Television girds for Emmy closeup
Published 10:28 pm Friday, August 27, 2010
LOS ANGELES — The television world’s annual tribute to itself is set for Sunday night, going live to all U.S. time zones for the first time in recent memory. Having a totally live show means everything needs to work — the first time — so there’s plenty of last-minute prepping going on heading into the weekend. Maybe a few pre-parties, too. Here’s the latest:
A-LIST OF PRESENTERS: The Television Academy has released its final batch of presenters for Sunday night’s Primetime Emmy Awards, completing a parade of talent that is sure to keep the three-hour show glamorous, if nothing else. Included in the most recent stellar lineup are Claire Danes, Ted Danson, Tom Selleck, and Mariska Hargitay of “Law &Order: Special Victims Unit,” who is nominated this year for lead actress in a drama series.
They join a list of previously announced presenters that includes Stephen Colbert, Edie Falco, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Jon Hamm, Neil Patrick Harris, January Jones, LL Cool J, John Lithgow, Ann-Margret, newlyweds Anna Paquin and Steven Moyer of “True Blood,” Eva Longoria Parker and of course Betty White.
The ceremony will be broadcast from the Nokia Theatre at LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles.
PEEKING AT THE PROCESS: Like Sunday night’s main event, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmys, which aired Friday also had its stars and trophies. But it offered something more — a peek into how the TV industry works.
The ceremony, held last weekend and aired on the E! channel, teamed showrunners and stars from nominated series as presenters, including Ryan Murphy and Jane Lynch of “Glee” and Matthew Weiner and Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men.”
STARRY, STARRY NIGHT: After winning (or losing) Emmys, 3,600 celebrities and other invitees will end the evening at the Governors Ball inside the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, just steps away from the Nokia Theatre. The behemoth 57,600-square-foot space has been transformed into a celestial heaven for Sunday’s galactic dinner party.
“This is a very large room,” said designer Dwight Jackson. “It’s bigger than a football field.”
To turn the colossal hall into an intimate ballroom, the space has been surrounded by 50,000-square-feet of black drapery. Thousands of tiny mirror balls dangle from the ceiling around a giant disco ball encased in a glittering sun sculpture hung above the stage, while giant glowing spheres representing each sign of the zodiac circle the dance floor.
