Two different commenters found this for us: The New York Times has an extensive interview with Matt Weiner, behind-the-scenes at auditions and other production, and general article. It’s too amazing to pull out a quote.
Okay, here are the quotes that hint at season 2, but please, read the whole thing, because otherwise I’ll just quote the whole thing (Nothing is spoilery, because Weiner wouldn’t allow that, but I’ll put the quotes below the fold for those of you averting your eyes):
This season, African-Americans are moving beyond operating the elevators at Sterling Cooper, though to what extent remains unclear.
The author says it’s unclear because Weiner is secretive, which segues into:
Weiner is incredibly paranoid about plot details finding their way to the media. “How do you know that?” he snapped about even the most innocuous things I mentioned about the second season. He is used to the secrecy of “The Sopranos,” and every leak, large or small, is a wound. He’s not wrong, of course. Why ruin the suspense? The first season ended on Thanksgiving 1960, and the fact that I knew that the second season picks up on Valentine’s Day 1962 horrified him.
Our commenters are the smartest people in the world, because Dan already guessed that. Yay us!
Weiner reveals a little about Betty, and the article also confirms the horseback riding:
“Betty Draper is getting angry,” Weiner said of Don’s Stepford wife and the mother of his two children, played by January Jones. “She is an incredibly beautiful woman who married a man she barely knows because he looks good on paper. Her mother has just died, and she’s realized that when her beauty disappears she will cease to exist. She’s not enough for her husband, and she doesn’t want to accept it. She’s terrified of dealing with that problem because she cannot get divorced, she cannot be single, she cannot start over. She is somewhat puritanical.”
Finally, my guess that Patrick Fischler and his wife are neighbors was wrong. Fischler was hired to play “a comic à la Don Rickles who is used in a Sterling Cooper ad campaign”—the character also has a “Jewish wife, who doubles as his manager.”
June 20, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Did you also notice he addresses the “Medium is the Message” remark as well and admits it was a mistake?
June 20, 2008 at 3:20 pm
That is a great article. Thank you for posting it.
June 20, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Latenac, as a matter of fact, S. Tarzan provided the link and quoted that bit in our discussion of the McLuhan gaffe, which is how I first found the article (although it was sitting in my newsfeed when I went to look).
June 21, 2008 at 8:08 am
Alright – It takes a real man to fess up … AMC is coming through on S2 … although the programming of the show still stinks (can’t swing a dead cat on Bravo without hitting a marathon, but MM’s about to enjoy its 2nd ever, WTF). I digress.
Wanna impress me? Cover story of NYTMagazine. Pure fellatio. Plus all the splashy stuff in VF, EW and elsewhere. AMC pub dept making up for some serious lost time since last year’s Houdini act. Standing ovation …
That said, what’s with the new, emotive Don Draper, and the come hither look from Peggy? Hope we’re not soaping it up.
June 21, 2008 at 8:11 am
Is “pure fellatio” a euphemism for “blowjob”?
June 21, 2008 at 8:55 am
HA!
In this case, it’s a euphemism for “Emmy.”
June 21, 2008 at 9:18 am
MM is definitely getting some good press, BUT…The on-air promos and commercials are only airing on AMC. They need to do like The Closer, Burn Notice, and some of those TBS shows, which advertise on other networks, as well as their own. Give people the full impact of the show, with visuals, sound, movement, etc.
June 21, 2008 at 9:22 am
LOL @ Dan.
Hull, I agree, but it’s such an improvement, let’s just lay back and enjoy.
June 21, 2008 at 9:39 am
Right Deb … publicity and on-air marketing are separate endeavors. Publicity gets “Comeback of the Year Award.” On-Air gets a lump of coal in their paycheck.
June 21, 2008 at 9:52 am
And I’m saying… wait for it. There is definitely still a lack of presence on TV, vs. a clearly growing presence everywhere else.
But a reminder to those who have forgotten, as S1 came to a close, there were promos on network television. I don’t remember where (sorry, I didn’t have me a blog then!) but there was a definite primetime presence.
So I say stay tuned.
June 21, 2008 at 3:34 pm
I was just about to send the Times link to you. Thought I would check first. You two are so on it, you make me feel off it.
In season three, I date Sal Romano.
His momma never finds out.
-Joe
June 21, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Some of you know how much I try to avoid spoilers, or even any hints or previews as to what might be happening in Season 2, so this was one of those posts I just stayed away from.
However, while trying to catch up today on people’s comments or bits of potentially “dangerous” posts that may be “safe” to read, I did notice this:
This season, African-Americans are moving beyond operating the elevators at Sterling Cooper, though to what extent remains unclear.
Since I’d mentioned a few weeks ago that this was the one thing I was hoping for this season, let me just say, Yea!
June 21, 2008 at 11:45 pm
This is a “safe” article, because it’s Matt Weiner approved, and he’s super-secretive.
He’s going to be pissed about the Joe dating Sal thing leaking out, though.
June 24, 2008 at 5:00 am
[...] Posted on June 24, 2008 by Deborah Lipp Anonymous person, telling me he liked reading the New York Times Magazine article: Matthew Weiner sounds like he’s Aaron Sorkin minus the [...]
June 25, 2008 at 8:34 am
[...] New York Times was a gift that kept on giving. After last week’s Sunday article, we had a major feature in Monday’s Business Day section. The series was even the subject of [...]