Pandora's Box, page 40
67. “When we started breaking”: Joe Weisberg, in discussion with the author, October 3, 2020.
Chapter 6: AMC Chases Chase
1. “Turn it into a half-hour show”: Kevin Reilly, in discussion with the author, August 5, 2021.
2. “lesser TCM”: Lacy Rose and Michael O’Connell, “The Uncensored, Epic, Never-Told Story Behind Mad Men,” Hollywood Reporter, March 11, 2015, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mad-men-uncensored-epic-never-780101.
3. “Charlie was an opportunist”: Laura Michalchyshin, in discussion with the author, April 4, 2020.
4. “Charlie and Ed and Josh”: Mark Johnson, in discussion with the author, April 3, 2020.
5. “Bring me The Sopranos”: Rob Sorcher, in discussion with the author, February 21, 2020.
6. “I thought AMC was”: Christina Wayne, in discussion with the author, January 14, 2020.
7. “Who the fuck is AMC?”: Lacy Rose and Michael O’Connell, “The Uncensored, Epic, Never-Told Story Behind Mad Men,” Hollywood Reporter, March 11, 2015, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mad-men-uncensored-epic-never-780101.
8. “Albrecht laughed at us”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, April 16, 2021.
9. “Admen were the rock stars of that era”: Alex Witchel, “Mad Men Has Its Moment,” New York Times Magazine, June 22, 2008, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/magazine/22madmen-t.html.
10. “what we were doing”: Bruce Handy, “Don and Betty’s Paradise Lost,” Vanity Fair, September 2009, https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2009/9/don-and-bettys-paradise-lost.
11. “Rob Sorcher called”: Kevin Beggs, in discussion with the author, June 8, 2021.
12. “It was probably one of the stupidest”: Christina Wayne, in discussion with the author, January 14, 2020.
13. “They were morons”: Ibid.
14. “the little kid who got bullied”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
15. “I do not feel any guilt”: Alex Witchel, “Mad Men Has Its Moment,” New York Times Magazine, June 22, 2008, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/magazine/22madmen-t.html.
16. “Maybe in retrospect”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 15, 2020.
17. “No one cried in my room”: Kyle Buchanan, “Matthew Weiner on Life After Mad Men, Sexual Harassment and His New Amazon Show,” New York Times, October 3, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/arts/television/matthew-weiner-the-romanoffs-mad-men-amazon.html.
18. “Then there was a weird ritual”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 15, 2020.
19. “It was like a parent”: Brett Martin, Difficult Men (New York: Penguin Press, 2013), 255.
20. “Rewriting some or a lot”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 15, 2020.
21. “There are showrunners”: Todd A. Kessler, in discussion with the author, July 13, 2022.
22. “I think he thought it was big of him”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 15, 2020.
23. “When I found out that a guy”: Lacy Rose and Michael O’Connell, “The Uncensored, Epic, Never-Told Story Behind Mad Men,” Hollywood Reporter, March 11, 2015, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mad-men-uncensored-epic-never-780101.
24. “Women in my generation”: Christina Wayne, in discussion with the author, January 14, 2020.
25. “Christina was the most brilliant”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
26. “It was a boys’ club”: Laura Michalchyshin, in discussion with the author, April 4, 2020.
27. “Christina was the smart one”: David Madden, in discussion with the author, December 22, 2022.
28. “It definitely felt like Matt”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 15, 2020.
29. “You people are fucking assholes”: Christina Wayne, in discussion with the author, January 14, 2020.
30. “I don’t think [Don is]”: Dave Itzkoff, “Matthew Weiner Closes the Books on Season 4 of Mad Men,” New York Times, October 17, 2010, https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/matthew-weiner-closes-the-books-on-season-4-of-mad-men.
31. “The more I think and write about Mad Men”: Andrew Cracknell, “Ad Men on Mad Men: What the Show Got Right About the Advertising Business,” Guardian, May 22, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/may/22/ad-men-on-mad-men-what-the-show-got-right-about-the-advertising-business.
32. “There was often drinking”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 17, 2020.
