Red Carpet Manners at the Primetime Emmy’s 2012 - A Bit of Humor & A Hassle-Free Host

This year my Primetime Emmy experience began up-close and personal the night before at the annual “Evening Before” party to benefit the Motion Picture Television Fund.  Literally everyone from television was in attendance and I have to say looking quite fabulous in their casual chic attire.  A veritable who’s who of TV’s biggest celebrities mingled while noshing on food and sipping libations from Wolfgang Puck’s menu of selections.  Smiles, hugs, handshakes and good humor were on tap with cast members ranging from Glee and Girls to Mad Men and Modern Family chatting and wishing one another the best of luck.  Popular performance artists, Gil and Jill Bumby a/k/a the Bumbys, were on hand to give “fair and honest appraisals” of one’s appearance as celebs and regular folk lined up inside the Essie nail polish tent to obtain their readings.  (I have to admit I got sucked into this, but was happy to receive a 9.4 out of 10 on my style and will say that their written assessment was spot on!). 

What struck me the most was how much better everyone looked in person and how much smaller everyone is in real life!!  The camera really does add pounds and inches!  I was also surprised at how late everyone partied knowing they’d have to get up early, look rested, and do it all again the next day.

On Emmy night, the heat turned up literally and figuratively.  Stylists dressed their stars in this season’s hottest colors while they struggled not to sweat in the blistering heat.  On the red carpet, the ladies hit home runs outfitted in shades of grey, burgundy, blue and yellow.  My heart went out to the number of men who must have been sweating bullets in their Brooks Brothers Black Fleece label suits. 

Although it was Jane Lynch who hosted the previous year, the pressure was on for Jimmy Kimmel to perform and to perhaps try to top the other Jimmy (Fallon) who seemed to have so much fun hosting in 2010.  All in all, I think he did a pretty decent job delivering a hassle-free and humorous show.  Here is our red carpet manners recap on some of the night’s most noticeable hits and misses.

Style on Steroids – Okay, I love fashion as much as the next gal, but the gratuitous plugs for the designers are beginning to take the emphasis away from the celebrities actually wearing them!  Having to sit through the mispronunciations of the names and the laundry list of mentions from shoes, to jewelry to handbags has made the whole red carpet experience seem a bit vacuous.  E! has jumped on the bandwagon in a big way displaying their ginormous 360 Glam Cam, their Stiletto Cam, and now the debut of their Mani Cam (giving props to all the fashionable nails).  Yes, we know everyone is dying to see a close up shot of Kat Dennings’ cleavage and Sophia Vergara’s backside in circular motion, but I think I’m officially over it.  To me, it was much more interesting to see one of entertainment’s married royal couples, Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow, take to the cam for a traditional dip.  To me, that is true Hollywood glamour.

Combustible Busts – While we’re on the topic of bosoms. We simply cannot ignore the voluptuous Two Broke Girls Kat Dennings and Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks who both chose to emphasize their  G-d given gifts with figure hugging dresses that were conversation topics all to themselves.  Kat Dennings openly admitted to E! that she decided to flaunt them because “no matter what I do, they are there!”  She also confessed that her posture may be less than perfect as she favors the hunched over position which is better for keeping “the girls” inside the dress where they belong!   

A Hassle Free, Humorous Host – After sitting through two hours of red carpet arrivals, we caught a first glimpse of our host, Jimmy Kimmel.  The opening sequence for the Emmy’s involved him crying in a bathroom stall over a botched Botox session in an absolutely hysterical, if not irreverent, look at the double-standard females face to appear eternally young in the eyes of the media.  The pre-taped skit included TV’s funniest female nominees taking swings at Kimmel to help punch his features back into their original position.  Once he had everything back in the right place, a very fit and dapper looking Kimmel took the stage.  Although he seemed a tad nervous at first, rushing his lines without pausing for reaction, he quickly settled in for some truly funny and poignant jokes.  My favorites were the ones where he poked fun at the actors themselves speaking candidly about their most difficult roles when they have to play “an actor who is happy for the success of another actor.” When he addressed the audience directly assuring them that the show would end on time so they could go home and put on their “fat pants” was perfection!  There were no major offenses or risky behaviors a la Ricky Gervais to mention, only a prank that involved Tracy Morgan pretending to pass out on stage which fell short. Another attempt where his parents were escorted out of the audience for lying to him was more well-received.

Acceptance Speech Gone Awry – Our apologies in advance, Julie Bowen, but we have to make mention of your acceptance speech which had one too many mentions of “pesky nipple covers” for our liking. Picking up her consecutive second win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the hit comedy, Modern Family, the striking vision in yellow seemed to struggle to be witty and went seriously south in her speech detailing what life on a TV set is really like underneath the clothing and makeup. 

Staples, Surprises & Spouses – Most everyone was expecting to see the list of staple winners and losers on Emmy night, but there were still a few surprises including the multiple wins for under-the-radar favorite, Louis C.K. and statues going to Jon Cryer for the first time as Outstanding Lead Actor and Julia Louis-Dreyfus who won for Lead Actress in Veep. Out of their 17 noms, not one award went to Mad Men.  Instead, the many awards went to new darling, Homeland which at last put Showtime on the map in the drama category beating out longtime competitor HBO.  On a separate note, one of the things we noticed in many of the speeches on Emmy night, was the showering of accolades to the countless spouses and partners of all the winners who so graciously remembered to thank their significant others for their unwavering support and love.  How sweet! 

