This week, the Water Cooler gang looks at major races within the 2018 Creative Arts Emmy categories. Plus, is it too early to start talking about the 2019 Limited Series race? (Answer: No)
We’re returning to the 2018 Emmy cycle this week. Two weeks ago, we looked at some of our favorite categories – Main Title Theme and Main Title Design. This week, we look at a host of categories within the below-the-line 2018 Creative Arts Emmy categories. We predict Variety Special (Live), Drama, Comedy, and Limited Series Casting, Cinematography, Costumes, Reality Show Hosting, and Production Design. Looking at these categories sometimes gives Emmy watchers a hint at what could dominate in the main categories. Plus, we take a quick look at this weekend’s TCA award winners. | 6 August 2018
Lou Eyrich ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ (FX)
Eyrich has been collaborating with Ryan Murphy for decades, since his early Glee days — from Jane Lynch’s iconic tracksuit look on that show to Lily Rabe’s demonic nun getup on American Horror Story: Asylum. And now, Eyrich has her eighth Emmy nomination (she’s won two twice) for her work re-creating the designs of a fashion empire on The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which chronicles the weeks leading to the 1997 murder of the iconic designer.
“We scoured the internet for weeks and weeks,” Eyrich says of her early research. Despite a tight budget, her crew built the looks using a combination of vintage Versace and custom-made pieces. However, her favorite look from the nominated episode, “The Man Who Would Be Vogue,” is not based on an outfit that Versace wore or designed at all.
“Ryan Murphy, who is very hands-on with costumes, said that he would love it if we could make some kind of a pink and gold robe,” she says of the wrap that Versace (Edgar Ramirez) dons at the beginning of the episode. “So, a tailor custom made it. When we came to shoot the scene at the casa in Miami, we had him in the black T-shirt and white shorts that he eventually gets [killed] in, and Ryan called me and said, ‘Do you have that pink robe?’ ”
Perhaps the robe was meant to add some color to an otherwise bleak day. Or maybe Murphy just likes pink.
“I do not know why pink,” Eyrich admits. “That’s just something that Ryan came up with, and I always follow his instincts. They’re always spot-on.”
Watch Gold Derby Editors Tom O’Neil & Joyce Eng clash over their Emmy predictions for the drama & TV movie/mini races
Will “Handmaid’s Tale” win Best Drama Series again? Or can “Game of Thrones or even “The Americans” take it down? Watch Gold Derby editors Joyce and Tom dish the strong chance that “Americans” star Matthew Rhys has to pull off an upset over incumbent champ Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”) for Best Drama Actor. They also handicap the races for Best TV Movie and Limited Series. | 1 August 2018
(*ACS: Versace / Limited Series talk begins at 18:00)
There were some pretty powerful limited series and movies released over the past year, and Darren Criss leads the way for best actor for his gripping performance in The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
Darren Criss -200 Benedict Cumberbatch +180 Antonio Banderas +1200 John Legend +1200 Jesse Plemons +3500 Jeff Daniels +4000
I’m not sure if Criss is the favorite because of how well he acted or just how intense his series was. Either way, it does feel like some pretty iconic stars are being overlooked here.
Jeff Daniels comes in with the worst odds despite crushing it in The Looming Tower, while Antonio Banderas was surprisingly fantastic (I always felt he was loudly overrated) in Genius.
If anyone is stopping Criss, though, it has to be Benedict Cumberbatch for his work in Patrick Melrose.
I think you can consider other options here, but Riz Ahmed was an explosive newcomer last year in The Night Of, and I think Criss looks like a lock to follow a similar path.
PICK Darren Criss -200
Best Limited Series
This category enters with a landslide favorite, as The Assassination of Gianni Versace was extremely well done from top to bottom and figures to be this year’s The Night Of.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace -1500 Godless +1000 Patrick Melrose +1200 Genius: Picasso +1800 The Alienist +2000
Godless has the next best shot here, but this is hands-down The Assassination of Gianni Versace’s Emmy to lose.
PICK The Assassination of Gianni Versace -1500
Best Supporting Actor – Limited Series/Movie
Jeff Daniels has developed into such a great actor that his footprint is felt all over the 2018 Emmy Awards.
He’s nominated for his part in The Looming Tower, but he enters this category as the clear favorite.
Jeff Daniels -650 Edgar Ramirez +400 Brandon Victor Dixon +2000 Finn Wittrock +3300 Michael Stuhlbarg +3300 Ricky Martin +3300 John Leguizamo +4000
I don’t think anyone here really has a case to unseat Daniels from the top spot. Ramirez has the next best odds, but the argument for these other candidates comes up pretty frail.
If anything, I’d swing for the fences and roll the dice on John Leguizamo at +4000. He was never properly honored for his impressive work on Bloodline, while he was fantastic in Waco.
A longshot flier bet isn’t a terrible try here, but Daniels looks like a lock.
PICK Jeff Daniels -650
Best Supporting Actress – Limited Series/Movie
If you thought we were done with The Assassination of Gianni Versace, think again.
Obviously, the critics loved this limited series, and it had as much to do with the tense acting as it did with the real harrowing story.
Penelope Cruz hands in yet another strong performance from this limited series, and she’s favored to take home the award for best supporting actress.
