The Artist's Way and Breaking Bad
Mar. 22nd, 2023 06:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatThe Artist's Way's writer certainly loves to do lists. We have more lists.
I'm not that good at lists. I tend to draw a blank when asked to do them. Forget about them when I've done them or lose them. And often forget what I put on them. Also, they are never in order. My brain is apparently too poorly indexed for lists.
This chapter of the Artist's Way is frustrating me. It wants me to stop reading for a week. I mentioned this to mother.
Mother: Stop reading for pleasure or just stop reading entirely?
Me: I'm not entirely sure.
It's probably worth mentioning that this book was written thirty some years ago, or in 1992. Before the internet was really around, or smartphones were invented. For example? She suggests doing magazine subscriptions for your artist - there aren't really that many magazines around any longer.
Mother: It's kind of impossible to stop reading entirely.
Me: Especially when you have a job that requires you to read and write emails. And edit things. And well, read various technical documentation.
I'm guessing it's just leisure reading? But I did that for a long period during the pandemic - it didn't change anything. Giving up television would make more sense.
I don't know what this silly writer has against reading for pleasure. Wait, she's a film director/screen writer. There you go.
She writes about people in her classes informing her that they have jobs and homework and classes. But the writer states and I quote, that she was always able to wiggle out of doing something, or procrastinating something she didn't want to do and has had jobs too. (You worked in Hollywood and are a film director - the schedule is a bit different, hon.)
I'd understand this if there was a point to it. But I fail to see it. At any rate, I decided to stop reading the fictional novel for a few days. It's okay, I'm not really into it anyhow. But I'm not really addicted to reading.
She talks about how people are addicted to binge reading. (Eh, cell phones, maybe, or social media, possibly, reading not so much. Everyone on the train and on the sidewalk and at work is looking at their cell phones. ) And yes, we are allowed to read her book and do the exercises. (LOL!)
Self-help books, sigh. But onwards I press. I wonder how many people in our group at church did the reading deprivation bit?
Lists..
1. list five hobbies you'd like to try
2. list 5 classes you'd like to take that sound fun
3. list 5 things you would never do that sound fun
4. List 5 things that would be fun to have
5. List 5 things you used to enjoy doing
6. List 5 silly things you'd like to try once.
Then these exercises...
1, Describe an ideal environment to live in - town, country, swank, cozy. Why? What does it involve? Write one paragraph and find an image that describes it.
Describe your favorite season - why it is your favorite, and provide an image.
2. Time Travel
a) Write a letter to your 80 year old self, and figure out what you would be like at that age, what you would be doing. (Eh, pass. It's hard to do when I'm dealing with an 80 year old mother.)
b) Remember what you were like at 8, and have your 8 year old self write you a letter - what would they say? (I have no clue.)
3. List on-going self-nuturing toys to buy your artist self. (Mine is bereft, I have subscriptions to Apple Music, Comixcology, Audible, and various streaming channels. But I might want to do the theater ticket thing at some point.)
***
In other news, Wales has decided she wants a vacation somewhere, and wants me to come with. Which okay. Except Wales is cheap. Which again okay. Wales is also contemplating moving to Switzerland and Scandinava.
Wales: I'm thinking of maybe moving to Switzerland or Scandinavia.
Me: Maybe Canada? It's closer. [ She was reminding me of my father's favorite saying, "wherever you go, there you are" - which as an Australian saying, and well, from Buckaroo Banzai. It means - you can't escape your environment, it is wherever you are. I decided not to tell her that.]
Wales: That would be harder though.
Me: How? Maybe you might want to visit these places prior to moving to them, you may not like them. Visit them a few times first. Although, that could be expensive - so again, Canada.
Wales: What's your email address - I want to send you a vacation idea.
(I give it to her...now, if you were thinking what I was thinking, which was basically - " oh you've found a trip to Switzerland or Scandinavia!" Keep in mind, Wales is cheap. I kind of forgot.)
Vacation email...
Check out the New Hampshire One.
