And still champion … `Mad Men`

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Monday, September 21, 2009
a Nielsen Business Media publication
an edition of
Cook’s exit
augurs Dis
revamping
By Gregg Kilday
OS ANGELES — With Disney’s film operations on the
verge of undergoing a transformation, Dick Cook, a 38-year
veteran of the studio, has abruptly
stepped down as
chairman of the
Walt Disney Studios. No successor
was named.
Cook, a genial,
well-liked executive, just last week
Cook
presided over the
first edition of
D23 Expo, a fan
convention in
Anaheim, where
his presentation
of such upcoming
films as “A Christmas Carol,” Tim
Iger
Burton’s “Alice in
Wonderland” and a fourth “Pirates
of the Caribbean” movie was
enthusiastically received by the
Disney faithful.
At the same time, though, Disney president and CEO Robert Iger
had expressed disappointment
with the recent performance of
Disney’s live-action films and
vowed in May to “address costs at
virtually every level.”
Adding to the pressure on Disney’s live-action division is that
fact that the studio’s release slate
will soon have to make room for
four-to-six DreamWorksproduced movies a year as a result
continued on page 5
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
L
The “Mad
Men” team
celebrates
its second
straight
drama win.
And still champion …
‘Mad Men’ and ‘30 Rock’ win again on night of Emmy repeats
By Alex Ben Block
L
OS ANGELES — The
summer reruns on the
broadcast networks spilled
into Sunday’s 61st annual
Primetime Emmy Awards.
The night featured five repeat
winners in the top six series
categories, including
AMC’s “Mad Men” for
best drama and NBC’s
“30 Rock” for outstanding comedy.
Also returning as
Emmy winners
were Glenn Close
of FX’s “Damages” and Bryan
Cranston of
AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” as lead
drama actress
and actor, and Alec Baldwin of
“30 Rock” as best comedy actor.
Toni Collette of Showtime’s
“United States of Tara” pulled off
the only major surprise in the top
six, winning the comedy actress
trophy over “30 Rock’s” Tina Fey.
Overall, there was no dominant program among the
winners, but the
BBC/PBS miniseries
“Little Dorrit” led
the pack with a
combined seven
trophies, including those colTina Fey of
“30 Rock” and
presenter Bob
Newhart meet
on the buss.
lected at last week’s Creative
Arts Emmys.
“Mad Men” main man
Matthew Weiner accepted the
show’s outstanding drama series
award at the Nokia Theatre, saying everyone “worked very hard to
have it not stink the second year.”
The period piece won just one
continued on page 8
MORE EMMYS
“Daily Show” and “Amazing Race”
extend streaks 6
Bouquets for canceled
“Daisies” 7
“Death of b’cast TV”
a hot topic 7
Complete coverage
at THR.com/Emmys
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INSIDE TRACK
That’s a spicy b.o. ‘Meatballs’
Sony’s 3D ani feature rolls to $30 million and tops star-driven rivals
By Carl DiOrio
Lead actress Gabourey Sidibe appeared last
week at the “Precious” screening in Toronto.
‘Precious’builds
Oscar momentum
By Etan Vlessing
TORONTO PHOTO: REUTERS; CUBA PHOTO: STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
TORONTO — Oscar prospects
for Lee Daniels’ “Precious: Based
on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
got a boost when the coming-ofage tale about an obese, pregnant
Harlem teenager picked up the
top audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Lionsgate film, executive
produced by Oprah Winfrey and
Tyler Perry, beat out first runnerup “Mao’s Last Dancer” from
Bruce Beresford and second
runner-up “Micmacs” from JeanPierre Jeunet in a competition
voted on by filmgoers in Toronto.
“The audience award holds
such an important meaning,”
Daniels said Saturday from the
San Sebastian International Film
Festival, where “Precious”
screened Sunday.
continued on page 5
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OS ANGELES — Sony’s
3D animated feature
“Cloudy With a Chance
of Meatballs” enjoyed a
balmy opening, topping
domestic rankings during the
weekend with an estimated
$30.1 million in North American
boxoffice.
Warner Bros.’ “The Informant!”
— the Matt Damon-toplined
whistle-blower thriller — bowed
about as expected with $10.5 million in second place amid lackluster competition. Last week’s
champ, Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do
Bad All by Myself” from Lionsgate, dropped 57% from its weekearlier tally to register $10.1 million in third place, with a 10-day
cume of $37.9 million.
Universal’s romantic drama
“Love Happens,” starring Aaron
Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston,
debuted with a tepid $8.5 million
in fourth. Fox Atomic’s horror
WEATHER REPORT: “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” is based on a popular children’s book.
film “Jennifer’s Body” was buried
deep in fifth place as the Megan
Fox starrer disappointed with a
$6.8 million bow.
Another horror film, Summit’s
similarly R-rated “Sorority Row,”
dropped a relatively modest 51%
during its sophomore session to
register $2.5 million in ninth place,
For exclusive news, blogs and special
reports, go to THR.com/extra
< Learning about Cuba
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans
flocked to Havana’s Revolution Plaza
on Sunday for a “peace concert” headlined by Colombian rocker Juanes, an
event criticized by Cuban-Americans
who say the performers lent support to
the communist government.
good for an $8.9 million cume.
