TV producer Shonda Rhimes didn't get the president she wanted in the recent election, but she'll be receiving a special honor from the president she created at the International Emmy Awards Gala.
“Scandal” star Tony Goldwyn, who plays President Fitzgerald Grant in the ABC TV drama, will be presenting the honorary International Emmy Founders Award to Rhimes Monday night at the Hilton New York.
Rhimes took time out from her television productions to help produce the short video biopic shown at the Democratic National Convention in July right before Hillary Clinton took the stage to accept the party's presidential nomination.
Bruce L. Paisner, president and CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, said Rhimes is a worthy recipient of the award because she “has truly made a global impact on television.” Besides “Scandal,” she is also the writer, executive producer and creator of such hit series as “Grey's Anatomy” and “How to Get Away with Murder.”
“Shonda Rhimes is in a league of her own - not only does she have an entire night of primetime on ABC in the United States, but her groundbreaking shows and iconic characters are avidly followed by over 300 million viewers worldwide, in 67 languages,” Paisner said. “And she repeatedly keeps surprising the industry and her audiences, with her new shows and story lines.”
The presentation to Rhimes will be the centerpiece of the International Emmy Awards Gala in which 40 nominees from 15 countries will be competing in 10 categories. The awards show, hosted by “The Good Wife” star Alan Cumming, honors excellence in television programming outside the U.S.
Brazil had a leading seven nominations, followed by Britain with six.
Oscar-winners Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench were nominated in the acting categories for their roles in the BBC One TV movie “Roald Dahl's Esio Trot,” based on Dahl's children's novel about a lonely aging bachelor who tries to woo the widow in the flat below, who is overly fond of her pet tortoise. The other British nominees are “Hoff the Record” (comedy), “My Son the Jihadi” (documentary), “Gogglebox” (non-scripted entertainment), and “Capital” (TV movie/miniseries).
Brazilian nominees include Alexandre Nero (best actor) for “A Regra do Jogo (Rules of the Game)” and Grazi Massafera (best actress) for “Verdades Secretas (Hidden Truths),” “Zorra (The Mess)” in the comedy category and “Adotada” for non-scripted entertainment.
Germany had five nominations, including best TV movie/miniseries and best actor (Florian Stetter) for “Nackt Unter Wolfen (Naked Among Wolves),” an adaptation of the novel by East German author Bruno Apitz about prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp who risk their lives to hide a Polish-Jewish boy.
Paisner said the competition for best drama series includes two countries represented for the first time in this category: the United Arab Emirates for “Waiting for Jasmin” and Canada for “19-2.”
The honorary International Emmy Directorate Award will be presented to Maria Rorbye Ronn, CEO and director general of the Danish Broadcasting Corp.
