I Am A, where the mundane becomes fascinating and the outrageous suddenly seems normal.
Greetings, Reddit. Sam Catlin here. Showrunner and Executive Producer of AMC's Preacher and Breaking Bad. AMA!
Director / Crew
In addition to Executive Producer and showrunner, I've some experience writing and consulting across TV series and movies http://www.amc.com/shows/preacher.
Shout out to the Reddit team for putting this all together. Looking forward to reading your questions. Verification: http://imgur.com/tf7SujO
EDIT: Unfortunately we're out of time. Thanks so much for all the questions, guys. It's been really great to hear from everybody. Until next time...
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Q&A
What was Seth Rogen's involvement? How was his input welcome?
Seth was a stoned heap lying in a cash stuffed mattress in the corner. Other than that? He was invaluable!
Aw the old Matt Damon Ben Affleck Good Will Hunting writing strategy.
This is one of my favorite ama replies ever
All of his projects remind me of the nazi movie in the third act of inglorious basterds.
What do you think of Better Call Saul so far?
I'm slowly warming to it as it's sort of designed to do.
what do you think?
Love it. I love the realistic and complicated characters. The heroes and villains are both coming from realistic places, and they aren't out to get each other for simple profit or malice. It's a very slow burn, but it is fun to watch these characters flail around.
Would you ever write on spec at this point in your career? Does writing for a day job take any of the fun out of writing for yourself?
good question.
there's a terrible bit of calculus that happens when people start paying you for your services and that is you become ACCUSTOMED to being paid and build a lifestyle around that expectation. this can be death to creativity. imo one has to keep writing as if they're the only audience to please
Who was your favorite BB character? I think Hank was underrated, came across as a knucklehead brother-in-law guy, but at the same time the calculating law man. Was a nice juxtaposition.
i agree. dean norris performance somehwat overlooked. he was great
I am almost finished with book 6 of Preacher and I'm sure all would agree there are quite a few "WTF?" moments. (I love it) My girlfriend is going to watch the show, so my question is, are there as many comparable "WTF?" moments in season 1?
i can honestly say WTF is a big part of the season yes
awesome, thanks!
Will there be any "martian n*ggers"??
Sir:
You played a Maitre D in a Law and Order episode back in 1998.
Do you confirm or deny that there's a secret underground society of actors who have appeared on Law and Order and its hundreds of spin offs over the years, and that secret society's membership numbers in the tens of thousands, and that society controls every aspect of the the television industry?
this is true.
What was the hardest scene in the pilot to write/and or shoot?
Jesse's final sermon
THIS GIVES ME HOPE
Compared to the comic, how much sex will be shown in the show?
Is the Preacher gang going to do a weekly podcast like Kelley Dixon does for Better Call Saul? You should!
yes podcasts! after every episode!
PREACHIN' - The post show talkshow to discuss what the hell just happened!
What in the name of God just occurred?
God's not here man.
Good on you, man.
Hey Sam, I'm the founder of the Preacher Wiki on Wikia (Preacher.wikia.com). Wondering, has Vyla been completely scrapped in favor for Odin? Also, I've seen it spelt both ways multiple times, is it Donnie or Donny Schenck?
Vyla scrapped for now. Elizabeth Perkins amazing actor but we realized post pilot we wanted to go with more old school quincannon. Donnie Schenck is his name. Schenck being last name of history teacher i had in high school
I'm a huge fan of the PREACHER comic and am excited for the show. When turning PREACHER into a show, are you making it sort of similar to the Walking Dead, where it's sort of similar to the comic and it's also not? Or do you feel like PREACHER is going to be much more like the comic where it needs to be?
the SPIRIT and CHARACTERS of Garth's comic is the blueprint. the story line is more fluid
This makes me worried.
Those were actually Ennis's terms. He's been trying to get Preacher onto another medium for a decade and has said that above all else it's a character story and that they can do whatever they want with the story as long as the basic premise is kept and the characters aren't changed at all.
Not saying you're wrong, but where did he say this?
He also said in an interview with CBS, "Essentially the problem is, if you took "Preacher" and put it on the screen as it stands, not only would the thing be almost unwatchable, overloaded with incredible characters and ghastly situations, but you'd run out material inside a season and a half."
It was this same interview when he said, "From the beginning I said that my No. 1 concern was that they keep the spirit, and I think that is what they've done."
I'm cool with this, I'm excited to see what's going to happen to Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy this time around.
What is your favorite tv-series?
Do you think Breaking Bad will be popular in ten years time?
it's hard for me to be objective about Breaking Bad but i'm pretty confident Walt's story will still be relevant many years from now
What's your opinion on Best Buy?
Edit: well fuck, I don't know what I expected.
i really enjoy. maybe i shouldn't but I just sort of exhale and relax around consumer electronic products
Will we see The Saint of Killers?
Do you think that "Weeds" was the gateway show for "Breaking Bad?"
I keep hearing that weed is not a gateway to something stronger. But it certainly seems that way, huh?
I understand for budgetary reasons that the story has been shifted around a bit to center around Annville.
Is there any possibility, if the show really takes off, that we will see the characters traveling at all? Or is the show's world going to revolve entirely around Annville from start to finish?
whoa whoa nelly. don't worry. Preacher in the end is a ROAD SHOW
ROAD TRIP!
thanks Sam for all the awesome work.
