Mac Quayle Orchestrates the Paranoia of ‘Mr. Robot’
Not every job affords the “bring your child to work” opportunity. Composer Mac Quayle, a 2016 Emmy nominee for his brilliant Mr. Robot score, has to pick and choose those moments. Take a look at his 2015/2016 musical output, and you’ll understand why. Scream Queens. American Horror Story: Hotel. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Mr. Robot. These series contain dark, hard-hitting moments not suitable for young eyes or ears. Critics, audiences, and the Television Academy, however, are an entirely different story.
“My daughter and now my son, they can’t come into the studio when I’m working on it basically,” Mac Quayle laughs. “Some of the images that are on the screen are certainly not appropriate.”
Quayle definitely tends to trend toward the darker aspects of life in his work, but don’t ask him why. Find out more about Mac Quayle at ADTV. (Mac Quayle)
The Doctor is In: ‘Scream Queens’ Season 2 Trailer Drops
Well, great. Now I can’t even go to a hospital without escaping Scream Queens. The Scream Queens Season 2 trailer dropped for Ryan Murphy’s inexplicable comedy/horror spoof/comedy. It starts with John Stamos and Taylor Lautner strutting down a hospital hallway. Jamie Lee Curtis (always welcome) joins them and then re-introduces us to the Chanels who are dressed as nurses in fluorescent couture. They look like a trio of Nurse Ratcheds with a fierce Instagram following.
Can Scream Queens Season 2 surprise us all with some genuine laughs and scares? Will they go for some Halloween II hospital nostalgia with Jamie Lee? I guess we have to watch to find out. Dammit. (Scream Queens 2)
Beth McCarthy-Miller on ‘Adele Live In New York’
Beth McCarthy-Miller is in good spirits. She’s currently on set for shooting NBC’s upcoming sitcom Great News and takes some time out to talk about her latest Emmy nomination. “I’m kind of like the Susan Lucci of the Primetime Emmys, but it’s always exciting to be recognized,” McCarthy-Miller said. She’s received a career-total of 10 Emmy nominations, including direction nods for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, and The Sound of Music Live! This year, she is nominated for directing Adele: Live In New York, the NBC special that aired in December. NBC aired the special again in April, adding five new songs.
It was Adele’s triumphant comeback show. Her last performance was at the Oscars in 2013 where she won a Best Original Song Oscar for Skyfall. Good thing McCarthy-Miller is no stranger to music productions. She has worked on Saturday Night Live specials, America: A Tribute to Heroes, and the MTV Music Awards to name a few. Check out what it takes to create an intimate live experience for Adele fans over at ADTV. (Beth McCarthy-Miller)
Emmy Tracker: Are Co-Stars Suddenly at a Disadvantage?
One of the biggest observations from last year’s crop of Emmy winners was the fact that every supporting actor winner seemed to be riding the coattails of a Series win: Tony Hale in Veep, Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones, and Bill Murray in Olive Kitteridge. None of them had the best tapes of the category, but after voting was opened up to the entire branch tapes didn’t seem to matter so much. Voters instead seemed to gravitate towards likable actors on their favorite programs without paying attention to their material throughout the year.
Game of Thrones and Veep are right on track to win the top awards of the night for the second year in a row, but both Dinklage and Hale have some surprising competition – their own costars. Actors used to benefit from competing against their costars because of the ranked voting system, which is how the Modern Family cast kept on winning. Now that the winner is determined by a simple popular vote it may be harder for people like Tony Hale and Matt Walsh or Peter Dinklage and Kit Harington to compete against each other.
If voters continue down this path will the Television Academy tweak the rules once again to level the playing field? They haven’t been afraid to in the past and that’s one of the things that makes the television academy much more interesting than the AMPAS. And if they don’t tweak the rules? Then we may never see another win like Merritt Wever ever again. (Emmy Tracker)