'LITTLE ORPHAN EMMY' TELEVISION ACADEMY'S STATUETTE CAN'T GET ANY RESPECT IN WORLD OF OSCARS, GRAMMYS AND EVER-RISING SEA OF NEW AWARDS SHOWS.Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer EVERYTHING ABOUT the Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. atmosphere - the red carpet, the bleachers for hundreds of cheering fans, the spotless sheen of the oversize o·ver·size n. 1. A size that is larger than usual. 2. An oversize article or object. adj. o·ver·size also o·ver·sized Larger in size than usual or necessary. Adj. 1. golden statues - says what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. tonight is going to be a Big Deal. Why, then, can't the Primetime Emmy Awards get a little respect? Granted, the television industry's top award is on the rebound from its most difficult year, when Sept. 11 and the Oct. 7 start of U.S. attacks in Afghanistan forced the 2001 ceremonies to be postponed twice. When the show finally aired Nov. 4, it was with heavy security, a request for ``dressy dress·y adj. dress·i·er, dress·i·est 1. Showy or elegant in dress or appearance. 2. Smart; stylish. dress business'' attire and the noticeable absence of some New York-based actors who chose to stay home. The show, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and currently the Emmy Award-winning host of the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. , drew critical praise - but also one of its smallest audiences ever, thanks in big part to the seventh game of the World Series airing on Fox opposite it the East and Midwest. Fox posted the Emmy results during the game, spoiling the surprises for West Coast viewers looking forward to the tape-delayed awards. But industry observers say even with designer gowns, a good turnout of stars and proper secrecy about winners, in 54 years the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences just hasn't been able to get the public fired up about its Emmys as much as the motion picture academy does with Oscars. ``That's not Emmy's fault,'' says Tom O'Neil Tom O'Neil is a showbiz journalist and television critic who often appears as a pundit on TV shows featuring pop culture content. He has also worked as a producer for the TV Land network, editorial director of magazine development for the Hearst Corporation, freelance writer for , an entertainment awards expert who works with the television academy on his periodically updated book ``The Emmys.'' ``It's Hollywood snobbery. They have contempt for the boob tube and an almost swooning swoon intr.v. swooned, swoon·ing, swoons 1. To faint. 2. To be overwhelmed by ecstatic joy. n. 1. A fainting spell; syncope. See Synonyms at blackout. 2. reverence for the silver screen.'' O'Neil notes that the 40 to 50 films a year deemed Oscar-worthy make for elitism e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism n. 1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources. that an 80-channel, 24/7 television universe cannot match. ``The Emmys also suffer from an embarrassment of riches An embarrassment of riches is an idiom that means an overabundance of something, or too much of a good thing, that originated in 1738 as John Ozell's translation of a French play, L'Embarras des richesses (1726). ,'' he said. ``There are too many gold statues. There is not a best actress of the year; there are three of them - in drama, comedy and movies.'' Katharine Hepburn is revered as the only performer to have collected four Academy Awards. When actress Cloris Leachman picked up her record-breaking eighth Emmy last weekend at the Creative Arts ceremonies (one of 87 being presented this year for prime-time categories alone), it was no big deal in the mainstream media. And ``All My Children'' star Susan Lucci's many nominations without a win prompted both pity and ridicule. Remember when there were only a handful of awards shows on TV each year - the Oscars, the Emmys and the Grammys? Neither do we, and that's part of the problem. O'Neil, who does red-carpet chatter at some of them for E! Entertainment Television, counts more than 35 televised entertainment awards shows each season, which is good for limo drivers and caterers but has diluted the impact of the television industry's big night. ``In this gold-statue sweepstakes that's going on, on the outside of it all is Little Orphan Emmy,'' O'Neil said. There are also differences in the academies' perceptions within show business. The film academy is an invited membership, while the TV academy card can be purchased by industry professionals. One significant step toward breaking that Rodney Dangerfield Rodney Dangerfield (November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004), born Jacob Cohen, was an American comedian and actor, best known for the catchphrase "I don't get no respect" and his monologues on that theme. complex will be how ATAS ATAS Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ATAS Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme ATAS Air-to-Air Stinger ATAS Advanced Tank Armament System ATAS Active Towed Array Sonar ATAS Australian Tsunami Alert System ATAS Association of Turkish American Scientists fares in its ongoing TV rights negotiations. The Emmys telecast for several years has rotated among ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. , NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. and Fox in a ``wheel'' system that brings in about $3 million a year for