For the most part, it was an event that managed to attract the folks who are squarely on the pop culture radar right now … Julie Benz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dexter) and Eliza Dusku (BtVS, Angel, Dollhouse) represented the Buffyverse contingent while Mark Salling from Glee and Adam Lambert from American Idol repped the Man of the Hour contingent. Mya, who looks poised to become the next Dancing with the Stars champ, made sure to get her party on last night as did Ms. La Toya Jackson (who, I understand, was quite popular with party-goers last night). All in all it sounds like everyone had a great time last night … it appears that all the right “it” people of the moment came out to play … sounds pretty fun to me.

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

TV Guide usually does a pretty great job of picking out the hot folks on TV … I’d deffo put V’s Morena Baccarin at the top of that list. Glee’s Mark Salling, Dexter’s Julie Benz and ex-Melrose Place Colin Egglesfield are great selections as well. Courteney Cox-Arquette just rulz the universe. It sounds like last night’s shindig was a fun affair … congrats to all the hotties.

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

NCIS’ Pauley Perrette and more of TV’s biggest stars are banding together for a one-time performance of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation and stand up for gay rights. The play is a sequel to The Laramie Project, which was based on the reactions of people in Laramie, Wyo., after Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, was murdered there in 1998. The new production revisits the townspeople a decade later and also portrays an interview with one of Shepard’s killers. The new play began performances across the country on Oct. 12. Perrette said she was approached by a member of her church, Hollywood United Methodist Church, about putting together a reading of the play there. Pretty soon, Perrette’s NCIS co-star Michael Weatherly, The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki, House’s Lisa Edelstein, Dexter’s Julie Benz, Heroes’ Zachary Quinto and Emmy winner Christian Clemenson were all on board. “We have so many people from so many different shows, which is fun,” Perrette toldTVGuide.com. “Everyone we called was like, ‘I’m in.’ It’s really incredible. We’re just extremely excited, and it’s really amazing to have that many people come together to do something that’s important.” The reading is planned to coincide with a book signing and speaking appearance by Shepard’s mother, Judy. All proceeds go to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which promotes antiviolence toward the gay and lesbian community. Perrette, who describes herself as an “outspoken civil rights activist who never shuts up,” says it’s important for people to stand up and be heard. “With so much going on with Prop. 8 and everything else right now, LGBT civil rights activism is what’s most necessary,” Perrette said. “In the women’s movement, women needed men to stand up and say this isn’t right. In the civil rights of the ’60s, it took people of all color to demand equal rights. And in this case, it takes straight chicks like me to demand equal rights for everybody.” Perrette also said it is incumbent on the government to make changes. “I believe that what is legislated bleeds down into everything,” she says. “So if the legislation continues to uphold anything that doesn’t support equal rights and civil rights, that bleeds down into Matthew Shepard being murdered.” Coincidentally, moments after we interviewed Perrette, news broke that the Senate passed a hate-crimes amendment that was partly inspired by Shepard’s murder.

The performance yesterday was … stunning. I was not fully prepared for the emotion that overwhelmed me as I heard the works spoken on that stage. It’s pretty incredible to know that it’s been 10 years since Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered for being gay and so much remains unchanged in that time. I cannot for the life of me imagine what it must feel like to endure that kind of loss … hearing the words spoken from the people of Laramie really hit me hard. Kudos goes out to the cast and crew of this extremely powerful performance. I urge all of you to read The Laramie Project and, if possible, see a performance of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, An Epilogue and be reminded that hate crimes are still as prevalent in this country today as they were 10 years ago … and earlier. I’m encouraged that the Senate finally passed a hate crimes amendment … it is a great step forward in policing the safety and protection of all US citizens.

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Even tho the awards were handed out at the Greek Theater last night, we’re gonna hafta wait until the show airs on Spike at 9PM on Tuesday night. So, if you’re interested to know who took home awards in the categories of Best Science Fiction Movie, Best Villain, Most Memorable Mutilation, Holy S@#$! Scene of the Year and more then you’re gonna hafta tune on Tuesday night. I will say that Julie Benz (Dexter/Saw V actress who was nominated for Best Actress: Horror Movie or TV Show) looked utterly amazing on the red carpet. Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez made a supercute couple and Gary Oldman just rules the world. It should be noted that Smashing Pumpkins performed live at the awards last night so … it might be worth checking out. Now, I have no idea who won what but I am rootin’ for Ms. Benz to win her award. I can’t wait to watch the show to see if she ended up walking home with her very own Spike Scream Award.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin]

To kick off Universal Studios L.A.’s Halloween Horror Nights, press was invited to attend the sixth annual Eyegore Awards, where the best of horror movies gather together and recognize the hottest horror stars around. The event took place at 7:30 on October 3 at Universal Studios. The sixth annual Eyegore Awards was hosted by Corey Feldman (Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, Lost Boys, and the Friday the 13th films), a very wise choice for master of ceremonies. Past recipients of the Eyegore Awards include Patricia Arquette, Rob Zombie, and more.

Julie was on hand to accept an award for her contribution to horror films (she stars in Saw V and on Showtime’s amazing series Dexter, as y’all know) and Tom and Clare tagged along for the fun. I must admit, nothing warms my heart like a reunion of Buffyverse alums … and these alum chums are so the cutest ever! How amazing do they all look, y’all? Love it!!

