New Carmine Giovinazzo Fan Project: Get The Man An Emmy

Alright ladies, it’s time for the long-awaited Carmine fan project that has nothing whatsoever to do with your collective desire to nail the guy. Many of you have experienced the joy of seeing Carmine’s name in your email inbox. Many have also been blown away by his thoughtfulness upon receiving an autographed picture as thanks for participating in a fan project or just for being a fan. Others may be new to the game and may not have experienced that, but everyone who reads this does enjoy the hell out of his performance each week or you wouldn’t be here.

For all Carmine has done for all for us, I want each of you to give back. He shows appreciation for his fans to an extent rarely seen. Return the favor. This is your opportunity to thank him. Really thank him. What could you do for him that might have the potential for lasting impact? An Emmy represents the pinnacle of accomplishment for a television actor, so let’s help him get one. You may think, “Fantastic, but fans don’t have any input in the Emmy nomination or awards process.” That’s true. But CBS could certainly take a more active role in trying to secure a nomination for Carmine and CBS might be swayed by fan opinion if enough fans spoke up.

For those unfamiliar with the Emmy nomination process, the awards are given by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. CBS submits a couple episodes from each of its primetime series for consideration. This submission process begins the last week of February and has two deadlines (based on the air date of the episode submitted). The first deadline is at the end of March; the second at the end of April. Then they launch massive advertising campaigns to promote their stars. They take out ads in the trades, they fill billboards, they do mass mailings of DVDs and other promotional items. All of which are directed at the voting members of Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, who determine the nominations. The nominations are announced in early July and the campaigning gets kicked up a notch. If you care to read more about the process, the lengthy guidelines can be found here. The 2007 Rules & Procedures won’t be available until early February, but you can read the 2006 booklet now if you’re curious. The process underwent significant revision last year and is expected to be unchanged this year.

Recall the brilliance of Carmine’s performance last season in “Run Silent, Run Deep”? You may be shocked to learn it wasn’t even submitted for consideration. You may also be surprised to learn that CBS did absolutely zero to promote CSI:NY or any of its stars during last years campaign. While fans don’t directly effect Emmy nominations, these crucial steps that lead up to the nominations are something we may be able to impact.

If you want to see Carmine receive the acknowledgement he deserves, please write to CBS. The submission period begins in six weeks. NOW is the time to let them know what we think. This season the writing really hasn’t been there for Danny. That’s why it’s especially important that we ask CBS to submit an episode that showcases Carmine’s talents. Honestly, not many of this season’s episodes fit that bill. However, “Raising Shane” was a stellar example of all that makes Danny Messer a compelling character and allowed Carmine the opportunity to really shine. The final scene in the bar with Shane Casey (played brilliantly by Edward Furlong) was outstanding. Carmine portrayed a complex bundle of emotions that evolved as the scene progressed.

What can you do to help Carmine see the recognition he deserves?
· Write to CBS. You may submit a feedback form via their website by clicking here or write to CBS at the following address:

CBS Paramount Television
4024 Radford Avenue
Studio City, CA 91604
USA

Unfortunately CBS does not have an email address that can be used for viewer comments. You must use the feedback form to submit your comments online. If you the link doesn’t work for you, you can pull up the form on your own by going to cbs.com and scrolling to the very bottom on the page. Click on “feedback” and the form will open.

· Ask CBS to submit “Raising Shane” for Emmy consideration and be sure to tell them why. What makes that episode a compelling choice for an Emmy? What makes Carmine’s performance in that episode shine?
· Ask CBS to put some advertising dollars into supporting Carmine. Tell them why. What makes Carmine so special?

Please bear in mind that Emmys are awarded for excellence in acting. Sex appeal is not a factor. CBS does not care if you want to see him naked. Save that for the message boards. This is solely about his work.

There is something else you can all do. GET THE WORD OUT.
· I will be posting this project on all the Carmine-related message boards I can find. So far that includes imdb, Carmine Online/Carmine Fan, crimelab.nl and tv.com. If you know of other message boards I should visit, please let me know.
· Many of you are active in online communities such as My Space, Live Journal, etc. I’m too old to belong to that generation, but I know it’s HUGE. Please take this project back to the other online communities you belong to and encourage participation there as well.

