January 12, 2009 By: Deborah Lipp Category: Awards
You must watch this video.
Here’s a couple of glam shots. They’re a little fuzzy, they’re screen captures. It took two to get everyone in the shot, with Matt and all the magnificent ladies in their magnificent dresses.
Matt Weiner interviewed after the Globes
The cast at the post-Globes press conference
I have been watching my life. It’s right there. I keep scratching at it, trying to get into it. I can’t.
— Don Draper, The Mountain King
| — Join us on Facebook! — |
Alison Brie A Night to Remember Babylon Betty Draper birthdays Bryan Batt Christina Hendricks Dick Whitman Don Draper Dyna Moe Elisabeth Moss Emmys Entertainment Weekly fashion For Those Who Think Young Go Fug Yourself Golden Globes Harry Crane Janie Bryant January Jones Joan Holloway John Slattery Jon Hamm Ladies Room LA Times Lionsgate Maidenform Marriage of Figaro Meditations in an Emergency Michael Gladis New York Times Nixon vs. Kennedy Out of Town Peggy Olson Pete Campbell Rachel Menken Rich Sommer Roger Sterling Salvatore Romano Smoke Gets In Your Eyes The Hobo Code The Wheel TV Guide Variety Vincent Kartheiser
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.
Basket of Kisses © Copyright 2007–2010 All Rights Reserved. Using WordPress 2.9.2 Engine
Entries and Comments.
Prosumer 1.5 made by Nurudin Jauhari
January 12th, 2009 at 11:10 am
This one I can’t figure out how to embed.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:45 am
If it’s not a Wordpress issue (and embedding video in wp can be tricky –disabling the wysiwyg editor helps), click on the upper right side of the video to get the embed icon and copy the embed code.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:49 am
If it’s a wp issue and disabling the editor doesn’t do it, there seem to be a number of options vi the Google.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:55 am
On the merits, I would add that in general, we are used to seeing these people in their angst-wracked characters, so (despite the fact that JH and JJ had to be a little bummed at not winning) it is really cool to see EM, CH and VK so chuffed.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I loved the part where CH and VK started bumping hips at 2:40 – oh, how I wish I could do that when stuck onstage during a conference sometimes…!
And I’ll admit it, watching that interview made me beam with pride (once again) to be a fan of such an impeccable show. Damn, we have good taste.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
It just boggles the mind that AMC, LionsGate and the powers that be are not getting this deal done.
It has to be incredibly stressful on MW and the cast, despite the classy, level-headed responses. Being the pessimist I am, I have to wonder- even if the deal gets done and everything proceeds with MW still at the helm, will this wacky process have an impact on the writing of the show?
And good for Christina for saying that there is no show without Matt!
January 12th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
This contract holdup will in no way impact the quality of the show, once Matt is signed. In fact, the enthusiasm to back in the helm will only be more fierce.
From all accounts, Matt is a non-grudge holding person.
January 12th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I didn’t mean to imply in any way that Matt would hold a grudge towards anyone. I agree with you. I don’t think he’s wired up that way either.
I was just thinking that the stress of all of this could negatively impact the show. I felt the writing in the 2nd season was impacted negatively last year after the writer’s strike. But, that’s JMHO.
I’m just hoping the negotiations get taken care of quickly so MW and Co. can go back to creating their art without all of these obstacles.
Who knows- maybe the greatest art comes out of times of struggle.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Sorry if that came off harsh.
I think that the relief will be such a positive force that it will override the negativity.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
No need to apologize, but I appreciate it. I wasn’t very clear about my concerns.
I think we will all be relieved when they resolve this with a positive result and MW is back doing what he’s best at.
I am just concerned that something will happen to this show as has happened to many other quality shows and it will diminish the quality. And I’m probably not expressing it too clearly.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
The concern arises from the fact that the AMC dude quoted the other day suggests that they have months to get a deal w/MW in place and still make a 3Q launch, while (iirc) MW was planning on having the writers gearing up this month/ week.
