PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2016: BETTER CALL SAUL {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 33rd William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television's creative community. This PALEYFEST 2016 seminar honors "Better Call Saul," the drama series and prequel to "Breaking Bad" about fast-talking New Mexico lawyer Jimmy McGill, later known as Saul Goodman. Host Diane Lewis (Executive Vice-President of Programming, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and brings Debra Birnbaum (executive TV editor, Variety) to the stage. Birnbaum introduces the episode "Rebecca," which is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 125600.)
After the screening, Birnbaum moderates the following panelists: executive producers/creators Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan; and cast members Bob Odenkirk (Jimmy McGill / Saul Goodman), Michael McKean (Chuck McGill), Rhea Seehorn (Kimberly "Kim" Wexler), Patrick Fabian (Howard Hamlin), and Michael Mando (Ignacio "Nacho" Varga.)
The panelists touch on such topics as: the surprising return of memorable "Breaking Bad" villain Hector Salamanca, played by Mark Margolis; the careful editing of the montage of Kim's determined phone calls to potential clients; the debatable veracity of Chuck's story about Jimmy's theft from their father and hints about future plot reveals; Chuck and Jimmy's lack of understanding of one another despite their apparent closeness; praise for the episode's writer Ann Cherkis, and director John Shiban; the "tenuous" status of Jimmy and Kim's relationship and Gilligan's view that happy endings are "boring"; McKean's views on Chuck's resentment of his wayward little brother; the mysterious fates of Rebecca and Kim, who both appear to be absent from future scenes and from "Breaking Bad"; Fabian's defense of Howard's "businesslike" punishment of Kim; the show's devoted and creative fan base; the origins of Jimmy's elaborate and funny "squat cobbler" lie, as heard in the episode "Cobbler"; the reveal of Nacho's extended family and Mando's enjoyment of the character's complexities; the challenges of constructing the "middle section" of Jimmy's transformation into Saul Goodman; their appreciation of Sony and AMC's patience for the character's gradual journey; the writers' "devotion" to organic character development and choices; and Gilligan's realization that he and the other writers prefer the affable Jimmy to the amoral Saul.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: a fan's handmade board game for the show; details about Chuck's electromagnetic hypersensitivity disorder; inspiration from the documentary "Crumb" (1994), which profiles cartoonist Robert Crumb and his troubled brother Charles; the decision to remove the dialogue from certain scenes for emotional impact; the challenges of planning ahead long-term and accommodating actors' natural aging in shooting flashback and prequel scenes; Jimmy's "sad act of defiance" in one of the future scenes and whether he will ever return to his fearless, rule-breaking ways; and the importance of not "overdoing" the cameos from memorable "Breaking Bad" characters.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 2:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:48:27
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 125588
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Diane Lewis … Host
- Debra Birnbaum … Moderator
- Michael Mando … Panelist
- Patrick Fabian … Panelist
- Rhea Seehorn … Panelist
- Michael McKean … Panelist
- Bob Odenkirk … Panelist
- Peter Gould … Panelist
- Vince Gilligan … Panelist
- Ann Cherkis
- Charles Crumb
- Robert Crumb
- Mark Margolis
- John Shiban