The Emmys 2016

One of the many downsides of living in the UK means being in the wrong time zone for the Oscars and the Emmys. Earlier this year, I lost a good night’s sleep by staying up to watch Leonardo DiCaprio’s win. The night was an emotional rollercoaster; frustration at the shitty quality of my (probably illegal) livestream, followed by a lil power nap of about ten minutes, and then the waterfall of tears as Leo was announced the winner of Best Actor for The Revenant (a lengthy but artistically beautiful film). I had personally been waiting for this moment since twelve year old me discovered Leo in Titanic, and fell completely and utterly in love. I am currently writing this at 11:35pm, so I am preparing for a rollercoaster, just less intense. I may give a little tear if Tom Hiddleston wins, or my new obsession, Rami Malek.

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Before the show begins, there is the incredible red carpet, where you catch your first glimpse of the actors and actresses in their stunning outfits. I’m so prepared for this as I have People/Entertainment Network app on my iPad and the ABC network streaming on my other laptop. The Stranger Things cast, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo walked the red carpet with their usual cheeky charm, with Millie and Caleb pulling faces to the People/Entertainment Network camera. If you have not watched the Netflix hit Stranger Things yet, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? It is probably one of the best series that has been made in the past few years. The fact that it is centred round the lives of some 12 year old kids makes it quite relatable to everyone, you either want to be them or adopt them.

Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown

However, I am not prepared for this year’s Emmy’s as I haven’t watched enough of the shows to have a good idea of what shows or actors could win each category. I mean, I haven’t even got around to watching Game of Thrones. Yes, I am aware that I am a horrific mess and should get my life together. I have only just watched the first season of Mr Robot which has resulted in me falling deeply in love with Rami. He is seriously talented and it helps that he is in such an incredible show. The storyline and the directing of the series is on another level, every shot is an artistic choice and just create the greatest atmosphere.

Another talking point of this year’s Emmys is Tom Hiddleston; either for the fact that he was obviously nominated for his butt’s appearance in The Night Manager (the rest of him was obviously great, but his bum took centre stage), or his lack of date in the form of Taylor Swift. Their relationship has been a massive downer on this summer; no one expected this union and no one wanted it either. They managed to fit a five year relationship into two months – meeting the parents, travelling the world and then going through a relatively messy split. Taylor’s PR team have been on the offensive since the split blaming Tom’s ‘fame hungry’ attitude and his desperation to bring Taylor on the Emmy’s red carpet. But he avoided any awkward questions by turning up at the very last minute with other cast members from The Night Manager, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Coleman.

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The winners of this year’s Emmy’s are one of the most diverse I’ve seen, well definitely compared to the Oscars. There’s a range of ethnitcities, genders, and sexualities and this shows just how television represents the world more accurately, compared to films. The directing awards were evenly split between male and female winners, with Jill Soloway picking up the award for Transparent and Susanne Bier for The Night Manager. These women were the only women nominated in their categories and still came out on top, so this just proves there is nothing wrong with a woman being in charge of directing. In fact, it just proves that they are more worthy of that position as they are able to win huge awards for their work.

Jeffrey Tambor won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy for Transparent and his speech was particularly worth noting as he stated that he would be happy if he was the last cisgender male to play a transgender female. This also follows the backlash that Eddie Redmayne faced for his role in The Danish Girl; the trans-community needs to be represented by them, not by a man who has not dealt with the journey of transitioning from one gender to another. I mean, come on Laverne Cox has managed to do just fine, why not give other trans people a shot? Their stories need to be told and they need to have the chance to do the same as any other cisgender person. Cox echoed this when she presented a directing award later in the evening, saying that she would not be an Emmy-nominated actress if she was not given that chance.

