Mel Brooks

The team from The Deadliest Catch

Margo Martindale

Jane Lynch

The team from American Horror Story: Freak Show

Nancy Dubuc of A+E

Reg E. Cathey

Spike Jones, Jr. and John Shaffner

Spike Jones, Jr.

The team from A Tribute to Mel Brooks

Fill 1
Fill 1
October 12, 2015
Features

The Creative Spirit

Behind the scenes creative teams come out front and center at the Creative Arts Emmys.

The 67th Creative Arts Emmys felt a lot like Clash of the Titans.

While HBO dominated the September 12 awards ceremony at L.A.’s Microsoft Theater, picking up 29 awards overall, the network’s Game of Thrones and FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show ruled in several technical and design disciplines.

The result? GOT captured eight awards — for non-prosthetic makeup, production design, picture editing, sound editing, casting, sound mixing, special visual effects and stunt coordination — while AHS picked up five, for both prosthetic and non-prosthetic makeup, costumes, hairstyling and special visual effects in a supporting role.

“Ryan Murphy, thank you so very much for scaring the shit out of me and making me do things I never thought I could do,” said Monte C. Haught, department head hairstylist for AHS: Freak Show, calling out the show’s co-creator–executive producer as he accepted the Emmy for outstanding hairstyling for a limited series or movie. “We’re a team on this show and we work hard together.”

While several winners took home more than one golden girl — NBC placed second with 11 awards, four of which went to The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special — it was also a night for Emmy newbies. A startled Reg E. Cathey was among the first when he received a guest-actor statuette for his performance as a former confidant of the U.S. president in Netflix’s House of Cards.

Actress Joan Cusack, who was not present, also won her first Emmy award, for Showtime’s Shameless. Other guest-actor awards went to Margo Martindale, who collected her second Emmy (her first was in 2011, for FX’s Justified), this time for her portrayal of a Russian spy in FX’s The Americans. She, too, was visibly surprised when her name was announced. “I certainly didn’t plan on being up here,” she told the audience. “But I love The Americans. It’s such a great show.”

The fourth guest-actor Emmy went to Bradley Whitford, for his role as a cross-dressing businessman in Amazon Studios’ Transparent. This marked the actor’s second Emmy; his first was in 2001, for NBC’s The West Wing.

“I love to be in a show that is a voice of understanding, compassion and radical inclusion,” Whitford said of the Amazon series. “We’re not there yet, but non-judgment day is coming.”

Jane Lynch earned her second hosting Emmy, for NBC’s reality-competition show Hollywood Game Night. She has three Emmys in all, including one in 2010 for the Fox comedy Glee.

The potent nature of television production came to the fore as a few award winners noted the life-and-death struggles that can occur during shooting.

Cinematographer Franklin Dow, accepting the Emmy for the documentary Virunga, was joined on stage by filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel. “While Orlando was dodging bullets, I was getting to hang out with elephants,” Dow said of the film that documented the struggle to combat poachers of Virunga National Park’s endangered mountain gorillas.

“When we started this,” Einsiedel added, “it was a very scary, dangerous film to make. We had absolutely no idea if we would finish the film, much less end up here tonight. Now our thoughts go to the rangers of Virunga National Park, who risk their lives every day to protect this incredible place for all of us.”

As they accepted the award for outstanding unstructured reality program, the producers of Discovery’s Deadliest Catch spoke of the dangers they face filming crab fishermen in stormy Alaskan seas. (The show also won for cinematography and editing.)

“It’s a wonderful thing to be recognized as one of the most authentic shows on television,” said executive producer Thom Beers. “To all the producers who risk their lives to make this production, I say congratulations.”

The evening got off to rousing start when the first presenter, Mel Brooks, received a standing ovation. While he was nominated for three Emmys, it was FX Networks’ A Tribute to Mel Brooks that ultimately won, for outstanding short-format nonfiction program. Brooks joined the show’s producers on stage to congratulate them.

“If it wasn’t for this man…,” executive producer Brian Katkin said, gesturing toward Brooks. “A special thanks to Mel Brooks, for giving all these years of joy, being the laugh track of our lives and helping the world find a much needed love through laughter.”

The second standing ovation of the evening went to Spike Jones, Jr., a longtime producer of the Creative Arts Emmys and this year a recipient of the Syd Cassyd Founders Award. Named for the founder of the Television Academy, the honor recognizes members who have made a significant impact on the organization.

“I agreed to produce the Creative Arts for the past 20 years because of you,” Jones said, pointing to the audience. “I am such a fan of the creative arts. I stand backstage and look at the level of the production work and just think it’s unbelievable.”

A second special award, the Governors Award, went to A+E Networks, for the company’s 30 years of corporate citizenship, including forging alliances with community leaders and nonprofit organizations, developing content in affiliation with outreach efforts to educate students, celebrate diversity, empower disaffected persons and honor the past.

“I accept this honor on behalf of my incredible team — they don’t just do the work, but also embody the meaning and spirit of improving other peoples’ lives,” said Nancy Dubuc, A+E president and CEO. “We do have a platform for improving lives, and it’s so important for all of us to use it, use our voices and make a stand for what needs to happen.”


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