Gold Derby nuggets: Emmys present and future | Natalie Portman Oscar-bound? | Tonys still without a date | 'Gone With the Wind' costumes saved

• In a provocative piece, Joel Keller wonders "when does a comedy stop being a comedy?" As a starting point, he uses this frank admission by "Nurse Jackie" star Edie Falco as she picked up the best comedy series actress Emmy: "Oh, this is the most ridiculous thing that has ever, ever happened in the history of this lovely awards show. I'm not funny!" For Joe, "The outcry that we're hearing about the show seems to stem from the fact that Falco, who won Emmys for playing the not-at-all-funny Carmela Soprano, beat out such comedic stalwarts as Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Amy Poehler. But just because she's a serious character in a lightly funny...

Academy Awards Edie Falco Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Independent Spirit Award Indie Spirits Nurse Jackie Oscars Temple Grandin The Pacific Tony Awards Tonys
09/02/2010 12:20
Comments(1)

Emmy Awards ratings squeak past last year's

By attracting just a few thousand more viewers than CBS did last year, NBC can claim bragging rights for the highest rated of the four airings by the broadcast networks on this rotation of the Emmy Awards wheel. The telecast attracted 13.5 million viewers, as compared with last year's total of 13.47 million. Because of the peacock network's ongoing commitment to the NFL, the Emmys were once again pushed up into late August, rather than the traditional date in mid-September. While the overall TV audience is smaller at this time of the summer, the competition is also of a lower wattage. 9/20/09 - CBS - 8.7 rating/14 share (13.47 million) 9/21/08 - ABC - 8.2/13...

Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys
08/30/2010 14:47
Comments(5)

Winner of best Emmy Awards predix: Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly

Michael Ausiello (Entertainment Weekly) proved to be our best Emmy prophet, correctly predicting the winners in 12 of the top 18 categories at Sunday night's awards. Matt Roush (TV Guide) was in second place with 11 of his predictions proving prescient, and at 10 correct there was a three-way tie for third place among Steve Pond (The Odds, The Wrap) and our Gold Derby pundits Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Rob Licuria. Maggie Furlong (AOL TV Squad) got nine right, while I managed eight and both Kristin dos Santos (E! Online) and Joseph Kapsch (Zap2It) scored seven. Of the 162 predictions made by our panel of experts, only 89 panned out for a success rate of...

Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys
08/30/2010 12:53
Comments(1)

Hey, Jon Stewart: Give back this Emmy for 'The Daily Show'!

Pssst! Do you want to know what secret weapon Jon Stewart used to claim Emmy victory for "The Daily Show" as best variety series for an unprecedented eighth time in a row? Roland Martin's ascot. Yes, the neckwear donned by CNN pundit Roland Martin. That was the focus of the episode of "The Daily Show" submitted to Emmy judges: No. 15065, telecast on May 10, 2010. In it, Stewart strenuously ridicules Martin's ascot. The rest of the segment submission is equally lame stuff: "Senior British Person" John Oliver rants about results of the British election, Jon Stewart rants about recent shenanigans on Wall Street and all viewers doze off while Stewart fawns over historian Jack...

Barack Obama Conan O'Brien Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Jon Stewart Saturday Night Live The Daily Show
08/30/2010 12:10
Comments(35)

Poll: What did you think of the Emmys?

Personally, I thought this Emmys show was one of the best in recent years. Jimmy Fallon struck the perfect pose as host — devilishly amusing as he tweaked TV sacred cows, but he didn't try to upstage the night. The winners' list was aces too. Lots of deserving new champs (Jim Parsons, "Top Chef," Kyra Sedgwick, Aaron Paul, "Modern Family," Eric Stonestreet) and welcome returning Emmy faves (Edie Falco, Bryan Cranston). Bravo, to the TV academy! Here are views of other media wags: MARY MCNAMARA, L.A. TIMES: "Ambitious, energetically hilarious, and, most important, almost seamlessly constructed, this year's telecast actually did what the Emmys are supposed to do — celebrate television." MATT ROUSH, TV GUIDE:...

Big Bang Theory Bryan Cranston Edie Falco Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Jimmy Fallon Kyra Sedgwick Modern Family
08/30/2010 10:52
Comments(7)

Bill Maher remains Emmy's biggest loser at 0 and 26

Bill Maher's record losing streak at the Emmy Awards continued this year as he lost all four of his bids. He has far outpaced daytime diva Susan Lucci who won on nomination No. 19 and primetime also-ran Angela Lansbury who has racked up a record 18 losses as a performer. As with the four this year, most of Maher's previous losing bids were for producing and writing. His HBO series "Real Time With Bill Maher" lost its sixth consecutive bid for outstanding variety, music or comedy series to the unbeatable "Daily Show," which won for a record eighth year while Maher and his writing team lost to the gang over at "The Colbert Report." His...

