With screeners arriving and campaign parties starting, awards season is raring to go. The Oscar FYC ad pictured below, the first of the season, arrived today in my mailbox from the delightful Guy Lodge with the completely sensible command "Stop. This. Now." As many of you know, I loathe Tim Burton's Mia in Uglyland but I'm not dumb enough to think that it doesn't have a shot at a handful of Oscar nominations. Money, and hundreds of millions of bags worth of it -- each much larger than the Red Queen's oversized noggin -- goes a long way towards warming industry hearts.
The ad starts with the Claudia Puig USA Today quote "The movie should come with a note marked 'Watch me' for its extravagance of whimsy and wonder." and proceeds to list the names of 28 awards hopefuls (some of whom are very talented indeed... but... 'stop. this. now.' indeed)
There are so many things to be concerned with on this page, not least of which is how many optometrist appointments Ms. Puig seems to have cancelled recently.
[more bitching after jump]
Guy notes that you know this is going to end with Johnny Depp getting at least a Comedy Globe nod and my heart died a little from this astute prophesy. See, I love Mr Depp. I thought he absolutely deserved the Oscar for his rich and instantly iconic comic creation in The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Just a couple of weeks back I was caught up in some Edward Scissorhands again and admiring the invention and, this is an important note, sublime simplicity of that early performance.
But Depp, like his preferred auteur Burton, seems to have lost his knack for self-editing. I'm thinking of self-editing because the finale of Project Runway just aired [SPOILER] and self-regarding crunchy bohemian amazon Gretchen won the contest over richly inventive diminutive pattern-freak Mondo. The judges dinged Mondo for his lack of self-editing skills. While I thought Mondo deserved the win (like Burton, he's a uniquely creative fellow), I can't say that they weren't entirely off the mark in this one criticism. Did the clothes really need those pattern ball hats and other accessories... which read cutesy and pulled attention to themselves and their color and pattern repetitions rather than allowing you to just enjoy the great already busy clothes?
Anyway... it wouldn't hurt Burton at all to be asked to deliver something on a tiny budget with a team who isn't completely enamored of / dependent on his brand. There needs to be someone to say "Um, that's a lot of garishness in one scene, let's pare down!" or "I get where you're going with this... how about we try it this way which accomplishes the same thing but is less fussy/muddy/ornamental!"
Edward Scissorhands (1990) still looks sensational twenty-years later. For a film which collects avon ladies, gothic castles, daytime talk shows, elaborate hideous hairdos, ice sculptures, scissor handed simpletons, christmas parties, and crazy ass topiary the size of two-story buildings under one broken drafty roof, it's remarkably uncluttered. It's suffused with whimsy and wonder. Someone should deliver it to Mr. Burton and Mr. Depp's offices with a note marked "Watch me."
TV's greatest show has a love affair with the movies. So we have a love affair with TV's greatest show. We call it Mad Men @ The Movies.
The world premiere party for Mad Men Season 4 kicked off in Times Square a few hours before the show on Sunday night. I was honored to be invited so I must give thanks to the wonderful Lipp sisters of Basket of Kisses who always keep me in the swing of things when it comes to Sterling Cooper, excuse me, SCDP (Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce). It's always good to hang with the vivacious Lipps and I also got to chat with other MM fans including the adorable talented Carol Hannah of Project Runway fame.
The VIP crowd got Barbies. I managed to procure a Don & Betty set. (More on these dolls here. They retail for $75)
Left: Me (the hat was with the gift bag); Right: Girl from costume contest. I didn't catch her name but that's totally a Betty dress (the Barbie is wearing that same dress, albeit in miniature). She bought it on eBay which the judges called cheating.
This is the whole crowd shortly before the actresses arrived (hence the empty front row). I've circled the Lipp Sisters up front, true VIPs, and then that's me, further back to the side. It was a good crowd. Lots of rubbernecking on the street.
The evening came with two trivia contests (Pt 1 too easy / Pt 2 just right), two celebrity cameos from "Peggy" (Elisabeth Moss) and "Betty" January Jones who is sexy and statuesque in person and looks nothing like Elizabeth Hofstadt Draper Francis without the 60s costumes and hairstyling. My only gripe about the evening was that the panel of judges for the costume contest was quippy/bitchy to the contestants and, this being a fan event, more softball American Idol style criticisms were the way to go. If you have to criticize, tell them you love them first. They're fans. They aren't professional costumers.
January Jones and Elisabeth Moss. They joked that they were nothing like their characters but they were maybe like each other's characters. haha. The crowd sang Moss happy birthday and they wheeled out a cake.
The view from my seat. A crowded stage for the costume contest.
The strangest thing that happened at the event (for me... few noticed) was just outside of it. Before the actual screening, two teenage girls to the left of me on the street just outside the VIP area starting screaming. I turned to see what the commotion was about. There was a young guy, perfectly coiffed and teen idol fresh (he couldn't have been over 17, if that) who agreed to sign autographs for them. He was not with the Mad Men event, just walking through Times Square and had stopped momentarily to look at the party. The two teen girls were crying and hysterical and one even tried to touch his hair, her fingers visibly shaking like he was a hot stove and she just wanted to know what it would feel like... just this one time! Her friend slapped her hand away before the burn, both of them crying. Since he had bent over to sign something, he didn't even notice. I have no idea who this person was, but he handled it like a pro, smiling, asking where they were from ("O h h h i i i o" warbled through tears).
I've decided he was from the Disney Channel since that's where all the "stars" that I've never heard of or don't recognize come from. The girl he was with was visibly annoyed by the hysterics but stayed off to the side, dutifully, before grabbing his arm to pull him from a potential mob scene. No one else mobbed and suddenly they were gone. I'm surprised anyone is ever recognized in Times Square. It's always so crowded that you can barely spot your loved ones if you get separated, let alone a celebrity in their off duty hours.
Where were we?
This post is going to be so long. Oh yes, Mad Men. Here's what you missed in the first three seasons if you're planning to start now...
On to Season 4 and its movie-loving ways... however those turn out.
Episode 4.1 "Public Relations" My preferred title How Draper Got His Groove Back. In this episode, we try to get acclimated to the new offices (there's too many doors. I miss the open space), new characters (who is Peggy's co-worker? Love Henry Francis's mom played by Pamela Dunlap) while trying to stay patient (What is going on with Joanie's marriage? Where the hell is Ken Cosgrove?). Don reminds us of his movie-loving ways early in the episode through his pride in a commercial that plays like a movie. Plotwise Don and Peggy both make separate PR blunders. By episode's end Peggy gets an angry earful and Don gets his mojo back, professionally speaking.
On the personal life side, he's still a trainwreck. He's even blind dating ...and letting Roger, whose lovelife he doesn't exactly approve of, set him up.
Roger: Forget that she knows Jane. This girl's terrific. She looks like Virginia Mayo. She's 25. See her this weekend. You hit it off, come Turkey day you can stuff her.
Hmmm. Does Anna Camp (from True Blood) playing "Bethany" look like Virginia Mayo? You be the judge.
In a strange coincidence I was just watching Virginia Mayo in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). She's terrific as the trashy restless wife of Dana Andrews. (That movie is so great.) People don't really speak much of Mayo these days but referencing her apple cheeked pinup looks is most definitely a compliment. She was a frequent movie presence from the early 40s through the late 50s. In addition to the aforementioned Best Picture winner, she's probably best remembered for noirs like White Heat and frequent Danny Kaye comedies including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. She died just five years ago at the age of 84.
Mayo with Danny Kaye and with Dana Andrews
other references in this episode: (Music) novelty single "John & Marsha" (Magazines/Papers) Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, The Daily News (Celebrities) Luci & Dezi
* * Did you see this episode? If so, your comments please. If not, speak up anyway. How cool are those Barbie dolls? Or are you sick of the hype? (If you are, please note that there will be only one Mad Men post a week, Mondays, starting now.)
Further reading? Gold Derby thinks Mad Men is well timed for an Emmy 3peat. The Loop publishes a satirical letter from "Carla," the Draper maid. The Loop also has a rebuttal of sort. Claiming that the show isn't diverse enough is entirely missing the point. Cinematic Passions interviews costume designer Janie Bryant Inside Scoop bring back chicken kiev. Mad Men Unbuttoned the tune that's playing when Don gets his groove back. Put This On imagines how Draper would look in the WSJ. Love. Cinema Blend Sugarberry Hams for everyone. A ratings uptick. Best Week Ever gives funny recap...and awards. *
