Mad Men Delayed

Photo courtesy of AMC.

It's very rare that I love a show to its core:  Sex and the City (SATC), Gilmore Girls (GG), and Mad Men. While I can watch SATC and GG in its entirety in reruns and from my DVD collection, I am left hanging from Season 4's finale with Mad Men. Yesterday, AMC and Matt Weiner announced that I have to wait until 2012. The rumor I heard from an inside source is that March 2012 is the earliest we will see the show.  So, they are telling me it's okay for fans to have to wait 12 months until a new episode is revealed and the answers to my questions are resolved.  Is anyone else worried about Don Draper?  He was in the middle of an alcoholic breakdown!  What about Peggy?  She's so strong, yet so secretly fragile.  And Sally Draper needs some guidance!  Heck, by the time they start filming Mad Men again, Kiernan Shipka (Sally) will have grown six inches. So, in the meantime, I am in mourning.  I guess I will Netflix Seasons 1-4 and milk every episode until Don Draper pours another drink and enters my living room with a swagger.

Here are a few Mad Men posts to tide you over until 2012....yeah, right.
1. Mad Men Withdrawal--you are going to suffering through a lot of this in 2011.

2. Mad Men Monday--some fun places you can find little Mad Men nuggets of information from QVC to my interview with Kiernan Shipka at the Saturn Awards.

3. Emmys, Part 2:  Photos with my favorite gal, Kiernan Shipka, at the Emmys gifting suite.  Maybe I will run into her again during the Kids' Choice Awards gifting suite?  I will keep you posted on any Mad Men sightings.

Now the big question is:  What are you going to do with your Sunday nights this summer/fall?

Year in Review: August 2010

I think August has some of the best events, photos, and posts of the entire year.  I only added a couple of photos, but I will link to all of the original posts so you can see how it all went down. You know I love to give you the inside scoop! 

1.  This was my annual trip to the Hollywood Bowl for their summer musical.  This year, Neil Patrick Harris directed Rent with stars like Vanessa Hudgens, Nicole Scherzinger, and Wayne Brady.  How did they do?  Oh, you want to read this.  

Me and Melody Freeman before the madness begins.

2.  This is one of the tastiest treats I had all year while I was working the Dew Tour in Portland.  It's a maple bacon bar from Voodoo Doughnuts and it is a "must-eat" the next time you are touring through the Pacific Northwest.  See all of my photos from the trip here.

3.  This is in my Top 3 Favorite Outfits for 2010.  I wore it to cover the red carpet for collidEdance's blink/drEam for Dance Channel TV.  You can see some of your favorite America's Best Dance Crew and So You Think You Can Dance stars in the compilation video.  Enjoy!

All the details about the dress and accessories are here.

4.  Emmys Week!  Gifting suites, celebs, many changes of wardrobe, and oh boy, the photo booth with Phil Keoghan of The Amazing Race.....delicious!  Here are all of the details with Phil and me.  

5.  With the popularity of Mad Men, this photo of me with Kiernan Shipka brought a lot of new readers to Red Carpet Closet.  I appreciate all of the new friends I have made thanks to Kiernan and this is still one of my favorite interviews of the year.  Here it is.

Mad Men Withdrawal

Is anyone else suffering from this terrible illness?  Mad Men Withdrawal?  I aimlessly channel surf around my 250 stations on my TV on Sunday nights hoping for a glimpse of Don Draper smoking a cigarette or Peggy pursing her lips because she has to fight the boys' club at the office again.  I am not sure I am patient enough to wait until Summer 2011 for a Mad Men return.  The Saturday Night Live episode with Jon Hamm last week did not satiate me at all because, well, SNL kind of sucks these days.

However, there is a little glimmer of hope for me today as The Daily What compiled the Best of Don Draper's favorite word, "What?" No one does it better than the Draper and the clip is pretty brilliant:



This certainly isn't my first obsessive Mad Men post.  Join me as I discuss all things Mad Men here from the Janie Bryant/QVC fashion collection to my love for Sal to my first interview with Kiernan Shipka AKA Sally Draper.  Or head on over to my Emmys week post for my second interview with Kiernan who is perhaps one of the most delightful child actors I have ever interviewed.  Good luck with your withdrawal symptoms.  I hope this gets you through the week until it all begins again.  Sigh.

Emmys 2010: The Videos

I wasn't planning on posting today due to the holiday, but so many of you have been asking when the interviews would post.  My producer finished most of them over the weekend, so have fun and check out some of your favorite stars from TV.  Remember, all of the juicy stories behind this shoot are here. These interviews are from the GBK Gifting Lounge.

