Can Saul Have It All?
Today in show business news: AMC is thinking about spinning off a beloved Breaking Bad character, Anne Hathaway lands a huge new role, and Chloe Sevigny has officially been made a detective.
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AMC is apparently thinking about developing a spinoff of its award-winning, cult-hit series Breaking Bad, which is set to wrap up this summer. The new show would follow sleazy criminal lawyer Saul Goodman, played with oily charm by Bob Odenkirk. The hour-long series, potentially to be called Better Call Saul, would be a comedy largely, presumably populated by the scuzzy Albuquerque criminal element that Breaking Bad has so ingeniously introduced us to. But, again, this would be a comedy, not some increasingly dark wander into the hell of amorality, the way BB is. So is this a good idea? Odenkirk is great and all, and the character is lots of fun, but what if the show just can't get it right? Will that sully the memory of the character and of the original show? It could! I mean, Joey didn't do much to damage the memory of Friends (look, some of us liked and still like Friends, OK?), but we're not talking about a light sitcom here. We're talking about serious, arty, regularly brilliant television. Shouldn't the whole universe of Breaking Bad collapse and go dark when the show ends, as creator Vince Gilligan initially intended it to? Gilligan is involved with the spinoff idea, but still. Let's just let things lie. Isn't that better? I know AMC is sad to lose the property — they'll lose BB this year, and then Mad Men the next, leaving them with only The Walking Dead as a surefire watercooler sensation. But they're all about the quality, aren't they? That's why they're one of the cool networks? So, they should leave spinoffs and that junk to the broadcast networks. Let Breaking Bad be it for that particular gang of New Mexico. [Deadline]
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Speaking of bad ideas, Anne Hathaway has been cast opposite Matthew McConaughey in Christopher Nolan's next big movie, Interstellar. Ughhhhh. OK, I know. Even I will admit that she wasn't that bad in Dark Knight Rises, but come on. Do we really want Anne Hathaway to be this big of a movie star? Do we? Following up a damn Oscar win with a near sure-fire critical and box office hit? Grumble. Grumble I say! This will solidify Anne Hathaway as some sort of A-list big deal and I just... I just don't know if the nation is ready for that. Call me crazy. And call me wrong. But this is how I feel. I'm sorry. I'm sure she's lovely person. (Not that sure.) It's just, as a movie star... I don't know. Was Rachel Bilson busy? Why can't Rachel Bilson have the role? Or any role? [Deadline]
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A&E has ordered the pilot Those Who Kill to series, meaning we'll soon be watching Chloe Sevigny play a detective, one who specifically hunts serial killers. Wow. From New York street teen to discoing club kid to repressed Mormon cult wife to transsexual contract killer to savvy detective. That's a lot of change for a mere twenty or so years. Good for her. What's next? President?? Oh god, please someone make something where Chloe Sevigny is the president. Please. The nation needs it. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Natalie Dormer, aka Margaery Tyrell on Game of Thrones (she will be Margaery Tyrell from now, most likely), has been cast as the all-important Irene Adler character on CBS's modern Sherlock Holmes show Elementary. So that could be an interesting arc! Unless of course Sherlock treats all women like he treats Lucy Liu's Joan Watson, in which case poor Irene will simply stand around frowning until she's told to leave the room every five minutes. And she will comply, inexplicably. Hopefully that will not be the case with Irene. Maybe she can teach Holmes to treat Watson better, too. That would be nice. Because otherwise, why is Lucy Liu on this show? Other than the tons of money, I mean? [Entertainment Weekly]
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Starz: ("It's Not TV, It's Not HBO, It's Starz") is developing a Vietnam War drama (just like FX is) with Newsroom writer Gideon Yago. Yes, "Newsroom writer Gideon Yago." That is how Gideon Yago is initially introduced in this article. I mean, they eventually do mention his work with MTV, but come on. Am I so old? Is it such an ancient thing to just immediately say, "MTV News nerd-hunk Gideon Yago"? Is that so hard? I mean he's not even one of the original MTV News people. Or even one of the slightly less-old ones. He's not Tabitha Soren! He's not even Serena Altschul! He's from the mid-2000s for heaven's sake. Come on, guys. Know your context. Gideon Yago is not "Newsroom writer Gideon Yago," he is "MTV cutie news guy Gideon Yago." Let's get it right here. Anyway, Vietnam series for him. Good job. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Here's a really gross clip from Eli Roth's upcoming Netflix show Hemlock Grove. It's really gross and really silly, actually. It's a man becoming a werewolf in icky, skin-splitting fashion. And Lili Taylor watches the whole time, smiling. It's a bit dopey looking, the whole thing. I dunno. I'm not sure about this show, you guys.
