Brush up on what ad man Don Draper and the ad folks at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce have been up to as the AMC show returns Sunday after 17-month hiatus. By Josh Wigler Jon Hamm in “Mad Men” Photo: AMC “Mad Men,” like the advertising world it revolves around, is a busy show. Lots of comings, lots of goings, lots of inside baseball, lots of Jon Hamm getting drunk. Making matters even more complicated is the fact that the 1960s-set AMC drama has been off the air for dangerously close to two years, thanks in large part to contract disputes between the network and “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner. Now, “Mad Men” is finally set to return for its fifth season on Sunday night. But, as is often the case with the show, don’t expect Weiner and company to welcome you back into the world of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce with an instruction manual. If you don’t remember what went down in the last few seasons of the Emmy Award-winning show, that burden rests entirely on you. So if you’re behind on your “Mad Men” know-how, or simply need a refresher before Sunday night, don’t sweat it: Keep reading for 10 things you need to remember about season four going into the weekend’s big season-five premiere.
“Gene did think he had Roger on smarts. Whenever Roger claimed to have the superior intellect, Gene would say , ‘Aren’t you the guy who wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls ?'” Oh, that Siskel. This and many more great At the Movies nuggets can be found over in Slate’s exclusive excerpt from The Chicagoan’s Roger Ebert -Gene Siskel piece Enemies, A Love Story . Give it a go and settle in for a good, long read on the best frenemyship in film criticism history. [ Slate ]
Brad Pitt baseball movie almost didn’t happen. By Eric Ditzian Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in “Moneyball” Photo: Columbia Pictures As far as baseball books go, Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball” isn’t exactly an obvious candidate for Hollywood’s adaptation machine. It’s filled with geeky tales about the importance of obscure stats like “wins above replacement,” the founding of fantasy sports and the evolution of a guy named Bill James from factory worker to baseball deity. Yet at the center of the story is the quest of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane to turn his small-market, cash-poor ballclub into a perennial champion. And it’s that story that forms the heart of Brad Pitt’s “Moneyball,” an underdog sports narrative quite at home among its Hollywood antecedents. It almost didn’t happen. But like the 2002 A’s, “Moneyball” beat the odds and landed in theaters on Friday (September 23). Here, in cheat-sheet form, is the story of how it all came to pass. Spring Training The adaptation came together in late 2008, with Pitt taking on the Beane role , Steve Zaillian (“Schindler’s List,” “Gangs of New York”) signing on to pen the script and “Devil Wears Prada” helmer David Frankel attached to direct. Steven Soderbergh, though, soon stepped into the director’s chair (or, at least, he planned to; there’d be more roster shakeups in “Moneyball” land before cameras rolled). “My clearly stated goal is to set a new standard for realism in that [sports] world,” Soderbergh told MTV News in the spring of ’09. “I hope it sets a new standard. Hopefully, anybody who makes a sports movie from now on is going to have to grapple with this.” Struggling in the Big Leagues Production was slated to begin that summer, but Sony, concerned about the commercial viability of Soderbergh’s take , called for a directorial pinch hitter only days before the cinematic first pitch was to be thrown. Pitt remained hopeful. “My gut says yes,” Pitt told MTV News in August when asked whether “Moneyball” could see a ninth-inning rally. “[W]e’re still trying to re-mount it. I hope we get to do it soon.” It took a while, but Pitt’s prediction proved correct. “Capote” director Bennett Miller boarded the project that December, reportedly beating out “(500) Days of Summer” helmer Marc Webb for the gig. Aaron Sorkin rewrote the script and Jonah Hill signed on to play Beane’s assistant (a role loosely based on Paul DePodesta, now a player-development exec with the New York Mets). Hill was an unexpected pick for the dramatic role, but the actor laughed with us last year that he wouldn’t ruin the film. “I earned the part,” he said. “Every guy who is in their twenties and making movies was after that part, and it was a very tough thing. I’m really proud to have earned it, you know?” Play Ball Shooting began in the summer of ’10. It’d be a full year before the first trailer for the film hit the Web. Gone was a great deal of the baseball nerdery, as well as Soderbergh’s initial plan to present Bill James in the form of an animated narrator . Instead, Miller delivered a straightforward sports movie: Adversity! Triumph against the odds! More adversity! “These are guys that are working in an unfair game,” Pitt explained to us recently. “They are a team with no money trying to fight — it’s David vs. Goliath. How are they going to be competitive? How are they going to stand a chance? They can’t fight the other guys’ fight; they’re going to lose every time. These guys had to rethink it and rethink what they were doing.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Moneyball.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Brad Pitt And Jonah Hill In ‘Moneyball’