the academy. The networks pick up the cost of producing the show, and the academy makes additional income off entry fees, international rights, ticket sales and program advertising. The current wheel contract renewal deadline is Oct. 18, and ATAS chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Bryce Zabel, a writer and producer by trade, says he sees raising the network fee as his most important goal. ``It's not getting the money it's worth,'' Zabel said in an interview between academy and Emmy meetings. ``It's getting $3 million (a year), and there's a roughly $25 million upside (for the network). You've got the production costs to pull out of that, but we clearly should be getting a lot more money.'' In comparison, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences spends about $17 million (about half the show's tab shared with ABC) to stage the Oscars and rakes in $46 million a year. ``It's unacceptable that the (recording academy's) Grammys are getting $40 million and the Emmys get a box lunch,'' said O'Neil, adding his endorsement of ATAS setting an asking price and giving the show to whoever meets it. Zabel said tonight will be the barometer for evaluating the Emmy telecast's current worth. Throw out last year's scant 17 million viewers, he suggests, because of the baseball competition and the revealed winners. Unfortunately, the 1999 telecast drew the same number, and trends show the Emmys are far less popular with viewers than the Oscars, the latter often the second most-watched telecast after the Super Bowl. What could inspire more people to sit up and take notice of Emmys this year is having HBO's hot drama ``Six Feet Under'' and NBC's beloved comedy ``Friends'' in serious running for the top honors. Credit a rule change that has allowed for at-home viewing of Emmy submissions, boosting voting participation among the academy's busiest (and younger) members. Looking down the road, Zabel would like to mend fences with that other academy, the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of executives have formed an alliance aimed at putting the past behind them (a longtime feud resulted in a court-ordered split in 1975, although Zabel says no one these days fully understands what the dispute was about), and finding a common ground that could make them more effective and more beneficial to their industry. He also hopes to make a deal with Anschutz Entertainment Group The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) is a sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. The company owns or operates several major entertainment/sporting venues, including Staples Center and The Home Depot Center and beginning in for a lease on the proposed 7,000-seat theater near the Staples Center, a landmark to be associated with the Emmys just as Hollywood's new Kodak Theatre already is linked with the Oscars. The television academy is working to keep pace with the evolving nature of its medium, forseeing a time when all viewers will choose what to watch and exactly when to watch it. The question is, will viewers with so many options choose to tune in to the Emmys? TV coverage LIVE COUNTDOWN TO THE RED CARPET What: Steve Kmetko, Jules Asner and the gang riff for six hours about predictions, fans and last-minute preparations. Where: E! Entertainment Television. When: Noon today. LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET Live From the Red Carpet is the pre-show to the major award shows that airs on E! Entertainment Television. Live From the Red Carpet gets you right up for a first-row seat to see the stars and all the excitement with live coverage of the fashion, flair, glitz and glamour. : PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS What: Joan and Melissa Rivers interview incoming stars at the Shrine and talk up - or down - what they're wearing. Where: E! When: 6 p.m. today. COUNTDOWN TO THE EMMYS What: Katie Couric and Matt Lauer of ``Today'' interview nominees and other celebs on the aforementioned carpet. Where: NBC, Channel 4. When: 7 tonight. 54TH ANNUAL PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS What: Winged statuettes in 26 categories are presented to the best of the 2001-2002 season. Where: NBC, Channel 4. When: 8 tonight. LIVE POST-SHOW: PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS What: Kmetko and Asner have one-on-one interviews with winners, and Tom O'Neil and Matt Roush analyze the voting. Where: E! When: 11 tonight. BACKSTAGE ACCESS What: Pat O'Brien and Nancy O'Dell of ``Access Hollywood'' recap the evening and interview winners. Where: NBC, Channel 4. When: 11:30 tonight. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) EMMY'S INFERIORITY COMPLEX inferiority complex Acute sense of personal inferiority, often resulting in either timidity or (through overcompensation) exaggerated aggressiveness. Though once a standard psychological concept, particularly among followers of Alfred Adler, it has lost much of its TV's big night yearns for the respect (and money) given its awards-show sisters (2) Bryce Zabel, chairman and CEO of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, is trying to get the organization back on its feet after a tough year. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer (3) The refurbished Shrine Auditorium David Sprague/Staff Photographer Box: (1) TV coverage (see text) (2) the nominees |
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