Today's featured writer is Matthew Weiner, creator of the hit AMC TV series "Mad Men." Here is an excerpt:
I had been researching this advertising idea for two years. Every night I would pay someone -- I would dictate to them, and they would do research. And I would stay after work and work on this advertising thing. And in between the big second and third seasons of “Becker,” when I realized that I had a hiatus, three months where I knew that I still had a job, I just pulled the trigger.
I hired a writer’s assistant because I was so exhausted, and also I felt it was like having a personal trainer. I realized that I would work because I was paying that person $11 an hour to be there. And I knocked the show out pretty quickly. And that was the script that later became “Mad Men.”
It had been brewing for, I’m not kidding, for three years, I’d been taking notes and been thinking about it and doing research. I just did it and I gave it to my agents, and they didn’t pay any attention to it.
"I gave it to my agents, and they didn't pay any attention to it." Classic. To learn how Weiner broke through with "Mad Men," go here. And here is the trailer for season 3:
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4 comments:
Thanks for bringing this column to my attention.
Matthew W rocks, man - whether you're a fan or not...
This is one of the most honest, candid accounts of how one gets their start. This is a secure man. Most stories you read about writers getting the start seem so cryptic, like they're trying to conceal some big secret that they don't want you to know.
Congrats Matt W. Thanks for this contribution, Scott.
So these breakthrough stories are quite interesting, but it seems these people have had connections in hollywood via a friend or via being associated with television (Becker), and I'm some unconnected person with great writing ideas working on screenplays. It would be more relevant, at least to me, to hear stories from the beginning. I'd rather hear from Mr. Weiner about how he got involved with The Naked Truth back in 1995, or Becker in 1999, not Mad Men.
Garrett, if you click on the link to the full article he does talk about how broke in before he had any real connections. Thanks for the link, Scott.
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