Emmy Awards Gossip

If Paula Abdul were her own fashion judge, she'd tear up at how beautiful and moving she looked. Perhaps she'd even slap Simon Cowell for suggesting otherwise.

Unfortunately for anyone that had to see the female American Idol judge last night, the dress she chose to wear would never have made it to the finals of any competition.

Take a look for yourself:

Before you recoil in horror, however, remember: some people actually looked good at the Emmys. Go take a look at those traffic-stoppers now.

Last night, Jeremy Piven won the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy.

He has now also earned The Gossip's award for Best Line of Insult Hurled Against Billy Bush.

During the red-carpet prelude to the Emmys, the Access Hollywood VJ corralled Piven questioned him about a slew of celebrity babies.

Because Piven had just flown in from Arizona, where he was shooting a movie with Jennifer Garner, Bush asked him about Garner's and Ben Affleck's baby, Violet.

From there, the kid questions flew. Seeing as the Entourage star lives in Malibu, Bush inquired about whether or not he had laid eyes on Brangelina's baby, Shiloh. Piven said he hadn't, explaining that he had: "116 other things to do ... I don't go hunting for celebrity babies, thank you, Billy."

Of course, this didn't deter the undeterable Bush. He continued to press the issue, asking Piven if he'd seen Suri Cruise. The soon-to-be Emmy winner lost his patience on that one.

"You need another job. You have potential as a human being ... This may not be right for you. Seriously - can you focus on other things?"

Well said, quasi Ari Gold. We'd encourage you to say the same thing to Lindsay Lohan ... but she has no potential as a human being.

Ok, ok, so Grey's Anatomy didn't win any Emmy Awards last night. We'll get over that shortly.

Helping us to do so would be how striking Katherine Heigl looked in her dress. She's certainly in the running for Best Dressed from the ceremony. Here she is, along with a pair of other hotties that looked dashing walking across the red carpet:

Meanwhile, Heather Locklear was on hand to honor Aaron Spelling. If the former Melrose Place star was still smarting from the deception of ex-best friend, Denise Richards, she didn't show it here:

Finally, Jeremy Piven is allowed to be as silly as he wants now. The actor won the Emmy many believed he should have taken home a year ago for his role in Entourage:

Emmy host, Conan O'Brien claimed ABC wasn't supporting its own show, Grey's Anatomy, by showcasing a major movie against the award program.

What about Emmy voters themselves, however? The hospital drama received no love at all, failing to garner a single victory. Here's a rundown of those who did have reasons to celebrate at the end of the day:

• Jack Bauer: People were probably afraid NOT to hand over a trophy to Kiefer Sutherland, lest they feel his character's wrath. Which is not to say that 24 didn't deserve to win Best Drama and the actor to finally be rewarded for his work as Best Lead Actor in a Drama.

• Office workers: We were pulling for Scrubs, but have no real complaints with The Office taking home the award for Best Comedy. But Tony Shaloub over Steve Carell for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy? For shame.

• Veteran favorites: Julia-Louis Dreyfuss broke free from the supposed Seinfeld curse by winning Best Lead Actress in a Comedy, while Law & Order: SVU fans must've been thrilled that Mariska Hargitay was finally called on stage for Best Lead Actress in a Drama.

• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: The satirical newscast, earned two Emmys, for best variety, music or comedy and the writing award for that category.

Other winners included: Alan Alda for his supporting role in the last season of The West Wing; Megan Mullally, also honored for her performance in another show's closing season, Will & Grace; and Jeremy Piven for his hilarious work in Entourage.

We have no beef with any of those. But, seriously, nothing at all for Grey's Anatomy? A recount may be in order.

The Emmy Awards air this Sunday night. But forget whether or not Grey's Anatomy can win Best Drama (it can and should!), we know most people can't wait for Monday morning.

How come? Because that's when they can dissect celebrity fashion from the show, picking apart every dress and tuxedo worn like high school seniors doling out yearbook superlatives.

But why wait? Let's look at three women from the past couple years that would certainly be in the running for Best Dressed ...

Granted, Halle Berry could wear a garbage bag and be responsible for drool on the chin of every male attending the ceremony. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't recognize true beauty when we see it:

At this point, we don't care if Jennifer Aniston is engaged or not. We just want her to keep looking this gorgeous every time she walks down a red carpet:

Sarah Michelle Gellar slayed many vampires during her television days, but she never took home an Emmy. Oh well. At least she wore this dress:

Uh-oh. The Emmy Award gloves are coming off!

Host Conan O'Brien was recently quoted as chiding ABC for not supporting its own, heavily nominated show. See, Grey's Anatomy is up for 11 awards and the late night talk show host seems to think its network should, therefore, encourage viewers to watch the Emmy broadcast. Even though it's on NBC.

