Emmy Snubs & Surprises

HOLLYWOOD (July 6, 2006) — ?Lost? and ?Desperate Housewives? shut out!

Emmy nomination day belongs to ?Grey?s Anatomy? and a happy crew of underdogs and first-timers.

Access got the star?s surprised reactions after big changes in Emmy voting procedures led to a few upsets.So, just whogot Access? big chocolate wake-up call?

?You gotta be kidding me, its just what my kids need!? laughed Denis Leary, as he struggled to hold onto the biggest chocolate bar ever. ? That’s a lot of chocolate man!?

?Is this chocolate?? Julia Louis-Dreyfous asked.

?I’m going to rip it,? laughed Kyra Sedgwick, before takinga big sniff. ?Oh God, it smells good!?

How sweet it is. Access gave the nominees a giant 5-pound bar of chocolate to make an already great day even better.

?I guess I won’t fit in my dress but you know what? It will be worth it because I love chocolate,? Julia told us.

Julia actually began her Thursday morning by announcing a few Emmy nom surprises as the awards show?s presenter.

?Grey?s Anatomy?leads the list for best drama series.

?It was a complete snub for all the ‘Desperate Housewives,’? TV Guide?s Matt Roush told us. ?It?s just unthinkable that they’d go from feast to famine in one year.?

Another big surprise? Last year?s winner, ?Lost,? was shut out. ?House? got nominated, but not its star, Hugh Laurie!

Same goes for ?The Sopranos.? The show got a nod but James Gandolfini and Edie Falco were left out in the cold.

?24? and ?The West Wing? rounded out the list.

?Did you have an inkling at all?? Access? Tony Potts asked.

?Uh, no – maybe a little, but I have to say, I?m just out of my mind,? Julia laughed. ?I can’t believe it!?

Emmy vet Julia leads the best actress in a comedy series category for “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

Who ws snubbed? Last year?s winner, ?Desperate?s? Felicity Huffman.

Why so many snubs and surprises? Dick Askin, the television academy?s chairman, told us they?ve revamped their voting process.

?The idea was to shake it up and level the playing field so the same actors and actresses and shows aren’t nominated year after year,? Askin said.

The change opened doors for newcomers. In fact, 50 percent of the major categories are all new faces, including the now-cancelled ?Commander in Chief?s? Geena Davis.

And we found still more new faces in thebest actor in a comedy series category. ?Two and a Half Men?s? Charlie Sheen, got a nod but wasunavailable to speak with usbecause it was his day with the kids!

Sheen will take on fellow rookie, ?The Office?s? Steve Carell and after eight years on the air, ?The King of Queen?s? Kevin James as well.

Another new face, best actor in a drama nominee, ?Law & Order: SVU?s? Christopher Meloni, had a tough time receiving the good news.

?I was out on the lake waterskiing, trying to perfect the move,? Christopher told us. ?Once I?d heard, I was skiing and thought, ?I’m skiing better as an Emmy nominee,? and that?s when I wiped out!?

Chris will go head-to-head with Denis.

?I was like, ah, that great for us, but Ganfolfini didn’t get it,? Denis told us. ?Once you know too many people in the business it?s happiness and depression all at the same time. Somebody’s got to lose and not get the giant candy bar.?