Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Tinsletown Tidbits

In Honor of the Biggest Night in Television, HempHera & GBK Brand Bar Hosted the Most Anticipated Luxury Lounge of the Season

Over $40K in Gifts and Trips were Given to the Celebrity Guests Attending While On-Site Rapid Covid Testing Kept All Attendees Safe

On Friday, September 17 & Saturday, September 18 HempHera and GBK Brand Bar hosted a two-day luxury celebrity gifting lounge to celebrate the best and brightest in television. Each attendee was given a rapid Covid-19 test from Madek Health Systems before entering, a scheduled appointment time, and measures were taken to have the event spaced out in compliance with Covid-19 occupancy guidelines to ensure a safe environment for the guests.

Held on the rooftop penthouse of the La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood, the celebrity guests were dazzled by HempHera Kosmetikos and their Greek God & Goddess inspired Luxury NanoAmplified CBD Skincare Collection where they were gifted their best-selling skincare products as well as a pain relief gift set. Over 60 of the biggest stars of television attended including 2021 EMMY winner Evan Peters, 2021 Emmy nominees Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso), Renee Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton), Brendan Scannell (Bonding), Sherry Marsh (Pose) along with past Emmy winners Viola Davis and Martin Short. Also in attendance were stars of the Emmy nominated shows Jenna Lyng Adams and Melissa Tang (Kominsky Method), Christian Isaiah and Shanola Hampton (Shameless), Cameron Crovetti (Big Little Lies), Taylor Nichols (Pen15), Rose Abdoo (Hacks), Gianni Decenzo (Cobra Kai), Victoria Tate (Morning Show), and Fortune Feimster (Drag Race). Some of the other stars that stopped by include Malin Akerman, Nia Vardalos, Ryan O’Conner, Saul Rubinek, Raven Symone, Patrick Gallagher, Leslie-Ann Brandt, Mekhi Phifer, Shawn Hatosy, Isaac Keys, Nika King, Abraham Lin, Shannon Elizabeth, Jordyn Curet, Jaylin Fletcher, Greta Onieogou, Larray, Marcel Spears, Melissa Roxburg, Timon K. Durett and many, many more.

Once inside the lounge, the celebrated guests enjoyed delicious vegan sushi from Kuleana, the world’s smoothest tequila - Suavecito, gifts by Magnetic Hair Design (100% remy magnetic hair extensions) and Pump Pal (the first reusable fuel glove). The party atmosphere included a live performance by singer Joey Emmanuel and tunes by DJ Aaron Colbert.

Other brands that were gifting amazing items included Blazing Bull Grills, trips by Sailrock Resort and Sublime Samana Hotel & Residences, hotel stays at LaPeer Hotel, gift cards to St. Felix Restaurant and in-home chef from Hibachi House LA, spirits gifted included NEFT Vodka, Cardinal du Four Armagnac – 21 Rebellion, Boxed Water, human clothing by James Peter Henry and Lavie by CK and for pets by MOSHIQA and art by Ringo 4u2c (International Pop Artist) and Sean M. Flynn Photography. Wellness gifts were provided by Elite Aesthetics, Dogpound Recovery, and PBV Varnish anti-aging beauty. Still more gifts were provided by Cinquieme Gauche Interiors, Price.com, Kamaria Jewelry, Session Goods bongs and pipes, MOTEV luxury global transportation and more. As part of their commitment to giving back, GBK partnered with She Angels and Goodwill to give the celebrity guests attending the opportunity to be educated about the good work they are doing to help so many people in need. The causes were also given one of the $40,000 gift bags to auction off to raise more funds for their cause.

GBK Brand Bar is the world’s premiere Celebrity Gifting lounge that is dedicated to providing high quality, tailor-made service to its individual clients. GBK Brand Bar is known for integrating the Entertainment, Luxury Consumer Products and Non-Profit industries to create unique and memorable high-profile experiences that maximize its clients’ brand-building efforts. GBK Brand Bar’s CEO Gavin Keilly is a well-established name in Luxury Celebrity Lounges with over 20 years’ experience as an industry leader. His lounges are legendary in Hollywood (and beyond) for having not only the best gifts, but always attracts the hottest celebs who continue to come back year after year. Philanthropy is important to GBK Brand Bar and each lounge always partners with a different charity to help raise awareness, create celebrity partnerships, and give back to the community.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ 73rd annual Emmy Awards will be presented Sept.19, with Cedric the Entertainer set to host.

For more than a year, television has been a welcome distraction to those stuck at home during the pandemic. On Tuesday, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences rewarded those shows — along with their creators and stars — that entertained the masses.

HBO and HBO Max together led the pack with 130 nominations, followed by Netflix’s129 and newcomer Disney+, which had 71.

Netflix’s “The Crown” and Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” tied for the most nominations with 24, one more than Marvel’s “WandaVision,” another Disney+ series.

Below is the full list of the major Emmy nominees for the primetime ceremony:

Comedy

Lead Actress, Comedy
Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”
Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish”
Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Lead Actor, Comedy
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Kenan Thompson, “Kenan”

Supporting Actress, Comedy
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Aidy Bryant, “SNL”
Kate McKinnon, “SNL”
Cecily Strong, “SNL”
Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”
Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
Rosie Perez, “The Flight Attendant”

Supporting Actor, Comedy
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, “Hacks”
Kenan Thompson, “SNL”
Bowen Yang, “SNL”
Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”
Brendan Hunt, “Ted Lasso”
Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”
Jeremy Swift, “Ted Lasso”
Paul Reiser, “The Kominsky Method”

Guest Actress, Comedy
Jane Adams, “Hacks”
Yvette Nicole Brown, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Bernadette Peters, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”
Issa Rae, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Maya Rudolph, “SNL”
Kristen Wiig, “SNL”

