Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
Mad Men, Modern Family win top Emmys as fresh faces abound
The Emmys got off to a fun start at 5 p.m. local time with organizers getting six of the comedy categories out of the way at the outset. But first: the requisite intro, which is sure to mortify Bruce Springsteen’s stoic fans.
5:05 p.m. Jimmy Fallon does Bruce Springsteen in a Glee-style version of “Born to Run.” He grabs Jane Lynch’s breasts, as she sings “Strap your hands across my engines.” A few minutes later, he ditches the Boss-style blue jeans and white-T for a tuxedo, and gets in the first Conan joke, asking “what can possibly go wrong?” when he relates how NBC asked him to host a late-night show. Camera pans to O’Brien, whose late version of “The Tonight Show” is nominated for best variety, music or comedy series.
5:12 p.m. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY: ERIC STONESTREET (MODERN FAMILY). Tears are streaming down the cheeks of his on-screen partner and fellow nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Stonestreet takes the stage to deliver a heartfelt paean to the entertainment industry in general and his co-workers specifically. “All I wanted to be was clown in the circus when I was a kid growing up,” says the portly actor, who only plays gay on the screen.
5:21 p.m. BEST WRITING, COMEDY “MODERN FAMILY.” Two-for-two for TV’s hottest comedy, as co-creators STEVEN LEVITAN and CHRISTOPHER LLOYD take the prize for writing the pilot. Star Ed O’Neill’s mouth is open in wonderment.
In rerun of 2008, top Emmys go to “30 Rock” and “Mad Men”
For those of you watching the other channel, or otherwise indisposed, here’s what happened at the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
5:01 p.m. Host Neil Patrick Harris takes the stage with a cabaret number extolling us to “put down the remote … don’t touch the dial … don’t hit the loo.”
from MediaFile:
Good days for cable TV
A year ago, the big story around Emmy nominations was the acclaim showered on cable programs like "Mad Men" and "Damages." A quick glance at today's nominations indicates little has changed.
Just look at the best drama category, where Fox's "House" and ABC's "Lost" will face stiff competition from cable's "Big Love" (HBO), "Mad Men" (AMC), "Damages" (FX), and "Breaking Bad" (AMC).
Tina Fey wants to “be done” with Palin after November
Tina Fey’s hit comedy series “30 Rock” may have picked up 4 Emmys, but backstage at the TV awards show the show’s creator and star faced almost as many questions about her recent portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live” as she did about her award-winning show.
As it turns out, Fey would rather not see Palin become a regular character on “SNL.”
Fashion forward for Lauren Conrad, Keisha Whitaker
After her clothing line was yanked from all Los Angeles’ Kitson boutique stores, “The Hills” star Lauren Conrad is getting a new chance at showcasing her fashion design skills in a major way. The 22-year-old has been tapped to design a couture gown for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards trophy girls who hand out U.S. television’s top honors.
“When the show approached me, I was so excited,” Conrad said in an email to Reuters. “I love designing dresses and I can’t wait to see my own designs on the Primetime Emmy Awards. The dress will be elegant yet simple with a Lauren Conrad Collection vibe.”
Emmy again gives thumbs down to “The Wire”. What’s Up?
The folks who decide the Emmys this year expanded to six the nominees for best dramatic series, but they still gave a final thumbs down to HBO cops and thugs drama “The Wire”. Once again, they failed to recognize what many fans and critics hail as one of the best television shows ever, and Emmy watchers are calling the lack of a nomination a major snub. So one wonders, can the show’s devoted fans be that wrong?
What was it about “The Wire” that turned off Emmy voters during its five-season run that wrapped this year on HBO – the network that Emmy voters have so often lauded in the past when nominating “The Sopranos” or “Sex and the City?”
