Cable networks dominate Emmys - Taipei Times · such as Debra Messing in 19th-century diamond...
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T A I P E I T I M E S PAGE 16 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 W ith so much of prime-time network television being taken over by so-called reality shows, it is no wonder that the big winners at the 60th Primetime Emmys — an awards show that mainly celebrates acting and writing — would hail from cable rather than from the broadcast networks. HBO, the perennial Emmy powerhouse, took home the most golden statuettes on Sunday, winning 26 Emmys, including awards for its made-for-television movie Recount, its mini-series John Adams, its comedy series Entourage and its drama series In Treatment. AMC, the cable channel formerly known as American Movie Classics, won three awards, two of them for its first-year scripted series, Mad Men, which won best drama series, and one for Breaking Bad, which, with only seven episodes, was almost a mini-series. FX, the cable channel that is a cousin of the Fox network, also won two acting awards for its rookie-season drama, Damages, including one for Glenn Close, who was named best actress in a drama series. The viewers of all those shows added together might not total the number that watched the Emmys broadcast. But television executives are nothing if not optimistic, and if anything, the performance of the five reality-show hosts who together played masters of ceremony on the awards show might inspire the executives not to abandon scripted television. Broadcast television did capture some of its own accolades, with NBC’s 30 Rock sweeping the major comedy awards. It won best comedy series for the second straight year, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin took home the awards for best comedy actress and actor, and Fey took home another award for her writing of the episode titled Cooter. Fey, who last year thanked the “dozens” of people who watched the show, reminded viewers this year than the show “can be viewed on NBC.com, Hulu, iTunes, United Airlines and occasionally on actual television.” ABC won three awards, two of them for much-admired first-year series. Jean Smart won best supporting actress for her role as a straight-talking mother on Samantha Who?, and Barry Sonnenfeld won the award for directing a comedy series for the pilot episode of Pushing Daisies. Those were two of the few new comedy series to survive last year’s strike-interrupted television season. ABC’s third victory was by Louis J. Horvitz for directing the 80th Academy Awards. Though the theme of Emmys ceremony was a celebration of the golden age of television, that served only to highlight that much of the best work being done for the small screen today appears not on the networks but on cable. Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, said that the distinctions between network and cable mean little anymore. “If you did a show like LA Law right now, I think it would end up on FX,” he said in an interview on the red carpet. “There’s nothing on my show that can’t be shown on network television. It’s just they’re appealing to a different kind of audience. They have their audience and I have my audience, and I think it’s nice to have something for everybody.” David Shore, an executive producer of House, MD, the top- rated Fox drama that was also a nominee for best drama series, said the disparities in audience rightly had little bearing on awards like the Emmys. “There are awards for that; they’re called ratings,” Shore said. “There are really good shows on cable, and even if only 10 people are watching them, if they’re good they should be recognized. The shows they’ve selected are excellent.” Perhaps the biggest change this year was in the assignment of hosting duties. Traditionally, the job has gone to a comedian who has some connection to the network televising the Emmys ceremony, as Conan O’Brien did two years ago on NBC. In addition to showcasing one of the network’s big stars, the precedent usually had the added of advantage of managing to keep the audience entertained through what can be a tedious evening. Last year, however, Fox bucked that precedent, giving the job to Ryan Seacrest, the American Idol host, who received tepid reviews. Seacrest was back as a host this year, however, joined by the other four nominees for a first- time award, outstanding host for a reality or reality-competition program. The other nominees were Tom Bergeron, of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, Howie Mandel of NBC’s Deal or No Deal, Heidi Klum of Bravo’s Project Runway and Jeff Probst, the host of the granddaddy of reality shows, CBS’s Survivor. None of those hosts opened the show, however; rather, it was Oprah Winfrey, the queen of all media, who took the stage first and ushered in the hosts. It was all downhill from there, as the hosts made a point of telling the audience how they were improvising, even pointing out the blank teleprompter at the back of the auditorium — as