Three rungs higher, second-frame
holdover “9,” an animated feature
from Focus, recorded $5.5 million
on a 49% slide for a 12-day cume
of $22.8 million.
Collectively, the weekend top 10
fetched $83.3 million to mark a
14% uptick compared with last
year’s frame, Nielsen EDI said.
In a limited opening, fledgling
indie Apparition launched its first
pic, Jane Campion’s romantic
drama “Bright Star,” in 19 locations
in six cities to gross $190,343. That
represents a bright $10,018 per site
as its cume reached $207,289 since
a Wednesday bow in New York.
“Star” will shine in a total of 32
markets when it expands Friday.
IFC Films’ Juliette Binoche starrer “Paris” arrived in six theaters in
continued on page 4
CLIPS
THREE ATTEND ‘WAKE’
Nick Stahl, Rose
McGowan and
Amy Smart have
been cast in the
supernatural love
story “Dylan’s Wake,” directed
by Omar Naim, which has
begun filming in Des Moines,
Iowa. Stahl plays a funeralparlor employee trying to
09.21.09
unravel a 10-year-old mystery.
VAMPIRE’S BEST FRIEND
HBO has announced the
launch of its “True Blood”
jewelry line. Conceived in
collaboration with designer
Udi Behr, several items include
fanglike clasp closures.
Behr designed
the collection
of rings, necklaces and earrings
using the show’s themes as
inspiration. Prices range from
$59-$1,295.
NATO DEPLOYMENTS
Tony Kerasotes has been
elected to a two-year term as
chairman and CEO of the
National Association of
Theatre Owners. Other
newly elected officers are
Aubrey Stone, vice chairman,
and Amy Miles, treasurer.
Mark O’Meara was re-elected
secretary.
‘AFTERSCHOOL’ SPECIAL
IFC Films has acquired North
American rights to Antonio
Campos’ “Afterschool,” which
debuted at the 2008 Festival
de Cannes. It will be released
Oct. 2 in New York following
its VOD debut Sept. 30.
EYE ON BAKER
Six-time makeup Oscar winner
Rick Baker will be honored
Oct. 2 with a Chiller-Eyegore
Award at Universal Studios’
opening-night ceremony for its
Halloween Horror Nights event.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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CLIPS
‘LENO’ UPS AND DOWNS
NBC’s “The Jay Leno Show”
posted strong numbers Friday
despite dipping to
an expected new
low. “Leno” drew
7.7 million viewers
and earned a
2.1 rating in the adults 18-49
demographic, dropping 22%
from Thursday but scoring the
highest nonsports rating
received by any major broadcaster on the night since May.
NEW BOSS AT TBA
Steve Lanzano, COO of Havas’
MPG North America global
media agency, is expected to
be named president of the
Television Bureau of Advertising. He will succeed Chris
Rohrs, who is stepping down
at year’s end after a nine-year
tenure. Lanzano announced
his departure from MPG on
Friday; he will remain at the
company until year’s end.
TOO REGULATED
Media regulation, talent payments and the future direction
of the BBC were the main
points emerging from the
Royal Television Society’s biennial Cambridge Conference
that wound down Friday. Frustration with the regulatory
environment was a key theme
among commercial broadcasters. ITV executive chairman
Michael Grade said the market
for broadcasters is “way overregulated,” which is “no way to
INSIDE TRACK
Ex-Oregon senator
takes reins at NAB
By Katy Bachman
Gordon Smith, a former twoterm Republican senator from
Oregon, has been named president
and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters. He succeeds
David Rehr, who resigned in May.
Smith’s first industry appearance will be this week in Philadelphia, where he will speak at the
NAB Radio Show.
His first official day
on the job will be
Nov. 1. In midOctober, he’ll hold
his first meeting
with the group’s
board of directors.
Smith
Most recently a
senior adviser at the law firm
Covington & Burling, Smith served
in the Senate from 1996-2008,
where he sat on the Senate Commerce Committee, the panel that
oversees broadcast-related legislation. As a member of that committee, Smith was chairman of a
Senate’s High Tech Task Force,
developing an expertise in newmedia and technology issues.
“Smith’s background as a
lawyer, a statesman and as an
entrepreneur, coupled with his
extensive knowledge of broadcast
issues from having served many
years on the Commerce Committee, make Gordon eminently qualified to represent the interests of
free and local broadcasters in
Washington,” NAB joint board
chairman Steve Newberry said.
Before public office, Smith
operated family-owned Smith
Frozen Foods in Weston, Ore.
Katy Bachman is senior editor
at Mediaweek.
09.21.09
OS ANGELES — Michael
Fresco has been tapped
to direct “Keep Hope
Alive,” Greg Garcia’s comedy
pilot for Fox.
The single-camera project,
from 20th TV, centers on a
25-year-old man raising an
infant with the help of his
quirky family after the mother
of the baby, with whom he had
a one-night stand, ends up on
death row.
L
Glenn pens
‘Fallen’ for
Chernin,Fox
Fresco has strong ties with
Garcia. He directed 15 episodes
of Garcia’s NBC/20th TV
single-camera comedy “My
Name Is Earl.”
During the past two years,
Fresco helmed two ABC pilots
for 20th TV: the single-camera
comedy “Better Off Ted” and
drama “The Deep End.” Both
pilots went to series.
