Variety: The news isn’t good
This Variety story on Matt Weiner’s continued frustration with contract negotiations is depressing.
“We’re supposed to start back in the writers’ room in the middle of January,” he said. “This process has been going on for a long time. Everyone knew my contract was up at the end of the year. I did more than I promised I would do. It’s frustrating that it’s taking so long.”
Weiner has always acknowledged the team effort it takes in putting the elaborately detailed “Mad Men” together — from the cast to the scripts, from set and costume design and all below-the-line categories — but, make no mistake, this is his baby, and he doesn’t want to hand off his child to someone else.
“People know the mythology of the script and know I wrote it in my basement,” he explained. “People are shocked that the show could go on without me. Right now it’s just frustrating.”
As for what’s ahead for Don Draper and Co., Weiner has thoughts about where the tale leads, but he may not get a chance to tell it.
“This is all a very confusing business,” he reiterated. “There’s a strange logic to how things are done. I have every intention of coming back and have lots of stories to tell. I’m not done yet. I can tell you that.”
I can barely breath when I read this.
December 15th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Seriously. What are they trying to do here?
It is MWs stories I want to see and only his.
I am counting the days until the next season. It is on my mind every day how these characters will continue.
No other show have ever done that to me. If they quitting it. I could just quit TV. I mean, it is frustrating, not even knowing that something you love and long for every single day, may not come back at all:-(
December 15th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I really, really, really don’t want to hear news like that. This already happened to a show I liked (not that I loved it as much as MM, but I did like it). At the end of last season Daniel Cerone (and another guy whose name I forget) left the set of ‘Dexter’ and this season (S3) has been an ignoble crapfest. It used to be thrilling and conflicting to watch, now it’s just another procedural (with Jimmy Smits). And I am well aware that this is not the only show that suffered when the showrunner (s) with the overarching vision left. Why is Lionsgate not renewing MW’s contract? What could they possibly be unwilling to give him? Argh.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:20 am
I agree, I would cease to follow the show without MW. Any other show runner would have different tones and fascinations. You end up with writers imitating something inimitable. I discussed with my sister how the changes in show runners changed everything for The West Wing and Gilmore Girls. It is like watching a produced version of fan fiction. We hated what it did there and would hate it for Mad Men.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Not to be the wet blanket (or get myself banned!) but is MW demanding something unreasaonble? Why would they not give him a reasonable raise in pay knowing that he is an important part of what makes this show great and to many he IS what makes this show.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I sincerely hope that MW returns to Mad Men for Season 3. It’s MW’s sharp and fantastic writing that helps make Mad Men of the best cable TV series in history!!!!!
December 15th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Previous reports suggested a deal would get done by Christmas, so reports like this are inevitable as the informal deadline approaches. Still not good to hear.
You know what is good to hear?
Christina Hendricks is engaged. Congrats to her (and him)!
December 15th, 2008 at 11:48 am
BTW, the key quote is “I have every intention of coming back.” You’ll know things are getting really serious when MW stops saying things like that. (Unfortunately, Lionsgate probably has the same thought.)
December 15th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Marylou, this whole post is a big wet blanket, and we would never ban someone for asking questions.
We don’t know anything specific about the negotiations. I know that Matt has always said that this show has a very small budget. I’ve inferred (and really, assumed) that people are not well paid. Which makes sense, being as it was an unlikely network taking a chance on an unusual period piece. Common sense tells me that Weiner is asking for what he’s worth. Lionsgate, from what it sounds like, doesn’t want to pay him.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Here’s a link to the Oct. 30th BoK discussion of the negotiations.
My working assumptions have been that: (1) MM was underfunded/underpaid; (2) MW has asked for Sopranos-type money; (3) Lionsgate’s offer is in no small part determined by whatever deal it cut with AMC; and (4) AMC does not have Sopranos-type money. Which is not to say that MW is not worth Sopranos-type money in an artistic sense, but that AMC’s subscriber and ad revenues (esp. in the current economic climate) make that type of deal… difficult.
As I noted upthread, I would expect more stories like this from both sides this month. MW’s main card is that he is the heart of the show, but the fact that he’s still talking nice in public may cause Lionsgate to conclude he will cave. So I would expect nastier stuff before the deal is concluded.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Whether or not Weiner is asking for too much money or Lionsgate is merely being stingy is ultimately irrelevant. The bottom line is that this show is an individual’s unique personal vision. And if Weiner were to leave the show would no longer be worth watching because the show would no longer represent an artistic vision.
December 15th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I agree, Andrew, that the questions about what MW is asking for are irrelevant — especially in the current “crap rules” climate on TV. Scripted series of any quality are harder and harder to find, and Mad Men is much more than one individual’s unique vision. It’s a revolutionary, kaleidoscopic vision of the past that is more than occasionally modern. It’s a show set in the early 1960s, but it’s the freshest thing on television.
And it IS about the series creator. Matt Weiner’s control of the writing, the casting, the research that shows up in Mad Men’s details: that is this show. Scripted series like The Sopranos had a lower level of difficulty, I contend, because they did not have to create a world with every episode. This one does: beautifully, successfully, and with sometimes terrifying accuracy (witness the scene with Joan and her jerk fiance in Don’s abandoned office). Mad Men sets the bar higher all the time — and then clears it.
As long as Matt has every intention of coming back, so do I. Love makes a difference, and I can see every week how much he loves this beautiful thing he has created. Without him at the helm, I’m not sure I’d tune in. I believe I would see a difference, and I could definitely spend the money I’m spending on cable elsewhere.
Do the people at Lionsgate read this blog? Let’s hope so.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Remember what Bobbie said about negotiation:
“It’s hand-to-hand combat.”
and
“It’s tricky, you’re actually telling someone they’re not worth what they they think they’re worth, but you have to do it in a nice way.”
