Mad Men Season 5 Late Start

Looks like Mad Men won't be back until 2012, and possibly without Matt Weiner, which would be no Mad Men at all. All the likely suspects are reporting that AMC has said they will go forward with Season 5 with or without Weiner, but with the late start not until early 2012.

Apparently what's holding up the works is AMC's wish to cut the show length so they can add commercials, and cut two actors to cut the budget. As much as I hate the idea of no Mad Men, I see why Matt Weiner won't agree.

Everyone cross your fingers that they come to agreement soon. Otherwise we may be greeted with a show that is unrecognizable. In the wrong hands our Mad Men would go from brilliant to sappy soap opera in nothing flat.

Someone might want to remind AMC of the old saying "You leave the party with the guy that brought you." Or something like that, anyway the essence is Mad Men brought AMC to the fore and they shouldn't ditch them for a bunch of zombies.

Geraldine Ferraro RIP

Geraldine Ferraro has died. She was such an inspiration to this teenager in the 80's. I just want to send out my gratitude for everything she embodied to me. Perhaps if she had been the presidential candidate that year, we might have avoided all the Bush years Sr. and Jr.
All the same Thank you Geraldine!

Elizabeth Taylor TCM Tribute

The lovely Elizabeth Taylor has passed. So Sad.....

TCM will host a 24 hour tribute to Elizabeth Taylor April 10TH.

6 a.m. – Lassie Come Home (1943), with Roddy McDowall and Edmund Gwenn; directed by Fred M. Wilcox.
7:30 a.m. – National Velvet (1944), with Mickey Rooney, Anne Revere and Angela Lansbury; directed by Clarence Brown.
10 a.m. – Conspirator (1952), with Robert Taylor and Robert Flemyng; directed by Victor Saville.
11:30 a.m. – Father of the Bride (1950), with Spencer Tracy, Billie Burke, Joan Bennett and Don Taylor; directed by Vincente Minnelli.
1:15 a.m. – Father’s Little Dividend (1951), with Spencer Tracy, Billie Burke, Joan Bennett and Don Taylor; directed by Vincente Minnelli.
2:45 p.m. – Raintree County (1957), with Montgomery Clift, Eva Marie Saint, Lee Marvin, Rod Taylor and Agnes Moorehead; directed by Edward Dmytryk.
6 p.m. – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), with Paul Newman and Burl Ives; directed by Richard Brooks.
8 p.m. – Butterfield 8 (1960), with Laurence Harvey and Eddie Fisher; directed by Daniel Mann.
10 p.m. – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), with Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis; directed by Mike Nichols.
12:30 a.m. – Giant (1956), with James Dean and Rock Hudson; directed by George Stevens.
4 a.m. – Ivanhoe (1952), with Robert Taylor and Joan Fontaine; directed by Richard Thorpe.

Mad Men Season 4 DVD

Lionsgate sent me an advance copy of the Mad Men Season 4 DVD this week. With all the uncertainty about Mad Men Season 5, I was over the moon to get this. If you're as big a fiend as I am, you should really get this methadone until the real thing is available.

Here are the bonus features.

• "Divorce: Circa 1960s" - A three-part documentary about divorce during a time when the traditional family was the core of American society.
• "How to Succeed in Business Draper Style" - CEOs, advertising legends and executive coaches use scenes from Mad Men to detail Don Draper's 10-point blueprint for success.
• "Marketing the Mustang: An American Icon" - The birth of the Ford Mustang as well as the marketing and advertising campaign that launched this American classic.
• "1964 Presidential Campaign" - Archival footage of President Johnson's and Senator Goldwater's speeches, campaign commercials and the Presidential Inauguration of the most lopsided elections in American history.
• Mad Men Season 4 commentaries - Matthew Weiner and Mad Men's cast and crew take viewers behind the scenes in feature-length audio commentaries for all 13 episodes


P.S. The box is really cool too. The Vertigo-esque has a 3D element that makes it much better than how it looks on a computer screen.

P.P.S. David Hinckley of the Daily News is reporting that Mad Men season five will be delayed to the Fall based on "sources". Check his article.

