Friday, Aug. 1, 2003 | 5:30 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION: August 3, 2003
It's a good time to be Anthony Zuiker.
Sort of.
As the creator and executive producer of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and its spinoff, "CSI: Miami," the longtime Las Vegan has two of the most popular shows in the land.
"CSI" received six Emmy nominations, including a nod for Best Drama -- its second in a row -- while "CSI: Miami" received a nomination for cinematography.
And therein lies the problem. "CSI" has yet to win the big prize, and that frustrates Zuiker.
And this year, for the 2003 Emmy Awards telecast (which airs on Fox on Sept. 21), Zuiker said he is even less optimistic of his chances than he was a year ago.
In a recent interview with the Las Vegas Sun while negotiating Los Angeles freeway traffic, Zuiker discussed his thoughts on this year's Emmys, how he's preparing for the awards show and what's in store for the upcoming season of "CSI."
Las Vegas Sun: "CSI" has been nominated again for Outstanding Drama Series. How does that feel?
Anthony Zuiker: It's sort of nerve-racking because "Sopranos" wasn't in contention last year and we got nominated. But with them coming back this year, that meant one drama wouldn't make it and we were hoping we weren't that drama to drop.
We're the underdog this year. I feel it's "The Sopranos' " year this year, so we'll have to see what happens.
Sun: So, you're betting on "The Sopranos"?
AZ: Well, they have not won before. Obviously, they're an institution. Edie Falco's performance at the end of the finale was phenomenal. I think that performance alone will seal her the Emmy.
Our show is not the kind of show that wins awards. We won a People's Choice Award, which is great. Our show is kind of that small dark horse that stays beneath the radar and does great in the ratings. And I think it's the kind of show that wins later rather than sooner.
Sun: Does that bother you?
AZ: It does. The reason it does is that I know the numbers. We're on a $2.5 million budget and 24 episodes a year, with two weeks off as writers, limited violence, limited language while writing very tough scientific episodes. And we're the No. 1 show in the country, on top of all the shows emulating us on every network. And I think when you slice the shows down to the core, I think that "CSI" has changed television and I think it should be recognized. So, hopefully, Sept. 21 goes our way. It's tough.
We're like "Friends," the No. 1 show in the country for a long, long time. And it just takes a long time to get a victory.
Sun: How will you prepare for the awards show? Are you superstitious in any way?
AZ: I wore a pair of my wife's father's cuff links as good luck and that hasn't worked yet. But this year I'm bringing my wife and my mother to give my mother the red-carpet experience.
The first couple of years we were nominated, I'd get myself sick over it. I'd practice my speech every night in case we won. I was so sure we'd win the Golden Globe, then we lost to "Six Feet Under." And then we lost the Emmy. I just thought this year I'm going to go for the right reasons, which is to give my mother the experience. And if I'm surprised that night, it'll be a great night, and if not, I go back to work. I think I sort of matured through it. I'm just the kind of guy who thinks he can win every single thing.
Sun: With the success of "CSI" and now "CSI: Miami," are you discussing a third series?
AZ: We are. There's no timetable. It could very well go away or it could very well happen immediately. It's really just a matter of sitting down as a team with Mr. (Jerry) Bruckheimer and Mr. (Leslie) Moonves ... and asking ourselves, "Should we do one, why are we doing one and how feasible is it to do one?" We don't want to do anything that's going to hurt the first two shows, so it's really up in the air right now.
Sun: In the original "CSI," the characters were more mysterious, with only glimpses given into their personal lives. As the series evolves, however, the lives of the characters are becoming more of a focal point -- such as the hearing impairment of Gil Grissom (William Peterson).
AZ: What drives television drama are characters. We'll have a huge evolution of Gil Grissom in terms of his hearing disability, which may or may not work out the right way. We'll also have Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) ... how will she react in terms of Grissom's hearing disability? Will she have to take over the unit, will she not have to take over the unit? We're also exploring Nick Stokes' (George Eads) inability to stay objective and impersonal with the survivors of victims, getting a little more emotionally involved when he sees the survivors ailing over somebody who's dead. And also, there's a big competition going on between Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) and Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) in terms of a promotion coming up.
Sun: In May you received an honorary doctorate from your alma mater, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. That's quite an honor.
AZ: It's probably the biggest honor of my life. It's always been a childhood dream of mine to sort of do something special in Las Vegas and it's always been a dream to have a Ph.D. Getting it this way is twice as fruitful because somebody actually recognized what we've done on a bigger scale than just Las Vegas, and to be attached to the institution where I got all my smarts with all those long hours at the university felt doubly sweet.
My wife, Jennifer, and I hope to give back over the course of time to the university and the film department and, hopefully, build a film institute there so one day everything can be shot not only on location but on sets in Las Vegas.
We have big aspirations for the university and we hope it all works out.
