Mad Men

‘30 Rock,’ ‘Mad Men’ Lead 2009 Emmy Award Winners as Best Comedy, Drama

BrianTT — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:04:35 -0600

CHICAGO – Neil Patrick Harris hosted a joyful edition of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night, September 20th, 2009, at which AMC’s “Mad Men” and NBC’s “30 Rock” were the big winners with Alec Baldwin, Jon Cryer, Kristin Chenoweth, Toni Collette, Cherry Jones, Michael Emerson, Glenn Close, and Bryan Cranston walking away with the major acting awards.

Harris opened with a musical number that could have been called “Put Down the Remote”. It kicked off a show that was surprisingly buoyant and well-paced. After hosting the Tonys and now the Emmys, the Oscars may want to consider giving the best host that awards shows have seen in a long time a call. After the number, Harris spoke of his love for TV, something that served as a theme for the entire night.

For the first time (and hopefully not the last), the show was split up by genre, handing out all the awards for comedy programming first. (Although it was kind of a cheat with the big award, Best Comedy, being saved for the end of the night. Just the acting, writing, and directing awards were presented early.)

The night started on a fantastic note as the wonderful and highly underrated Kristin Chenoweth won Best Supporting Actress for “Pushing Daisies”. It’s too bad the show is off the air. Nice job, ABC. Chenoweth joked, “I’m unemployed now, so I’d like to be on Mad Men.”

Harris and Kevin Dillon were robbed for the next acting award, Best Supporting Actor, which went to Jon Cryer for “Two and a Half Men,” after several consecutive nominations and straight losses to Jeremy Piven for “Entourage,” who was surprisingly not even nominated this year. With Chenoweth and Cryer both being unpredictable winners, the stage was set for an upset in several categories.

And it continued. Justin Timberlake, who had won the Outstanding Guest Appearance in a Comedy for his work on “Saturday night Live” presented the next award, Best Actress, to another surprising winner, Toni Collette for Showtime’s “United States of Tara”. Three acting awards and no winners for multi-nominated “30 Rock” was a surprise at this point in the evening, as most critics and TV writers expected Tina Fey to win here.

Best Actor in a Comedy looked like it might be where “30 Rock” picked up its first acting Emmy for its most-nominated year, but would previous winner Tony Shalhoub or beloved newcomer Jim Parsons steal the trophy? Of course not. No one can stop Alec Baldwin, who said “I’d trade this to look like him” in reference to his award’s presenter, Rob Lowe, and then honestly thanked Lorne Michaels for believing in him.

The reality awards began with Jon Cryer and Hayden Panetierre giving the Emmy for Best Reality Host to Jeff Probst for “Survivor”. Best Reality Competition Program went to “The Amazing Race,” a consistent winner in the category.

The Mini-Series and TV Movie categories were next and Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick kicked off the section of the evening by presented Best Supporting Actress to Shoreh Aghdashloo for “House of Saddam” and Best Supporting Actor to HBO’s great “Grey Gardens”. He jokingly said “I’ll make my speech as brief as possible in the hope that it won’t be interrupted by a Congressman or a rapper.”

Other Mini-Series and Movie winners included Brendan Gleeson for “Into the Storm” and Jessica Lange for “Grey Gardens” in the acting categories. The winner for Made For Television Movie was HBO’s “Grey Gardens” and “Little Dorritt” took home the prize for Outstanding Miniseries.

The dramatic awards started with a surprising and well-deserved win by Michael Emerson as Best Supporting Actor for “Lost”. The winner for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series went to another shocking choice, Cherry Jones for “24”. That’s where the surprises stopped, as the final hour of the evening went relatively predictably.

Ellen Burstyn and Michael J. Fox had previously won awards for Best Guest Appearance in a Drama and presented Best Directing to Rod Holcumb for “ER”. The winner for writing went to, of course, “Mad Men” and its scribes Kater Gordon and creator Matthew Weiner.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series went to the fantastic Glenn Close for “Damages,” predictably repeating her win from last season. Lead Actor in a Drama Series was also a repeat from last year with Bryan Cranston taking home the Emmy again for his work on AMC’s “Breaking Bad”.

Finally, the two big awards of the night went, rather predictably, to “30 Rock” and “Mad Men”. A night that started with a few shockers finished with four winners repeating from last year. Congratulations to all the winners and good luck to everyone thinking of toppling Close, Cranston, “30 Rock,” and “Mad Men” next year.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

The 10 Biggest Emmy Snubs of 2009

BrianTT — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:00:57 -0600

CHICAGO – The 61st Annual Emmy Award Nominations were an interesting melting pot of smart, brave, new choices and old-fashioned, predictable, stale selections.

It was fantastic to see a few first-time nominees from our own “Dream Emmys” piece including Jim Parsons for “The Big Bang Theory,” Jack McBrayer for “30 Rock,” Kristen Wiig for “Saturday Night Live,” Aaron Paul for “Breaking Bad,” Hope Davis for “In Treatment,” Toni Collette in “United States of Tara,” and Cherry Jones for “24”. Those are great choices that hint at an organization willing to think outside of the box when it comes to handing out awards.

Now, that doesn’t mean some people weren’t totally screwed. For every great choice this year, there was one that could politely be called a head-scratcher. In my humble, TV-critic opinion, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences failed to nominate what should have WON the top three dramatic categories - “The Shield” for Best Drama, Michael Chiklis for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series, and January Jones for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series. So, it’s not as if they missed a minor nominee here and there. They missed some biggies. And it’s time to name names.

Note: The overall snubs of “Friday Night Lights” and “Battlestar Galactica” is ridiculous but who knows where to start with those shows, a pair of beloved series that have NEVER gotten the Academy recognition that they deserved. We’re trying to stick with specific acting snubs and both “FNL” and “BSG” are snubs in multiple categories. We could do a top ten of just those two shows. To keep the list from getting too specific, consider them overall snubs, not specific ones on the list.

The Ten Biggest 2009 Emmy Snubs

Photo credit: FX

10. Denis Leary for “Rescue Me”

This is a questionable one but it indicates something deeply flawed about the Emmy system - its link to the standard, broadcast calendar year. The 2009 Emmys were for shows that aired from the first of June in 2008 to the last day of May in 2009. What happens if a show straddles (gasp) both May and June?!? How daring! The fifth season of “Rescue Me” started in April and runs until September. I’d like to think that Emmy voters will remember what Denis Leary is doing this season at NEXT year’s Emmys, when the bulk of the season is eligible, but I want to plant the seed now - what Leary is doing this season far outweighs anything he has delivered before. He has really grown comfortable in the role of Tommy Gavin and he’s doing more subtle work than he has in any of the previous seasons. I guess with only a few eligible episodes this snub isn’t that egregious but don’t let it happen again next year.

