Posted Aug 22nd 2008 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Celebrities, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
The Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards -- affectionately known as the Shmemmys to Kathy Griffin fans -- has at least one more viewer this year. I will be watching the other Emmy presentation, the awards that come before the Primetime Emmys. The big one with all the major categories, musical numbers, clip montages and near-mandatory attendance by the nominees is the Emmys. The other one is the technical awards. But I will be watching for a very good reason:
Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Chalke will be co-hosting the Creative Arts Emmys this year on the E! channel, September 20.
Neil, an Emmy nominee for
How I Met Your Mother, and Sarah, who is also a guest/semi-regular on
Mother as well as a permanent regular on
Scrubs, are a great choice for this gig. They're smart, funny, quick, attractive and maybe even unpredictable.
I mean, wouldn't it be a hoot if Neil came on stage in his
Dr. Horrible gear and asked Sarah if her Hanes undies were riding up or doing their job? She should then counter and ask him about that smell, you know ... the Old Spice? Hey, maybe they should get Bruce Campbell to confront Neil about the Old Spice deal -- that was Bruce's commercial before Neil took over!
Continue reading Awesome! Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Chalke to host Creative Arts Emmys
Posted Aug 20th 2008 2:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
We're used to reading all of the lists that rank the best and worst TV shows of all-time, now ABC is getting even more specific than that.
What are the top moments in television history?
You can vote for them at the ABC site and your answers will be revealed on the 60th Primetime
Emmy Awards, which will be broadcast on Sunday, September 21. There are two categories, comedy and drama (sorry fans of game shows and reality shows). No, you can't write in your own vote, you have to pick from the finalists that they've already chosen for you, so right off the bat you know there's going to be a lot of "but what about..." and "why did they include..." talk.
Continue reading What are the top moments in TV history?
Posted Aug 19th 2008 11:21AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Emmys, Reality-Free, Burn Notice
Here's a neat idea: the
Burn Notice promotional kits that USA Network sent out to Emmy voters were written in invisible ink! You needed a UV flashlight to read the words, which was included in the kit.
The Denver Egoist has all of the details and several pics from the kit, created by TDA Advertising in Boulder, CO.
The kit, which contains 12 episodes of the show on four DVDs, is set up to look like a classified file, and though some of the words are legible, you need the flashlight to read the others. Very cool and very spy-ish, though I wonder if they should have done it a different way. Isn't the preferred method of getting secret messages to Michael via a crossword puzzle? They should have included a secret message about the show inside of a crossword too.
Continue reading Burn Notice promo kits are cool, but ...
Posted Aug 19th 2008 10:03AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Children, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
Let it be known that my son knows a good thing when he sees it. He's 14 now, but between the ages of six and 10, he was obsessed with
Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, a
Cartoon Network show that just earned an Emmy. Character designer
Ben Balistreri won in the
juried award category for individual achievement in animation for the "Mondo Coco" episode.
I would see the show in passing and think, what the heck is this? It just looked so weird, and the animation is practically primitive compared to today's CG standards. But the concept is somewhat more complicated.
In the
Foster's universe, imaginary friends become physical beings the instant a child imagines them. An Imaginary Friend is completely real and can be seen, heard, and felt by all under most circumstances. The only problem is that children outgrow them, and they're left to fend for themselves.
Continue reading Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends wins Emmy, kudos from my son
Posted Aug 15th 2008 3:07PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, American Idol, Survivor, Celebrities, Dancing With The Stars, Awards, Emmys
The
Survivor producer is probably not the only person wondering that, but Burnett is getting a little more specific.
Mandel was
nominated for his hosting gig on
Deal or No Deal in the "Best Reality Host" category. Now, I'm just as surprised as you are to see that
DOND is considered a reality show and not a game show (I think it's the amount of time they focus on the contestants and the family members on stage and the tears and the personal stories that tip some primetime game shows into the reality realm). Burnett doesn't think it's fair that you have someone like Jeff Probst, who hosts an unscripted (?) show like
Survivor put up against people who host talent shows and game shows.
