Who knows where the talent goes? Sometimes it goes where the money is. Sometimes I think writers are really interested in the glory. Matthew Weiner More Quotes by Matthew Weiner More Quotes From Matthew Weiner I don't want to pretend like I'm clairvoyant or anything, but I had a tremendous sense of malaise about our political future. This is right around the millennium, right around 1999, when I wrote it. The Sopranos certainly reflected that; when I saw that on the air, I was like "Oh my God, I'm not alone." But it doesn't seem that the culture really caught up with that. George W. Bush won two elections... I'm not even trying to say this from a political standpoint. I think there is a resonance to the kind of glory of that period, and the foreboding of what happened. Matthew Weiner political trying thinking I was never really that worried about being a member of the Sopranos crew. I think it looks kind of fun to not have to work, to not have to take crap from anybody. And then there's the reality check in there, which is that you do have to work, you do have to take crap from people, and you can fail, and all these other things. Matthew Weiner fun reality thinking I know that telling the story, there are certain events I want to skip, and certain events I want to hit. The time passing allows for - if you're really following people's lives, and this isn't a cartoon - someone gets pregnant, a child will be born, etc. You really don't want to be locked into "Every episode is a month later." The show is very intense to make. There's always going to be some downtime between seasons, and to me, it really helps to come back to the next season in the reality of that world, and have almost as much time passed in their lives as has passed in yours. Matthew Weiner cartoon children reality Every single word that's on the screen, I oversee. There's nothing that's shot, I'm not involved in. The scripts go through multiple drafts, and I work with the writers on all these things. And I'm extremely involved in the writing process. Matthew Weiner multiple single-word writing As far as casting, I'm there for every single person that's cast. Even if it's one word, I'm there for their auditions. Matthew Weiner single-person On the set, I visit the set for a lot of the rehearsals, and there's always a writer on set. And then I'm involved in post-production, very intensely involved in editing, and the sound mix and color timing. Really, I have about nine jobs. Matthew Weiner timing But you know what, honestly? I'm not that interested in advertising. I think it's a great way... It's such a huge part of our culture. It's like saying, "Are you interested in hair?" It's such a part of our life, and it's such a reflection of how we feel about ourselves, and what we're interested in, and what we want to be. Matthew Weiner reflection culture thinking It's impossible for me, without getting a big wide shot of Manhattan, to convince people that it's another day. But if we go to a commercial and we come up and people are in different clothes, you know it's another day. Matthew Weiner different impossible people You can do a lot with a commercial break - you can change days, you can suggest the passage of time. So sometimes that's a great thing artistically, to know that's going to be there. Obviously you'd always prefer that people see it straight through, and you don't want them to be taken out of it by advertising, but that's the reality of what's paying the bills here. Matthew Weiner taken reality people I think there's a kind of elegance to it, to work within that framework where what you don't see is often more enticing. Matthew Weiner elegance kind thinking The other thing - and writers can say whatever they want - is casting. You need to find a person who can inhabit that role, who can not sugarcoat the bad stuff, and not be too hard on the good stuff, but who can come across as a three-dimensional human being with some depth and some thought about what they're doing. When you find James Gandolfini or Jon Hamm, someone who can inhabit this role but still has a natural humanity to them, no matter what they're doing? It's a gift. Matthew Weiner humanity natural I do find it sometimes that people project their own feelings on to the characters and I think that there is a certain amount of sexism - I mean the proprietary nature, for men and women. Matthew Weiner character men mean Hate is more interesting than love. Matthew Weiner hate interesting Opinions can't be inaccurate. Matthew Weiner opinion All human stories are interesting. You don't put a kid in a show because you need a device. They have a story, too. Matthew Weiner kids interesting needs Super confident people with no problems and great marriages and great parenting are not good entertainment. Matthew Weiner entertainment problem people My major goal is to take my bathrobe off before the kids get home from school. Matthew Weiner home kids school Seeing movie people trying to get into TV now who don't understand that is very interesting. Matthew Weiner trying people interesting The whole last season was the idea that the revolution failed and it is time to deal with what you can control, which is yourself, this turning inward, he (Draper) stripped it all away, that was the idea. Matthew Weiner entertainment I like the idea that he would come to this place and it would be about other people and a moment of recognition. Matthew Weiner entertainment
