GoldDerby- Analyzing the Reels

[juniorz1]

Not sure if you all have visited or have heard of it, but LA Times has a site called GoldDerby where they get the DVDs of the submissions and mail them out to certain members to analyze and score. They also give their rankings based on preference and likelihood of winning. I have been a judge in the past and though I was late to the party this year, a couple of posters were nice enough to send me their DVDs so I could participate. I received the Lead Actor & Lead Actress reels yesterday, viewed them, and posted my thoughts. Check it out, as well as the thoughts of the others!

Lead Actor Reels & Analysis

Lead Actress Reels & Analysis

[DRW50]

Thanks for telling us about this. I enjoyed all the reviews and how everyone was trying to be impartial and I enjoyed the divide between talent and whether talent is shown in a reel. I will be surprised if Colleen actually wins, because usually the most deserving don't, but I'm glad everyone seems to be pulling for her. If Debbi wins that will be great too.

[juniorz1]

I personally watched all the reels, Carl. I thought that Colleen probably wouldn't win either and it would go to either Debbi or Flannery or even Stafford. That is, until I watched them.

Colleen should win this in a walk and I will be shocked if she doesn't. Debbi submitted wrong- yes, her acting is strong in her tape, but it was only 6 MINUTES LONG! There's no way she's winning with that.

Flannery also submitted wrong- the episodes she picked are more about the directing and the story than her performance. She doesn't do much in it and shows little to no range.

Wright's reel was the worst of the bunch- it was a total letdown. Frankly, after viewing it, I have to wonder if she was only nominated because she's been shafted in the past. She doesn't even have a "moment" in it really and the last 30 seconds, where Carly goes to see Dante, is the best part. However, all those 30 seconds did is make the argument that she probably should have submitted the episode that came after the one she chose.

Minshew was ok, but has no shot. She was out-acted by the other 4 ladies- the only reel that was worse than hers was Wright's. In fact, I find it hard to believe that other pre-nominated actresses, like Kassie DePaiva, Gina Tognoni, Kristian Alfonso, and Katherine Kelly Lang, didn't submit better reels than Minshew and Wright. I didn't mention Maura West because I saw her reel (it was the same as Michael Park's) and that episode was all Park.

The only possible spoiler would be Stafford, but I wouldn't count on it. She has an 11 minute reel, but almost 3 minutes of it was flashbacks, which should have been edited down. She does have a moment, but the breakup scenes she submitted last year were much stronger and she didn't win with that tape.

Colleen's reel is 22 minutes long and has everything- comedy, drama, sentimentality, and hope. Plus, it tells a complete story from beginning to end, which the voters love. She shows exceptional range in it and, where the writing does a disservice to her competitors, it actually lifts her up. The episode was clearly a love letter from the writers to her, especially given that it aired in the last 2 weeks of the show. Honestly, when watching them all back to back, there's Zenk's reel........and then there's everyone else's. She blows them out of the water.

[JaneAusten]

I liked the reviews on the best supporting actor category. Certainly Jonathon Jackson is still the favored and frontrunner

but these are the only people who even acknowledged Doug Davidson who IMO actually had a better reel than Jackson because it

wasn't ALL him and in your face the entire time. He like Tricia Cast are 2 of the best, most subtle underrated actors on soaps

and on Y&R. I feel honestly he should win over Jonathan Jackson's clearly emmy baiting reel. But then again I am not a JJ fan.

Colleen's submission to me is just so much better and complete than the rest, if she doesn't win it's only because her show is off the air which should not be a reason at all.

[juniorz1]

Exactly, Jane. Totally on point and I agree with you on Doug's reel. I remember watching it when it aired and knew that's what he'd submit. That's why when people were all up in arms over his nomination on here, I reminded them of his work in this storyline and this episode in particular. He was excellent throughout and had Jackson not had that dynamite reel this year, he'd be walking off with his first trophy.

It's really too bad because IMO, with a reel like that, Jackson should have submitted in lead and would have won in a walk. Yes, Michael Park, James Scott, and Maurice Benard all have pretty solid reels, but Jackson would have blown them out of the water with his. I have to wonder if he went supporting to try and throw support Benard's way. I doubt it will work, as James Scott is the true frontrunner in that category, with Park being his strongest competition and Benard having only an outside chance of winning.