Instead, the folks at the American Broadcasting Corporation are showing Pirates of the Caribbean in a counter-programming move.

"It just isn't done," O'Brien said of the aggressive scheduling. "ABC is pretty much saying, 'No one watch the Emmys! Screw you, Grey's Anatomy!'"

Scheduling a movie to garner ratings for your network isn't done, Conan? The Gossip doesn't see a reason why ABC would actually want viewers to tune in to the Emmys - they just hope Grey's Anatomy rakes in the awards and then the channel can market the heck out of that fact.

Plus, the Emmys did completely snub Desperate Housewives and Lost, so ABC has legitimate reasons for taking aim at the show's ratings.

No wonder Jeremy Piven has been such a success as mega agent, Ari Gold, on the HBO hit, Entourage. He follows the story lines in real life!

Just like the show's main character, Vince, did with the premiere of his latest movie, Piven plans to take his mom, Joyce, to the Emmy Awards next month. And it's not out of duty or pity, but if he wins ...

"It means I may get a chance to talk about my mother in public. That would be unbelievably exciting," he says. "You know, she put me onstage when I was 8 years old and I was doing Chekhov."

Eventually, Piven settled into a series of supporting gigs in movies such as "Say Anything," "Singles," "PCU," "Grosse Pointe Blank," and "Old School." None produced the sort of fame, attention or acclaim, however, as Ari; simply put, the funniest ass on TV.

"I've been kicking around for a while. I'm a 40-year-old guy, you know? And I feel like I'm just coming into my own," he says. "I've been apprenticing this job for 20 years with Garry Shandling and Morgan Freeman and Dustin Hoffman and every person I've been lucky to be around."

Piven believes his age makes the growing celebrity status more manageable.

"When [actors] become famous before they grow into themselves as an actor and a human being, it can be dangerous territory. I've seen it," he says. "I'm just incredibly lucky I've been so unpopular and so uninteresting for so long."

Not anymore. In a recently completed film, Smokin' Aces, Piven has the lead - ahead of such actors Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia.

"That was an incredibly thrilling moment, and the best role I've ever played in my life, and the most tragic. It is a twisted dark comedy in which I play a tragic character," a mob snitch.

The irony is his career transformation is that Piven's alter-ego would never even give him the time of day.

"I'm a stage actor from Chicago. An agent like Ari wouldn't have patience for a stage actor like Jeremy Piven."

How did we do in our predictions for the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards? Not too shabby … ignoring the fact that our pick for Best Drama, Lost, wasn't even nominated. Putting aside that utter inanity, the list of nominees on major categories was announced this morning:

Best Drama Series: Grey's Anatomy; 24; House; The Sopranos; The West Wing

Best Comedy Series: Scrubs; Arrested Development; Two and a Half Men; Curb Your Enthusiasm; The Office

Best Actor in a Drama: Kiefer Sutherland (24); Martin Sheen (The West Wing); Denis Leary (Rescue Me); Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit); Peter Krause (Six Feet Under)

Best Actress in a Drama: Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under); Geena Davis (Commander in Chief); Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit); Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer); Allison Janney (The West Wing)

Best Actor in a Comedy: Steve Carell (The Office); Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm); Kevin James (The King of Queens); Tony Shalhoub (Monk); Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)

Best Actress in a Comedy: Stockard Channing (Out of Practice); Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback); Jane Kaczmarek (Malcom in the Middle); Debra Messing (Will & Grace); Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine)

The ceremony will be hosted by Conan O'Brien and takes place Auguest 27. That leaves us with just enough time to stage a protest and get Lost on the ballot.

Why wait until the actual show on August 27? While the 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards may prove to be entertaining, The Hollywood Gossip has your winners right here. Before the nominees are even announced, we're proud to present a list of who should take home a trophy in the major categories:

Oustanding Comedy Series: The Office, NBC. Please don't award Will & Grace simply because it ended this year. That sitcom had its day. No show makes the audience yearn to cringe in awkard hilarity as much as this Steve Carell vehicle.

Outstanding Drama Series: Lost, ABC. Simply an unprecedented combination of character development and plot twists. Choose any episode and be transfixed to your television.

Lead Actors in Comedy Series: Zach Braff, Scrubs. For his facial expressions and line deliveries alone. Braff combines outright humor with sentimentality - along with sheer goofiness - unlike any actor on TV.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Megan Mullally, Will & Grace. We'll give the show one award in honor of its impressive run. Mullally made the self-centered, spoiled Grace into a lovable, funny, sympathetic presence for years.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Kiefer Sutherland, 24. Honestly, we're just afraid of what Jack Bauer might do to us if he doesn't win.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars. Let's give a shout out to some new blood. While Edie Falco on The Sopranos has been terrific as always, Bell is the lead on TV's most popular under-the-radar series.