Now for a dose of reality. The numbers we’d be able to generate off emails from the most active message boards aren’t enough to really turn heads at CBS. Therefore, I want you all to take responsibility for getting as many emails to CBS as you can. Ask your friends to write. Ask your family to write. Many of you mention your parents teasing you about your Carmine crushes. Great. Ask them to write too. If your family pet has an email address and a writing style distinct from yours, let their voice be heard. But I do want to stress that these emails need to be serious. We need to generate as many emails as possible without turning this into a joke. The project will lose credibility if it becomes clear that 2500 emails originate from the same source.

A quick word to those of you who read this thread solely for the purpose of rolling your eyes at yet another MrsG fan project. Yes, I know you’re out there. *cough*Midnighttiptoes*cough* :lol: Even if you’re not a Carmine fan, you are a fan of CSI:NY or you wouldn’t be in the NY forum. Getting Carmine a little love from CBS benefits the rest of the cast as well. CSI:NY is the bastard child of the franchise. Show CBS that it’s worthy of their attention and, as a top 10 rated show, rightly commands their full support.

Carmine is aware of this project. While your participation isn’t tangible in the sense that you aren’t writing anything that will find its way into an address book or a scrapbook and ultimately into his hands, this is something he will truly appreciate. Who knows, he might even take a peek at this thread, so feel free to post your comments to CBS here for him or other readers to enjoy.

I’ll post my letter to CBS in case it helps get the ball rolling for any of you. Once my dog writes her letter, I’ll share that too. :lol: However, given the length of this post, I’ll commit the cardinal sin of double posting so that people don’t have to read both the project and my contribution unless they want to.

Just as a side note: If this project meets with success and Carmine gets the Emmy nomination he deserves, we’ll think of a sequel to this. Something targeted to reach Emmy voters themselves, as opposed to CBS.

Please don’t wait until the last minute to participate. We want to get this on CBS’ radar ASAP. Thanks in advance for your participation. Let’s get this man an Emmy!!!

 

Pardon the double-posting. Here's my letter to CBS, which I submitted via the feedback form this morning:

Dear CBS,

With Emmy submissions and the ensuing campaign frenzy that follows just around the corner, I want to urge you to support my favorite show and one of its remarkable stars.

CSI:NY, long treated as the red-headed stepchild of the CSI franchise, is on the rise and deserves your attention and respect. The show has demonstrated a phenomenal increase in ratings this season. Winning its time slot by a landslide each and every week, it has been in the top 10 all season, venturing as far up the charts as number five on several occasions.

Despite now having ratings previously only seen by the original CSI and CSI:Miami, CSI:NY still fails to garner CBS’ attention in the same way its predecessors do. There are fewer promotional timeslots, less print advertising and a fraction of the merchandising. For example, both CSI and CSI:Miami have board games and PC games, while CSI:NY does not.

Emmy campaign season proves no exception to this trend of ignoring what is perceived as the underdog of the franchise. Last year literally nothing was done to support CSI:NY. I understand why you don’t promote the show for Best Drama consideration. The original garners higher ratings and arguably boasts better writing. Two seasons ago, the “Grave Danger” episode of the original CSI directed by Quentin Tarantino was heavily promoted, and yet on Emmy night came up empty handed. While the “If that didn’t win, there’s no chance CSI:NY would” mentality is a bit defeatist, I understand it. What I don’t understand is your failure to promote the show for other award categories.

You truly have a solid contender for Best Supporting Actor in Carmine Giovinazzo. He embodies the New York spirit of the show and brings passion and edginess to the role of Danny Messer in a flawless marriage of talent and writing. According to Kristine Huntley, reviewer for CSI Files, “Carmine Giovinazzo does his finest work with Danny's emotional extremes, whether he's near tears over a stressful situation or enraged over a criminal's blasé attitude towards his or her crime. Danny's inability to mask or control his emotions is arguably the most interesting thing about the character, and Giovinazzo has the intensity to make Danny's anger believable and sympathetic.”

Giovinazzo is truly the standout of the show, even among more experienced and better-known cast members. He plays a supporting character alongside Gary Sinise’s lead, yet it’s Giovinazzo that draws the most attention. He has been featured in more magazines than any other non-lead in a CSI show and has internet message boards moving at the speed of light. He is dynamic, passionate, intelligent and truly gifted in his ability to portray the full range of emotions on screen. His mastery of his craft is shown not only through powerful delivery of dialogue and great chemistry with everyone he comes into contact with, but his physical presence is undeniable. He conveys more with his eyes or a turn of his lips than many actors can with their entire bodies.

