Dapper Don Draper seemed unfazed by the flash bulbs popping mere inches away from his face while, a heartbeat away, Peggy Olson, resplendent in an ankle-length silver cocktail dress, smiled a smile so bright it lit up everyone around her.

All around, ice clinked in glasses in the stiff chill of a January evening in Southern California. Betty Draper appeared briefly, a thin smile flashing across her face, and then she left just as quickly. Nearby, Roger Sterling and Joan Harris held court, surrounded by eager listeners. The sound of civilized conversation swirled against a backdrop of mojitos and rum, and for a moment there, it was possible to imagine one had stepped back in time, to Hollywood’s classic age when Andy Williams serenaded listeners on AM radio with Can’t Get Used to Losing You, Bobby Darin sang You’re the Reason I’m Living and Eydie Gorme chose to Blame It on the Bossa Nova.

Except of course that this was 2012, not 1963, and that was not Don Draper but rather Jon Hamm, the man who plays Draper on TV in Mad Men. A small banner unfurled across the Viennese Terrace of Pasadena’s Langham Huntington Hotel proclaimed “Envy is back March 25,” with the “envy” and “March” in orange and “back” and “25” in black. Just feet away from Hamm, Elisabeth Moss could not stop smiling: The 29-year-old Emmy nominee was like a teenager again, her voice bubbling over in a frenzy of words while, nearby, John Slattery (who plays Roger) and Christina Hendricks (who plays Joan) held court with a kind of old-world sophistication.

Matthew “Matt” Weiner, Mad Men’s creator, executive producer and head writer, has a reputation for being a controlling and stern taskmaster but on this night he was visibly relaxed — humble even — as he worked the crowd, sparing time for a visiting reporter from Canada.

“I never thought we’d go past the pilot,” Weiner said, in a moment of quiet reflection. “The idea that we’re finishing season five in 48 hours is just . . . it blows my mind. It blows my mind that people know what it is. So, for me, I just want to keep it entertaining, keep it fresh. We’re all pushing ourselves. These incredible actors. I’ve watched this little girl grow up. I’ve watched a lot of my cast grow up. I was bald when I met them, and I’m still bald now, so nothing happened to me — but that’s really where it is. I feel blessed.” Continue reading »

Gallery Links
[001] Public Appearances > 2012 > January 22: McCafe At T-Mobile Google Music Village At The Lift – Day 3 – 2012 Park City
[003] Public Appearances > 2012 > January 22: Stella Artois Lounge by Ally B At T-Mobile Google Music Village At The Lift – Day 3 – 2012 Park City

Gallery Link
[007] Public Appearances > 2012 > January 21 Sheets Energy Presents The “Save The Date And End Of Love” Party – 2012 Park City

Gallery Link
[006] Public Appearances > 2012 > January 20: T-Mobile Presents Google Music At TAO Nightclub At T-Mobile Google Music Village At The Lift – Day 1 – 2012 Park City

Thanks to a very generous (and anonymous) Secret Santa, I’ve just added in the gallery screencaps from 4 “Mad Men” episodes back on season 2. Enjoy!

Gallery Links
[069] Mad Men > Season Two > Screencaps > 2×06 – “Maidenform”
[115] Mad Men > Season Two > Screencaps > 2×07 – “The Gold Violin”
[276] Mad Men > Season Two > Screencaps > 2×08 – “A Night to Remember”
[058] Mad Men > Season Two > Screencaps > 2×09 – “Six Month Leave”

In a rather surprising celebrity and brand pairing, “Mad Men” star Christina Hendricks has lent her coquettish voice to Baskin-Robbins ice-cream stores.

Ms. Hendricks is the voice-over talent for a campaign by Baskin-Robbins to remind customers that flavors, not toppings, are what matter. Above is the first of a flight of 15-second ads for the brand by its agency of about two years, Atlanta-based 22Squared. We’re told the spots will run on the following networks: ABC Family, Animal Planet, Bravo, Food Network, Nick @ Nite, Oxygen, Style, TLC, WE and WGN.

Ms. Hendricks, who plays the attractive office secretary Joan Harris and behind-the-scenes manager of the agency in “Mad Men,” follows in the footsteps of costars cashing in with brands. Jon Hamm –better known as Don Draper — is the voice of Mercedes-Benz, while John Slattery, who plays Roger Sterling and Ms. Hendricks‘ sometime love interest on the show, appears in Lincoln ads.

Strangely, Baskin-Robbins isn’t touting its new spokeswoman, and it’s unclear whether Ms. Hendricks will actually show up in the ads at some point. Perhaps they didn’t want her steaminess to melt all the product.

You can watch/hear the video at the source.

Mad Men‘s famously spoiler-averse creator is breaking his silence about the plot of the show’s long-delayed fifth season.

“A couple of [themes] have emerged as we have gone on, one of them [being] ‘It’s every man for himself,’” Matthew Weiner said at a cocktail reception held Saturday at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour. “There’s a line in the third episode where somebody says, ‘When is everything going to get back to normal?’

“There’s a feeling of being in the midst of change,” Weiner added. “I love that feeling of, ‘Right when I think I’m on top of something, right when I think that I have some wisdom from life experience, you just sort of feel things slip away.’ And there’s this sensation, which I think people have right now — I know I do — [that] there is just so much change going on. I write from what I’m feeling, and I have this feeling right now of like, ‘Enough already! Let’s just get our feet on the ground and go back to the way it was.’ I don’t know if anybody else identifies with that, but that’s a big part of the season. Just trying to hold on.”

Weiner also revealed that the two-hour opener, airing Sunday, March 25, is not two individual installments sandwiched together but rather one super-sized episode. “As I started writing [the premiere], it started spreading and spreading and spreading…,” he said. “I was like, ‘There is too much story. I could either cut this thing down, or I think I have a Mad Men movie here.’ I had a great team helping me develop this story and we just sort of went for it. And the network was excited. I was like, ‘We’ve been gone for so long, let’s give [fans] a big Mad Men movie to start the season.”

One detail Weiner refused to part with was how how much time had lapsed between seasons. “I can’t tell you when it picks up,” he said. “You’ll have to watch.”

Source

“Do you ever think about who your teachers are on the outside?” Tribeca Films has debuted the official trailer for Detachment, starring Adrien Brody as a substitute teacher who observes and chronicles three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students. The cast includes Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, James Caan, Tim Blake Nelson, Marcia Gay Harden, Blythe Danner and introducing Sami Gayle as Erica. This looks like a dramatic but intensely fascinating study of what life is like “in school”, for everyone, teachers and students. Give it a shot, it looks quite good!

A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers and students as seen through the eyes of a substitute teacher, who never stays anywhere long enough to form a bond with students or colleagues.

Detachment is directed by British filmmaker Tony Kaye, of the films American History X, Lake of Fire, Lobby Lobster and Black Water Transit previously. The screenplay was written by newcomer Carl Lund, who also produced. This premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, and played at the Woodstock, Hamburg and Tokyo Film Festivals. Tribeca Films is releasing it in theaters starting March 16th this year.

Source

The PaleyFest’s annual TV series panels kick off March 2 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills with FX’s American Horror Story. Highlights include a Mad Men session on March 13, just more than a week before the AMC series returns for the start of its long-in-the-works Season 5.

Source