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Christina Applegate looked stunning on the red carpet, I’m so glad to see her looking so well. Heidi Klum and Julie Benz also looked pretty amazing … I threw in David Boreanaz so that there could be a little bit of Angel/Darla love going on here. I liked Brooke Shields’s pink dress and I thought Kathy Griffin picked out a nice wig to wear for the event. Here are a few pics of some of the winners in the Emmy Awards press room backstage … I also threw in some non-winners as well, cuz they were brave enough to pose for pics without having actually won anything last night:

The sleek ’60s drama “Mad Men” made Emmy history Sunday as the first basic-cable show to win a top series award, while the sitcom “30 Rock” and its stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin also emerged as big winners. “We’re all so very grateful to have jobs in this turkey-burger economy,” Fey said after accepting the best comedy series trophy for her satire about a late-night TV show. “This is the greatest job I’ve ever had in my life,” Baldwin said of his role an a network executive. He paid tribute to Fey, the NBC show’s star and creator, as “the Elaine May of her generation.” “I thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities. Well done. That is what all parents should do,” said Fey, who also won for best actress and writing in a comedy series. Emmy voters rewarded quality, not ratings: Many of the winners draw relatively small audiences. AMC’s “Mad Men,” which looks at America through the prism of Madison Avenue, is lucky to get 2 million viewers. Glenn Close of FX’s “Damages” and Bryan Cranston of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” captured drama acting trophies. Close, honored for her portrayal of a ruthless attorney, complimented her fellow nominees, including Holly Hunter and Sally Field. “We’re proving that complicated, powerful, mature women are sexy in high entertainment and can carry a show,” she said. “I call us the sisterhood of the TV drama divas.” Cranston won the trophy for his role of a desperate man who turns to making drugs. Dianne Wiest of “In Treatment” and Zeljko Ivanek of “Damages” won supporting acting honors for the drama series. Jean Smart of ABC’s “Samantha Who?” was honored as best supporting actress in a comedy series, with Jeremy Piven her actor counterpart for “Entourage.” Piven took aim at the five reality hosts who helped open the ceremony in what could charitably called a rambling way, saying, “What if I just kept talking for 12 minutes — what would happen? That was the opening.” The crowd at the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards laughed heartily, not a good sign for the hosts, who included Ryan Seacreast of “American Idol.” … Jeff Probst of “Survivor,” one of the ceremony’s masters of ceremonies, claimed the first award for best reality series host. “We feel honored to be part of this family. Thank you for letting reality in,” he said … HBO’s “John Adams,” about the founding father, was named best miniseries and won other awards including acting trophies for Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson. The historical drama set a record for most awards, 13, including five trophies Sunday and eight previously announced. The record of 11 was held by HBO’s “Angels in America,” the TV academy said. HBO was the most-honored network, with 26 awards earned Sunday and at the creative arts ceremony held earlier this month. ABC was second with 12 awards, followed by CBS, NBC and PBS with 10 each; AMC with eight, Showtime with five and Fox with four.

Felicitations and congratulations go out to all of this year’s Emmy Award winners … but I am struggling to find nice things to say about last night’s award show. Since I didn’t get to see it for myself, I have to rely on what others are reporting … and none of it is good. After the jump, check out some of the scathing yet funny bad reviews of last night’s 60th Annual Emmy Awards — believe me, some of them are deffo worth checking out …

USA Today: “It was hideously awful from start to harried finish, dragged down by five amateurish reality anchors who would have been unwelcome as guests, let alone hosts.”

MSNBC: “The Emmy telecast offers quality that’s dismally lower than nearly anything else on television. “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” deserve plenty of criticism, but even their worst episodes — typically their results shows, as they lack content and waste time — are more engaging and entertaining than the Emmys … The Emmys need to dump their producers and directors, hiring a team who knows how to produce popular television.”

Yikes! It sounds pret-ty bad … if any of y’all watched last night’s show and have anything pertinent to add, please do … I must admit, I’m pretty entertained by just the bad reviews that I’ve been reading :)

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin, Wireimage; Source, Source]

I gotta say … Julie Benz does not get as much play as she should. I’ve loved the girl since her Buffy days and even tho it took me a very long time to see her as anything other than Darla (I know, it was unhealthy) I have really come to appreciate her acting skills in other projects. She is wonderful in Dexter … she plays the character of Rita perfectly and I’m very excited to see how her character will grow in the upcoming new season of the show. I’m a bit nervous about seeing Ms. Benz in Saw V only cuz I don’t want to see her get chopped up into pieces … I’m hoping she’ll be one of the last characters left standing at the end of the movie. Yeah, I came upon these pics and I felt it was due time to show her a bit of love here on the blog … I know I’m not alone. Where my Julie Benz peoples at?

[Photo credit: X17]

Wee!! I’m very excited that Dexter is coming back with new eps. This show has surpassed 24 as my favorite TV drama and I am very anxious to see where things will go in the next season — especially after watching the preview trailer for the new season which debuted at Comic Con in San Diego this weekend. After the jump, check out the trailer in full …