Steven Soderbergh may have claimed that he’s made his last movie, but that’s not going to stop him from doing just about everything else, including (and especially) television. With HBO’s Behind The Candelabra garnering plenty of critical praise (you can check out our review here), Soderbergh’s thoughts seem to turn to other ways of marrying mediums. Case in point? He has a very unique idea about the season finale for Breaking Bad.
Soderbergh’s idea is to release the last two episodes of the season as a limited-run film in theatres. Here’s what he had to say:
You’d sell that during the season – ‘See the season finale in theatres!’ – and just run it for a week, but I feel like you’d clean up. It’s never been done before.
Soderbergh’s idea is more than just a cash grab, though. He thinks that it will help foster the communal viewing experience that is somewhat lacking in television.
Not that this is going to be put into practice any time soon. Soderbergh has not approached anyone attached to Breaking Bad about the idea. It just sounds like an interesting notion that he might take a stab at in the future.
Soderbergh is constantly experimenting with new ways to experience movies. Remember 2005’s Bubble, which was released simultaneously in cable, on DVD and in theatres? The notion has since been done by other films, but Soderbergh was one of the first to even think it could work.
Given that TV seems to have captured Steven Soderbergh’s attention right now, I would not be surprised to see this concept of launching a season or series finale in theatres come back. It’s an intriguing idea that could help to further break down that artificial barrier between television in cinema. That barrier is already on the point of collapse, thanks to networks like HBO and AMC. Who better than Steven Soderbergh to smash it to bits?
What do you think of Steven Soderbergh’s idea for Breaking Bad? Would you pay for the communal experience?