Posts Tagged ‘Breaking Bad’

OK!’s 2008 Emmy Picks

September 18th, 2008

The 60th Annual Primetime Emmy awards are live on Sunday, Sept. 21 on ABC and the stars are surely getting ready and gearing up for the big event. Don’t know who to cheer for? Check out OK!’s picks to win, as well as TV Guide channel red carpet correspondent Lisa Rinna’s predictions for a few of the coveted awards.

 

REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Nominees: The Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef
Should win: The Amazing Race
Will win: The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race always wins this award, it seems, because frankly put, it’s well done, exciting, and instead of being filmed in a studio, it takes place all over the globe. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it nab the Emmy for the sixth year in a row.

HOST (REALITY PROGRAM)
Nominees: Tom Bergeron (Dancing With the Stars), Heidi Klum (Project Runway), Howie Mandel (Deal or No Deal), Jeff Probst (Survivor), Ryan Seacrest (American Idol)
Should win: Tom Bergeron
Will win: Tom Bergeron

Due to Ryan Seacrest overkill, we think the Emmy will go to Tom Bergeron, who acts fast on his feet during the live broadcast of DWTS and manages to be cheesy and endearing at the same time.

 

SUPPORTING ACTOR (COMEDY)
Nominees: Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), Kevin Dillon (Entourage), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Jeremy Piven (Entourage), Rainn Wilson (The Office).
Should win: Neil Patrick Harris
Will win: Neil Patrick Harris

Besides the fact that NPH does a stellar job on HIMYM, he’s been highly visible this year, acting in Old Spice commercials and "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog."

SUPPORTING ACTRESS (COMEDY)
Nominees: Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies), Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live), Jean Smart (Samantha Who?), Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men), Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty)
Should win: Amy Poehler
Will win: Vanessa Williams

While we’d love to see Amy pick this one up (as the first to be nominated in this category in 30 years, fans love Vanessa as evil Wilhelmina Slater, and it could be her turn for an Emmy.

SUPPORTING ACTOR (DRAMA)
Nominees: Ted Danson (Damages), Michael Emerson (Lost), Zeljko Ivanek (Damages), William Shatner (Boston Legal), John Slattery (Mad Men)
Should win: Ted Danson or John Slattery
Will win: William Shatner

Ted’s a TV institution, and John is a show-stealer on Mad Men, but for some reason we can’t quite put our finger on, it feels like this one will go to William’s work as inappropriate lawyer Denny on Boston Legal.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Nominees: Candice Bergen (Boston Legal), Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters), Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy), Dianne Wiest (In Treatment), Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy)
Should win: Dianne Wiest
Will win: Candice Bergen

Backlash after Katherine Heigl’s antics this year has taken the shine off Grey’s Anatomy, so Sandra and Chandra are out. Dianne Wiest already has an Oscar and is brilliant as Gabriel Byrne’s therapist on In Treatment, but our guess is Candice’s TV past will get her the Emmy this year to add to the five she has at home for Murphy Brown.

 

OUTSTANDING ACTOR (COMEDY)

Nominees: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Steve Carell (The Office), Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men).
Should win: Alec Baldwin
Will win: Tony Shalhoub

While we feel Alec Baldwin was shafted last year due to bad press surrounding those voicemails he left for his daughter and has recovered nicely in the public eye, Tony Shalhoub has won six awards for his quirky role on Monk, the last in 2005, and who are we to mess with a record like that?

Lisa’s pick: Steve Carell
“I think he is so funny and talented and it is his turn to win. And he is always the best dressed!” she says of The Office actor.

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS (COMEDY)
Nominees: Christina Applegate (Samantha Who), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine)
Should win: Tina Fey
Will win: Tina Fey

Tina Fey is on a roll this year, having won the Golden Globe already in this category. Plus, she’s just brilliantly hilarious at all times and we can’t imagine her not winning this.
 
Lisa’s pick: Tina Fey
“She is a comic genius and it’s her year, I’m guessing. She is groovy cool and I always love her designer choices she makes on the red carpet!”

 

OUTSTANDING ACTOR (DRAMA)
Nominees: Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House), James Spader (Boston Legal)
Should win: Jon Hamm
Will win: Jon Hamm

Having won the Golden Globe for his role as ad exec Don Draper on Mad Men, we wouldn’t be surprised if Jon carries away an Emmy as well this year. Even if you haven’t seen the show, believe us, he is just that good.

Lisa’s pick: Jon Hamm.
“Just awesome, and so new and fresh," she gushes. "I can’t wait to meet him, I’m a big fan. And he’s hot!”

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Nominees: Glenn Close (Damages), Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Holly Hunter (Saving Grace), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
Should win: Glenn Close
Will win: Kyra Sedgwick

Glenn deserves an Emmy for her hard-hitting role on Damages, but we think Kyra’s body of work on The Closer is such a wide critical success and favorite with fans that she’ll squeak out a win over Glenn and last year’s winner, Sally Field.

 

Lisa’s pick: Sally Field
“What a competitive field, all are so amazing. I think Sally’s work was phenomenal this season, as it always is and it just may be her time!" she says. " She wore a gorgeous Valentino last year and I look forward to seeing what designer she chooses this year!”