Photo credit: ABC

9. Anna Friel for “Pushing Daisies”

The Academy missed out on a chance to nominate the final season of ABC’s brilliant-but-canceled “Pushing Daisies” in multiple categories but no exclusion was more shocking than leaving the charming and delightful Anna Friel out of a category that, let’s be blunt, is hard to fill with six nominees. When you get past the deserving Christina Applegate, who displayed perfect comic timing in the very imperfect “Samantha Who?,” the obvious choice of Tina Fey, and the one-two punch of Showtime heroines in Toni Collette in “United States of Tara” and Mary-Louise Parker in “Weeds,” the pool gets awfully shallow (at least until Edie Falco walks home with this award next year for “Nurse Jackie”). That’s why relatively stale choices like Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and Sarah Silverman for her Comedy Central program get in. I love both actresses and think they’re very talented but they’re getting nominated more for their overall ability than the actual program. The overall quality of “Pushing Daisies” and how Friel contributes to it should have prevailed over better-known actresses on inferior shows.

Photo credit: NBC

8. Jenna Fischer and Ed Helms for “The Office”

“The Office” had an inspired, creative season that easily ranks with their best to date but it’s getting a little tiring of seeing the same-old nominees every year. Yes, Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson are talented people but can’t we spread the wealth? Both Ed Helms and Jenna Fischer had arguably better seasons. (Fischer was nominated once before in 2007, but she was even better this year.) Helms’ plotline involving the dissolution of his engagement to Angela was priceless and Fischer’s involving Pam breaking off and joining the Michael Scott Paper Company allowed the actress to display her best comic timing to date. Helms should have snuck in over Wilson (or maybe even Tracy Morgan or Jon Cryer…both are good, neither are Emmy-worthy) and Fischer deserved the spot over Vanessa Williams for the tired “Ugly Betty”. A lot of people deserved the spot over Vanessa Williams.

Photo credit: ABC

7. Elizabeth Mitchell for “Lost”

It took a few years, but I think it is now widely recognized that “Lost” is a truly ensemble-driven show and, consequently, perhaps it doesn’t deserve that many acting nominations. I said “that many”. It still deserves a few and, thankfully, the Academy did pick out one - the great, show-stealing Michael Emerson for Best Supporting Actor. And I can’t even say for sure that Elizabeth Mitchell had that amazing a season. It’s more of the fact that this excellent actress has never been nominated. At least Locke, Said and Ben got their shot at glory. (Terry O’Quinn won in 2007, Naveen Andrews was nominated in 2005). But no woman has ever been nominated for “Lost”. And I doubt that the final season of the show is going to be very character-specific, once again leaving voters at a loss as who to single out of the ensemble. This was possibly their last chance. Elizabeth Mitchell should have been the first.

Photo credit: NBC

6. Regina King for “Southland”

Regina King is the main reason that “Southland” is on NBC’s fall schedule. She is easily the best thing about this intriguing-but-flawed show and it would have really displayed a willingness to look outside of the usual candidates if her name had been called on nomination morning. As Detective Lydia Adams, King displays a perfect combination of human vulnerability and the veins of steel required to be an L.A. cop. King has stolen scenes in major films for years and now she’s doing it on NBC. I think her exclusion is due to a slightly understandable lack of exposure to the show. After all, only seven episodes have aired and I bet most Emmy voters don’t even know that the on-the-bubble show was renewed. However, if “Southland” makes it through another season, I would bet money that King gets nominated next year. Sally Field, Mariska Hargitay, and Holly Hunter might want to prepare for some disappointment.

Photo credit: HBO

5. Anna Paquin for “True Blood”

Speaking of “Best Actress in a Dramatic Series” mistakes (and this won’t even be the last time). The general exclusion of “True Blood” this year was tragically disappointing. Based on years of snubs for the amazing “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and now the exclusion of “True Blood” from Best Drama and Best Actress, it’s crystal clear that the Academy has something against vampire fiction. (The team behind The CW’s upcoming “Vampire Diaries” probably don’t need to clear mantle space for Emmys.) Paquin is perfect on “True Blood,” bringing a harder-than-it-looks blend of southern innocence, primal sexuality, excellent comic timing, and true emotional core to the role of Sookie Stackhouse. She’s so good on “True Blood” that most people don’t even notice how good she is. It is a FAR less flashy role than Holly Hunter on “Saving Grace” or Sally Field on “Brothers and Sisters” and no one can ever explain to me how (outside of her status as Hollywood royalty) Mariska Hargitay keeps getting nominated. The show’s good popcorn entertainment, but really?

Photo credit: HBO

4. Danny McBride for “Eastbound and Down”

How amazing and subversive of the generally-safe Emmy Awards would it have been to see a clip of Kenny Powers on the broadcast? The racist, sexist, drug-using, and basically insane Kenny Powers might have sent some of the older Academy members running for the exit doors. And, to be honest, that’s probably why the excellent Mr. McBride didn’t get nominated. It’s a shame because “Eastbound and Down” has a growing, thriving fan base, one that gets bigger with every viewing of the season one DVD. What McBride does on “Eastbound and Down” is comic brilliance, the best thing that the star of “Pineapple Express” and “Tropic Thunder” had done to date. With guest appearances on the show from Will Ferrell and Craig Robinson and a growing fan base, a major nod for “Eastbound and Down” might have brought in a whole new audience for the Emmy Awards. I’m sure that Jemaine Clement for “Flight of the Conchords” will do some of that, but McBride is just a bit better.

Photo credit: The CW

3. Ray Wise for “Reaper”

Like “Pushing Daisies” (and my next choice), this was a case of the Academy having only one more chance to correct an omission from last year and they blew it again. Yes, you could fit the number of people who watched “Reaper” into a Dodge Caravan but that shouldn’t matter when it comes to awards. It’s the responsibility of voters to catch up on every eligible performance. And I don’t believe they did. Because if you see Ray Wise as the Devil on “Reaper,” you would vote for Ray Wise. I think there may have been some category confusion with “Reaper”. Is it a comedy? A drama? The fact is that most modern shows that have straddled the line between the standard definition of the categories - “Buffy” is a great example - have struggled to get major nominations. “Reaper” was eligible in comedy and Ray Wise was better than at least half of the supporting actor nominees.

Photo credit: FX

2. Michael Chiklis and Walton Goggins for “The Shield”

How are critics and Academy voters SO far apart? “The Shield” was the most nominated show by the Television Critics Association for their final, brilliant season. It was nominated for Best Drama, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Don’t you think ONE of those nominees might have been mirrored by the Emmy Awards? ONE?!? The final season of “The Shield” was the Best Drama of 2008 and Chiklis and Goggins were the main reason why. Watching Vic Mackey and Shane Vendrell reach the apex of the dance they’ve been doing with destiny since the series premiere was riveting television and the final scenes of both characters merited nomination on their own. The fate of both characters was beautifully, perfectly written by one of the best writing staffs of the ’00s and Chiklis and Goggins knocked it out of the park. They both should have won. Neither were nominated. Shameful.

Photo credit: Lionsgate

1. January Jones for “Mad Men”

I honestly didn’t think there would be a more shameful omission than Chiklis and Goggins (who I kind of expected to get screwed considering how much the Academy has ignored “The Shield” over the years), but that’s because I couldn’t fathom the Academy missing the Best Actress performance of 2008. Sure, they missed January Jones last year, but this season of “Mad Men” was all about the female characters in the world of Sterling/Cooper, none more prominently than Jones’ Betty Draper. Jones did something amazing this year, subtly portraying the unraveling of a woman who has worked hard to keep up a perfect front. Jones’ work on “Mad Men” is so just-below-the-surface that I think Emmy voters must have missed it. I love Kyra Sedgwick and Holly Hunter too, but even those actresses would admit that their characters are a bit more scenery-chewing. Jones didn’t have a “big moment” to sell in an Emmy clip and probably lost out because of it. Don’t let it happen again next year.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Mad Men: Season Two’ Sets Standard For HD Television

BrianTT — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:52:37 -0600

CHICAGO – Television doesn’t get much better than “Mad Men” and the Blu-Ray release that brings home the second season, recently nominated for several Emmy Awards, is quite simply one of the best HD TV home releases yet produced. With perfect video and audio and an unbelievable amount of special features, “Mad Men: Season Two” is a must-add for any collector of great television.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

With just two seasons, AMC’s “Mad Men” has already cemented its place on any list of the best television programs of the ’00s. The Golden Globe-winning series for Best Drama became arguably richer and deeper in season two as the characters at advertising agency Sterling/Cooper moved deeper into one of the most significant eras of change in our country.

Mad Men: Season Two was released on Blu-Ray on July 14th, 2009.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

Set against the backdrop of 1962, the writers shifted the focus of season two to the women in the world of “Mad Men”. Betty Draper (the incredible January Jones) saw her perfect world of domesticity shatter after one too many lies from her advertising mogul husband Don (Emmy nominee Jon Hamm). Peggy (Emmy nominee Elisabeth Moss) moved up the corporate ladder while dealing with her own secrets. Even Joan (Christina Hendricks) had her most interesting arc to date as she struggled with her own shot at corporate success and realized that Mr. Right isn’t always as perfect as he seems.

Mad Men: Season Two was released on Blu-Ray on July 14th, 2009.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

All of this was set against the backdrop of the rising fame of Jackie Kennedy and the demise of Marilyn Monroe. It was incredibly deep, complex, daring writing, the kind that used to be reserved solely for HBO.

There are so many things that work about “Mad Men” that it’s hard to know where to begin. The ensemble is one of the best on television. They were correctly acclaimed for season one and, to an actor, all got better in season two. Hamm is likely to win the Emmy, but the women were the stand-out in season two and Jones, Moss, and Hendricks all did some of the best work on television.

The ensemble wouldn’t be as effective without the complex, fascinating writing or the best production design on television. The period is so perfectly recreated that it can be sometimes startling to realize that you’re not watching a film. You usually don’t see this level of design on television.

Ultimately, TV has always been and will always be about the writing. Creator Matthew Weiner and his team on “Mad Men” are producing something that has yet to falter in quality over two complete seasons. These are television scripts that don’t always connect the dots and actually have the potential to inspire conversation about character motivation, thematic continuity, and emotional impact.

Of course, a show as richly detailed as “Mad Men” works best in 1080P and Lionsgate has really out-done themselves with “Season Two,” a set that stands with the “Lost” and HBO Blu-Rays as the best TV on Blu-Ray. Not only is each episode pristinely presented, but the special features will keep you entranced for days.

Mad Men: Season Two was released on Blu-Ray on July 14th, 2009.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

The best way to learn about the production of “Mad Men” is to do so from the people who make the show. So, each episode includes two full-length audio commentaries, usually presented as one with behind-the-scenes talent (directors, writers, etc.) and the other with cast members. If you watch each episode on its own and then with each commentary track, you’ll get over 30 hours of entertainment for your hard-earned dollar.

Separate, non-commentary special features include a music sampler, “Birth of an Independent Woman,” “An Era of Style,” and an interactive time capsule that pays homage to historical events of the 1960s and the daring generation that lived through them.

Hours of commentary tracks and perfect video and audio are what all Blu-Ray on television should provide, but what really stands out about “Mad Men: Season Two” is the show itself. This is fantastic, must-see television presented for home audiences in the best possible way. It’s easily one of the best TV Blu-Rays released to date.

‘Mad Men: Season Two’ is released by Lionsgate Home Video and stars Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Bryann Batt, Aaron Staton, Christina Hendricks, Michael Gladis, January Jones, Rich Sommer, and John Slattery. It was created by Matthew Weiner. The Blu-Ray and DVD were released on July 14th, 2009. It is not rated.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Flight of the Conchords,’ ‘Family Guy’ Lead Surprising 2009 Emmy Nominees

BrianTT — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:58:53 -0600

CHICAGO – The 61st Annual Emmy Nominations were announced today and there were a few surprises, a few disappointments, and a variety of unusual choices. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences displayed a desire to move forward with some first-time nominees, mostly ignoring some tired staples like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives,” but also missed some arguably deserving choices.

The Best Drama and Best Comedy categories expanded to seven nominees this year, which allowed for a wide variety of networks to claim a “Best” nominee.

Family Guy
Photo credit: FOX

The nominees for Best Drama are “Big Love,” “Breaking Bad,” “Damages,” “Dexter,” “House,” “Lost,” and “Mad Men”. The refusal to give in to pressure to nominate the last season of “ER” is nice and its hard to argue with too many of their actual choices, but HBO’s great “In Treatment” needed to be in that seven and “True Blood” would have been a more inspired choice than “Damages” or “House”. Even fans of those shows admit the past seasons were down a notch in quality. Finally, the Academy missed the Best Drama of 2008-2009 - the final season of “The Shield” in Best Drama and the acting categories. Shameful.

The nominees for Best Comedy are “30 Rock,” “Entourage,” “Family Guy,” “Flight of the Conchords,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Office,” and “Weeds”. The selections here may not be perfect but they are an undeniably unpredictable bunch and, once again, it’s nice to see the Academy ignore predictable staples like “Two and a Half Men” in favor of more risky choices like “Family Guy” and “Flight of the Conchords”.