[jcar03]

I received the Talk Show Entertainment Reels.

Talk Show – Entertainment

The View – 05/24/2010

Run Time: 38:17

They submitted a behind the scenes look at one of their episodes. It is interesting seeing all that goes into putting on a one hour show. The focus is off the ladies for the majority of the episode and on the producers and crew members. This could be a big plus for some voters who find the ladies to be polarizing when they get on more opinion based topics. Barbara is not seen in this episode because she was having her heart surgery. Mario Cantone is there as part of the guy co-hosts week. We see all the planning that goes on for weeks for the episode including a segment that is cut just a few hours before air. The segment was Joy’s month in review where they joked about a previous episode where Barbara joked about a dress Elisabeth was wearing. The segment was to include a joke that Barbara was playing footsie with Elisabeth under the table. Joy doesn’t want to do the segment because of Barbara’s last minute surgery. They have Michael Douglas on as a guest and they ask him about his upcoming movies, Catherine’s Tony nomination and they get into his son, Cameron’s legal issues. The executive producer, Bill Getty feels they are talking to much about Cameron and pushes them to move on. We see them put together a fashion show with Christian Sarino, where one of the models almost doesn’t make it on because she is feeling ill. The last segment revolves around having a performance from the Broadway show, “Million Dollar Quartet.” The director wants a $10,000 set but Bill cuts it down to $5000. I do wonder if some voters would of wanted to see a regular show but I enjoyed this submission.

Grade: B

The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 10/28/2010

Run Time: 41:39

Ellen does her normal dance routine to start off the show. Ellen brings out one of her recurring bits of Amy the reporter. Amy is sent to a haunted house and spends the bit screaming and freaking out. To some this may be annoying but I found it hilarious. The first guest is First Lady, Michelle Obama and Ellen thanks her for inviting her mother to the White House for the egg hunt. Ellen jokes that Mama stole some items from the White House during her visit. The next guest is Second Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. They note that Dr. Biden is a military mom and they have several military families in the audience. They recognize some of the audience members and their stories. They have a musical performance by Sugarland. Ellen brings down to audience members to play a picture guessing game. The one contestant guesses the pictures before it barely shows up. It becomes obvious she is on the game and this is a surprise for the other contestant, Traci. Ellen surprised Traci with a car and a video from her husband stationed overseas. This was a pretty well rounded episode with the dancing, funny moments and heart warming moments with the military families. It is a more traditional tailor made submission for many voters.

Grade: A

Rachael Ray - 05/03/2010

Run Time: 43:34

Rachael does another inspirational episode for her submission. This one focuses on Wilma Stephenson, a culinary arts teacher in a school in Philadelphia. Ms. Stephenson has high expectations for her students many of them come from abusive homes. The school she teaches at sees 30% of their high school seniors drop out before graduation. All of the students who are selected for Ms. Stephenson’s program graduate. We are introduced to some of Ms. Stephenson’s students. Diamond is 18 years old and is basically the sole care giver for her younger siblings. Diamond works until 1:30 AM at a fast food restaurant and only gets about 3 hours of sleep most nights. Christian is another student who Ms. Stephenson said she has kept busy in the classroom to keep him out of trouble on the streets. Ms. Stephenson reflects on the students that have succeeded in her classroom. The classroom is pretty run down so Rachael has arranged for a makeover. They reveal a beautiful new state of the art kitchen and dinning area. Rachael then gives each of Ms. Stephenson’s students a $5000 scholarship for college from her Yum-O organization. Rachael introduces Bobby Flay to guest chef for Ms. Stephenson and her students. At the studio, Rachael and Ms. Stephenson discuss how vocational programs like this are disappearing in public schools and that this program may be gone in a few years because of funding. Rachael tells her that she is receiving another $5000 grant and a years supply of eggs. Rachael moves on to a cooking segment where she makes some chicken and macaroni and cheese. At the end of the episode, Rachael reveals one last surprise for Ms. Stephenson, a fabulous vacation. A great episode with a great message and purpose. It has severed Rachael well in the past to submit an inspirational episode so I wouldn’t be surprised if she walked away with another win.

