3:25 p.m.
The VIP area to prep for the red carpet is inside the neighboring Staples Center. In the converted hallway, William H. Macy carries wife Felicity Huffman’s shoes as she walks in flats.
3:59 p.m.
An hour before showtime, the TV Academy’s “Monday traffic” bark had proved to be much worse than its bite. All the talent are arriving in Emmy branded Audis, siphoned off in to an exclusive arrivals area.
The Nokia lobby is flooded earlier than ever. “Orange is the New Black’s” Danielle Brooks grabs a nub off a friend’s pretzel in the lobby. Hot dogs are an unpopular option.
Also read: Emmy Winners: Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Aaron Paul, Allison Janney (Photos)
See photos: Emmys Red Carpet: The Executive Arrivals
4:11 p.m.
Jon Hamm thinks about waiting in line for the cash bars. The lines extend beyond the roped off cue. After a few minutes, he cuts the line with a friend to get a beer.
There is general angst amongst those in line trying to make the 4:30 p.m. drinks cutoff. Seth Meyers’ brother Josh Meyers is cheerfully encouraging people ahead of him in line to have their orders and payment ready to speed up the line.
Also read: 16 Best and Worst Moments of Emmys 2014 (Photos)
4:25 p.m.
“About 180,000”- number of people SNL’s JayPharoah says asked him if he was actually the unannounced host of the host-less VMA’s the night before. He’s feasting on handfuls of popcorn.
Also read: Emmys In Memoriam: Watch Tribute to Hollywood Stars We’ve Lost (Video)
4:42 p.m.
Lizzy Caplan has a friend carrying her train around as she exits the bathroom.
5:08 p.m.
Seth Meyers’ monologue goes over huge in the room.
Also read: Seth Meyers Takes Ice Bucket Challenge After Emmys (Video)
6:15 p.m.
The bars reopen in the Nokia. Despite warnings that there would be no alcohol during the show, booze is back. This too goes over huge in the room.
8:10 p.m.
Minnie Driver, a loser to Jessica Lange in “Miniseries or a Movie” is amongst the first to dig in to salad in the purple section of the Governors Ball.
8:22 p.m.
Mark Ruffalo visits the “winners circle” at the rear of the Governors Ball to get his statuette engraved as the band plays a weird muzak version of U2’s “Mysterious Ways”. Ryan Murphy joins him moments later.
See photos: Emmys Red Carpet: The Executive Arrivals
8:38 p.m.
Half an hour in to the Governors Ball, the “01” tables should be the hottest. These are the tables closest to the center of the room from each of the six sections that serve as spokes with the stage as the hub. Neither Seth Meyers (table 101) nor Bryan Cranston (table 401) are at or near their tables.
8:48 p.m.
The Academy seated AMC (the big winner) and Netflix (the big loser) together in same section of the convention center. After winning 7 Emmys at the Creative Arts Emmys, Netflix scored a bagel on Monday night.
While AMC’s “Mad Men” cast sat demurely at a table together, with Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks on opposite sides, none of the Netflix or “Breaking Bad” folks sat down. Peter Rice hung in this same cramped section.
Also read: Emmys Review: How to Win an Emmy This Year? Have One Already
8:54 p.m.
“We’re ready to go home,” Michael Shoemaker tells TheWrap with relief, presumably meaning back to New York and not “home to bed”.
The “Late Night with Seth Meyers” producer pulled double duty working on the Emmys. “After the monologue, I knew we could exhale,” he says.
Of the breakthrough moment for the still under-appreciated Billy Eichner whose “Billy on the Street” segment scored big, Shoemaker says Billy pitched the segment himself. Meyers’ pals like Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones, as well as Debra Messing and Lena Dunham have appeared on Eichner’s Fuse show, and Eichner started his act in viral Youtube clips.
For the Emmys, Shoemaker and company thought about doing the Eichner shoot in L.A. at first, but decided against it.
Also read: Billy Eichner, Seth Meyers Terrorize People in the Street With Emmy Trivia
9:13 p.m.
Glenn Weiss, the Emmys director who simultaneously won for directing the Tony awards tells TheWrap that he knew they were off to a good start early in the night. At my analysis that the #MeyersMono went over big, he says “We felt that way too,” while holding his statuette near the rainbow doorway.
The “call” at the end of his in-the-truck acceptance speech to change shots and cue music was an actual called shot, not faked to sound technical for TV.
10:15 p.m.
In HBO’s MOCA tent at the Pacific Design Center, Weird Al Yankovic shares the backstory on how he ended up on stage. He was on vacation in Hawaii in early August when Seth Meyers called him about coming in to do the live mashup. “It was supposed to be a totally unplugged vacation,” Yankovic tells TheWrap.
He had to say “Aloha” to that idea.
10:25 p.m.
Julia Roberts leaves the HBO party, leaving behind the table that had been reserved for her, Danny Moder, and Mark Ruffalo. Their neighbor: HBO programming president Michael Lombardo’s table.
11:15 p.m.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and “True Detective” director Cary Joji Fukanaga’s Emmys are islands of gold in the vast sea of HBO at the Pacitic Design Center.
When asked for a recap of industry feedback on his epic six minute tracking shot in the series and whether he heard from Martin Scorsese on it, Fukanaga is humble. “Scorsese has not called me. I wish he would he call me,” he says as friends and family surround his table.
Also read: Watch Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston Make Out After Her Historic Emmy Win (Video)
11:27 p.m.
Over at the new Hyde Kitchen and Cocktails on Sunset, Seth Meyers’ after-party is vaulted. They have closed down the door. Nobody has told “Silicon Valley’s” Zach Woods and his circle of cigarette-friendly friends, who are still texting and asking about “going to Seth’s party.”
11:45 p.m.
DJ Miles Hendrix has cooked up a dance floor at the AMC party at Boa. Talent remains as do Michael Jackson “Thriller” era tunes.
11:59 p.m.
Woody Harrelson breathes new life in to the pastel hued HBO party. Harrelson has a hulking security guard shadowing him inside, the only man-to-man coverage I saw all day or night.
12:05 a.m.
HBO chiefs Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo graciously pose for this photo together at Lombardo’s table. Plepler rebuffs my suggestion (and overt biased disappointment) that “True Detective” had a rough night. “We did alright,” Plepler says, and is genuinely in good spirits.
12:32 a.m.
As “La Bamba” plays at HBO, Peter Dinklage exits the camouflaged golf trailers, heading back in to the celebration.
12:57 a.m.
“Mad Men’s” Kiernan Shipka is now sporting black Chuck Taylors under her dress at AMC’s party.
Tuesday Morning
With the Emmy season now in the rearview, industry types spoke of sneaking in a final week of vacation before Labor Day. One film awards season insider said he is turning the page quickly, flying off to the Venice Film Festival after a few hours of sleep.