Bill Maher Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys
08/30/2010 09:45
Comments(41)

'Mad Men' and Bryan Cranston three-peat at Emmys while Kyra Sedgwick finally wins

While both the drama series "Mad Men" and lead actor Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") won Emmys for the third consecutive year, Kyra Sedgwick defied the odds and finally prevailed with her fifth consecutive lead actress bid for "The Closer." She was expected to lose this year to Julianna Margulies, star of the freshman hit "The Good Wife." Rather, it was Archie Panjabi who flew the flag for that show at the Emmy Awards, winning in the supporting actress category, something none of our pundits foresaw. They didn't do much better on the supporting actor side, with only two of them predicting that win by Aaron Paul on his second bid for "Breaking Bad." The rest...

Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston Dexter Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Julianna Margulies Kyra Sedgwick Mad Men The Closer The Good Wife
08/29/2010 22:57
Comments(2)

'Modern Family,' Jim Parsons and, yes, Edie Falco among Emmy comedy newcomers

Freshman hit "Modern Family" won best comedy series as well as supporting actor (Eric Stonestreet) and writing (Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd) at this year's Emmy Awards. "Glee," the other breakout show of the TV season, had to settle for supporting actress (Jane Lynch) and directing (Ryan Murphy). The lead acting awards went to Edie Falco for the first season of "Nurse Jackie" and Jim Parsons, who prevailed on his second nomination for "The Big Bang Theory." "Modern Family" joins a long line of classic TV shows to win top comedy series for their first seasons. Among them: "All in the Family" (1971, the first of four wins), "Taxi" (1979, the first of three in...

30 Rock Big Bang Theory Edie Falco Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Glee Jane Lynch Modern Family Nurse Jackie
08/29/2010 22:33
Comments(6)

'Temple Grandin' big winner for HBO at Emmy Awards

"Temple Grandin" was favored by our pundits to win best TV movie at the Emmys. After all, it was tied for the most nominations for a telefilm (15), and HBO has won this race for 15 of the last 17 years, including the most recent six in a row. Likewise for the 10-part war epic "The Pacific," which won the paycaster the mini-series award for the seventh time. And that golden touch extended to the mini/movie acting races with HBO productions winning all of them as well as the directing and writing prizes. Three of those Emmy Awards went to the "Temple Grandin" cast, led by star Claire Danes, who won for portraying the renowned...

Al Pacino Claire Danes Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Temple Grandin You Don't Know Jack
08/29/2010 22:29
Comments(2)

What's behind Emmy surprises? Were voters drunk?

While most Emmy pundits correctly forecast the top races for best comedy and drama series, movie, mini and lead acting in movies/mini, we botched so many others. What happened? Some pundits like me put too much emphasis on evaluating the episodes submitted to Emmy voters as examples of their best work. Usually, the longest episodes win, but appearing in two-hour specials of "Monk" and "House M.D." didn't help Tony Shalhoub or Hugh Laurie. Instead, another voter bias paid off for Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory"): appearing drunk in "The Pants Alternative." Hollywood voters are suckers for that — Jeff Bridges just nabbed an Oscar for the awful "Crazy Heart" to prove it. Perhaps the...

Big Bang Theory Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Jim Parsons Kyra Sedgwick The Amazing Race The Big Bang Theory The Closer The Daily Show
08/29/2010 21:18
Comments(13)

Emmy predictions roundup: The three wise men of Gold Derby

Our two resident Emmy experts -- Rob Licuria (AwardsHeaven) and Chris "Boomer" Beachum -- have been considering the contenders in the major categories since nominations were announced last month. They have watched all the episodes submitted to Emmy voters and produced a series of must-read reports. Boomer vs. Rob: Best Drama Series Boomer vs. Rob: Best Drama Series Actor Boomer vs. Rob: Best Drama Series Actress Boomer vs. Rob: Best Drama Series Supporting Actor Boomer vs. Rob: Best Drama Series Supporting Actress Rob vs. Boomer: Best Comedy Series Rob vs. Boomer: Best Comedy Series Actor Rob vs. Boomer: Best Comedy Series Actress Rob vs. Boomer: Best Comedy Series Supporting Actor Rob vs. Boomer: Best Comedy...

Emmy Awards Emmy nominations Emmy nominees Emmy winners Emmys
08/26/2010 15:16
Comments(0)

Gold Derby nuggets: EW: Emmy debate over Conan O'Brien | Jonas Brothers 'super excited' about Emmys | Jeff Bridges displays 'True Grit'

• Does Conan O'Brien deserve to win the Emmy this year for his short-lived edition of "The Tonight Show"? Lynette Rice thinks so: "The public has certainly been on his side (witness the I’m With Coco campaign that surfaced on the internet earlier this year). That’s why it seems unlikely that anyone at the Aug. 29 ceremony would begrudge O’Brien if he wins the statuette. We already know his comedy is worth its weight in gold; his team, after all, won the Emmy in 2007 for writing 'Late Night with Conan O’Brien.' And voters will probably want to give O’Brien the final word on the whole sordid affair and on NBC, no less, which is...

Academy Awards Conan O'Brien Disney Emmy Awards Emmy nominations Emmy nominees Emmy winners Emmys entertainment news Joel Coen Jonas Brothers The Daily Show The Tonight Show
08/13/2010 13:12
Comments(0)

Next»