Fresco also was a consulting
producer/director on the first
season of “Ted,” created by his
brother, Victor Fresco.
By Nellie Andreeva
WGA vote sends mixed message
By Gregg Kilday
and Jay A. Fernandez
OS ANGELES — Making a
break from its immediate
past, the WGA West has
elected John Wells
president.
Wells, who
earned 52.8% of
the vote, ran
against the Writers
United slate, headed by presidential
Wells
candidate Elias
Davis, which was committed to
following the path set by outgoing president Patric Verrone.
In something of
a split vote, the guild also elected
two members of
the Writers United slate: Tom
Schulman as vp and David Weiss
L
‘HEROES’ WELCOME
Andrew Connolly has joined
NBC’s drama “Heroes” for a
multiepisode arc, playing the
older brother of Samuel
(Robert Knepper). Connolly’s
recent credits include a guest
spot on ABC’s “Lost.”
TELEVISION
Mom’s inside, but
‘Hope’ is al Fresco
By Nellie Andreeva
operate in a fast-moving market,” he said.
as secretary-treasurer. Schulman
pulled in 55.5% of the vote, and
Weiss collected 53.3%. They triumphed over two members of
Wells’ slate: vp candidate
Howard Michael Gould and
Chris Keysor.
Verrone moves
into a board seat
with Howard A.
Rodman, Dan
Wilcox, Linda
Burstyn, Billy Ray,
Steven Schwartz,
Winship
Chip Johannessen,
Carleton Eastlake and Ian
Deitchman. The officers and
board will serve two-year terms,
effective immediately.
In a separate election, Michael
Winship, a senior writer for “Bill
Moyers Journal,” was re-elected
continued on page 5
LOS ANGELES — Fox has
“Fallen” for a vigilante drama
from “Eagle Eye” co-writer
John Glenn.
The project, produced by
20th and the Chernin Co., is
described as a real-world drama
that revolves around a group of
vigilante “fallen”
angels who take
down the criminal
and the corrupt in
New York while
falling in love,
battling demons
and seeking their Chernin
own personal
revenge.
Glenn is executive producing
with Peter
Chernin and
Katherine Pope,
the Chernin Co.’s
TV head.
Pope
Chernin’s producing deal with News Corp.
has several blind production
commitments at the Fox network built into it. It is not clear
whether “Fallen” would fall
under any of them.
In addition to “Fallen,” the
Chernin Co. also has a multicamera comedy by Bobby Bowman set up at Fox.
Glenn, who wrote and directed the 2008 feature “The
Lazarus Project” starring Paul
Walker, and the 2006 ABC pilot
“Drift,” is repped by ICM. ∂
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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BOXOFFICE
‘UP’ AND UP:
The Disney/Pixar film’s
foreign gross grew
to $196.7 million.
Long-lasting ‘Up’graduates to No.1
By Frank Segers
he marathon foreign rollout
of “Up” turned into a sprint
during the weekend as
Disney/Pixar’s 3D animated title
took the No. 1 spot for the first
time this year, pulling in $13.7 million from 2,718 locations in 23
countries.
In offshore release since May 29,
“Up” mostly ranked toward the
middle of the pack each round
thanks to its graduated foreign
distribution pattern — spaced over
seven months and designed to
capitalize on school holidays and
other local factors.
The total overseas take for “Up”
is $196.7 million, with a slew of key
foreign markets — including Italy,
the U.K., Scandinavia, the Benelux
countries, Turkey and Poland — to
play before its final foreign opening Dec. 5 in Japan. The territories
are expected to add at least another
40%-50% of the current foreignboxoffice take.
“Up” is on track to exceed the
foreign tallies of Pixar predecessors “WALL-E” ($310 million)
and “Ratatouille” ($415 million).
“Up” has generated cumes of
$38 million from France, $6.7 million from Brazil, $8.5 million from
Australia and $32.4 million from
Spain, making it the latter market’s
biggest animation release to date.
Opening overseas on 1,238
screens in 15 markets, Sony’s
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” in 3D got off to an unimpressive start with $6 million,
T
09.21.09
ranking No. 5 for the weekend.
Premiering overseas simultaneously with its No. 1 domestic bow,
the family-oriented animated film
debuted No. 1 in the U.K. with
$2.8 million from 537 sites.
Sony’s “Julie & Julia” opened at
No. 7 in France with $1 million
from 274 screens. Overall, its
weekend take was $2.2 million
from 1,065 sites in seven markets
for a cume to date of $6.4 million.
At No. 2 for the weekend was
the Weinstein Co./Universal’s
“Inglourious Basterds,” which
drew $11.2 million from 2,900
locations in 40 territories, pushing
its international total to $115.7 million and making it director
Quentin Tarantino’s highestgrossing title overseas. His previous best was 2003’s “Kill Bill:
Vol. 1” ($111.4 million).
In third was Sony’s romantic
comedy “The Ugly Truth,” which
opened in eight fresh markets
and finished No. 1 in Ukraine and
Singapore. Its weekend tally was
$9.4 million from 2,300 screens in
41 territories for an overseas cume
of $44.9 million. The biggest of the
new markets was Russia ($3 million from 416 screens).