33. “she owed it to him”: Joy Press, “Matthew Weiner in the Mirror,” Vanity Fair, September 30, 2018, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/09/matthew-weiner-romanoffs-in-the-mirror.
34. “Matthew’s abuse of workplace”: Steve Greene, “Mad Men Writer Kater Gordon Reaffirms Claims of Matthew Weiner’s Alleged Workplace Harassment: “My Memory Is Intact,’” IndieWire, October 3, 2018, https://www.indiewire.com/2018/10/kater-gordon-matthew-weiner-harassment-mad-men-1202009240.
35. “I believe Kater Gordon”: Marti Noxon (@martinoxon), “On the subject of Matt Weiner and #MadMen . . . ,” Twitter thread, November 17, 2017, 1:14 p.m., https://twitter.com/martinoxon/status/931586350222061568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E931586350222061568%7Ctwgr%5E5ce241b2cc04f47b52fc03afbc53b6d7a0876365%7Ctwcon%5Es1.
36. “devilishly clever and witty”: Bryn Sandberg, “Marti Noxon Backs Matthew Weiner Harassment Accuser, Calls Him ‘Emotional Terrorist,’” Hollywood Reporter, November 17, 2017.
37. “Taking that action is one thing”: Marti Noxon (@martinoxon), “On the subject of Matt Weiner and #MadMen . . . ,” Twitter thread, November 17, 2017, 1:14 p.m., https://twitter.com/martinoxon/status/931586350222061568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E931586350222061568%7Ctwgr%5E5ce241b2cc04f47b52fc03afbc53b6d7a0876365%7Ctwcon%5Es1.
38. “Kater and I were shocked”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 17, 2020.
39. “There was such a culture”: Ibid.
40. “I never felt that way”: Joy Press, “Matthew Weiner in the Mirror,” Vanity Fair, September 30, 2018, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/09/matthew-weiner-romanoffs-in-the-mirror.
41. “Do I think he’s a difficult person?”: Confidential source, in discussion with the author.
42. “He was giving his acceptance speech”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 15, 2020.
43. “My recollection is that”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
44. “He apparently turned on her”: Marti Noxon, in discussion with the author, September 15, 2020.
45. “difficult genius”: Marti Noxon with Kater Gordon, “Marti Noxon: How the TV Industry Can Better Protect Writers from the Next Toxic Showrunner (Guest Column),” Hollywood Reporter, July 29, 2020, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/marti-noxon-how-tv-industry-can-better-protect-writers-next-toxic-showrunner-guest-column-1304789.
46. “I’m sad that I might have caused”: Kyle Buchanan, “Matthew Weiner on Life After Mad Men, Sexual Harassment and His New Amazon Show,” New York Times, October 3, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/arts/television/matthew-weiner-the-romanoffs-mad-men-amazon.html.
47. “FX quickly came under fire”: Lesley Goldberg, “Matthew Weiner Dramedy Scrapped at FX (Exclusive),” Hollywood Reporter, February 17, 2022, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/matthew-weiner-dramedy-scrapped-fx-4057053.
48. “I just felt I’d never read”: Mark Johnson, in discussion with the author, April 5, 2020.
49. “You say, ‘I don’t like what he’s doing’”: Alan Sepinwall, “Sepinwall on TV: Bryan Cranston Talks Breaking Bad Season Two,” What’s Alan Watching? (blog), March 6, 2009, http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2009/03/sepinwall-on-tv-bryan-cranston-talks.html.
50. “Sony was going to shut”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
51. “Why don’t you send it”: Melissa Bernstein, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
52. “They were basically like”: Stacey Wilson Hunt and Lacey Rose, “Bleak, Brutal, Brilliant Breaking Bad: Inside the Smash Hit That Almost Never Got Made,” Hollywood Reporter, July 11, 2012, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/breaking-bad-vince-gilligan-bryan-cranston-347082.
53. “Breaking Bad was dead”: Emma Dibdin, “‘It Had Never Been Done on Television Before’: The Oral History of Breaking Bad,” Esquire, January 16, 2018, https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a15063971/breaking-bad-cast-interview.
