Mad News, October 15-20, 2009
Go Fug Yourself doesn’t like January’s face on the cover of GQ. While acknowledging no one is looking at her face. They also refer to a hairstyle they love as “very Betty Draper Goes to Rome.” Ha!
GQ Director of Photography Dora Somosi blogged about the controversy over JJ’s GQ photos, (which also made Page 6) invoking Seinfeld.
Cityfile interviews Vincent Kartheiser. I have to say that VK may be the single most interesting interview subject in the Mad Men cast. You never know what he’ll say!
Rachel Shukert offers awesome unsolicited advice to Betty. AWE. SOME.
TV Guide interviews Bryan Batt. So does the Vulture. And here’s the House Beautiful photo that he mentions to the Vulture.
GQ interviews Janie Bryant. It’s much…tamer than their interview with January Jones, but very engaging.
Cathy, the comic strip, notices the Mad Men influence on fashion (thanks Basketcase Sheila). [fixed]
Here is an awesome interview of Scott Buckwald, Mad Men propmaster, in Collectors Weekly. There is juice on all sorts of prop items, including the whole Selectric thing, food, and more. There is one prop discussed that I don’t recognize as having ever been on the show, so it may be a slight spoiler for an ad campaign.
The Modesto Bee is losing interest in TV. Except for Mad Men.
Luxist asked Mad Men stars what they do to make the world a better place. I love this post so much I want to hug it.
Luxist also writes about the fashion influence of Mad Men on the show’s actors.
Playbill speculates that the Mad Men craze has made Broadway safe for early 60s revivals.
Michael Palin was starstruck by “the guys from Mad Men.” Those guys being Michael Gladis and Rich Sommer. Laist has video of Rich discussing his favorite Python sketches and movies — and offering a Mad Men tease.
iVillage loves January Jones’s GQ interview so much they’ve made her their “woman of the week.”TV Predictions dips back to her prior GQ photos to name JJ their “HD Hottie of the Day.”
The San Francisco Chronicle names five West Coast stops steeped in the spirit of the Mad Men era.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune thinks that Mad Men-obsessed bloggers are underrated, but fails to mention the Basket, which may be why the paper is in dire financial straits.
JohnThe Cheever — an obvious Mad Men influence — is essayed by The Guardian, with family interviews. Dude lived in Ossining.
Matt Weiner took part in a 90-minute panel discussion of Mad Men that was all business.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Hiltbrand notes that Mad Men fans were remarkably and unanimously polite in explaining to him how Betty knew Italian. (One of those would be me -K.)
The NYT’s Adam Cohen observes: “In tough economic times, the advertising-biz drama ‘Mad Men’ is offering beleaguered Americans heaping helpings of other people’s misery.”
Jon Hamm talks to Reader’s Digest about his strangest showbiz encounter and more.
The New York Times tours Tarrytown, including some antiquing a la Betty Draper.
Elisabeth Moss has signed up for a guest stint on NBC’s Mercy.
Melinda McGraw talks with 411mania about her new gig on Hank with Kelsey Grammer.
AfterEllen swwons that Christina Hendricks, already an icon among gay men, wants to reach the lesbian community as well.
A new insider book about advertising, Ad Land, is reviewed invoking Don Draper. I suspect we’re going to see a spate of these books; publishing loves a trend.
The Urbanite looks at advertising then and now.
The Pittsburgh Kurt Sutter suggests that half the people who voted for Mad Men to win the Emmy had probably never seen the show.
GiveWell uses a Don Draper quote to discuss fundraising. I love how the author imagines WWDDD and suggests he’d use the word “hardwired.” Ooops.
Mad News is compiled by Deborah and Karl.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Just an FYI, the “Cathy” links you to today’s strip. The strip that references “Mad Men” is from October 15.
I feel bad for Melinda McGraw, I hear that “Hank” isn’t doing very well and may already be canceled.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Oops about the Cathy link. If you have a good link, drop it in and I’ll update the post.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I agree with the Fuggs. Plus how did they make her small b size chest, at best, have that much cleavage and heft. If it was Christina Hendricks I’d buy it but her, no way!
October 20th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Plus how did they make her small b size chest, at best, have that much cleavage and heft.
Through the miracle of Photoshop.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Here ya go! I’m pretty sure the default is set to the current day’s strip, so if this doesn’t work, just use the drop-down box and look for Oct. 15.
