Host Jimmy Kimmel plots an Emmy Awards prank
(CBS/AP) After rolling out the red carpet Wednesday morning in anticipation of Sunday's Emmy Awards ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel warned he's planning a prank on folks not watching the show.
"I have an idea for a prank, and if it goes well, will be great,'' the first-time Emmy host teased after ceremoniously unraveling the red carpet. "If it goes badly, it won't be so great. I think it will go well. If you're watching, you'll be in on it. If you're not, you might get caught up in the prank.''
Complete Section: 2012 Emmy Awards
And then there's the host's opening monologue, which almost always is under scrutiny at awards shows, especially for a first-time host.
"What can I say...I hope it will be funny," Kimmel told Entertainment Weekly about his opener. "That will be a nice surprise for everyone, I think, if it is. Other than that, it's not like there's some kind of cliffhanger in the end. You do take the news into account so if something big happens, like if an elderly actor decides to have a conversation with a piece of furniture or something the night before, certainly that would be mentioned."
Kimmel, whose "Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' received its first nomination for outstanding variety series this year, is looking forward to seeing what TV stars look like out of costume Sunday.
For the fifth year, the show will be held at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. The massive red carpet more like a red sidewalk, really will canvass the entire plaza across the street from the Staples Center for Sunday's TV extravaganza.
Kimmel said the most difficult thing about emceeing the 64th annual Primetime Emmys is juggling hosting duties with his day job.
"There's a lot of work to be done,'' Kimmel said. "I've been up very late working on this stuff. You have to write every presenter intro, and then the presenters change or the combinations change, and then you have to change those things. What I'm trying to say is this is a real pain.''
Inside the Nokia Theatre, stagehands were hard at work on the sweeping art deco-style set. The stage has been accented with silver tiles and features a voluminous circular screen hanging above several curved walls that can double as screens.
Place cards on the chairs in front of the stage's glittery silver stairs illustrated that Tiny Fey, Clive Owen and "Modern Family'' stars Ed O'Neil, Sofia Vergara and Ty Burrell will have the best seats in the house: front-row center. Other nominees with sweet front-row seat assignments included Jon Hamm, Nicole Kidman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Betty White, Kevin Costner and Bryan Cranston.
A batch of new presenters have been added to Sunday's roster: Giancarlo Esposito, Michael J. Fox, Jon Hamm, Julianna Margulies and Julianne Moore, along with Andre Braugher, Connie Britton, Ron Howard, Lucy Liu and Keifer Sutherland.
The Emmy Awards red carpet begins Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.