54. “We could be licensing more John Wayne”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
55. “Actors are going to want”: Brett Martin, “The Last Stand of Walter White,” GQ, July 15, 2013, https://www.gq.com/story/bryan-cranston-walter-white-breaking-bad-season-6.
56. “All you have to do”: Jessica Pressler, “Cranston Comes Alive,” Esquire, November 1, 2017, https://classic.esquire.com/article/2017/11/1/cranston-comes-alive.
57. “When I said that you have a green light”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
58. “When I realized that the company”: Rob Sorcher, in discussion with the author, February 19, 2020.
59. “This is Breaking Bad”: Dan Snierson, “‘Breaking Bad’: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Vince Gilligan reveal season 5 details,” Entertainment Weekly, July 13, 2012, https://ew.com/article/2012/07/13/breaking-bad-bryan-cranston-aaron-paul-season-5.
60. “I’ve lost sympathy for Walter White”: Scott Bowles, “Breaking Bad Shows Man at His Worst in Season 4,” originally published in USA Today, July 27, 2011, Scott Bowles (website), https://www.scottbowles.org/breaking-bad-season-4.
61. “Anna Gunn got a lot of hate mail”: Robin Weigert, in discussion with the author, July 19, 2020.
62. “Thank God for basic cable”: Stephen King, “Stephen King: Why I love Breaking Bad,” Entertainment Weekly, March 6, 2009, https://ew.com/article/2009/03/06/stephen-king-why-i-love-breaking-bad.
63. “a 10% range”: Reed Hastings, as told to Patrick J. Sauer, “How I Did It: Reed Hastings, Netflix,” Inc., December 1, 2005, https://www.inc.com/magazine/20051201/qa-hastings.html.
64. “We are to cable networks”: Ken Auletta, “Outside the Box,” New Yorker, January 26, 2014, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/03/outside-the-box-2.
65. “dumbest deals ever”: Tim Arango, “Time Warner Views Netflix as a Fading Star,” New York Times, December 12, 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/business/media/13bewkes.html.
66. “More shows, more watching”: Josef Adalian, “Inside the Binge Factory,” Vulture, June 13, 2018, https://www.vulture.com/2018/06/how-netflix-swallowed-tv-industry.html.
67. “Netflix may end up being”: Steven Soderbergh, in discussion with the author, April 4, 2023.
68. “A wise investor once remarked”: Josef Adalian, “Inside the Binge Factory,” Vulture, June 13, 2018, https://www.vulture.com/2018/06/how-netflix-swallowed-tv-industry.html.
69. “Studio executives [thought Netflix]”: David Zaslav, in discussion with the author, January 25, 2022.
70. “Everyone was scratching their heads”: Bob Greenblatt, in discussion with the author, June 22, 2021.
71. “saved our bacon”: Greg Braxton, “Breaking Bad Cast and Fans Dread Saying Goodbye,” Cape Cod Times, August 11, 2013, https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/entertainment/television/2013/08/11/breaking-bad-cast-fans/44371463007.
72. “AMC was making”: Christina Wayne, in discussion with the author, January 14, 2020.
73. “‘Do you think we should close’”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
74. “AMC may have had”: Kim Masters, “The Walking Dead: What Really Happened to Fired Showrunner Frank Darabont,” Hollywood Reporter, August 10, 2011, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/walking-dead-what-happened-fired-221449.
75. “Can you believe they haven’t”: Vlad Wolynetz, in discussion with the author, January 21, 2020.
76. “Josh Sapan stands to make”: Ibid. These are Wolynetz’s words, not a direct quote from the Journal.
77. “He became this autonomous island”: Ibid.
78. “Every time I’ve been low”: Ibid.
Chapter 7: Showtime’s Bad-Good Girls
1. “sucking hind tit forever”: Michael Fuchs, in discussion with the author, January 17, 2012.
2. “I never really considered”: Bob Greenblatt, in discussion with the author, July 15, 2021.
3. “I wanted to model Showtime”: Bob Greenblatt, in discussion with the author, June 22, 2021.
4. “Science fiction back in the early ’90s”: Bob Greenblatt, in discussion with the author, July 15, 2021.
