Canapés & Camaraderie: In Praise of FYC Events in Tough Times
My awards from a whirlwind of fun events (really!) in L.A.
If you are still waiting on a buffet line somewhere in West Hollywood, stay in line! The canapés are being refreshed, the passed apps aren’t far away and the Emmy hopefuls you’re technically there to see are probably still somewhere in the building.
So, fine, most of you are not literally reading this from the reception outside an Emmy FYC event — but based on what I’ve witnessed this weekend, it wouldn’t surprise me if many of you are! I met some excellent Ankler fans across a series of events over the past few days and was as thrilled to see Ankler hats in the audience as I was to hear from you all directly about what you’re looking for in coverage of the industry.
I also took as many opportunities as I could — while snacking on sliders or waiting in line at the bar — to ask people about what they get out of these events, which are thick on the ground in L.A. between now and when Emmy nominations voting begins on June 12. When you attend enough of these events it starts to feel like an unusual kind of film festival, with panel conversations and clips instead of full screenings and much better food than your average concession stand. The eventual Emmy winners may wind up being the only ones celebrating when the awards happen in September, but right now everyone gets to be part of it — both the hopefuls pounding the pavement and the industry members in the audience who would like to be those hopefuls someday (and say hi to friends).
The story I heard over and over all weekend was that people in this industry need something to celebrate. Even when you’re talking to the people who have pulled off the impossible — getting a show made that people actually watch! — you feel the uncertainty about whether they can ever make it happen again. During the event The Ankler hosted with the DGA and Threads on Sunday afternoon, my co-hosts Lesley Goldberg, Elaine Low and I closed each session by asking the panelists what was making them feel optimistic about the industry — and each time the crowd would let out a rueful chuckle, knowing how few good answers there were to that question.
But then, each of the directors we spoke to went ahead and answered it anyway, finding the silver lining the way you imagine they do as the leaders on set each day. Because if you can’t find enough hope to keep moving forward, you’re in the wrong industry. And if you think you can’t find hope in a reception’s buffet line — well, you’re just not looking hard enough.
Snacking With the Stars
You’ll find much more thorough recaps of our weekend events in the coming weeks at The Ankler, including podcast recordings of our DGA panels and a full look back at the panels that The Ankler CEO Janice Min and I hosted at Netflix’s Tudum Theater on Saturday. There were even some episodes of the Prestige Junkie podcast recorded in the midst of all of that! I’ve interviewed 16 people over the past few days, and I’m not even counting the time I spent playing a Traitors-themed game alongside Alan Cumming. I promise you’ll get to read and/or listen to almost all of it.
But what’s harder to write about is the sense of swirl and drama around all of these events, and the people from across so many different parts of the industry who are technically the reason for them to exist. The Television Academy, which votes on the Emmys, is made up of around 25,000 voters, and a lot of them — despite California’s well-documented struggles with local production — are still based in Los Angeles. And thanks to those struggles with production, many of those voters are between jobs, with enough time not only to watch this year’s Emmy contenders, but also to show up for the events celebrating them.
The cynical take, of course, is that people come to these events for the free food. I’m not immune either and was among the throngs angling for bacon, egg and cheese sliders (delicious!) following my panel for Netflix on Saturday. The power of the reception is strong enough that the Television Academy, like the film Academy, regulates how many you’re allowed to host. Netflix or Apple could probably afford to send a full lobster dinner home with each TV Academy member, but for now they have to settle for passed apps that, per the rules, are absolutely not allowed to go home with you in a to-go container.
Everyone I talked to at these events made convincing cases for the other perks of these events, from the access to industry superstars — again, who among us can resist? — to the sense of community they can find. I spoke to a WGA member who emphasized that, when work is scarce, these events can be a truly rare opportunity to be among colleagues again, to compare notes or maybe even cook up new projects together. For some younger people in the crowd, plus-ones of voters or new members of guilds, the events could be a valuable entry point into an industry that can often feel inaccessible.
