I woke up groggy on Sunday morning, feeling a little queasy, and really worn out. I’ve been trying to avoid a nasty summer cold, and at this point, I was losing the fight. But did I perk up when I discovered what was in my email.
It was an invite to Monday’s Season 3 Premiere, held at the Director’s Guild in Los Angeles. Cold schmold. There was no way I was going to miss Mad Men. On a big screen. In the presence of people who create the show.
When I arrived, my first impression was that the event was surprisingly low key — especially for a premier held on Sunset Blvd., in the heart of Hollywood. There was no one out front, although the red carpet was in place, and there were plenty of big, beefy security guys to control the flow of things. Plus, I kept seeing limos circling the block, so I knew something was up. After a while, a few fans began to assemble on the sidewalk, but the throngs of press and usual suspects that normally gather for such events were nowhere to be found…
Or so I thought.
Turns out, the real hullabaloo was happening inside the theatre. Doh!!!
Fortunately, I managed to get a few snapshots before schlepping inside:
All the beautiful people...
You can see all the “official” press photos at Getty Images and Wire Images.
Highlights:
I hope you like the season, I think it’s about something substantial, but in the end, it’s supposed to be entertaining.
Matthew Weiner
As if we wouldn’t be excited about the season! As if we wouldn’t find it both substantial and entertaining. Yeah, Matt, nice try. It’s interesting that after all the acclaim and positive response he’s received, he’s still unsure about people’s reaction to the show.
I was told that the Basket will receive a shout-out from Matthew Weiner in an upcoming edition of USA Today.
Kiernan Shipka is so lovely and charming. She’s growing into quite a young lady. Glad to see her status on the show has grown as much as she has.
John Slattery and Talia Balsam showed up with producer/director/actor/writer Barbet Schroeder, who appeared in two of my favorite movies about life in Paris: Paris vu par and Paris, je t’aime.
Jack McBrayer is as big a fan of Basket of Kisses as he is of “Mad Men.” And he’s a HUGE “Mad Men” fan.
The cast, crew, and even a few suits at AMC and Lionsgate have MUCH love for the Basket.
I saw Slattery heading for the restroom. But instead of walking in the direction of the men, toward the men’s room, he kept following the long line of women. I’m sure it was a harmless mistake, but given his character, I thought it was funny.
“Out of Town” = out of this world!
Oh, and this:
I like Hamm
If only I’d been feeling better, oh what might have been…
48 Responses to “Too Good To Be True”
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Awesome! I hate you. Or is it that I want to be you?
Wow, you got your picture took with Hamm. I can't even hate you, that is so cool.
Can you add any further cryptic remarks about the actual episode? No spoilers, of course.
Cryptic remarks. Hmmmm.
"Out of Town" answers questions, but poses still more. It sets the path for what we'll see throughout the season.
There are some really great scenes with lots of humor. And the trademark parallelisms are there. Mad Men always has lots of parallelisms. This episode is no exception.
My reactions to some of the scenes were "what…What…WHAT?!!?!!!?!! Are you kidding me?! Oh, no they didn't! Hell, yeah!!"
Kiernan Shipka now receives a title credit. I don't believe that's a spoiler, but I do think it's news. Deborah, Roberta? It's your call on this one.
They don't directly spell out which year it is, but there are a couple of things about the plot that hint at the year — although those things could just as easily be fake-outs, much like the mystery of Peggy's baby last year.
Oh, and Don does something I didn't know he could do.
Very, very, very cool, hulla. They need to do an NYC premier so I can sneak in and get forcibly removed.
So proud that BoK gets the respect it deserves.
Crypticisms pass muster.
Remember how last week everyone hated us because we'd seen this episode?
I hate you now. I almost tossed my lunch when I saw that last picture ; )
Yay hullaballoo! Thanks for representing.
I would have been happy to accompany.
Sure, I'm no Jon Hamm, but I can carry tissues and meds.
By the way, Roberta and I were cc'ed on the invitation that went to hullaballoo. Which is awesome, because at first the Powers That Be were confused about who was who and what was what; they now understand that Basket West Coast is hull, and that's thrilling. It's an acknowledgement of all of us. So I hate hull a little less.
I *gasped* so loud when I saw the last picture that my office mate jumped right out of her chair.
Juggle?
