Emmy night is upon us!
The area around the Nokia Theatre in Downtown L.A. is a fortified Hollywood Green Zone with a sea of limos, well-dressed flacks, agents, execs and stars making red carpet arrivals surrounded by metal detectors, armed guards and miles of velvet rope.
I'm going deep into the center of this Emmy madness to bring you a live blog from the media center during the show.
Tune in here just prior to the start of the awards at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 Eastern for backstage updates with reactions from winners and meta-media gossip.
6:07 PM Internet access is down here in the Press Room at the JW Marriot hotel adjacent to the Nokia Theatre, but I'm set up to post via Blackberry. None of the winners have appeared here yet, but "Big Bang Theory's" Jim Parsons, winner for Oustanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is arriving shortly.
6:14 PM Jim Parsons is on stage. One of the first questions asked his reaction to the show's move to Thursday night. "I'm excited, because, you know, it's a big night. Thursday night for comedy is something I was weaned on ... I feel knock on wood like we've got such a loyal fan base and they'll watch it whenever it is." Parsons described winning the trophy as "absolutely dreamlike."
"And how will I celebrate? I am the lamest old man but this gives me the energy to go to 10:30 or 11 tonight," Parsons said.
Parsons rejected the notion that his fellow cast members would be jealous of his win. "It's just a very mature group of people," Parsons said of his "Big Bang" co-stars. Now that he's an Emmy winning actor, Parsons' next goal is to do Broadway. "I'd love to do a play in New York for anyone who cares to listen," Parsons said before leaving the press room.
6:27 PM "Mad Men" writer Erin Levy, winner for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series with the show's creator Matthew Weiner: "It feels amazing, I couldn't believe it actually." On comparisons between her career and the storyline of "Mad Men" character Peggy Olson: "I will take it. I think there's an element of it that's very true because Matt Weiner gave me a shot when I was just a writer's assistant and Peggy was Don's assistant ... I would say that Matt has probably been more nurturing to me and he's been a fantastic mentor ... He's really terrific about it, he's done it with a lot of other people too ... There was definitely a mix of excitement and fright when I arrived, because I'm writing for this show that was one of my favorite shows."
6:38 PM Padma Lakshmi from "Top Chef" on ending "Amazing Race's" seven year long Outstanding Reality Series win streak: "I thought 'Amazing Race" was going to win again. In fact, I was really, really mean to the host of 'Amazing Race' on the red carpet ... I told him I was taking him down and guess what? I was right ... We're just really happy."