In the email they have all these places from London to Dublin, to Great Wolf Lodge's (which I've seen a ton of dumb commercials about, albeit memorable - yes, I watch commercial television still, obviously). The New Hampshire one is the least appealing.
But pretty. Also cheap.
I've decided to hold off answering until tomorrow. We've been here before in regards to vacation planning (granted that was a Caribbean Cruise) - and I got injured, and it blew up in my face. So I'm wary. We may have better luck renting a car and driving to New Hampshire - assuming of course, Wales doesn't kill me. The last time I was in a car with Wales, she was driving the wrong way on a one way street in Downtown Kansas City.
**
Life in Pieces by Bryan Cranston
Still working my way through Cranston's biography. More so today - since I foolishly decided to do the reading deprivation idea - only to realize in 2023 - it would make more sense to make it a smartphone deprivation. We aren't addicted to reading in 2023, we're addicted to smartphone's. Of course I'm not really addicted to mine, I just listen to stuff on it most of the time. I can go a whole weekend without looking at it - and have. For me? A television deprivation might be the most useful.
Anyhow, it's interesting where you learn stuff from. Cranston makes a solid point about enjoying the process or the joy of the journey. Not focusing on the end product, or the rewards, or the destination. But on the day to day bits and pieces of life.
He was raised by parents who didn't. His father, a failed B movie and television actor, who was focused on everything but the process - on the rewards of a successful acting career, on the trappings, on the fame, never got off the ground. Cranston said if you focus on the work itself and find joy in the process, the rest may or may not come - if it doesn't it won't matter as much.
He also states that it is important to have work-life balance to build a life outside of just work to ground you.
His description of working on Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad is fascinating. I always knew television is a collaboration, but didn't realize the extent. Cranston filled in the gaps on both characters. The writer didn't really create these characters, he did. He created the character on Malcolm. Came up with the attire, the weaknesses, what motivated him, everything - because it wasn't on the page. Same with Walter White in a way - he figured out what Walter White would wear and why. He asked Vince Gillian about Walter White's motivations, and when Gillian didn't know what they were - challenged the writer to find them.
Excerpt...
Cranston: Why does Walter White wear Tighty Whities? Is there a reason for it?
Gillian: I don't know, I just thought it was funnier if he wore them naked in an RV than boxers.
Cranston: True, it's funnier...but would this guy do it?
Cranston figured it out - he doesn't wear them for the reasons Hal does in Malcolm, which is boy's panties, because he's like a kid himself, but as a sign of being cheap and pathetic. Also, Cranston figured out that Walter White would wear clothes from Walmart, not high brow.
Cranston: Why is he a chemistry teacher?
Gillian: No idea. My family is all teachers, so I thought it worked and I can write about teachers.
Cranston: Well, it's not because he wanted to share his knowledge with the youth...or aspired to be one. No, this is a guy who was told he was brilliant and going to be brilliant. So why did he leave Graymalkin for this? He's disappointed everyone. It's one thing to be told that you will never be great. Another to be told you are great and to fail spectacularly, which he has. That's horrendous. So he's hiding. Being a chemistry teacher is a way for him to hide his failure. No one will question why he is teaching, he can always use the excuse that he aspires to train young minds.
Cranston states that he had to find a way to get into the character, understand who he was and what he thought, and build him. Once he did that - he'd know without thinking what the character would wear, say or do in every scene. He could sell the writing and the character.
He also states, that he chooses his projects based on the writing. Without good writing - it's not going to work. Even brilliant actors can't save a badly written script. And Vince Gillian's pilot script for Breaking Bad was a brilliant script - among the best he'd scene. (He's right about that - I said aloud while listening to the book on the walk home, it was.) What Gillian did, Cranston explains, is something no one in television had done before. Oh sure there were anti-heroes, but usually the characters on television stay stagnant. They don't change. Don Draper never changes. Soprano never changes. They are the same from beginning to end. But Walter White goes from being a fairly decent human being to an unrecognizable anti-hero villain in the space of five seasons. That hadn't been done before. Redemption arcs had been, bad to good, but good to bad? Would the studio even allow it? And how to do it? You can't do it quickly, it has to be a slow progression - a slow burn. And that's what they did, and it's why it is among one of the riskiest and most interesting character pieces on television. Because it changed television.
