Dermot Mulroney, Bernadette Peters and Malcolm McDowell
‘Tis the season for Emmy FYC (For Your Consideration) events, which have blown up in the past few years. On many nights, overwhelmed Los Angeles-area Television Academy members must choose between competing events, whose main purpose is campaigning for their votes.
Just a few years ago, Amazon Studios wouldn’t have been part of any awards discussion in the 213, 323 and 310 area codes. It’s only been since 2013 that the big streamer on the block, Netflix, first hit the awards circuit successfully with “House of Cards,” resulting in a bulging trophy case of golden statuettes and nomination certificates.
But now Amazon, hot on the tail of Netflix with a massive budget for its own originals, is jumping into the FYC fray in a big way.
The streamer has taken over the Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles through April 28 for a series of events for Television Academy members that began April 18.
The studio is showcasing originals including “Bosch,” “Mozart in the Jungle, “Catastrophe,” “I Love Dick,” “Transparent,” “Patriot,” “Sneaky Pete,” “Z: The Beginning of Everything” and “The Man in the High Castle” for awards consideration.
The ten-day extravaganza, which encompasses eight separate events, is so big that Amazon Studios held a preview night for it.
Mark Boone Junior and Giovanni Ribisi
Rooms within the two-story Hollywood Athletic Club, built in 1924, were dressed with costumes on mannequins, props and set decorations from Amazon shows, making for a unique, immersive environment for talent, creators and studio executives to mix and mingle with media members.
Testifying to the importance that Amazon is placing on awards, the list of A-list talent, producers and directors was lengthy and included Kevin Bacon, Bernadette Peters, Malcolm McDowell, Giovanni Ribisi, Jill Soloway, Griffin Dunne, Rufus Sewell, David Zucker, Lance Reddick, Titus Welliver, Paul Weitz, Mark Boone Junior, Alexa Davalos, Judith Light, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass.
“This is my first streaming show—and I’m loving it,” Bacon said about “I Love Dick,” in which he toplines with Kathryn Hahn and Griffin Dunne. Cast member Roberta Colindrez from the show also attended the preview night, along with co-creator Sarah Gubbins (with Soloway, whose “Transparent” has been an awards magnet since its premiere in 2014.)
But Bacon jokingly said he’s awaiting the day—hopefully soon—when the top results in Googling the show’s title won’t result in a list of porn sites. “I Love Dick,” whose seven episodes begin streaming May 12, is a comedy based on the novel by Chris Kraus. It’s Bacon’s first show since “The Following” ended a two-year run on Fox in 2015.
Griffin Dunne, Jill Soloway and Kevin Bacon
The cast of “Mozart in the Jungle,” minus star Gael Garcia Bernal, who could not be in attendance for the preview, was abuzz about the next season, for which they will travel to Japan.
“I’m going to be eating a lot of sushi,” promised McDowell, whom many fans fondly remember from his groundbreaking role in 1971’s “A Clockwork Orange.”
And let the countdown to the Primetime Emmy Awards voting continue.