The rest of the major nominees:

Best Actor in a Dramatic Series
Simon Baker in “The Mentalist”
Gabriel Byrne in “In Treatment”
Bryan Cranston in “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall in “Dexter”
Jon Hamm in “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie in “House”

Best Actress in a Dramatic Series
Glenn Close in “Damages”
Sally Field in “Brothers and Sisters”
Mariska Hargitay in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
Holly Hunter in “Saving Grace”
Elisabeth Moss in “Mad Men”
Kyra Sedgwick in “The Closer”

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin in “30 Rock”
Steve Carell in “The Office”
Jemaine Clement in “Flight of the Conchords”
Jim Parsons in “The Big Bang Theory”
Tony Shalhoub in “Monk”
Charlie Sheen in “Two and a Half Men”

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate in “Samantha Who?”
Toni Collette in “United States of Tara”
Tina Fey in “30 Rock”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “The New Adventures of Old Christine”
Mary-Louise Parker in “Weeds”
Sarah Silverman in “The Sarah Silverman Program”

Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series
Christian Clemenson in “Boston Legal”
Michael Emerson in “Lost”
William Hurt in “Damages”
Aaron Paul in “Breaking Bad”
William Shatner in “Boston Legal”
John Slattery in “Mad Men”

Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series
Rose Byrne in “Damages”
Hope Davis in “In Treatment”
Cherry Jones in “24”
Sandra Oh in “Grey’s Anatomy”
Dianne Wiest in “In Treatment”
Chandra Wilson in “Grey’s Anatomy”

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Jon Cryer in “Two and a Half Men”
Kevin Dillon in “Entourage”
Neil Patrick Harris in “How I Met Your Mother”
Jack McBrayer in “30 Rock”
Tracy Morgan in “30 Rock”
Rainn Wilson in “The Office”

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristin Chenoweth in “Pushing Daisies”
Jane Krakowski in “30 Rock”
Elizabeth Perkins in “Weeds”
Amy Poehler in “Saturday Night Live”
Kristin Wiig in “Saturday Night Live”
Vanessa Williams in “Ugly Betty”

The Emmys will be broadcast on September 20th, 2009 and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for more Emmy coverage in the next few months.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

If We Had an Emmy Ballot: The Best TV of 2008 to 2009

BrianTT — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:57:05 -0600

CHICAGO – Ballots for the 61st Annual Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy nominations are due on Friday, June 26th, 2009, and we’re here to offer some advice for all of you Emmy voters still holding a ballot in your hands and trying to make those tough TV decisions.

And, like the large majority of us, if you’re not a card-carrying Emmy voter, let this serve as your populist guide to who really SHOULD be winning Emmys this year. There’s sometime a disconnect between who actually wins the awards and who viewers KNOW should win the awards - i.e., the almost total lack of Emmy love for “Buffy,” “Battlestar Galactica,” etc. - so, in a fantasy world, our fantasy ballot hopes to heap some recognition on the shows and creative types who really, truly knocked our socks off in the 2008-2009 season. But, if you ARE an Emmy voter, be a pal and give some of these guys the nods they deserve.

(Note: While there are five nominees per category, voters nominate six per ballot, so that’s how many we suggest.)

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Jack McBrayer on 30 Rock
Photo credit: NBC

Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”
Ed Helms, “The Office”
Justin Kirk, “Weeds”
Jack McBrayer, “30 Rock”
Jeremy Piven, “Entourage”
Ray Wise, “Reaper”

There are a number of very strong, mostly male ensembles in comedy television nowadays and it can be tough to pick a favorite. Would you nominate Tracy Morgan or Jack McBrayer from “30 Rock”? Kevin Dillon or Jeremy Piven for “Entourage”? Justin Kirk or Kevin Nealon from “Weeds”? And which of the guys from the criminally underrated “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” would you pick if you wanted to really take a chance on something new?

We picked our favorites, but they’re also representatives for the show’s supporting casts in general and, if Dillon makes it in over Piven or you want to choose Nealon over Kirk, it’s an understandable alternate. And any of the three guys on “Philadelphia” are deserving even if they don’t quite make our top six cut.

All we know for sure is that Emmy voters really need to take the last chance they’ll get to nominate the show-stealing Ray Wise from “Reaper” and Neil Patrick Harris had his best year to date as “How I Met You Mother” really started to click this season.

As for what “will” happen, Jon Cryer is likely to get in over several of our choices for the always-nominated “Two and a Half Men” and you can expect a nod for someone from “The Office”. If they do go with a Dunder Mifflin employee, here’s an idea - jump on the “Hangover” band wagon and nominate Ed Helms. We love Rainn Wilson as much as the next guy, but Helms was more inspired this year as he watched his doomed engagement to Angela fall apart.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Jenna Fischer on The Office
Photo credit: NBC

Kristin Chenoweth, “Pushing Daisies”
Rosemarie DeWitt, “United States of Tara”
Jenna Fischer, “The Office”
Elizabeth Perkins, “Weeds”
Cobie Smulders, “How I Met Your Mother”
Kristin Wiig, “Saturday Night Live”

Last year was the first that the cast of “Saturday Night Live” was eligible in this category and, rightly so, they nominated the deserving Amy Poehler. Amy only worked half of this season, one of the best in many years for the show, so why not spread the wealth to one of the most talented comediennes in the history of the show - the sublime Kristin Wiig?

Like Ray Wise, there’s also a great opportunity here to nominate another amazing supporting star on a canceled show, the awesome Kristin Chenoweth for “Pushing Daisies”. She made the cut last year. Emmy voters - nominate her whenever you get the chance.

Meanwhile, Showtime continues to excel and should earn more nods this year than any before. While “Weeds” has gone downhill a bit, Elizabeth Perkins’ perfect and often episode-stealing arc last season in which she had to go to rehab earns her a spot. Showtime should earn a few nods for “United States of Tara” and the first should come for Rosemarie DeWitt (who deserved and was snubbed already this year for an Academy Award nod for “Rachel Getting Married”).

“The Office” is something of a boy’s club, but Jenna Fischer did her best work to date as she joined the ill-fated “Michael Scott Paper Company” on “The Office,” so just like Pam, it’s time that Jenna gets a little more recognition this year.

Finally, Alyson Hannigan turned her real-life pregnancy into something hysterical (and difficult to cover up) on “How I Met Your Mother,” but her lack of screen time in the second half of the season should allow room for her increasingly funny co-star Cobie Smulders to get a nod. Like most of the cast, she did her best work of the series to date this season.

Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Danny McBride on Eastbound and Down
Photo credit: HBO

Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Zachary Levi, “Chuck”
Danny McBride, “Eastbound and Down”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
Tony Shalhoub, “Monk”

There are a few nominees here that are virtually guaranteed and for good reason. Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, and Tony Shalhoub continue to drive the success of their very well-liked shows and, while it may be predictable to suggest them, they deserve the nominations that they can almost count on.

