I think Mad Men deserves all the accolades it’s been getting. It’s an intelligent show and at the same time eye candy, with the authentic sets and clothing from the 60’s.
Matthew Weiner it’s creator demands authenticity on his set, and you can read the full article in the Sydney Morning Herald:
Weiner’s strict rules and demand for Mad Men to be as authentic to 1960s America as possible extends from the type of fruit in fruit bowls in the background of scenes, cigarettes, free-flowing liquor and the body types of the female actresses.
He demands the fruit be organic, because modern day non-organic fruit tends to be much larger than fruit in the 1960s.
Actors smoke cigarettes in many scenes of Mad Men, although California laws rule out real cigarettes being used, so Weiner has his actors light up herbal smokes.
“They are parsley mixed with s,” says Slattery, who gave up smoking many years ago and complains how the herbal cigarettes break apart, burn his pants and result in brown stains on his teeth and hands.
The liquor the actors regularly pour also is not appetising.
“The liquor is actually water and onions,” says Slattery, who plays Roger Sterling Jr, a notorious womaniser and a senior partner in Sterling Cooper.
“Very tasty.”
Weiner also demands his actresses not work out, and he went out of his way to cast curvy actresses, including redhead Hendricks, the office manager and head of the secretarial pool at Sterling Cooper.
“We are encouraged not to get toned so we look soft and feminine, which is great. I don’t have to go to the gym,” January Jones says.
“Matt wants women to look like women.
“He wants them to be real, feminine and have curves.”
In this Rolling Stone picture, the four stars of the show look mighty crammed in that back seat. That’s my claustrophobia talking. I also noticed that January Jone’s legs are more tanned than the rest of her body. Maybe she’s wearing tanned stockings. Meanwhile Christina Hendrick’s boobs have never looked better. At least they are not stuffed and squeezed like that outfit at the Emmy Awards. That just looked painful. Red is definitely her colour too.
{Image: Rolling Stone}
