Tag: Mad Men (41-50 of 221)

May 15 2012 11:20 AM ET

'Mad Men' cast on 'Actors Studio': 5 Things We Learned

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Image Credit: Anthony Behar/Bravo

It’s no secret no one has any idea what’s going to happen next on Mad Men — and those “scenes from next week” aren’t going to clue you in at all. But the most notoriously tight-lipped cast couldn’t resist sharing a few personal details when Jon Hamm, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jared Harris, and creator Matthew Weiner visited James Lipton at the famed Actors Studio (Elisabeth Moss was shooting a movie out of the country).

Below are five of the most tantalizing bits of info we learned in the hour-long broadcast.

1.Some were concerned Jon wasn’t sexy enough to play Don. Weiner said some people (presumably studio execs) didn’t think Hamm was sexy enough for the role, and he had six or seven auditions before he snagged the part. Rebuttal: This photo. Or this. Or this. READ FULL STORY »

May 8 2012 12:10 PM ET

Jon Hamm is a '70s sitcom fan, impromptu word artist -- VIDEO

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We already know what Jon Hamm doesn’t like (“idiot” Kardashians and humorless Donald Trump, to name a few), but now we can add another line item to the list of things he does dig: ’70s sitcoms. In advance of IFC’s new show Comedy Bang! Bang!, the Mad Men star sidled up to Reggie Watts — the new millennial answer to the stream-of-consciousness music-as-comedy stylings of old-school Zach Galifianakis — to riff on the classic sitcom Taxi. I’m pretty sure the phrase “Hilary abounds at the taxi garage” is being worked into a Hollywood pitch at this very moment. Check out Hamm’s free association tribute below. READ FULL STORY »

May 7 2012 11:40 AM ET

'Mad Men's most surprising guest stars, from Kristen Schaal to Alexis Bledel and... Mr. Belding?!

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Image Credit: Michael Yarish/AMC

Is Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner secretly a nostalgic Millennial? It sure seems that way, considering the actors who have popped up on Mad Men lately. Sure, big-ish names like Julia Ormond have made appearances on the show — but their numbers are dwarfed by the veterans from Gen Y touchstones like The Secret World of Alex Mack, Clarissa Explains It All, 10 Things I Hate About You, Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and even Saved by the Bell who have been invading AMC’s flagship series for years. This might indicate that Weiner and his casting directors love the late ’90s and early ’00s just as much as they love the ’60s. (Also, they’ve apparently got a serious thing for The WB. Are you listening, James Van Der Beek?)

Have you been wondering where you’ve seen Trudy Campbell’s dad before, or why Ken Cosgrove’s wife looks like she might dissolve into a sentient puddle at any moment? Never fear — EW is here to help. Here’s a rundown of Mad Men‘s most recognizable and surprising guest stars — with an accent on the long-lost Millennial entertainers:

READ FULL STORY »

May 1 2012 12:10 PM ET

AMC's 'The Pitch,' a.k.a. a reality 'Mad Men': Are you sold?

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Image Credit: David M. Russell/AMC

Reality variations on popular scripted series have a long and semi-storied history. The O.C. begat Laguna Beach. Glee begat The Glee Project. Desperate Housewives begat about 87 percent of what airs on Bravo. So it’s easy to understand why AMC developed The Pitch, a new docuseries that’s meant to be a modern companion to Mad Men. Though the network’s most critically acclaimed show features plenty of client meetings and brainstorming sessions, it’s often more of a soapy character study than a workplace drama. The Pitch, then, can theoretically satisfy those who want to know more about how an advertising agency really works.

In each episode, two different agencies are tasked with dreaming up campaigns for the same product. Episode 1 — a premiere that re-aired last night after a special sneak peek in early April — features Durham, North Carolina’s McKinney and L.A.’s WDCW as they prepare competing commercials for Subway breakfast sandwiches. There’s no inherent reason why this set-up shouldn’t work; before I saw Project Runway for the first time, I never would have guessed that watching a group of colorful weirdos sew could be completely absorbing.

But while Project Runway, Top Chef, and any number of reality competitions are stuffed with their fair share of product placement — don’t forget to sample some Swanson broth while examining the Bluefly.com accessories wall! — the entire point of The Pitch is product placement. It’s hard to view this show without feeling like you’ve been duped into watching an hour-long commercial… one that’s occasionally interspersed with other, shorter commercials. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 30 2012 12:32 PM ET

TV trendlet alert! Older characters are gettin' it on

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Image Credit: Ron Jaffe/AMC

Poor, poor Sally Draper. As if dealing with Betty “I’ll cut your fingers off!” Francis, Don “benign neglect” Draper, and Bobby “wait, so I shouldn’t lick the stove?” Draper weren’t bad enough, now she’s seen something that will undoubtedly traumatize her for life. At the end of last night’s episode of Mad Men — spoiler alert! — Don’s daughter accidentally spied Roger Sterling getting, er, a French lesson from Marie, her stepgrandmother. Sacré bleu!