So why not make the other nominees a little more out of left field instead of a safe (but more likely) choice like Charlie Sheen in “Two and a Half Men”? (Does anyone really gather around the watercooler to talk about how awesome the Ma-sheen was following a very special episode of “Men”?)

Zachary Levi has really developed a strong comic timing on the underrated “Chuck” and he’s the main reason the show has earned such a strong cult following (and won itself a last second cancellation reprieve). An unexpected Emmy nomination could do that show a world of good in its struggle for ratings and survival.

“The Big Bang Theory” is one of the funnier shows on television and the perfect performance by Jim Parsons as Sheldon is one of the main reasons. He might have had a better shot in supporting but he’s eligible in lead, so vote for him there. His comic timing is amazing.

And then there’s the performance for which it will be most difficult to find a clip that they can air on network TV - the hysterical work by Danny McBride on HBO’s “Eastbound and Down”. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should. If you have seen it, you know he deserves to be nominated.

Best Lead Actress in a Comedy

Toni Collette on United States of Tara
Photo credit: Showtime

Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who?”
Toni Collette, “United States of Tara”
Kaley Cuoco, “The Big Bang Theory”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Anna Friel, “Pushing Daisies”
Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds”

We know this can be a tough category to fill but, please, let’s not resort to America Ferrera and Julia Louis-Dreyfus again. There are simply more deserving actresses out there.

Christina Applegate, Tina Fey, and Mary-Louise Parker deserve to return to the dance and duplicate their nominations from last year for “Samantha Who?,” “30 Rock,” and “Weeds,” respectively. They’ve all had better years but they’re still more than good enough to make the big six.

As for the other three, the lovely and charming Anna Friel deserves consideration for her pitch-perfect work on “Pushing Daisies” and Toni Collette is absolutely flawless on “United States of Tara”. We wouldn’t be surprised to hear either of their names on nomination morning.

More surprising but just as deserving would be a nod for the underrated Kaley Cuoco of “The Big Bang Theory”. In the show’s excellent second season, Cuoco really proved she could play with the boys in this very male-driven ensemble and more than held her own in multiple episodes.

Best Comedy

The Office
Photo credit: NBC

“30 Rock”
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Eastbound and Down”
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
“The Office”
“Pushing Daisies”

Last year it was “30 Rock,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Entourage,” “The Office,” and “Two and a Half Men”. The two NBC shows deserve to repeat and remain the best comedy hour on television.

As for the rest? “Curb” isn’t eligible (there hasn’t been a new episode since 2007), “Entourage” had a slightly down year (although it wouldn’t be that horrible if it was nominated), and we’ve never understood the massive acclaim for “Men,” a decent show but not an award-worthy one in the slightest.

What’s ironic is that there are two CBS sitcoms that DO deserve nomination although my jaw will drop if they both make the Emmy cut - “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother” - an hour of television that often out-delivered NBC this past year for the funniest hour on television. “Mother” was a bit too hit-and-miss at times, so let’s go with “Big Bang Theory” if we have to pick only one.

“Pushing Daisies” is the most tragically canceled shows of the last several years and the Academy often jumps at a last chance to nominate a show that they will never be able to again. If you can, voting members of the Academy, please take this opportunity to give The Pie-Hole some well-deserved post-cancellation love.

Nothing was as sublimely ridiculous in 2008-2009 as HBO’s unbelievable “Eastbound and Down” with its spectacular direction by the great David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express”) and Jody Best (“Observe and Report”). If you haven’t seen “Eastbound,” catch up with it on DVD next week (and watch for a full review soon).

Finally, very few shows make us laugh out loud like FX’s inspired “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. It’s one of the top-rated shows on Hulu for a reason and is developing a growing following with every episode. Emmy voters, try and jump on a bandwagon before its come to a stop for a change.

Go on to the next page for the five drama categories…

Painful, Depressing ‘Must Read After My Death’ Window Into the Dark Side of Family

BrianTT — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:00:53 -0700

CHICAGO – If someone had a recording of the dissolution of a seemingly perfect family, would you listen? What would you learn from it? You can test your answer to these questions with the riveting “Must Read After My Death,” a fly-on-the-wall documentary using only silent home movies and audio recordings of a family in steep, depressing decline.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Filmmaker Morgan Dews was always close to his grandmother Allis, but he had no idea about the dark past that barely preceded his existence. In the ’60s, Allis lived a dark life with husband Charley and kids Anne, Chuck, Douglas, and Bruce. And they recorded all of it on a Dictaphone that they used as a friend, game, confessor, and shrink.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Must Read After My Death” in our reviews section.

When Allis Dews dies in 2001, she left behind hundreds of hours of tape. Morgan has edited the audio down to a glimpse at the trajectory of the Dews family in the ’60s in just 73 minutes. Much like AMC’s “Mad Men,” Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road,” or the fascinating “Capturing the Friedmans,” Dews’ film illuminates the darkness just beyond the picket fence.

Allis met Charley Dews just after WWII. The two had been married before but they split with their first spouses and headed off to live the dream life together. But they were an unconventional couple. Early recordings sent back and forth while Charley was in Australia make it clear that the Dews lived in an “open” marriage, something that seemed unconventional but was already tinged with sorrow before they even really had a family.

‘Must Read After My Death’ was directed by Morgan Dews and opens on February 20th, 2009. It is not rated.

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Must Read After My Death” review.

Must Read After My Death
Photo credit: Gigantic Pictures

Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet Win 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards

BrianTT — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:41:34 -0700

CHICAGO – The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) gave out its coveted awards on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 and Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet, Sean Penn and Meryl Streep walked away with the major film acting prizes. “Slumdog Millionaire” was awarded the prize for best ensemble of the year. Predictably, “30 Rock” and “Mad Men” took home the television ensemble prizes.

The 15th Annual SAG Awards
Photo credit: Turner

“Slumdog Millionaire” beat “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Doubt,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “Milk” for the main prize, often a good indication of what will win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Last year’s winner, “No Country For Old Men,” went on to win the Oscar. “Crash” also won the award on its way to a surprising Oscar for Best Picture.

Sean Penn won best actor for “Milk,” beating Mickey Rourke for “The Wrestler” and making that race for the Oscar a dead heat. Other nominees included Richard Jenkins for “The Visitor,” Frank Langella for “Frost/Nixon,” and Brad Pitt for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.

The win for Meryl Streep for “Doubt” throws that Oscar category into complete disarray. She beat Anne Hathaway for “Rachel Getting Married,” Angelina Jolie for “Changeling,” Melissa Leo for “Frozen River,” and Kate Winslet for “Revolutionary Road”.

Winslet was nominated for the Oscar as well but for “The Reader,” a performance which she won the SAG Award, Golden Globes, and other award for this year. And many people still think Hathaway has a shot. With Streep winning last night, this is a three-lady race like none we have seen in years.