Jimmy Kimmel’s presenting style isn’t normally my favourite, but he did a pretty decent job, with shock factor being an evident part of his humour, as at one point he announced that Bill Cosby was going to present an award. I also wasn’t keen on his attempt to copy Ellen DeGeneres’s 2014 Oscar hosting skills, by giving the audience PB&J sandwiches. But he was quickly redeemed when it turned out that the Stranger Things cast were handing them out dressed as their characters, with Millie Bobby Brown unintentionally ignoring David Schwimmer as he thanked her for his sandwich – no one likes you, Ross. His banter with Matt Damon is a recurring feature on his show, so when Matt came out to add to Kimmel’s sadness of losing the Variety Talk Series category to John Oliver: ‘I’m sorry, this is humiliating. You lost and now you have to stand out here for the rest of the night in front of everybody, when you probably just wanna go home and curl up and cry.’ Definitely one of my favourite celebrity ‘feuds’ that’s about.

Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel

The award for Supporting Actor in a Limited Series was given to Sterling K. Brown for his role in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (a huge winner on the night). As he walked on stage, he was welcomed with a standing ovation, which was an wonderful thing to watch as this actor who was relatively unknown a year ago, was shown such great compassion by actors who have been going for years. It was another beautiful speech, a mixture of humour and emotion, as he opened with a jab at Melania Trump on how he approached her to ask how to prepare his speech – one of the many jibes at the Trump family. He ended with a dedication to his wife, who sat in the audience with her eyes full of tears: ‘I got the hottest chick rocking my chain’.

This award was followed by Sarah Paulson FINALLY winning the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. This was her sixth nomination following nominations for her work in American Horror Story and Game Change, and from what I’ve seen from the show, it was definitely well deserved. Paulson brought the woman she portrayed in the show as her plus one, Marcia Clark, the head persecutor in the O. J. Simpson case back in 1995. In her speech, Paulson took the time to apologise to Clark for her ‘superficial judgement’ during the trial and the media frenzy surrounding it. My personal favourite moment of the speech was when she gave a shout out to her girlfriend, Holland Taylor, by declaring ‘I love you’ at the end.

Sarah Paulson and Marcia Clark

These two awards was then followed by ANOTHER award for The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story; this time it was for Courtney B. Vance. He rivalled Sterling K. Brown’s speech by saying that his wife, Angela Bassett, was the ‘hottest chick in the game’ and I have to completely agree. Later on Steven Moffat tried to say that his wife was the best because she actually produced the now-Emmy-winning Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, but no one can rival the greatness that is Angela Bassett!

This happiness high was quickly dampened when the In Memoriam section came on, and Anton Yelchin appeared third on the slide show, which was accompanied by Tori Kelly singing Hallelujah. Cue many, many tears.

However, these tears quickly became a mixture of happy and sad tears as Rami Malek won the big one, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, the first minority actor (as he is of Egyptian descent) in 18 years to receive this accolade. His performance in Mr Robot is pure perfection, he channels the right amount of energy into a clinical depressed introvert, dealing with the capitalist world. But more importantly I think his quick witted response to win the award deserves an Emmy in itself. After a few seconds of disbelief, he asked the audience: ‘Please tell me you’re seeing this too’, a classic phrase from the show. Cue even more tears and a muffled laughter as I remember that it is three in the morning and there are other people fast asleep in the house.

Rami Malek

The final two awards are the big ones for the Best Comedy and Best Drama. I haven’t got around to watching Veep – the winner of Best Comedy – so I feel that seeing as it’s award-winning, I might just have to watch that as well. But then again, I can say the same for Game of Thrones – the winner of Best Drama – as I haven’t got further than the first season. This means that Game of Thrones, with a total of 38 Emmys, has broken the record for the most Emmys won, breaking Frasier’s record of 37. I think my dissertation may have to take a back seat while I catch up on all the evidently amazing shows cos I’ve got a serious case of FOMO.

It turned out to be an emotional rollercoaster after all, and I finally went to sleep at 4am with an overwhelming sense of pride and sadness. I have to admit this is the first time I have watched the Emmys, with the time difference and the fact I probably had to be at school/uni/work the next day. But I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to watch it this year; I feel this award ceremony was just what I needed to remind me to get my butt in gear so that one day I would be reporting from the red carpet myself.