This season Giovinazzo delivered a particularly remarkable performance in the episode “Raising Shane.” In a scene toward the end, Giovinazzo’s character confronts a suspect who framed one of his colleagues for murder. Giovinazzo dazzles in his ability to show a host of complex and conflicting emotions that evolve as the scene progresses. Again, Huntley raves, “Carmine Giovinazzo plays the scene perfectly, getting across both Danny’s determination and his fear, which heightens the suspense of the scene.”

“Raising Shane” is worthy of Emmy consideration. It’s a solid episode featuring a well-known guest star (Edward Furlong) and strong performances from each cast member. Despite the fact that Giovinazzo’s character is not the focal point of the story, his performance in the final face-off with the villain is show stealing.

Please don’t just submit the “Raising Shane” episode for consideration, but really step up and promote Giovinazzo. Take out ads in the trades, do promotional mailings, do whatever it takes to get his face in front of every single voting member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Work as hard to secure a nomination for him as he works for you each and every week.

In addition to Giovinazzo’s consistently fantastic performance on CSI:NY, he also devotes a considerable portion of his off-time to promoting the show. The past two hiatuses were spent doing press tours. Return the favor. Support him to the same extent he supports you.

Very truly yours,
Deborah Fujiwara

Get on it, girls. Let's fire off some letters!

 

YAY!!!!! :lol: I am fired up for this fan project!!!

Thanks MrsG for the idea and I will feverently (ok, maybe not feverently :lol work on the e-mail either today (day off) or this evening to CBS.

This is such a great way to thank Carmine for the hard work and many hours that he puts in as Danny Messer on CSI:NY. We all are in awe of his performance, then now is the time to show it!

 

Mrs G this is a great idea inviting good, constructive fan-support effort. I'm eager to participate but how the hell can I comment on Series 3 when it hasn't even been aired over here?

Should I just do a 'We love it in the UK too' pitch or does it have to be more episode specific?

 

AMAZING. I was waiting for this project, but I had no idea was something like this.
I wanna do it, no doubt.
Thanks Mrs G for this

EDIT: put a link to this page in my LJ, and I'll translate these posts for the Italian fans.

 

You raise a good point. The episodes are months behind for many of you. In that case, be as specific as you can about the quality of his performance each week without making specific reference to an episode you haven't seen. Whether season 3 is currently airing in your country or not, you can absolutely still convince CBS that Carmine's work on the show merits Emmy recognition.

Nim - Thank you so much for linking to this project and translating into Italian. Big smoochies to you!

 

Here are two videos from youtube. Found some "Raising Shane"-monatges. I think that's better than nothing.

Raising Shane part1
Raising Shane part2

I hope that might help you

 

Thank-you so much CarmineFan, that's really kind of you. It'll be a great help I'm sure!

And thanks for the advice Mrs G - I'll be as specifically vague as I can manage....or should that be vaguely specific...

 

In Germany we didn't see that episode. Tonight's episode is 'Stealing home'. Far far away...

 

Briliant project MrsG!

As Im in the UK, I shall be as specific as I can, but I swear five, five US and LivingTV only seem to be showing eppies in which Carmine has a minimal part, which is very frustrating! But can I just ask: What was the episode called where Dannys brother gets beaten up, I think? I know that Carmine showed some of his amazing acting skill off there.

~xJemmax~

 

One additional thing I've heard is that it's not a good idea to mention that it's part of a project, I've heard that they don't listen as much if they know it's a group project.

 

Brilliant idea.

I really like the thought of "returning the favor" and I will start working on my email first thing tomorrow. I truly hope our voice will be heard, the guy sure deserves some kind of recognition.

*is excited*

ETA: I also pimped the project on my LJ, hopefully a couple of friends will find it interesting enough to participate.

 

And so it begins (rubbing hands together in preparation).

Great minds think alike. But hey watch it with the 'too old' talk lady :lol: (seeing as I'm the same vintage). I joined myspace because it's a great place to store videos privately that I can then embed in my own site. And my 14yo niece said I had to so I could friend her Also on LJ as a way of keeping up with friends' doings.

But the important stuff:I spent yesterday afternoon and evening preparing for this. I joined up on a mountain of Carmine/CSINY related communities and groups so that I could help get the word out. I shall be crossposting to those forums and making bulletin posts as soon as I'm finished with this post.

I also bookmarked some Australian boards. You want I should forward the url's to you?

My dog says she also wants to participate

That was a brilliant letter Deb

ETA: I will of course also post it at my blog. As should everyone else who has a blog/live journal/blurty/myspace whatever and wants to participate!

ETA again: Would be kinda nice to know that he received the previous project, wouldn't it? :lol: