"I prefer to stay out of money and scheduling issues, though it is to my detriment and I know that. I remember when somebody first told me that you’re now in charge of a $40 million start-up, it kind of freaked me out," he says of jobs he'd like to delegate.
From their obsessive rituals (Peppermint Patties! Oatmeal! Bruce Springsteen!) to the parts of their jobs they hate most (killing characters off, dealing with agents), TV's most influential writer-producers featured on The Hollywood Reporter's annual list of the Top 50 Showrunners come clean about the people, things and quirky habits that keep them -- and their shows -- alive.

Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad (AMC)

The show that inspired me to write:

Gilligan: The Twilight Zone because it was so marvelously constructed.

My TV mentor:

Gilligan: Definitely Chris Carter, who created The X Files. He gave me my first job in television and he taught me everything I know about writing and producing television and I use the things that I learned on X Files everyday on Breaking Bad.

My proudest accomplishment this year:

Gilligan: Directing two episodes of Breaking Bad back to back. I was worried whether or not I was going to get through it, physically speaking. I don’t have a lot of energy left these days. That was the closest I’ve come to directing a movie, which is definitely something I’d love to do in the future. Directing two hours of the show back-to-back and crossboarding and block shooting them seemed to me a pretty good dry run for doing a movie when this is all said and done.

My toughest scene to write this year:

Gilligan: It would be a toss up between Gustavo Fring’s death and Mike Ehrmantraut’s death. I wrote the scene with Gustavo Fring getting killed; but I did not write the other scene. So I can’t speak to the difficulty of writing that scene, but I think those two episodes were tough on the writers and on the cast and crew because everyone loves those actors so much and it was a real shame to let them go. Telling them was much tougher than writing the scenes though. Taking both of those gentleman aside and telling them, "Guess what? The end is nigh," that was uncomfortable. Both of them were gentlemen, although Jonathan Banks did threaten to punch me in the heart.


 

Trevor Grove - who works at collectible giants Sideshow - has spent some spare time recently doing exactly what he does 9-5. Only this time instead of sci-fi movie stars or video game characters, he's sculpting Breaking Bad's Walter White.

He's done three figures in all, with the bodies cannibalised from Hot Toys pieces, with custom sculpting taking care of most of the rest. They are, as you'd expect from the guy responsible for that incredible Obi-Wan statue we showed you recently, indistinguishable from something you'd pay good money for.

Breaking Bad actor Mark Margolis has signed on for the second season of Ryan Murphy's uber-creepy FX drama American Horror Story.

While Margolis' name might not ring a bell, his Breaking Bad character certainly will -- he played wheelchair-bound drug kingpin Tio, who put an end to Gus Fring with an explosive act of self-sacrifice at the end of Season 4.

In keeping with the castings for American Horror Story's second season -- which has been dubbed American Horror Story: Asylum -- so far, character details are being kept tightly under wraps. However, Margolis will play a character named Sam Goodwin, an FX spokesman confirmed to TheWrap.

Margolis joins a cast that includes returning members such as Jessica Lange (who took home an Emmy last Sunday for her work in the first season) and Evan Peters, as well as new faces such as actor James Cromwell, Chloe Sevigny and Maroon 5 frontman/The Voice coach Adam Levine.

This season, which premieres Oct. 17, takes place in a mental institution on the East Coast.

Not everyone has their own unique outlook on life, but those who do are often more than eager to share that viewpoint with you. Such is Marie. An opinionated commenter on everything from health care to haute couture, Mrs. Hank Schrader has no shortage of bon mots both on air and online. Haven't read Marie's blog yet? Check out a sampling of excerpts below.

