12 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE September 24, 2004
eveningsout
Angels in America tops the field with eleven Emmys
by Kaizaad Kotwal
At the 56th Annual Emmy Awards on September 19, Tony Kushner's epic adaptation of his play Angels in America came away with seven honors from its 21 nominations, beating out the other competitors in the major categories. The HBO drama won another four Emmys in technical categories at a previous presentation, upping its total to 11 statuettes.
In addition to winning Best Miniseries, Angels won in all the acting categories and won awards for director Mike Nichols and Tony Kushner for adapting his play for the small screen.
Meryl Streep, who plays multiple roles, walked away with the Best Actress in a Miniseries award for her haunting portrayals of Hanna, a Mormon mother dealing with her son's homosexuality and dissolving marriage. Ethel Rosenberg, a Jewish woman wrongfully sent to the electric chair for alleged espionage, and a crusty old rabbi who mourns the passing of the old era. Streep, who is often nominated but rarely has won in recent years, was ecstatic at her victory.
Streep, who is always frank in her acceptance speeches, said that, “There are some days when I myself think I'm overrated. But not today."
Al Pacino, who turned in one of his best performances ever as the complex and loathsome Roy Cohn, won in the Best Actor category.
Kushner thanked his partner and made his case for furthering GLBT rights. "Thanks to my wonderful husband, Mark. Someday soon we can have a legal marriage license and you can make an honest homosexual out of me," he said.
Nichols, in accepting his well-deserved
award said, “As you know, the fight against AIDS isn't over yet and we must do what we can for Africa... Let's see what we can do." Jeffrey Wright won Supporting Actor (Miniseries or Movie) for playing the inimitable Belize, a former drag queen who is an angel to the AIDS-afflicted Prior. Wright echoed Nichols' sentiments about the continuing struggle with HIV and AIDS.
“I'd like to say that when I originally took this journey with this piece, AIDS affected mainly gay men. Now the disease affects African-Americans in extraordinary numbers. Sub-Saharan Africa is being devastated by this disease, so I hope that in accepting this I might be inspiration to those actors who want to tell those stories and keep those realities and struggles alive in the public dialogue," he said.
Mary Louise-Parker won in the Supporting Actress (Miniseries or Movie) category for playing the pill-popping Mormon housewife who must contend with her husband's latent homosexuality.
Wright beat out fellow actors Justin Kirk and Patrick Wilson, while Louise Parker edged out co-star Emma Thompson. That was bound to happen given that all major actors in the miniseries had received acting nominations. In fact, Streep, Pacino, Wright and LouiseParker have collectively won a hat-trick of top awards in that they walked away with all the same awards earlier this year at both the Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild Award ceremonies.
Will and Grace, the most heavily nominated sitcom, came home empty-handed.
Critics and audiences alike were probably not surprised since the show has had a weak season or two recently. Moreover, in the same category sentimental favorites, especially
HBO
very gay-friendly West Wing, which was hoping to tie Frasier by winning top show honors five years in a row. The mob-based drama series also won top acting kudos for Supporting Actor for Michael Imperioli and Supporting Actress for Drea de Matteo.
A well-deserved surprise was the multiple awards with which Fox's Arrested
Meryl Streep as Ethel Rosenberg. Development walked
amongst gay audiences, like Frasier and Sex and the City were in their final seasons to be eligible for Emmys and they won in the acting categories. Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce won best actor and best supporting actor awards for their work in the final season of Frasier. And from Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon won the two best actress awards.
HBO's other hot gay show, the drama series Six Feet Under, was absent from this year's Emmys because the show took an unusual hiatus during the eligibility period for the awards. But look for the show to be heavily nominated next year, particularly since HBO's The Sopranos is on its way out.
Allison Janney, who played Streep's lover in the amazing film The Hours, edged out The Sopranos' Edie Falco to win her fourth acting award playing the press secretary on West Wing.
Sopranos won Best Series, edging out the
away. The show, which almost didn't
get renewed after its first season, took Best Comedy honors including awards for show, writing and directing.
The quirky family drama, which is very gay-friendly, has acquired a rather large gay audience partly due to zany guest appearances by the likes of Liza Minnelli, who in all fairness should have been nominated.
Elaine Stritch, another gay favorite, won an Emmy for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, HBO) beating out Ellen DeGeneres, who was nominated for her HBO special. Stritch gave a memorable acceptance speech in which she honestly said that she was glad she won.
"Look at the company I'm in here. Just look at it. I'm so happy none of them won. None of them won! I won!" she exclaimed.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which is very progressive on GLBT issues, won for Best Variety, Music or Comedy Program.
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AIDS GOD CURES HATES FAGS FAGS
LAWS
FOR
FAGS
(They're making their views known. Are you?)
In the 2000 election, Florida was decided by 537 votes.
Since then, the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland has had nearly 900 new clients.
It's
your money. It's your education. It's your job. It's
your health care. It's your neighborhood. They're your loved ones. It's your community. It's your voice. It's your life.
It's your vote.
Call your county Board of Elections to find out how to register, and how to vote on November 2nd. People with HIV/AIDS may also be able to vote by absentee ballot your county Board of Elections can tell you how.
—
In Cuyahoga County, the phone number for the Board of Elections is (216) 443-3200.
Be counted,
or be counted out. Vote.
A public service announcement from the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, 2728 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115. Message supported by targeted grants from the Wolpert Foundation and Voting is Power.