Heath Ledger took the prize for his supporting work in “The Dark Knight” and an emotional Gary Oldman accepted on his behalf. Ledger beat Josh Brolin from “Milk,” Robert Downey Jr. for “Tropic Thunder,” Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Doubt,” and Dev Patel for “Slumdog Millionaire”.

Kate Winslet won for “The Reader,” beating Amy Adams for “Doubt,” Penelope Cruz for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Viola Davis for “Doubt,” and Taraji P. Henson for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.

“30 Rock” and “Mad Men” won the ensemble awards for television. Predictably, Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey took the individual acting honors for comedy series. The drama prizes were a little more surprising with Hugh Laurie winning for “House” and Sally Field taking the trophy for “Brothers & Sisters”. The male and female lead of HBO’s “John Adams” - Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney - took the awards for the television movie or miniseries categories.

Check out our 44-image gallery for the 15th-annual SAG awards.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Excellent Ensemble, Quality Writing Click on TNT’s ‘Trust Me’

BrianTT — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:17 -0700

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – We have good news for fans of “Will & Grace” and “Ed”. The stars of those two shows have been lucky enough to have lightning strike their careers again with TNT’s “Trust Me”.

Gimmicks and concepts may get an audience to tune in for a premiere episode, but television is still primarily a medium that lives and dies on the quality of its writing. Even the best ensembles will find themselves looking for other work if the writing doesn’t click. And it’s often difficult for TV stars who find success once to land another project with the same caliber of writing (ask Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, or the cast of Fox’s “Back to You”.)

Tom Cavanagh, Monica Potter, Eric McCormack
Photo credit: Art Streiber

Referred to by its own leads as “Madder Men,” “Trust Me” is a modern take on the world of advertising, more concerned with the inter-office politics of the modern industry than AMC’s incredibly dense and riveting program. “Trust Me” focuses on Mason (“Eric McCormack of “Will & Grace” fame) and his creative partner Conner (“Tom Cavanagh from “Ed”). The two work at the ad firm Rothman, Greene, & Mohr and have formed a successful team over the years with Mason being the more intellectual of the two and Conner the emotional partner who can sweet-talk a client and close a sale.

Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh
Photo credit: Karen Neal

Mason, the art director, is a responsible family man with a beautiful wife named Erin (Sarah Clarke), while Conner is the impulsive, emotional, single guy. In the first episode, after the death of the creative director for the firm, Mason gets the job over Conner, creating a rift between the two. The second episode focuses on trying to satisfy a testy client.

Meanwhile, a new hire, the award-winning Sarah Krajicek-Hunter (Monica Potter) joins the team and shakes things up in her own way. It’s interesting to see creative people respond to new blood as a double-edged sword. Sarah will clearly make the company better but also take some spotlight away from Mason and Conner. That kind of conflicted dynamic happens in creative industries every day.

Rounding out the team at Rothman, Green & Mohr is the junior creative team (meaning comic relief) of Hector (Geoffrey Arend) and Tom (Mike Damus) and their often-tough supervisor Tony Mink (Griffin Dunne).

Two things stand out in the first two episodes of “Trust Me” and should allow most viewers to answer affirmatively to the ultimate question for a new series - will you keep watching?

First, McCormack and Cavanagh are surprisingly good. They’ve been underrated on television before but their chemistry here is believable and witty. Most shockingly, I had let go of “Ed” and “Will” within minutes. It can often be tough for actors to shake their previous characters but McCormack and Cavanagh do so without going too far from the kind of material that they are best at delivering. As for Potter, it looks like she’ll be allowed to develop an interesting character (and show a sense of humor she hasn’t often been able to do) and every series could do a lot worse than having talented actors like Dunne and Clarke in small roles.

Eric McCormack
Photo credit: Karen Neal

Second, the team behind “Trust Me” understands that for a show like this to work it needs to be clever, witty, and quickly paced. Created by Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny, two of the co-executive producers behind the underrated writing on “The Closer,” the first two scripts for “Trust Me” are two of the best of the massive slate of mid-season programs.

“Trust Me” is proof that knowledge of the subject matter can never be underestimated. Baldwin worked at J. Walter Thompson in Chicago on major campaigns in the ’90s and John Coveny was at Leo Burnett at nearly the same time. They both jumped from advertising to TV writing but the old axiom of “write what you know” has clearly served them well.

The first two episodes display both a knowledge about how the world of advertising works and an understanding that “Trust Me” will only succeed if we believe that these are the type of intelligent, quick-witted people who could become superstars in their industry. It is easy to do so because of the caliber of the writing.

TNT has found hit after hit with shows like “The Closer,” “Saving Grace,” and “Leverage,” but “Trust Me” has the potential to break out to an even wider audience. It doesn’t have the gravity of a show like “Mad Men,” so I don’t expect critics or award-giving groups to jump all over it, but it is something that not a lot of television is in this lackluster 2008-2009 season - consistently entertaining.

“Trust Me,” which airs on TNT, stars Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanagh, Monica Potter, Griffin Dunne, Geoffrey Arend, Mike Damus and Sarah Clarke. The premiere airs on Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 at 9 p.m. CST.

Note: HollywoodChicago.com editor-in-chief Adam Fendelman will be interviewing “Trust Me” star Monica Potter. Stay tuned to HollywoodChicago.com for that interview.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

The Best of What’s Out There: The TV You Should Be Watching in Early 2009

BrianTT — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:08:20 -0700

CHICAGO – We were considering looking back at the best programming of 2008 when something dawned on us - a lot of it isn’t on the air right now and not yet available on DVD. We at HollywoodChicago.com believe in being productive and helpful, so why tell you something is great when you can’t even see the show?

The final season of “The Shield,” the third season of “Dexter,” the fourth season of “Weeds,” the fourth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the final season of “The Wire,” the second season of “Mad Men,” the entirety of “Pushing Daisies,” and the two best new shows of 2008 - “True Blood” and “In Treatment” - all rank among the best programming of 2008, but none of them are on the air right now and none are on DVD yet. What’s a TV fan to do?

Tina Fey, Jennifer Aniston, Alec Baldwin on “30 Rock”.
Photo credit: Nicole Rivelli

That’s why we’re here - to help. Instead of giving you another list of shows that you can’t even see on DVD yet, we’ve found some equivalent (or at least similar) shows currently on the air that we think you should give a chance. With dozens of new and returning shows hitting the airwaves every week, it can be hard to know what’s right for you. Let us guide the way.

First, there are a FEW of the best series of 2008 still on the air or returning soon. “Lost” comes back January 21st, 2009. Check out our review of the first two episodes for a sneak peek. The quick version? It’s real good.

The best comedy on television, “30 Rock,” is still kicking butt on Thursday nights even if we do slightly agree with the criticism that the show has gotten a bit too gimmicky for its own good recently. Hey Tina, cut out the revolving door of guest stars and get back to the characters we know and love.

