Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mad Men Exclusive: Matt Weiner Says Season 6 Is About “Alleviating Anxiety”

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How to cover a screening and party where the whole cast and crew is tight lipped and the creator of the show asks 600 people to keep their mouths shut. “And they did it,” Matt Weiner, the genius behind “Mad Men” our LEAH SYDNEY last night.

The premiere of sixth season was at the DGA in West Hollywood with a party after at the Sunset Tower Hotel.  The premiere episode, two hours long, was shown.  The show is as brilliant as ever, with twists, turns and impeccable writing, acting and directing. Here are the spoilers: everyone lives through the episode, several main characters aren’t in the two hour premiere but turn up soon, and Roger Sterling’s (John Slattery) has a story line.

Charlie Collier, President and CEO of AMC introduced Weiner.  “Certain things have remained perfect. The unparalleled caliber of writing, acting and production makes this an extraordinary series.  Matt and his team have set the gold standard for TV, rich, layered, deeply rewarding.  So pour yourself a drink, marry a co-worker and smoke them if you got them!”

Weiner told the audience: ” This is such a strange experience.  I get asked about the end of the show a lot.  I don’t like to think about it.”

At the party, Weiner talked about this season’s themes.  “A character says that, ‘People will do anything to alleviate anxiety.’ That’s the theme of the season, and I feel that, that more than ever, and it’s luck too, that the vibe of the show seems very much on what is going right now as a country. I wasn’t even born in 1960-whatever, so I write about now, and that’s what I’m feeling right now.”

John Slattery did say: “I’ll probably direct one episode for the last season. I did two this season.”

Jon Hamm had laryngitis.  But he and Jennifer Westfeldt were as sweet as ever. A guest told him that it was awful he hasn’t won an Emmy yet.  Hamm replied: “Who knows?  I’m a lucky guy no matter what.”

“Mad Men” premieres on AMC on April 7th.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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