At No. 4 was “The Final Destination,” the fourth title in New
Line/Warner Bros.’ horrorthriller franchise, which had
reigned the previous two stanzas
as the overseas champ. Its weekend tally was $9.2 million from
2,300 locations in 35 territories,
pushing its overseas cume to
$70.4 million. ∂
Full plate for ‘Meatballs’
continued from page 2
New York and Los Angeles and
grossed $46,800, or a pleasing
$7,800 a venue. “Paris” broadens
Friday into 15 cities.
Elsewhere in the specialty
market, Variance Films’ AsianAmerican dramedy “White on
Rice” added two screens for a
total of four playdates in four
West Coast cities and grossed
$9,200. Its runs cooked up a thin
$2,300 per engagement, or a
more acceptable $3,000 after
excluding a site programming
only early-morning showtimes,
as its cume reached $20,170.
Based on a popular children’s
book, “Meatballs” featured
about 1,828 Imax and RealD 3D
screens among its 3,119 theaters.
Produced for less than $100 million, the film features a voice
cast including Anna Faris and
Andy Samberg and was codirected by Christopher Miller
and Phil Lord.
“The trailer on the film played
extremely well,” Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said.
“All of the marketing materials
really worked, and the movie
delivers on that.”
The PG-13 pic drew audiences
made up of 79% family patrons,
with 52% female support.
“Informant!” — the exclamation point underscores comedic
elements — was co-financed by
Participant Media. It opened to
audiences split evenly between
males and females, with 72% of
patrons 30 or older.
“It performed as expected,”
Warners distribution topper Dan
Fellman said. As a well-reviewed
adult pic, the film should have an
unusually leggy run, he added.
“Love” played in a relatively
modest 1,898 locations. Its
opening audiences were 78%
females, with 71% of patrons 30
or older.
“It was a solid result and in
line with our expectations,”
Universal distribution president
Nikki Rocco said. Co-financed
by Relativity Media, “Love”
was produced for an estimated
$18 million.
Produced for $16 million,
“Body” attracted audiences that
were 51% female, with 70% of
patrons under 25. “We always
want more, but it was a modestly
budgeted project,” Fox senior vp
distribution Chris Aronson said.
Looking ahead, three wide
openers are set for Friday.
MGM gets back into the distribution game with the femaletargeted musical “Fame,” Overture
unspools the Dennis Quaid starrer
“Pandorum” and Disney sends
out its sci-fi thriller “Surrogates,”
starring Bruce Willis. ∂
> Domestic and
international
boxoffice news and grosses
> Film release schedule and
print counts
> Reviews database from
1991-present
WEEKEND BOXOFFICE TOP 10
3-day
gross
Film (Distributor)
%
change
# of
theaterss
Pertheater
average
Cume
to date
Cloudy/Meatballs (Sony)
30.1
—
3,119
9,650
30.1
The Informant! (Warner Bros.)
10.5
—
2,505
4,209
10.5
I Can Do Bad/Myself (Lionsgate)
10.1
-57
2,255
4,461
37.9
Love Happens (Universal)
8.5
—
1,898
4,455
8.5
Jennifer’s Body (Fox)
6.8
—
2,702
2,516
6.8
9 (Focus)
5.5
-49
2,060
2,649
22.8
Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein)
3.6
-41
2,519
1,430
109.9
All About Steve (Fox)
3.4
-40
2,159
1,574
26.7
Sorority Row (Summit)
2.5
-51
2,591
960
8.9
1,315
62.4
The Final Destination (Warners)
2.4
-57
1,805
Gross, average and cume in $ millions
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Page 5
FROM THE FRONT
No successor tapped yet for Disney’s Cook
continued from page 1
of the distribution deal struck with
DreamWorks in February.
Additionally, Disney last month
spent $4 billion to acquire Marvel
Entertainment, whose film productions will eventually flow
through the Disney pipeline too.
Announcing his departure late
Friday afternoon, Cook said,“I
have loved every minute of my 38
years that I have worked at Disney
… from the beginning as a ride
operator on Disneyland’s steam
train and monorail to my position
as chairman of the Walt Disney
Studios. To wrap up my Disney
experience in a neatly bundled
statement is close to impossible.
But what I will say is, during my
time at the studio, we have
achieved many industry and company milestones.”
Whatever tensions had grown
between Iger and Cook, the Disney
CEO used the moment to praise
Cook, who rose through the distribution ranks to take the top job at
the studio.
“Dick Cook’s outstanding creative instincts and incomparable
showmanship have truly enriched
this company and significantly
impacted Disney’s great legacy,” he
said.“We thank Dick for his
tremendous passion for Disney
and his many accomplishments
and contributions to the Walt Disney Studios, including a very
promising upcoming film slate.”
In 2006, responding to rising
costs and a crowded marketplace,
Cook installed former marketing
head Oren Aviv as president of
production and made the decision
to reduce Disney’s film output to
12-13 films per year and to concentrate on family films.
While the studio prospered with
the “Pirates” and “National Treasure” franchises, its other liveaction movies met with more
mixed results.
In the first half of this year, the
studio stumbled with such movies
as “Bedtime Stories,” “Race to
Witch Mountain” and “Confes-
sions of a Shopoholic.” June’s
romantic comedy “The Proposal,”
starring Sandra Bullock, exhibited
unexpected strength, grossing
$161.7 million domestically. But
July’s “G-Force,” a pricey, 3D animated movie from producer Jerry
Bruckheimer, came up short,
grossing $117 million in North
America.
