PBS’ Rebecca Eaton knows the first rule of politics: timing is everything.
The "Masterpiece Theatre" executive producer, who helped bring "Downton Abbey" to the airwaves, specifically chose last Thursday morning to make the pilgrimage from Boston to Washington D.C. to pitch PBS for future funding.
“The pilot told me to shut off my phone. We had one nomination when I got on the plane and 37 nominations when I got off,” Eaton told TheWrap at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday night.
“It was not a coincidence that we booked this
budget meeting on the day that we knew the Emmy nominations were coming,” Eaton (at right) said.
Above left, “Downton Abbey’s” Hugh Bonneville reveals a semi-spoiler for season 3 that returns in the U.S. in January 2013. “Series” three, in UK TV parlance, premieres on British screens in September.
Nearby, “Downton Abbey” creator and executive producer Julian Fellowes nursed an injury, recovering from a knee surgery that kept him seated with his leg up in an adjoining ballroom as cast members like Bonneville, Michelle Dockery and Elizabeth McGovern were so pinned down by eager TV media that they had a PBS staffer dedicated to cocktail-wrangling.
Also read: 'Downton Abbey' Season 3 Death: Who Is It?
“Americans are much more generous,” Fellowes told TheWrap. “They’re not trying to make a fool of you all the time."
“Americans see the fun in award shows more than we do,” Fellowes continued. “It’s a difference of culture. The English have a resistance to success that the Americans don’t.”
The “Downton Abbey” tour’s next stop is the British version of the TCAs on Tuesday, before appearing together at Friday’s Olympic Opening Ceremonies in London.
As for a potential Pippa-esque moment of global-TV fame on Friday, Fellowes promised, “I can handle it."
Kardashian Culture Unwelcome at the Chateau
Meanwhile on Saturday, a player from one of Downton’s new Emmy rivals, "Mad Men," cocktailed with the un-PBS crowd at Carrera’s crowded Summer Escape at that Chateau Marmont.
“Mad Men’s” flawed doctor Sam Page (pictured, left) joined Dallas’ Josh Henderson as the annual summer tastemaker soirée landed on Sunset.
Inside, Adam Rodriguez ("CSI: Miami") made note of his lower profile this summer despite co-starring in a big movie, as he said so few guys have seen his turn in “Magic Mike.”
As about 300 scenesters filled a space meant for about 200, the party spilled out to the pool area, raising eyebrows and ire amid some Chateau staff who snickered at certain guests they called “Kardashian types,” as one hotel fixture put it.
Kardashian-esque only in their carpet-friendly résumés, fixtures Kevin Connolly, Amber Lancaster and Laura Prepon took in the launch Carrera 6000 at the Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum party.
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I spotted hosts for both of the currently competing Saturday night hotspots – Lure’s patio (Pantera Sarah) and Bootsy Bellows in the former Trousdale space (Allison Melnick) mixing it up with their crowds before heading out to their own events.
Bieber Shows Big Sean Who’s #1
Do not keep the Biebs waiting.
Backstage at the Gibson theater during the Teen Choice Awards rehearsals on Saturday, Justin Bieber took offense to his performing partner Big Sean's inversion of Hollywood hierarchy.
The significantly less famous and successful collaborator kept the Biebs waiting for rehearsal, earning Justin’s one-fingered salute as Sean’s white Mercedes rolled in late.
(At right, Big Sean triumphs over something (physically) bigger than Bieber – an oversized Bop It! Smash in the Teen Choice Awards’ Backstage Creations lounge.)
Photos: Page/Henderson by John Sciulli/Wireimage; Big Sean by Hasbro Gaming/Mark Sullivan/Wireimage.