Monday, August 29, 2022

Comedy and tragedy in television movie nominees at the 2022 Emmy Awards


The fall semester begins today, so instead of continuing with the Saturn Awards, I'm covering the nominations for television movies from the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Television Movie
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (Disney+)
Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)
Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon (Paramount+)
The Survivor (HBO/HBO Max)
Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas (The Roku Channel)
The nominees are a mixture of serious and silly. Normally, I'd say the serious movies such as "The Survivor" and "Ray Donovan: The Movie" would have the advantage, but I expected the serious "Oslo" would win last year yet "Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square" won instead. Based on that, I shouldn't count out "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas."

Based on the Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards, the contest is between the serious "The Survivor," which won Best Broadcast Network or Cable Live-Action TV Movie over "Ray Donovan: The Movie," and "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers," which won Best Streaming Movie over "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas" ("Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon" was not nominated). Between the two of them, I'll pick "The Survivor." Watch The Survivor | Official Trailer | HBO.

Barry Levinson’s biographical drama stars Ben Foster as boxer Harry Haft, who looks to carry on after fighting to survive in the Holocaust. When the Nazis invade Poland, Harry Haft is sent to the Auschwitz extermination camp. He is a powerfully built man, so a charming but sadistic Nazi officer offers him an impossible deal: fight fellow prisoners in the boxing ring for the amusement of his captors, or die. The winner of the bout survives to fight again. The loser is shot or sent to the gas chamber. How far will Harry’s will to live take him? What will he do to escape the death all around him?
If the Emmy voters want to recognize a serious work of art, this looks like it.

0 Gold Derby interviewed Director Barry Levinson [who] explains why Ben Foster was the only choice for 'The Survivor'.

Director Barry Levinson explains why Ben Foster was the only choice for 'The Survivor.' The Oscar winner for 'Rain Man' discusses the HBO film about Harry Haft, who survived the Holocaust by fighting prisoners to the death. Gold Derby editor Christopher Rosen hosts this webchat.
That helped me understand the movie and its significance.

Gold Derby interviewed one of the creators of "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas" as well. I'm sharing it over the jump, but first here are the promotional images from Twitter for the other three nominees.


Follow over the jump to read about the second nomination for "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas."

Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming (Juried)
Euphoria: "Call Me Irresponsible" / "Holding Out for a Hero" / "Cheerleader" – Ryan Heffington (HBO/HBO Max)
Goliath: "The Pain Killer" – Fred Tallaksen (Prime Video)
The Porter: "Opening Stardust Dance Number" / "Willie Johnson Dance Number" / "Lucy's Featured Performance" / "Songbird" – Christian Vincent (BET+)
Schmigadoon!: "Corn Puddin'" / "Tribulation" / "With All of Your Heart" – Christopher Gattelli (Apple TV+)
Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" / "We Need a Little Christmas" / "Just the Two of Us" – Mandy Moore and Jillian Meyers (The Roku Channel)
If I have time before the first night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, I might get to the rest of the nominess — like "Schmigadoon!" — but I'm just going to embed Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas | Official Trailer | The Roku Channel today.

On her first holiday without her father, Zoey attempts to create a magical Christmas for her family just like the ones Mitch used to do. Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas premieres on The Roku Channel on December 1.
I can see why it got the nomination for choreography.

Now for the Gold Derby interview I mentioned above, 'Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas' producer, writer Austin Winsberg on satisfying new and diehard fans.

'Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas' producer and writer Austin Winsberg on satisfying new and diehard fans at the same time. The Roku Channel came to the show's rescue, and he was tasked with developing a holiday-themed movie that could work on its own. Gold Derby's Kevin Jacobsen hosts this webchat.
This interview not only explained the movie and how it fit the two seasons of now-canceled series, but engaged in a lot of inside baseball on the writing process.

I'm going to continue with shorter entries until Friday as I get used to my new work schedule. Stay tuned.

Previous posts about the 2022 Emmy Awards

No comments:

Post a Comment