Details help 'Mad Men' capture '60s
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, July 25, 2008
Jon Hamm was nominated for an Emmy for his work as ad man Don Draper in "Mad Men."
LOS ANGELES -- Producer Matt Weiner is like a museum curator on the set of "Mad Men."
Stopping in the home of Don Draper, the duplicitous ad man of Sterling Cooper, he points out the authentic barware, sofas and phones. He proudly shows the changes that will make this year's episodes scream "1962" (instead of 1960). And he's quick to play the role of security guard.
"Don't take anything," he cautions. "This is like the lost city of Pompeii. The bones in the walls are irreplaceable."
Weiner's cast agrees.
Little touches - like TV Guides from the '60s, era-appropriate candy wrappers and liquor bottles - help them feel like they're actually living in the decade of change.
When Christina Hendricks - as the agency's head secretary Joan - puts on the girdle, bullet bra, nylons and high heels of another time, she can't help but feel transported.
"In certain dresses; my hips are going to sway because I don't have a lot of leg room," she says. "I was in one dress last week that I had to be cut out of to go to the bathroom. When you're manipulated into these shapes, you're naturally going to carry yourself differently."
Put on a suit and tie, says Vincent Kartheiser, who plays ad man Pete Campbell, and things change. "Part of the show is boys pretending to be men. We're all men here, but we're also 14-year-old boys. There's a large part of these guys that are just kids playing advertising, playing dress-up every day."
Instantly, Kartheiser says, he understood what Weiner wanted to say. Sure, "Mad Men" is set in another era. But its lessons are ones that have resonance for subsequent generations.
His Pete Campbell may be a cad, but he has a distinct part to play in the revolutionary world of advertising. "I know he's a plot device. I get that...but the words just jumped off the page to me."
Plopping the characters in the middle of historic situations has never been the goal, Weiner says. Often, the "trickle-down" effect is more interesting. "How many people lied about going to Woodstock?" he says. "With history, we only get the juicy parts. But it's really so much more complicated than that. All of us knows somebody who just froze senior year in high school."
That other side - the one that shows life going on in spite of history - is more fascinating.
Thus, fashion and trends won't resonate immediately. Even though Jackie Kennedy influenced styles in the '60s, her impact won't be felt this year.
Most of the "Mad Men" women are still living out the '50s. Costume designer Katherine Jane Bryant says they're still following the lead of women like Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. The men, meanwhile, are looking to James Garner and Cary Grant, not John F. Kennedy.
"We're still in the era of movie stars, not Jackie," Bryant says. "To show that change takes time."
To duplicate it does, too.
What Bryant can't find in vintage clothing shops, she builds.
Set decorator Amy Wells isn't as lucky. She often has to go on major expeditions just to find pieces that are true to the era. She searched eBay for a character's wall oven and cooktop. "I had to bribe a guy to get it here in seven days."
Era-specific typewriters had to be painted to match, since there weren't enough in the right color. "I had to send all over the country to get phones." Anything that's needed in multiples creates headaches.
But, Wells says proudly, "80 to 85 percent of what you see is real."
Props are equally as exact. Everything from the typeface on letters to the labels on cigarettes is researched. What isn't available from prop houses or antique stores is recreated.
"Sometimes, we break our backs to find the originals," Wells says. Stork Club ashtrays, for example, are available in various places. Napkins, however, are not. So the "Mad Men" team made new versions.
Liquor bottles don't change labels that regularly, but new ones also have bar codes. If that showed on camera, the illusion would be lost. Even letters used on the show are typed on typewriters, not printed from computers.
"Whatever we put on screen is researched to the nth degree," Wells says.
That resonates with Jon Hamm, the show's Don Draper. "So much of American culture was in bloom at the time," he says. "Civil rights and the women's movement were bubbling and beginning to explode. That's exciting...particularly when you feel like you're in the middle of it."
Production designer Dan Bishop says he stays away from stereotypes. "We don't necessarily want to have that iconographic, cold war Jetsons look."
Something as small as a Princess telephone can mean so much.
In fact, Weiner says, that very phone - found in Don and Betty's bedroom - has a major role in this year's shows.
The plot point? He shakes his head and smiles. "You'll just have to wait and see."
The joy of "Mad Men" isn't its ability to look like something from another time. It's its ability to look back and find the irony in even minor situations.