Disney’s ace has become Pixar
— which Iger acquired in 2006 —
whose animated “Up” is the studio’s top film of the year, having
grossed $291 million domestically
and nearly $200 million internationally.
In May, Iger blamed the film
studio for the fact that Disney’s
operating income plunged 97%
during the company’s second
quarter — the result, in part, of
lower DVD sales and foreign boxoffice returns.
Cook had served as chairman of
the studio since 2002, when thenDisney chairman Michael Eisner
named him to replace the outgoing
Peter Schneider.
Cook was known for orchestrating splashy premieres for Disney fare — debuting “Pocahontas”
in New York’s Central Park in 1995
and “Pearl Harbor” on an aircraft
carrier in 2001. In May, he was on
hand as “Up” became the first animated movie to open the Festival
de Cannes.
Cook began as a ride operator at
Disneyland in 1970. In 1977, he
moved to the Burbank studio as
manager of pay TV and nontheatrical releases and was
involved with Disney’s entry into
cable and the development of Disney Channel.
He moved to motion pictures in
1980 as domestic sales manager
for Buena Vista Distribution and
was named president of the unit in
1988. He added marketing responsibilities to his portfolio in 1994
and two years later became chairman of the Walt Disney Studios
Motion Picture Group before
moving to the chairmanship. ∂
Few high-profile deals in Toronto
WGA elects leaders
continued from page 2
continued from page 3
“I made this film for every
person out there who ever
looked in the mirror and felt
unsure about the person looking
back,” he added.
Winfrey came on board “Precious” as an executive producer
alongside Perry after the drama
debuted in January at Sundance
and took that fest’s grand jury
and audience awards.
Winfrey’s march up the red
carpet in Toronto with Daniels
and cast members to promote
the pic provided the biggest star
buzz of the 10-day festival.
The Toronto triumph also
will boost Oscar chances for
newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in
thefilm’s title role and actorcomedian Mo’Nique, who plays
her tyrannical mother.
The audience award often is
an Academy Award harbinger,
with past recipients including
eventual Oscar best picture
winners “Slumdog Millionaire”
09.21.09
and “American Beauty.”
Other audience prizes in
Toronto included “The Topp
Twins,” a film about lesbian
twin-sister singers by New
Zealand director Leanne Pooley,
beating out Michael Moore’s
“Capitalism: A Love Story” in
the documentary category. Sean
Byrne’s “The Loved Ones,” a
drama about a troubled teen’s
prom dreams, grabbed the Midnight Madness audience award.
Elsewhere, Bruno Dumont’s
“Hadewijch,” a French drama
about a girl whose love of Jesus
leads her to terrorism, grabbed
the FIPRESCI critics prize, and
Pedro Pires’ “Danse Macabre”
earned the Canadian short-film
award. Alexandre Franchi’s
“The Wild Hunt” grabbed the
Canadian first feature film nod,
and Ruba Nadda’s “Cairo Time”
picked up the best Canadian
feature film trophy.
As TIFF ended Saturday, fes-
tival co-director Piers Handling
said
a quiet market with few sevenfigure U.S. distribution deals
means the woes for indie film
continue.
“The days of the bidding wars
are over to a certain extent,” he
said. “For North American sales,
they will take longer in the coming years.”
High-profile deals in Toronto
this year included Tom Ford’s
“A Single Man” going to the
Weinstein Co., IFC picking up
Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Valhalla Rising” and Canadian Peter
Stebbings’ “Defendor” being
acquired by Sony Pictures
Worldwide Acquisitions Group.
Fewer deals for lower prices
than in years past meant about
100 indie films, many with Alist directors and actors, must
wait for U.S. distribution deals,
likely to be inked at AFM in
November. ∂
to a second term as WGA East
president.
Bob Schneider was re-elected
to a second term as vp, and Gail
Lee will be back for a seventh
term as secretary-treasurer.
Winship and Lee ran unopposed.
Wells, who held the WGAW
post from 1999-2001, is known
as much as a producer and
showrunner as a writer, seen as
an advantage by some and a
cause for suspicion by others.
He is considered a pragmatist
who, among other goals, promised to shift resources away
from organizing reality shows —
a major, if unsuccessful, push of
Verrone’s.
His election also might signal
that the guild is battle-weary
after the fight it waged during
the 2007-08 strike.
A total of 2,348 valid ballots
were cast, one of the largest
turnouts in WGAW history. ∂
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Page 6
EMMY AWARDS
WINS BY
NETWORK
HBO
NBC
ABC
Fox
CBS
PBS
Cartoon Network
Showtime
AMC
Comedy Central
History
21
16
11
10
9
9
6
6
5
3
3
THREE OR MORE; WINS INCLUDE CREATIVE EMMYS
WINS BY
SHOW
The cast of “The Daily Show
With Jon Stewart” is in
seventh heaven after winning
the Emmy for best variety,
music or comedy series.
Standouts each roll a seven
‘Daily Show,’ ‘Race’ add to consecutive record streaks; Probst cries foul
By James Hibberd
OS ANGELES — After seven
times, anything can get a little dull, especially if it happens on a live TV awards show.