“Battlestar Galactica” comes back on January 16th and, as for the best of reality TV, Jeff Probst and “Survivor” return on February 12th and Phil Keoghan and “The Amazing Race” start running again three days later, February 15th.

Finally, “Reaper” returns to The CW on March 17th. Yes, The CW can actually lay claim to one of the best shows of 2008. If you don’t believe me, catch up with the first season, now on DVD, and come back for more coverage in the coming months of one of the most sharply written and clever shows on television.

Bret Harrison and Ray Wise on “Reaper”.
Photo credit: Lionsgate

The rest of the “Best of 2008”? It’s all off the air, but we found relative equivalents for most of them. Of course, there will not be an equivalent for ABC’s great “Pushing Daisies” for a long time. Just watch season one again. It was brilliantly unique and left us way too soon.

One of the main reasons that HBO’s “True Blood” and Showtime’s “Dexter” were two of the best shows of 2008 was that there’s nothing on the air like them. What could we possibly compare to Alan Ball’s gothic vision of vampires or Michael C. Hall’s riveting performance as a serial killer with a moral code?

There are two shows coming up that seem to have that unique quality that separated “True Blood” and “Dexter” from the pack in 2008.

The first season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” was hit-and-miss but the clarity of Bryan Cranston’s excellent performance on that show reminds us a bit of what Hall does as Dexter Morgan on the excellent Showtime drama. “Bad” returns to AMC in March.

As for “True Blood,” the show that has similar what-the-hell potential has to be Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”. The long-delayed and controversial series starts on February 13th on Fox. Rumors of reshoots and behind-the-scenes trouble have made us nervous, but Whedon is the kind of risky TV voice that always brings the potential for greatness, kind of like “True Blood“‘s Alan Ball.

Toni Collette on “United States of Tara”.
Photo credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime

If neither “Breaking Bad” nor “Dollhouse” works for and you’re still looking for something left-of-center like “True Blood” or “Dexter,” put April 9th on your calendar. That’s when “Harper’s Island” premieres. We haven’t seen much, but the preview we did see from last Summer looked like “Gossip Girl” if one of the beautiful people from that show happened to be a serial killer offing his socialite friends on a remote island. Yeah, it looks like twisted fun.

But what should fans of the other great shows from 2008 do with their time in early 2009?

One of the best comedies of the last few years, Showtime’s “Weeds,” will be back this summer, but there’s another half-hour comedy that looks at suburbia from a different angle on the same network - “United States of Tara” - that’s currently on the air.

Featuring a stunning performance by Oscar nominee Toni Collette as a mother with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), the Diablo Cody creation fits perfectly in the Showtime milieu of characters who may look normal but live very different lives from you and me. With a dark, black streak of humor, “Weeds” has been consistently entertaining for four seasons now and, based on the promise of the first quartet of episodes, it’s not hard to see “United States of Tara” staying on the air just as long.

Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, Mickey Rourke, Sally Hawkins, Colin Farrell Big Winners at 2009 Golden Globes

BrianTT — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:03:37 -0700

CHICAGO – The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards were held Sunday night and “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Mad Men,” “John Adams,” and “30 Rock” were the big winners from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The HFPA spread the wealth around to a variety of talented actors including Heath Ledger, Sally Hawkins, Anna Paquin, Laura Dern, Laura Linney, Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Tina Fey, Colin Farrell, Mickey Rourke, and Kate Winslet, twice.

Golden Globe Statuette
Photo credit: Chris Haston

“Slumdog Millionaire” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” won the two Best Picture awards, with the former taking away the most Golden Globes overall with four. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association chose “Mad Men” and “30 Rock” as the best television series on the air, giving the latter the most regular series awards with three. HBO’s “John Adams” tied “Slumdog Millionaire” for the most awards with four. Only “Adams,” “Slumdog,” “The Wrestler,” and “30 Rock” won more than a single award with the prizes being spread around to different films and shows.

One of the more emotional beats of the night came when director Chris Nolan accepted Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger for his amazing work in “The Dark Knight” and incredible speeches were given by Kate Winslet, Sally Hawkins, Tina Fey, Steven Spielberg, Danny Boyle, Colin Farrell, Mickey Rourke, and Tracy Morgan, accepting Best Comedy for “30 Rock”.

HBO destroyed on the TV side of the awards, winning all the major dramatic acting awards, as their “True Blood,” “In Treatment,” “John Adams,” and “Recount” were all given trophies before another network even took home their first prize. When the comedy awards came up, it was a clean sweep for “30 Rock,” winning best actor, actress, and comedy series. The dramatic awards were more spread out with “Mad Men” taking series, but “In Treatment” and “True Blood” winning the acting awards.

Winner Kate Winslet for Best Supporting Actress in “The Reader” on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

On the film side, “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Revolutionary Road,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “In Bruges,” and “The Wrestler” were all recipients of major awards, adding fuel to their various Oscar campaigns.

The night opened with Jennifer Lopez presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture to Kate Winslet in “The Reader,” who beat Amy Adams and Viola Davis in “Doubt,” Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”, and Penelope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”. With a stunning seven nominations in her Golden Globe history, including two this year, Winslet’s win was the first of her amazing career (but not the last of the night). She gave a humble speech and looked absolutely amazing. Winslet is clearly the frontrunner for the equivalent Oscar, another award she has never won.

Sting presented the Best Song award to Bruce Springsteen for his excellent contribution to Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler”. He had one of the best lines of the night when he said, “This is the only time I’m gonna be in competition with Clint Eastwood. Felt pretty good, too.”

Simon Baker of “The Mentalist” and Eva Longoria of “Desperate Housewives” kicked off the awards for TV by giving Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie to Tom Wilkinson for playing Ben Franklin in HBO’s “John Adams,” beating Neil Patrick Harris for “How I Met Your Mother,” Denis Leary for “Recount,” Jeremy Piven for “Entourage,” and Blair Underwood for “In Treatment”. It was Wilkinson’s first win.

Winner Tom Wilkinson, Best Supporting Actor in Mini-Series or TV Movie “John Adams” on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

The same presenters gave HBO another prize when they handed Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie to Laura Dern for “Recount,” beating Eileen Atkins for “Cranford,” Melissa George for “In Treatment,” Rachel Griffiths for “Brothers & Sisters,” and Dianne Wiest for “In Treatment”. Dern dedicated her award to the people who voted for “change in this country” in the last presidential election.

Hayden Panettiere and Zac Efron gave the TV award for Best Actor in a TV Series - Drama to Gabriel Byrne for his brilliant work on “In Treatment”. Byrne, who could not attend, beat Jon Hamm from “Mad Men,” Hugh Laurie from “House,” Jonathan Rhys Meyers for “The Tudors,” and Michael C. Hall for “Dexter”.