if the audience couldn’t tell. “The government cannot even bail us out of this,” Mandel said, like a stand-up comic who realized too late that the audience was turning against him. “I thought we were being punked as an audience,” Piven said backstage of the opening. “It was a celebration of nothingness so I was confused.” Probst won the reality hosting Emmy, a victory that left some other winners nonplused. Kirk Ellis, who won the writing award for his mini-series John Adams, reacted angrily at the fact that so few award winners were given time to say much of anything. “I thought it interesting that we can have 30 minutes of a show devoted to reality show hosts, but the people who create the work don’t have time to talk,” he said backstage after the show. The Colbert Report won the award for best writing for a variety, music or comedy program, while the Comedy Central show from which it was spawned, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, won for outstanding variety, music or comedy series. Weiner won for outstanding writing for a drama series for Mad Men, the most talked-about television series of the year. Zeljko Ivanek won best sup- porting actor in a drama series for Damages. And Dianne Weist won best supporting actress in a drama series for In Treatment on HBO. Jeremy Piven won his third straight award for supporting actor in a comedy for his portrayal of the brash agent Ari Gold on HBO’s Entourage. HBO consolidating its reputation as a powerhouse of US television by winning 26 awards, but upstart network AMC won the most coveted prize BY EDWARD WYATT NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, LOS ANGELES Cable networks dominate Emmys T he stars were hot, literally, on the red carpet at Sunday night’s 60th annual Emmys awards — and that meant the sweeping trend on A-list actresses were updos. Heidi Klum wore one and so did Mariska Hargitay. Same ’do for Marcia Cross, Vanessa Williams, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Sandra Oh. The perfect accessory? Dangling earrings, such as Debra Messing in 19th-century diamond fan-pendants from Fred Leighton. There also were many strapless gowns — on the likes of Tina Fey and Teri Hatcher — and, in a nod to an emerging catwalk trend, asymmetric looks as seen on Christina Applegate and Vanessa Williams. But almost to a person the looks were anything but trendy, sticking instead to safe silhouettes, boldly elegant jewelry and flattering colors. Take, for example, Oh, one of the night’s fashion winners, who previously had done time on a few worst-dressed lists. She came in a retro- style black lace dress by Oscar de la Renta with a ribbon sash and a few sparkles on the skirt. They matched her gleaming 5.5-carat (each!) emerald- cut diamond earrings by Bulgari. Applegate didn’t disappoint in her much- anticipated red-carpet return after breast-cancer surgery in a dramatic, sweeping gown in ice blue with metallic patches. “I think Applegate was one of the best dressed of the night,” said stylist Marie Alice Stephenson. “She was glamorous, elegant and she pushed it.” Christina Hendricks did her 1960s-era Mad Men character justice in a curve-hugging emerald green gown, which complemented her red hair that she wore in an up-style twist. Louis-Dreyfus showed off her trim figure in a salmon-colored Narciso Rodriguez dress with a fitted shiny bodice — complete with a sliver of skin showing under the bust. Nicolette Sheridan wore a sleek strapless gown by Angel Sanchez in purple, a trendy fall color. Laura Dern did purple too; Holly Hunter wore a plum Jenny Packham gown with a jeweled waist. Fey liked the color too, leaving her glasses at home, wearing her hair down and choosing a sexy sweetheart eggplant-colored gown by David Meister in what seemed an obvious attempt to avoid Sarah Palin comparisons. Two of TV’s brightest stars were Brooke Shields in a hot pink lipstick-color (pun intended) strapless gown with a ruffle down the front and brooch on the side of her waist by Badgley Mischka. Klum had the opportunity to take the most risks, as she was expected to adopt many looks throughout the night: She planned no fewer than six as she extended her red carpet walk in a custom Giorgio Armani Prive gunmetal metallic gown with a one-shoulder capelet to hosting duties on the broadcast. “It was a mature choice for what Heidi normally wears,” said Klum’s stylist Maryam Malakpour, but Armani won her over by sending a personal note to congratulate her on her Project Runway nomination. Fellow model and reality host Padma Lakshmi wore a short gold Monique Lhuillier dress, showing off her legs. “When you’re working with a model, there is so much choice,” said her Stephenson, who worked with Lakshmi. “They rarely look bad in a dress.” Powerhouses Oprah Winfrey and Susan Sarandon, in a draped jersey look by her friend Donna Karan, both opted for red, and Hargitay was in a soft one-shouldered, marigold-yellow gown by Carolina Herrera. Still, there were plenty of neutrals. Jennifer Love Hewitt — her hair in a