The Normal Heart Wins Emmy For Best Movie, Larry Kramer Joins Cast On Stage

Kramer took the stage with the aid of a bright pink cane and wearing an ACT UP hat. Director Ryan Murphy gave the acceptance speech and the audience responded with the first standing ovation of the night.

2014 Emmy Nominations Announced

The 2014 Emmy nominations were announced this morning. Among the nods are The Normal Heart and its lead actor Mark Ruffalo. The full list is here.

SPOILER: The Normal Heart

Stay out of the comments if you've not seen last night's debut of The Normal Heart. Otherwise dive in and give us your thoughts.

Quote Of The Day - Elton John

"While The Normal Heart is a product of a specific time, it is not an artifact. There is still an AIDS crisis -- not only in sub-Saharan Africa, but right here in the America, in your state, in your community. And, just as in 1985, it is silence, fear and stigma that continue to drive the epidemic. Today, African-Americans represent 12% of the national population, but they account for 44% of Americans living with HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gay and bisexual men comprise only 2% of the American population, but they represented 30% of the nation's HIV infections in 2010.

"Around 4,000 Americans are infected with HIV each year because of injection drug use, and one in seven HIV-positive Americans pass through a correctional facility each year. The crisis is particularly acute in the American South, where homophobia is rampant. I hope HBO's production of The Normal Heart will compel a new generation to act up. There is so much work still to be done, but there's also so much potential. The characters in The Normal Heart, living as they did in the 1980s, didn't understand what they or their friends were dying of, and they didn't have treatments to manage the disease. They hardly knew how to protect themselves.

"Today, we know how to protect everyone, and we have the ability to treat every single person living with HIV. Yet AIDS continues to prey upon the most vulnerable in our society: the poor, the incarcerated, sex workers, drug users, and those living in regions where intolerance and stigma are facts of life. Today, as ever, silence equals death." - Elton John, writing for CNN. The Normal Heart debuts on HBO tonight at 9PM.

Larry Kramer's Fight For The Normal Heart

The HBO movie debuts on Sunday at 9PM.

EW Cover Story: The Normal Heart

Entertainment Weekly on the decades-long journey from stage to screen for The Normal Heart:

Despite involvement from names like Barbra Streisand, who owned the rights for 10 years, The Normal Heart appeared to be destined for only theater until Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy acquired the rights in 2009 with his own money. “I really believed in it,” explains Murphy, who first read the play in college and directed the film version. “Larry set a very high price. I gulped and said, ‘Okay,’ and bought it. I think he wanted to see, ‘Is this kid serious?’ And I was.” Kramer, who’s HIV-positive and currently recovering from unrelated medical complications, was unable to speak to EW but emailed that Heart made it to the screen “because of Ryan Murphy caring passionately about getting it made, abetted by [exec producer] Dante Di Loreto.” Murphy and Kramer’s passion project will finally reach a mass audience when Heart makes its debut May 25 on HBO.

TRAILER: The Normal Heart

(Via Towleroad)

HBO Cast Discusses The Normal Heart

The cast of HBO's coming The Normal Heart chatted with the Hollywood Reporter during a shoot for the magazine's current cover.