Glitz  + Glamour 

Roll out the red carpet and pop the champagne, cause (as the Washington Post so bitingly phrased it) ‘nothing says television’s most prestigious award show like a Monday night in August…’  It’s the day of the 66^th Annual Emmy Awards!  Monday or not, August or not, I’m still excited for the show!  If you’ve been a member of bSmartGuide.com for longer than three seconds, I’m sure you’ve probably played witness to my, at times obsessive, excitement for all things entertainment (What can I say?  As a starving actress and an aspiring writer, I’m sort of a cocktail for enthusiasm when it comes to all things involving the arts.)  I love award shows.  I love the sparkle of them.  I love the speeches and the drama and the inevitable play-off music.  It all seems a bit cliché and all very fake to some people, and deep down I know it really is, but I don’t care, because I also know that such shows represent the tradition of seeking excellence and exhibiting creativity through film and television…and I’m all about that.  And based on the line up of nominees and on all of the roll on the floor hilarious, gut-bustingly ground shaking and heartbreaking performances we’ve played witness to this year (seriously, I could probably write a book detailing how insanely awesome television has been as of late, let alone a single blog post), tonight should be a nail-biting and interesting race!

Amidst the crowd pleasers, cult hits, dark horses, and fan favorites, I’m finding it difficult to make predictions in regards to who will take home Emmy gold this year, because as I said, it’s a tight race.  Between the series finale of Breaking Bad, the ever trendy and scandalous Game of Thrones, HBO’s smart and edgy True Detective, the widely-predicted FX frontrunner of the night Fargo and celebrity nominees such as Mark Ruffalo, Taylor Schilling, Amy Pohler, Ricky Gervais, Virginia Johnson, Olivia Pope and (alright, alright, alright) Matthew McConaughy, it’s enough star-power and stunning performances to keep my head spinning (thank goodness Entertainment Weekly published a crash course of the Fifty Best Scenes On Television of the Past Year for me to go back and review last night).

Game-Changing Girls

The most exciting facet for me however, both as a performer and as a bSmart lady, is the prominent representation of well-rounded, intelligent, game-changing female leaders and entertainers that will be both in attendance and vying for Emmy love this evening.  Honestly, I would rather focus on the performances and progress of such powerful role models rather than getting caught up in who wore what better or in my fleeting predictions on a homemade ballot.  So whether you’re a small-screen addict or a primetime newbie, whether you have tons riding on what show will take it home in the Outstanding Drama Category (come on Breaking Bad) or you’ve never watched an episode before in your life (I’ll admit it! I’ve never seen Mad Men... and I call myself a television buff) check out my picks for women to watch this evening on the 66^th Annual Emmy Awards.  These ladies are changing the world one role at a time, one cause at a time, and one conversation at a time, all by exhibiting raw and real emotion, humor and heart.

A Heart for Julia

Hands down, bar none, the most impressive telecast from an acting standpoint that I’ve watched this year was that of Ryan Murphy’s and HBO’s The Normal Heart.  Seriously, as both Entertainment Weekly and other online publications have heralded, had it been produced as a full fledge film and not a television broadcast, The Normal Heart would’ve racked up Oscar gold…It’s just THAT fantastic.  No performance within the movie left me so moved however, as that of Julia Roberts.  Often times associated with her bubble-gum hits like Notting Hill and Runaway Bride, this exceptionally raw and true performance given by Robert’s, I would easily argue, is her most triumphant to date (which is saying something after her most recent Oscar nod for August: Osage County).  

While she is favored to win the Emmy this evening (I believe for obvious good reason), many critics say the award-show politics associated with HBO and with the subject matter surrounding the film itself, have upset the Emmy balance in her favor for better or for worst.  Rather than let such media frenzied scrutiny get in her way, however, Roberts with the grace and poise of a driven and intelligent lady, has used this most recent platform to advance awareness in regards to the fight against AIDS and in support of the LGBT community.  In fact, just recently, she, along with her husband who served as the director of photography on the film, was awarded with the GLSEN Humanitarian Award for her contributions both on, and off-screen, for helping raise awareness about HIV, via game-changing organizations such as UNICEF, Heal the Bay, and Stand Up to Cancer.  Thus, tonight, whether Julia ultimately takes home the prize or not, I’m a forever fan thanks to her heart for making a difference and for her bravery on screen.

Legendary Lena

Oh Lena Dunham…some people love you (guilty as charged!), some people don’t get you, but one things’ for sure… the world can’t seem to get enough of your wonderful weirdness!  As a millennial woman, Lena has utilized her wacky whit, informed writing style, and utterly relatable personality to create the massive smash hit, Girls.  While not predicted to win within her category this evening, as a lady who writes, produces, directs and stars in her own work, she is a goddess of getting what she wants and standing-up for what she is passionate about.  Before the release of this past season of Girls, Lena made waves within the media for lashing out at a reporter who challenged her decision to appear nude within the confines of her own show, insinuating that she didn’t have the Hollywood body to make such a scene appropriate or justified.  Lena, who strives to depict reality, challenged the journalist by instigating an important discussion surrounding the skewed version of the female body that is so heavily peddled by the mainstream media.  Whether she set out to shake things up or not, Lena Dunham’s continued success, is working to re-define the typical image and pedigree of a Hollywood starlet, and I for one can’t wait to see what debate she sparks next!   

12 Emmy Nods a WIN for Women

No list of women to watch for this evening would be complete without the entire cast of the Netflix standout Orange is the New Black.  Celebrating a whopping and well-deserved 12 nominations this evening, as quoted by the LA Times, ‘Orange is the New Black embodies the most important change in television in the recent years. No, not Netflix. Women.’  With a cast, crew and creative team, dominated by the minds of intelligent, funny (and I mean laugh out loud hilarious), red-blooded women, Orange is the New Black is changing the way stories are being told via television.  Defying the laws of entertainment’s Bechdel Test (a standard that asks if two female characters who share the screen talk to each other about something other than a man… sadly due to gender bias, often times, a film’s dialogue between two women can’t make it for longer than 60 seconds without bringing up a boy… yikes) Orange is the New Black, is truly a triumph for the ladies.  It’s raunchy and honest story-telling, fantastic acting and stigma defying material… And the best part?  It’s damn trendy!  Orange is the New Black is working to equalize the genre of comedy, which up until recent years has been so testosterone driven.  While the races are tight, I would not be surprised if Orange is the New Black came home with some big wins tonight (shout out to ‘Crazy Eyes’ aka Uzo Aduba who was already awarded her Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series) and I gotta say, wins for women on the whole!     

Now you’re in the know!  So fix some popcorn, grab a seat and tune in tonight to the 66^th Annual Emmy Awards and see which amazing ladies take home the trophies.