Continue reading Mark Burnett wants to know why Howie Mandel got an Emmy nom
Posted Aug 13th 2008 11:02AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
This news makes me cringe more than a little.
At this year's
Emmy Awards (September 21 on ABC), celebrities will utter famous catch phrases and lines from 60 years of television.
Doesn't this immediately sound just awful? The scripts for these award shows are often cringe-worthy anyway, the forced humor and banter between two people presenting at the same time, and now they're going to make them say famous lines from TV shows? I can just see Helen Mirren up on stage saying, "And the award for Lead Actress In A Television Series goes to...Glenn Close!...Oh, and by the way, Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?"
Hopefully the lines will be put into some sort of context and not just randomly uttered. I mean, wouldn't it just be terrible in the stars came out on stage throughout the show for special segments on catch phrases, said them ("Kiss My Grits"), and got some weird round of applause from the audience?
Posted Aug 8th 2008 8:08AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: TV Royalty, Programming, OpEd, American Idol, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Talk Show, Host, Emmys, Reality-Free
In the Lame Title Department,
ABC's annual New Year's Eve show will now be called
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.
I dunno...couldn't they have come up with something snappier? Like maybe
Dick and Ryan's New Year's Rockin' Eve ... oh never mind.
Anyway, it's old news that
Ryan Seacrest has been co-hosting the show for the past three years with
Dick Clark, who
suffered a stroke several years ago. But now
Seacrest has his name in the title, so I guess it's official.
Continue reading Ryan Seacrest's name added to New Year's Rockin' Eve
Posted Aug 6th 2008 1:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Sports, Programming, Video, Emmys, Reality-Free
Have you seen the annoying new ad campaign for the ESPN SportsCenter relaunch? If you watch even a half-hour of ESPN programming -- or like me,
Around the Horn and
Pardon the Interruption -- you can't miss these commercials.
There's a young, 20-something guy named Steve running around with a bulky, scoreboard-like digital clock with a strap that hangs around his neck like he's a peanut vendor at a baseball game.
The ads show him going through his day -- working out at the gym, jogging -- while he's waiting for the
launch of the new, 9-hour SportsCenter on August 11. The commercials are completely live, which I grant you is novel, but they are not funny, clever or up to the ESPN standard. I hate them. They're jarring, poorly done and, like I said, annoying. I guess some genius in marketing decided that any way to make the viewer remember that a new format is coming is good enough.
Here's a sample of Steve's work (don't say I didn't warn you!):
Continue reading I hate the new Sportscenter commercials - VIDEO
Posted Jul 28th 2008 8:21AM by Brett Love
Filed under: American Idol, Survivor, Celebrities, Project Runway, Dancing With The Stars, Awards, Emmys
Indeed she will, but she'll have some help. In a change born of trying to keep current with the state of television today, the Emmys will be hosted by the five nominees in the Reality TV Host category. Klum will share hosting duties with Ryan Seacrest, Jeff Probst, Howie Mandel, and (the man that should win it all) Tom Bergeron.
It's a great idea. The standard formula of these shows is something just asking to be shaken up. Klum is probably the biggest question mark here, for the simple fact that she has Tim Gunn to handle much of the unscripted action. I'll be curious to see how she handles the role, and I'm confident that the rest of the nominees will be just fine. The linked article also has a great stat. The average audience of the five nominated shows has been as high as 70 million. Jiminy. The broadcast takes place Sept. 21st, on ABC.
Posted Jul 23rd 2008 9:02AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
With seven separate nominations in the Guest Actor and Actress categories, it's hard to believe that any
30 Rock guest stars were left off this year's list. The men nearly swept the nominees list for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, earning four of the five available spots. The ladies made up half of the Guest Actress category; not bad!
