Photo by Ani Kellogg/For the Daily Titan

By Adrian Gaitan
For the Daily Titan

Glitz and glam graced the red carpet last Sunday, as celebrities took a break from filming to attend the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards with hopes of winning a golden statue.

Held at the Nokia Theatre, which is adjacent to the newly-constructed LA Live, an entertainment complex, host Neil Patrick Harris charmed the audience with his singing, dancing and attempt to crack a few jokes.

Around 2 p.m., stars began stepping out of their air-conditioned limos and into the scorching heat. Some of the first to arrive were nominees Chandra Wilson of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, and Bravo’s Top Chef host, Padma Lakshmi.

As stars walked the red carpet, the heat began taking its toll. Sweat dripped down brows, and makeup on men and women alike began to melt away. Even in the blazing heat, stars bravely strutted down the carpet to face the media, who would decide the night’s best and worst dressed.

Even with fall fashion in full effect, color was no stranger to the Emmys. Numerous celebrities wore richly-colored gowns that glistened and gleamed in both the sunlight, and the spotlight of the stage.

There was no doubt that Debra Messing captivated the public with her glittering gown by American designer Michael Kors. Messing also wore matching gold rings, bangles and earrings by jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz that complimented her gown with utmost perfection.

Grey’s Anatomy star Sandra Oh ditched her pale blue scrubs for the night, and was dubbed another best-dressed celebrity. With a dark-stained Marchesa crocodile clutch in hand, Oh walked the read carpet with a glowing face that complimented her finely-crafted gold Marchesa gown and Tacori earrings.

With ravishing shoulder-length red hair, Kate Walsh sported a pale blue J. Mendel dress with a matching Aldo clutch. Her Stephen Russell earrings and bracelets as well as Christian Louboutin heels all completed the lightly-draped outfit.

Mila Kunis of That ’70s Show dressed in Monique Lhuillier for the night. This foreigner-turned-American rocked her dress made of tulle, which was a perfect mixture of deep maroon and crimson, with a thin black strap cinched acround her waist. Giant feather-like earrings, an opulent silver bracelet, and gorgeous deep-red stilettos completed her outfit.

Red carpet veteran Drew Barrymore also dressed in Monique Lhuillier. Her blush-pink tulle-detailed gown with matching Raven Kauffman clutch and dazzling pearls were a crowd favorite.

Pregnant stars, such as Project Runway host Heidi Klum and Keeping Up With the Kardashians Kourtney Kardashian, also graced the red carpet with their presence.

Among the worst dressed, or to put it nicely, not so fab, for the night included Gossip Girl stars Blake Lively and Leighton Meester. Lively wore a red Versace gown that was just too plain and exposed too much of the young actresses’ body. Lively tried going for sleek hair but was unsuccessful, so she simply braided her hair and pulled it back into a tight ponytail that hung down her exposed back. Meester, on the other hand, wore a white chiffon Bottega Veneta dress that looked like a Greek goddess gone wrong. The chiffon straps on her shoulders were too fluffy and the red lipstick to match her red clutch didn’t help the situation.

Soap star Victoria Rowell was another head-turner of the night, but for all the wrong reasons. Rowell wore a strapless blue Obama dress with tribal symbols which exposed her tan lines. To compliment her outfit, Rowell also wore a pair of gladiator heels and giant silver earrings.

With 28 categories that ranged from Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, to Outstanding Made for Television Movie, many winners were awestruck and joyful when their names were announced. Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winner, Kristin Chenoweth, accepted her award while holding back tears of joy. This was the mood for most of the night with winners being so jubilant to win a sought-after award.

Stars lost this past year were also recognized with a slideshow at the end of the night. Some featured stars included former “Golden Girl” Bea Arthur, “King of Pop” Michael Jackson, “Dirty Dancer” Patrick Swayze and “Charlie’s Angel” Farrah Fawcett.

“Schemmies” hold a special place in the heart of the red carpet

By Summer Rogers
Daily Titan Staff Writer

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, the Nokia plaza at L.A. Live in Los Angeles is quiet. A couple of security guards stand near the red carpet, but none of them say anything, for our bright yellow press passes sway around our necks as we walk, giving us access.

My photographer, Sara Huizar, and I walk the red carpet, to see how it feels…which is fabulous by the way.

We find our spot on the red carpet on the press-side, which is behind a barrier. We find that our spot is near the end of the red carpet, right at the turn, where the celebrities and nominees will end their red carpet walk and enter the Nokia theatre. We think we have a prime spot; however as events unfold we will come to find how out very wrong we are.

An indication of how wrong we are should have been the fact that towards the front of the red carpet, were the big entertainment outlets such as E!, the Associated Press, Entertainment Tonight and

People magazine.

People are not scheduled to start arriving until 1 p.m., so Huizar and I observe the people making last minute touches to the red carpet. It seems that one man’s job is to pick individual pieces of lint

from the carpet via his hands.

After only being exposed to a bustling red carpet on television for the past 21 years of my life, the red carpet seems eerie and foreign as it lies quiet and empty.

At about 10 after 1 p.m., the arrivals begin walking the red carpet and the hustle and bustle of the 2009 Creative Arts Emmys red carpet begins.

Stars of Disney Channel’s Wizard’s of Waverly Place Maria Canals-Barrera and Selena Gomez were a couple of the first arrivals. Gomez was even kind enough to take a moment to sign a couple

autographs for fans before heading into the theatre. Nathan Kress, star on the Nickelodeon show iCarly, also arrived on the red carpet.

Both Wizard’s of Waverly Place and iCarly are up against Disney’s popular Hannah Montana in the Outstanding Children’s Program category.

Some famous faces on the red carpet included Betty White and Elaine Stritch, both up for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, actor Ernest Borgnine, up for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, Seth Green, nominated for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and presenters Katey Sagal and Sharon Osbourne.

Unfortunately, by the time the celebrities got to our the end of the red carpet, they either just wanted to get inside the theatre, or their publicists would usher them along right past us.

Star of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List and two-time Primetime Emmy winner Kathy Griffin was one of the individuals to pass us by.

In an interview for the official Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy handbook, Griffin explains what she did to prepare to host the Creative Arts Emmys this year.

“I wrote the most offensive material I could possibly think of because I know you freaks can handle it. Let’s face it, if I’m addressing the audience at the Creative Arts Emmys—I lovingly call them the

“Schemmies”—I figure there’s nothing they haven’t seen. Far be it from me to make a joke that could possibly shock anyone from the hair and makeup department of Mad Men or the editing team from How I Met Your Mother.”