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Will rookies dominate the Emmys? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Christopher Lisotta   
Monday, 16 August 2010 13:35

If the first time is a charm, then 2010 could be shaping up as a downright charming year for a host of rookie Emmy nominees.

As voting wraps up Tuesday, buzz is building behind freshmen series "The Good Wife," "Glee" and "Modern Family," any of which could wrest key wins from veteran series like "30 Rock" and "Mad Men," which have become the shows to beat.
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Don't be too surprised to see fresh actor faces on stage at the Nokia Theatre on Aug. 29. While the Emmys have a reputation for rewarding favorites ("The Amazing Race," anyone?), the reality is that debut performances often catch the eye of voters.

The TV Academy has had no problem giving away Emmy statuettes to first-time actor nominees, especially "if there is a nice momentum" for their series or their performances, says Wesley Hyatt, a TV historian and the author of "Emmy Award Winning Nighttime Television Shows 1948-2004."

In 1971, Jean Stapleton won the lead actress in a comedy Emmy for CBS' new hit "All in the Family," while fellow rookie sitcom "Mary Tyler Moore" nabbed a supporting actor Emmy for Ed Asner and a supporting actress statuette for Valerie Harper. Besides writing and directing nods that year, "All in the Family" also went on to win a category where most debuting shows come up short: outstanding series.

"MTM" didn't win a comedy series Emmy for five seasons, while seminal genre-definers "M*A*S*H," "Seinfeld," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Sopranos" and "ER" failed to make the series win their first season out as well (it took the slower-to-catch-on "Seinfeld" and "Raymond" a couple seasons to even get nominated).

"It's typical to have to wait and win in this category," Hyatt says.

But Hyatt can't deny the current enthusiasm surrounding "Glee" and its genre-bending use of music, wit and drama, and "Modern Family," which he calls a "fresh twist on the family sitcom." He hesitates to handicap both series' chances, particularly in the acting categories, where both shows have multiple nominations. Because actors submit individual episodes of their own choosing for Emmy consideration, Hyatt argues that prognosticating a winner is impossible.

Still, nominees as diverse as January Jones (lead actress drama, "Mad Men") and Kyle Chandler (lead actor drama, "Friday Night Lights") have a real shot to win for their first nom in the category.

The unpredictability of the comedy supporting actress race has been lost on "Modern Family" co-star Julie Bowen, who is shooting a feature in Nova Scotia.

"I haven't exactly been in the party swirl," Bowen says. "I was offered free haddock, but I'm not sure if it's Emmy related."

Despite five acting nominations for "Family," "There hasn't been a big group hug," she explains, because everyone has been on hiatus. Bowen's biggest dilemma will come from her own voting, where she must make a hard choice in the supporting actor category between colleagues Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.

"The only thing that sucks is that I have to vote for ONE guy," she says. "My TV husband? My TV brother? My TV kind of brother-in-law? That's just mean."

Of course, another choice for Bowen is to vote for the other newcomer in the category, "Glee" co-star Chris Colfer, who is having to share the spotlight with the six other nominated actors from his show.

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Fox host Bill O'Reilly slams Jennifer Aniston for saying women don't need men to raise children PDF Print E-mail
Written by Meena Hartenstein   
Thursday, 12 August 2010 03:31

Here's a celebrity feud you didn't see coming -- Fox News Anchor Bill O'Reilly has lashed out at Jennifer Aniston, calling the actress "destructive to our society."

O'Reilly railed at Aniston on his show Wednesday for comments she made about single motherhood.

"Women are realizing more and more that you don't have to settle, they don't have to fiddle with a man to have that child," Aniston said recently while promoting her new film "The Switch," a comedy about artificial insemination.

"They are realizing if it's that time in their life and they want this part, they can do it with or without that," she said.

Conservative talk show host O'Reilly hosted a round table discussion on Wednesday to address the actress' comments.

"She's throwing a message out to 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds that hey, you don't need a guy, you don't need a dad," he said. "That's destructive to our society."

O'Reilly went on to argue that remarks like Aniston's are hurtful to fathers, saying, "She's diminishing the role of the dad."

Questions about Aniston's potential future as a single mother have swirled since her split with Brad Pitt, and the actress has said repeatedly that she still wants to be a mom someday.

"I have said it years before and I still say it today," she said during her film's press conference.

But unlike the character she plays in "The Switch," Aniston won't be heading to the sperm bank: "I don't have plans on that, no."

O'Reilly did defend Aniston against Fox & Friends Anchor Gretchen Carlson, who said the former "Friends" star made the remarks in relation to her own personal life.

"In her private life she's a 41-year old single woman who's never been married, and probably has not ruled out the chance of having a baby," Carlson said.

