Vince Gilligan on Sony’s Reaction to ‘Breaking Bad’ Pitch: “The Single Worst Idea I’ve Ever Heard”

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text We’ve all heard how Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan first thought that his beloved crime drama would tell the story of how a Mr. Chips-type everyman would turn into Scarface . But during a South by Southwest Film & TV Festival panel on Saturday morning titled “Albuquerque Aftermath: From Breaking Bad to Pluribus ,” Gilligan said he found a notebook which had the very first conception for the show — and it was only nine words. “I found this old notepad in my office a few years back, and it was the very first idea for this,” Gilligan said. “And who knows where ideas come from? But it said: ‘Good guy does something bad to save his family.'” Related Stories Movies Jamie Lee Curtis Has Some Ideas on How to Protect the Film Industry TV Vince Gilligan Is Working on 'Pluribus' Season 2, But Cautions He Won't Be as Quick as 'The Pitt' Then Gilligan retold the story of how he fleshed out his idea of a high school chemistry teacher with cancer who cooks meth to provide for his family and then pitched it to Sony Pictures Television. Gilligan says a top executive, who is no longer with the company, told him, “‘That’s the single worst idea I’ve ever heard.'” Gilligan quickly added, “To his credit, he’s a good man, and he acknowledged [his mistake later].” Of course, Sony would eventually embrace the show and then AMC came on board as distributor. Gilligan also famously pitched Breaking Bad to HBO, which he’s described as one of the worst meetings of his life, with then-HBO executives exuding “a toxic gamma radiation of disinterest” to his pitch. Gilligan, who aw-shucked his reputation for being a famously nice showrunner, was also asked about working with a writers’ room and how he decides whether to go with one of his own ideas or somebody...