Although the Emmy awards tomorrow won’t involve Las Vegas nominees for the CBS prime-time ceremonies, they were included in the prior Creative Arts ceremonies on Sept. 12 in Los Angeles. Las Vegas Backstage Access takes time out to honor their contributions.
Emmy nominations honored Rio headliners Penn & Teller, left, and stage designer Andy Walmsley,
right. Penn Jillette and Teller — along with writer Michael Goudeau, who also performs with Lance Burton — were nominated for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming for their Showtime series “Bullshit!” The “New Age Medicine” episode was singled out in the series that devotes each half-hour to debunking its selected topic.
The series also was nominated for its editing, though Jillette and Teller were not personally nominated in that category. The series has been nominated 13 times previously, five for writing and four for overall nods in the reality category. In its seventh season, it is Showtime’s longest-running series.
Walmsley’s set for “American Idol” was nominated for Outstanding Art Direction for Variety, Music Or Nonfiction Programming.
The British set designer moved to Las Vegas four years ago and his recent work includes the sets for Mirage headliner Terry Fator and Flamingo magician Nathan Burton. It’s his third Emmy nomination (same category, all for “Idol”).
Walmsley also is launching a Web site for Las Vegas entertainment professionals: www.vegasliveshowpro.com.
Although not Las Vegas-based, David Rockwell — the ubiquitous designer who created the sets for “Peepshow,” the custom theater for “Phantom” and retail-restaurant space at CityCenter — is competing against Walmsley. Rockwell is nominated for his stage design for the Academy Awards.
Los Angeles-based choreographers Napoleon and Tabitha D’Umo, both graduates of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, were also nominated for Outstanding Choreography for “So You Think You Can Dance,” as was Mia Michaels, who chroeographed Celine Dion’s “A New Day.”
Vegas Backstage Access (VBA) 