• "I'm sleeping in a motorized bed and I spend all my spare time in a closet full of boxed rocks. I'm going to blog about whatever the H-E-double-hockey-sticks I want." -- Marie's Blog - In Sickness and In Health (Season 4 Episode 1, "Box Cutter")

• "A nurse is like a medical Leatherman -- whatever needs doing, a nurse will get it done. That is seriously badass." -- Marie's Blog - Superheroes In Clogs (Season 4 Episode 2, "Thirty-Eight Snub")

• "It's amazing how many situations can be fixed by the open and free exchange of feelings. If only my friends and family would see that, they'd be happier people, and I wouldn't have to blog on eggshells." -- Marie's Blog - Finding the Treat in the Silent Treatment (Season 4 Episode 6, "Cornered")

• "The only thing standing between me and a purple toaster oven was the determination to never stop looking until I found one." -- Marie's Blog - Dream Big, Albuquerque! (Season 4 Episode 7, "Problem Dog")

• "I'm not saying it makes you a bad parent if you put your kid in daycare, but if I had a beautiful, smiley little baby, I would never hand her over to a total stranger for eight hours a day." -- Marie's Blog - Holding Out For a Hero (Season 4 Episode 8, "Hermanos)

• "My brother-in-law has been dragged into an elaborate scheme in which he and Hank sneak off to a strip club. Yes, Hank. I know! And guess what? I DON'T CARE!" -- Marie's Blog - Don't Rock the Boat (Season 4 Episode 9, "Bug")

Here's a joke: Three guys go to see this world famous doctor, who says he can cure anyone of anything. He just looks at you, knows what's wrong, and then he fixes you: magic! Doctor calls the first guy in: "What seems to be the trouble?" Guy says: "I'm sad all the time and I want to kill myself." Doctor says, "Aha! You're depressed. Take some Zoloft, see a therapist, get over yourself. Next!" Next guy comes in limping. Doc: "What seems to be the trouble?" Guy says: "I cut my leg and now it's turning colors and I can't feel nothing." Doctor looks at the leg, which is black from the knee down: pus, goo, blood, real nasty stuff. "Aha!" says the doc, "You've got gangrene. That leg's gonna have to come off." Final guy comes in; doc asks what's the trouble. Guy says, "I can't eat, I can't sleep, and I'm bleeding from my ears and every orifice." Doctor looks at the blood trickling out the guys ears, says "Aha! You have Ebola!" Then he prepares a syringe of green liquid -- something weird, looks like jello or something -- shoots it into the guy's leg and sends him off: "You're cured!" The guy wobbles out, still bleeding. Doctor's nurse hears this and says: "Doctor, what are you doing? There's no cure for Ebola." Doctor: "Sure, there is." Nurse: "What is it?" Doc says, "Death. Call the coroner, would you? I just injected that man with cyanide and he should be dropping over any second now."

I didn't say it was a funny joke.

RJ Mitte, who plays Walter, Jr. onBreaking Bad, talks about the muscle cars he gets to drive for work, shares his surprising nickname and hints at Walter, Jr.'s secret activities.



Q: First things first: Walter, Jr. got the Challenger back this season! How much did you get to drive it on set?

A: I got to a bit. It's definitely a bomb car. I got a little pony car for me to the drive to the set: A 1969 Cougar. It's not big, but it's nice.

Q: Last year you told us you were trying to get a Vespa. Any luck?

A: Instead of the Vespa I bought the Cougar, but I'm going next week to get my M1 license. I've been riding bikes since I was a kid, and I miss it. My last bike I crashed into a brick wall -- it just jumped out of nowhere -- and I haven't ridden anything since.

Scottish actress Laura Fraser, who plays Lydia Rodarte-Quayle onBreaking Bad, talks about the most intimidating actor on-set, theorizes what a Scottish version of the show would look like and explains why she can't walk into Apple stores any more...

Q: Lydia seems constantly on the verge of death. Were you worried that she was going to get knocked off?

A: Oh yeah, absolutely. They told me I was going to be in more after the first half of the season, but I thought they could change their mind pretty easily and I could be gone.



Q: Who did you find to be the most intimidating person on-set?