Also, today is the final day to enter our Emmy Event Weekend Gift Bag.  Enter here before 11:59 PM PST.  Winner will be announced tomorrow at 9 AM PST.  Good luck!

Be sure to let me know who your favorite interview was in the comment section below.  I have two favorites and one not-so-favorite from the group below.  You comment, and I will reveal my choices in the comment section too.

1.  Kieran Shipka:  Mad Men:


2.  Melora Hardin:  The Office:


3.  Joe Mantenga:  Criminal Minds:


4.  Kathryn Joosten:  Desperate Housewives:


5.  Scott Adsit:  30 Rock:


6.  Sara Rue:  Eastwick:

Emmys 2010: Part 2

                                      
The Emmys Weekend posts continue as I take you to the GBK Gifting Suite at the SLS Hotel.  This was one of the official gifting suites of the 62nd Annual Emmy Awards, so it was A-List all of the way.  I cannot wait to share the interviews from our day at the SLS.  Now, for those of you not familiar with gifting suites, let me give you the rundown on how they work.  It's a true VIP experience.  I arrived at the hotel, the valet flirted with me, complimented my outfit, and graciously guided me to the nearest Starbucks for my morning caffeine all within three minutes of my arrival.  Now, I'm not even famous or anywhere near even D-List, and that is how nice they were to me.  The celebs check in at the gifting suite area as they are paired up with a PR gal/guy who will guide them through the five rooms of free goodies.  The PR person is responsible for presenting the celeb to each table, for writing down the items given to the stars (Remember, there is a responsibility to the IRS for anything over $10,000), and schlepping a huge duffel bag.  The bag was large enough for me to crawl in and hide.  Most of the PR guides were female and petite, so they were trying gamely to lug the bags throughout the suite.  Trust me, they were heavy.  


So, the celebs are given anything they want for free.  New Invicta Lupah watch?  It's free.  A year supply of Tic Tacs in your favorite flavor?  FREE.  Wine, cheese, vacations, jewelry, and shoes?  All free, free, free.  The only thing they are required to do is pose for a photo with the vendor and their product.  It is understood that their image may be used in a magazine or on the vendor's website. It is sort of an indirect endorsement in exchange for free things.  Can you tell that FREE is the key word here?  Here are a few of the celebrities we bumped into at the GBK Gifting Suite:

Probably the most surprising attendee in the gifting suite, Joe Mantegna from Criminal Minds. I always think of Mr. Matengna as true theatre actor who isn't interested in the Hollywood game.  He kindly gave us a few good sound bites and he quietly went on his way.

Easily one of my top 3 interviews of the weekend.  Here's Kiernan Shipka who plays  "Sally Draper" on Mad Men.   I have interviewed her before, so we have a fun little rapport. She was so excited about her dress for Emmy night.  It was just as beautiful as she described.  Kiernan is an atypical Hollywood kid:  fresh-faced, engaging, and smart in all of the right ways.  I had a chance to speak with her mom and her grandmother too.  They are raising one lovely young lady. 

Kiernan on the red carpet.  Photo courtesy of the LA Times.

Neil Patrick Harris is probably one of my favorite actors right now. I even went to see his directorial debut at the Hollywood Bowl for the annual musical production of Rent.  Did he stop for interviews?  No.  Hmmmm, I kind of take issue with that because if you are willing to take free stuff, you can stop for two questions.  I would have even been willing to make them all industry-related versus personal questions.  Oh well.......

Kathryn Joosten was a hoot!  She speaks her mind and she had me in stitches throughout our entire interview.  You know Kathryn from The West Wing and Desperate Housewives, she is a two-time Emmy winner, and a cancer survivor.  Another Top 3 interview for the weekend!

All right, 30 Rock fans, here is Scott Adsit who plays "Pete Hornberger" on the show.  I joked about his new Invicta watch because I used to sell Invicta watches when I was a network host at ShopNBC. We had a good time making fun of my former profession.

Melora Hardin, who plays "Jan" on The Office and I shared a fun Emmys moment from 2008.  I had been in the bleacher seats that year and I yelled to her on the red carpet, "I loved you as Fantine in Les Mis at the Hollywood Bowl".  She gamely told me she remembered that moment which I appreciated whether she really remembered it or not.  

Sarah Rue is from the now-cancelled, Eastwick, and she is currently a Jenny Craig spokesperson.  She looks great and the plan is really working for her.  Um, I don't have much else to say as she was rather frosty.......you fill-in the rest of the story.

You never knew who you were going to run into. Every nook and cranny was filled with a familiar face.  As we were leaving, Judah Friedlander of 30 Rock pulled up in a Rolls Royce limo.  At first, it was an over the top moment, until we saw his mother step out of the limo and they started taking pictures in front of the vehicle.  He was treating his mom to a special day on the town.  It was sweet.  