But JWoww’s man encouraged her to have fun in Italy: ‘It was actually the easiest I ever thought it was going to be,’ she tells MTV News. By Christina Garibaldi Deena and Snooki Photo: MTV News Long-distance love isn’t always easy to keep alive — just ask Snooki. While filming the fourth season of “Jersey Shore,” the pint-size guidette introduced us to her long-term boyfriend, Jionni. Every week, viewers have listened in on their countless phone conversations, and after much anticipation, Jionni came for a drama-filled visit to Italy on Thursday night’s episode. “It sucked from being with him six months every single day to not being with him, being in another freakin’ country and, like, not talking to him. It was really hard,” Snooki told MTV News of her overseas love. “It was legit like a long-distance relationship.” Yet, someone who didn’t have trouble keeping her relationship strong was JWoww, whose boyfriend Roger (whom we frequently saw in Seaside during season three ) just wanted her to have a good time in Florence. “It was actually the easiest I ever thought it was going to be,” JWoww said. “My ex made me feel like I never wanted to go film, so I was kind of dreading that, and Roger was like, ‘Dude, I want you to have a blast, go have fun, this is your 20s, you need to go do this. I’m not going to keep you from doing this. I want you to.’ Because he traveled Europe in his 20s, so getting over there, it was so easy.” The long-distance relationship with Roger may have been easy for JWoww, but the hard part was not being able to see her dogs. “The only thing I really missed, besides him, were my dogs,” JWoww said. “Because I can’t be like, ‘Hey, what’s going,’ on the phone with my dogs, but it was a lot easier than I expected.” Don’t miss “Jersey Shore” every Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV! For continuing coverage of “Jersey Shore” be sure to check in with the MTV Remote Control Blog.
Some of the best songs are not born of one mind, but instead result from the collaboration of great artists. In 1984 Zapp And Roger’s “Computer Love” was a top 10 Billboard hit featuring Charlie Wilson and Shirley Murdock . In this interview for TheUrbandaily.com Uncle Charlie tells the hilarious story of Roger coming to his room one night with the idea for a song, their ideas for a video and how it almost didn’t get released. “ We had problems with the label when they found out I was singing with Roger…they said it wasn’t going to be a hit… ” – -Charlie Wilson RELATED POSTS: Chrisette Michele to Charlie Wilson, “If You Don’t Tell Us, Who Will?” Chrisette Michele, Charlie Wilson Talk “Grown & Sexy” Charlie Wilson “Still Doing It Big”
Some of the best songs are not born of one mind, but instead result from the collaboration of great artists. In 1984 Zapp And Roger’s “Computer Love” was a top 10 Billboard hit featuring Charlie Wilson and Shirley Murdock . In this interview for TheUrbandaily.com Uncle Charlie tells the hilarious story of Roger coming to his room one night with the idea for a song, their ideas for a video and how it almost didn’t get released. “ We had problems with the label when they found out I was singing with Roger…they said it wasn’t going to be a hit… ” – -Charlie Wilson RELATED POSTS: Chrisette Michele to Charlie Wilson, “If You Don’t Tell Us, Who Will?” Chrisette Michele, Charlie Wilson Talk “Grown & Sexy” Charlie Wilson “Still Doing It Big”
To say that Lea Michele has been waiting to meet Barbra Streisand for a long time is a bit of an understatement. When Movieline caught up with the Glee star last summer to play My Favorite Scene , all she could talk about was Babs’ star-making turn in Funny Girl . “I just related to that movie so much,” she said. “It’s my favorite movie ever.” As anyone who saw her performance at the Tonys — or any minute of Glee , in general — can attest, she wasn’t lying. So, what would happen if Michele ever got the opportunity to meet Streisand out in public? Some hyperventilating and tweeting, of course.
Add another major star to the Oscar telecast. Academy Award producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer have announced that former Best Actress winner Reese Witherspoon will be handing out a statue at the ceremonies on Feb. 27. If you’re scoring at home, let’s slot her in just below Aaron Rodgers — but above Werner Herzog and David Lynch — on the list of possible Best Picture presenters . [ Deadline ]
Oh, for the days when a new Twilight still meant some butter-colored sex . To take advantage of Valentine’s Day — or maybe to throw bloggers a bone on a slow news day — Summit Entertainment has released another image from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn . Does it include a shirtless Taylor Lautner? More Bella-Edward baby making? Perhaps a glimpse at the Volturi or Baby Renesmee? Nope! Just a — well, why don’t you click ahead to see for yourself.
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