CBS’ “The Amazing Race” won
the reality-competition program
L
“(‘Amazing Race’) is a good
show ... but for all the shows
that are nominated, it’s
frustrating. … Their walls
are lined; they’ve got their
share; maybe they can share
now.”
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
— “Survivor” host Jeff Probst
Emmy for a seventh consecutive
time Sunday, and a short time
later Comedy Central’s
“The Daily Show With Jon
Stewart” took home its seventh
straight award for variety/
music/comedy series.
That’s a record-setting number
09.21.09
of consecutive wins for a series in
a single category. Last year, when
both reached six in a row, that
was a record too, outpacing fivestraight winners “Frasier”
and “Late Show With David Letterman.”
For “Amazing Race,” the victory means there has not been
another winner in the realitycompetition category since it was
established in 2003.
“(‘Amazing Race’) is a good
show ... but for all the shows that
are nominated, it’s frustrating,”
Emmy-winning “Survivor” host
Jeff Probst said backstage.
“Maybe they should do what
Oprah did and just pull themselves out of the running and
make room for other people.
Their walls are lined; they’ve got
their share; maybe they can
share now.”
“Race” co-creator/executive
producer Bertram Van Munster
shot down Probst’s idea.
“I’m going to discuss this with
my committee here,” he said,
referring to the show’s legion of
producers standing behind him.
“But it’s unlikely.”
Van Munster added that he
thought ABC’s “Dancing With
the Stars” had a “really good
shot” at taking home the trophy
this time around. “I personally
like that show
very
much,”
he said.
One
can’t
fault a
show for
winning,
of course.
Little Dorrit
Grey Gardens
30 Rock
81st Annual Academy Awards
American Idol
Pushing Daisies
102 Minutes That Changed America
Beijing Opening Ceremony
Generation Kill
Mad Men
7
6
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
THREE OR MORE; WINS INCLUDE CREATIVE EMMYS
If “Daily Show” and “Amazing
Race” are the truly best in their
categories, can one fault the TV
academy for continuing to
honor them?
Perhaps not, but some in the
industry can’t help but wonder
whether Emmy voters are selecting a show based on impartial
criteria or simply voting for the
one they tend to watch and like
the best.
Kimberly Nordyke contributed
to this report.
Seven’s up for
“The Amazing
Race” producer
Jerry Bruckheimer,
left, and
host/producer
Phil Keoghan.
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EMMY AWARDS
‘Daisies’life
after death
It’s a Horrible thought
Demise of broadcast TV is all too hot a topic
By Nellie Andreeva
By James Hibberd
LOS ANGELES — For a show
about resurrecting dead people
with a touch, ABC’s “Pushing
Daisies” saved a little magic for its
own afterlife.
Touched by the Emmys, the
canceled series came to life to
collect four trophies, including
one for Kristin Chenoweth as best
supporting actress in a comedy.
The irony wasn’t lost on series
creator Bryan Fuller.
“It’s a tremendous honor to see
‘Daisies’ win in so many categories — and, in the spirit of the
show, win posthumously,” he
said. “Now can we please make
the ‘Pushing Daisies’ movie?”
How big was “Daisies’ ” feat?
With Chenoweth’s victory Sunday night and three other wins
during the Sept. 12 Creative Arts
Emmys, the show, canceled in
November, ranked fourth among
OS ANGELES — Nervousness
at the Emmys is nothing new,
but those who took the stage
Sunday at the Nokia Theatre
exhibited a different type of anxiety, referencing declining broadcast ratings in general and Emmy
apathy in particular.
“Amy (Poehler) and I are honored to be presenting on the last
official year of network broadcast
television,” presenter Julia LouisDreyfus said.
During a time when broadcast
has struggled to stave off ratings
declines as cable networks and
online viewing rise, the Emmys
drew a record-low 12.3 million
viewers last year.
“That joke is just for the 5,000
people in this room, not for the
5,000 people watching at home,”
presenter Ricky Gervais quipped.
Looking to turn around the rat-
L
Kristin Chenoweth’s triumph was one of
four for the canceled “Pushing Daisies.”
all programs. It wound up with
one fewer Emmy than reigning
comedy champ “30 Rock” and
tied with TV’s top-rated “American Idol” and the Academy
Awards.
While she savored the moment,
a weepy Chenoweth was pragmatic about life after “Daisies.”
“I’m unemployed now, so I’d
like to be on ‘Mad Men,’ ” she
quipped. ∂
ings fortunes, the ceremony’s producers shook things up, trying to
inject entertaining tidbits into even
the most routine of conventions —
like reading nominees off a Facebook page. But faced with category
after category won by familiar
names, even host Neil Patrick Harris made a quip about how predictable the winners were after
CBS’“The Amazing Race” triumphed for a seventh year in a row.
The “moments of unpredictability” promised by Emmy
executive producer Don Mischer
mainly were in the script of the
production rather than the results,
raising concerns that such a scorecard might hamper chances for a
ratings rebound.
