A Blogger Does the Emmys

So what’s it like to be a blogger right in the middle of ALL the Emmy action? Well I can’t say I know first hand although I got a little taste last Friday night. But preppypunk, a blogger friend over at TV with MeeVee couldn’t have been more in on the action. Settle in as I babble on about my LA celeb sightings, as well as some of preppypunks’s adventures.

First, I guess I should first tell you that I was lucky enough to be on the red carpet for the Outstanding Perfomers Nominee Event on Friday night in LA. Basically, it’s when all the actors up for Best Acting nods get presented with their official certificates from the Academy. It was really hard to get pictures (but check out the few we got), and although we tried to capture some video, we ran into some technical difficulties. But I got to meet some really cool people.

Let me just explain the setting….see we were at the very end of the press line, and right next to the door to head into the event. What this really means is that no one was really interested in talking to us. They just wanted to get inside. But, we used the “we represent the bloggers” line, and that seemed to really make a difference. I mean the stars didn’t want to blow off their fans, right?! Right. Here’s a few highlights from the evening..

Denis Leary – Probably one of the best moments of the night for me personally. Denis Leary had just finished walking the press line, and walked past us. He wasn’t being rude or anything, his publicist was just trying to usher him inside. Just as he walked by, I remember my mama’s sage advice “Use what you got girl”, and in this case I had the Boston connection.

Just as he was past us I yelled….“Hey Denis, I’m from Malden” (the town I grew up in just outside of Boston). I saw Denis stop and turn to his wife and say, “Did she just say she was from Malden?” Yup I did. Holla!! Denis and his wife walked over and said “No, kidding. We are from Marshfield”. Then Denis uttered the classic line “What the hell is a girl from Malden doing on the red carpet”. Awesome!! We shared a laugh, which gave me the opportunity to ask him about Rescue Me. He said that he really wasn’t worried about offending anyone with the show, because his whole career was based on pushing the limit and offending people. Plus, by the time the stories are shot, there have been enough discussions that everyone involved feels confident in their choices.

We talked briefly about the Red Sox, and I told him how hard I laughed when he took over the Red Sox booth and started on his whole Mel Gibson tirade. He laughed and said he caught some heat. But it was really funny.

Will Arnett – Yeah, I love him. He’s so freakin’ funny…and tall. We missed him the first time on the red carpet, but we were lucky enough to talk to him when he came back outside a while later. He talked about how he loved the fan support of Arrested Development. And when asked about his current favorite shows, he mentioned my favorite show The Office. He rattled off a a few others, and then I quietly whispered to him “Don’t forget about SNL”. He laughed and said, “Yeah, you are so right. I do love SNL…ha ha thanks for that one.” You’re so welcome, Gob…you are so very welcome.

We met a ton of other stars too. Jane Kaczmarek (who has a new show, Help Me Help You – which I plan on watching this weekend) never misses The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. Allison Janney is going to miss The West Wing, but she was very proud of the final season. And let me say, that woman is tall and so beautiful. We chatted with her husband for a bit and he couldn’t have been nicer.

Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit showed what a class act they are. They both were very nice and extremly gracious. Mariska spoke of her mother (Jayne Mansfield) and her new baby boy at home. Chris told us he loved, loved The Soporanos.

Jon Cryer, of Two and a Half Men fame….who will ALWAYS be Ducky Dale to me, was really cool and funny. He was the one person I thought I would like to grab a beer with 🙂 But sadly he’s a star and I’m a blogger so that’s not happening anytime soon.

Other stars spotted at the event were Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy), Emmy Award winners for Outstanding Guest Actor Christian Clemenson (Boston Legal) & Cloris Leachman, Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives), Blythe Danner (Huff), and we did see Megan Mullally from a distance, but she showed up after the red carpet had commenced…probably on purpose.

So yeah, that’s how I spent last Friday night. Working the red carpet was completely surreal, and a little scary. But I really have to thank MeeVee.com for inviting me along. It was an experience I won’t soon forget. Check out TV with MeeVee’s post about the event.

Oh and before I send you over to MeeVee for the rest of the Emmy scoop, I will say that I had two more quick star (or semi star sightings). I was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd, home of the famed Tropicana Bar. On Sundays the Tropicana throws an exclusive pool party and I hear it’s the place where the cool kids go. Yeah, we were there..ha ha ha. And you know who else was there? Gregory Smith, who of course plays played Ephram Brown on Everwood. Everwood was one of my faves, so it was really cool to be swimming in the pool with him, and sitting in front of him poolside. I didn’t want to say hi because he was with his friends, and I’m sure he was not that interested in talking to a fan. But it was really fun to see him up close and personal. I may have snagged a few stalker shots of him. Ha ha.

Also at the pool, and of MUCH lesser fame was ex-American Idol contestant and ex-Surreal Life houseguest, Ryann Starr. Ryann and her friends were sitting behind us at the pool, and I spoke to her only briefly when she asked is she could sit on my chair while talking to her friend. She seemed nice enough, and her body was smokin’….I have to call it as I see it.

Ok, ok…enough about ME. The blogger that was really in the thick of it was preppypunk. She got a ton of red carpet interviews (including some one on one time with comedy genius, Ricky Gervais) and she met a TON…a TON of stars at the EW party. I was extremely jealous of her, especially since she hung out for awhile with my TV boyfriend, John Krasinski. She even got a fab picture with him. And as she says on her site…

…hanging with super fan-friendly John Krasinski who totally remembered and loved Kathie from GMMR…

Yes, I could die now.

OK I’m done babbling…sorry for the crazy long post. Here’s what you MUST do IMMEDIATELY. Click on the links below and read all about TV with MeeVee’s own preppypunk and her Emmy experience. You will be jealous, but it’s a fun read.

Visit MeeVee’s new photo albums

* Celebrity Sightings at the 2006 EW Emmy party
* Red Carpet Action at the Emmy Outstanding Performers Event
* Even More Action at the BAFTA Tea Party

Check out TV with MeeVee/Preppypunk’s live blog!

* MeeVee Emmy Weekend Coverage: Day 2 – BAFTA Tea Party Red Carpet
* MeeVee Emmy Weekend Coverage: Day 2, How Did I Get Here? Part II
* MeeVee Emmy Weekend Coverage: Day 2, How Did I Get Here? Part III