"Everything is used for irony," Weiner says. "If it doesn't help me tell a story, it isn't in the show."
Stopping in the home of Don Draper, the duplicitous ad man of Sterling Cooper, he points out the authentic barware, sofas and phones. He proudly shows the changes that will make this year's episodes scream "1962" (instead of 1960). And he's quick to play the role of security guard.
"Don't take anything," he cautions. "This is like the lost city of Pompeii. The bones in the walls are irreplaceable."
Weiner's cast agrees.
Little touches - like TV Guides from the '60s, era-appropriate candy wrappers and liquor bottles - help them feel like they're actually living in the decade of change.
When Christina Hendricks - as the agency's head secretary Joan - puts on the girdle, bullet bra, nylons and high heels of another time, she can't help but feel transported.
"In certain dresses; my hips are going to sway because I don't have a lot of leg room," she says. "I was in one dress last week that I had to be cut out of to go to the bathroom. When you're manipulated into these shapes, you're naturally going to carry yourself differently."
Put on a suit and tie, says Vincent Kartheiser, who plays ad man Pete Campbell, and things change. "Part of the show is boys pretending to be men. We're all men here, but we're also 14-year-old boys. There's a large part of these guys that are just kids playing advertising, playing dress-up every day."
Instantly, Kartheiser says, he understood what Weiner wanted to say. Sure, "Mad Men" is set in another era. But its lessons are ones that have resonance for subsequent generations.
His Pete Campbell may be a cad, but he has a distinct part to play in the revolutionary world of advertising. "I know he's a plot device. I get that...but the words just jumped off the page to me."
Plopping the characters in the middle of historic situations has never been the goal, Weiner says. Often, the "trickle-down" effect is more interesting. "How many people lied about going to Woodstock?" he says. "With history, we only get the juicy parts. But it's really so much more complicated than that. All of us knows somebody who just froze senior year in high school."
That other side - the one that shows life going on in spite of history - is more fascinating.
Thus, fashion and trends won't resonate immediately. Even though Jackie Kennedy influenced styles in the '60s, her impact won't be felt this year.
Most of the "Mad Men" women are still living out the '50s. Costume designer Katherine Jane Bryant says they're still following the lead of women like Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. The men, meanwhile, are looking to James Garner and Cary Grant, not John F. Kennedy.
"We're still in the era of movie stars, not Jackie," Bryant says. "To show that change takes time."
To duplicate it does, too.
What Bryant can't find in vintage clothing shops, she builds.
Set decorator Amy Wells isn't as lucky. She often has to go on major expeditions just to find pieces that are true to the era. She searched eBay for a character's wall oven and cooktop. "I had to bribe a guy to get it here in seven days."
Era-specific typewriters had to be painted to match, since there weren't enough in the right color. "I had to send all over the country to get phones." Anything that's needed in multiples creates headaches.
But, Wells says proudly, "80 to 85 percent of what you see is real."
Props are equally as exact. Everything from the typeface on letters to the labels on cigarettes is researched. What isn't available from prop houses or antique stores is recreated.
"Sometimes, we break our backs to find the originals," Wells says. Stork Club ashtrays, for example, are available in various places. Napkins, however, are not. So the "Mad Men" team made new versions.
Liquor bottles don't change labels that regularly, but new ones also have bar codes. If that showed on camera, the illusion would be lost. Even letters used on the show are typed on typewriters, not printed from computers.
"Whatever we put on screen is researched to the nth degree," Wells says.
That resonates with Jon Hamm, the show's Don Draper. "So much of American culture was in bloom at the time," he says. "Civil rights and the women's movement were bubbling and beginning to explode. That's exciting...particularly when you feel like you're in the middle of it."
Production designer Dan Bishop says he stays away from stereotypes. "We don't necessarily want to have that iconographic, cold war Jetsons look."
Something as small as a Princess telephone can mean so much.
In fact, Weiner says, that very phone - found in Don and Betty's bedroom - has a major role in this year's shows.
The plot point? He shakes his head and smiles. "You'll just have to wait and see."
The joy of "Mad Men" isn't its ability to look like something from another time. It's its ability to look back and find the irony in even minor situations.
"Everything is used for irony," Weiner says. "If it doesn't help me tell a story, it isn't in the show."
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