Fly is one of the most unique Breaking Bad episodes. What was going through your mind when you were writing it?
"shit, we're about a billion dollars over budget, let's see what kind of compelling drama I can spin out of two dudes in a basement for an hour"
That's what I thought.
Hi Sam, I'm posting on behalf of the Preacher fan community at WelcometoAnnville.com, it's been a long wait but the pilot episode is finally here, our team is beyond stoked for Sunday night!
We all know how crazy the comic can get. During SXSW back in March you mentioned in an interview that AMC had let you get away with everything you had filmed to that point. With production on Season One of Preacher wrapping these past couple weeks, without getting into specific details, have there been any instances since where AMC has put their foot down regarding controversial content?
Thanks Sam!
Hey G Dude. Incredibly, everything still goes. Lots of blood and severed heads and people set on fire but no feet down!
Would you rather fight 1 duck-sized Jesse Custer or 10 horse sized Jesse Pinkmen?
i wouldn't want to find ANY size Jesse Custer
This is the proper response. Word of God doesn't care how large or small you are.
But it would sound so high-pitch and cute!! :3
Like a bunny in a bear trap.
If it wasn't so fucking terrifying.
How do you set up characters and conflict in preproduction that will last a full series run? What are the most common mistakes people make?
Did you prefer Fargo season 1 or 2?
Fargo is awesome show. Think I prefer Season 2 actually.
I've only seen season 1 so far, and I loved it! hmm, might have to add a new bluray to my shelf.
RUMOR is you have a killer fantasy football league. Who's the best player?
it's true. i am not the best player although i am the commisioner whose powers i wield broadly and cruelly
What drama shows from before 1990 do you think could stand up against shows from the post-Sopranos renaissance?
very few i imagine.
hill street blues maybe?
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what is that?
How laid out is the storyline for Preacher? Is only Season 1 thought of or is it like an outline of where everything should end up eventually?
we know where it ENDS that's fer sure!
we know some of the worlds we want to explore but not for certain yet what's NEXT
Besides Seth & Evan, Michael Slovis and yourself, who else is directing an episode this season?
Craig Zisk... Scott Winant... Guillermo Navarro... Michael Morris... Kate Dennis...
Why did Jesse stick around for Walter's punishment that whole time? How did you understand his character's reasoning for not bailing on this old teacher of his he barely had a connection to, especially after so many of WW's scary shenanigans?
jesse always a follower. and walt had a hold on him.
Could you ever see yourself showrunning a video game? Do you think there is untapped potential for more narrative driven games?
that's an awesome idea. i bet they actually sort of have that at these game co's
Why did you have to go all the way to the UK to find actors to play Iconic new American roles in The Preacher?
WHAT ABOUT THE SAINT OF KILLERS????????
BB seemed to have a lot of promotions from within? More than usual? Was that a result of people leaving the back office for other things, or did the needs grow bigger as the show progressed?
I think VG was really good at casting people. Both cast and crew. Allowed him to promote within and not a lot of turnover
How much work goes into creating a show's bible? Is there a formal standard people expect to see, or is it up to the creator to create the format of the bible how they like?
I'm curious what the day-to-day is like for a showrunner. I'm sure it depends on the person, the show, and the day, but what does your day tend to be like? Are you on set a lot?
The show looks fantastic, BTW. Can't wait to see it!
I spend most of my time alongside my customized chocolate fountain browsing tasteful nudes of desperate young starlets. Ocassionally I take calls from my money manager. The show pretty much writes itself.
seriously i'm in writer's room breaking stories with occasional visits to New Mexico set but need to finsih writing before I can really be on set full time.
What's your favorite comic book?
Archie & Veronica
the early, edgy ones
Hey Sam! Love Your work on Break Bad! haha but seriously one of the things i love about Preacher, as well as everyone, are the villains! How often can we see new villains spring out of the wood work? I am anxious for the premiere! I know you, Seth, and Evan are going to dominate !
thanks!
there will be villians out the ying yang
It's been a long time since I read the books but I vividly recall a short, Southern gentleman with a penchant for hog butchery. Please tell me he's in that ying yang (and is played by Patton Oswalt).
Jackie Earle Haley is playing one Mr. Odin Quincannon. One of the trailers released shows him, technically. I mean, it's just his arm reaching out a car window with a handful of sausage links, but we all know.
Of course, they've relocated him from Salvation to Annville and bumped him up into season 1, which is a little odd plot-wise, but Mr. Catlin's answered elsewhere in here that they're focusing on the spirit and chemistry of the characters moreso than hewing directly to the plot of the comics, so things like when various characters show up are going to be a bit fluid, it seems.
Well shoot, that's awesome. Mr. Haley never fails to deliver the goods.
What was it like working with AMC? Do you think it benefited the show being on a cable channel as opposed to network tv?
for sure. no way this works on network. to be honest i can't believe they're letting us put this shit on CABLE
Hutuvyuu
Do you think the chemistry must be respected?
I do
If you had to adapt one Scorsese film into a multi-year, open ended TV series - which film would you pick, and who would you cast in the leads?