5. “Showtime had cultivated”: Michael Jensen, “Interview: Robert Greenblatt Says His Being First Gay Broadcast TV President Is No Big Deal. We Beg to Differ!” LogoTV, April 7, 2011, https://www.logotv.com/news/ybfup9/interview-robert-greenblatt-says-his-being-first-gay-broadcast-tv-president-is-no-big-deal-we-beg-to-differ.
6. “I also decided to develop”: Bob Greenblatt, in discussion with the author, July 15, 2021.
7. “Why should you feel sorry”: Lacey Rose, “Orange Showrunner Jenji Kohan on Hollywood’s Pay Inequality, ‘F— You’ Money and Her Friends Regrets,” Hollywood Reporter, August 6, 2014, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/orange-is-new-black-showrunner-723403.
8. “white devil Jew bitch”: Emily Nussbaum, “Jenji Kohan’s Hot Provocations,” New Yorker, August 28, 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/04/jenji-kohans-hot-provocations.
9. “I have this deep-rooted”: Lacey Rose, “Orange Showrunner Jenji Kohan on Hollywood’s Pay Inequality, ‘F—You’ Money and Her Friends Regrets,” Hollywood Reporter, August 6, 2014, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/orange-is-new-black-showrunner-723403.
10. “It’s always about talent”: Paul Hond, “The Revenge of Jenji Kohan,” Columbia Magazine, Summer 2016, https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/revenge-jenji-kohan.
11. “I would never want anyone”: Debra Eckerling, “The Small Screen: Weeds,” Script, April 7, 2016, https://scriptmag.com/features/small-screen-weeds.
12. “I think likability”: Alison Willmore, “Weeds Creator Jenji Kohan on Her New Netflix Series Orange Is the New Black and Why ‘Likability is Bullsh*t,’” IndieWire, July 8, 2013, https://www.indiewire.com/2013/07/weeds-creator-jenji-kohan-on-her-new-netflix-series-orange-is-the-new-black-and-why-likability-is-bullsht-37081.
13. “I wanted to do an outlaw show”: Garin Pirnia, “10 Facts About Weeds,” Mental Floss, November 8, 2017, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/503233/facts-about-weeds.
14. “Do I fucking know her?”: Emily Nussbaum, “Jenji Kohan’s Hot Provocations,” New Yorker, August 28, 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/04/jenji-kohans-hot-provocations.
15. “I didn’t have the luxury”: Bob Greenblatt, in discussion with the author, June 22, 2021.
16. “Nobody would work at Showtime”: Matthew Belloni, “How to Succeed Amid the Great Streaming Correction,” Puck, June 5, 2022, https://puck.news/how-to-succeed-amid-the-great-streaming-correction.
17. “My suspicion was that Weeds”: Kevin Beggs, in discussion with the author, June 8, 2021.
18. “People generally don’t take to mothers”: Kyle Ryan, “Mary-Louise Parker,” AV Club, June 17, 2009, https://www.avclub.com/mary-louise-parker-1798216811.
19. “‘Weeds’ has grabbed the kind of critical”: Kyle Pope, “For Showtime, Suburban Angst Is Fast Becoming a Ratings Delight,” New York Times, August 6, 2006, https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/arts/television/for-showtime-suburban-angst-is-fast-becoming-a-ratings.html.
20. “I want more fucking, everywhere”: Christina Radish, “Creator Jenji Kohan Talks Orange Is the New Black, Her Research into Prison Life, and Graphic Sex Scenes,” Collider, July 7, 2013, https://collider.com/jenji-kohan-orange-is-the-new-black-interview.
21. “We could show the dildo”: Mikey O’Connell, “Orange Is the New Black’s Jenji Kohan Details Her Frustrating Negotiations to Get Actors Naked,” Hollywood Reporter, April 16, 2014, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/orange-is-new-blacks-jenji-696916.
22. “Executives, especially Bob Greenblatt”: Emily Nussbaum, “Jenji Kohan’s Hot Provocations,” New Yorker, August 28, 2017, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/04/jenji-kohans-hot-provocations.
