Contextual Research | A Glance into the world of Vince Gilligan
An Analysis of Vince Gilligan
George Vincent Gilligan Jr was born on February 10th 1967 deep in Richmond, Virginia. Over the past 10 years he has seen increasing success within the television industry, his most notable accomplishment has been the global hit show: 'Breaking Bad' and since then has gone on to make a successful prequel show known as 'Better Call Saul'.
Gilligan's work within the film industry is incredibly limited, however he did write the screenplay for the 2008 film 'Hancock' starring Will Smith. Neither of his parents really had an interest in film, with his mother being an educator and his father being an insurance claims adjuster; it was upon being introduced to his high school best friend's (who also happened to be future film editor and film title designer Angus Wall) Super 8 film cameras that he really formed an interest.
He ended up using the camera's lent to him to create his first sci-fi film known as 'Space Wreck', which happened to star his own brother as the protagonist. Just over a year past before he won his first award - First prize at the University of Virginia. Angus's mother, Jackie, would always encourage Gilligan to pursue a career in the film industry and would drop him and friends off at the cinemas to see new films, Gilligan exclaimed that "without Jackie, I probably wouldn't be where I am today".
Starting a Career in The X-Files
Gilligan found his break into the industry when he became fascinated with 'The X Files' during its first season, he ended up writing an entire episode's script and sending it in to the FOX broadcasting centre. This later became the season 2 episode "Soft Light" and he went on to write 29 episodes and have a producing role in over 120 episodes across the series' lifetime.
After his success working on 'The X Files' he went on to write and produce a spin-off series known as 'The Lone Gunmen' which aired in 2001, 8 years after the first season of 'The X Files' aired on American television. Unfortunately the series only lasted 1 season of 13 episodes; however it received promising reviews with critics calling it "enjoyable, intelligent and well written" and even won an award from the 'Canadian Society of Cinematographers' for 'Best Cinematography in a TV Drama'.
The Breaking Bad Phenomenon
In 2007 Gilligan conceptualised the idea for 'Breaking Bad' as he wanted to be able to address one of the issues he saw existing in TV Drama - "Television is historically good at keeping its characters in a self-imposed state that can go on for years or even decades". He wanted to be able "do a show in which the fundamental drive is towards change". He's been on record saying that he wanted to show how even the most self-righteous person was corruptible and 'Breaking Bad' turns "Mr Chips into Scarface". Interestingly upon pitching the idea to people many argued that it was too similar to the premise of the already existing show "Weeds" however his producers convinced him to remain persistent with the idea and it was eventually picked up by cable television company AMC (Who also air popular shows such as "The Walking Dead" and "Preacher"). Gilligan later stated that if he had heard of "Weeds" before he pitched the idea of 'Breaking Bad' he wouldn't have bothered.
In the face of that statement and the faces of those who turned him down, 'Breaking Bad' went on to be one of the most successful shows in the history of not just TV Drama, but television as a whole. Critics herald it as 'one of the greatest shows of all time'. The show has received a large amount of awards including the following: 4 consecutive 'Writers Guild of America' awards, 2 'Primetime Emmy' awards and Gilligan himself won an award for the directing of the Breaking Bad finale "Felina" from the 'Directors Guild of America'.
Regardless of all of this it is clear that Vince Gilligan, the boy who discovered super 8 camera's in high school, has successfully taken that passion and deep-rooted himself into a respectful place within the television industry - and for that I truly have a deep respect for him.
Also... a little tidbit! Gilligan actually answered one of my questions that I submitted in an interview with media journalism/news network IGN, here's a screenshot:
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| Gilligan answering fan questions at a Breaking Bad panel. |
Gilligan's work within the film industry is incredibly limited, however he did write the screenplay for the 2008 film 'Hancock' starring Will Smith. Neither of his parents really had an interest in film, with his mother being an educator and his father being an insurance claims adjuster; it was upon being introduced to his high school best friend's (who also happened to be future film editor and film title designer Angus Wall) Super 8 film cameras that he really formed an interest.
He ended up using the camera's lent to him to create his first sci-fi film known as 'Space Wreck', which happened to star his own brother as the protagonist. Just over a year past before he won his first award - First prize at the University of Virginia. Angus's mother, Jackie, would always encourage Gilligan to pursue a career in the film industry and would drop him and friends off at the cinemas to see new films, Gilligan exclaimed that "without Jackie, I probably wouldn't be where I am today".
Starting a Career in The X-Files
After his success working on 'The X Files' he went on to write and produce a spin-off series known as 'The Lone Gunmen' which aired in 2001, 8 years after the first season of 'The X Files' aired on American television. Unfortunately the series only lasted 1 season of 13 episodes; however it received promising reviews with critics calling it "enjoyable, intelligent and well written" and even won an award from the 'Canadian Society of Cinematographers' for 'Best Cinematography in a TV Drama'.
The Breaking Bad Phenomenon
In the face of that statement and the faces of those who turned him down, 'Breaking Bad' went on to be one of the most successful shows in the history of not just TV Drama, but television as a whole. Critics herald it as 'one of the greatest shows of all time'. The show has received a large amount of awards including the following: 4 consecutive 'Writers Guild of America' awards, 2 'Primetime Emmy' awards and Gilligan himself won an award for the directing of the Breaking Bad finale "Felina" from the 'Directors Guild of America'.
Regardless of all of this it is clear that Vince Gilligan, the boy who discovered super 8 camera's in high school, has successfully taken that passion and deep-rooted himself into a respectful place within the television industry - and for that I truly have a deep respect for him.
Also... a little tidbit! Gilligan actually answered one of my questions that I submitted in an interview with media journalism/news network IGN, here's a screenshot:
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