Emmy Countdown: Workers building stage, putting up fan bleachers at Nokia Theatre

Emmy Countdown: Workers busy at Nokia Theatre

LOS ANGELES — The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards are days away, but Hollywood is already gearing up for Sunday’s awards. Here’s a look at what’s already going on around Tinseltown:

MEN AT WORK

Evening gowns and tuxedos are on the way, but hard hats and tool belts are the style of choice at the Nokia Theatre for now.

The site of Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards is bustling with workers who are building the stage, putting up tents atop the garage and erecting fan bleachers in front of the arrivals area. The red carpet itself won’t be rolled out until later in the week.

And the construction doesn’t end there: City workers are busy with roadwork just outside the downtown Los Angeles venue, jackhammering away.

MY EMMY MOMENT

Past winners recall the moments they won their first Emmy Awards:

“I think it was my third time being at the Emmys. When I moved to L.A., I didn’t have an agent, I didn’t have a manager. I was living in my cousin’s girlfriend’s mother’s back bedroom in West Hollywood. Didn’t have a car. Bought a car from Rent-A-Wreck for $1,500, so to get to that point. … And my friend, Richard Schiff, who won that same night for ‘West Wing,’ he and I moved from New York to L.A. together at the same time. And we were both out there, sitting across the aisle from each other.

“It was a big, big evening. It had a lot of wonderful memories and sort of pinnacle of a long, long struggle.” — Patricia Heaton, winner for comedy actress in 2000 for “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

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AP Writers Mike Cidoni and Guinevere Smith contributed to this report.