Hamm, Jon

Subterms

    Latest story

    125 Shares169 Views

    Jon Hamm Talks Emmy Nominations for ‘Fargo,’ ‘The Morning Show’

    by

    Jon Hamm is back in the Emmy Awards saddle.Nine years after winning his first statuette for his performance as the philandering advertising executive Don Draper in the Madison Avenue drama “Mad Men,” Hamm picked up two more acting nominations on Wednesday, for his performances in “Fargo” and “The Morning Show.”The first, for lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie, was for his villainous turn as Roy Tillman, a power-hungry Christian nationalist sheriff on “Fargo,” FX’s darkly comic anthology crime drama inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers movie. The series, which was created by Noah Hawley, picked up 15 nominations for its fifth season, including best limited series.Hamm also scored a supporting actor in a drama nod for his role as Paul Marks, an Elon Musk-like, space-loving billionaire in Season 3 of “The Morning Show,” Apple TV+’s behind-the-scenes look at a fictional broadcast news program.In an interview shortly after the nominations were announced — on the way to a voice-over session in Lower Manhattan for the animated show “Grimsburg,” in which Hamm, 53, plays a small-town detective — he shared his inspirations for his characters and what he thinks of Netflix’s limited series contender “Baby Reindeer.”These are edited excerpts from the conversation.Congratulations! How did you find out you were nominated?I was walking the dog to go get coffee, and I came back and my phone had quite a few messages.Your characters on “Fargo” and “The Morning Show” both seem to have fairly clear politically charged, real-world analogues — someone like Elon Musk for Paul Marks and any number of blowhard, nationalist politicians for Roy Tillman. To what extent did you base your performances on real people?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in Television