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

Last week Nissan invited me down to Del Mar for a weekend at L'auberge Del Mar to experience their soon to be released Murano CrossCabriolet. This is a variation on their traditional Murano. It's a two door convertible, but still maintains the weight and height of a SUV. It's really original, not to mention fabulous.

Here's my video of it:

Mars Needs Moms

Mars Needs Moms opens today. Disney invited me to a screening earlier this week.

Before I give my opinion I'll tell you my daughter who is almost 7 loved it. Really loved it.

Now I'll tell you why I didn't. The whole premise seems to be down on professional women. Martian women have taken over Mars forcing all males to live underground, with no education, while all female children are raised by nanny bots who are programmed with the thoughts of earth moms.
The happy ending is all the nannies being destroyed and returning to traditional families. It's hardly a feminist message. Which I'm sure will be touched on in my daughter's Women Studies course when she goes to college.

Apart from that it is a passable kids movie for parents.

Nintendo 3DS

A few weeks ago I got an opportunity to play with the new Nintendo 3DS. I'm not big on video games for myself, but even I had to admit this was really cool. The new version has 3D capability, that you can increase or decrease to your own comfort, as well as several built in augmented reality games that are amazing.

My point is, if you have to take your kid to get your taxes done, like I did this year, if you have this they will sit there in silence for an hour. O.K. maybe there will be the occassional ahhh, or hurray in reaction to their game, but this is a definite time buyer.

It releases March 27th.

Jane Eyre with Mia Wasikowska

Last night I saw the new Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska. It was great. There is some really beautiful cinematography, not to mention sets and costumes. But the real excitement is in the scenes between Mia's Jane and Michael Fassbender's Rochester. There is real heat between the two of them. I wish they would have had more scenes together. Frankly they could have just done a whole movie of the two of them and I'd have been happy, but I guess that wouldn't have been Jane Eyre.

Here's the trailer check it out for yourself.



It open this Friday, March 11.

TCM's Road To Hollywood Expands to 10 Cities

TCM is expanding it's Road To Hollywood, that leads up to the TCM Classic Film Fest. If you aren't able to make it to the film festival or even if you are these are bound to be great interviews with with stars from the films. I wish I could be at The Manchurian Candidate with Angela Landsbury in New York.

Get tickets at TCM Road To Hollywood


Seattle – Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. (PT) – SIFF Cinema
North by Northwest (1959) – Hosted by Robert Osborne, with special guest Eva Marie Saint
Tickets available Feb. 17



Cleveland – Wednesday, March 16, at 7:30 (ET) – Russell B. Aitken Auditorium at Cleveland Institute of Art North by Northwest (1959) – Hosted by Robert Osborne, with special guest Eva Marie Saint
Tickets available March 2



Tampa, Fla. – Monday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. (ET) – Tampa Theatre
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) – Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, with special guest Burt Reynolds
Tickets available March 9



Chicago – Thursday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. (CT) – Music Box Theatre
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) – Hosted by Robert Osborne, with special guest Jane Powell
Tickets available March 10



New York – Monday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. (ET) – School of Visual Arts (SVA)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – Hosted by Robert Osborne, with special guest Angela Lansbury
Tickets available March 18



St. Louis – Monday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. (CT) – Hi-Pointe Theatre
The Birds (1963) – Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, with special guest Tippi Hedren
Tickets available March 21



Long Island ( Huntington , N.Y. ) – Wednesday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. (ET) – Cinema Arts Centre The Birds (1963) – Hosted by Robert Osborne, with special guest Tippi Hedren
Tickets available March 30



Austin, Texas – Saturday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. (CT) – Paramount Theatre
Rio Bravo (1959) – Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, with special guest Angie Dickinson
Tickets available April 2



San Francisco – Wednesday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. (PT) – The Castro
Elmer Gantry (1960) – Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, with special guest Shirley Jones
Tickets available April 5


Los Angeles – Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. (PT) – American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre From Here to Eternity (19) – Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, with special guest Ernest Borgnine
Tickets available April 7