I probably wouldn’t go against Cruz here, especially since -150 is a nice price for a sizable favorite.
That being said, Judith Light was also great in The Assassination of Gianni Versace, and Letitia Wright (+3300) is worth a flier for her role in a Black Mirror episode.
I still think this is Cruz’s award to lose, and the value is nice.
Playing Gianni Versace (Ramirez) and his longtime lover Antonio D’Amico (Martin) on FX’s limited series earned Martin his first Emmy nom and Ramirez his second. But the pair will now face off against each other and fellow co-star Finn Wittrock in the supporting actor category. While Ramirez has the best shot for his transformative work as the titular character, the Versace gang could lose out to Godless’ Jeff Daniels.
Before Penelope Cruz signed on for Season 2 of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story, there was one person she had to call.
“I called [Donatella Versace], and I said, ‘I need to know how you feel about me doing this.’ I knew Ryan wanted to portray her in a very respectful way. She told me that she was not involved with the show, but if somebody was going to play her, she was happy it was me.”
Cruz needed that blessing in order to take on the project. “That was what made me decide to do it. I could not say yes before that phone call, because I didn’t think that would be respectful.” During that conversation, Cruz and Versace discussed the day she received the news about her brother and the pressure to continue working.
“What an amazing love story, this brother and sister. They loved each other so much, and I’m so sad she lost him that way.”
Finding Donatella’s Voice (and Her Own)
Once Cruz said yes to the role, then the intimidation set in. For one thing, the first season of American Crime Story (The People v. OJ Simpson) was a huge success. Second, she was playing somebody that she knows and likes.
“We all know how she talks, how she moves. At the same time, I didn’t want to do an imitation, and Ryan didn’t want that from any of us. He didn’t want an imitation or caricature of any kind. I tried to capture an essence without trying to do an imitation. And it was such a pleasure to play her because she’s a very inspiring woman, very strong. Imagine the challenges she’s had in her life, everything she had to do in the moment that she lost somebody that she loved so much. So I did my own personal homage to Donatella and Gianni because I feel a lot of affection for them, even if I never met Gianni, but I always admired him so much and same with her. All of these things made me feel a healthy kind of pressure, to be able to do our own tribute to them.”
When it came to developing character, of top priority, of course, was finding Donatella’s unforgettable voice.
“That was the most difficult thing and the most scary thing for me and the thing that took longer than a month of work. I prepared for many, many months with Tim Monich (voice coach), and we worked really hard on it. I love when I have an interesting character, that time of preparing and research, and I love Tim Monich as a coach. I think he’s really one of the best in the world.”
In order to get that voice down, Cruz spent hours watching videos of Donatella.
“If I was on set, all the time in between shooting, maybe some days I was watching three or four hours of Donatella backstage and interviews. In those four or five months of preparation, I would watch material of her every day and that was really helpful.”
On Fashion and Ryan Murphy
No stranger to the red carpet herself, Cruz found new appreciation for all of the behind-the-scenes moving parts in fashion, what goes into putting together a couture collection.
“It takes a lot of talent, because they are very talented, and they are true artists, but at the same time, they have to have a business mind and have to be incredibly hard workers. It’s a combination of a lot of things that create that success, and it’s a big team of people. I love, for example, to see that a lot of the people who are with Donatella have been with her for years, and they all love working with her. I think that says a lot about a person.”
Donatella to fashion is a bit like Ryan Murphy to television, with frequent collaborators and cutting-edge style.
“What Ryan has done, with flashbacks, telling the story out of order in time, it’s a very modern and interesting structure that keeps you on your toes for the whole series. He’s an amazing storyteller.”
“I Need to Feel Insecure When I Begin a Movie”
On the series, Donatella faces scrutiny for her own creations, demonstrating unexpected vulnerability from one of fashion’s powerhouses. Cruz sees a bit of that vulnerability in herself, with each role she takes.
“I was lucky to be starting work so young, to be traveling and learning, and the thing I love the most about our job as actors is that we are students. Some movies can be more successful than others, but everything can teach you something. It can be an experience for you. I need to feel insecure when I begin a movie, and every day when I’m on a set, that insecurity, if I didn’t have that, I think I’d have to do something else.”
The Television Critics Association (TCA) celebrated the top programs and performances of the 2017-2018 television season this past Saturday evening August 4th at the 34TH Annual TCA Awards ceremony. The invitation-only event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, was emceed by writer, producer, and TV personality Robin Thede, host of the recent BET series The Rundown with Robin Thede.
Votes were cast by the TCA’s membership of more than 200 professional TV critics and journalists from the United States and Canada, putting the spotlight on a diverse roster of series and stars in 13 distinct categories including Program Of The Year, Outstanding Achievement In Reality Programming, Individual Achievement In Drama, and Outstanding Achievement In Youth Programming, as well as the prestigious Heritage Award and Lifetime Achievement honors. The 34TH Annual TCA Awards also featured the addition of the Outstanding Achievement In Sketch/Variety Shows category.
Of the Filipino American involvements —
The FX network snagged Outstanding Achievement In Movies And Miniseries honors for the critically acclaimed true crime event The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, a stunning exploration of the iconic fashion designer’s murder starring FilAm Darren Criss in the titular role of Andrew Cunanan.
ACS news 