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Inside Hollywood's Secret GOP Jamboree PDF Print E-mail
Written by hollywoodreporter   
Wednesday, 04 August 2010 02:53

Most politicians make their Hollywood debuts at lavish fund-raisers or intimate house parties. But Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO now running for a U.S. Senate seat in California, made her entrance at an event organized by the Friends of Abe.

For those unfamiliar with the highly secretive club of conservatives in the entertainment business, the name refers to iconic Republican Abraham Lincoln, not Abe Vigoda. Mostly meeting informally at the West Hollywood greasy spoon Barney's Beanery, the GOP-leaning crowd held its annual blowout in mid-June at a sprawling horse ranch near the Ventura County line. Hosted by "CSI: NY" star Gary Sinise, hundreds of actors, directors and craftspeople came out for the right-wing Woodstock.

The Friends of Abe have been around for a few years now, and conservative frustration with the Democratic control of Washington might be helping them flourish. Indeed, as politicians on both sides of the aisle court such nontraditional groups as the Tea Party and Netroots, the conservative Hollywood clique is hoping for real relevance as Election Day nears.

As one of the group's biggest names, "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer's presence at the gathering was deemed essential enough to be beamed in via video. Former "Weekend Update" anchor Dennis Miller from "Saturday Night Live" delivered sharp Barack Obama wisecracks, Lee Greenwood performed his patriotic brand of country music, and Oscar winner Jon Voight helped emcee. There were Tea Party activists like Andrew Breitbart, Fox News personalities including Greg Gutfeld, politicos like House minority whip Eric Cantor of Virginia and even gay Republicans like "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry.

About a thousand people shelled out $200 each to attend, but sources said much of the night's estimated $200,000 take went to cover expenses and catering.

Fiorina received a rousing ovation when she was introduced, but applause doesn't cost money. Cash for television buys is especially important in the large state of California -- during one week in May, candidates spent $10 million.

"Obviously, the FOA folks will vote for GOP candidates like Carly and Meg Whitman," an attendee who requested anonymity said. "But I haven't heard the sound of many wallets opening."


The stakes are as high as ever: Fiorina is battling for Democrat Barbara Boxer's Senate seat, and former eBay CEO Whitman is up against Jerry Brown in the governor race. Both Democratic opponents are among the right's favorite punching bags. What's more, field polls released a month ago saw both races locked in statistical dead heats, with the Dems holding only tiny leads within the margin of error. (A Public Policy Institute of California poll last week also noted the tight races.)

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks national candidates, Boxer received $677,000 from the movie, TV and music industries, while Fiorina's take from showbiz donors is so small, it doesn't even register in her Top 20 ranking of business contributors (not surprisingly, her top donors come from the securities and investment industry). The National Institute on Money in State Politics, the only independent organization that tracks donations to gubernatorial races, calculated that -- at least through March 17, the most recent available numbers -- Brown received $330,000 from entertainment industry sources and Whitman's take from the sector was $45,000.

 

Of course, complicated alliances abound in Hollywood politics -- it's easier to figure out what side Angelina Jolie is on in "Salt" than to understand the political motivations of some studio chiefs. Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Michael Lynton donated $15,900 to Whitman's campaign and serves on her finance committee -- an about-face from two years ago, when he and wife Jamie were top "bundlers" for Obama's presidential campaign, hauling in contributions of $200,000-$500,000.

Lynton declined to discuss switching sides to support Whitman, but associates said he and Whitman grew close when they worked at Disney two decades ago.

Another mogul with conflicting allegiances is Jeffrey Katzenberg, who worked alongside Whitman on DreamWorks Animation's board of directors and forged what he called "a whole new level of collaboration" with Fiorina's HP during the earliest days of his studio. During the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show, Fiorina described him as "a good partner and even an better friend." Katzenberg has been far more friendly to Boxer when it comes to finances, however, contributing the maximum. (Katzenberg also declined to discuss the matter.)

Team Fiorina doesn't hold a grudge.

"It's no surprise that (Jeffrey) would continue to support Boxer," Fiorina press rep Andrea Saul said before insisting that Boxer has "been bad for business, especially the entertainment industry" because of tax hikes and trade restrictions. For her part, Boxer highlights plenty of assistance to the industry, from fighting movie-futures exchanges to support for the 2004 JOBS Tax Bill, which gave breaks for movies and TV shows shot in the U.S. Both candidates point to efforts to fight piracy.

Neither gubernatorial candidate has explained plans to help the film and television business if elected. Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford also pointed to his candidate's anti-piracy record as the state's attorney general but offered "no specific thoughts" for keeping production from fleeing the state. Reps for Whitman did not respond to calls.

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