My favorite time of the year! Yep, Emmy roundtable season. Movie award season stretches for months, well so does the TV equivalent—yes there is crossover come the Golden Globes. And end of year discussions also revolve around the best TV. But for now let’s bask in the FYC Emmy coverage, which has been going on for the last few weeks. However, the first Hollywood Reporter cover feels like the official kickoff.
The first image was released yesterday on World Goth Day, appropriately enough considering the style aesthetic. The drama actress cover tends to go in one of two ways; pastels/muted tones or black/white. Coven instead of bridesmaids (never forget this perfect Kirsten Dunst Insta). Squad goals indeed.
Fully leaning into the dark and serious palette is fine by me. Sandra Oh is the outfit MVP and Villanelle would very much approve of this look.
Featured this year is Thandie Newton (Westworld), Claire Foy (The Crown), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Angela Bassett (9-1-1), Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Deuce). A fantastic line-up, but my one quibble is the lack of Keri Russell considering how incredible she has been on this (and every) season of The Americans. The last time she appeared on this cover was in 2014, as this is the final season of The Americans it is shame she doesn’t get to take center stage here.
This one is always such a thoughtful, insightful conversation. The Times Up movement is something that isn’t discussed, which I found surprising considering how front and center it has been, particularly during award season. Some other weighty topics including equal pay are broached. Claire Foy found herself at the center of and you can tell it still makes her uncomfortable. As she mentions, money is not something that is often discussed in such a public way in the UK. Maggie Gyllenhaal tells the story of an important moment for her as a producer on The Deuce when she fought for an orgasm that sounded real from her character. Gyllenhaal is someone I have long admired and this make me love her even more.
Sandra Oh while mentioning her post Grey’s spell is super honest about her reaction to reading the Killing Eve script which tells you everything you need to know about what she is used to getting sent:
“You’ve talked about reading the initial pilot script for Killing Eve and scrolling through quite a bit of it before you realized you were being asked to play the central storyteller. Why do you think that is, and what did you learn from that realization?
OH That moment was a real punch in the gut for me because the internalization [that I couldn’t be seen as the lead] was really deep. I get the script, I’m on the phone with my agent, I remember exactly where I was, right by BAM in Brooklyn, and I’m going, “Scrolling, scrolling” (scans her phone). I’m just like, “I don’t know, who am I playing? What’s the part?” [My agent] goes, “Eve! You’re playing Eve.” Something happened to me in that moment where I couldn’t even see myself [as the central character].
NEWTON You hadn’t given yourself permission.
OH Right. Why didn’t I?
FOY That makes me want to cry.
OH So the fact that [creator] Phoebe Waller-Bridge, BBC America and Sally Woodward Gentle, our producer, said, “Yes, why not this [for me]?” I felt slightly ashamed — and if I can’t see myself in that moment, then other people have that weight as well. And so we need to hold these things up for other people to see.
NEWTON Oh my God, yes.
OH And that’s one of the reasons why I said, “I’m going to take this. I’m gonna leave my life here — I’m going to do everything to make this.”
This is why representation matters. It is also why it is important for these roundtables to not just be six white faces (as they have often been). When the topic of sexuality and getting roles comes up there are very different reactions from each woman with Sandra Oh backing up Angela Bassett’s statement that this has not been her experience, “I’ll echo Angela’s experience. For me, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten any job based on bum bum bum … (motions to her body). As fabulous as it is. (Laughter.)”
How their bodies are portrayed on screen is another insightful moment. Elisabeth Moss notes that in her contract she has to approve any kind of nudity. She has final say over every single frame used.
You can view this clip below.
The full panel will air on SundanceTV July 15.
The rest of the conversation is also pretty interesting including why Nicole Kidman through a rock through a window after a tough day filming BLL, why it took Elisabeth Moss so long to say yes to Handmaid’s Tale and when they’ve felt nervous performing. I’m looking forward to seeing the whole thing when it becomes available and this roundtable season begins airing on Sundance, June 25.
TV Ate My Wardrobe 