In one of the slew of widely
expected victories, creator-star
Tina Fey went up to accept a third
consecutive best comedy series
Emmy for NBC’s “30 Rock.” She
continued on page 8
LIST OF WINNERS
Drama Series
Mad Men (AMC); Lionsgate Television; Matthew
Weiner, executive producer; Scott Hornbacher, coexecutive producer; Andre Jacquemetton, Maria
Jacquemetton, Lisa Albert, supervising producers
Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC); Broadway Video, Little Stranger
Inc. in association with Universal Media Studios;
Lorne Michaels, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, David Miner,
Robert Carlock, executive producers; John Riggi,
Jack Burditt, Ron Weiner, co-executive producers;
Matt Hubbard, Jeff Richmond, supervising producers; Don Scardino, Jerry Kupfer, producers
Supporting Actor
in a Comedy Series
Variety, Music or
Comedy Series
Directing for a Miniseries,
Movie or a Dramatic Special
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper,
“Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy
Central); Central Prods.; Jon Stewart, host/
executive producer; David Javerbaum, Rory
Albanese, Josh Lieb, executive producers;
Kahane Corn, co-executive producer; Jennifer
Flanz, Jim Margolis, Steve Bodow, Adam Lowitt,
supervising producers; Jill Katz, producer
Little Dorrit (Part 1) (PBS); a co-production
of BBC Prods. and WGBH Boston; Dearbhla
Walsh, director
Supporting Actress
in a Comedy Series
Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook,
“Pushing Daisies” (ABC)
Miniseries
Little Dorrit (PBS); a co-production of BBC
Prods. and WGBH Boston; Anne Pivcevic,
Rebecca Eaton, executive producers; Lisa
Osborne, producer
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston as Walter White, “Breaking
Bad” (AMC)
Lead Actress
in a Drama Series
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes, “Damages”
(FX Networks)
Lead Actor in a
Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy,
“30 Rock” (NBC)
Lead Actress in a
Comedy Series
Toni Collette as Tara Gregson, “United States of
Tara” (Showtime)
Supporting Actor
in a Drama Series
Made for Television Movie
Grey Gardens (HBO); Specialty Films and
Locomotive in association with HBO Films; Lucy
Barzun Donnelly, Rachael Horovitz, Michael
Sucsy, executive producers; David Coatsworth,
produced by
Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor, “24” (Fox)
09.21.09
The Amazing Race (CBS); World Race Prods.;
Bertram Van Munster, Jerry Bruckheimer,
Jonathan Littman, Hayma “Screech” Washington, executive producers; Elise Doganieri, Amy
Nabseth Chacon, Mark Vertullo, co-executive
producers; Matt Schmidt, Jarratt Carson, Evan
Weinstein, supervising producers; Giselle Parets,
Michael Norton, Patrick Cariaga, senior producers; Phil Keoghan, producer
30 Rock (Reunion) (NBC); Broadway Video
and Little Stranger in association with
Universal Media Studios; Matt Hubbard, writer
Writing for a Drama Series
Mad Men (Meditations in an Emergency)
(AMC); Lionsgate Television; Kater Gordon,
Matthew Weiner, writers
Writing for a Variety,
Music or Comedy Series
Brendan Gleeson as Winston Churchill,
“Into the Storm” (HBO)
Directing for a Comedy Series
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
(Comedy Central); Central Prods.; Steve Bodow,
head writer; Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum,
Josh Lieb, Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Jason
Ross, Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Sam Means, Rob
Kutner, J.R. Havlan, Rich Blomquist, Wyatt Cenac,
Elliott Kalan, Rachel Axler, writers
Lead Actress in a
Miniseries or a Movie
The Office (Stress Relief) (NBC); Deedle-Dee
Prods. and Reveille in association with
Universal Media Studios; Jeff Blitz, director
Writing for a Miniseries,
Movie or a Dramatic Special
Directing for a Drama Series
Little Dorrit (PBS); a co-production of BBC
Prods. and WGBH Boston; Andrew Davies, writer
Lead Actor in a
Miniseries or a Movie
Host for Reality or Reality
Competition Program
Jeff Probst, “Survivor” (CBS)
Jessica Lange as Big Edie, “Grey Gardens” (HBO)
Supporting Actor
in a Miniseries or a Movie
Ken Howard as Phelan Beale,
“Grey Gardens” (HBO)
Michael Emerson as Ben Linus, “Lost” (ABC)
Supporting Actress
in a Drama Series
Reality-Competition
Program
Writing for a Comedy Series
Supporting Actress
in a Miniseries or a Movie
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Sajida, “House of Saddam” (HBO)
ER (And in the End) (NBC); Constant c Prods.,
Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros.
Television; Rod Holcomb, director
Directing for a Variety, Music
or Comedy series
American Idol (The Final Three) (Fox);
FremantleMedia & 19TV Ltd.; Bruce Gowers,
director
Original Music and Lyrics
81st Annual Academy Awards (Song title:
Hugh Jackman Opening Number) (ABC);
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences;
William Ross, John Kimbrough, original music;
Dan Harmon, Rob Schrab, Ben Schwartz,
original lyrics
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EMMY AWARDS
Emmys are clone-prone
continued from page 1
other award out of 16 nominations. In accepting that trophy
for writing a drama series — he
was named in four of the five
noms — Weiner thanked AMC
and producer Lionsgate for letting him be “the only person in
this room on some level who has
complete creative freedom.”
Although “30 Rock” managed
only five wins out among its 16
noms, it moved into rarefied company by winning outstanding
comedy series for the third year in
a row: Only “Taxi,” “The Mary
Tyler Moore Show,” “All in the
Family” and “Frasier” have turned
that trick. “Frasier” holds with
record with five wins; “Family”
and “Cheers” each earned four.
