Amazon threw their own post-Emmy gala last night to celebrate their many wins. They had a lot to celebrate: “Fleabag” won Best Comedy, Phoebe Waller-Bridge won Best Actress in a comedy, Best Writing, and Best Directing.
Meanwhile, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” picked up Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy for Tony Shalhoub and Alex Borstein, respectively. In the last two weeks, “Mrs. Maisel” guest stars Luke Kirby and Jane Lynch also won Emmys. They also won for cinematography, hair styling, and music supervision. The show won more Emmys than any other, actually, in 2019.
That set well with co-creator, writer, and director Amy Sherman-Palladino. When I saw her at the Chateau Marmont after party, she was philosophical. “There’s always next year,” she said, “but when our cinematographer won last week, that was all I needed!”
The Chateau party was jammed with stars from all over including Jon Hamm, who was chatting with Josh Radnor of “How I Met Your Mother” fame. Jon, who’d been a presenter, was wearing a full, formal tux and looked like he should have been hosting the show. (Someone should have!)
I told Jon that last week, based on the success of “Downton Abbey,” I’d suggested a “Mad Men” movie. The last time we’d seen his character, Don Draper, he was sitting on a hilltop inventing Coca Cola’s famous commercial, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.” It was 1971.
So how about it, I said? Hamm looked at me like I was crazy. “Can’t happen,” he said. Why not? “Because Don Draper died in 1974, and he was very unhappy.”
“Really?” I said, “who told you that?”
Hamm again looked at me quizzically. “I don’t know. Me. I just made it up. You know he’s a fictional character, right?”
So that’s that. Hamm is currently starring in “The Report” on Netflix, he’s terrific and so is the movie. He also stars as Natalie Portman’s husband in “Lucy in the Sky,” he’s featured in Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell,” and in John Patrick Shanley’s “Wild Mountain Thyme” with Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan. So someone else will have to teach the world to sing!