The equivalent actress award went to Anna Paquin in “True Blood”. The first-year series star beat Sally Field in “Brothers & Sisters,” January Jones in “Mad Men,” Kyra Sedgwick in “The Closer,” and Mariska Hargitay in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. If you’re keeping track, all four acting awards for dramatic television went to HBO and for four different series or movies. It was an amazing night for the network that was just getting started.

The Jonas Brothers gave “WALL-E” the award for Best Animated Feature Film, beating “Bolt” and “Kung Fu Panda”. The winner for Best Motion Picture or Mini-Series Made for Television continued the run for HBO and created the first multiple award winner as “John Adams” beat “Raisin in the Sun,” “Bernard and Dorris,” “Cranford,” and “Recount”.

Anna Paquin, Winner of Best Actress: TV Series Drama for “True Blood” on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

Johnny Depp gave Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy to Sally Hawkins for “Happy-Go-Lucky,” beating out Meryl Streep for “Mamma Mia!,” Emma Thompson for “Last Chance Harvey,” Rebecca Hall for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” and Frances McDormand for “Burn After Reading”. The delightful Hawkins was clearly surprised and stunned at her win and gave arguably the most charming speech of the night.

Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture went, as expected, to Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” beating Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder,” Ralph Fiennes in “The Duchess,” and Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”. Director Christopher Nolan accepted the award, which was greeted with an almost-immediate standing ovation.

Best Foreign Language Film went to Israel’s “Waltz With Bashir,” beating Germany’s “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” “Everlasting Moments” from Sweden/Denmark, Italy’s “Gomorra,” and France’s “I’ve Loved You So Long”.

Back to the TV award, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart gave Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television to Laura Linney to “John Adams,” making it three awards for the film. She beat Judi Dench in “Cranford,” Catherine Keener in “An American Crime,” Shirley MacLaine in “Coco Chanel,” and Susan Sarandon in “Bernard and Doris”. Six TV awards into the evening and HBO was the only network that had won a single prize.

Alec Baldwin, winner Best Actor in TV Series Musical or Comedy 30 Rock on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen gave the first big award of the night to “Slumdog Millionaire,” giving Simon Beaufoy the award for Best Screenplay, beating “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Doubt,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “The Reader”.

Bouncing back and forth between film and television, the next award was Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, which went to Alec Baldwin in “30 Rock”. Baldwin predictably beat Steve Carell from “The Office,” Kevin Connolly from “Entourage,” David Duchovny in “Californication,” and Tony Shalhoub from “Monk”.

Terence Howard and Megan Fox gave the award for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie to, as widely expected by this point, Paul Giamatti in “John Adams,” making it a clean sweep for the mini-series, winning a stunning four awards. Giamatti beat Kiefer Sutherland in “24: Redemption,” Tom Wilkinson and Kevin Spacey in “Recount,” and Ralph Fiennes in “Bernard and Doris”. It was the great Giamatti’s first win at the Golden Globes.

“30 Rock” won the prize for Best TV Comedy again, beating “Californication,” “Entourage,” “The Office,” and “Weeds”.

“Slumdog Millionaire” would take home its second prize of the night when Kate Beckinsale and Sean Combs gave A.R. Rahman the trophy for Best Score. Rahman beat the much more widely known composers, Alexandre Desplat for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Clint Eastwood for “Changeling,” James Newton Howard for “Defiance,” and Hans Zimmer for “Frost/Nixon”.

Danny Boyle, winner Best Director of Motion Picture Slumdog Millionaire on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

David Duchovny and Kane Krakowski gave Best Actress in a TV Comedy to, predictably, Tina Fey in “30 Rock”. Fey beat Christina Applegate for “Samantha Who?,” America Ferrera for “Ugly Betty,” Debra Messing for “The Starter Wife,” and Mary Louise Parker for “Weeds”. “30 Rock” had swept the comedy awards, winning best actor, actress, and series, all choices hard to argue with although it might have been nice to spread the wealth a bit. Fey gave a great speech, taking jabs at the people who had criticized her online.

Steven Spielberg accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement from Martin Scorsese, an old friend and, as Spielberg said, “inspiration”. As the clip reel of Spielberg’s work made crystal clear, if anyone deserves a lifetime achievement award it is Steven Spielberg.

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson presented best director to Danny Boyle for “Slumdog Millionaire,” beating Stephen Daldry for “The Reader,” David Fincher for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Ron Howard for “Frost/Nixon,” and Sam Mendes for “Revolutionary Road”.

The most surprising win of the night, by far, came when Sandra Bullock gave Best Actor in a Comedy to Colin Farrell for “In Bruges”. The very gracious and surprised Farrell beat his co-star in the film, Brendan Gleeson, Dustin Hoffman for “Last Chance Harvey,” James Franco for “Pineapple Express,” and Javier Bardem in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”.

Sacha Baron Cohen cracked about the end of Madonna’s marriage before giving Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy to Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” beating “Burn After Reading,” “In Bruges,” “Mamma Mia!,” and “Happy-Go-Lucky”. Sadly, Woody didn’t appear to accept the award himself.

Mickey Rourke, winner Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama The Wrestler on stage during the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Paul Drinkwater

Mark Wahlberg and Cameron Diaz presented Kate Winslet with her second award of the night for “Revolutionary Road,” beating Anne Hathaway for “Rachel Getting Married,” Angelina Jolie for “Changeling,” Kristin Scott Thomas for “I’ve Loved You So Long,” and Meryl Streep for “Doubt”. The clearly stunned Winslet was speechless, repeating “thank you so much” and crying. It took seven nominations for Kate Winslet to win two awards in one night.

After what was clearly now just a technical error in favor of Anne Hathaway earlier this week, most expected her to win, making the Winslet announcement that much more surprising.

Blake Lively and Rainn Wilson presented the award for Best Television Series - Drama to “Mad Men,” beating “Dexter,” “House,” “In Treatment,” and “True Blood”. A predictable but deserving win.

Susan Sarandon appeared to present Best Actor in a Drama, which went to Mickey Rourke for “The Wrestler”. Rourke beat out Sean Penn in “Milk,” Leonardo DiCaprio in “Revolutionary Road,” Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon,” and Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. Rourke was humbled and happy to win. He thanked, among others, Axl Rose, Bruce Springsteen, and his dogs. Someone give this man an Oscar.

Not surprisingly, “Slumdog Millionaire” closed the night with a win for Best Drama, presented by Tom Cruise. The excellent film beat “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “The Reader,” and “Revolutionary Road”.

See the full list of 2009 Golden Globe winners in list form.
Read about Anne Hathaway’s early, accidental Golden Globe snafu.
Read more Golden Globes articles on HollywoodChicago.com.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com