bedhead bun — told E! that her white-with-black strapless gown by Herrera was an easy choice, and Williams’ splashy white-and-black print dress by Kevan Hall had a jeweled strap that went from her shoulder to just below the waist. White was also worn by Kyra Sedgwick, whose dress by L’Wren Scott featured diamond embroidery. The black fan club included America Ferrera in a bubble-hem dress and Hollywood siren-style red lipstick; Chandra Wilson in a gathered Tadashi Shoji halter gown; Kate Walsh in gown with alternating rows of crystals to go with a complete set of diamond-and-platinum jewelry by Neil Lane; and Dana Delaney in a vintage gown splashed with an Art Deco-style beaded embellishment. Veteran star Glenn Close and Broadway transplant Kristin Chenowith both wore black Armani. Black is tricky on the red carpet because it doesn’t pop, said Stephenson. “America Ferrera had a bold Fred Leighton necklace and a shorter hem — and that’s the way to do it. If you don’t do something spectacular with black, it can fall short. Felicity Huffman literally sparkled in a split-neck silver gown and she showed off a sleek bob haircut, and Eva Longoria wrapped herself as a gift to escort and husband Tony Parker in a short strapless number with fringed tiers by Marchesa. He wore a complementary silver-gray suit. Fashion-wise, stars play it safe on the red carpet BY SAMANTHA CRITCHELL AP, LOS ANGELES Above from left: Heidi Klum, Tom Bergeron, Howie Mandel, Ryan Seacrest and Jeff Probst, hosts of the 60th Primetime Emmys. PHOTO: REUTERS Top: Cast members of Mad Men backstage at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles for the Emmys on Sunday. Mad Men won an Emmy for best drama series. won an Emmy for best drama series. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG Far left: Teri Hatcher arrives at the Nokia Theater for the Emmys on Sunday. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG Center left: Sandra Oh, a frequent target of the fashion police, took no risks at this year’s Emmys with a retro-style black lace dress by Oscar de la Renta. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG Left: Bryan Cranston accepts the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his work in Breaking Bad. PHOTO: AP
Transcript of Cable networks dominate Emmys - Taipei Times · such as Debra Messing in 19th-century diamond...
t a i p e i t i m e s
P A G E 1 6 T U E S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 0 8
With so much of prime-time network television being taken over by so-called
reality shows, it is no wonder that the big winners at the 60th Primetime Emmys — an awards show that mainly celebrates acting and writing — would hail from cable rather than from the broadcast networks.
HBO, the perennial Emmy powerhouse, took home the most golden statuettes on Sunday, winning 26 Emmys, including awards for its made-for-television movie Recount, its mini-series John Adams, its comedy series Entourage and its drama series In Treatment.
AMC, the cable channel formerly known as American Movie Classics, won three awards, two of them for its first-year scripted series, Mad Men, which won best drama series, and one for Breaking Bad, which, with only seven episodes, was almost a mini-series. FX, the cable channel that is a cousin of the Fox network, also won two acting awards for its rookie-season drama, Damages, including one for Glenn Close, who was named best actress in a drama series.
The viewers of all those shows added together might not total the number that watched the Emmys broadcast. But television executives are nothing if not optimistic, and if anything, the performance of the five reality-show hosts who together played masters of ceremony on the awards show might inspire the executives not to abandon scripted television.
Broadcast television did capture some of its own accolades, with NBC’s 30 Rock sweeping the major comedy awards. It won best comedy series for the second straight year, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin took home the awards for best comedy actress and actor, and Fey took home another award for her writing of the episode titled Cooter.
Fey, who last year thanked the “dozens” of people who watched the show, reminded viewers this year than the show “can be viewed on NBC.com, Hulu, iTunes, United Airlines and occasionally on actual television.”
ABC won three awards, two of them for much-admired first-year series. Jean Smart won best supporting actress for her role as a straight-talking mother on Samantha Who?, and Barry Sonnenfeld won the award for directing a comedy series for the pilot episode of Pushing Daisies. Those were two of the few new comedy series to survive last year’s strike-interrupted television season. ABC’s third victory was by Louis J. Horvitz for directing the 80th Academy Awards.
Though the theme of Emmys ceremony was a celebration of the golden age of television, that served only to highlight that much of the best work being done for the small screen today appears not on the networks but on cable.
Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, said that the distinctions between network and cable mean little anymore. “If you did a show like LA Law right now, I think it would end up on FX,” he said in an interview on the red carpet. “There’s nothing on my show that can’t be shown on network television. It’s just they’re appealing to a different kind of audience. They have their audience and I have my audience, and I think it’s nice to have something for everybody.”
David Shore, an executive producer of House, MD, the top-
rated Fox drama that was also a nominee for best drama series, said the disparities in audience rightly had little bearing on awards like the Emmys.
“There are awards for that; they’re called ratings,” Shore said. “There are really good shows on cable, and even if only 10 people are watching them, if they’re good they should be recognized. The shows they’ve selected are excellent.”
Perhaps the biggest change this year was in the assignment of hosting duties. Traditionally, the job has gone to a comedian who has some connection to the network televising the Emmys ceremony, as Conan O’Brien did two years ago on NBC.
In addition to showcasing one of the network’s big stars, the precedent usually had the added of advantage of managing to keep the audience entertained through what can be a tedious evening. Last year, however, Fox bucked that precedent, giving the job to Ryan Seacrest, the American Idol host, who received tepid reviews.
Seacrest was back as a host this year, however, joined by the other four nominees for a first-time award, outstanding host for a reality or reality-competition program. The other nominees were Tom Bergeron, of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, Howie Mandel of NBC’s Deal or No Deal, Heidi Klum of Bravo’s Project Runway and Jeff Probst, the host of the granddaddy of reality shows, CBS’s Survivor.
None of those hosts opened the show, however; rather, it was Oprah Winfrey, the queen of all media, who took the stage first and ushered in the hosts. It was all downhill from there, as the hosts made a point of telling the audience how they were improvising, even pointing out the blank teleprompter at the back of the auditorium — as if the audience couldn’t tell.
“The government cannot even bail us out of this,” Mandel said, like a stand-up comic who realized too late that the audience was turning against him.
“I thought we were being punked as an audience,” Piven said backstage of the opening. “It was a celebration of nothingness so I was confused.”
Probst won the reality hosting Emmy, a victory that left some other winners nonplused.
Kirk Ellis, who won the writing award for his mini-series John Adams, reacted angrily at the fact that so few award winners were given time to say much of anything. “I thought it interesting that we can have 30 minutes of a show devoted to reality show hosts, but the people who create the work don’t have time to talk,” he said backstage after the show.
The Colbert Report won the award for best writing for a variety, music or comedy program, while the Comedy Central show from which it was spawned, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, won for outstanding variety, music or comedy series.
Weiner won for outstanding writing for a drama series for Mad Men, the most talked-about television series of the year.
Zeljko Ivanek won best sup-porting actor in a drama series for Damages. And Dianne Weist won best supporting actress in a drama series for In Treatment on HBO.
Jeremy Piven won his third straight award for supporting actor in a comedy for his portrayal of the brash agent Ari Gold on HBO’s Entourage.
HBO consolidating its reputationas a powerhouse of US televisionby winning 26 awards, butupstart network AMC won themost coveted prize
By EDWARD WYATTNY Times News service, LOs ANGeLes
Cable networksdominate Emmys
The stars were hot, literally, on the red carpet at Sunday night’s 60th annual Emmys awards
— and that meant the sweeping trend on A-list actresses were updos.
Heidi Klum wore one and so did Mariska Hargitay. Same ’do for Marcia Cross, Vanessa Williams, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Sandra Oh.
The perfect accessory? Dangling earrings, such as Debra Messing in 19th-century diamond fan-pendants from Fred Leighton.
There also were many strapless gowns — on the likes of Tina Fey and Teri Hatcher — and, in a nod to an emerging catwalk trend, asymmetric looks as seen on Christina Applegate and Vanessa Williams.
But almost to a person the looks were anything but trendy, sticking instead to safe silhouettes, boldly elegant jewelry and flattering colors.
Take, for example, Oh, one of the night’s fashion winners, who previously had done time on a few worst-dressed lists. She came in a retro-style black lace dress by Oscar de la Renta with a ribbon sash and a few sparkles on the skirt. They matched her gleaming 5.5-carat (each!) emerald-cut diamond earrings by Bulgari.
Applegate didn’t disappoint in her much-anticipated red-carpet return after breast-cancer surgery in a dramatic, sweeping gown in ice blue with metallic patches.