As the moderator at these events I try to be the best possible mediator between the talent and the audience, but it became clear to me that the receptions are where much of the magic happens. Multiple people told me that it’s about not only snagging selfies with stars, but also seeing if the personality they show onscreen, or in the onstage conversations, matches up with what they offer one-on-one. Plenty of talent hightails it out of the theater the moment the panel is completed, but the ones who stick around for the reception, I’m told, really make a difference.
That was very evident at the last FYC soiree I attended, YouTube’s first-ever event on behalf of its creators who have self-submitted to the Emmys. It seemed pretty clear that much of the crowd had previously only heard of Hot Ones, the Sean Evans-hosted interview show that often goes far more viral than the more standard late-night shows. But after Challenge Accepted host Michelle Khare and Good Mythical Morning’s Rhett and Link appeared onstage, I noticed them working the room at the reception, cementing their connection with the voters who may have only learned about their hugely popular shows minutes earlier.
I spoke to a YouTube exec who described the event as an opportunity to come to the Television Academy’s turf, making the case for why these shows deserved to be considered for an Emmy — you don’t see Severance or Hacks having to climb that hill. It was telling to me that in their onstage conversations, the creators often emphasized the number of people employed by their shows — Rhett and Link, for example, record daily in a studio in Burbank and employ 100 Angelenos in the process. The tone at the YouTube event was subtly different from all the other ones in a way I suspect might be very effective. Yes, the industry is in a tough place, and yes, it’s hard to get anything made. So why not hop on YouTube and try to make it yourself?
Now Presenting the FYCees
Inspired by my colleagues on The Ankler podcast and their upfront awards The Uppies, I figured maybe I could invent a few of my own awards to try to capture what I saw this weekend. I’ll be back in L.A. in a few weeks for yet another round of FYC events, so consider this more of a preliminary round than a final coronation.
Best Dessert: The soft-serve chocolate mousse swirled with New Zealand style Hokey Pokey at the YouTube FYC event was easily the best thing I ate all weekend. Apologies to the people I tried to carry on a conversation with while devouring my cone.
Best Excuse to Eat a Carb: I’m not sure what the DGA put in their orecchiette and cheese served after our Ankler event on Sunday, but it was clearly irresistible, for me and everyone else.
Best Cocktail I Didn’t Even Get to Try: Netflix served Bloody Marys following my Saturday afternoon panel, with a whole garnish bar to add to them. Sadly, I had to move on to my next interview. Save one for me for next time, Netflix!
Best Mic Drop: It’s not always easy to know how to wrap up these onstage conversations, even when you’ve got a big clock blinking at you to tell you’ve gone way over. So I was especially grateful for The Pitt director Damian Marcano, who joined his fellow director Amanda Marsalis for the final panel at our event with the DGA on Sunday. Elaine, Lesley and I ended all of our panels asking the participants what advice they had for up-and-coming directors, and so much wisdom was shared. But it was hard to beat the closing words from Marcano, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, who described growing up surrounded by violence and making the active choice to become a “shooter” — of film, that is — instead of a shooter. “Most of you would meet a man like me selling you beads on a beach in Jamaica,” Marcano told the crowd. “That was me staying true to myself. So that’s why I say it’s so important to be drunk on yourself. Don’t rob us of what you have to offer.”
Best Moderator: I’m of course tempted to award myself, or get brownie points with the boss by awarding Janice. But midway through my Rebels & Rulebreakers panel at Netflix with showrunners and directors, I was delighted to realize that Lesli Linka Glatter, director of Zero Day, and Mara Brock Akil, creator of Forever, had more or less taken over my job, directing questions at their fellow creators and inspiring the crowd to multiple applause breaks. Sometimes in these large group interviews it can be difficult to make sure everyone has their moment to shine, but this conversation felt more like a true back-and-forth. I could never fill Akil’s or Glatter’s shoes, but I’m now certain they could fill mine!
Best Photo Op: Perhaps predictably, YouTube showed the best understanding of the kinds of photo souvenirs people want from these events. Thanks to Like and Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey for joining me (see above) and making my Hot Ones dream come true.
