Will Ellen DeGeneres' decision to marry long-time love Portia de Rossi hurt her chances with Emmy voters? In the wake of yesterday's California court ruling, the talk-show host announced today on her self-titled show that she intended to tie the knot with the "Arrested Development" beauty.
Ellen DeGeneres' talkfest has won the Emmy four years in a row beginning with its debut season in 2003-04 while she has taken talk show host for the last three years. DeGeneres is the only solo act competing for talk show host at next month's Daytime Emmys. Rival nominees the ladies of "The View" have explained away their 10-year losing streak by saying that there will always be one of them not to like. And Regis Philbin won his only hosting Emmy in 2001, in the wake of his controversial co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford, leaving.
Now Philbin is coupled with an equally sassy sidekick, Kelly Ripa. The twosome is back in the host race after being snubbed last year. Before that, they had lost six years in a row. As Philbin is getting a lifetime achievement award at this year's festivities, voters might decide that is reward enough for him.
Emmy voters unsure of DeGeneres may be tempted by the addition of awards darling Whoopi Goldberg (one of only 10 people to win the grand slam: Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony) to the ever-changing cast of "The View." Will Emmy voters finally reward this female fivesome?
Turns out that "A Catered Affair" was edged out of the Tony Awards top race by only one vote.
As Michael Riedel of the New York Post reports, the tuner -- written by and starring four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, "tied 'Cry-Baby' on the first ballot. To break the tie, the nominators voted again –- and 'Cry-Baby' slipped in." Riedel goes on to report that there were 10 other ties that day.
Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune dishes the "none-too-surprising backlash against the Webby Awards this year."
He quotes Gawker's claims that "there's nothing 'top'" about the award that "likes to be known as the Oscars of the Internet," adding, "It is a club little more exclusive than the Internet itself."
If TV academy members momentarily forget the promo slogan of FX when they get the network's Emmy DVD mailer this week, they may think it means something else. "There Is No Box" seems quite ironic considering that the mailer, for the first time ever, doesn't come in a box. Just like most other channels, FX is going green, nixing the big bulky packaging that usually encases screeners. The two DVDs are affixed to the inside front cover of 5.5-by-8-inch brochure sent to all 14,000 ATAS members.
Disc One contains the pilot of "Damages," which has been submitted as the sample episode Emmy judges will evaluate if the show and/or Glenn Close make the top 10 runoffs for best drama series and lead actress. (Ted Danson submitted the second episode, "Jesus, Mary and Joe Crocker" in the supporting-actor contest.) It also includes "Rescue Me's" and Denis Leary's sample episode "Babyface" plus "Nip/Tuck's" "Carly Summers." Disc Two contains "The Riches" episode "Slums of Bayou Hills," "Dirt" episode "Welcome to Normal" and two segments of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" ("Mac Is a Serial Killer," "Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person").
Two weeks ago FX sent a separate DVD mailer containing discs of the full first season of "Damages" to the 4,600 members of four academy branches: actors, writers, directors, producers. That's to remind them of the critically hailed show that ran for 13 episodes last year from July to October. In order to get Emmy voters hooked on the serialized thriller back then, FX launched the earliest campaign in Emmy history by sending five episodes to the full academy membership in September. Serialized thrillers have done surprisingly well at the Emmys in recent years, with victories as best drama series by "24," "Lost" and "The Sopranos."
That's because the Los Angeles Times has the Cannes Film Festival covered. Not since D-Day have so many Yanks landed on French beaches — we've got a tres grand staff combing the Croisette while contributing to a special new blog bringing you latest news and gossip.
For a general sense of what the fest means for Oscars, read Pete Hammond's intro overview. He'll be filing more reports from the fest front. Meantime, Elizabeth Snead has lots more Cannes dish at her Dish Rag blog.
Tony Award nominees Paulo Szot ("South Pacific") and Deanna Dunagan ("August: Osage County") are among the winners of the Theatre World Awards, which are bestowed to performers who made outstanding stage debuts in New York over the past year.
Other recipients: de'Adre Aziza ("Passing Strange"), Cassie Beck ("Drunken City"), Daniel Breaker ("Passing Strange"), Ben Daniels ("Les Liaisons Dangereuses"), Hoon Lee ("Yellow Face"), Alli Mauzey ("Cry-Baby"), Jenna Russell ("Sunday in the Park With George"), Mark Rylance ("Boeing-Boeing"), Loretta Ables Sayre ("South Pacific") and Jimmi Simpson ("The Farnsworth Invention").
Honorees are chosen by a team of theater journos, including Linda Winer (Newsday) and Frank Scheck (New York Post). READ MORE
Here's the first, early round of predix from some Tony Awards experts: Martin Denton (NYTheatre.com), Elysa Gardner (USA Today), Brian Lipton (TheaterMania.com), Tom O'Neil (TheEnvelope.com), Michael Riedel (New York Post), David Sheward (Back Stage), Paul Sheehan (TheEnvelope.com), and Linda Winer (Newsday). We'll add to this breakdown as more pundits chime in.