On the S1 DVD commentaries, one of the writers talked about how they had 6 scripts done when they started the production schedule and there was a bit of a time crunch on the remaining scripts (“the camera eats scripts”).
As far as S1 goes, I could argue that a process that produces “The Hobo Code,” “The Long Weekend,” “Nixon v. Kennedy” and “The Wheel” didn’t seem to diminish the quality of MM at all. But maybe those last 7 scripts would have been even better if the MM crew had more time. All other things being equal, it’s understandable that MW would want as much lead time as he can get.
January 12th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Kristin posted this story this morning with the ominous titile: “Mad Men Boss Says Show’s Fate Is ‘Unknowable’” with text that reads: “Before you Mad Men fans pop open any more bubbly to celebrate the show’s big win at the Golden Globes, you should know: The future of the AMC hit is in danger, according to the show’s mastermind, Matt Weiner, who is not signed on to continue with the series.”
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b78600_mad_men_boss_says_shows_fate_unknowable.html?sid=rss_topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories
January 12th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
There’s also this story: a little older, but no less creepy.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998240.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
I do not like this direction at all. Mad Men without Matt would be like a very nice suit lying on a bed. Nice, lots to appreciate: but where’s the guy who makes it move?
January 12th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Karl, I could be wrong, but I thought MW said he planned to start back writing in mid-January with the expectation that the contract issue would be resolved. I couldn’t see him starting to write again without a contract. That would definitely weaken his position. But I’m certainly not privy to the way things are handled out there.
But I see your point. The major concern is getting MW back on the show. First things first.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
BroncoRoger,
You’re probably right about not starting to write until the contract gets settled — but that’s the point. How much time is enough to script 13 MM quality episodes? Was the AMC dude figuring negotiations could still drag on for a bit and push the S3 premiere into August or September? Was MW circling mid-January as a way of trying to prod things along (prob. unlikely, if that’s when things geared up for S2)? We don’t really know, but MW, Lionsgate and AMC likely all have opinions as answers.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Peter G,
May I recommend tinyURL?
January 12th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Also, unless MW tells the Lipps something different today, it’s notable that both the AMC dude (in Anne’s Variety link) and MW last night were continuing to have the “we want to work this out” tone. Neither side has started harshing on the other yet. The situation is less than ideal — as Lionsgate was hoping for a deal before Christmas — but far from lost.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Karl, thank you! I wasn’t aware of this – I’ll utilize it going forward.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
No problem; some blog structures deal better with long URLs than others. And it’s usually discovered by experience. That’s how I know about TinyURL (and similar sites0 in the first place.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Karl, that was my point earlier. How does the delayed negotiations affect the quality of the show? It would seem to me that MW would need more time to write the shows than the AMC and LG people are saying. That may be part of the hardball negotiations. I don’t know.
I mean, for all I know, MW has been writing S3 since last summer. I hope he has been. But I certainly wouldn’t expect him to make that public, if he has been writing upcoming episodes.
I was assuming that the S3 premiere was a hard date of July ‘09. That’s also why I thought there would be added time pressure and stress on MW to write the episodes. I didn’t consider that they may have to negotiate delaying S3. That would stink too!
I’m pretty sure that MW was sending signals to the powers that be that he intended to start writing in mid-January to get them off their can. Just as the AMC dude said there was plenty of time- maybe hoping MW would give in.
I just hope it gets resolved in a positive manner very soon.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
They really need to be back by the summer or else their Emmy hype just dies…the nominations and voting takes place in the summer and their show is always fresh because of that. The people voting view their tapes and also get back into the new season…
It’s just really odd, without Matt they wouldn’t even have Mad Men, and that show has been a major catalyst for so much hype to their network’s original programming.
January 12th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
OK. I didn’t know how much lead time the writers had for S2, so I brought out the Google-fu to remind me that during the strike, Lionsgate cut an interim deal with the WGA in late January 2007 to get Mad Men writers back to work. So MW’s mid-January target now is a little bit earlier — though it may well be what he would have preferred for S2 also, absent the strike.
