Eleven Emmy nominations for 'Little Dorrit'

A very respectable showing! Below is the complete list with my observations:

• Outstanding Miniseries. Excellent! And it only has one competitor, HBO's Generation Kill.
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie: Tom Courtenay as Mr. Dorrit and Andy Serkis as Rigaud. (Wonder if it took them a while to figure out which name to assign Serkis's character.) That's it for the actors: There's nothing for Matthew Macfadyen or Claire Foy, leaving me fuming yet again over the stupid unwritten rule that says that those who play bad guys, or semi-bad guys, are worthier of acclaim than those who play good guys. Still, Courtenay's and Serkis's were both fine performances -- especially Courtenay's, I think.
• Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: Andrew Davies. Well, Mr. Davies, as many reasons as I found to fuss at you over the course of five weeks, you did do a very nice job overall. Good on you.
• Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: Dearbhla Walsh, director, for part 1. I don't care for this Emmy trick of splitting up miniseries into their component parts and only awarding some of those parts. Here it means that two other fine directors get left out. I'm glad for Dearbhla Walsh but sorry for the others.
• Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie: James Merifield, production designer; Paul Ghirardani, art director; Deborah Wilson, set decorator. Well deserved. I knew that Alice-in-Wonderland set at the Circumlocution Office would get 'em.
• Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special: Rachel Freck, casting director. At least there's something acknowledging the excellence of the whole cast, even if the cast itself is criminally underrewarded.
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie: Lukas Strebel, director of photography, for part 1. Don't know much about cinematography, and I don't know what made part 1 worthier than any other part, but good job, Mr. Strebel.
• Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special: Barbara Kidd, costume designer, and Marion Weise, costume supervisor, for part 3. Part 3? So it wasn't the toga that got their attention after all. Huh. Must have been those fancy ensembles of Fanny's -- or maybe Emmy voters just have a thing for purple.
• Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie: Karen Hartley-Thomas, department head hairstylist. All those feathers and things in the hair for Fanny and Mrs. Merdle paid off!
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score): John Lunn, composer, for part 5. Now if only we could have his outstanding music composition on a soundtrack!

The Creative Arts Emmys will be given September 12, and the Primetime Emmy ceremony is September 20. Congratulations and good luck to all the Little Dorrit nominees!

Comments

[christopher harris]

Thank you, Gina! It was great to read these nominations; and I think they were richly deserved. I am rapidly approaching needing to sit down and watch it all again!

BTW, I think you know a photographer friend of mine, Lou Ann Aepelbacher. As you probably know, she's gallivanting about the globe right now. Rather than taking Dickens with her on her trip, I think she set off with Michener. Oh well...

Cheers! Chris

[Marian]

Interesting post! I love the Circumlocution Office.

"Now if only we could have his outstanding music composition on a soundtrack!"

Agreed! And piano music; I really really want to try playing it!

[Nibs]

Wow, had no idea they were up for ELEVEN awards! I just saw the one for best miniseries (and only vaguely saw that, as I was distracted by wondering if I had the title font on my computer and where I could get it if I didn't...)

Anyway, it's so nice to think that these Dickens productions are so appreciated. It's these nominations that will encourage BBC to make more, hopefully for the upcoming 2012 birthday anniversary. :)

[Gina]

I do know Lou Ann; we've attended the same church for years. Small world! I didn't know about Michener, though. Had I known, I'd have tried to smuggle some Dickens into her suitcase with it. :-)

[Christine O'Leary]

Hi there, I would like to raise a point in relation to the comments about the director Dearbhla Walsh and it being unfair that the other two directors are left out. I am a friend of Dearbhla Walsh, and I actually feel as lead director she absolutely deserves the nomination. She chose the Director of Photography, editor, designer, hair and make up people. She created the look, tone, mood of the piece,and auditioned hundreds of actors and cast every main character actor. The other directors came in afterwards and worked with what had been created months before hand. Although the other two directors did an incredible job, as lead director there is an enormous amount of extra work, vision and basically creating the masterpiece that is Little Dorrit. Well done Dearbhla, Ireland is proud.

[12345]

this is my favourite of dickens' books and i'm obbsessed-i think the adaptation was amazing and i really want the music-it's so beautiful! i wish i could of gone and seen the set-i would also like to see the REAL marshalsea prison that dickens father went to