Grade: A+

Live with Regis and Kelly – 10/29/2010

Run Time: 42:06

Regis and Kelly have submitted their Halloween episode. The first costumes are Regis as The Situation, Kelly as Snooki, Gelman as Pauly D and Art Moore as Jwoww. Regis and Kelly do their normal host chat but do a bit with Kelly dressed as the Jet Blue fight attendant and Regis as the passenger who drives him over the edge. The real flight attendant makes a cameo. Regis has trouble with knowing what is going on and keeps pulling at his shirt to show his “abs” (he is wearing a body suit). Next costume change is Kelly as Katy Perry and Regis as Elmo. Will Ferrell is the first guest and he is dressed as a bed bug. They do some pre-taped bits, one is a Modern Family spoof where Kelly is Gloria, Regis is Jay and Art is Manny. Next is Mario Lopez giving us a Kardashian update. Kelly portrays all the Kardashian women, Regis is Bruce, Gelman is Scott and Art portrays a long lost Kardashian sister. Another pre-taped bit comes up with Kelly at Rachel Zoe, Regis as Rachel’s assistant Brad and Gelman is Rachel husband, Rodger, Rachel is trying to find a costume for Lady Gaga. This plays right into the next bit with Kelly pulling double duty as Cher and Lady Gaga and Regis is Justin Beiber. They have a Glee dancing tribute with Kelly as Lea Michele and they end with all four dressed as Lady Gaga (including Gelman is a tight fitting blue number). They finally come back to have their costume contest with Kelly as Jennifer Lopez and Regis as Steven Tyler. They award the prizes and the episode just ends. They do a great job with the various Halloween costumes. I think they have submitted the Halloween episode a few times and they can never seem to win with it. Regis doesn’t seem to know what is going on a few different times. Voters may award the show because Regis is supposed to be leaving this summer.

Grade: B-

Rank

1. Rachael Ray

2. The Ellen DeGeneres Show

3. The View

4. Live with Regis and Kelly

[juniorz1]

Thanks for posting your analysis here jcar! Check your PMs!

[jcar03]

I got the PM's today on Gold Derby. I had been logged out over the last few days. I haven't heard back from them yet. I kind of want to go on a whole rant about the situation but this isn't the place

[juniorz1]

Just posted my Supporting Actress analysis over there.

http://www.goldderby.com/forum/topics/view/72#post_1016

[juniorz1]

I received the DVDs for Supporting Actress over the weekend and have posted my analysis HERE!. ATWT fans, you're not going to be happy. Julie Pinson submitted an excellent tape and there's a good chance she'll repeat and walk home with the trophy. When you guys read about the episode, though, I think you'll understand why. I even remember watching that show last year and thinking it would be a good submission for her.

[JellicleCat]

Why shouldn't we be happy if she wins? I want all of ATWT nominees to win! (Although if I had to choose just one Colleen Zenk would get my vote in an instant!)

[juniorz1]

Most fans can't stand Juicy Janet, myself included. But I can't deny that Pinson is a truly gifted actress, however annoying the character may be.

[juniorz1]

Just listened to the Daytime Confidential Emmy Predictions podcast and I'm not even gonna link it they're so bad.

They are SO ABC-biased it ain't even funny. They actually said Zenk's reel wasn't on par with the other ladies (including Wright and MINSHEW!!!). That sentiment is so far off base it's ridiculous. I don't believe for a second that they actually watched the reels because Zenk's is MILES ahead of everyone else's. Whether they call her name or not, she's already a winner in my book. When you submit a reel that kills against Flannery, who was given the story of a lifetime in 2010, you're already the Outstanding Lead Actress IMO.

[JellicleCat]

It's sad how that podcast has deteriorated. I actually liked them when they started and Luke and Lisa were the hosts. But ever since Jamey Giddens got involved the quality has dropped alarmingly. He's so freaking annoying!

[Chris B]

I actually didn't like Julie Pinson's tape that much. I thought it was better the second time I watched it, but it went too long and dragged in parts. I think the writing and staging of the scenes let her down more than anything. It was a strong tape, but I still preferred Tricia Cast.