This time last summer, we were readying ourselves for the premiere of Season 4 of Mad Men. Our biggest worry? Perfecting our Old-Fashioned recipe before having people over to watch it on Sunday night. This year, thanks to some intense and drawn out negotiations between Matthew Weiner and the powers that be, we’ve got to settle for the news that filming on Season 5 begins on August 8 and we won’t be seeing any new episodes until March of next year.
This creates a few interesting questions: How will producers deal with January Jones’s pregnancy on-screen? (She isn’t due until November.) Will Jon Hamm, who recently signed on to guest star in five episodes of David Cross’s British comedy The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, find it difficult juggling the two gigs (especially given that he’s planning to make his directorial debut with the season premiere)? And perhaps, most importantly, how many of our predictions for Season 5 will come true, given the production delays?
1. Art in the Streets — the enormous street art exhibition which is currently on view at the MOCA — will not be coming to the Brooklyn Museum later this year, as was previously planned. The official reason being cited is budget cuts, but as a source told LA Weekly: “I think it could be a combination that the museum is afraid of the show and the negative press it could bring them. Why would New York not want this show? I don’t believe that someone would not pay for this exhibit.”
2. Page Six reports that Columbia Records is hoping to put together a Destiny’s Child reunion album to help offset the money that they’re expecting to lose on Beyoncé’s new album, 4.
3. In the week leading up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, AMC Theatres has announced that it will screen a marathon of the previous seven films from the series in 29 cities nationwide. Click here to see if your town made the cut. [via EW]
4. NBC has decided to give Donald Trump a raise for his work on Celebrity Apprentice, to an estimated $65 million a year, which makes him the highest paid reality star on TV. Considering that the President makes a mere $400K annually, suddenly his refusal to run for office makes a lot more sense. [via Daily Intel]
5. Happy news: Jon Hamm just signed an eight-figure deal for three more years of Mad Men; since the show’s creator, Matthew Weiner, recently locked down a similar contract, it sounds like we’ve got a few more seasons of our favorite show to look forward to. [via Deadline]
TIME magazine has released its annual “TIME 100″ list of the most influential people in the world. The class of 2011 is a typically eclectic group, ranging from world leaders to activists to terrorists to businesspeople. Nearly a third of the list is comprised of folks from the culture sphere — from moguls and showrunners to actors and musicians. We round up those entries after the jump, with direct links so you can read the blurbs, many of which were composed by other artists and celebrities.
First of all, let us preface this by saying don’t shoot the messenger. OK then. So it looks like you’re going to have to go a full calendar year without experiencing the joy of a new episode of Mad Men. The official statement from AMC, which was sent out this morning, reads as follows: “AMC has officially authorized production of Season 5 of Mad Men, triggering our option with Lionsgate. While we are getting a later start than in years past due to ongoing, key non-cast negotiations, Mad Men will be back for a fifth season in early 2012.”
In other words, yes, it’s all Matthew Weiner’s fault, but he’s not just being greedy — he’s reportedly also pushing back against integrated product placement, shorter run-times, and “the elimination or reduction of two series regular cast members.” Are you as bummed out by this news are we are? [via TVLine]
For those of you who have been wondering when you can expect the fifth season of Mad Men, we have some good news and some bad news. First, the good news! Deadline is reporting that AMC and Lionsgate TV are this close to negotiating a deal with show creator Matthew Weiner, who as you may have guessed, has been asking for more money thanks to the leverage that comes with winning four Emmys in the past year. The salary increase would make him the highest-paid showrunner in the business. The bad news: Because these negotiations have dragged on for months, it’s not likely that the new season will premiere in the summer, as it has in the past. Admittedly waiting sucks, but it does give you some more time to weigh-in on our Season 5 predictions post.
1. Country music star/sausage magnate Jimmy Dean died in front of the TV over the weekend at the age of 81. In homage, Gawker rounded up some of the Sausage King’s grossest breakfast meals.
2. While the first image from season four of Mad Men doesn’t tell us anything new, Matthew Weiner has revealed that the theme this year is “Who am I?” [via Movieline]
3. James Franco was spotted at LA Gay Pride with video artist Kalup Linzy; they’re making a short film as part of his upcoming return to General Hospital. [via World of Wonder]
4. If you couldn’t handle four hot days in Tennessee, you can now hear lots and lots of archived clips from the 2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. [via NPR]
5. Glee‘s Lea Michele will voice Dorothy in the upcoming animated 3-D musical Dorothy of Oz. Jim Belushi has signed on to play the Lion; Dan Aykroyd, the Scarecrow; and Kelsey Grammer, the Tin Man. [via Variety]
Over the last few months, the Rubin Museum has invited various artists, writers and other famous creative types (think Alice Walker, David Byrne, John Adams) to interpret images from Carl Jung’s The Red Book with the help of a psychoanalyst. Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner took to the stage over the weekend with analyst Morgan Stebbins; after the jump find out what the ensuing conversation revealed about his creative process and the upcoming season of everyone’s favorite TV drama.