If you want to suggest any TV shows for me to binge while I procrastinate my dissertation, please leave a comment.

 

Winners

Supporting Actor in a Comedy – Louie Anderson, Baskets

Writing for a Comedy Series – Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, Master of None

Supporting Actress in a Comedy – Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Directing for a Comedy Series – Jill Soloway, Transparent

Lead Actress in a Comedy – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Lead Actor in a Comedy – Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Reality Competition Programme – The Voice

Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Special – D.V. DeVincentis, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie – Regina King, American Crime

Directing for Limited Series, Movie or Special – Susanne Bier, The Night Manager

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie – Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie – Sarah Paulson, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie – Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

TV Movie – Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

Limited Series – The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Writing for a Variety Special – Patton Oswalt, Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping

Variety Talk Series – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Directing for a Variety Special – Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski, Grease: Live

Variety Sketch Series – Key & Peele

Writing for a Drama Series – David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, Game of Thrones

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Directing for a Drama Series – Miguel Sapochnik, Game of Thrones

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline

Lead Actor in a Drama Series – Rami Malek, Mr Robot

Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Comedy Series – Veep

Drama Series – Game of Thrones

Remembering Anton Yelchin

As many of you may know, I’m a fangirl. But specifically I’m a fangirl for many actors/actresses. I often refer to these people on a first name basis, cos I know them so well obvs, or I just refer to them as ‘my man’, leading to many confusing conversations having to clarify who exactly I am talking about.

But I have an ultimate top ten, the ten that I would do anything to meet, see, or just be in the same room as them.

1. Matt Damon
2. Ben Affleck
3. Garrett Hedlund
4. Anton Yelchin
5. Angelina Jolie
6. Kristen Stewart
7. Benedict Cumberbatch
8. Tom Hiddleston
9. Justin Timberlake
10. Leonardo DiCaprio.

Sadly, on Sunday 19th June, Anton died in a freak car accident aged just 27.

As I was travelling back from my holiday in Corfu (where I had already had to deal with the news about Tom Hiddleston – another top ten member – and Taylor Swift), I was blissfully unaware for a whole twenty four hours; I was moaning constantly about my lack of internet, and my pesky flight delay. Upon returning home with my much needed McDonalds, I opened Twitter to find a direct message from my step-mum: “Oh so sorry to hear about Anton Yelchin.”

The next few seconds consisted of googling Anton’s name, with the first article with the words – Anton, freak accident, dead. I couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening. Only a week before, I had made a list of all of Anton’s films, to see which ones I was yet to watch.

I discovered Anton after my obsession with Kristen Stewart deepened. Watching every possible Kristen film led me to Fierce People, which also has Chris Evans, with terrible hair that’s very early 2000s. The film itself isn’t the best with quite a unique plot, but Anton’s acting and curly hair caught my eye.

The typical research process commenced; google images to see how he looks present day, Wikipedia to learn his life history, and IMDB to see what films he was in and what was coming up. And luckily, he hadn’t got ugly as he got older, he had an interesting start to life (moving from St Petersburg to America with his figure skating parents as an extremely young child to avoid the Soviets), and he had plenty of films for me to get through.

Many of his films are more low budget and indie, which clearly show his talent. One of my favourites is Like Crazy (below), the beautiful romantic drama; it’s a film that gave me all kinds of feels. Fright Night is another film which I could watch over and over and over again. With a fantastic cast and a great storyline, it just ticks all the boxes. Oh, and also Anton’s topless scene at the end ain’t half bad.

But acting wasn’t his only passion. Photography and music were such an important part of his life. While reading Wikipedia, I read that he was in a band called The Hammerheads. After finding nothing on iTunes and Spotify, I had to hunt them down on YouTube. There were four bad quality videos of Anton and his band from 2009, singing at what appears to be a tiny little stage with less than 50 people present. His passion is evident in these videos, and so I just had to (illegally) download the music on my phone to listen on the way to school.

