Its no secret that Steven Soderbergh is, (a) turning his hand to television, and (b) a huge fan of Breaking Bad. Whats less well known and watch us joins the dots here is his idea for a Breaking Bad movie. Its a notion first mentioned by Side Effects cast member Jude Law when he came by for an Empire webchat earlier this year, and when we sat down with the erstwhile movie director, it was something we had to ask him about.
I thought it would be really cool, explains Soderbergh, to have the final two episodes of the show as a movie that aired the Friday after the penultimate episode. You'd sell that during the season See the season finale in theatres! and just run it for a week, but I feel like youd clean up. Its never been done before.
As an idea and Soderbergh has never formally pitched it to BB creator Vince Gilligan or his co-producer Mark Johnson it may, who knows, resurface as his TV showrunning career takes shape. The appeal of marrying TV and cinema, and of overseeing less indiscriminate marketing than the type he feels Hollywood is prone to, are obvious for Soderbergh. You make the rule that the only money were going to spend selling [the theatrical release] is on ads during the show. Its [in cinemas for] one week, then you can download it, he adds, but for the fans to have a communal viewing experience that week, thatd be super-cool.
As a neat piece of synchronicity, Side Effects and Breaking Bad share a character name: Jonathan Banks. Coincidence or tribute, we wondered? No. I dont think (Side Effects writer) Scott Burns even watches the show.
t:
