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CNN Live Today

Interview with Mark Schwed

Aired July 18, 2002 - 13:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The nominations in the comedy series category are: "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Friends," "Sex and the City," and "Will and Grace."

So you do have a congratulations there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: From Hollywood today came the 54th annual Emmy nominations. A wide variety of television shows and stars are up for those coveted awards. Notably missing from the list of contenders, though, is "The Sopranos."

Joining us from Los Angeles with more on the nominations, "TV guide" columnist Mark Schwed -- Hi, Mark.

MARK SCHWED, COLUMNIST, TV GUIDE: Hi.

PHILLIPS: So what happened to "The Sopranos"?

SCHWED: They are just not eligible, they didn't have any episodes on, so they -- I tell you what, everybody else who got a nomination today should thank their lucky stars, because at least one name out of every drama category would not have been there if the "The Sopranos" had been eligible, but we will see them next year.

PHILLIPS: And there's a lot of Emmy nominees -- can I spit it out, tongue twister -- that most Americans haven't even had a chance to see these shows.

SCHWED: You know...

PHILLIPS: What's going on?

SCHWED: This is amazing. Life is beautiful for HBO. We just talked about "The Sopranos," you have got "Curb Your Enthusiasm" which I think is one of the funniest shows...

PHILLIPS: Great show.

SCHWED: ... it obviously is, it's nominated. Then you have got "Sex and the City," you have got in the miniseries category, "Band of Brothers," and, of course, what's the other one I am missing?

"Six Feet Under," of course, which got more nominations than any other show on television with 23. These are all HBO shows, cable is king. Boy.

PHILLIPS: Hey, I'm sure glad I'm working for Cable News Network.

SCHWED: How about that?

PHILLIPS: Yes. What's going on with HBO? Isn't there a possibility here that they could just really cause a hit for the network shows?

SCHWED: Well, you know, they have a different business model than the rest of the networks. The networks have to fill lots and lots of airspace with sitcoms and dramas, whereas HBO has a lot of movies. So they only have to -- they can really afford to spent a little bit more money, and pick and choose, and you know, they've got like -- I don't know, a 75 percent track record for having their dramas and sitcoms nominated, and eventually some of them going on to win Emmys. So that's phenomenal. I mean, the networks don't even come close to 15 percent.

PHILLIPS: Well, another surprise, Michael Chiklis, the lead actor drama nomination. Let's talk about this guy. Where did he come from?

SCHWED: Not a surprise to me. This guy, you may remember, he played John Belushi on that fair movie called about -- called "Wired." Then he was on "The Commish," kind of a sweet, hugable guy, and then he was on "Daddio," which was quickly canceled. And he woke up, I guess, one morning, his wife told him, You know, forget about taking any more jobs or reading any more scripts. You are going to have to hit the gym and completely change your look. They took a shower together, she shaved his hair off, he went bald, and he played this real hard-core cop, and boom, he got rewarded for this.

The incredible thing is that this is a show that several organizations, conservative organizations, have been trying to get off the air, and they've launched a very aggressive campaign to get advertisers to bail on this show, and they have been somewhat successful, because of the language, and the really adult material, the subject matter. But it's a 10:00 show, it is for adults, and I guess they are just going to have to get over it because, you know, people are watching it, and the Emmy voters obviously are recognizing it as one of the best things to watch on TV, and you know, for all those advertisers who bailed, there are three more lining up to get into the show.

PHILLIPS: I can imagine. All right. Comedy categories. We have got to talk about the 'Bernie Mac Show."

SCHWED: Yay for Bernie Mac. You know, "Frasier" isn't nominated in the comedy category, but you know, we have got Bernie Mac, who is nominated as an individual. He's fantastic. We're seeing a little bit of a changing of the guard here. For the comedy category itself, the best comedy on the air, of course, we mentioned "Curb your Enthusiasm," but "Friends" is finally getting a little bit of respect. The show is nominated, several of the actors on the show, including Jennifer Aniston, who has a very good shot at winning, and Brad Pitt, who played a guest-starring role on "Friends" and happens to be married to Jennifer Aniston, also got a nomination. We can see a very happy Pitt and Aniston family after Emmy night.

PHILLIPS: Even -- I'm sorry.

SCHWED: It is like, as if they don't have enough, you know?

PHILLIPS: Yes, I know. Yes, the all American couple. it is like -- could we see more happiness? No, we're very happy for them, of course. Come on. We all live vicariously through them.

SCHWED: And they -- he played a fantastic role when he went on "Friends," and she has been very good, she has had a great storyline. The guy who got snubbed here is David Schwimmer, who was involved in that storyline. Matt LeBlanc got nominated. David Schwimmer did not, and this is all about her having a baby, and which one of them was going to marry, but even more of a snub, was David Schwimmer played a fantastic character on HBO's "Band of Brothers," about an elite combat unit in World War II...

PHILLIPS: Yes. Excellent.

SCHWED: ... and he didn't get nominated.

PHILLIPS: Surprises me.

SCHWED: Very surprising.

PHILLIPS: "The Osbournes" even got a nod, didn't they?

SCHWED: Well, it was the most talked about show of the year, how...

PHILLIPS: Even the president talked about "The Osbournes."

SCHWED: And the queen, I guess. How could they not nominate this show? It's just -- it's a train wreck that is so fun to watch, and even though it's strangest family in America, it's also a very loving family, and very soon now, we may see Ozzy Osbourne -- of course, he used to be in Black Sabbath, and is notorious for biting the heads off various flying animals -- you know, he, of course, is famous in his own right, but the real power behind "The Osbournes" is his wife, Sharon, and it looks like she may be -- she's in the running to be the next Oprah. She wants to have a daytime talk show.

PHILLIPS: Wow. TV is changing. Mark Schwed.

SCHWED: Well, that's great. That is a good thing, though.

PHILLIPS: That is true. That is right. We need to stir things up, don't we?

SCHWED: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Oh, it is definitely happening. Mark Schwed, thanks so much.

SCHWED: Take care.

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