Red Carpet Manners - Oscars 2010

The 82nd annual Academy Awards, like its predecessor the Golden Globes, was unable to escape the California rain. Luckily, the tents had been assembled and the heaters turned on so that the celebrities were able to stay dry as they strutted and sauntered down the red carpet with family members and significant others in tow. So while the rest of the world was dissecting the style and fashion of the celebrities, we are more interested in what is happening underneath the couture drapery and beading. How did the celebrities behave? Were they gracious or boorish? Did they look comfortable in their skin? Those were the questions we wanted to uncover. So let’s take a closer look at a few elements that stood out for us on the red carpet and during the show.

Non-Celebrity Red Carpet Manners. It’s always interesting to me to look at the faces and body language of those standing with the celebrities during the long red carpet stroll and during the all important interviews. Sometimes the family members and significant others are brushed aside and other times they are politely included in the interview and even invited into the camera shot. I noticed that both Ryan Seacrest at E! and George Pennacchio at ABC actually did a pretty good job of being inclusive and paying deference to the guests of the celebrities, but I did find it a bit awkward when George was interviewing Oprah and Gabourey Sidibe and her poor mother was caught staring from the background with nothing to do. Just a quick note for the non-celebrity who is there to accompany the celebrity, make sure to smile, try to look interested and always appear supportive and happy.

Hosting Etiquette. I was really anticipating knock down, funny bits between Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin and I have to say I was a bit disappointed (sorry guys!). As handsome as they looked in their dapper tuxes, I still longed for the days of Billy Crystal singing and dancing his way into our hearts. I think everyone used to look forward to watching his hysterical depictions of characters from the Best Picture nominees. The writing back then was as classy as it was witty, especially for the Oscars which was and still is the crème de la crème of awards shows. I have to admit, I was completely distracted by Alec Baldwin’s left hand which was nervously tapping against his left thigh every time he opened his mouth to speak. Now here’s a guy who’s been in the business for many years, but clearly the Oscars was a big deal for him and unfortunately that communicated through his physical behavior.

Audience Etiquette. Beware of the giant audience scan across the room. In my opinion, if you are nominated, you better have a smile on your face at all times. It seems very unfortunate, when a celebrity is caught with a frown, or worse, when they have lost their category, looking sincerely disappointed and not genuinely happy for their fellow nominees. Standouts in this category were several reps from the film “Up in the Air”. In my opinion, Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga could have turned on a little more charm. They both seemed to possess a bit of attitude and sarcasm that was not very becoming. And, don't get me started on Jason Reitman who appeared entitled and almost mad after not winning for Best Screenplay Adaptation. Perhaps a lesson in humility will gain them all awards in the future. Finally, poor Sarah Jessica Parker, who is usually quite elegant and poised, was caught of all things chewing gum with an open mouth during a camera pan! Yikes!!!

PYT Posture. The pretty young things were out in full force this year with overpowering and overbearing dresses for their frames. Zoe Saldana’s purple Givenchy dress looked almost uncomfortable with too much material that seemed hard to manage. I began to actually wonder whether it was going to affect her walking. And, I just wanted to jump out of my living room and into the television screen to grab Miley Cyrus and Cameron Diaz’s shoulders and pull them back!! There they were wearing these beautifully beaded gold strapless dresses with slumped shoulders!!! Was the beading too heavy? Wear their stomachs aching from hunger? Who knew? For goodness sake, stand up straight ladies!

Speech Etiquette. Oscar night is not a night for long speeches unlike its cousin, the Independent Spirit Awards, where you can drone on forever thanking everyone and their grandmother. We noticed the Documentary Short winner for “Music by Prudence” carrying on much longer than aloud inviting the exit music to begin. And, I can’t imagine anyone appreciating the acceptance speech from the Best Costume winner, Sandy Powell, who sounded nothing short of condescending about her third time Oscar win. Who acts as if they’re over the Oscars!!?? She should be thanking her lucky stars! If it were up to me, she wouldn’t be invited back!!!

Standing Ovation. Typically a standing “O” is reserved for an outstanding performance, but I think the audience was a bit confused as to whether the Honorary Award winners Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman were deserving of the admiration. A few audience members stood up and then it appeared that the remainder of the theatre needed to follow suit. I mean, come on, these guys are like Hollywood royalty! Their standing ovations were very different from the genuine standing “O’s” that Sandra Bullock received for winning Best Actress and that Kathryn Bigelow received for being the first female to ever win for Best Director! Kudos Kathryn!!

Applause Etiquette. When your category is announced, it is polite to clap for each of your fellow nominees, however, when your name is called, you refrain from clapping. We noticed Carey Mulligan applauding herself when her Best Actress category was announced. In the event you were thinking to yourself, what is the proper way to applaud a performance? I will tell you. Ladies should clap their hands by cupping their left hand slightly and hitting it with the fingers of their right hand and gentlemen should hit the two hands together evenly. For a standing ovation, the entire audience stands and applauds in unison.

So there you have it, our takes on what lies beneathe the sheath. We hope these revelations help you to get a closer look at these celebrities to see that sometimes they're not all they're cracked up to be.