Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Lionsgate Looking To Replace Matthew Weiner On Mad Men



(image via daylife)

Nikki Finke of DeadlineHollywoodDaily has an incredible exclusive in that Lionsgate is looking for a Matt Weiner replacement at "Mad Men." Apparently "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin is one of the names being mentioned.

How can you replace Matt Weiner? Not since David Chase has the vision of the creator been such an integral part of the show's patina. At the end of the second season, with an incredible season's finale under his belt, it would be a perfect time to ask for the world from Lionsgate. One would think. But then again, this is AMCTV. From DeadlineHollywoodDaily:

It takes a lot to shock me when it comes to Hollywood business. But this is lunacy. Lionsgate execs are calling Hollywood agencies looking for a showrunner to replace Matthew Weiner, the brilliant creator of Mad Men. The reason is that they think Weiner's agents at CAA are asking for too much money for him. I hear CAA wants a multi-year deal that pays Weiner $10 million a year. Plus he wants control over promotion and advertising. Now that's consistent with a big hit on pay cable and what Darren Star or David Chase made on HBO. But it's way, way rich for a Lionsgate show on AMC, and execs are telling CAA it can't pay that. "The 'ask' was insanity," one insider tells me. "It's preposterous. AMC is a basic cable network. The economics don't support this. It's why Lionsgate is throwing their arms up in the air. And, remember, they got a two-year pickup for the show with or without Matt Weiner."


The full, incredible story here.

And more Corsair here.

No comments: