Emmy Live Blog 2011

Arrivals and the Show, All Live-Blogged. Excuse Typos. Things Happen Fast

06:05 This does not bode well, the first arriving guest is a Nina Somebody from The Vampire Diaries who is quite possibly the most boring celebrity I have ever seen interviewed on the red carpet. She had so much airtime to say interesting or funny or quippy or diva things -- trust that you can spin those inane "who are you wearing? can you believe you're here at the emmys?""your career is hothothot" right now volleys whichever way you want. And it was all blah-blah-blah-blah-blah as if pre-recorded and lazily lip-synched to on the red carpet. And when Blake Lively is your aspirational figure that you'll have to work very very hard to deserve a like career. Wow. Let's move on. Please we must. But commercials.

Last year my Oscar dress was amazing. But tonight I wanted to be comfy."

06:15 Celebrities with personalities! Kat Deeley (sp) Lea Michele Taraji P. Henson. Sarah Hyland. Much better. Here's Lea braggin but her Oscar dress while wearing something she claims is comfy but in which she is clearly corseted like Scarlett O'Hara grabbing a bedpost. COMFY!

06:20 Sarah Hyland just had her I'M REALLY A NICE PERSON I SWEAR moment while explaining that she meant no harm when she did an impression of Lea Michele on an episode of Fashion Police. I've heard about this non-scandal but the real scandal is that E! is trying to pretend that that most famous of editorial poses -- elbow jutted out exagerrate contrapposto -- is LEA MICHELE's. I love my Rachel Berry but she wasn't even conceived yet when super-models started doing that. 

6:28 I really am not a Rainn Wilson fan but his carpet banter was funny. His TV crushes?

"The entire cast of Mad Men and the naked Dothraki girl who eats the stallion heart."

Hee.

6:30 Less funny was Paula Abdul's typical spaciness. She said "blueberries" when she meant "blue balls". Even if she'd gotten the word right, is that what you want to talk about on the red carpet?

6:38 Darren Criss's nose should be growing like Pinnochios. He hasn't really even thought about whether or not the Glee cast is graduating this year. Uh, yeah.

6:40 I just caught sight of what looks like a VERY unusual dress on Julianne Marguiles which will undoubtedly get her tons of attention. Will snap a photo as soon as I can. A giant white cylindrical cheese grater? 

6:49 DAMNIT. I was wrong. It is not thick plastic with circular cut-outs but regular old white fabric with big circular looking jewels. Less insane than expected and therefore much uglier. Christina Hendricks on the other hand is bang on beautiful. YUM YUM YUM. 

6:54 Charlize Theron's new "Dior Commercial" is crazy glam explosion and she is ridonculously hot. Like molten hot. If she had been around in Golden Age Hollywood she would have been an enormous star. But Hollywood doesn't understand In Movie Glamour anymore. Only red carpet glamour. Charlize should be looking that good IN a movie.

6:58 This happened awhile ago but I am still haunted...

I bet that's how Ryan kisses all the girls.

MUCH MUCH MORE AFTER THE JUMP

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True Blood Finale (Plus: Season 4 Awards!)

The final episode of True Blood's witchy season four had a cleft heart, one half beating only for past glories (i.e. Season 4 ... or even earlier seasons if their name is "Bill") and the other half beating for an imagined future (Season 5 if you'd like to get cynical about it). You could just about divide the sprawling cast down the center as to which half they belonged to, some characters hanging on to the past either tearfully, fearfully or violently (Marnie, Eric, Bill, Debbie, Hoyt, Arlene, Pam), others ready to forge ahead and move on with varying degrees of optimism, fear, and willpower (Sookie, Jessica, Jason, Tara, Sam, Holly & Andy). It's the very drama that infuses the episode's opening conversation with Jesus & Lafayette. Isn't that always the drama of the heart? 

Jesus and Lafayette (who is actually Marnie!) over breakfast eggs.

4.12 "And When I Die"
Not that True Blood thrives on "the universal". Most of us don't have to worry about malevolent spirits possessing our lovers, stabbing our hands over breakfast, duct-taping us to our chairs, and stealing our demon-headed magic while thrusting a butcher knife into our heart. But maybe Jesus, familiar with both violence-prone spirits and demon-headed Crazy, should've worried himself towards protection spells or some such! Goodbye Jesus (2010-2011) we hardly knew you. Goodbye Kevin Alejandro, go-to guy for "regular cast" killings (see also: Southland).

True Blood's season finale had a cleft heart but its body was divvied up into smaller pieces, drawn and quartered one might say.

If that sounds torturous, it definitely was... at least for the characters. And maybe some audiences members who wanted a more cohesive finale. More after the jump, plus best & worst of the season.

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Small Screen Season

Nathaniel. Home again from a relaxing weekend offline. My last for the next six months as it's all prestige movies and Oscar hoopla from now until March.