A: I found Jonathan Banks the scariest. My very first scene was with him and I was incredibly nervous myself. With him kind of playing that scary character opposite me, there was a level of fear that was real. And I hadn't had a chit-chat with him really before it. With Bryan Cranston, when I watch the show he's extremely sinister and frightening. But chatting with him before acting with him, he's just hysterical.

Q: Jonathan Banks has said that Mike is responsible for his own downfall for not following his own rules and killing Lydia. What's your take on that?

A: I didn't read that, but I remember him on set saying, "What the f***? No half-measures! What am I doing?" But, you know Mike f***ed up. He took a half-measure, what can I say? I felt sad when I heard what happened -- I left at Episode 505 and came back at Episode 508 expecting to see him there, and then realized that his character had died the previous episode. I was a bit bereft because I was looking to get to know him a bit more!

Q: You're from Scotland and talking to you now, I hear a strong accent. How did you master Lydia's American accent -- and her unique way of speaking?

      This week, Bryan Cranston is in Men's Journal, while Aaron Paul is one of People's nominees for TV's sexiest star. Plus Vince Gilligan chats with The Telegraph and The Daily Beast. Read on for more.

• Check out Bryan Cranston on the cover of next month's Men's Journal, which explores the actor's "turbulent and often dark history."

• You have until Sunday to make Aaron Paul People's sexiest male TV star.

• Vince Gilligan describes Walt's deceptions to The Telegraph: "The scriptwriters and I have a joke that if Walter had a superpower it would be to lie effortlessly, and the person he lies to the most is himself."

• The Daily Beast examines several scenes from the Season 4 finale, "Face Off," with Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Giancarlo Esposito, and Mark Margolis.

• Jimmy Kimmel Tweeted a photo with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, calling it a "foreshadowing" of the Emmy Awards ceremony this weekend. Parker Posey helps promote the Emmys with an Emmy-Speech Master Class video featuring a Cranston shout-out.

• Anna Gunn chats with The Daily Beast about Skyler staying with Walt: "There's a myriad of reasons for that that are fascinating. There's layer upon layer, which makes the material beautiful to play as an actor."

This week, Aaron Paul triumphs on Emmy night and is applauded for both his speech and fashion, while Giancarlo Esposito is a guest on The Tonight Show. Plus The Daily Beastlikes the Emmys' Breaking Badspoof. Read on for more Breaking Bad news.


• The Huffington Post thinks Aaron Paul's Emmy speech for his win for best supporting actor included one of the evening's most quotable moments, when he thanked Vince Gilligan "for not killing me off."The San Jose Mercury News chooses Paul as one of the ceremony's best dressed because he "cleans up quite well. Plus, he looks so dang happy."

• According to the Los Angeles Times, Aaron Paul expected Giancarlo Esposito to triumph in their category. Meanwhile, Esposito tells The Hollywood Reporter that the "best man won." The hug between Paul and Esposito after Paul was announced the winner was one of Hollywood.com's best moments of the Emmys.

• Giancarlo Esposito visits Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, talking about his background and Gus. He says, "Since Breaking Bad, life has changed for me. People call me 'sir' everywhere I go."

• The Daily Beast calls Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's spoof of Breaking Bad, à la The Andy Griffith Show, at the Emmys "one of the funnier moments of the night," and Today.com thought it was one of the evening's funniest skits.

• E! Online interviews Aaron Paul after his Emmy win for best supporting actor. Beforehand, on the red carpet, Paul speaks with Extra about the chances of a Breaking Bad movie happening once the series wraps up -- and Digital Spy reports that Paul is protective of Jesse.

• RJ Mitte kept a video diary of his time at the Emmys for New York -- and it features cameos by Dean Norris and Aaron Paul, who wishes he had some scenes on the show with Mitte ("It's upsetting. It doesn't make sense").

• Dean Norris tells Popsugar that Breaking Bad has "penetrated the cultural Zeitgeist in a way that we didn't think was possible the first two years" after garnering both critical acclaim and fan support.