And that sort of thing works best on television. You can't really do it well in cinema.
The collaboration between the actors, studio, writers, directors, etc made that show work. It was one of those rare instances in which everyone fit or came together in a perfect marriage of equals. There were some issues, of course. Mainly to do with direction and blocking, and the idiotic writers trying to make direction and blocking decisions from LA, while they were working in New Mexico. But other than that - it went smoothly.
The reason - Cranston got the role was he'd played a similar character trope in an X-Files episode written by Vince Gillian. Cranston had forgotten it, but Gillian remembered Cranston. In that episode of the X-Files, Cranston plays a guy who has to keep driving west or his head will explode, and has excruciating pain from headaches. He's a racist, bigoted , asshole - and it's questionable whether Mulder, who is his traveling companion should save him. Gillian unlike most writers doesn't veer away from the horrible things Cranston's character did or who he is, instead of making him someone you'd want to save - he goes the darker harder route, should Mulder save him because he's a fellow human? And they needed to bring a humanity to the character, which Cranston manages to do, Cranston manages to make the character despicable but also human, and relatable at the same time. That's why Gillian wanted him for Breaking Bad - he fit what Gillian was going for with Walter White.
Vince Gillian is an interesting television writer. Bryan Cranston is an equally interesting actor. Both are artists, interested in the process, the journey of getting there. Which is why Breaking Bad was so good. If you've not seen it - I think you can stream it on Netflix or Hulu?
Hmm, now I kind of want to rewatch Breaking Bad and that episode of the X-Files. (I won't, too much else to watch, damn it. Maybe a weekend without television? Not this weekend - it's supposed to rain.)
I'm not that good at lists. I tend to draw a blank when asked to do them. Forget about them when I've done them or lose them. And often forget what I put on them. Also, they are never in order. My brain is apparently too poorly indexed for lists.
This chapter of the Artist's Way is frustrating me. It wants me to stop reading for a week. I mentioned this to mother.
Mother: Stop reading for pleasure or just stop reading entirely?
Me: I'm not entirely sure.
It's probably worth mentioning that this book was written thirty some years ago, or in 1992. Before the internet was really around, or smartphones were invented. For example? She suggests doing magazine subscriptions for your artist - there aren't really that many magazines around any longer.
Mother: It's kind of impossible to stop reading entirely.
Me: Especially when you have a job that requires you to read and write emails. And edit things. And well, read various technical documentation.
I'm guessing it's just leisure reading? But I did that for a long period during the pandemic - it didn't change anything. Giving up television would make more sense.
I don't know what this silly writer has against reading for pleasure. Wait, she's a film director/screen writer. There you go.
She writes about people in her classes informing her that they have jobs and homework and classes. But the writer states and I quote, that she was always able to wiggle out of doing something, or procrastinating something she didn't want to do and has had jobs too. (You worked in Hollywood and are a film director - the schedule is a bit different, hon.)
I'd understand this if there was a point to it. But I fail to see it. At any rate, I decided to stop reading the fictional novel for a few days. It's okay, I'm not really into it anyhow. But I'm not really addicted to reading.
She talks about how people are addicted to binge reading. (Eh, cell phones, maybe, or social media, possibly, reading not so much. Everyone on the train and on the sidewalk and at work is looking at their cell phones. ) And yes, we are allowed to read her book and do the exercises. (LOL!)
Self-help books, sigh. But onwards I press. I wonder how many people in our group at church did the reading deprivation bit?
Lists..
1. list five hobbies you'd like to try
2. list 5 classes you'd like to take that sound fun
3. list 5 things you would never do that sound fun
4. List 5 things that would be fun to have
5. List 5 things you used to enjoy doing
6. List 5 silly things you'd like to try once.
Then these exercises...