His photography was another interesting aspect of his life. I, again, had to go deep into the internet to try and find his work. I found his Tumblr account featuring many artistic shots of naked people and pictures of himself in masks. But I remember one particular image:

It is definitely different and not an image I thought I’d ever see in my life. He had an unique vision, that’s for sure. For more of his photography, please have a look at @antonyelchinphotography on Instagram.

He truly made the world a better place, for me anyway. His cute little smile, his perfectly bluey-green eyes, his curly hair and general positivity towards life. This positivity is displayed by all the tributes by other celebrities, focussing on his genuine passion for his art, life and the world.

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A post shared by Zachary Quinto (@zacharyquinto)

pic.twitter.com/q8VBJBVPK3

— Bad Robot (@bad_robot) June 19, 2016

https://www.instagram.com/p/BG2lEH-tVOD/?taken-by=brycedhoward&hl=en

I feel we have definitely lost a true artist way too soon. I doubt I’ll be able to make it through Star Trek Beyond without crying from the title sequence to the end.

Anton, I want to say thank you for your hard work, your individuality, your dedication, your passion and for giving me the inspiration to continue pursuing my own dreams. I will miss you, and plan to share your work with as many people as I possibly can.

But to end on a positive note, this great dubsmash will forever be my favourite:

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A post shared by Ryan Dean (@ryan___dean)

Met Gala 2016

Met Gala. The highlight of May, before the scary prospect of exams and deadlines set in.

Last night, I, again, stayed up to the early hours of the morning to watch the best in fashion walk down the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Normally, I am astounded by the beauty of the outfits and the celebrities who adorn them. Like Lupita Nyong’o’s flapper-style Prada dress in 2014 or Beyonce’s 2015 Givenchy dress (which made her over an hour late).

Lupita Nyong’o, 2014                                                              Beyonce, 2015

But this gala was not worth staying awake for. I could have just waited to be disappointed in the morning, after sleeping for a decent eight hours.

The first person to arrive was obviously her Majesty, Anna Wintour and her daughter Bee Shaffer. It was a positive start to the evening with Bee’s Alexander McQueen gown, with a beautiful floral pattern on a simplistic black background with a decent length train. Not too excessive but enough for people to notice it and avoid standing on it. Anna Wintour’s Chanel outfit seemed a bit plain and not as adventurous as other years.

Anna Wintour and Bee Shaffer, 2016

Poppy Delevingne followed after in a stunning metallic Marchesa dress, completely fitting with the ‘Manus x Machina: Fashion in Age of Technology’ theme. The silver tones and dark makeup contrasted to her platinum blonde hair, creating a more edgy vibe compared to her usual style at other events. There was just the right amount of skin, oozing sophistication for the 30-year-old.

Poppy Delevingne, 2016

But this is where it all started to go down hill. For the next hour, many people arrived and it sparked a conversation with a few friends. The focus of some of our comments were Rita Ora’s and Saoirse Ronan’s feather disasters.

Rita Ora, 2016                                                                   Saoirse Ronan, 2016

Let’s start with Rita’s Vera Wang ‘masterpiece’. The feathers. There’s no avoiding them. They are just everywhere.To quote Charlotte Waller*, it looks like “feather dusters on some tin foil”. It reminds me of Beyonce’s 2012 Givenchy black and purple dress or Kim Kardashian’s 2015 Roberto Cavalli dress but without the same breath-taking effect. This does nothing to dispel any ‘Becky with the good hair’ rumours, dressing in a replica isn’t a smart move, babe.  But well done Vera Wang for making it metallic silver, fitting the theme (just like many other metallic disasters such as Taylor Swift).

