For Breaking Dangerous creator Vince Gilligan, the WGA honorary Paddy Chayefsky Laurel For Tv Writing Achievement served as a possibility to name for motion as a “profoundly divided nation.”
On Saturday through the 77th annual WGA Awards, the multi-hyphenate hit-making TV juggernaut mirrored on the divisive state of the nation and the way the present media panorama go hand in hand. In his speech, Gilligan identified the irony of constructing one of many “all time nice dangerous guys,” out of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) whereas additionally urging the room of writers that it might be higher to be celebrated for “creating somebody a bit extra inspiring in 2025.”
“We live in an period the place dangerous guys, the actual life type, are operating the market. Dangerous guys who make their very own guidelines. Dangerous guys who, it doesn’t matter what they let you know, are solely out for themselves. Who am I speaking about? Effectively, that is Hollywood, so guess,” He mentioned. “However right here’s the bizarre irony in our profoundly divided nation, everyone appears to agree on one factor; there are too many actual life dangerous guys. It’s simply we’re dwelling in several realities, so we’ve all received completely different lists.”
The Paddy Chayefsky Laurel For Tv Writing Achievement, the WGAW’s highest honor for writing in TV, is given to a member that has superior the literature of TV by the years, and who has made excellent contributions to the career. Gilligan’s early profession began with The X-Information and The Evening Stalker, and all through his three decade profession he’s snagged 4 Emmys, two PGA and DGA Awards for his work on Breaking Dangerous, and 6 WGA Awards between Breaking Dangerous and Higher Name Saul.
Gilligan went on to say, “As a author talking to a room stuffed with writers, I’ve a proposal. It definitely received’t repair all the things, however perhaps it’s a begin. I say we write extra good guys. For many years, we’ve made the villains too attractive. I actually assume that once we create characters as indelible as Michael Corleone, Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader or Tony Soprano, viewers in every single place, everywhere in the world, they concentrate and say, ‘These dudes are dangerous ass, I need to be that cool’. When that occurs, that’s when dangerous guys cease being the cautionary tales that they have been supposed to be. They [instead] change into aspirational. So perhaps what the world wants now are some good quaint, best era sorts who give greater than they take.”
Upon receiving the award from Higher Name Saul star Rhea Seehorn, Gilligan additionally briefly referenced how his upcoming untitled Apple TV+ sequence, helmed by Seehorn in her first main function, displays heroic ideations. “Rhea, I feel you hung the moon. I’m so fortunate that we’re working collectively on this new present, the place you play a superb man.”
Earlier on the WGA purple carpet, Gilligan and Seehorn teased a bit extra concerning the secret genre-bending sci-fi sequence. “I’m excited for audiences to see Rhea play a really completely different character than the character she performed on Higher Name Saul,” mentioned Gilligan, including: “She performs somebody who’s making an attempt very laborious to be good. She’s a little bit of a broken hero, however she’s a hero nonetheless. And it’s only a pleasure to work along with her as a result of she’s simply the most effective, and he or she is so candy and sort and gifted. I can’t say sufficient good about her.”
Though Seehorn famous she nonetheless “can’t even let you know the title,” she defined the sequence is “sci-fi however in a extra psychological type of sci-fi means.”
“I can’t look forward to it to come back out although,” added Seehorn. “Among the stuff that audiences have beloved about his writing the place it’s actually wealthy characters but in addition him enjoying with the thought of tropes and genres and tone, and switching, like injected humor in a really darkish second — on this new present, he pushes that to a restrict that was each very thought-provoking and upsetting generally, and different occasions, so, so humorous. It actually swings for the fences. I had a lot enjoyable.”