I've had a lot of fun writing up True Blood during the summer (finale writeup tomorrow). I have no intention of turning the blog into The TV Experience but a little variety never hurt anyone and I might add a briefer small screen column -- possibly with guest bloggers on occasion-- or maybe just continue with the odd "TV at the Movies" episode. I'm cancelling HBO when True Blood ends. Why? Budget reasons and a clear lack of interest in their slate of original programs. I never thought I'd say the latter but it's too man-centric for me now, as if their entire programming directive is "get me more Sopranos / Entourages ... literally. put them in period garb or relocate the action. whatever". I miss the Sex & The City / Six Feet Under / Sopranos days when the network felt more equal opportunity thrilling and more original ... as if their goal was to corner every market that was demanding quality television. The point: I have a lot of DVR openings now given cancellations, loss of interest in longrunning shows, delays, etcetera... so I may take a deeper looker (offline) at the new season offerings -- which basically start tomorrow with RINGER -- than I normally do.

Christian Borle, Debra Messing and Anjelica Huston in SMASH (2012)

The new show I'm most interested in is Smash, the first television series (to my knowledge) that's ever used Broadway musicals as its topic. In one of those daydream fantasies where one imagines oneself a tv creator this is always the topic I dreamed up for MY series that I would direct and produce (fantasizing remember... I do neither of those things). I imagined just such a show so many times. I wish they had gone with Broadway musical stars in the major roles (it'll be weird that Glee uses more of them given the respective topics) but Katharine McPhee (from American Idol) has a good voice and I'm intrigued to see how Oscar winner Anjelica Huston will fare in the key supporting role -- can she finally win the Emmy that's eluded her for the past 22 years despite frequent nominations?

But Smash doesn't premiere until 2012 so here are some shows I'm considering sampling -- which usually means just the first episode unless it's very intriguing --  primarily chosen for topics or actresses I like. As I do. 

CLICK AHEAD FOR THE LIST AND READER POLLING -- I'm curious about your watching habits from none to too much.

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True Blood 4.11 "Soul of Fire"

The penultimate episode of Season four played just like a Season Finale with nearly every storyline reaching conclusion. Or at least like one of those season finales that precedes a haunted stand-alone episode. I'm thinking of Buffy's Season 4 two-fer "Primeval" and "Restless" where all the story threads are sewn up but then the heroine begins to fray in mysterious ways.

Show me future."

Soul of Fire
Not that True Blood is Buffy's equal, I hasten to add. Nor could Sookie fray in mysterious ways since her dramas are always "who to sleep with?" related and never any deeper. Even her "what am I, exactly?" identity crisis resulted in no character growth or behavioural change. And anyway, the pre-credits twist (glorious!) punishes you for thinking things are sewn up and tidy. Did I just negate these first two paragraphs? Uhhh, damnit. May I glamour you and wipe them from your memory?

The penultimate episode begins with the great album cover ready shot of the four lead vampires in black leather ambush gear heading for Moon Goddess Emporium and we stay there for nearly all of the episode with all eyes on Marnie. She admits that she likes it that way... and so does Fiona Shaw, don't you know.

THERE'S MORE...

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Links: Hugh Jackman's Bow, TV Series Low, The Telluride Show

Towleroad I'm sounding off on what's available in the multiplex this weekend. More on the French thriller Love Crime here at TFE soon.
Los Angeles Times Telluride lineup, just announced, with premieres of The Descendants and Albert Nobbs. The festival will pay tribute to Michael Clayton... er, I mean George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, separately.
Empire god, that took long enough. Our first shot of Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn.

What'cha think?

Liz Smith has some ideas for the James Franco replacement in Broadway's Sweet Bird of Youth; Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be a totally interesting choice. Good one Liz. The less said about her other suggestion the better.
Guardian It's true. David Lynch has finally opened a real Club Silencio. I'd love to visit but I'd probably be deeply unnerved if anyone whispered "No hay banda" while I was inside.  
My New Plaid Pants continues to gawk at Garret Dillahunt "under-rated hot piece extraodinaire" (...and under-rated actor, too!)

Sing out Louise Hugh!

Playbill ZOINKS. Hugh Jackman may perform an 8 week concert series here in New York with songs from classic musicals as he waits for Wolverine to begin actual filming. OMG. Wouldn't it be so weird if Jackman and Kidman were both on Broadway at the same time? It'd be like an Australia reunion.
Back Stage talks to Ginnifer Goodwin about her new role as Snow White in the series "Once Upon a Time" (I'm losing track of all these new television shows that are using fairy tale or classic kids lit templates only modernized. Seriously, how many are there. 3 or 4 this fall season right?)

AV Club has an interesting topic question: what's the worst episode of a great series? I definitely kinda sorta agree with their Mad Men choice... but i'm struggling to remember the episode of Firefly they cite.
Stale Popcorn on the now four year old gay indie Shelter. I'm linking up because Glenn and I share nearly exact feelings about this one and how it immediately calls to mind gay film trajectories, like the utter tragedy that is Todd Stephens post Gypsy '83 career.
I09 salutes Daryl Hannah as an alien insect queen. I have never seen this but now I must. It's post Kill Bill even. Her brilliance there obviously didn't up the prestige level of her offers.

And finally thanks to Movie|Line for alerting us this piece at Saving Star Wars. They're right. The George Lucas of the 80s would HATE the "barbarian" George Lucas of 2011. Stop destroying your culturally significant 70s film with all these tweaks and changes for continuous profit. You have enough money. In fact, few people have ever had more. Of course maybe Lucas would stop pissing on his legacy if the fans would stop rewarding him financially for doing so and bitching at him for pissing on it. It's a vicious cycle. And trust: the fans make a big fuss but they buy all the new altered editions. Stop doing it!!!