I'm so happy for you! What a treat. Did the cast know you were from Basket of Kisses? Or did they just think you were a super-fan? I love all the pictures – but those 4 little boys (who I assume are Matt's children?) are adorable – what little cuties they are. We've seen two of them on the show so far – I suppose in fairness Matt will let the other 2 have a role!
Jon Hamm! Good grief he is perfection. You look beautiful in that picture. Wow! I'll bet he was as gracious in person as he seems. Why does just looking at Jon Hamm make me happy??
Thanks for sharing!
Oh, I forgot to mention the boys. Look how Arlo is dressed! He is so awesome. I bet that's a real bowtie and not a clip-on.
Very nice "crypticisms." Nice coinage, Roberta. Nice, nice, very nice all around.
Kiernan having more to do is a-ok in my book. That kid is a natural.
Having looked through the pictures in the links you supplied – it's amazing how much Kiernan looks like a perfect blending of Jon and January – a beautiful little girl. She's very talented – good to know she'll be on the show more.
Is it just me, and my Mad Men glasses, or do all the women in the cast look more glamorous in early '60s Mad Men wear, than our dreary 21st century duds and makeup?
I think January looks better in '60s duds. I don't love the way Christina does her eye makeup in real life; too racoony, but I love her soft 21st century hair. I think Alison is the most adorable creature on earth in her 21st century look, and in the '60s is also very adorable. Elisabeth, needless to say, looks better with makeup on, like every other human.
I think January looks kind of fabulous. Way better than usual. I think it's Christina who will get fugged. Melinda McGraw looks like a gazillion bucks!
What's with Michael Gladis' tie? I like the pic of Rich Sommer giving him crap about it. And Bryan Batt brought his mom – who he closely resembles. Same smile.
Sorry that would be "whom."
I was right. http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/go_fug_yourself…
Sorry you ended up in the spam queue Donny. It's a very short post with little text and then a link; it triggers the spam guard.
Yes, the young fellows are the Weiner lads. They arrived before their parents…in their own limo.
Everyone in the cast was very nice — particularly once they found out I wrote for the Basket. They all asked about Deb and Roberta ("the girls"), and also mentioned how much they LOVE the blog and read it regularly. Biggest surprise, though, was finding out that Jack McBrayer is also a BIG fan of the blog.
All the Mad Women looked beautiful, and all had on fantastic shoes.
That's the problem with red carpet photography, hull — not enough shoes.
Matt's sons are dressed really well…stylish family.
Anyway I can't wait to see what this all means:
My reactions to some of the scenes were “what…What…WHAT?!!?!!!?!! Are you kidding me?! Oh, no they didn’t! Hell, yeah!!â€
That's an amazing picture of you and Jon Hamm.
Hulla, you lucky bug! Hope your cold is better and that you didn't sneeze on Mr. Hamm! Great pictures! I suspected that Jack McBrayer is a big MM fan– on an episode of 30 Rock this past season, his character Kenneth said "I am Dick Whitman!"
As JS, your reaction:
“what…What…WHAT?!!?!!!?!! Are you kidding me?! Oh, no they didn’t! Hell, yeah!!â€
is driving me crazy!!!!!
I suspect that this will be a monumental year in MM!
I hate to admit this, but it took me a few seconds to recognize Christina Hendricks! She's very beautiful in this century too, but I admit the '60's makeup she wears on the show makes her even more stunning! I'll have to check the Getty and Wire pics to see how January looked.
Now I'm even more excited about the premiere! Only 12 days for the rest of us!
Oh, thanks, Deb. I was just linking to the post where Christina got fugged. (I like being right, too!
Y'all can look it up for yourselves.
Where's Jennifer???
That's brilliant, Hull – you lucky gal! I'm intrigued by Kiernan's new billing, and what it may signify in future episodes… Also, I've seen Dana Delany in a few MM pics over the years – can someone refresh my memory about her connection to the show?
Delaney and Slattery = both on Desperate Housewives. That's all I got.
Joy, as far as I know, she's a fan and a friend.
I'm so happy for you I can't even be jealous. Go Basket East and West Coast!!
This is amazing!!! SOOOO many lovely congrats to you!! How exciting and breathtaking. Thank you for sharing your beautiful fotos!
OMG Hulla!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkSQjB6EdZ4
Good find, Shelly! That is so cool, hulla, congrats on your awesome access! I loved it when some of the actors recognized you. Any idea why everyone but January signed? Who were all those people, anyway? Professional autograph hounds?
