Emmy nominee John Slattery is back, directing at least one new episode of “Mad Men” this season. It’s episode 5, he told our Leah Sydney on Friday at the classy Emmy nominees party on Friday at the Pacific Design Center. “I can’t give you details-but I’m prepping to direct the next episode-# 5. There are some great surprises. The writing is so good; it feels like the first season. I don’t know how Matt [Weiner] does it. No matter how much you know about these characters, they are sort of starting all over somehow.” Slattery and actress wife Talia Balsam will be front and center tonight at the Emmys. “Our 12-year-old son Harry is coming with this, he’s excited-but who knows what will happen? I’ve lost three years in a row now, so I’m used to this. It’s good to be asked. What do they say the saddest two words in the English language is “what party?”
Jon Cryer brought wife Lisa and famous mom Gretchen Cryer. As for Charlie Sheen, he told Leah: “It’s all good now. Ashton is great, Charlie is moving on.”
Leah reports: “Everywhere you looked nominees were chatting with each other. Aaron Sorkin and Brenda Strong, Beau Bridges with Bruce Dern, Kathy Bates chatting with Alfre Woodard. Slattery was flattered: “ I just got winked at from Florence Henderson. Made my night.”
More of Leah’s notes:
“Modern Family”’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitchell in the gay couple. We told him about Clint Eastwood’s comments about his support of Gay Marriage-will it happen on the show?
Jesse: “When it’s legalized in California, our show lives in the real world and our characters live in California. We worked the coming out of the IPad on the show, I think we can work on the incentive for gay marriage to happen in California.”
Leah spoke with perenial nominee Beau Bridges and asked how many times has he been nominated? “I don’t know I’ve lost track-but I’ve won three times.” He and Oscar winning brother Jeff Bridges are looking for a project to do together. Their last was the classic, “The Fabulous Baker Boys“ Beau is also featured in Alexander Payne‘s “The Descendants,” an Oscar favorite starring George Clooney. “It’s my second film with him. He took my wife out to lunch, which she enjoyed. The film is getting great buzz. I’m also doing three episodes of White Collar in New York.”
At the Entertainment Weekly/Women In Film event at hot spot restaurant BOA also in West Hollywood, more nominees, plus tons of actors that weren’t nominated , producers WIF people etc.
James Woods, nominated for HBO’s “To Big to Fail” I just bought a book [i.e. optioned]-just finishing the last of the legal paperwork. Six New York Times authors covered a real event-and the real person would never give his rights to anybody, I spent a long time with him.”
James also told us that Oliver Stone asked him to introduce “Salvador” with him at the New York Film Festival on October 15th.
I asked him what Bruce Dern had been saying to him at the previous party. Woods: “He said this wonderful thing to me…you’re one of my two favorite actors I’ve ever worked with. I asked him who was the other? Jack Nicholson. Hell I’m in good company.”
