Screw it. I am herewith declaring Mad Men fair game for this movie blog, even though it is not technically a movie. It’s inspiring too much good bloggishness to ignore.
Emily Nussbaum has gotten some grief for posting a spoilery clip in her Vulture post, but her short, salty take on maybe the biggest “They can’t do that!” scene of the series so far has been indelible. I’ll redact the spoiler: “But this scene, the one with Don Draper [redacted!] an odious she-manager into submission, sent a message. You think this is escapism, lifestyle fun, Entourage with better suits? Wrong-o.”
Two different interpretations of the final scene. First, Andrew Johnson at The House Next Door: “[Betty is] unexpectedly happy. Like her husband, she’s just paid her freight by sucking up to the people who pay for her lifestyle–and, like Don, she just did so by managing expectations. The episode ends with something we rarely get from Mad Men–a scene in which Don and Betty feel like both a real couple and a real team.”
And then, the one I’m more inclined to agree with, from Alan Sepinwall: “As Betty sits in that car at episode’s end, reflecting on another night of her husband using her as window dressing for a deal — or, in this case, worse: bait for the leering of a famous drunk — she can’t hide from it anymore. She plays to Don like she’s happy to be part of his life, but she’s crying because she realizes that, yes, she is profoundly sad, and has no idea how to go about improving this state of things.”
Finally, a word from What Would Don Draper Do?: “The face in the mirror and the name I’ve claimed almost become one. But no matter how many times I answer or accept responsibiliy, just almost. I’d give anything to bridge almost - to fill myself out completely, leaving no empty spaces, not even the fingertips.”
Rogen and Franco are hilarious in Pineapple Express, but the pothead to really watch out for is Danny McBride. Often relegated to brilliant and all-too-brief supporting roles, McBride stars in The Foot Fist Way, which is finally getting a gradual release thanks to Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. McBride’s magic lies in his ability to be a complete asshole 100% of the time on screen, while still charming the viewer. How does he do that?
ALSO, a call to Karina brings us back to the mid-twentieth century with some great television. What is it that makes AMC’s Mad Men so addictive? Need an excuse to not leave the house for the rest of the summer? Try TCM’s Summer Under the Stars.
Ostensibly looking to replicate the success of their existing, cinema-inspired period series, AMC is planning to spin a series off of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film, The Conversation. The original is topical, says producer Erik Jendresen. “Watching The Conversation today is fascinating in light of the Patriot Act. But this is not a series that’s blatantly making a statement; it will still be very true to the original vision of the character.”
Another day, another name for the Inglorious Bastards call sheet. This time it’s B.J. Novak from The Office.
Meryl Streep will continue her midlife career resurgence as star of glossy chick coms by toplining the latest effort by Nancy Meyers. She’ll play a woman at the center of a love triangle with two men.
The Underwire passes along the rumor that Lionsgate might be the next company to negotiate a Worldwide Pants-esque deal with the WGA. This of great interest, because in addition to distributing films like 3:10 to Yuma and the Saw franchise and the films of Tyler Perry, the small studio recently began producing original television series, which they essentially rent to networks for broadcast, including the much-beloved Mad Men (above). If this deal were to go through anytime soon, it might mean we could see new episodes in ‘08. Oh, and there’s the little matter of the next slice of fanboy bait from Frank Miller, which, like everything else, is on hold until the strike ends.
I haven’t seen anything about the rumor elsewhere, but if there’s anything to it, I’m sure Nikki will be on it by the end of the day.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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Ostensibly looking to replicate the success of their existing, cinema-inspired period series, AMC is planning 