1, Describe an ideal environment to live in - town, country, swank, cozy. Why? What does it involve? Write one paragraph and find an image that describes it.
Describe your favorite season - why it is your favorite, and provide an image.
2. Time Travel
a) Write a letter to your 80 year old self, and figure out what you would be like at that age, what you would be doing. (Eh, pass. It's hard to do when I'm dealing with an 80 year old mother.)
b) Remember what you were like at 8, and have your 8 year old self write you a letter - what would they say? (I have no clue.)
3. List on-going self-nuturing toys to buy your artist self. (Mine is bereft, I have subscriptions to Apple Music, Comixcology, Audible, and various streaming channels. But I might want to do the theater ticket thing at some point.)
***
In other news, Wales has decided she wants a vacation somewhere, and wants me to come with. Which okay. Except Wales is cheap. Which again okay. Wales is also contemplating moving to Switzerland and Scandinava.
Wales: I'm thinking of maybe moving to Switzerland or Scandinavia.
Me: Maybe Canada? It's closer. [ She was reminding me of my father's favorite saying, "wherever you go, there you are" - which as an Australian saying, and well, from Buckaroo Banzai. It means - you can't escape your environment, it is wherever you are. I decided not to tell her that.]
Wales: That would be harder though.
Me: How? Maybe you might want to visit these places prior to moving to them, you may not like them. Visit them a few times first. Although, that could be expensive - so again, Canada.
Wales: What's your email address - I want to send you a vacation idea.
(I give it to her...now, if you were thinking what I was thinking, which was basically - " oh you've found a trip to Switzerland or Scandinavia!" Keep in mind, Wales is cheap. I kind of forgot.)
Vacation email...
Check out the New Hampshire One.
In the email they have all these places from London to Dublin, to Great Wolf Lodge's (which I've seen a ton of dumb commercials about, albeit memorable - yes, I watch commercial television still, obviously). The New Hampshire one is the least appealing.
But pretty. Also cheap.
I've decided to hold off answering until tomorrow. We've been here before in regards to vacation planning (granted that was a Caribbean Cruise) - and I got injured, and it blew up in my face. So I'm wary. We may have better luck renting a car and driving to New Hampshire - assuming of course, Wales doesn't kill me. The last time I was in a car with Wales, she was driving the wrong way on a one way street in Downtown Kansas City.
**
Life in Pieces by Bryan Cranston
Still working my way through Cranston's biography. More so today - since I foolishly decided to do the reading deprivation idea - only to realize in 2023 - it would make more sense to make it a smartphone deprivation. We aren't addicted to reading in 2023, we're addicted to smartphone's. Of course I'm not really addicted to mine, I just listen to stuff on it most of the time. I can go a whole weekend without looking at it - and have. For me? A television deprivation might be the most useful.
Anyhow, it's interesting where you learn stuff from. Cranston makes a solid point about enjoying the process or the joy of the journey. Not focusing on the end product, or the rewards, or the destination. But on the day to day bits and pieces of life.
He was raised by parents who didn't. His father, a failed B movie and television actor, who was focused on everything but the process - on the rewards of a successful acting career, on the trappings, on the fame, never got off the ground. Cranston said if you focus on the work itself and find joy in the process, the rest may or may not come - if it doesn't it won't matter as much.
He also states that it is important to have work-life balance to build a life outside of just work to ground you.
His description of working on Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad is fascinating. I always knew television is a collaboration, but didn't realize the extent. Cranston filled in the gaps on both characters. The writer didn't really create these characters, he did. He created the character on Malcolm. Came up with the attire, the weaknesses, what motivated him, everything - because it wasn't on the page. Same with Walter White in a way - he figured out what Walter White would wear and why. He asked Vince Gillian about Walter White's motivations, and when Gillian didn't know what they were - challenged the writer to find them.
Excerpt...
Cranston: Why does Walter White wear Tighty Whities? Is there a reason for it?
