HOLLYWOOD - Getting a jumpstart on the Emmy Award ceremony Sept. 16, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, 58 craft and technical Emmys were handed out Saturday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. The technical categories included costumes, casting, makeup, cinematography and lighting. The hugely popular NBC show The West Wing won four awards, for editing, casting, cinematography and sound mixing. So far, Wing is beating The Sopranos in the Emmy race, although Sopranos is leading the field with 22 nominations to Wing's 18.
Reality shows Survivor and American High won awards for best programs in which one show's participants competed for a prize and one show did not have a competition, respectively. American High is a documentary which follows a group of high school students during their senior year.
Along with the technical awards, Emmys were also handed out to actors who were nominated for guest roles. Sally Field won her second best dramatic actress Emmy for her recurring role on the NBC medical drama ER, playing a bipolar sufferer.
"Oh my God! I love being an actor," Field told the black-tie crowd. "I'm so goddamn grateful I still get to work."
Other winners included stage actor Michael Emerson who won the male dramatic category for his guest role on ABC's The Practice, playing a psycho killer who is described as "calm and craftsman-like." And in the comedy race, both Jean Smart and Sir Derek Jacobi won for their guest spots on the NBC comedy Frasier. Smart played a paramour for Frasier while Jacobi won for his depiction of a bad actor.
For the second year in a row, Fox's long-running hit The Simpsons won the award for best animated program. As well the show also won for Hank Azaria's voice-over performance as an unnamed "comic-book guy."
E! Entertainment cable channel will be showing portions of the show on Sunday.