25
Jul/13

LONG COOK: A BREAKING BAD MARATHON / THE PERFECT BATCH: BREAKING BAD CAST FAVORITES / FROM MR. CHIPS TO SCARFACE: WALTER WHITE’S TRANSFORMATION IN BREAKING BAD

25
Jul/13
BREAKING BAD

Bryan Cranston and BREAKING BAD break out all over the place in anticipation of the final eight episodes of the daring hit season

LONG COOK: A BREAKING BAD MARATHON
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Aves.
July 26 -30, free, 1:00 or 5:00
212-875-5600
www.filmlinc.com
www.amctv.com

According to a February 2013 MarketCast study on binge TV watching, fifty-six percent of bingers do it alone, seventy-one percent do it unplanned, and ninety-eight percent do it at home. All three of those will change July 26-30, when the Film Society of Lincoln Center presents “Long Cook: A Breaking Bad Marathon,” with each of the first five seasons of the AMC show screened in their entirety, one per day. “There is a sort of dark side to binge-viewing that makes many of us want to do it by ourselves and away from public scrutiny,” said senior director and study author Chris Rethore. “As with bingeing on anything — food, sweets, alcohol — there are often feelings of guilt that result and a sense that we’ve done something wrong or bad after we have indulged.” Breaking Bad offers a completely different take on what’s wrong or bad and feeling of guilt, as mild-mannered chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) goes into business with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), cooking up amazing batches of crystal meth so Walter, who is dying of cancer, can leave behind some money for his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), and son, Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte). But soon Walter and Jesse find themselves in the middle of all kinds of danger as they mix it up with drug kingpin and chicken purveyor Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), hit man and cleaner extraordinaire Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), and other sketchy characters, all while Skyler’s brother-in-law, DEA agent Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), is trying to uncover who is behind the new strand of meth — and the impressive string of related deaths and disappearances. Created by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad was rejected by just about every network before landing at AMC, which used to concentrate primarily on American Movie Classics but not also is responsible for Mad Men. It’s absolutely fascinating watching Bryan Cranston transform Walter from a sort of everyman into a cold-blooded — well, we don’t want to give anything away, but it’s an epic tale of family, morality, obsession, power, and addiction, and it’s surprisingly believable as each season takes things to new levels. The screenings take place in the Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center amphitheater, and admission is free, first come, first served. The final eight episodes begin airing on AMC on August 11.

BREAKING BAD

Skyler (Anna Gunn) can only take so much from her husband (Bryan Cranston) as things heat up in BREAKING BAD

THE PERFECT BATCH: BREAKING BAD CAST FAVORITES
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Aves.
August 1-2, $15, 6:15 & 9:00
212-875-5600
www.filmlinc.com

Once the Lincoln Center amphitheater marathon ends, the festivities move into the Walter Reade Theater, where four panels will be held August 1-2, as some of the stars of the show present their favorite episodes and then discuss them. On August 1 at 6:15, Gunn, Mitte, and Odenkirk will show two episodes, then sit down for a Q&A with Matt Zoller Seitz of New York magazine, followed at 9:00 with Cranston, who has directed several episodes, showing two more and then talking with Zoller Seitz. August 2 at 6:15 features Betsy Brandt (who plays Skyler’s sister and Hank’s wife, Maria Schrader) and Norris, who will discuss their favorite episodes with Emily Nussbaum of the New Yorker, followed at 9:00 with Gilligan and Nussbaum getting down to the nitty-gritty. If you can’t make it to the theater, the Q&As will be streamed live at www.filmlinc.com.

Pink teddy bear

Pink teddy bear will be among the BREAKING BAD items on view in special exhibit

BEHIND THE SCREEN — FROM MR. CHIPS TO SCARFACE: WALTER WHITE’S TRANSFORMATION IN BREAKING BAD
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Ave.
July 26 – October 27, Wednesday – Sunday, $12 (free Fridays 4:00 – 8:00)
718-777-6888
www.movingimage.us

Gilligan will also be at the Museum of the Moving Image on July 28 at 7:00, where he will take part in a “Making Bad” conversation with Charlie Rose in conjunction with the institution’s new exhibit, “From Mr. Chips to Scarface: Walter White’s Transformation in Breaking Bad.” Opening July 26 in the “Actors” section of the core “Behind the Screen” installation, the exhibit will feature costumes, props, behind-the-scenes footage, and other paraphernalia from the series, which has been nominated for twenty-one Emmys and has won five so far, including three Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series victories for Cranston and two Supporting wins for Paul, who was supposed to be gone early in the run but whose character quickly turned into a mainstay. Be on the lookout for Walter’s tighty whities, hazmat suits, aprons, the pink teddy bear, hair strands, a copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and other familiar items. The exhibit continues through October 27.