Glenn Close, Best Actress in a Drama Series

Glenn Close thanked the writers of Damages– Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman– for giving her the character of a lifetime… depending on what they do to her next season.

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show

The Daily Show took home two awards tonight: Best Variety, Music or Comedy Series and Best Writing for Variety, Music or Comedy Series.  Jon Stewart accepted the Emmy for the Series and said, “We’re just happy to be up here looking more handsome than Ricky Gervais.”

The winning writers include  Steve Bodow, Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Josh Lieb, Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Jason Ross, Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Sam Means, Rob Kutner, J.R. Havlan, Rich Blomquist, Wyatt Cenac, Elliott Kalan, and Rachel Axler.

Ken Howard, Best Supporting Actor in a Mini-series

Ken Howard dedicated his award to Jeannie Epper, who donated her kidney to him nine years ago. “Thank you , Jeannie. Without you I wouldn’t be on this planet, let alone at this event.”

Alec Baldwin Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin dedicated his award to Lorne Michaels, saying he’s the best boss he’s ever had!

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Kristin Chenoweth tearfully thanked the Emmys for giving an award to a show that is no longer on the air.

Neil Patrick Harris

Well, it’s official!  Mad Men won Best Drama and 30 Rock won for Best Comedy at the 2009 Emmy’s.  For those on the East Coast, we have all of the winners for this year’s Emmy on the homepage or IMDb’s Road to the Emmy‘s section. We’ve been tweeting the winners as they come.  But now, if you’re on the West Coast, follow along with us here or at the IMDbTV blog as we post some of the highlights.

Stay tuned!  Again!

Erin Cummings of Spartacus: Blood and Sand

- Running into my old friend Erin Cummings who will be starring in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” alongside Lucy Lawless.  I met her back in 2002, when she was an aspiring actress volunteering at the film organization where I worked.   It’s nice to see dreams can come true!

- Meeting the editors of Entertainment Weekly and talking about “Lost” with their expert Jeff “Doc” Jensen.

- Seeing three guys dressed up as Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader passed out and taking a nap together in the hall of the convention center.

- At the Bones press panel, creator Hart Hanson said, “It is critical to our series that the science is way more accurate than inaccurate, unlike another forensic show I will not mention by name.” I asked him to just give us the initials.

Sam Trammell of True Blood

- Racing through the halls of the convention center (much like the Brady Bunch in Disneyland) when Heather, my fellow editor, tipped me off that the stars from “True Blood” were signing autographs on the main floor.

- Meeting Ann Thompson at the Jennifer’s Body/Myspace party and talking about our favorite movies and directors.  She is one of the writers that inspired me to be a film journalist.

- Listening to Edward James Olmos as he shared that just eight days earlier he realized there was an unanswered question from “Battlestar Galactica” — Who left Adama the note?

- Seeing all the fans truly embrace their favorite movies, TV shows, and comic book characters.  My favorite was definitely the beer-drinking Bender.

Josh Holloway of Lost

- Hearing Sigourney Weaver say this at the EW “Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture” panel: “MTV called Ripley the second biggest bad ass after Clint Eastwood, but I think she could take him.”

- Interviewing Josh Holloway at the “Lost” press panel.  Now I truly understand what Kate is so torn up about.

Speaking of Charlie…. At the end of the panel, they showed a montage of all the characters who died on the show.  When they showed Charlie, Dominic Monaghan stepped out from behind the screen to say hello.  Could that mean that Charlie is not dead? Hmmm….

Even though they didn’t reveal any real plot points, they did share a few teasers to hold us over. Apparently there won’t be anymore time traveling and less focus on the Dharma folks.  Many old faces from the first season will also return.  And one thing we do know for sure is that Elizabeth Mitchell will indeed be back for the final season!  Does this mean that Juliet and Sawyer will be reunited?

In the press room, I asked Josh Holloway if fans would be seeing more of tough Sawyer from the early seasons or his more vulnerable, romantic side in hopes of tricking him into an answer .  He shared,  “It will be a tricky line to play.  I think he will walk the line of completely salty yet you’ll see some inkling of heartbreak in there.  And maybe some redemption in the end.”

The team from Battlestar Galactica: The Plan and Caprica

It’s no secret that I am a huge Battlestar Galactica fan. So it took all of my power to not completely geek out at the press conference for Battlestar Galactica: The Plan and “Caprica.” I had the opportunity to speak directly to executive producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, and Jane Epsenson, as well “Caprica” star Esai Morales and BSG’s Edward James Olmos, who also directed The Plan.