“I think Applegate was one of the best dressed of the night,” said stylist Marie Alice Stephenson. “She was glamorous, elegant and she pushed it.” Christina Hendricks did her 1960s-era Mad Men character justice in a curve-hugging emerald green gown, which complemented her red hair that she wore in an up-style twist. Louis-Dreyfus showed off her trim figure in a salmon-colored Narciso Rodriguez dress with a fitted shiny bodice — complete with a sliver of skin showing under the bust.
Nicolette Sheridan wore a sleek strapless gown by Angel Sanchez in purple, a trendy fall color. Laura Dern did purple too; Holly Hunter wore a plum Jenny Packham gown with a jeweled waist.
Fey liked the color too, leaving her glasses at home, wearing her hair down and choosing a sexy sweetheart eggplant-colored gown by David Meister in what seemed an obvious attempt to avoid Sarah Palin comparisons.
Two of TV’s brightest stars were Brooke Shields in a hot pink lipstick-color (pun intended) strapless gown with a ruffle down the front and brooch on the side of her waist by Badgley Mischka. Klum had the opportunity to take the most risks, as she was expected to adopt many looks throughout the night: She planned no fewer than six as she extended her red carpet walk in a custom Giorgio Armani Prive gunmetal metallic gown with a one-shoulder capelet to hosting duties on the broadcast.
“It was a mature choice for what Heidi normally
wears,” said Klum’s stylist Maryam Malakpour, but Armani won her over by sending a personal note to congratulate her on her Project Runway nomination.
Fellow model and reality host Padma Lakshmi wore a short gold Monique Lhuillier dress, showing off her legs. “When you’re working with a model, there is so much choice,” said her Stephenson, who worked with Lakshmi. “They rarely look bad in a dress.” Powerhouses Oprah Winfrey and Susan Sarandon, in a draped jersey look by her friend Donna Karan, both opted for red, and Hargitay was in a soft one-shouldered, marigold-yellow gown by Carolina Herrera.
Still, there were plenty of neutrals.Jennifer Love Hewitt — her hair in a bedhead
bun — told E! that her white-with-black strapless gown by Herrera was an easy choice, and Williams’ splashy white-and-black print dress by Kevan Hall had a jeweled strap that went from her shoulder to just below the waist.
White was also worn by Kyra Sedgwick, whose dress by L’Wren Scott featured diamond embroidery.
The black fan club included America Ferrera in a bubble-hem dress and Hollywood siren-style red lipstick; Chandra Wilson in a gathered Tadashi Shoji halter gown; Kate Walsh in gown with alternating rows of crystals to go with a complete set of diamond-and-platinum jewelry by Neil Lane; and Dana Delaney in a vintage gown splashed with an Art Deco-style beaded embellishment.
Veteran star Glenn Close and Broadway transplant Kristin Chenowith both wore black Armani.
Black is tricky on the red carpet because it doesn’t pop, said Stephenson. “America Ferrera had a bold Fred Leighton necklace and a shorter hem — and that’s the way to do it. If you don’t do something spectacular with black, it can fall short.
Felicity Huffman literally sparkled in a split-neck silver gown and she showed off a sleek bob haircut, and Eva Longoria wrapped herself as a gift to escort and husband Tony Parker in a short strapless number with fringed tiers by Marchesa. He wore a complementary silver-gray suit.
Fashion-wise,stars play it safeon the red carpet
By SAMANTHA CRITCHELLAP, LOs ANGeLes
Above from left: Heidi Klum, Tom Bergeron, Howie Mandel, Ryan Seacrest and Jeff Probst, hosts of the 60th Primetime Emmys. Photo: ReuteRs
Top: Cast members of Mad Men backstage at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles for the Emmys on Sunday. Mad Men won an Emmy for best drama series.won an Emmy for best drama series. Photo: BloomBeRg
Far left: Teri Hatcher arrives at the Nokia Theater for the Emmys on Sunday. Photo: BloomBeRg
Center left: Sandra Oh, a frequent target of the fashion police, took no risks at this year’s Emmys with a retro-style black lace dress by Oscar de la Renta. Photo: BloomBeRg
Left: Bryan Cranston accepts the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his work in Breaking Bad. Photo: AP