Still, a few brilliant and hilarious performances were left out. You can't argue with
nominations for Will Arnett and Elaine Stritch, but I'd swap one or two of the nominees with a few of my own favorites. Check out my list of overlooked
30 Rock guest stars after the jump. And yes, I left out
Jerry Seinfeld. Emmy got that one right.
Continue reading Eight 30 Rock guest stars that Emmy forgot - VIDEOS
Posted Jul 23rd 2008 8:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Entourage, Emmys, Reality-Free
Don't get him wrong; Jon Cryer is thrilled to be nominated for an Emmy again. This is his third nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as Alan Harper, the sad sack, divorced brother of Charlie Sheen on
Two and a Half Men. In 2006 and 2007, he lost to Jeremy Piven, Ari Gold on
Entourage, and
Jon Cryer is ticked off: "Laugh all you want, [he] is my nemesis. He's a force of nature."
If it's not Piven -- again! -- Jon has another nemesis lined up: "I think this time Neil Patrick Harris (Barney on
How I Met Your Mother) will win."
Cryer is good natured about his chances and not seriously miffed. He's planning to bring his new wife, entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner. "When we heard the news, she was thrilled for a moment, then filled with dread as she started to worry about what she'll wear. But she'll be there with me -- or I'll be very lonely."
Continue reading Jon Cryer not counting on that Emmy
Posted Jul 18th 2008 3:06PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
Interesting yet - OK, I'll say it - odd piece over at the Los Angeles Times: Are the Emmys out of touch with what most TV viewers watch?
I would I think in some ways, yes, and thank God for that.
The main point of the article (titled "The TV Hit No One Watches") is that a show like Mad Men can garner 16 nominiations (a lot for any show but it's especially impressive for a new show, and a new show that's on cable) but still only average about one million viewers a week. And to this I say "so what?" If the Emmys just nominated/gave awards to American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men, and Grey's Anatomy, wouldn't we be a little ticked off? The fact that shows such as Mad Men, Damages, and Breaking Bad got so many awards is a very, very good thing, for the Emmy voters and viewers alike, because they also happen to be fantastic shows.
Continue reading Are the Emmys out of touch?
Posted Jul 18th 2008 2:05PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Emmys, WGA Strike, Reality-Free
For Ken Erhlich, executive producer of the Emmy broadcast, the goal is clear. "The war cry is always, 'What are we going to do and how are we going to make it better?' We did some inventive things, we changed it up, we understand that this is the industry's big night. This means something and we can't trivialize it, but we certainly can have some fun with it." He told me that last year, prior to the Emmy-in-the-round broadcast, a memorable -- and successful show.
In 2008, the decisions about the 60th anniversary Emmys are still in the works for the September LA broadcast, but one decision has already been made.
It won't be in the round. While it looked good on air, the industry didn't like it. "People loved it at home. It had a great look, but you know, you try things, you want to bring something fresh to the show."
Continue reading Big plans for 60th Emmy broadcast ... as long as there's no strike
Posted Jul 17th 2008 5:22PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Saturday Night Live, The Office, Casting, Emmys, Reality-Free
Yesterday we reported that Amy Poehler had been offered
the lead on The Office spinoff (or
not-spinoff, as the case may be). Today,
Poehler herself is confirming the rumor. She tells the AP, "I can kind of confirm that I will be working in some capacity on that show," but goes on to say that "I don't really have any other details yet."
Poehler has been a castmember on
Saturday Night Live since 2001and is currently the co-host of Weekend Update. She will remain on
SNL through the fall, but with
her baby due in October and now this new show, her role in the second half of the season is up in the air.
It's been a big week for Poehler, who in addition to the new job offer, also received an Emmy nomination this morning for outstanding actress in a comedy series for her work on
SNL. Her husband,
Will Arnett, also scored an Emmy nod, for his guest appearance on NBC's
30 Rock.
Next Page >
