Matthew McConaughey Archives - Media Guy Struggles

Liam Neeson = Big Ad Man

The Media Guy — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 13:41:00 +0000

According to the Nielsen company, all of us ad executives looking for a celebrity to endorse our client’s products won’t do better than Taken and Schindler List star Liam Neeson.

Nielsen concluded that after looking at celebrities who recently made commercials and ranked then them with a formula that calculates likability, influence, public awareness, and other factors. Then the first “N-Scores” were released and Pierce Brosnan had identical scores of 94, although Neeson was judged to have a greater influence in getting products sold.

By analyzing the effectiveness of celebrity pitchmen, Nielsen — best known for television ratings — will now compete with Marketing Evaluations Inc., a company that produces the better-known Q Score, a measurement of public attitudes toward well-known figures.

Besides attaching this metric to celebrity endorsers, Nielsen intends to offer us Media Guys (and Gals) detailed information about the personalities and habits of people who respond well to each celebrity, “so they can better match product with pitchmen,” says Nielsen’s managing director of media analytics Chad Dreas.

“What do they buy? Where do they shop? What do they watch?” said Dreas, describing the details Nielsen intends to sell.

Neeson, who has been featured in an ad for Supercell Games, is viewed positively by 85 per cent of Americans who know him, Nielsen said. Matthew McConaughey and Brosnan, both featured in car commercials, also scored well in Nielsens’ measurement. Jeff Bridges stood out among celebrities for the amount of influence he carries with his fans.

Other celebs that scored well in Nielsen’s measurement were Jennifer Garner, Sofia Vergara, Jim Parsons, Dennis Haysbert, Natalie Portman, and J.K. Simmons.

My question is Liam, will you help a Media Guy out with a spec commercial I am putting together for the new Las Vegas Hockey Club? Ring me!

In the meantime, check out some of Liam’s work:

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Backstage at the Oscars: 2014

The Media Guy — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 07:28:00 +0000

Awards Season is over and yet my dreams have only been elevated. My drive accelerated. A few minutes after the Academy Award telecast had ended, I whipped off an email to my agent begging him:

The Media Guy at the Oscars.

“I know I bore you with this…but I have to win an Oscar…Once you told me that the best clients you have are the ones that want to make the money and win awards. No drama. Nothing else. PLEASE. Make it happen from the business side. Draw me a map and I’ll follow it.”

His reply?: “I will.”

Here’s to dreaming.

My annual Media Guy column on the Oscars has become a tradition and easily the one that gets the most requests. I am fortunate enough to have been be part of this event for the last three years. One day I hope to walk the red carpet instead of working it.

Again, here’s to dreaming.

Before we go backstage, let’s revisit Flubgate. You know
Flubgate. That fabulous second-and-a-half where John Travolta now infamously
introduced Idina Menzel (Ih-deen-ah Men-zelle) as Adele Dazeem. Whoops!

I will admit that even after seeing the amazing Disney
move “Frozen” that her name was a mystery to me. But Travolta took
the science of mangling a name to unknown heights, er, depths. So much so that there is an online app where you type in any name and “Travoltifies” it for you. Travolta’s PR machine
has gone into retreat mode with his publicist releasing a cutsie-canned
statement musing on what would Menzel say (WWMS): “She’d say, ‘Let it go, let it
go!”–an obvious salute to her Oscar-winning song.

Surely Menzel must have been a bit irritated that her
name was butchered in front of a billion people who barely knew her anyway
right? Apparently, in true McDonald’s style, she’s lovin’ it! In the last few
days alone, David Letterman themed a Top 10 list to her, her Twitter followers
have surged to over to a half million, she earned a coveted spot on the “The
Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and sales to her new Broadway show are hot,
hot, hot.

All this proves one time-honored truth: There is no such
thing as bad publicity. And now one with the show.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s The
Media Guy’s journey and perspective backstage at the 86th Academy Awards® with
five pictures and about 1,500 words including interview excerpts and intimate
insights.

Jennifer Lawrences laughs with McConaughey about her tripping episodes.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Lead Actor

Q. What does it feel to have your first one [Oscar] with
your first nomination right now with you?

A. Feels… I’m not going to say surreal. I did not
expect it. But it’s the end ‑‑ it’s a bit
of the end of a journey with this film that I mean, the script that came across
my desk four years ago. And also, my
wife and I were talking about it this morning when we woke up, not
knowing what would happen tonight, saying, hey, whatever happens tonight, four
years ago, I decided to go to work doing four films a year. That was easy for
me to do. She came with the kids, followed me everywhere, and we went, and it
was harder for her than it was for me.

And now, the ultimate light, the gold standard of the
light of excellence is shined on it [“Dallas Buyers Club”], not just
in my performance, but we had a couple of other things tonight. We had six nominations. Jared won, the makeup and hair won with a
$250 budget. Oh, they were stealing
charcoal and stuff to do our makeup.
That’s extra rewarding for me because I was a part of that team that was
pushing this thing, trying to push the thing over the hill that nobody wanted
to make.

And I’m standing here now. It’s something that I got to ‑‑ I got a prize for excellence for the
work I do in something that’s not my job, it’s not my hobby and it’s not my
fad; it’s my career. That feels wonderful.

Leto with 2013 Oscar winner Anne Hathaway

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:

Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Q. Jared, your collaborators in makeup and hairstyling
have just won one of those statues. Can you talk about your collaboration with
them in this performance?

A. Well, you know, they had a budget of $250. I’m not
joking. That’s the truth. And they worked the hardest out of anyone on the
entire set. Makeup, hair, they’re always the first to set in the morning. I
don’t know if you guys probably know this. They show up at the crack‑ass of dawn, and they leave at the crack‑ass of dawn. They’re there all the time
and they were tireless, tireless workers. And essential to the building of
these characters and performances. Thank you.

Q. I wanted to ask you, you talked about the dreamers.
You took time to talk about dreamers and people who have felt they were
subjected to injustices.

A. Yes.

Q. Why did you want to take moments to express your
thoughts to these people on this occasion?

A. That’s a great question. Number one, because it’s
important to me. Number two, because I think it’s appropriate to the material,
to the story, to the film. And number three, because you have an opportunity
when you stand on this stage. You can make it about yourself or you can hold up
a mirror and shine a light, and that’s what I chose to do tonight. I mean,
because of Thirty Seconds to Mars, because I’m in a band, how many people are
here from outside of the ‑‑ of the USA?
Quite a few of you. Okay. Good. I’m at home then. But I feel at home all
over the world. And you know, for me, these global issues impact us in a really
direct way.

Let me give you an example. We have a show in the Ukraine
in a couple of weeks. We have a show in Thailand in a few weeks. We had a show
in Venezuela in the works. So, these things, social unrest, you know, social
issues like this affect us in a really immediate way. So, I felt on behalf of
the people that I interact with on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook, and my
own interests as, you know, a global ‑‑ being a person in a global band, it was important to address
those things. Thank you.

Blanchett was ever prideful the Aussie Talent.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH

Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Q. You said you were determined to figure out a way to
have fun in this process. Could you
possibly have fun on a day like today that meant so much, worrying about rain
and worrying about Academy Awards?

A. Oh, this city needs rain so badly. I mean, you know, it’s a little slight
inconvenience when you’re wearing a dress, but it’s so good for the
reservoir. So, no, I didn’t worry about
that. And I had the most phenomenal
massage this morning.

Q. What are your hopes in continuing to challenge
yourself in acting?

A. Maybe it’s time to stop. Look it’s ‑‑ roles like this don’t come along very often, and as I think I
said, or I hope I said, or I imagined I said, that it was a real synthesis for
me of the long, deep connection I’ve had with the theatre. And the kind of often sort of intangible connection
I’ve had to film. And I think Woody
Allen and the script that he wrote provided me that forum to kind of make that
synthesis happen. You know, someone who
is ‑‑ had a very fragmented sense of
self. I mean, I don’t think I could have
approached that in as bold a way as perhaps I did risking for a year as
I did without having worked with the folks at the Sydney Theatre Company as
intensively as I have.

Is that enough?
Surely there’s someone else that you can feed on.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH

Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years A Slave”

Best Supporting Actress in a Leading Role

Q. Maya Angelou says that we are more alike than we are
different. And you have been the it girl
on this entire award season journey and have met a whole lot of people. So my question is: What on this journey that you’ve been on, are
you going to take and understand about the human spirit?

A. Hmm. That’s a
tough one. Oh, that’s tough. But I ‑‑ I don’t know whether I can answer that question. What I will say is that what I have learned
for myself is that I don’t have to be anybody else; and that myself is
good enough; and that when I am being true to that self, then I can do ‑‑ I can avail myself to extraordinary
things such as this, you know, that I didn’t ‑‑ if ‑‑ that I
didn’t think was necessarily possible; but I ‑‑ I didn’t cancel it out of my realm of ‑‑ of ‑‑ of
possibility, and I think that’s the thing.
You have to allow for the impossible to be possible.

Q. You’ve been known for your incredible acting and your
fashion on the red carpet, but you’ve also been really known for your poised
attitude. You’re very humble. What has led you to become this way and will
continue to be such a humble lady in this industry?

A. I think credit must be given to my parents. I have phenomenal parents. My father is famous in his own right, has
done amazing things for our country, Kenya, and my mother, too. She’s a trailblazer. She’s ‑‑ she’s a pioneer. And to watch
those two people do so much and mean so much to everyone but not ‑‑ it doesn’t ‑‑ but at the end of the day still
have the humility to serve, I think ‑‑ I think their example because at the end of the day I ‑‑ I just feel it is my deeds that are more
important than my ‑‑ than my fame
or ‑‑ you know? Yeah.
I ‑‑ yeah.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH

Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”

Best Directing

Q. The first time that you were on stage tonight, you
didn’t give any speech. Were you risking
some uncomfortable conversations if you didn’t get back on stage a second time
to thank your family and everybody else or were you confident that you would
have another chance?

A. No. I mean, you
don’t think so much about the other chance because when you’re so used to lose,
you don’t think you’re going to have another break. But it was good that a lot of great people
that were around that make this film happen, particularly from the editorial
standpoint, were acknowledged. Part of
the editorial thing, that yes, I said it before that I think is very important
is that we are serving performances, and I don’t think that enough was said
about Sandra’s performance.

Q. You’ve got an Oscar in each hand. How does that feel?

A. Balanced.
Heavy. No, it’s fantastic. Look, what is fantastic of this evening is
that this has been a very long process.
And, as I said in the speech, yes, it has been a very transformative
process for a lot of folks involved in the film. And this just marks a closure, and I’m so
grateful for ‑‑ I’m grateful with GRAVITY and these and
the fact that some other members of the artistic team that made this film
happen were celebrated. It’s a joy.

——–

Past Oscars Columns:
2013 – Backstage at the Oscars: 2013
2012 – Backstage at the Oscars

The post Backstage at the Oscars: 2014 appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

OSCAR WEEK 2014: Magically Wet

The Media Guy — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 05:42:00 +0000

Mother Nature must be mad at the Oscars.

Perhaps her invitation came late. Or not at all.

From the looks of it, she got impatient and decided to
crash the party. And such, rain crushed Hollywood over the past few days.

So there I was, searching the red carpet for stories,
rain pelting me and my Canon as Japanese starlets and Latin American television
anchors tried in vain to get their pre-Oscars segments filmed before deadline.
Then the skies opened up and buckets of water cascades from almost nowhere.

And when the water rushed over my Ferragamos, I had to
runaway from the tarped red carpet. Winding my way through the labyrinth of
photographers, cameramen and security, I magically wound up smack dab in the
middle of Oscars rehearsals. That badge I dutifully wore around my neck all
week was my Willy Wonka Golden Ticket to see the stars walk through their lines.

Wouldn’t you know it? The star of the rehearsal was
Angelina Jolie’s leg. You remember that leg, don’t you? During the 2012 Oscars,
she stuck her lovely appendage through the long slit in her gown during the
show and the leg became the instant sensation. To commemorate it all a tribute
song hit the charts and a Twitter account (@AngiesRightLeg) caught fire. Now
it’s right back

where it belongs: on stage.

As she wrapped her part of the rehearsal, she broadcasted
with a laugh, “And then I go like this.”

She then teasingly thrust her leg forward.

The fan in me marveled at her statuesque look and minimalistic
style…gray sweatshirt, black leggings and a pair of pumps. The Media Guy in my wondered how I could get her to read my script. I settled for marveling.

Amy Adams, who is pulling double duty as presenter and best actress (American Hustle) nominee arrived at the Dolby Theatre in rain boots, which, as a true red-carpet-ready veteran, she instantly traded for sky-high silver stilettos. She lovingly bemoaned, “I am never going to be off camera,” Adams
said. “I am really going to have to behave.”

Dallas Buyers Club Best Actor nominee Matthew McConaughey promised more cutting edge formal wear vowing that his primary color selection is “going to be hot pink.”

So what about this rain? In my Fox News Entertainment
article that just posted a little while ago, I basically said, “The Show Will
Go On…”

Despite a freak winter rain storm causing flooding and
power outages throughout LA County, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
organizers anticipate no disruption for the 86th Oscars in Hollywood despite
most forecasts calling for more showers.

“We’ve been monitoring weather patterns for weeks,” AMPAS
communications chief Teni Melidonian said. “We have this covered literally and
figuratively.”

To ensure that Jennifer Lawrence and other nominees reach
the front door of the Dolby Theatre without getting wet, the Academy has
unleashed an army of workers to cover the exposed red carpet.

The only area that will be exposed Sunday is on the
street where the limos will be dropping off their precious cargo. The plan is
to have dozens of Academy staffers on hand with umbrellas to provide the needed
cover.

“We would prefer viewers at home to see sunshine, but
otherwise nothing will be different for the red carpet show than any other
year,” Melidonian said.

The red carpet for the Academy Awards was covered in very unglamourous plastic.

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OSCAR WEEK 2014: Dreaming in Gold

The Media Guy — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:43:00 +0000

Once upon a time, a boy dreamed of winning an Oscar. He wrote and
wrote and wrote. Fingers numb and calloused as he searched for the perfect
combination of words that created the scenes that would ultimately build a
story that could be made into movie that would move the soul.

This movie would
go on to limp through the box office race, yet be critically acclaimed and
eventually get a big publicity push and receive an Academy Award nomination for
best screenplay.

Eventually, a majority of the Academy voters—comprised mostly of Caucasians
(94%) and males (77%)—would select the little script and the boy’s name would engraved in the envelope called during the live ABC telecast from the
Dolby Theater.

Yes, a Media Guy can dream. As a matter of fact, dreaming on the red carpet would make an excellent ad campaign for the show one year. After all, we all dream in gold, right?

And dream I did as the red carpet was cobbled together at
Hollywood and Highland over the golden stars of the Hollywood Walk of Fame
across from the El Capitan movie theater. In a couple of days the world’s
greatest stars—Leonardo DiCaprio, my one-time golfing buddy Matthew McConaughey, Amy Adams and my future
ex-wife Jennifer Lawrence, among others—will be strutting in their $15,000
Haute Couture and Armani tuxedos.

One thing I know for sure is that the Academy Awards is a dream
for ABC television. Ad rates for the show are up about 10% to a lofty $1.8
million for thirty seconds of ad time. For those of you keeping score, that’s
the second priciest chunk of air time on television. (For those of you living
in a cave deprived of proper media, the Super Bowl is the costliest at the
astronomical rate of $4 million for a 30-second spot.) If you’re choking on the costs, check out this fact: Last year, each commercial was seen by an average of 40+ million
viewers. That’s a whole of lot of exposure.

Oh goodness, forty million viewers! I just got a little more
nervous practicing my would-be acceptance speech that may not happen for another decade or so.

As a started doubting myself, and pondered what I would do if I
didn’t win that beautiful eight-pound statue named after some golden age star
joked it looked like her Uncle Oscar, I was told by a reporter from People
Magazine (or was it US Weekly?) that each nominee gets an $80,00 SWAG
bag.

A peek into the goodies in the SWAG bag.

You know what SWAG is right? SWAG stands for “Stuff We All
Get” (I think). In this case, only the nominees get this level of
stuff—all assembled nicely by the LA-based marketing firm Distinctive Assets.
What kind of stuff you ask?

We start with a $15,000 tour of Japan, vacations to Mexico and
Hawaii, a $9,000 trip to Las Vegas that includes a face-to-face with all or
some of the Boyz II Men, a $2,700 O-shot procedure (what’s that? why, of
course, a vaginal rejuvenation and enhancement…yikes!), his-and-hers Mace guns,
along with various candy maple syrup and artwork.

Time to call my agent because I need that sweet SWAG
bag and get into the Oscars nominations discussion. It’s time to walk
the red carpet instead of work it.

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A Morning with Diane Lane

The Media Guy — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:50:00 +0000

Connor ‘The Highlander’ MacLeod.
George W. Bush.
The Media Guy.

What do these characters have in common? They’ve all had relationships with the ageless Diane Lane. (Yes I know, some more brief than others).

For a woman who was born to October 1957 Playboy centerfold Colleen Farrington, it’s no wonder that Ms. Lane possesses a smoldering provocativeness that perfectly complements her remarkable intricacy as an actress.

If she’s not The-Hottest-Woman-Over-40-in-Hollywood (as my colleagues have suggested), she’s in the running. Her expression is usually that of a lady in waiting; regal, yet playful. She looks into your eyes and welcomes you like a big warm hug. It’s a tie as to which she enjoys more — smiling or laughing. It’s hard to say what interests her, but when you are next to her, you definitely think it’s you.

Because of the fascinating improbability of my job, I find myself in random situations that transcend the normal. I’m no name dropper, but I’ve rubbed elbows with some incredibly famous folk.

I’ve had some “pinch me” moments including a dance with Pia Zadora at a Johnny Rivers concert, chalk talk with Lyle Alzado, tea with Harry Connick Jr. at the St. Regis, chalk-talk with Magic Johnson and multiple “bro” hugs from Matthew McConaughey while chatting about a tidy chip-in from 45 yards out. I’ve also babysat Yasmine Bleeth during a glorious 70’s-throwback weekend in 1997 Las Vegas. (Yes, I think the court records are still suppressed.)

It all makes for fun fodder with the guys and is definitely a perk they don’t tell you about at the school of communications, but nothing was better than the morning with Diane Lane at a West L.A. dog park.

Pour the wine. Dim the lights. Pop a sedative. And dig in because the dog park is quite a scene on Saturdays. I got roped into this helping a friend out. I wore my worst shoes and walked two miles because animal hair in the car is not something I wish on anyone. Today the crowd is sparse and the first newbie to stroll in is the Desperate Housewife #1, wearing a dress that makes her look like a cake topper. Desperate Housewife #2 is Susan, wearing an orange Happy Birthday button from Disneyland. How do I know her name is Susan? Because she spends the next 10 minutes telling me her husband is away on her birthday visiting his ailing mom in Ohio. She’s pretty upset and shaping up to be today’s crazee. Moments later, the bitchy birthday girl hooks up with Desperate Housewife #3, Jackie, who also has man issues. Luckily, I wasn’t having a good hair day so Jackie ignored me and they left to [allegedly] drown their sorrows at some local dive.

And then it happened. Enter — stage left — Diane Lane. Replete with green sweater and a sparkling smile she settled in near me soaking in the Los Angeles sun. I steered clear of asking her details of Jon Bon Jovi’s breakup details in his 2010 book and stuck to small talk as she leaked a little about the prior night’s dinner with Spanish peppers sautéed in olive oil brought all the way from New York.

Other things I learned during my ‘Must Love Dogs’ afternoon:

One, if you make an appointment with a famous design house in Paris (or really any showroom anywhere), be on time. Better yet, be early. She says they really like that.
Two, if you have the good fortune of Jean Paul Gaultier popping over to say hello, act cool.
Three, be confident. Walk into the Comme des Garcons showroom knowing that you WILL walk out with an order.
Four, she’s in love with her husband. BIG TIME.
Five, she loves a good stogie occasionally.

Speaking of cigars. As Miss Media Guy January 2011 walked into the distance, I reached for my Los Blancos Nine Torpedo. Maybe it was just wishful thinking or maybe it was real, but I couldn’t help but notice the appreciating sweep of Diane’s eyes as she said goodbye, even if she was very much in love with her husband. I couldn’t help but muse that being a sleeker, sexier Media Guy boosts the confidence. I’m not 25 anymore and not the ideal weight yet, but my workout program and eating healthier has really transformed me mentally and physically. You never know who you could run into at the dog park, so it never hurts you to look your best. Whether it’s Diane, Yasmine, the hot bisexuals at the Christmas party or even a prospective new client, that extra confidence puts you at the top of your game. Blah blah blah, yet I digress.

At the end of my Torpedo I headed back to drop off the pooch now that work called to me; creative work that demanded genius.

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