Awards Shows

Now that LOST is over, there are three things I watch on TV all year: the Emmys, the Golden Globes, and the Oscars.

That's it.

I'm not into the VMAs or the People's Choice Awards, or the Grammys. The first two, I don't consider actual awards, and the third is music, and I really couldn't care less about it. I like music, but I like movies a million times more.

When awards shows are on, I devote my whole night to watching them. Especially the grandfather of all film awards shows: the Academy Awards. On my 20th birthday, the Oscars were on, and the only thing I wanted to do on my birthday was watch them. And that's what I did. The next year, I had a party and forced everyone to dress up and fill out voting ballots. I had champagne and hors d'oeuvres and everything.

There are three things I love most about awards shows: the glitzy gowns and the red carpet, surprised acceptance speeches, and the length of the telecast

On the night of any of the three awards shows, I start my night out by watching 2 or 3 hours of red carpet coverage. I love dresses, and I love fashion, so seeing all of the beautiful gowns is like my kryptonite. I love playing the critic, too. After the telecast, I go on People.com and make my own best dressed list. Yeah, I'm into it.

My second favorite thing, the acceptance speeches, may actually be what most people hate. I know a lot of people watch awards telecasts just for the dresses, unless they're on MTV and there's bound to be some crazy antics. But I love the speeches. They're best when the winner doesn't expect to win at all. Kate Winslet had a great one when she won her Oscar for Best Actress in The Reader. And Octavia Spencer had a pretty great one this past weekend when she won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and almost fell off her feet.

It's all about crying and cursing and fainting for me. Sometimes I get chills. Sometimes I even cry.

The third thing I love most is where I definitely differ from every other person on the planet. I love how long awards shows are. Seriously. Because I'm more than happy to sit through an awards show for 3 hours after 3 hours of red carpet coverage.

I love every award. I love Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Sound Mixing as much as all of the major acting ones. Heck, I even think they should air some of the boring technical ones that nobody cares about on TV. Honor everyone! Hollywood equality for all!

But I know that I'm alone on the whole length debate. And that's fine. Because while everyone else is complaining because they can't watch American Idol, I'll be basking in the glamor of the evening.

I feel like, since I only watch 3 things on TV all year, I can afford to spend half a dozen hours in front of the TV.

The year the writer's strike was going on was a dark one. Not because I'm a working screenwriter or producer or director or anything like that, but because the Golden Globes were announced by a boring NBC host.

And there were no actors.

And there were no dresses.

And there were no acceptance speeches.

But those dark days are over, and it's awards season again. The Emmys are done, the Golden Globes have wrapped up, and the King is coming in less than a month. And I couldn't be more excited.