Emmys slugfest: Is it finally time for Michelle Williams (‘Fosse/Verdon’) to shine? [WATCH]
“It is Michelle Williams, who is overdue for a peer group award — come on, Hollywood! — versus Patricia Arquette, who has swept the derby so far in this race for Best Movie/Mini Actress. Who’s going to win?” asks Gold Derby editor-in-chief Tom O’Neil about one of the Emmys’ closest contests this year between Williams for her role as Gwen Verdon in the showbiz series “Fosse/Verdon” and Arquette for playing Tilly Mitchell in the true-crime tale “Escape at Dannemora.” Watch him debate the race with senior editors Joyce Eng, Daniel Montgomery and Susan Wloszczyna above.
“I just think it’s hers to lose,” says Wloszczyna about Williams. The real Verdon was a theater legend, but she’s not as well known to audiences as she once was, and certainly not as well known as her husband Bob Fosse. Nevertheless, Williams “is filling in the blanks in her life so beautifully.” And for that matter, “which show will [Emmy voters] relate to more,” the one about a prison break, or the one about Hollywood? Certainly the Emmys have liked showbiz types before, like past movie/limited series winners like Judy Davis as Judy Garland (“Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows”) and Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers (“The Life and Death of Peter Sellers”).
Eng is also predicting a win for Williams, especially after seeing the seventh episode of “Fosse/Verdon,” which was focused on the production of “Chicago.” “I watched and was like, I’m not going to curse, but like ‘Holy — I think she could actually win,'” Eng explains. “I’m not confident that she’ll win, but I feel good about it.”
However, Montgomery is still predicting Arquette to prevail for “Dannemora” on the strength of winning Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and SAG Awards back to back to back earlier this year. “In this age of peak TV when there’s so much television out there, the fact that Patricia Arquette already has a track record … gives her a momentum,” he argues. And the fact that Arquette is already an Oscar and Emmy winner doesn’t hurt, though maybe voters will be swayed to Williams because she is so overdue after four Oscar noms and no Emmy noms.
Who do you think has the edge? And are we underestimating Amy Adams (“Sharp Objects“), who seemed like a shoo-in for awards before Arquette started stealing her thunder last winter?
Be sure to make your Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before nominations are announced on July 16. And join in the fun debate over the 2019 Emmy taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.