Now onto Saoirse’s dress, which was described by Laura Bratty** as “roadkill, fam”. What is the need for the feathers on this? They have been so overworked at previous galas that I feel they’ve run their course. It also doesn’t fit into the technological theme, it just so out of place. But at least there’s a metallic butterfly brooch in an attempt to salvage this dress.

Taylor Swift, 2016                                                                       Selena Gomez, 2016

I think Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift’s friendship was strengthened last night as they both decided to look equally as bad as each other. Taylor’s metallic Louis Vuitton dress doesn’t suit her figure, or maybe it’s the pose doesn’t show the dress in the best light. Then the gladiator style boots, they just don’t work. But my main issue with Taylor Swift right now is her hair. Why? The platinum blonde suggests that she is trying too hard to change her image after the end of the 1989 tour. Just take a break, love. No need to jump in the deep end. Selena’s outfit also appeared ill-fitting; the awkward midi length skirt highlighted how terrible her shoe choice was. But her makeup and hair was as flawless as ever.

Queen Bey. Usually in a jaw-dropping dress. But this year I personally feel so let down. Her dress is a replica of last year, just made from latex with a few pearls (which cost $6,000 each). Looking at her, I see melted strawberry ice cream and sprinkles, whereas others have criticised her for looking like a condom covering genital warts. At least, I’m a bit nicer with my opinion. The eye makeup is also too harsh for the dress, I feel a more natural look would have been better suited.

Beyonce, 2016

The two worst outfits come from two other queens of music: Madonna and Nicki Minaj. Madonna’s Givenchy look was revealing in many ways; the amount of (technically covered) skin on show was on a different level. There could have been classier ways to display her assets, although don’t ask Nicki Minaj for advice. The use of many buckles right under her bust created a too compact look on the 5′ 2″ star. The boobs were too much of a prominent feature, a slit in the skirt would even it out. (Disclaimer: as a small-chested girl, I’ve probably got an innate jealousy towards big-boobed women).

Madonna, 2016                                                           Nicki Minaj, 2016

The theme was about ‘Fashion in Age of Technology’, perfect opportunity to develop creative ideas with the aid of technology. This was clearly shown with three dresses worn by Claire Danes, Karolina Kurkova and Emma Watson.

Claire Danes’ dress was spectacular. One of the best dresses I’ve seen in my life. Zac Posen was inspired by the technology theme and made a dress that glowed in the dark. This meant that it would still be visible in the dark lighting of the Gala itself. This is a definite 10/10 and I don’t think this level of skill will be beaten for many years to come.

Claire Danes, 2016

Another dress that incorporated light was Karolina Kurkova’s dress, a product of a collaboration between Marchesa and IBM Watson. The technological element of this gown was the flower details, which were fitted with a number of LED lights. The dress was also interactive, meaning that the general public could tweet about the Met Gala, causing it to glow brighter with each tweet. This shows a true dedication to the theme unlike many other designers.

Karolina Kurkova, 2016

Emma Watson’s dress used technology in a different way; she created her dress using sustainable materials to show awareness for problems within the world in terms of pollution. This shows how great Emma is, as she has used this platform to help open people’s minds towards such important topics. For further information on this, read her Facebook post below.

The main problem I have with the Met Gala is the men. Where’s their experimentation with fashion? Where have they shown any creativity? The basic choice is: bow tie or normal tie, blue or black suit, black or white shirt. I appreciate Zayn’s Winter Soldier style arms and will.i.am’s visor and embellished arms but I would really like more variety.

PERSONAL FAVOURITE:

Nicole Kidman, 2016

This dress is my absolute favourite of the night, and I wish I had enough money to treat myself to this. Nicole Kidman carries it perfectly; the matching cape just finishes it off. The simplistic up do and makeup makes sure that the outfit is making the statement which is exactly what this event is about. Let the clothes do the talking.

Thanks for reading,

Casey!

Follow me on my social medias:
Twitter: @_CaseyMitchell_
Instagram: @casey_michell__

 

* Twitter: @CharlWall

** Twitter: @lauraporahx