Guest, Stunt Performance, Visual Effects, Production Design Awards
Expectations for Strong Showing at Primetime Emmy Awards on the 12th Including Best Picture and Leading Actor Awards
The Netflix series 'Squid Game' made history at the Emmy Awards, the most prestigious award in the American broadcasting industry. On the 4th (local time), the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences held the 74th Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles (LA), USA, where 'Squid Game' received the Guest Actor Award (Lee Yoo-mi), Stunt Performance Award (Lim Tae-hoon), Visual Effects Award (Jung Jae-hoon), and Production Design Award (Chae Kyung-sun).
The Guest Actor Award is an honor given to actors who play leading roles in individual episodes of a drama. Lee Yoo-mi won the trophy, beating strong contenders such as Hope Davis, Sanaa Lathan, and Harriet Walter from HBO's 'Succession,' Marcia Gay Harden from Apple TV+'s 'The Morning Show,' and Martha Kelly from HBO's 'Euphoria.' She portrayed Ji-yeong, who participated in the game immediately after being released from prison for killing her father, who had sexually abused and assaulted her. Although her screen time was brief, she received praise for delicately expressing a nihilistic attitude with no attachment to life.
'Squid Game' also won the Stunt Performance Award (Lim Tae-hoon), beating HBO's 'Barry,' NBC's 'The Blacklist,' Disney+'s 'Hawkeye,' Disney+'s 'Moon Knight,' and Netflix's 'Stranger Things.' It was praised for directing the actions of 456 participants in a complex and unpredictable manner, guiding the fictional world into a massive competition and social experiment. 'Squid Game' also took home the Visual Effects Award (Jung Jae-hoon), surpassing Showtime's 'The Man Who Fell to Earth,' Apple TV+'s 'The Morning Show,' TNT's 'Snowpiercer,' and Netflix's 'Vikings: Valhalla.' The computer graphics (CG) and visual special effects were carried out by Gulliver Studio. Based on director Hwang Dong-hyuk's original imagination, they created an alien space that amplified the grotesqueness arising from the boundary between reality and fairy tale.
Production designer Chae Kyung-sun, who collaborated with Gulliver Studio, won the Production Design Award, beating 'Ozark,' 'Severance,' 'Succession,' and 'The White Lotus.' She is the key figure who differentiated 'Squid Game' from other similar genre works. She created colorful sets that starkly contrasted with the brutal survival competition. These included a massive dormitory with beds for 456 participants, maze-like staircases painted pink, green, and yellow, and alleyways that looked as if 1970s-80s houses had been transplanted intact. The space evoked nostalgia so strongly that actors described visiting the set as "ecstatic." The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gave high marks to the neighborhood alleyway set where Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), Il-nam (Oh Young-soo), and Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) play marbles in episode 6, "Gganbu." Director Chae had previously won the American Art Directors Guild (ADG) Award for this production design in March.
'Squid Game' is also aiming for multiple awards at the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards on the 12th, which mainly features actors and directors. It is nominated in seven categories, including Outstanding Drama Series, Directing (Hwang Dong-hyuk), Writing (Hwang Dong-hyuk), Lead Actor (Lee Jung-jae), Supporting Actor (Park Hae-soo, Oh Young-soo), and Supporting Actress (Jung Ho-yeon).
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