      ‘Fargo’ Goes Back to the Basics in Its New Season

      by

      The new season of FX’s Coenverse crime drama goes back to the basics. Here is a look at the various chapters that came before it.The Emmy-winning FX limited series “Fargo” returns Tuesday with a new season, its fifth, that stars Juno Temple and Jon Hamm and goes back to the basics: Minnesota cops, North Dakota bad guys and plenty of snow-covered landscapes.Created by Noah Hawley in 2014, “Fargo” is named after the Oscar-winning ’90s film by Joel and Ethan Coen and often repeats that film’s character archetypes: kind but determined police officers that echo Frances McDormand’s Marge Gunderson; greedy, conniving husbands like William H. Macy’s Jerry Lundegaard; and bumbling bad guys à la those played in the original film by Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare. But the series takes as its inspiration the whole of the Coenverse, referencing and remixing characters, themes and aesthetics from films like “Raising Arizona,” “Miller’s Crossing” and “No Country for Old Men” — as well as “Fargo,” of course — in original stories the tend to center on the evil deeds of stupid men.It has been three years since the last season of “Fargo.” With the new one about to premiere and the other four available on Hulu, here is a look at the who, what, where and you betcha of “Fargo,” season by season.Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for an Emmy for his role in the first season of “Fargo.”Chris Large/FX, via Associated PressSeason 1(April–June 2014)“Your problem is you spent your whole life thinking there are rules. There aren’t.” — Lorne MalvoSet in 2006, Season 1 shifts the Jerry character into the form of Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman), an insurance salesman who crosses paths with a sociopathic hit man named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), shades of Javier Bardem’s terrifying Anton Chigurh in “No Country for Old Men.”After Lester kills his wife and Lorne helps cover it up, Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) of the Bemidji, Minn., police department, investigates the increasingly violent case, assisted by the wonderfully named officer Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) of Duluth. All four of the lead actors received Emmy nominations and “Fargo” won best limited series, the only season so far to do so.Bokeem Woodbine, right, was part of an impressive cast in the second season (with Brad Mann).Chris Large/FXSeason 2(October–December 2015)“And isn’t that a minor miracle? State of the world today and the level of conflict and misunderstanding. That two men could stand on a lonely road in winter and talk. Calmly and rationally. While all around them, people are losing their minds.” — Mike MilliganThe second season of “Fargo” was more ambitious than the first, moving the action back to 1979 and expanding the scope of the show. With shots that echo “No Country for Old Men” and “Barton Fink,” and even an alien subplot that recalls “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” this season uses the entire Coen filmography as a sandbox while maintaining a centerpiece that is still very “Fargo.”The protagonists are again ordinary people caught in a violent world when Peggy (Kirsten Dunst) and Ed Blumquist (Jesse Plemons) cover up her hit-and-run accident. The problem is the guy Peggy hit is the son of Floyd Gerhardt (Jean Smart), the new head of a North Dakota crime family in a battle of wills with a Kansas City crime syndicate looking to expand their reach. (The role helped to return Smart to prominence.) Patrick Wilson plays Lou Solverson, the Minnesota state trooper who stumbles into all of it, assisted by his father-in-law, Sheriff Hank Larsson (Ted Danson).Bokeem Woodbine, who plays the Kansas City enforcer Mike Milligan, leads an exceptional supporting cast that also includes Cristin Milioti, Brad Garrett, Jeffrey Donovan, Rachel Keller, Angus Sampson, Nick Offerman and Zahn McClarnon. The second season of “Fargo” received 18 Emmy nominations.Ewan McGregor, left, played twin brothers in the third season. With Michael Stuhlbarg, center, and David Thewlis.Chris Large/FXSeason 3(April–June 2017)“The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?” — V.M. VargaIs it still “Fargo” if none of it takes place in North Dakota? The third season moves the action to 2010-11 and takes place entirely in Minnesota. The protagonist lawman this time is the wonderful Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon), who gets caught in a battle between twin brothers Ray and Emmit Stussy, both played by Ewan McGregor.When Ray, a probation officer, collaborates with his girlfriend, Nikki (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), to steal a rare postage stamp from his brother, mistaken identity leads to a bystander getting murdered. Emmit, powerful businessman, has his own problems as he tries to escape from a mysterious stranger named V.M. Varga (David Thewlis). Michael Stuhlbarg, Shea Whigham, Hamish Linklater, and Scoot McNairy co-star.Tommaso Ragno, left, and Chris Rock played rival crime bosses in the fourth season, which moved the action to Kansas City.Elizabeth Morris/FXSeason 4(September–November 2020)“You know why America loves a crime story? Because America IS a crime story” — Josto FaddaThe most ambitious season of “Fargo” also arguably feels the least like the others, moving south all the way to Kansas City and unfolding in 1950-51. More interested in the structures that allow for abuses of power, it serves as a kind of origin story for the crime syndicates seen in previous seasons. But it is also a commentary on race, privilege and the kind of criminal operations that destroy basic decency.Chris Rock stars as Loy Cannon, a new crime boss who goes to war with Kansas City’s Italian mafia. Jessie Buckley gives one of the season’s strongest performances as Oraetta Mayflower, a nurse who commits a murder that sets fire to the entire turf war unfolding between the two syndicates. Jason Schwartzman also stands out as Josto Fadda, the heir to the Italian crime family, and other co-stars include Ben Whishaw, Jack Huston, Andrew Bird, Glynn Turman and Emyri Crutchfield.In the new season, Juno Temple, left, plays a crafty housewife and Jennifer Jason Leigh plays her mother-in-law.Michelle Faye/FX, via Associated PressSeason 5(November 2023–January 2024)“With all due respect, we’ve got our own reality.” — Danish GravesThe 10-episode new season of “Fargo” returns to the show’s roots, both physically and narratively. The premiere includes more direct references to the film than any other episode in the show’s history, including masked intruders attempting a home invasion, a criminal with a giant face wound and even a cop who speaks of a “beautiful day.”With this season, Hawley inverts the victim role of the film, making Temple’s endangered housewife, Dot, someone who is capable of fending for herself. Hamm plays against type as a vicious sheriff with a grudge. Jennifer Jason Leigh, who starred in the Coens’ “The Hudsucker Proxy,” is all cruel calculation as Dot’s wealthy mother-in-law, Lorraine Lyon, and Dave Foley plays the family’s lawyer and fixer, Danish Graves. Lamorne Morris and Richa Moorjani team up as investigating officers who get stuck in the violent middle. More

    • 63 Shares159 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Maggie Moore(s)’ Review: Body Trouble