 

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Nominees: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, The Office, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men.
Should win: 30 Rock or The Office
Will win: 30 Rock

While both NBC shows are fan favorites, this is Tina Fey’s year and we think she’ll bring her show with her to the podium again for best comedy series over the popular Entourage, especially since Adrian and the boys were off TV for a year.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Nominees: Boston Legal, Damages, Dexter, House, Lost, Mad Men.
Should win: Mad Men
Will win: Mad Men

Although it’s currently only in its second season now, Mad Men has already scored 16 Golden Globe wins this year. So why not bag up the Emmy to go, too? Besides the winning streak, the highly-stylized retro show has garnered a lot of buzz, even among those who don’t watch it. 

 

Watch Lisa and her co-host Joey Fatone work the red carpet on Live at the Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 21  at 6 p.m. on the TV Guide Channel.

Commercial Break with Breaking Bad’s RJ Mitte

February 15th, 2008

Breaking Bad’s 16-year-old star RJ Mitte, who plays Walter White’s son, Walt. Jr., is having a blast in his first major role, even though he had to learn a few new things to play it. “I never used crutches before in my life, so I had to learn how to use crutches. I had to slur my speech a little and let my body go, not try to keep my hands and feet straight,” says RJ, who, like his character, has cerebral palsy in real life.

 

RJ says he and Walt have a lot more in common. “We’re almost the same age, we have the same kind of attitude, we mostly like to be treated the same way—pretty much everything, except my dad doesn’t do crystal meth,” he laughs.

RJ is also having a laugh over his famous dad, Bryan Cranston, who earned a legion of fans playing the “goofy” dad on Malcolm in the Middle. “He’s one of those guys who will easily make you laugh,” RJ says. “He can do something and you’ll just bust out laughing.”

While RJ wouldn’t reveal any of Breaking Bad’s sure to be explosive finale next month, he did say this. “I don’t want to ruin it. I’m just going to say the episodes get better as they go along.”

 

Breaking Bad airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC

Couch Potato: Bryan Cranston

January 28th, 2008

Bryan Cranston, the actor who embodied goofy dad Hal on Malcolm in the Middle, is back on TV in the new drama, Breaking Bad. Sure, he’s been cast as a father again, but the similarities pretty much end there. As Walter White, a 50-year-old high school science teacher who learns he has inoperable lung cancer, he is determined to leave his family with a nest egg once he’s gone. So Walter? takes up a new profession, cooking up crystal meth for the local drug? dealer and raking in the big illegal bucks (I’m sure those high school beakers were never used like this!). Bryan took a seat on my couch to give the formula on what makes Walter take such a drastic turn in his life.

You’re playing a man who makes an unusual career move–??

Walter chose the safe route, to teach high school chemistry, and he’s a shell of the man he started out to be. When he gets this diagnosis of a death sentence – two years to live due to inoperable lung cancer – it awakens him and stimulates emotion. Even fear is more acceptable than numbness.

Did you do any hands-on research for the show?

I shadowed a professor from USC, and I had to get reacquainted with the periodic chart and all the symbols. We had DEA chemists on the set as advisors, and they showed me the steps are to make meth. If I had been really paying attention, I could have gotten the formula.

Were you good in high school chemistry class???

In high school, I was looking for the shortcut. I would say in my head, “what do I need to do to get a C?” I was climbing the rung to mediocrity.

You recently turned 50. Any mid-life crisises?

I think I had a midlife bleep. I bought a motorcycle, but I don’t like commuting in the city. A motorcycle belongs on the open road and long highways. We shot Breaking Bad in New Mexico? so I rode out from California to there.

You must still get recognized from Malcolm on a daily basis.

I was on an airplane and sitting next me was a woman watching her video player. She had an episode of Malcolm on. I would look over to her every now and then and she was smiling and occasionally would laugh out loud. That made me feel great.

Ever see your onscreen kids from Malcolm? ?

I hate those kids! I’m so glad not to being seeing them every day. [Laughs] No, I love those kids and I feel parental about them. I’m going to have lunch with Christopher Masterson, and I talked to Justin Berfield a week ago, he’s producing now. I see Frankie Muniz every now and then because he is on the road a lot as a professional racecar driver. I keep up with him at frankiemunizracing.com. I saw Jane Kaczmarek last week when she came to a premiere of? Breaking Bad. We get together for coffee every two months just to catch up. And I just saw Erik Per Sullivan when I was in Boston. He’s a high school junior and intends to go to Harvard. If there’s anything I can take away? from my experience on Malcolm is the joy that knowing these four boys are all good young men. And I am really proud that I had a lot to do with that. But If they ever break bad, I had nothing to do with it!

Do people still hound you about the crazy dentist you played on Seinfeld?

Once you’re on that iconic show, you’re inexorably tied to it. I only did six episodes, and yet it was one of those characters that fortunately for me, pops out for what he was involved in. I dated Elaine, I injected Kramer with numbing gas so he starts to slur, I molested Jerry in my dentist’s chair, I was the regifter and I also converted to Judaism to be able to tell the jokes. Every time I was on the show, it was just for that one time and they kept finding ways to bring me back. It was great fun.

Breaking Bad airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC.

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