Gillian: I don't know, I just thought it was funnier if he wore them naked in an RV than boxers.
Cranston: True, it's funnier...but would this guy do it?
Cranston figured it out - he doesn't wear them for the reasons Hal does in Malcolm, which is boy's panties, because he's like a kid himself, but as a sign of being cheap and pathetic. Also, Cranston figured out that Walter White would wear clothes from Walmart, not high brow.
Cranston: Why is he a chemistry teacher?
Gillian: No idea. My family is all teachers, so I thought it worked and I can write about teachers.
Cranston: Well, it's not because he wanted to share his knowledge with the youth...or aspired to be one. No, this is a guy who was told he was brilliant and going to be brilliant. So why did he leave Graymalkin for this? He's disappointed everyone. It's one thing to be told that you will never be great. Another to be told you are great and to fail spectacularly, which he has. That's horrendous. So he's hiding. Being a chemistry teacher is a way for him to hide his failure. No one will question why he is teaching, he can always use the excuse that he aspires to train young minds.
Cranston states that he had to find a way to get into the character, understand who he was and what he thought, and build him. Once he did that - he'd know without thinking what the character would wear, say or do in every scene. He could sell the writing and the character.
He also states, that he chooses his projects based on the writing. Without good writing - it's not going to work. Even brilliant actors can't save a badly written script. And Vince Gillian's pilot script for Breaking Bad was a brilliant script - among the best he'd scene. (He's right about that - I said aloud while listening to the book on the walk home, it was.) What Gillian did, Cranston explains, is something no one in television had done before. Oh sure there were anti-heroes, but usually the characters on television stay stagnant. They don't change. Don Draper never changes. Soprano never changes. They are the same from beginning to end. But Walter White goes from being a fairly decent human being to an unrecognizable anti-hero villain in the space of five seasons. That hadn't been done before. Redemption arcs had been, bad to good, but good to bad? Would the studio even allow it? And how to do it? You can't do it quickly, it has to be a slow progression - a slow burn. And that's what they did, and it's why it is among one of the riskiest and most interesting character pieces on television. Because it changed television.
And that sort of thing works best on television. You can't really do it well in cinema.
The collaboration between the actors, studio, writers, directors, etc made that show work. It was one of those rare instances in which everyone fit or came together in a perfect marriage of equals. There were some issues, of course. Mainly to do with direction and blocking, and the idiotic writers trying to make direction and blocking decisions from LA, while they were working in New Mexico. But other than that - it went smoothly.
The reason - Cranston got the role was he'd played a similar character trope in an X-Files episode written by Vince Gillian. Cranston had forgotten it, but Gillian remembered Cranston. In that episode of the X-Files, Cranston plays a guy who has to keep driving west or his head will explode, and has excruciating pain from headaches. He's a racist, bigoted , asshole - and it's questionable whether Mulder, who is his traveling companion should save him. Gillian unlike most writers doesn't veer away from the horrible things Cranston's character did or who he is, instead of making him someone you'd want to save - he goes the darker harder route, should Mulder save him because he's a fellow human? And they needed to bring a humanity to the character, which Cranston manages to do, Cranston manages to make the character despicable but also human, and relatable at the same time. That's why Gillian wanted him for Breaking Bad - he fit what Gillian was going for with Walter White.
Vince Gillian is an interesting television writer. Bryan Cranston is an equally interesting actor. Both are artists, interested in the process, the journey of getting there. Which is why Breaking Bad was so good. If you've not seen it - I think you can stream it on Netflix or Hulu?
Hmm, now I kind of want to rewatch Breaking Bad and that episode of the X-Files. (I won't, too much else to watch, damn it. Maybe a weekend without television? Not this weekend - it's supposed to rain.)
Re: Five Classic Vince Gilligan X-Files Episodes
Date: 2023-03-25 06:49 am (UTC)I really like the way you phrased this. The whole paragraph was a great summary of Superman's appeal, at least to me. :)