OMG, video? Can I sue? LOL. I don't remember seeing anyone with a video camera out front. There weren't that many people there — maybe ten of us, but I honestly don't remember someone videotaping anything. January arrived late. Like two minutes before the screening was supposed to begin. The event handlers ushered her in as soon as she exited her car.
I accept that living in Northern MN means I’ll never get tickets or to breath the same air as any of these people. I must go weep now.
hulll,
You and Jon are a perfectly adorable couple. For this reason alone, I find it impossible to resent your great luck.
Thanks for sharing your evening with us!
amazing vid – very cool!
boy its creepy watching those grown men get 19 copies of the same photo signed over and over … wonder where those will end up?
hulla, any idea which photo christina said she wouldn't sign?
Hull, Nice to have a face to go with the handle! You and Jon are too cute; so glad you got a chance to have such a great time and even better to share with us. Nothing but good feelings coming at ya from this corner. Just want to say, though, California is a BIG state…maybe us BOKers in the Bay Area need to form a Northern California BOK press corps…just saying. Might this be a good time to share a personal bit of MM trivia–Jon Hamm and I grew up in the same St. Louis suburb and our high schools were just down the road from each other…he went to the private one (Burroughs) and I went to public one (Horton Watkins). Could make a great ice breaker for an interview….:)
I like how Jon said, "I love you" to hulla before she could say it to him.
hulla, it was probably a regular digital camera with a video mode. B. Cooper, I thought the same thing, that’s why I asked if they were professional autograph hounds! I’ll bet if you look on ebay, you’ll see those pics up for bid. Although they might be waiting for January’s sig!
I met Jon Hamm and his girlfriend at the White House coorespondents dinner in April in D.C. Talked to them about 10 minutes–they both were very cordial and friendly. I shook his hand when I left and just washed it a couple days ago…ok, that is not true, but it was a pretty cool experience…
Arlo's too cool for clip-ons.
Ms. Darkly: Many of the cast are midwesterners – maybe Vincent will wander up your neck of the woods? At least, I keep hoping John Slattery will come back to Boston and show up on my doorstep…
Hullabaloo: You look great in that video! Forgive this ignorant Yankee, but do you know who all those men were crowding around the cast with the multiple glossies? They seem like professional autograph-collectors, but I don't know if such a thing exists (or why the cast would sign things for them)… I know you've been to prior events, did you get anything signed this time? (I still cherish my MW doorhanger, Deb and Roberta!)
I think my best bet is Rich Sommer, what with the Minnesota connection.
@41 Joy:
That's nice of you to say. Personally, I don't think I'm ever close-up ready — don't like to appear on camera unless I can control the outcome, you know? So to turn up on YouTube unawares? Yikes. Ah, well, there you have me. In all (and I do mean ALL) my glory.
Regarding the autograph seekers, yes, there are people who do that — maybe not full time, but a lot of the time. It is L.A., after all. There are stores that sell all kinds of entertainment memorabilia, as well as swap meets, trade and collectible shows, fan conferences and conventions, plus the online marketplace. They're kind of like paparazzi in that they have connections all over town (waiters, bus boys, valet parking attendants, security guards, etc.) who tip them off about who's where. Certain autographed items can fetch a pretty penny, particularly if the person in question has garnered some kind of cult status.
I even remember reading about a PR agency who hired people like that to follow their clients. It made them look like bigger stars than they were, and got them lots of free publicity. Sometimes the celebrity was in on the sham, other times they believed they were legit autograph seekers.
Hullaballoo: Congratulations! Quite a score. If you ever need an escort to one of these event, I'll hop in my Mustang and be in LA in two shakes of a lamb's tail.
SFCaramia: I'm all for a NorCal chapter of BOK. I'm in sales and cover SF to Palo Alto. We should have a Basket Case premiere party. Thoughts?
Frank Bullitt: Yeah, why not? There certainly must be enough of us. Would love to at least make a stab at connecting…not being a computer genius am a little unsure about the mechanics but it's worth a try. Thoughts?
SFCaramia: How about posting a meeting time/place here, with the permission of Roberta, Deborah, et. al. I'm thinking of dinner and a cocktail or two at a place with a Mad Men vibe, e.g. Bix, Tadich's, Top of the Mark, the Cliff House, etc.
<—Jeal…ous
[...] also found this lovely bunch o’ interviews from the premiere (y’know, the one HULLABALLOO was at). Elisabeth Moss is delightfully hinty while revealing [...]