Roger and Marie’s tryst is more than the event that will drive Sally back to Dr. Edna‘s couch. It’s also the latest example of a mini-trend sweeping through all our favorite TV shows: Old people having sex. Well, old-ish, at least. Mad Men actor John Slattery is 49 in real life; it’s quite possible that he’s a few years younger than the character he plays. Roger’s partner in crime was played by guest star Julia Ormond, who’s 47. Sure, neither one is exactly knocking at death’s door — but they’re both much more seasoned than the bright young things who usually knock boots on TV.

And they aren’t alone. Here’s a brief survey of all the relatively aged couples who hooked up onscreen last week:

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 30 2012 09:59 AM ET

EW's Morning Bite: And the best sound bite from last night is...

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Submitted by Rachel:

“No matter what, one day your little girl will spread her legs and fly away.” 

– Megan’s father, to his son-in-law Don (Jon Hamm) on Mad Men

Check out the rest of your quote submissions from Sunday, April 29, and come back tonight to share your pick for best sound bite!

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 23 2012 12:05 AM ET

'My So-Called Life': Angela Chase's mom just dropped LSD on 'Mad Men'!

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I don’t know what that loony tunes is saying on the right, but all I can hear in my head is a disappointed “Angela….”

I’m posting this because I wanted My So-Called Life to be at the beginning of a headline, as if something involving My So-Called Life was actually happening. It’s not, but Bess Armstrong (a.k.a. Patty Chase, Angela’s mom) just guest starred on tonight’s episode of Mad Men as a psychologist to the stars who dropped acid with Roger Sterling! Patty!

They had a time, didn’t they? READ FULL STORY »

Apr 20 2012 08:52 AM ET

Watch a striking Jon Hamm on 'Chris Hardwick's All Star Bowling' -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

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To the already superhuman list of things Jon Hamm can do — win Golden Globes, kill on SNL, pour a mean drink, fill out a suit like its nobody’s business, etc. — we have a new addition: The Mad Men star can effortlessly bowl a perfect strike. Need proof? Check out this exclusive video clip from Chris Hardwick’s All Star Bowling, a new show on YouTube’s The Nerdist Channel. (Note: The clip has some NSFW trash talk. And be sure to watch the show’s cool Mad Men-style promo afterward by clicking on the second video in the playlist below.) READ FULL STORY »

Apr 17 2012 02:40 PM ET

'Mad Men' Confidential! Details about 'Ben Hargrove's' collection of sci-fi short stories, 'Still Life With Lazer Rifle'

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Image Credit: Michael Yarish/AMC

This past Sunday, Mad Men fans learned that affable account man Ken Cosgrove had written and sold more than 20 sci-fi short stories under the nom de plume of “Ben Hargrove.” We heard about two of them: “The Punishment of X-4,” about a robot laborer who inexplicably collapses a bridge linking two planets by removing a single bolt; and “The Woman Who Laid an Egg and Then Gave It Away,” no further description necessary. We couldn’t help but wonder about Ken’s other short stories, so we made them up  went back in time and broke into his home as he was finishing up his latest, more respectable “Dave Algonquin” yarn and his what’s-her-name wife (“Cynthia!”) slept by his side. We found the letter he received from Farrar, Straus informing him of the their desire to publish a collection of his material. We have no idea where the snobbish tone of the correspondence comes from. And judging from the titles of Ken’s stories, it seems the author was using his moonlighting gig as a creative outlet to express his feelings about the turbulent ’60s, and to reflect upon the topsy-turvy drama at the office.

The letter is dated August 6, 1966.

Mr. Cosgrove,

The third-best thrill an editor can have in this business — right after writing a terse rejection letter and leaving the office early on Friday — is discovering extraordinary new talent. Much lower on the list is the kind of pleasure I experienced while leafing through your prodigious output of short stories that lesser minds than mine have deemed fit for their so-called “literary magazines.” I see absolutely no reason why a collection of your “better” stories should ever be allowed to grace our presses, except for the fact that I know it will sell, thanks in large part to your modicum of name recognition and the indiscriminate tastes of nerds crazy from space-race fever. Seriously, all you have to do is put the words “rocket ship” in a story and the starry-eyed rubes will eat it up. (Like we’re really going to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In your dreams, geeks!) I think of you as a mix between a young J.D. Salinger and a young Ray Bradbury. And by “young,” I mean 12 years old. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 16 2012 05:49 PM ET

'Mad Men' deep cuts: Watch 'Signal 30,' the driver's-ed film from last night's ep. Plus: Fat Betty! -- VIDEO

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As I noted in my recap, “Signal 30,” the title of last night’s superlative episode of Mad Men, comes from one of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s infamous driver’s-ed films of real-life car wrecks. The episode opened with a quick clip of the opening title crawl, but thanks to the Internet, you can watch the entire overwrought, gruesome movie yourself.

Check it out below, along with a bonus video that can best be described by it’s title: “Fat Betty.” Enjoy! READ FULL STORY »

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