Ellen Burstyn's Emmy-Nominated, Quarter-Minute Performance
Fresh off the heels of AdjectiveGate, the modifier-related scandal that rocked the world of TV awards show nomination procedures forever, comes yet another, shocking Emmy brouhaha. According to one irate GoldDerby message board poster, Ellen Burstyn's nominated performance for HBO's Mrs. Harris lasts a grand total of 15 seconds:
Get to the bottom and raise as much uproar as possible over the ridiculous Emmy nomination of Ellen Burstyn in Mrs. Harris for Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series/TV Movie.
Of all the Emmy snubs and head scratchers on nomination day, this assine (sic) nomination has escaped the intense scrutiny it deserves.
Ms. Burstyn, an actress I admire, was in Mrs. Harris for count 'em 15 seconds. She was in a flashback sequence and had 2 lines about her past affair with Ben Kingsley's character. Her title in the credits was Ex-Lover #3.
To me, its obvious the voters simply looked at the ballot, saw Ms. Burstyn's name, recognized her as a respected famous actress, and nominated her for this performance that isn't even big enough to classify as a cameo.
It would be easy to slap this incident with catchy name like BurstynGate and cry foul against lazy Academy members who reward familiarity over merit. We prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt, however, and assume Burstyn earned her nomination the old fashioned way: by turning in a bravura performance of the "quality, not quantity" variety. It just adds to the honor that the telecast's producers will be able to share the entirety of it with Emmy viewers in the space allotted for the clip that follows the calling of her name.
