An Emmys night to remember.
That's certainly how award show producer Phil Rosenberg felt after wrapping the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. For an exclusive chat with E! News, the up-and-coming industry professional opened up about what it took to pull off the virtual 2020 Emmys on Sunday, Sept. 20.
Rosenberg, who was credited as a Producer during Sunday night's Emmys, wore many hats while working for Done+Dusted (as E! readers may know, Done+Dusted was the production company that pulled all of this off, alongside Reginald Hudlin and host Jimmy Kimmel, in a global pandemic).
As he detailed to us, Rosenberg helped with producing the comedy nominations package and other aspects of the show.
"I've worked with this team a bunch before," Rosenberg exclusively shared with E!. "When they asked me to work the Emmys, it was, obviously, a dream come true."
His other job at the Emmys? One of those hazmat suit people waiting outside or inside celebrities' homes.
Per Rosenberg, when he realized he was unable to travel to Los Angeles for the award show, he volunteered to be of help for the nominees based in New York City.
He recalled, "I just luckily was on the show already and was like, 'I'm in New York so, if you need me, I'm not doing anything night of the show.'"
In an incredible turn of events, Rosenberg was stationed at Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nominee Hugh Jackman's home.
"Every single one of us were sent an Emmy, none of them were engraved," Rosenberg shared on protocol for the unconventional award show. "Only Ernst & Young knew who the winners were, they keep that under lock-and-key…We had to send [awards] to every person's house."
Rosenberg credited a Walkie-Talkie-esque app for the worldwide team being able to stay connected.
He further explained, "We really weren't finding out until seconds before, because they really, really wanted to keep everything under wraps."
Thus, when Hugh Jackman lost to fellow Marvel superhero Mark Ruffalo, Rosenberg witnessed the Bad Education actor's reaction in real-time.
"Before they went into the category, during a commercial break, there was a moment where all of the nominees got pushed into a Zoom together and they could chat," Rosenberg shared. "I overheard them congratulating each other."
But, what about Jackman's reaction? While Rosenberg did mention there "was tension in the room" after host Kimmel's Hulk vs. Wolverine joke, Jackman was a gracious loser.
"They seemed great about it," Rosenberg said about Jackman and his family. "They had a great time, they were the sweetest of people."
Yet, when asked if they wanted to take a photo with the Emmy, Jackman passed on the offer.
Rosenberg revealed, "He was like, 'I got one, it's fine.'"
Although Rosenberg did have to return the Emmy, he was able to keep his hazmat suit.
"All of us got to keep our hazmat suits," he gleefully quipped. "So, you might see those on Halloween around the world."
Speaking of the hazmat suits, Rosenberg shared that wearing it "wasn't too bad," but required some COVID-19 compliant breaks.
"I was definitely sweating at moments and, since I was inside, you could tell it was fogging up," Rosenberg concluded.
For a closer look at the hazmat suit, scroll through the images below!
Rosenberg offered up a couple finger guns for this hilarious snap.
During our interview, Rosenberg compared the suits to those of the Child Detection Agency from Monsters Inc. or the Thumb Thumbs from Spy Kids.
Rosenberg beamed as he posed in, what ABC dubbed, a "dapper, hazmat-suited trophy presenter" ensemble.
The producer was more than excited ahead of the 2020 Emmys.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Emmys had to transform the typically star-studded affair into a virtual show. With host Jimmy Kimmel at the helm, more than a hundred camera feeds were set up to come into the Staples Center from various locations, including celebrities' homes.
After he lost two Emmys at the 2020 ceremony, Ramy Youssef posted a hilarious video about what happens when you lose an award from your house.
In Ramy's video, one of those trophy presenters was waiting outside his house to hand over the trophy if he won. When he didn't win, the trophy presenter waved and left.
Congrats to the winners!