Guest Actor, Comedy
Alec Baldwin, “SNL”
Dave Chappelle, “SNL”
Morgan Freeman, “The Kominsky Method”
Daniel Kaluuya, “SNL”
Daniel Levy, “SNL”

Comedy Series
”Black-ish” (ABC)
“Cobra Kai” (Netflix)
“Emily in Paris” (Netflix)
“Hacks” (HBO Max)
“The Flight Attendant” (HBO Max)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“Pen15″ (Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)

Limited Series, Movie or Anthology

Lead Actress, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Michaela Coel, “I May Destroy You”
Cynthia Erivo, “Genius: Aretha”
Elizabeth Olsen, “WandaVision”
Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”

Supporting Actor, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton”
Jonathan Groff, “Hamilton”
Anthony Ramos, “Hamilton”
Paapa Essiedu, “I May Destroy You”
Evan Peters, “Mare of Easttown”
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, “The Queen’s Gambit”

Limited Series
”I May Destroy You” (HBO)
“Mare of Easttown” (HBO)
“The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)
“The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime)
“WandaVision” (Disney+)

Made-For-Television Movie
”Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” (Netflix)
“Oslo” (HBO)
“Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia” (Lifetime)
“Sylvie’s Love” (Amazon Prime)
“Uncle Frank” (Amazon Prime)

Drama

Lead Actress, Drama
Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”
Olivia Colman, “The Crown”
Emma Corrin, “The Crown”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”
Jurnee Smollett, “Lovecraft Country”

Lead Actor, Drama
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”
Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”
Rege-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”
Billy Porter, “Pose”
Matthew Rhys, “Perry Mason”

Supporting Actress, Drama
Aunjanue Ellis, “Lovecraft Country”
Gillian Anderson, “The Crown”
Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crown”
Emerald Fennell, “The Crown”
Madeline Brewer, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Supporting Actor, Drama
Michael K. Williams, “Lovecraft Country”
John Lithgow, “Perry Mason”
Tobias Menzies, “The Crown”
O-T Fagbenle, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Max Minghella, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Giancarlo Esposito, “The Mandalorian”
Chris Sullivan, “This Is Us”

Guest Actress, Drama
Alexis Bledel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Claire Foy, “The Crown”
Mckenna Grace, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Sophie Okonedo, “Ratched”
Phylicia Rashad, “This Is Us”

Guest Actor, Drama
Don Cheadle, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
Charles Dance, “The Crown”
Timothy Olyphant, “The Mandalorian”
Courtney B. Vance, “Lovecraft Country”
Carl Weathers, “The Mandalorian”

Drama Series
”The Boys” (Amazon)
“Bridgerton” (Netflix)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
“The Mandalorian” (Disney+)
“Pose” (FX)
“This Is Us” (NBC)

Variety and competition

Variety Talk Series
”Conan” (TBS)
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)

Competition Series
”The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Nailed It!” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)

Reality Show Host
Nicole Byer, “Nailed It!“
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness, “Queer Eye”
RuPaul, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary, “Shark Tank”
Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, “Top Chef”

Unstructured Reality Program
”Becoming” (Disney+)
“Below Deck” (Bravo)
“Indian Matchmaking” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked” (VH1)
“Selling Sunset” (Netflix)

Variety Sketch Series
”A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Rated as one of the Top 10 Film Festivals in North America (by USA Today), Dances with Films (DWF:LA) resuming their in-person film festival with a grand opening night filmmaker’s celebration green carpet event at The Roosevelt Hotel Grand Ballroom, 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, on Thursday, August 26. Green Carpet from 4:00pm – 6:30pm. Attending DWF:LA founders and board members as well as the filmmakers and stars of this year’s invited films as well as other surprise celebrity guests

DWF LA Opening Night Green Carpet Gala for this year’s 24^th annual Dances with Films (DWF:LA) film festival. Exciting mix of films from the opening night documentary Art of the Protest produced by Dave Navarro with interviews from Pussy Riot, Shepard Fairey, Moby and more to the closing night film Mr. Sister a feature set in the underground drag world of NYC featuring LGBTQI icon Ari Gold. Many of the films presented included world premieres of some of the best emerging filmmaker talent as well as many starring recognizable faces such as Kyle Gallner (American Sniper), James McMenamin (Orange is the New Black), Jeremy Sisto, Lance Hendrickson, David Krumholtz, Francis Fisher, Katia Winer (The Boys), Heather Matarazzo (Princess Diaries), Neil Brown Jr., Trevor Stines (Riverdale) and many more. Some of the producers involved in films selected this year include Rosario Dawson, Hank Azaria as well as other notable names.

Heading into its 24^th year carrying a highly relevant theme of "Let's Get Physical," DANCES WITH FILMS (DWF:LA) returns to the famed TLC Chinese Theaters expanding into 3 weeks on August 26 - September 12 with their opening night “Meet the Filmmakers'' gala to be held at the Roosevelt Hotel Ballroom (where the original Oscars ceremony was held). Launching a slate of impressive films by some of the best ‘undiscovered’ talent on the indie circuit, the festival also brings home a slew of highly recognizable names in Hollywood within its Unleashed division. DWF:LA will be launching their First Film Series, presenting the early, and more current, works of established filmmakers, with this year’s honorees being Oscar Nominated Producer Michael London (Thirteen, Sideways, Trumbo, Milk) and Oscar Nominated Director Paul Greengrass (United 93, Captain Phillips, News of the World).

Recently selected by USA Today as one of the Top 10 Film Festivals in North America, the dedicated team behind DWF:LA are constantly looking for the best in emerging talent with unique visions and storytelling. DWF:LA is one of the largest festivals of its kind in the United States and remains dedicated to creating opportunities and launching careers of exceptionally talented artists based on their talent alone.