BEST PLAY "August: Osage County" - Denton, Gardner, Lipton, O'Neil, Riedel, Sheehan, Sheward, Winer
BEST MUSICAL "In the Heights" - Denton, Gardner, Lipton, O'Neil, Sheehan, Sheward, Winer
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL "In the Heights" - Denton, Gardner, O'Neil, Sheehan, Sheward, Winer "Xanadu" - Lipton
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE "In the Heights" - Denton, Lipton, O'Neil, Sheehan, Sheward, Winer "Passing Strange" - Gardner
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY "Boeing-Boeing" - Lipton, Sheward "The Homecoming" - Denton, Gardner "Macbeth" - O'Neil, Riedel, Sheehan, Winer
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL "South Pacific" - Denton, Gardner, Lipton, O'Neil, Riedel, Sheehan, Sheward, Winer
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY Rufus Sewell, "Rock 'n' Roll" - Gardner Patrick Stewart, "Macbeth" - Denton, Lipton, O'Neil, Riedel, Sheehan, Sheward, Winer
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY Deanna Dunagan, "August: Osage County" - Denton, Gardner, Lipton, O'Neil, Sheehan, Sheward Amy Morton, "August: Osage County" - Riedel, Winer
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Paulo Szot, " South Pacific" - Denton, Gardner, Lipton, O'Neil, Riedel, Sheward, Winer
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Patti LuPone, "Gypsy" - Denton, Gardner, Lipton, O'Neil, Riedel, Sheward, Winer
"Caryl Churchill, maybe one of the world's three best playwrights, finally makes it back to Broadway for the first time in twenty years and this is how the Tonys reward her — with a single nomination for Martha Plimpton?" cries New York mag's Vulture blog. We cry too.
Other wailings included: "Where is Marisa Tomei? Where on earth is Elizabeth Marvel? And where, oh where, is the play itself on the Best Play Revival list . . . . We can't believe that the Tonys passed up Brian Cox in 'Rock 'n' Roll' . . . . 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' –- This might be the most forehead-slapping snub of them all. The theater community has a chance to reward an all-black production of a beloved Tennessee Williams play and . . . " READ MORE
While 795 voters from diverse Broadway factions -– ranging from road producers to journalists -– decide who wins the Tony Awards, the nominees are determined by just 23 people. These hardworking folks attended every show that opened on Broadway this season (36 in all) and met last weekend to hash out the list of nominees in 26 categories.
There are few recognizable names on this list, with the most prominent being 1982 Tony winner Roger Rees ("The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"). A name awards fans should know is Phyllis Newman, who beat Barbra Streisand in the featured actress musical race in 1962. That loss, coupled with her 1964 defeat by Carol Channing, means Babs is not a grand slam winner, lacking a Tony Award to join her two Oscars, four Emmys and eight Grammys.
With only 23 people on the Tony Awards nominating committee, it is likely that more than one nominee made the cut by just one or two votes. So it is not surprising that the panel of experts I surveyed for their nomination predictions (and me) all missed Ben Daniels and his show "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" being recognized as well as nods for Eve Best ("The Homecoming") and Kate Fleetwood. Also absent from our list of predix were directors Arthur Laurents ("Gypsy") and Conor McPherson ("The Seafarer").
We made 44 predictions in total – the four show races (musical and play - new and revival), the four lead acting races (musical and play), and directing. David Sheward (Backstage) got 34 right while Robert Diamond (BroadwayWorld.com) and Brian Lipton (TheaterMania.com) had 33 each. I scored 32 while Martin Denton (NYTheatre.com) had 31 correct.
Below, our resident Tonys guru Paul Sheehan gives us his take on the plays.
No surprise that "August: Osage County" dominated the play side of the Tony Awards, leading with seven nominations, including a bid for the top prize. After all, Tracy Letts' three-hour-plus drama about a dysfunctional family has already won the Pulitzer Prize, as well as kudos from the New York Drama Critics Circle and the Outer Critics Circle. It is the only American entry in the top race.
As headstrong matriarch and equally determined daughter, Outer Critics winner Deanna Dunagan and Amy Morton scored dueling bids for best actress. These two originated the roles in the Steppenwolf Theater production in Chicago last summer.
"The 39 Steps,"Patrick Barlow's fast-paced adaptation of the Alfred Hitchcock screen classic won last year's Olivier for best comedy (that's London's equivalent to the Tony), and earned six Tony nominations, including best play. However, the frantic foursome who play all the characters were snubbed, with the other five nods going to the creative team led by director Maria Aitken. Peter McKintosh picked up two nods for the scenic design and costumes that change in the blink of an eye.
Last year Tom Stoppard made Tony Awards history when his sprawling trilogy "The Coast of Utopia" won a record seven awards, including best play. He returns to compete in that category this year with "Rock 'N' Roll," which earned four nods. Just as Stoppard was a bridesmaid with the Gotham critics yesterday, it is unlikely he will win a fifth Tony for best play. However, Rufus Sewell, who recreated his Oliver Award-winning performance as the Czech expatriate, could prevail as best actor as could Sinead Cusack for featured actress. Last year Sir Tom bemoaned the lack of a sound-design category so he must be pleased with the nod for Ian Dickinson in the first year of this award.
Irish playwright Conor McPherson picked up two nods for writing and directing best play nominee "The Seafarer," which also earned nominations for featured actors Jim Norton and Conleth Hill. Norton, recreating his Olivier winning performance as a blind man, is a leading contender in this category.
Last year 7 of the 20 acting contenders appeared in play revivals. This year it is up to 9 nominees. This strong showing demonstrates the strength of these classic works be they comedy ("Boeing-Boeing") or tragedy ("Macbeth"). These two plays each earned six nominations, including best revival as well as a pair of acting nods. Acclaimed Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance scored a lead actor nod for his Broadway debut in "Boeing-Boeing." He recreated his Oliver-nominated performance as the innocent caught up in a sex farce. And Mary McCormack earned a bid as the Teutonic stewardess who lands him.
