Emmy host Neil Patrick Harris said he hopes industry resistance to streamlining next month’s awards will ease when the plan is made clear.
More than 150 members of the Writers Guild of America, including Marc Cherry of “Desperate Housewives” and other prominent writer-producers, signed a petition criticizing the decision to pre-tape two writing awards and air edited clips during the live show.
Six other awards, divided among the acting, directing and producing categories, are to be similarly “time-shifted” under the approach approved by the TV academy’s board of governors for the Sept. 20 telecast on CBS.
“I think there is a bit of miscommunication about what time-shifting means,” Harris told a meeting Monday of the Television Critics Association. “We’re just trying to edit down the standing and the hugging … and the walking down the aisle.”
Harris said he was unaware TV writers were upset, adding, “I hope they won’t be when they see what we end up doing. It’s certainly not out of a lack of respect or anything. It’s so we can show the best show we can to the audience.”
The only slight, said the star of “How I Met Your Mother,” is that those attending the ceremony will have to walk the red carpet and be in the theater earlier than in the past for the estimated 45 minutes of pre-taping.
Instead of the typical three-hour ceremony, the Nokia Theatre audience must brace for nearly four hours of sitting.
The plan’s intent isn’t to undermine the integrity of the Emmys but to make them relevant to viewers, according to executive producer Don Mischer. The ceremony, crammed with 28 awards, has struggled in the ratings: Last year’s broadcast drew a record-low audience of 12.3 million.
In contrast, awards shows including the Tonys and Grammys have gotten a ratings bounce by including more entertainment and popular fare, Mischer said.
Pre-taping the eight Emmy categories will save up to 15 minutes and allow for attention to hit shows and memorable TV moments, whether nominated or not, he said.
The 12 most-watched series from last season, including “American Idol” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” garnered only two awards, Mischer said. In contrast, “Mad Men,” which has drawn lavish acclaim but modest ratings, triumphed as best drama series.
According to academy-commissioned research, potential viewers indicated they didn’t tune in because the Emmys featured shows they didn’t know and weren’t interested in.
Guild members opposed to the change could withhold permission for the academy’s use of clips from non-nominated shows, but Jack Sussman, CBS executive vice president for specials and live events, said he believes cooler heads will prevail.
HBO also has protested the time-shifting proposal, which likely will involve several of the movie and miniseries categories that the cable network dominates.
The Emmys face yet another challenge: The ceremony is opposite the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game.
“That’s going to be hard,” Mischer said.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More