Hollywood is gearing up for one of its biggest nights with the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. The A-list occasion takes place on Aug. 25 at the Nokia Theater and Malibu is well represented. Local TV titan Mark Burnett is up for his smash hit singing show, “The Voice.” Mark leads the reality competition program category along with CBS’ “The Amazing Race,” ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” Lifetime’s “Project Runway,” Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Overall, “The Voice” has 10 Emmy nods in all categories. Other leaders include “Game of Thrones,” “Fargo,” “Breaking Bad,” “Downton Abbey” and “Orange is the New Black.”
Another well-known local is up for best actress in a miniseries or movie; Minnie Driver has been nominated for her performance in “Return to Zero.”
Minnie faces some tough competition with Helena Bonham Carter in “Burton and Taylor,” Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson for “American Horror Story: Coven,” Cicely Tyson for “The Trip to Bountiful” and Kristen Wiig in “The Spoils of Babylon.”
The Emmy Awards presentation is one of the flashiest shindigs of the season honoring achievement. “Mad Men’s” Jon Hamm is nominated for best actor in a drama series along with Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” and “The Newsroom’s” Jeff Daniels, to name a few. But the one to watch seems to be a three-way race between “House of Cards’” Kevin Spacey, Malibu’s Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Both put in superb performances in “True Detective.” McConaughey won the Oscar for his role in “Dallas Buyers Club.” Now he’s got his eye on Emmy. “He will absolutely win for ‘True Detective,’” predicts DGA member Elaine Perkins. “I saw every episode and watched it twice.”
Of course, being the Emmys, the focus will be on fashion as well, and everyone will be looking at the ladies. Some of the best actress nominees include “The Good Wife”’s Julianna Margulies, Kerry Washington for “Scandal” and Robin Wright for “House of Cards.” On the comedy side, look for Edie Falco in “Nurse Jackie,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “Veep” and Melissa McCarthy for “Mike & Molly,” among others.
As for variety series, Jimmy Kimmel joins regular favorites Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Throw in all the Emmy categories and “Breaking Bad,” “Fargo,” “Game of Thrones” and “Orange is the New Black” are among those who lead the pack.
But no matter what the categories and who takes home the gold, the event promises to be an evening of fun, fashion and festivities.