If you’re not familiar, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is a two-hour movie that takes a look back at the first season the series, but from the perspective of the cylons. But this is not a typical clip show. The writers tried to answer all those questions that we were left with as the series came to a close.

Olmos explained, “I sat down with Robert M. Young and Andy Seklir, the supervising editor, and we spent seven and a half months in a room pounding out a story. And this story is so profound it will drive you into saying, ‘Holy mackerel, I want to watch the whole series again.’”

I was most excited to hear that there still may be a future for the series. “I don’t think this is the final chapter of Battlestar,” said Olmos. “I did at one point until I saw the finished product. Because I know the fanbase is going to explode when they see this film. If they want to see more, they will make more movies. It’s really up to the fans.” (Yes, please!)

“Caprica,” the new series created by the Battlestar team, takes us back 50 years to witness life on the 12 colonies before the attacks as well as the creation of the cylons. Even though we do see a young Bill (Willie) Adama, don’t expect Tigh or Ellen to make an appearance.

Moore confirmed, “The show begins 58 years before so, at this point in the show, the final five had not arrived back in the 12 colonies at this point and time.” But there will still be plenty of conflict. As the series begins, the 12 colonies are at war and the cultural differences reflect those of our modern society. Espenson shared that as they began to work on the series, Bob Harris wrote a document for the writers to use a guide about each culture on the different colonies.

“Bob worked really hard to say, this colony is like India and here all the different ways a planet could have a really large impoverished underclass yet home to some of the finest resorts in the colonies. But, okay who is working at those resorts and what are their lives like? As you are reading this, you realize there are 12 TV series here.”

Espenson’s favorites characters are Serge the house robot, and Sister Clarice, played by Polly Walker. “Sister Clarice is going to blow your underpants off. She is an amazing character and is really fun to write.”

BSG fans can still look forward to Ron Moore’s podcasts. Moore said, “I think I will still continue the podcasts but I may let Jane take a few. She’ll probably do a more sober podcast.”

Evil Spiderman

When I first entered the convention center on Thursday, I overheard someone say, “Wow, this is like Nerds Gone Wild.” I would go a step further and say that Comic-Con is more like fans gone wild.  Walking through the halls, everyone was dressed in costume.  I saw a group of spartans, evil Spiderman, multiple Luke Skywalkers, and even a beer-drinking Bender.  And in every panel and press room, it was echoed, “we are here for the fans.”

My favorite part of the day was Entertainment Weekly‘s “Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture” panel that honored actresses who broke the mold for typical female characters, featuring Eliza Dushku, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Mitchell and Sigourney Weaver.  Benjamin Svetkey, editor-at-large for EW, asked some tough but insightful questions about the constant challenge women face in finding good roles in the Hollywood films.

Sigourney Weaver

When asked why it was so hard for Hollywood to create strong and powerful women characters,  Sigourney Weaver said, “The challenge, that some writers take on very well, is to not try and write a woman action hero. Joss Whedon and James Cameron did not try to create a woman action hero, they were creating a character with a certain drive and veracity. It’s about character.  I was not playing a woman, I was playing a person. And there is a hero in each of us… ”

Elizabeth also mentioned that she feels enormously lucky because she has played some of her best roles after the age of 30. “I was described as sexy for the first time ever after the age of 38. That was kind of nice.”

Later in the day, I went to the Dexter panel with Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, and the newly cast John Lithgow, along with creators and producers.  They didn’t give much away for what we can expect for next season, but Michael hinted that Dexter’s lack of sleep and new responsibilities may make it hard for him to keep up with his… extracurricular activities.  Lithgow teased that he was the only person on set that actually knew what to expect this season because the producers told him the story for up to 12 episodes to entice him into taking the role.  He promised not to share any of the story with anyone but Julie Benz joked, “I’m going to get you drunk tonight.”

Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, and Kellan Lutz at the WIRED Cafe

There was also plenty of celeb spotting throughout the day.  At the WIRED cafe at the Omni Hotel I spotted Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, and Kellan Lutz jamming to the tunes of Mia Moretti, Katy Perry’s DJ.  Paul Bettany was also there, being interviewed for his new film Legion.

On the way out, I had my own fan moment when I saw James Callis (Gaius Baltar) walking down the street.  I was so excited and surprised, I didn’t get my camera out in time to take a picture.  But it reminded me, this is what Comic-Con is all about.