LOS ANGELES -- The stars will dress in business attire instead of formal wear and flashy gowns and the arrival carpet may not be red when television's Emmy Awards are belatedly presented on Oct. 7, organizers said on Monday.
Security is being tightened and producers are taking a somber approach to the usually glittery and upbeat annual telecast to reflect the nation's mood following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, said Bryce Zabel, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
"Our goal all along has been to do something that is tasteful and appropriate and respectful of the tragic events that happened on Sept. 11," he said.
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, whose new sitcom premiered this week on CBS, is hosting the show, but veteran CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite has been asked to open the ceremony, a network spokeswoman said.
The 53rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards originally were slated to take place on Sept. 16, but were postponed for three weeks after hijackers flew two airliners into the World Trade Center, a third plane into the Pentagon and crashed a fourth into rural Pennsylvania.
"We had a great light, comedy show ready to go on the 16th. That show was torn up," Zabel said.
Zabel said precise plans for the three-hour CBS telecast were still evolving, as producers deliberately prepare more than enough material to fill the show.
One decisive change is that participants will be asked to wear "dressy business attire" rather than the traditional tuxedos and evening gowns, and the academy would make red-white-and-blue lapel pins available for the stars who wish to wear them.
"I think the sensational type of gowns that would usually be a part of this kind of event, there will probably be less of that," he said.
He said one segment producers plan to include will recognize "the power of television in holding people together following these events" and a tribute to the news coverage of the tragedy.
The academy also has decided do away with the usual spectator bleachers in the arrival area, though members of the media will still be allowed to interview and photograph the stars as they enter the Shrine Auditorium, Zabel said.
"By removing the stands and the fans, you're changed the nature of the arrival to one that is little less of a big party and a little more respectful," he said.
As for the color of the carpet, Zabel said that has not been decided, though a CBS spokeswoman said there would be a "scaled-back red-carpet arrival."
Among the stars confirmed as taking part in presenting awards or introducing various segments of the show were Jessica Alba, Wayne Brady, Andre Braugher, Amy Brenneman, Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, Dennis Franz, Andy Garcia, Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Ben Kingsley, Debra Messing, Rob Reiner and Ray Romano, according to Zabel.