Baldwin dedicated his second
consecutive Emmy for “30 Rock”
to Lorne Michaels, the series’
executive producer who he said is
“the greatest boss and has
believed in me all these years.”
“Saturday Night Live” honcho
Michaels got a lot of love from
Jessica
Lange
09.21.09
the Emmy stage, with more
thanks from Fey and Justin Timberlake, whose hosting stint on
“SNL” landed him an Emmy.
“Little Dorrit,” the British drama
that was the top winner at the Creative Arts Emmys, picked up three
more awards for outstanding
miniseries, directing and writing.
The most honored TV movie
was HBO’s “Grey Gardens,” which
won outstanding made-for-TV
movie, a supporting nod for Ken
Howard and one for lead actress
Jessica Lange.“This part was a
gift,” Lange said,“and they don’t
come around that often for me
anymore.” She thanked co-star
Drew Barrymore, calling her “the
other half” for her “great, great
heart, which made it all possible.”
It was the first Emmy nom and
win for the veteran Howard. The
actor, who is running for SAG
president, said “actors are so
thrilled with the amazing success
of cable television and the advent
of new media and can barely wait
to renegotiate.”
“Gardens” producer Michael
Sucsy thanked HBO — which again
took home the most overall honors
with 21 — “for still making this
kind of film. There are very few
outlets for this these days.”
Shohreh Aghdashloo of another
HBO film,“House of Saddam,”
won in the supporting actress in a
the longform category.
Two impressive streaks were
kept alive. CBS’“The Amazing
Race” won its seventh consecutive
Emmy for best reality competition
and remains the only show to win
Broadcast angst
continued from page 7
referenced “The Jay Leno Show”
taking over the Peacock’s 10 p.m.
hour from scripted shows —
another end-of-the-world-aswe-know-it industry touchstone.
“I want to thank our friends at
NBC for keeping us on the air even
though we’re more expensive than
a talk show,” she said.
In the face of gloom and doom,
however, broadcast TV received a
strong endorsement from an
unlikely source: Matthew Weiner, creator of AMC’s “Mad Men,”
which has been in the forefront
of cable’s ascent against broadcast.
“I actually thought it was a pret-
‘Little Dorrit’
comes up big
By Nellie Andreeva
L
OS ANGELES — It was the
little engine that could.
After staying off the radar
with little marketing push, the
BBC/PBS production of “Little
Dorrit” surprisingly became the
most honored program of the
night with seven Emmys, including best miniseries.
It was a come-from-behind
win. At the nomination stage,
“Dorrit” was tied with its competitor in the best miniseries category, HBO’s “Generation Kill,” for
sixth place, behind such heavy
hitters as series “30 Rock,” “Mad
Men” and movies “Grey Gardens”
and “Into the Storm.”
But in the end, the Charles
Dickens adaptation squeaked
past the dominant player in the
longform space, HBO. The
cabler’s “Gardens” was second in
the program tally with six
Emmys.
“This is a fantastic win that
Dickens would be proud of,” said
BBC Worldwide exec vp programming and production Jane Tranter, who commissioned the mini
at the BBC. “If he was around
today, he would undoubtedly be
writing for television.”
ty resounding support of broadcast
television tonight,” Weiner said of
the mix of winners from both
worlds.“CBS put on an amazing
Emmys. I’ve gone to seven of these
and it was the best by far — and a
broadcast network did that.”
The ongoing battle for relevance
was dramatized at one point during
the show when, in a pretaped bit,
Harris reprised his role as online
sensation Dr. Horrible, who hijacks
the broadcast.
“I’ve hacked into your broadcast
to tell you that television is dead,”
Harris-as-Horrible said.“The
future of home entertainment is
the Internet.”
Then, Captain Hammer (Nathan
Fillion) appears to save the day,
striking Horrible and declaring,
“Television is here to stay.” ∂
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8
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES: Toni Collette receives her Emmy from Justin Timberlake.
in the category.
The other streak belongs to
Comedy Central’s “The Daily
Show With Jon Stewart,” which
also won for the seventh year in a
row. After Stewart paused to tell
Emmy host Neil Patrick Harris
what a great job he was doing, he
quipped,“I just thank you for giving me the opportunity to come up
here and then go backstage and
watch a football game.”
That was a reference to
the down-to-the-wire Dallas
Cowboys-New York Giants clash
on NBC, which aired against the
Emmys and was expected to win
the ratings race for the evening.
Jeff Probst of “Survivor” won
his second straight Emmy as outstanding reality competition host.
While the lead acting categories
were mainly status quo, there were
a couple of surprises in the supporting actor fields. Kristin
Chenoweth won as supporting
actress in a comedy for the canceled ABC series “Pushing
Daisies,” beating out favorite Jane
Krakowski of “30 Rock.”
In another surprise, Jon Cryer
took the supporting actor in a
comedy Emmy in his fourth consecutive nomination, beating out
Harris. He thanked “Two and a
Half Men” co-star Charlie Sheen
and “my old agents who got me
this job and my new agents.”
Cryer and two other winners in
the supporting actor series categories, Michael Emerson of “Lost”
and Cherry Jones of “24,” marked
the only victories for scripted
series with wide appeal. ∂