July seems/ seemed to be the window for S3 (That’s when the S2 DVDs are scheduled, just as the S1 DVDs hit shortly before S2 started). The AMC dude quoted by Variety and others mentions a “Summer” window. I may be reading too much into that, but (iirc) The Sopranos ran into similar contract/ schedule delays.
I also agree that a launch delay of significance would stink for everyone from AMC/Lionsgate to MW to the fans. I’m just looking at all of the possibilities. Some of those scenarios aren’t bad — as noted, both sides seem to still be keeping a good tone. And if S2 is a precedent, getting MW signed this month or early next month would allow for S3 to start in July without major problems.
January 12th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Also, based on interviews and the S1 DVDs, I would guess that MW has not been writing MM episodes per se. MW has said he has some general ideas about major character arcs over the course of the entire show. And the DVDs suggest that he might have particular scenes or aspects of scenes in mind related to those arcs (e.g., the “Who Cares?” scene in S1, what would generally happen to Peggy in S1 and how that would pay off along the way, the diverging arcs of Peggy and Joan in S2, the speech Peggy gives to Pete at the end of S2 — without knowing for sure that Peggy would be the one saying it — etc.)
While he has said in the immediate post-S2 interviews that he hadn’t decided on what sort of MM-time gap there might be between S2 and S3, I would suspect that he has given that some thought by now. And probably done reading on the period.
The writing process seems to have been that MW starts with some season-long arcs in mind, and that the writers then pitch stories that support those arcs. In addition, as we have seen, MW likes episodes that are thematic in themselves, while advancing those larger arcs.
So my guess is that at this juncture, MW probably has an idea about the forest, but not the trees.
MW might spill a little about that to the Lipps if they ask, but he might be playing his cards close to the vest.
January 12th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Needless to say, I’m just speculating, but laying out how I’m doing it. YMMV.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
What are the AFI awards and what did Mad Men win there? Pics here:
http://community.livejournal.com/madmen_tv/134134.html#cutid1
January 12th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
The AFI awards are just an organization, with a jury made up of various critics and industry people, who make put together and alphabetical list of the ten best films and TV shows of the year. The lists were announced last month, but the ceremony for the honorees occured last week.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
The AFI Awards were actually announced in December, and we reported it then. Apparently there was a ceremony this weekend, hence the pics.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Thanks for the heads up about AFI! I’m watching Fashion police now on E!, they totally hated on Christina Hendricks…and January got a mixed reaction, but they like her hair. Poor Elisabeth was snubbed even though they showed her briefly.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:42 am
I preferred CH’s Emmy dress, but I appreciate that she might have wanted to do something different after getting so much attention then. Thought JJ did pretty well, given that JJ can make some risky choices. Thought EM looked great; pretty sure that was a vintage dress, too.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
This was the first time I loved January’s look. CH was wearing one of those big pleat front top thingies, like Becksindale, they’re all over the runways and the fashion writers and shows just hate them.
My problem with Christina was her makeup. She has one of the most beautiful faces in the world, with a perfect, creamy palette, and she overdid the lips and eyes, to the detriment of her beauty.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:05 am
Alan Sepinwall got a little from MW on the negotiations and the writing timeline, and it seems like my speculatin’ was in the ballpark.
January 14th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Thanks for the clip. It was disappointing to not see much red carpet footage of the gang. This clip makes up for it and then some.
I loved January’s look also. I’ve heard her say that she likes to wear ‘edgier’ clothes. I wonder if she partly makes that choice because it sets her apart. I notice that when she dresses more typically, she could be mistaken for other blond hollywood starletts (some of whom aren’t as beautiful as she, but with makeup and styling look very similar).
Anyway, it was fun to see the group together. They’re adorable and seem to be genuine friends.
Lionsgate, get your &*@% together soon. MW’s worth every penny he’s asking for.