I would guess that this is exactly what’s happening with MW’s negotiations with Lionsgate.
December 15th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
John Rothschild
To rephrase my prior comment slightly, I don’t think it’s necessarily a question of what MW is worth. So long as AMC holds the rights to MM, it’s not like there’s an open market for MW’s showrunning job there. And in theory, MW might make more money doing another show somewhere else. The problem is getting MW (and others, eventually) within the parameters of the already concluded deal between AMC and Lionsgate. Well, it’s more complex than that once you figure international deals and ancillaries, but you get what I mean.
December 15th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
#13 @Karl,
Agree with you completely.
December 15th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Without MW, Mad Men is just not the same show. It’s really too bad. With so much garbage on TV today, it’s frustrating when something like this happens to a quality program. Serves me right for getting hooked on it….seems to happen to every show I dig.
Any chance that MW takes his baby somewhere else? Perhaps HBO would like a do-over after passing on it the first time.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
“Any chance that MW takes his baby somewhere else? Perhaps HBO would like a do-over after passing on it the first time.”
That wouldn’t happen because Matt Weiner doesn’t own the show; Lionsgate and AMC do. AMC presumably has right of first refusal regarding the show, so the only way it would ever switch networks is if AMC chooses not to renew it, which isn’t happening anytime soon.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:01 am
In fact, AMC already picked up the option for S3, so going elsewhere would be quite the negotiation. And it’s sorta the beginning of the problem. AMC and Lionsgate already have the deal in place for S3, which likely additionally constrains what can be done viz MW for S3. It was originally thought that this affected the cast also, but it appears that they were already locked in for 3 seasons. Whether the difference in contracts between MW and the cast was accidental or intentional (to prevent everyone from packing up at once) is known only to execs and their lawyers.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Guys, don’t worry. I’m sure MW is going to come back. AMC and Lions Gate aren’t going to let him leave.
They’re probably doing the whole studio-hardball business. This is all just part of the game, methinks. They’re probably trying to reach some kind of middle ground on MW’s salary demands. You can’t trust the studios to consider art above commerce – this is, after all, Hollywood we’re talking about here – but there’s way too much to lose on Lions Gate’s part if they walk away from MW’s contract.
Lions Gate used to have a lot of stellar independent films back in the day, but has gone with such notable projects recently as: House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, all of the Saw movies, and the coup de grace – the bloodiest, most violent film in recent history known as Rambo. All this says to me is that Lions Gate is very bottom-line and cash money oriented, but at the same time, shows like MM don’t come along very often. They’re not going to let him walk on the basis of nickels and dimes. It’s probably all just a ploy to turn up the heat a little on the Lions Gate lawyers. Let’s just be happy they’re talking about contracts. These things inevitably sort themselves out.
I would be more concerned about people like Jon Hamm walking away. The show’s run on a tight budget; Hamm’s already getting supreme star wattage with The Day The Earth Stood Still. He’s going to want more cash as the years go on. And let’s not leave out the rest of the cast – January Jones had a movie career before MM (even if it was American Wedding… ugh, she and Stifler!) and Christina Hendricks undoubtedly has a big career ahead of her.
And before we go with The Sopranos references (James Gandolfini stuck around for years), let’s remember that Hamm could be a new George Clooney if he wanted that. The show depends on Hamm – there’s no way possible for MM to continue without him.
We might have to face the possibility, as fans, this show might go all Battlestar Galactica on us: it might have a shorter-than-hoped shelf live. I’m going to say five seasons, maximum.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:53 am
AMC picked up Mad Men, it’s not for sale. MW is negotiating with Lionsgate, it’s a separate deal. So no, no chance.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:02 am
“It was originally thought that this affected the cast also, but it appears that they were already locked in for 3 seasons.”
I’m pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that the entire regular cast is locked up for six seasons, except for Slattery since he was just a guest star the first season. So there would be pretty much nothing to worry about on the cast front for the duration of the series. I’m not certain about this though, so feel free to correct me. It’s possible I have the number wrong.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Maybe they should just fire Matt Weiner, the writing staff, costumes, etc., have all of them locked up in a sixties style house 24 hours a day with cameras in every room and make it a reality show. Then maybe the viewership would increase. I’m kidding, but it really concerns me that more of America doesn’t have the attention span to appreciate this show for the genius that it is. If they did, it seems MW would be getting what he was worth. Honestly, my sense is that the actors, since most were plucked from oblivion are willing to work for a lower wage, in order to be part of suck high quality work. They receive other rewards in the form of marketability in the movie industry, the possibility of awards, etc.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:14 am
Sorry that was “SUCH high quality work”, not “SUCK high quality work”…. must learn to type!
December 28th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Unfortunately, for him, Hamm was wasted in Day the Earth, which screws him over every way possible.
The film is a dog, and on top of that, they muck up Hamm’s handsomeness, giving him the stupidest haircut since Dumb and Dumber: Ham’s hair is parted sloppily down the center (!) and they have him sporting a five o’clock shadow like the eclipse of the sun.
The dialogue in the film is clunky, when not laughable, and Hamm’s is both, plus brief.
He’s nothing more than a plot device to move Jennifer Connelly from place to place, and in the anti-climax is killed (off screen.)
If Hamm got other film work before Day premiered he may yet have a film career, but fortunately for us, Day isn’t the making of a film star for Hamm.
December 28th, 2008 at 9:29 am
As authors of this blog, Deb and I were planning on seeing TDTESS as like, homework.
Except the reviews have all been so stinky we’re not seeing it. Can’t. Stomach. It.