The nominees for Directing in a Miniseries/Made for Television Film are . . .
Susanna White, Simon Cellan Jones, “Generation Kill” Michael Sucsy, “Grey Gardens” Thaddeus O'Sullivan, “Into the Storm” Ross Katz, “Taking Chance” Jon Cassar, “24: Redemption”
Posts: 24745 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
The nominees for Writing in a Miniseries/Made for Television Film are . . .
Ed Burns, David Simon, & Evan Wright, “Generation Kill” Michael Sucsy, Patricia Rozema, “Grey Gardens” Hugh Whitemore, “Into the Storm” David Hare, “My Zinc Bed” Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, & Howard Gordon, “24: Redemption”
Posts: 24745 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
Woo hoo! Great choice of "Generation Kill" for writing! I would have picked "Taking Chance" in directing by a longshot over "24," but to each his own.
However, "My Zinc Bed" has to be one of the worst written things I've seen, big screen or small, in quite a while. That it bumped the exquisite "Taking Chance" is especially glaring.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
"My Zinc Bed" was excellent, and even though it took a while for me to get into it, by the end, I found it to be a rewarding view. Sorry you didn't appreciate it. As for "Taking Chance," I liked that film a good deal, but I found the direction in "24: Redemption" to be more notable, and Jon Cassar is a great television director. I knew after watching it that I wanted to recognize it in some way, and this was the way to do it.
Posts: 24745 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
You're the first person I've encountered who has actually seen "My Zinc Bed," and I'm surprised to hear the word "excellent" applied to it in any form. When I saw it, I thought it was so obviously awful as to make debate unnecessary. Here's my review in case you're interested:
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"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Yes, I liked "My Zinc Bed" and thought it was great (you'll see that reflected in some of my upcoming categories). It was slow-going at first, but that's the only negative I'd have for it. It's very insular and talky, but that didn't bother me, and I've gone for films like that in the past. The cast played off of each other wonderfully. I don't know what else there is to say about it except that I found worth in the film and you didn't. I'm quite fine with the film and the reception that I gave it in my awards.
Posts: 24745 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
Not reason you shouldn't award it if you felt it worthy. Just throwing in my two cents. You also liked "Into the Storm" better than I did -- but then, so did everybody.
For me, David Hare has been a writer of diminishing returns. I ranked "The Hours" among my favorite films of 2002 -- also very talky, but much better talk. I didn't care for "The Reader." And "My Zinc Bed" I found indulgent and unwatchable. I can only hope that Emmy voters agree with me and not you.
And no disagreement about Jon Cassar being a great television director. I give him two of my Sidney Awards in 2006 for "24's" fifth season finale (Best Directing, Best Episode).
I look forward to seeing the rest of your winners!
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"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
I'm under no delusions that the Emmys are going to acknowledge "My Zinc Bed" with nominations. It'll be long forgotten b/c of when it aired and the little support that HBO will throw to it in a campaign. But it's worth the effort in my book to recognize it. I wanted to support it in my awards at least and was happy to do so. As for "Into the Storm," I think that it will find itself some well-earned Emmy recognition this year, likely in Made for Television Film, acting nominations for Brendan Gleeson and Janet McTeer, and maybe some techs.
Posts: 24745 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
I agree that "Into the Storm" will get a lot of Emmy nominations. It's the kind of movie that voters adore -- biopic, showy lead performance, historical drama, HBO. And I was aware even when I wrote about it right after watching it that I'd probably be alone in my dislike of it -- strong, strong dislike, which extends to that bloated script.
But "My Zinc Bed" has got a decent chance, even though nobody saw it. Uma Thurman is a big enough star that she could snag one of those last two slots in the lead actress race sight unseen. And if voters know it was written by David Hare -- his name doesn't appear on the official ballot, just the movie -- he's a big enough name (two Oscar nods!) to get in on that alone. And frankly, no nomination for the film would upset me so much as for writing. I feel the film -- and possibly his play, which he adapted for the screen -- is almost entirely Hare's folly. It's like verbal waterboarding.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
The nominees for Supporting Actor in a Miniseries/Made for Television Film are . . .
Robert Carlyle, “24: Redemption” Ryan Kelley, “Prayers for Bobby” Jonathan Pryce, “My Zinc Bed” James Ransone, “Generation Kill” Stark Sands, “Generation Kill” Amr Waked, “House of Saddam"
Posts: 24745 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
And the ATYP for Supporting Actor in a Miniseries/Made for Television Film goes to . . .
▒ James Ransone, "Generation Kill"
Past winners include:
August Schellenberg. “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”; Simon Woods, "Cranford" (Masterpiece Theater)
Comments: This is the type of category that can get overlooked come Emmy time, but I've always enjoyed these categories just to see the kinds of performances that can emerge. The ones that you probably won't hear much about (but should) are Amr Waked for "House of Saddam," who was that miniseries' conscience and heart as Saddam Hussein's ill-fated son-in-law Hussein Kamel al-Majid, and Jonathan Pryce in "My Zinc Bed" as Victor Quinn, one of those coldish villainesque roles with huge doses of charisma and wit thrown in. Robert Carlyle had a strong opening arc in "24: Redemption" that set up the rest of the film well. Ryan Kelley was heartbreaking in "Prayers for Bobby" as a gay teen facing surmounting obstacles from his bigoted mother. But the "Generation Kill" guys ended up making the most of an impression, from Stark Sands' Lt. Fick that had to grapple with the hypocrises of leadership in warfare, and James Ransone's scene-stealing Cpl. Josh Ray Person, who delivered uber obsceneties and rapid-fire comedic tirades like nobody's business. James Ransone isn't exactly the kind of choice I'd normally go for, but he helped make "Generation Kill" must-see, so I opted for him. This was a strong group of performances that I liked a great deal this year.
Posts: 24745 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
