DRESSED-DOWN EMMYS PLANNED AS THE AWARDS SHOW IS RESCHEDULED

September 26, 2001Sep 26, 2001, 11:00 PM GMT+1

After a three-week delay, the US Emmy awards, also known as “TV’s Oscars”, will take place on October 7 in Los Angeles. However, fans can expect a decidedly subdued Emmy ceremony as stars leave their glamorous evening clothes and flowery acceptance speeches at home in deference to the recent terror attacks in the States.

“This year, the show will be different in its approach,” says producer Don Mischer. “It will not be the Emmy Awards as usual.”

The usual scenes of celebrities strolling up the red carpet, waving to paparazzi and screaming fans, will be absent. For this year’s event, stars have been asked to wear “dressy business attire” and there will be no hordes of screaming fans at the red-carpet runway of LA’s Shrine Auditorium, as members of the public are not allowed.

The ceremony itself, says Mischer, will be “significantly understated”. In place of the funny opening monologue by comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who is still scheduled to host the show, veteran newsman Walter Cronkite will open the show on a somber note. And traditional victory speeches - in which winners usually thank everyone from their agents to their mums - will be replaced by tributes to the heroes of the attack.

Though producers say that most of the original presenters are still slated to appear on the rescheduled show, the Emmys' historically star-studded audience will likely contain fewer famous faces. Reps for the HBO network say that none of the stars of New York-based hit shows The Sopranos or Sex And The City, which together garnered 32 nominations this year, have committed to appearing at the ceremony.

A number of segments dedicated to the victims of the September 11 tragedy are planned. One will feature NYPD Blue star Dennis Franz in a special tribute to the police officers and firefighters who risked and lost their lives at the Twin Towers. A moment of silence will also be held in honour of David Angell, the Emmy-winning producer of Frasier, who died on one of the hijacked jetliners.

Stars have been asked to wear “dressy business attire” rather than the usual glamorous evening wear

None of the stars of New York-based hit shows The Sopranos or Sex And The City, which together garnered 32 nominations this year, have committed to appearing at the ceremony

“This year, the show will be different in its approach,” says producer Don Mischer. “It will not be the Emmy Awards as usual”

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