Category Archives: Awards

Michael Emerson’s Emmy-winning role in “The Practice”

Posted on July 19, 2009 | 2 comments

I hope the third time will be the charm for Michael Emerson, who has just been nominated again for an Emmy for playing Benjamin Linus, after being nominated for that role, but losing, twice before.

Emerson did win a much-deserved Emmy for an earlier role as a guest actor on the legal show The Practice in 2001. He played William Hinks, a man accused of being a serial killer.

Michael Emerson as William Hinks on "The Practice"

The first segment of the story is about Hinks’ trial. You can watch it in five YouTube videos, which is not as daunting as it sounds, as several of the videos are very short. All together, this segment runs about 15 minutes. If you watch all five videos, you’ll be rewarded with a clever plot twist.

(The network may pull these off of YouTube, as they did previous copies that were posted, so enjoy them while you can.)

Michael Emerson is mesmerizing in this multi-layered role. He acts rings around the other actors. You can also see the similarities between William Hinks and Ben Linus. Hinks is like Ben on a bad day — or, perhaps, on a good day, depending on your perspective:

According to Wikipedia (citing audio commentary on the Season 3 DVD), the LOST producers offered Emerson the role of Ben because they liked his work on The Practice. Emerson, though, in an interview a few months ago, said he thought he only “indirectly” got the job on LOST because of The Practice.

He added, laughing, that the two roles are “at least in the same temperature zone.”

Would that be cold (as an icy heart) or hot (as the inner circle of Hell)?

The Practice (c) 20th Century Fox. The screenshot is from video #4, when Hinks is on the witness stand.

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Posted in Ben (Michael Emerson), Emmy, Interviews, Other roles

LOST nominated for five Emmy Awards

Posted on July 16, 2009 | 4 comments

Great news: LOST got nominated for best drama series, Michael Emerson got nominated, for the third time, for best supporting actor, and Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof got nominated for best writing for the season finale episode, The Incident

Here’s the complete list of all the nominations for LOST:

Outstanding drama series: LOST
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series: Michael Emerson
Outstanding writing for a drama series: Cuse and Lindelof, for The Incident
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series: Stephen Semel, Mark Goldman, and Chris Nelson, for The Incident
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour): Robert Anderson, Ken King, Scott Weber, and Frank Morrone, for The Incident

Source: Emmy site

Here’s a video clip of LOST winning Best Drama Series in 2005, for its first season:

Picture of Emmy Award from Wikipedia

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Posted in 5x16-17 The Incident, Ben (Michael Emerson), Damon and Carlton, Emmy

Damon and Carlton talk about the final episode of the final season of LOST (and much more) at the Jules Verne Festival

Posted on May 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

Earlier, I posted clips of Evangeline Lilly and Michael Emerson at last month’s Jules Verne Festival. Now, here are some clips of producers/writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, starting with their walking out on stage to extended applause, and then being introduced to the audience:

They start to answer questions. Carlton talks about how being dead on LOST doesn’t mean you won’t appear on the show again:

The questions continue, and this is where they talk about the ending of the show, and where it gets really interesting.

Damon says that they’ve known, for a long time, what the very last scene of the show will be. Carlton promises that the ending will not be that it “happens in a snow globe,” or that it “all takes place in a dream in a dog’s mind” — and that they won’t just cut to black, the way The Sopranos did.

He says they have a very appropriate and legitimate ending for the show, and they are excited about it, even if they are already starting to feel nostalgic about the show coming to an end.

Damon says that they will answer all the mysteries “that we care about” in the final episode. They won’t make us pay to see a movie to find out!

They also discuss the show’s theme of faith versus science. Carlton calls it one of the central philosophical debates of our time. He says that he, who is Catholic, and Damon, who was raised Jewish, debate these issues between themselves, and then they put the debates into the mouths of the characters. He says that the ongoing nature of the debate is what gives the show its thematic power.

Carlton says that they will take the debate to a conclusion that is, hopefully, satisfying. Damon says that so far on the show, faith seems to be winning.

The questions continue. Damon talks about the Dharma Initiative, which he describes as a group of people who say they are trying to make the world a better place, but are probably more violent than anyone else we have met on the Island. He says there is still “much to learn” about them.

Carlton says that we will get some more answers about the Smoke Monster in this season’s finale.

Damon talks about how difficult it was to cast the character of Kate, how he and J.J. Abrams had to audition almost 75 actresses.

And here you can see them receiving the Jules Verne Achievement Award:

Here’s hoping LOST wins all the awards it deserves!

LOST in Paris

Posted on May 5, 2009 | 2 comments

Producers/writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse recently returned from Paris, where they were honored at the Jules Verne Festival, receiving an award for their work on LOST.

Evangeline Lilly and Michael Emerson were there too, their identity having been kept a secret until the day they appeared, in a nod to the mysteries of the show.

This first clip is a little dark and shaky, but I love the excitement of the crowd, who were clapping and cheering and screaming as if they were at a rock concert combined with an Olympics final event.

In the beginning of this next clip, the crowd went wild again, counting down with the Dharma clock, and screaming when Evangeline Lilly came out.

The interviewers and Evangeline Lilly talked in French, and while I only know a few words of the language, the message was clear when Evangeline asked the crowd if they preferred Jack (boos) or Sawyer (big cheers).

Then Michael Emerson came out. More screams! Speaking in English, he had many interesting things to say about his character Benjamin Linus. At the end, some of the other stars, back in Hawaii, appeared in film clips to say hello to the Festival attendees. Josh Holloway got the biggest screams. Sawyer love is apparently the same all over the world.