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/cathy#id=/comics/uclickcomics/20091015/cx_ca_uc/ca20091015
October 20th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Vinnie is awesome. How did someone who grew up in show business develop such a mature attitude about life?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
January’s eye makeup is way too light in that cover, and/or her lips are too matte. Either go full-on porny or don’t bother.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I get GQ (for complicated reasons I don’t understand involving other magazines that went out of business and other magazines I want to get), and I’ve had a close look at the JJ pictures. Frankly, I think they suck. Not that they’re “controversial”; sexy underwear and smoky poses and lying in the road in front of cars hasn’t been controversial in my house for twenty years. They just look lame and cheesy, like “here, let’s try something EDGY, man, get into this underwear”. Frankly there was a serious shortage of brain power on the shoot. Her facial angle or her peekaboobs are only part of it. Weak.
You know what was sexy and HOTT? Her ad for Oceana, wearing a wetsuit and holding a shark: http://oceana.org/newsletter/newsletter-archive/newsletter-spring-2009/features/
October 20th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I’m going to write my Ibsen Hypothesis of Mad Men tonight on my own blog. Er, if I have the energy. The last episode was a dead giveaway. In the last inside video for The Color Blue, Weiner drops another clue. He says the episode is set up in such a way to showcase Don at the podium. Ibsen wrote this way too. For Ibsen, it was the confrontation between characters that was important. the final conversation, the argument and postulates and summary that was the most significant thing in his plays. The rest of the plot merely set up the moment for this confrontation to occur.
So, what fresh new clues do we have lately? The Color Blue was referenced in A Doll’s House, a little obliquely but it is still recognizable. From the last act, when Nora sees her husband and her own life clearly, we get the following exchange when she tells him she is leaving:
Helmer. This is unheard of in a girl of your age! But if religion cannot lead you aright, let me try and awaken your conscience. I suppose you have some moral sense? Or–answer me–am I to think you have none?
Nora. I assure you, Torvald, that is not an easy question to answer. I really don’t know. The thing perplexes me altogether. I only know that you and I look at it in quite a different light. I am learning, too, that the law is quite another thing from what I supposed; but I find it impossible to convince myself that the law is right. According to it a woman has no right to spare her old dying father, or to save her husband’s life. I can’t believe that.
The whole last act is all about awakening to oneself and seeing reality as it really is and not as convention would have it. And then, there’s this:
Helmer. How unreasonable and how ungrateful you are, Nora! Have you not been happy here?
Nora. No, I have never been happy. I thought I was, but it has never really been so.
Helmer. Not–not happy!
Nora. No, only merry. And you have always been so kind to me. But our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa’s doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls. I thought it great fun when you played with me, just as they thought it great fun when I played with them. That is what our marriage has been, Torvald.
Don Draper: “I want to show you off.”
That had to be the bingo moment for Betty. She is Nora. And now that she has power, things are going to change in the Draper household. Are we going to see an Ibsen-esque confrontation in the last episode between Betty and Don? Does she even have to physically leave? Maybe she just separates her life from his without moving out. Or she moves back to her Dad’s house. Or she makes him move them all to Manhattan. Whatever happens, it will be Betty doing the driving.
Now, about Don as Peer Gynt and Joan doing a half-caf, triple toe Gabler…
October 20th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
If you know anything about the photographer who took the GQ photos, the JJ pictures are pretty tame. Terry Richardson prides himself on an extremely edgy, raw look sometimes bordering on the pornographic. Check out the pictures of his Mother:
http://www.terryrichardson.com/
For what it’s worth, because in my job, I do a fair number of photo shoots, I can tell you that JJ had nothing to do with the selection of the photographer or the styling. As for the controversy, I don’t think they’re photoshopped, but wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple of pieces of duct tape inside that jacket.
Good for her though, I’m sure she’s feeling the need to push the envelope a bit to get out of housewife typecasting.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
riverdaughter,
For Don as Peer Gynt, one need only consult S2’s “The Mountain King.” Actually, I’m guessing you knew that, but it’s a good reminder for people who want to look into it.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
“Good for her though, I’m sure she’s feeling the need to push the envelope a bit to get out of housewife typecasting.”
I agree, it was a good career move, plus the article made a point of saying that she is a talented actress. Something GQ rarely does with the women they place on their covers.
Oh and that article on giving Betty Draper advice is HILARIOUS!!
October 20th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/10/mad_mens_vincent_kartheiser_on.html#comments
Mini Interview of VK
October 20th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
This is funny, Google trends: Balloon boy, January Jones, Miyabi
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/current-google-insights-trends-balloon-boy-january-jones-miyabi-1805889.html
October 20th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
“The Minneapolis Star-Tribune thinks that Mad Men-obsessed bloggers are underrated, but fails to mention the Basket, which may be why the paper is in dire financial straits.”
