LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Next for the four-time Emmy-winning drama series “Mad Men”: At least one day of wasted shooting.
Show creator Matthew Weiner told The Associated Press backstage at the Emmys Sunday night that the cast would be partying through the night, then gathering again Monday morning.
“We’re shooting episode four. Tomorrow morning we have a crew call at 7 a.m.,” he said. “We get to go back and I’m going to put this on top of the monitor and I’m sure we’ll get nothing done. Sorry Lionsgate, but I think we’re going to burn some money tomorrow.”
Weiner said he hadn’t ruled out making a “Mad Men” film but it was unlikely.
“We have three seasons left on the show. I think that’s going to be the end of it. I really do. I don’t know how to make it into a movie,” he said. “I think there’s something about the continuing nature of the story that’s kept it from being overly dramatic. Just because you know I don’t have to resolve everything.
“The moments are big, but it’s not movie-big. So I don’t know how to do it. We’ll see when we get there. I’m not going to rule it out. We’ll never rule it out. ‘Mad Men’ musical maybe,” he said, laughing.
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Upsets ruled the comedy ranks at the Emmy awards, with first-time winner Melissa McCarthy of “Mike & Molly” proclaiming “Holy smokes!” as she accepted lead actress in a comedy series.
McCarthy beat out such heavyweights as Amy Poehler of “Parks and Recreation” and Tina Fey of “30 Rock.”
“I’m from Plainfield, Ill., and I’m standing here and it’s kind of amazing,” McCarthy said, giving a shoutout to her suburban Chicago hometown.
She thanked her parents “who supported me forever, and shouldn’t have, and just said keep doing what you’re doing.”
McCarthy didn’t mention her famous cousin, Jenny McCarthy, whose short-lived series “Jenny” provided McCarthy with her first TV series spot in 1997.
Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory” won lead actor in a comedy series over such nominees as Alec Baldwin of “30 Rock” and Steve Carell of “The Office.”
Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell, who play a married couple in “Modern Family,” took supporting comedy acting trophies while their show won best comedy series.
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Kate Winslet had barely collected the first Emmy of a distinguished career when she was asked about her real-life role as a life saver.
The British actress sprang into action in August when she helped rescue Richard Branson’s 90-year-old mother from a fire that destroyed his Caribbean home, where Winslet was a guest with her two young children.
“I so knew I was going to get questions about the fire,” she said, laughing backstage Sunday.
“I was in the right place at the right time to help Eve out of the house,” Winslet said about Branson’s mother. “In truth I will say she was already out of her bedroom. She had made it that far and I was just there to speed things along because we had to get out quickly. Thank God we were all OK.”
Winslet won an Emmy as lead actress in a miniseries or a movie for HBO’s “Mildred Pierce.” It gives her another shiny gold statuette to go with the Oscar she won for “Shakespeare in Love.”
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Sofia Vergara of “Modern Family” is well-known for her shapely figure, which she showcased in a Grecian-style gown at Sunday’s Emmys.
So there was still much to talk about, even when she didn’t win a supporting actress in a comedy award.
“I love to talk about my figure,” she cooed to a reporter backstage. “What do you want to know?”
She was asked what she wears underneath her fancy dresses.
“I wear my underwear from Kmart,” she said, smiling. (The actress recently launched her own signature line of clothing and accessories through the discount chain.)
Someone else asked Vergara’s co-star Ed O’Neill what he was wearing under his tux.
“Nothing,” the actor retorted.
“He’s wearing my underwear from Kmart,” Vergara said.
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The latest stop on Charlie Sheen’s bury-the-hatchet tour was Sunday’s Emmy Awards.
The fired star of “Two and a Half Men” appeared at the awards ceremony to present the lead actor in a comedy series award. Or as Sheen called it, “My old category.”
But before he did, he took time to mend some fences.
“I want to take a moment to get something off my chest and say a few words to everybody here from ‘Two and a Half Men,” Sheen said as a silence fell over the awards show audience.
“From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season. We spent eight wonderful years together and I know you will continue to make great television.”
Sheen then announced Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory” as the winner.
Parsons said backstage that Sheen personally congratulated him, telling him his victory was awesome.
“It was that sweet and that banal. I wish there was something lurid to say,” Parsons added.
Sheen was fired in March after railing against his bosses, who in turn blasted him for what they said was his unpredictable behaviour.
Then he really went on a tear, declaring he had tiger blood, Adonis DNA and was a “rock star from Mars,” as he insulted people connected with the show. He called former co-star Jon Cryer a troll.
“Jon, I want to tell you something: I do not think you’re a troll,” Ashton Kutcher, who replaced Sheen, told Cryer later when the two presented another award.
Cryer himself was in a forgiving mood. He applauded his former co-star when Sheen took the stage.
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Ricky Gervais, who annoyed Hollywood royalty with his acerbic remarks as host of January’s Golden Globe Awards, got a few shots in at the Emmy people, only this time from a distance.
“Sorry I can’t be there live in person, not allowed, not after the Golden Globes,” Gervais said in a pre-recorded announcement of the nominees for comedy series directing.
“In fact now, during any award ceremony, I’m not even allowed on American soil,” Gervais joked.
He added that he knew anything rude or controversial that he said would be edited out. Then he went ahead and said it anyway. And it was fairly easy for television viewers to pick out the censored words and see how they were replaced with crudely edited fawning remarks.
“What a bunch of cowardly (bleep) countrymen, like Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan,” Gervais said. “I’ve won a few Emmys myself. I’ve lost a few too. I was up for five last year, and I lost ’em all, to other shows, that were absolute (bleep).”
He signed off by raising his middle finger with a Twinkie superimposed over it.
Emmy host Jane Lynch got in her own jab.
“Poor little Ricky Gervais, someone didn’t get enough hugs from Mommy and somehow it’s Hollywood’s fault,” she joked.
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AP Entertainment Writers Anthony McCartney and Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.
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