      by

      Tina Fey and Jon Hamm fail to invigorate this listless murder mystery about two victims who shared the same name.“Some of this actually happened,” we are advised at the beginning of John Slattery’s second feature, “Maggie Moore(s).” At least it’s a variation on the groaningly familiar “based on a true story,” even if both claims are equally meaningless.Degree of truth aside, this comedy-thriller succeeds as neither. Top-heavy with big names (Tina Fey, Jon Hamm) and set in a nondescript small town populated primarily by sad sacks and losers, the movie struggles to get out of second gear. A terrified woman flees a hulking hit man, her body later discovered by a police chief named Sanders (a hammy Hamm) and his pragmatic deputy (Nick Mohammed). Days earlier, another woman had been found, burned to a crisp in her car. Two murdered women, two sketchy spouses, one shared name: Maggie Moore.Suspicions aroused, Sanders begins a desultory investigation. Distracted by the recent death of his wife — whose loss he medicates by reading his sappy scribblings aloud to a rapt writing group — Sanders seems drained and becalmed. Any plot momentum, then, is due solely to Micah Stock and Christopher Denham’s heroic efforts as the weaselly husbands of the murdered Maggies, though their comedic vigor is undercut by the sheer bleakness of Paul Bernbaum’s script. Desperately unhappy people are rarely a laugh a minute.Or, for that matter, convincing lovers. So when Sanders sidles into a relationship with Rita (Fey), a chatty casino employee, their scenes are never believable as anything other than Hamm and Fey doing a particularly boring bit.“I’m trying to be a little more spontaneous these days,” Sanders confesses to Rita at one point. “I hear the ladies really like that.”With dialogue this dreadful, even Jon Hamm would struggle to score.Maggie Moore(s)Rated R for inappropriate language, unsavory behavior and unconvincing sex. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters. More

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Movies

      ‘S.N.L.’ Season Premiere Weighs in on Its Own Trump Sketch

      by

      The show kicked off its 48th year with a cold open that was also a commentary on the expectations it faces after big cast changes.If you have thoughts about the new season of “Saturday Night Live,” rest assured, so too does “Saturday Night Live.”In the first episode of its 48th season, “S.N.L.” went meta in the opening sketch, recruiting the host, Miles Teller, and cast member Andrew Dismukes to play the sibling sports commentators Peyton and Eli Manning as they offered their running criticism on a seemingly standard satire of former President Donald J. Trump.For the sketch-within-a-sketch, James Austin Johnson reprised his recurring role as Trump and Chloe Fineman played an adviser encouraging him not to stay at Mar-a-Lago during Hurricane Ian. “Actually it’s the safest place I’ve been in two years,” Johnson told her. “There’s no lawyers, no F.B.I. I’m in my happy place.”Teller and Dismukes mocked various (scripted) elements of the sketch, like an awkward entrance from new cast member Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner’s impersonation of Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota.“A political impression that no one asked for,” Teller said. “What about a fun impression, like Anthony Fauci or Lindsey Graham or Rudy Giuliani?”Dismukes replied, “Those were all Kate McKinnon.”The absence of several familiar faces was noticeable in this episode, which also featured the musical guest Kendrick Lamar. Eight veteran cast members left “S.N.L.” ahead of this weekend’s broadcast, starting with McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney, who all made their exit plans known before last May’s season finale. The departures of Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari were announced at the start of September, and Chris Redd left later that month.Lorne Michaels, the “S.N.L.” creator and executive producer, hired four new featured performers over the summer and has said this new season would be “a year of reinvention.”As he told The New York Times in an interview last month, “We got to a point where we had a lot of people, and people weren’t getting enough playing time. The way the series has survived is by that level of renewal.”The opening sketch went on to poke fun at these expectations, as when Bowen Yang appeared as President Xi Jinping of China and (deliberately) mispronounced the word “corgis.”“It’s a surprising fumble from the veteran Yang,” Dismukes said. “He was supposed to take a step up this year, but you can tell the pressure is getting to him.”The sketch continued to pile up with cameos, including appearances from new cast member Devon Walker (as the viral celebrity Corn Kid) and snowboarder Shaun White.Meanwhile, Jon Hamm, the “Mad Men” alumnus and veteran “S.N.L.” host, joined Teller and Dismukes in their dismay over the segment.Responding to White’s appearance, Teller said, “That is just gratuitous stunt casting.”With an eye toward Teller, Hamm replied, “Sometimes they need to bring in a real celebrity when the host isn’t that famous.”Teller tried to rebut him: “Well, I heard they rarely put the host in cold opens, so when they do, it is special,” he said.Hamm replied, “Special or is it desperate?”Game Show Parody of the WeekHow much of a rebuilding year can it really be at “S.N.L.” if the show is still relying on the tried-and-true staple of the game show parody? Well, how’s this for a changeup: this time, Kenan Thompson played a contestant and not the host! Instead, the spoof — called “Send Something Normal” — was hosted by Teller, who offered the participants $100 million if they could provide a normal reply to a woman’s DM on Instagram. No easy feat when the panelists include Adam Levine (Mikey Day), Armie Hammer (Johnson) and Neil deGrasse Tyson (Thompson). The returning champion, Bowen Yang playing himself, explained the secret to his success at the game: “Being gay,” he said.Internet Education of the WeekThis filmed segment, in which Teller and Day play bank robbers whose heist goes awry, is not just a clever commentary on the popular photo-sharing platform BeReal — it’s also a helpful explanation of the site to anyone who hadn’t actually heard of it before. (Not us, of course.) As the inept criminals learn, the app sends users a notification once a day, at a random time, to post a picture of themselves. (“Oh, so there’s no posturing and it’s not status-oriented,” an understanding Teller says.) The catch is that neither the thieves nor their hostages can resist when a BeReal alert goes off during the crime in progress. Great, now who can help us make sense of cryptocurrency?Weekend Update Jokes of the WeekOver at the Weekend Update desk, the anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che riffed on a belligerent speech from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and a widely discussed gaffe by President Biden.Jost began:“In a speech after annexing sections of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin attacked the U.S. for Satanism and denounced the many genders in fashion in the West. It was a hateful unhinged speech which has many Americans calling him electable.”Che continued:“The Kremlin celebrated the illegal annexation of Ukraine with a night of entertainment in Red Square. Say what you will but a gig’s a gig.” [His screen showed a photo of Che standing in Red Square.]Jost also joked:At a White House event, President Biden asked if Representative Jackie Walorski was in the audience, asking, “Where’s Jackie?,” apparently forgetting she died last month. Worse, he keeps forgetting that this woman is still alive. [His screen showed a photo of Vice President Kamala Harris.]Weekend Update Desk-Side Segment of the WeekProlific “S.N.L.” impressionists Johnson and Thompson joined forces for this bit about Mitch McConnell (Johnson), the Republican Senate minority leader, and Herschel Walker (Thompson), the Republican candidate for Senate in Georgia. Thompson offered awkward defenses of past remarks that Walker has made, like his claim that “when China gets our good air, their bad air got to move.” By way of explanation, Thompson said, “We all know air, right? Air Bud. Air Jordan. Air-n Brockovich. You see, science don’t understand.” Johnson, as McConnell, read from a list of policy proposals Thompson gave him that included “Barbecue Tuesday”; “Let’s get a daytime moon — that way, no more rain”; and “Create a Department of Instagram Booty.”New Cast Member of the WeekThough he was taunted in the opening sketch, new hire Michael Longfellow made a strong showing in this Weekend Update segment in which he riffed on having different political views from his family in Arizona. Longfellow joked, “You shouldn’t cut anti-vax people out of your life. They could be dead tomorrow. Spend time with them. Call them. Get in the will.” He also said that when he learned his father was voting for Trump, “I sat him down and I told him, hey, if you keep going down this path, I might have to pay for my own car insurance next year. Then he told me how much it was and I said, well, I didn’t know that when I said that, so, I’m sorry.” More

    • 88 Shares99 Views

      in Movies

      ‘Confess, Fletch’ Review: Solving a Crime, Eventually

      by

      Jon Hamm bops along amiably enough as the carefree, wiseacre detective once played by Chevy Chase.Insouciance goes a fairly long way in “Confess, Fletch,” which revives the wiseacre investigator once played by Chevy Chase and featured in a series of novels by Gregory Mcdonald. Now Jon Hamm bops along as Irwin Fletcher (a.k.a. Fletch), living the life of Riley and explaining to strangers that he once was a great reporter. Tapping into a minor vogue in murder mysteries, Greg Mottola’s relaxed-fit film follows Fletch after he discovers a dead woman in the art-filled Boston house where he’s staying.Fletch blithely feeds tips to the police detective (Roy Wood Jr.) on the scene, ignoring the fact that he’s under suspicion himself. At the same time, his Italian girlfriend, Angela (Lorenza Izzo), suspects her stepmother of angling for her family’s art since the disappearance of her father. So Fletch noses around, questioning a high-rolling art dealer (Kyle MacLachlan) who loves EDM, a gabby neighbor (Annie Mumolo, more or less channeling Janice Soprano), and Angela’s chaotic stepmother (Marcia Gay Harden, having a ball).If any of that elicits a “heh,” you might warm to Mottola’s ambling brand of comedy, which also casts a faintly absurd light on the yacht-friendly Boston milieu. Yet a haplessness clings to Hamm that tends to take the air out of his character’s shenanigans.All of which makes one appreciate master practitioners of the unhurried detective genre like Peter Falk or James Garner. But getting peeved at Mottola and Hamm’s easygoing efforts would be like getting mad at a cat for sleeping too much.Confess, FletchRated R for sex, some drugs and gumshoe mischief. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More