LOL
October 20th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
So Vincent Kartheiser takes public transportation to the set?
October 20th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
I really liked the interview with January Jones. I think she looked scary as hell on the front page with those eyes of hers.
She’s the kind of woman that invokes both desire and a little bit of fear.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
That interview with Scott Buckwald was great!
I am continually blown away by how much effort goes into keeping each episode historically accurate, with such a keen eye on even the smallest item or detail.
Earlier this season, in the episode with Joan and Greg entertaining guests in their home, I noticed a spice rack in the background that was exactly like one that was in my Mom’s kitchen, when I was a youngster.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:26 am
Also since this is kinda new related…I ordered my Mad Men suit on Monday (the first day that they went on sale at Brooks Brothers) and they have already sold out as of late yesterday when I checked back. Some are saying they sold out the very first day. I have gotten 2 emails stating 2 different ship dates, the first email stating Oct.30 and then the 2nd email stated its now Nov. 11 that it will ship. At this rate i’m hoping i will still get my suit. Also i thought this was interesting….its a picture of the set up from one of the stores with props etc. (notice the Popsicle ad on the desk).
http://nouveauvintage.blogspot.com/2009/10/official-mad-men-suit.html
October 21st, 2009 at 10:30 am
Another interesting article, this from Chief Marketer
(even when I’m working, my life is interrupted by MM!)
http://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/branding/1001-brands-buy-mad-men/
October 21st, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Here’s a new clip for this week (Semi-Spoilery, of course):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT1PR-6oSs0
October 21st, 2009 at 10:41 pm
I really enjoyed the Rachel Shukert Unsolicited Advice, and am enjoying reading her unsolicited advice as well. Great find!
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Yahoo editor discusses blackface and mentions Mad Men.
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/french-vogue-does-blackface-since-when-is-this-ok-525789/
November 4th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
If Don is Peer Gynt, has the problem of the Mountain King’s daughter been addressed in an earlier episode? Was Anna Draper with her bad leg symbolic of the malformed child? She seems like a good force, not an evil one, though. I guess I was wondering if his latest mistress is the Mountain King’s daughter.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I’m going to write my Ibsen Hypothesis of Mad Men tonight on my own blog. Er, if I have the energy. The last episode was a dead giveaway. In the last inside video for The Color Blue, Weiner drops another clue. He says the episode is set up in such a way to showcase Don at the podium. Ibsen wrote this way too. For Ibsen, it was the confrontation between characters that was important. the final conversation, the argument and postulates and summary that was the most significant thing in his plays. The rest of the plot merely set up the moment for this confrontation to occur.
So, what fresh new clues do we have lately? The Color Blue was referenced in A Doll’s House, a little obliquely but it is still recognizable. From the last act, when Nora sees her husband and her own life clearly, we get the following exchange when she tells him she is leaving:
Helmer. This is unheard of in a girl of your age! But if religion cannot lead you aright, let me try and awaken your conscience. I suppose you have some moral sense? Or–answer me–am I to think you have none?
Nora. I assure you, Torvald, that is not an easy question to answer. I really don’t know. The thing perplexes me altogether. I only know that you and I look at it in quite a different light. I am learning, too, that the law is quite another thing from what I supposed; but I find it impossible to convince myself that the law is right. According to it a woman has no right to spare her old dying father, or to save her husband’s life. I can’t believe that.
The whole last act is all about awakening to oneself and seeing reality as it really is and not as convention would have it. And then, there’s this:
Helmer. How unreasonable and how ungrateful you are, Nora! Have you not been happy here?
Nora. No, I have never been happy. I thought I was, but it has never really been so.
Helmer. Not–not happy!
Nora. No, only merry. And you have always been so kind to me. But our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa’s doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls. I thought it great fun when you played with me, just as they thought it great fun when I played with them. That is what our marriage has been, Torvald.
Don Draper: “I want to show you off.”
That had to be the bingo moment for Betty. She is Nora. And now that she has power, things are going to change in the Draper household. Are we going to see an Ibsen-esque confrontation in the last episode between Betty and Don? Does she even have to physically leave? Maybe she just separates her life from his without moving out. Or she moves back to her Dad’s house. Or she makes him move them all to Manhattan. Whatever happens, it will be Betty doing the driving.
Now, about Don as Peer Gynt and Joan doing a half-caf, triple toe Gabler…