Tonight, the Los Angeles Film Festival and the great people at Film Independent put on one of the coolest events at this year’s festival – Cooking A Contemporary Classic: A Conversation With Breaking Bad. Series creator Vince Gilligan and cast members Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Dean Norris, and Bob Odenkirk were all in attendance to discuss one of the most critically acclaimed shows in television history.
While much of the conversation centered on elements of the show’s history fans have probably heard before – how it came to be, what each cast member’s favorite episodes and hardest scenes to shoot were, etc. – Bryan Cranston dropped a bomb on the crowd when he mentioned that not only will Breaking Bad have a presence at Comic-Con 2012 (I believe for the first time in the show’s history), but they’ll also be debuting the Season Five premiere for the San Diego crowd on Saturday, July 14th.
The lineup at Comic-Con was looking a little weaker than previous years, but now it scored a face-meltingly awesome coup by pulling one of TV’s best shows into its fold and I can’t wait to see what happens to Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and the rest of the characters as Season Five begins. Season Four was easily one of my favorite seasons of any television show, and I’m looking forward to watching Gilligan and his team continue to try to top themselves.
Cranston was surprisingly hilarious at the panel, even upstaging comedian Bob Odenkirk (who plays Saul on the show). RJ Mitte, who plays Walter Jr., was wearing a bright white suit jacket with a beige-colored shirt underneath, and at one point during the discussion he poked fun at how Cranston often appears on the show without any pants on. Cranston turned the tables and drolly replied, “By the way, Don Johnson called and he wants his clothes back”, which sent everyone (especially co-star Aaron Paul) into a fit of laughter. (To be fair, Mitte gamely responded, “he actually gave them to me!”, but Cranston had already won that battle.)
Are you heading out to San Diego for Comic-Con 2012? Let us know if you’re looking forward to catching the Season Five premiere of Breaking Bad, and where it ranks on your list of things to do at this year’s convention.