Just a few snapshots of some down moments around the gifting suite.  If you take a look at that pink and white wall I am standing in front of, it's made entirely of pink and white Tic Tacs.  Pink Grapefruit is their new limited edition flavor available in September and October for Breast Cancer Awareness.

The best cupcakes ever!  Check out Stuffed Cupcakes for the most delicious cake filled with cream in the middle and just the right amount of frosting on top.  With 150 flavors, I am ready for this store to hit the West Coast.  In the meantime, they ship cupcakes anywhere in the US!

I promised you a giveaway and a giveaway you shall have.  I am giving away a whole collection of items from this weekend's gifting suites.  You will find a Heaven Simone chocolate brown scarf, 2 packs of Commandos (I bet you didn't know you needed these!), an amazing TheraPearl Eye Mask, 2 Elemis Moisture Melt oils, and a sassy bracelet from Crash & Burn.  All you have to do is comment below and tell me your favorite moment at this year's Emmy Awards.  Open to US residents only. Winner will be selected via Random.org.  Contest ends Monday, September 6th at 11:59PM PST. Winner will be announced at 9AM PST on Tuesday, September 7th.  

I'll be back tomorrow with Emmys 2010, Part 3.  

   

Mad Men Monday

I know, I know, Mondays are not usually anyone's favorite day of the week, but I have a full week of excitement planned.  First of all, it's Emmys Week here in LA.  This weekend, I will be covering some of the gifting suites and Emmys festivities with Mingle Media TV.  I haven't been to a gifting suite before, so I want to see how elaborate these events are.  Can you imagine being a celebrity who just has to walk in and pick out whatever they want?  Free vacation to Cabo?  Okay, it's yours.  Free Ray-Bans?  If I must.  New Marc Jacobs boots for free?  Sign me up!  So, look for that video footage after the Emmys as we go behind the scenes of what they are really like.  I received my tip sheet for one of them (Tip Sheet:  A list of celeb faces/quick bio for media so they know who is attending the event.) and I was thrilled to see that Bryan Batt from Mad Men is on the list.  If you are a fan of the show, you know that he played Salvatore Romano for the first three seasons.  I really don't understand why they didn't continue with his storyline since I consider it to be an important one.  Being gay in the early 60's was a huge taboo and I wanted to see how that issue played out in his marriage and at work.  So, I am officially starting my campaign to bring Sal back to the show and I just might let Mr. Batt know on Saturday.

Bryan Batt AKA Salvatore Romano on Mad Men

If you are watching Mad Men, you know this season has been a big one for Kiernan Shipka who plays Sally Draper.  I was fortunate enough to have interviewed her at the Saturn Awards earlier this summer.  She is just as amazing in person as she is onscreen.   Since I work the red carpet often, it's nice to see kids be able to speak without having memorized lines about their show, role, and what they like to do. Sometimes the publicists give them little "speeches" and they sound like robots (I'm talking to you, Disney!).

For those of you in LA, be sure to see the FREE exhibit at FIDM where they are honoring some of the best in costume design from the shows Glee, The Tudors, and Mad Men.  You will be able to see a retrospective of the Emmy-nominated costumes through September 4th.  It is a stop you must make if you are interested in the incredible work that is being done with wardrobe on screen these days.  The exhibit is open from 10AM-4PM, Tuesday-Saturday.

Mad Men Collection by Janie Bryant on QVC , September 29th.

Finally, if you want to take Mad Men to a whole other level and wear those fashions, Mad Men designs are coming to QVC in September. Emmy-nominated costume designer, Katherine Jane Bryant AKA Janie Bryant, will bring viewers her inspirations from the show to the home retailing giant on September 29th.  It should be a great way to style up your fall wardrobe with a vintage look derived from the show.  According to InStyle Magazine, you will find "The 20-piece collection, which reflects the 1960s era, includes a reversible coat, leopard-print purse and faux fur boleros and capelets. Prices range from $26 for jewelry to $138 for coats."  I don't know about you, but I am anxious to take a closer look at the collection.  If you think home shopping channels aren't for you, then you might want to head on over to QVC.com  and see what they are offering these days.  I think you might recognize a few designers......Isaac Mizrahi, BCBG, Jessica Simpson (Her shoe line is to die for lately!), Marc Bouwer, and Erica Davies (I wore her dress to the Oscars in 2007.)  Maybe I am biased, but QVC isn't such a bad place to shop.


Have a great week, everyone.  Let me know what questions you have about gifting suites in the comment section below.  I will try and get those questions answered for you this weekend.