other Two. "How did it get past me as a comedian?" he wondered aloud. He singled out The Other Two and Hacks as examples of shows about Hollywood that "find a way to live in that area that's not a comfortable area, but yet they make it comfortable and make it fun," especially today with "political correctness the way it is."

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist producer Will Packer hopes that Emmy voters will respond to the crime drama because it's "real sh-t." As he explained, "There's a lot of stuff out there that's great, and we're proud to be in the mix this season. But this is the realist show this season. It's dope. It's real. It's authentic." We also asked Packer, who previously produced the Oscars, who'd be his No. 1 host for a future ceremony, and he stated without hesitation: "Kevin Hart."

Hacks showrunners Aniello and Jen Statsky were "really proud" of the performances of Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder in the Season 4 premiere, particularly in the final scene when "they were telling each other that they each broke the other's heart." When we mentioned Gold Derby's odds on Einbinder's Emmy chances, the producers chimed in, "She's a force. It's really been an amazing thing to watch her grow from the beginning. ... Just as her fans, we can say this is her best season yet." Fun fact: their dream guest star for Hacks Season 5 is Cher. "Come home, baby!" they shouted.

Questlove reflected on Saturday Night Live's star-studded 50th anniversary music special, where he had "like 43 songs to learn in two weeks." He confessed that they "had an A Tribe Called Quest reunion for half a second, and that fell through." The artist, who also sits on the committee at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, said his proudest moments in that capacity were getting "Kiss and Chubby Checker" on the ballot after so many years.

Rob Mariano, of The Traitors and Survivor fame, said, "My guy Dylan" has got to be on Survivor 50 next year, referring to his Traitors bestie Dylan Efron. "He's got the social game. He's got the physical game. We'll work on his strategy. But we'll get him there." Dubbed "Boston" Rob because of his trademark Red Sox hat, he was told not to wear it to today's luncheon because, "This was a fancy event. It's not as fancy as a castle, but, you know."

Here is the complete guest list for NBCU's Emmy kick-off luncheon: Beatrice Springborn (President, Universal Content Productions), Will Forte, Toby Gorman, Lang Fisher, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Ted Danson, Erick Peyton, Tracey Wigfield, Marco Calvani, Shaye Ogbonna, Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman, Universal Studio Group, Alex Baskin, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Questlove, Lucia Aniello, Troian Bellisario, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Kristen Doute, Christopher McDonald, Jen Statsky, Stephanie Beatriz, Nia Sanchez, Ariana Madix, Melissa Peterman, Elliot Wolf, Melissa Rauch, Belissa Escobedo, Amanda Seyfried, George Lopez, Brandon Larracuente, Renée Zellweger, Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson, Tim Walsh, Tina Fey, Mayan Lopez, Stephen Amell, Debby Wolfe, Selenis Leyva, Aja Naomi King, Josh McDermitt, David Alan Grier, AnnaSophia Robb, Colman Domingo, Melissa Roxburgh, Lex Scott Davis, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Meagan Good, Allison Tolman, Bill Krebs, Rob Mariano, Eric Ledgin, Will Packer, Liz Moore, Melissa Fumero, Sue Naegle, Ben Rappaport, Justin Spitzer, and Jenna Bans.

Click on the image below to see the full-size photo of the star-studded event.

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions