Better Call Saul!

1
/film wrote:Saul Goodman Show Greenlit, Will Be a ‘Breaking Bad’ Prequel

Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad spinoff show set around Bob Odenkirk‘s rakish, pragmatic, and charismatic lawyer Saul Goodman, is now the subject of a “go-ahead” licensing agreement between AMC and Breaking Bad producer Sony Pictures TV.

The show, the title of which isn’t quite finalized, will be a one-hour format that “will focus on the evolution of the Goodman character before he ever became Walter White’s lawyer.” There isn’t a formal order for the show at this point, but that seems like a technicality. Once deals are inked for Vince Gilligan, Saul Goodman co-creator Peter Gould, and Odenkirk, we should have details on the order.

Deadline has the news. Expect the show to be a bit less dark than the parent show, and much more comic. Given the general characteristics of Saul Goodman, that won’t come as a surprise to anyone.
awesome! i think this begs the question: how many things can odenkirk do at once before collapsing?

Re: Better Call Saul!

4
/film wrote:‘Breaking Bad’ Spinoff ‘Better Call Saul’ Might (Also) Be a Sequel

AMC was careful to specify that Better Call Saul would be a prequel when it first announced its plans for the spinoff series, but the ending of Breaking Bad left us wanting to know what happened after that grand finale. Luckily, Bob Odenkirk says there’s a chance we could still find out.

According to him, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have also discussed the idea of doing Better Call Saul as a sequel, or perhaps a prequel/sequel hybrid. Hit the jump to read his comments. (Spoilers for Breaking Bad follow, duh.)

Although Saul was one of the characters to survive the series, his current life is a mystery. The last time we saw our favorite sleazy TV lawyer, he’d called the vacuum cleaner repairman, and was leaving Albuquerque behind to start fresh in Nebraska.

The idea of loud, obnoxious, flamboyant Saul trying to “manage a Cinnabon in Omaha,” as he imagined it, seemes rife with comedy gold, so IGN asked the actor whether his new show might incorporate scenes from the character’s post-”Granite State” life. Odenkirk acknowledged that it was a possibility.

Well, I’ve talked to Vince (Gilligan) and Peter (Gould), who are writing and creating the series, about this and I’ve said that a lot of people do want to see what happens to next to Saul. So, I don’t know what they’re going to do. I know they’ve talked about prequel, but they’ve also talked to me about sequel, and they’ve also talked to me about a mix of prequel and sequel.

AMC previously described Better Call Saul as centering on “the evolution of the Goodman character before he ever became Walter White’s lawyer,” but of course that was before we knew whether Saul would even live through the end of the season. Odenkirk’s comments suggest that the decision hadn’t actually been made at that point. Perhaps the network felt compelled to confirm that it’d be a prequel just to avoid dropping a potential spoiler.

Either way, Gilligan and Gould should be setting a course soon. “Well, supposedly the writers are starting up in two or three weeks, so they’re trying to get that ready,” said Odenkirk.

And while Gilligan has said that Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul could pop up from time to time, Odenkirk stressed that “this is its own thing.” “Oh my God, I told Peter and Vince, right away I said, ‘Look man, let us make this fresh for everyone,’” he said. “There might be a cameo here or there, but I don’t know. We’re going to do a new show.”

Re: Better Call Saul!

6
We may not have seen the last of Walter White.

Peter Gould, executive producer of AMC’s Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul, told the New York Daily News that the spinoff will jump between decades and may even include scenes that take place during the Breaking Bad timeline. This means that there’s a chance Bryan Cranston will reprise his three-time Emmy-winning role as school teacher-turned-meth kingpin Walter White.

“One of the great things about having a timeline which is flexible is that perhaps some of it takes place before Breaking Bad, during Breaking Bad, and after Breaking Bad,” Gould told The New York Daily News. “That gives us the ability to bring back characters that were killed on Breaking Bad.”
The spinoff, however, will not be dependent on guest appearances from Breaking Bad alums. Gould insisted that he and the rest of the Better Call Saul team wanted to “make a show that stands on it own, is its own story, and is a brand extension.”

“We think we have a story that is worth making,” said Gould. “We could never dream of the kind of success that Breaking Bad had, and the love we got from the fans. But [with Saul] at a certain point you have to do the best job you can and tell the best story that entertains you, get a good response and hope people like it.”
The Breaking Bad spin-off will reunite Bob Odenkirk with Jonathan Banks, who played fixer Mike Ehrmantraut on the original series. The rest of the cast includes Michael McKean, Patrick Fabian, Rhea Seehorn, and Michael Mando. Better Call Saul was originally slated to premiere in November; however, AMC decided to push its debut back to early 2015. Last month, AMC showed an early vote of confidence in the show and renewed it for a 13-episode second season before the first season even hit the air.
http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/07/01/bette ... aking-bad/
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Better Call Saul!

7
Mashable wrote:'Better Call Saul': Vince Gilligan Spills Details

Eight episodes into writing the first season of Better Call Saul, creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould are finally spilling some details about one of television's most anticipated shows.

The series, they revealed Friday during the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles, will be set six years before Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) met Walter White (Bryan Cranston), which puts the show in approximately 2002. When viewers meet Saul, he sports the name Jimmy McGill and is a small-time lawyer "searching for his destiny, and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet," according to a description for the series, which is set to debut in 2015.

But while the story will be set in the past and chronicles Jimmy's transformation into Saul, as widely reported, the timeline will be flexible. Or, as Gilligan put it, the show will very much reflect the way arcs were told on Breaking Bad.

"You saw from Breaking Bad that we like nonlinear storytelling. We like jumping around in time. I would definitely [say] anything possible on Breaking Bad storytelling wise is possible on Better Call Saul."

Meanwhile, the duo confirmed the addition of Michael McKean (This Is Spinal Tap) to the cast, and revealed that the actor will play Saul's brother. "So we have these two comedy legends working together," Gould said.

Here are some other nuggets we learned:

Gilligan takes blame for the delay
While delays in production are often thought of as signals of creative disarray, Gilligan said that's not the case with Better Call Saul, which had its premiere pushed back last month. Gilligan said he's simply a slow writer.

"I'm going to take full responsibility for this. We could have made the deadline but...I am slow as mud as a TV writer. I always have been," he said. But AMC was aware of this going in, he said. In fact, Gilligan pointed to the splitting of Breaking Bad's final season — into two blocks of eight episodes each — as another instance where his languid writing affected the show's airing. "They were very understanding. Luckily, that worked out very well," he said. "They've been good to us which is why we like working with them."

The stately pace and attention to detail, though, he said, has paid off. "It's nothing any studio or network would want, but we have a way of doing things that are slower than other TV shows....We want to think everything through and we feel that pays dividends."

Returns are possible (Duh.)
Will we see Chili? Will we see Gus? "There's always a chance," said Gilligan. Though Gould added, "We're trying to make something that stands on its own that has an entertainment value that's not just seeing a series of old favorites. It's not the series equivalent of a clip show."

Previously, it was announced that Jonathan Banks would reprise his role as Mike Ehrmantraut.

Additionally, the network confirmed the addition of Rhea Seehorn (Whitney), Patrick Fabian (Grey’s Anatomy) and Michael Mando (Orphan Black) to Saul's cast.

Nervous about the show? So are the creators
"It's a challenge," said Gilligan of opening up Saul's history. "It's a leap of faith or stupidity into the unknown...I thought it was going to be kind of easy — 'We know who this guy is.' We really didn't know who this guy was at all." The limits of their storytelling, however, have become apparent, Gilligan said. "We know where this guy is going. We can't, for instance, in the first episode have him lose an arm or an eye."

Gould, meanwhile, said they've zeroed in on one central question that has driven their story, however. "We ask ourselves: 'What problem does being Saul Goodman solve?'"

Gilligan added: "Anything worth having is worth the risk of abject humiliating failure."
mckean as his brother is perfect casting. this show will rule.

Re: Better Call Saul!

8
I can't decide whether it's good Vince Gilligan is jumping into such a similar show so quickly.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

Re: Better Call Saul!

9
It's a great character to dive into, and can go off in all sorts of comedic and/or crime directions, although being tethered to such an iconic previous show does make you wonder. These guys are good storytellers though, and as noted above, great cast so far.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Better Call Saul!

11
O-dot wrote:I worry we're all in for a big letdown.
The sad reality is it's usually a safer bet a spin-off will fail than succeed. For every Simpsons or Frasier there's a dozen Joeys and Joanie Loves Chachis.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

Re: Better Call Saul!

14
But today, finally, after a bunch of teasers, we finally have a date. In fact, we have two dates, because Better Call Saul is getting a two-night premiere. Episode one airs Sunday, February 8, at 10pm ET, and episode two airs Monday, February 9, also at 10pm ET.

Re: Better Call Saul!

19
So, some promise but pretty hesitant on committing to a tone, you can tell they were still feeling their way and there's some dead air floating around in some scenes.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Better Call Saul!

20
Agreed. It didn't seem to really know what it wanted to be, then at the end kind of turned into Breaking Bad 2. I don't know, I guess I'll keep watching since all the cool kids are. Nothing awesome but nothing awful either.
Just cut them up like regular chickens