(Long Island, NY) An array of television stars from around the globe attended The 35th International Emmy Awards Ceremony at the Hilton Hotel on November 19, 2007. The star-studded Gala was hosted by award-winning stage and screen actor Roger Bart, currently leading in Mel Brook’s new Broadway musical, “Young Frankenstein.”
Roger Bart’s tremendous presence extends to both the small and big screens, as well as to the stage. This fall, Bart also appears in “American Gangstar” alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film was released by Universal on November 2nd. Other television credits include the CBS comedy “Bram and Alice,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit “, and the “George Carlin Show” enabling him to be this year’s perfect host.
The cast of stars presenting the International Emmy statue to the winners in front of an international audience of over 1,000 entertainment and media executives included Robert De Niro, Kristen Bell, Sam Waterston, Rob Morrow, Alan Cumming, Gloria Reuben, Eric Bogosian and Katrina Bowden.
Ashley Jones – Photography by Gary Silberman
Live-action fairytale “The Magic Tree” made history in the Children & Young People category by garnering Poland’s first ever International Emmy Award victory.
There was a tie in the Best Performance by an Actor with both British actor, Jim Broadbent winning for his performance as Stan McDermott in the drama series, “The Street” and Dutch actor, Pierre Bokma winning for his performance as Peter van der Laan in the television movie, “The Chosen One.” The film is set in the Dutch Bible Belt, two deeply-religious brothers, Johan and Peter van der Laan, start a software company in a chicken shed.
Within a few years, the enterprise grows into a worldwide business with a billion-dollar profit and thousands of employees. But on the day of flotation on the New York Stock Exchange, the enterprise takes a turn for the worst. A young financial director gets involved with Johan’s daughter, creating an inextricable jumble of business interests, family issues and religion; threatening the whole empire to collapse like a house of cards.
Al Gore and wife Tipper Gore – Photography by Gary Silberman
Best Performance by an Actress was won by French comedian Muriel Robin for her performance as Marie Besnard in “Marie-Besnard The Poisoner.” Ms. Bernard revealed the synopsis of the film on the red carpet during our interview. “The Poisoner” follows the incredible true story of the infamous “black widow” serial killer. In the wake of swelling rumors in the small French town of Loudun after World War II, Marie Besnard is accused of poisoning her husband and eleven other members of her family. Simone, a young radio reporter originally from Loudun, hears about the accusations against one of the small town’s wealthy inhabitants and decides to cover the story. The “trial of the century” begins as Marie pleads her innocence.
In addition to the Best Actor category, British programs won in the Arts Programming, Comedy, Documentary, Drama Series, TV-Movie/Mini-Series and Non-Scripted Entertainment categories.
“We congratulate this year’s winners for their outstanding achievement. The International Academy is proud to be the preeminent platform for recognizing excellence in television programming and talent on a global scale,” said Academy President & CEO Bruce Paisner, also President of Hearst Entertainment.
The Directorate Award was presented by French film and television star Carole Bouquet to Patrick Le Lay, Chairman, TF1 Group for guiding the growth of the TF1 brand from a traditional commercial television broadcaster to a multi-media organization that is a pioneer in many of the emerging new digital platforms.
Patrick Le Lay has been the driving force behind TF1’s success for the last twenty years. TF1 is the leading French Terrestrial television channel with a current average market share of 35 percent. In addition to over-the-air broadcasting TF1 owns several special interest channels distributed through cable and satellite services, including Eurosport, La Chaine Info (LCI, news), and Odyssee (documentaries), as well as home shopping, multimedia distribution, and licensing operations. In 1996 TF1 launched the satellite broadcasting service TPS (Television Par Satellite) and is currently one of the main promoters of HDTV in France.
I had the pleasure of interviewing beautiful actress Ashley Jones with two Daytime Emmy nominations for her role as Bridget Forrester on the number one show in the world, CBS’s “Bold and the Beautiful.” Ms. Jones rose to fame as Megan Dennison on “The Young and the Restless.” Ms. Jones other acting credits include the cult comedy, “Old School” and TV shows “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Crossing Jordan” and “7th Heaven.”
The International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) Award was presented to the winning broadcaster from Thailand, National Broadcasting of Thailand, for its program “From South to North, From East to West,” Thailand ICDB-Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS by “The Bold & The Beautiful” actors Ashley Jones and Drew Tyler Bell. This special Award is co-presented by The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and UNICEF.
The highlight of the evening was The International Emmy Founders Award which was presented by Robert De Niro to Former U.S. Vice President and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Al Gore, for his role in launching cable/satellite channel Current TV and his ongoing effort to alert the world to one of the great challenges of our time, global warming. Robert DeNiro is considered as one of the greatest actors of all time. Finding fame with his first role in “Bang the Drum Slowly,” he gained his reputation as a volatile actor in Martin Scorese’s 1973 film, “Mean Streets.” DeNiro went on to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the “The Godfather: Part II” and received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in “Taxi Driver,” “The Deer Hunter” and “Cape Fear.” He won the Oscar in 1980 for Best Actor in “Raging Bull.” Mr. DeNiro currently is in charge of his own production company, Tribeca Film Center and made his directional debut in the 1993 film “A Bronx Tale.”
The recipient of The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize and Former Vice President Al Gore is co-founder and co-chairman of Current TV, an independently owned cable and satellite television nonfiction network for young adults. Based on citizen journalism and viewer participation in shaping the news and information that is relevant to them. Al Gore also serves as chairman of Generation Investment Management, a firm that is focused on a new approach to sustainable investing. He chairs the Alliance for Climate Protection, a non-profit organization designed to help solve the climate crisis. Al Gore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982 and the U.S. Senate in 1984 and 1990. He was inaugurated as the forty-fifth vice president of the United States on January 20, 1993, and served eight years. During the Administration, Al Gore was a central member of President Clinton’s economic team. He is the author of the bestsellers Earth in the Balance and An Inconvenient Truth and is the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary.
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is the largest organization of global broadcasters, with over 500 members from nearly 70 countries and over 500 companies. The Academy was chartered with a mission to recognize excellence in television programming produced outside of the United States. The Academy is a unique, independent organization including the world’s leading entertainment and media decision makers who come together to exchange ideas, discuss common issues and promote new strategies for the future development of quality global television programming.
For more information please visit www.iemmys.tv.
