On Thu, Mar 31, 2011 at 8:35 PM, Dave Sikula <[email protected]> wrote:
> Aaaannnnddd ... Weiner's coming back. > > > http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/mad_men/index.html?story=/ent/tv/feature/2011/03/31/mad_men_matthew_weiner_returns > > "Show creator to run seasons five and six, with small cuts in budget > and running time; no major cast changes for now" > > Back in early '12. > Same info below (WaPo). A few things about it. As I suspected, Weiner basically caved on the extra commercials (I would not call these "small cuts in running time", since all but the first and last episode of each remaining season will be 2 minutes shorter (45 instead of 47 minutes), and this is exactly what AMC was demanding. He drove a harder bargain on the creative control issues, with the product integration remaining unchanged. The wording on the cast issue is a little cute "cast decisions will be made based on creative decisions, not financial decisions" - which emphasizes what was most important to Weiner (that he be the one to make decisions, based on story-telling considerations), but obviously leaves room for cast reductions, and I don't think anyone will be surprised if, after two more seasons, there are 3 or 4 fewer regular cast members in the show. Of course, Wiener has not been shy about shedding cast members in the past, and many of us would not mind getting rid of Betty. The show is now scheduled to return in March of 2012, which is not quite early 2012, especially considering how long we are going to have to wait (the time lag is AMC's decision). This won't cost the show any fans (few fan bases are more devoted outside of science fiction) but might cost them some new fans that may have jumped on board after various award shows and such. Good news all in all, though I never though the chances were very high that they would try to do the show without Weiner, or kill the show. ******************** http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tv-column/post/amcs-mad-men-back-with-matt-weiner-for-three-season/2011/03/31/AFn9YDDC_blog.html (SNIP) Thursday night, Weiner told the TV column “cast decisions will be made based on creative decisions, not financial decisions.” And “product integration remains the same.” But, AMC got its way on the extra-ad-break gag; 11 of next season’s 13 episodes will be cut to 45 minutes in length to accommodate that additional commercial break – ka-ching! The season debut and finale will be treated like somethin’ special – status quo now qualifying as “special.” On the bright side, Weiner’s going to deliver all 13 episodes at 47-minutes. If you want to pay to see the “missing” two minutes on DVD, they’ll be there; likewise, eight days after each episodes premieres on AMC, it will be available via digital VOD with the extra two minutes, which will be called “Mad Men: The Final Cut.” “It was decided in October that the show would be back on in March of 2012. AMC is launching four shows – it was always decided on for March of 2012. I made it a negotiation point I wanted it on this year, and they told me that was impossible.” -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
