‘Breaking Bad’ Creator Vince Gilligan Pleads With Fans To Stop Throwing Pizzas

Vince Gilligan probably wasn’t prepared for the icon status that would emerge for Walter White when he created the character, nor was he ready for the poor decisions fans of his highly successful Breaking Bad would make. As such, it was probably disheartening for Gilligan when on the podcast for his follow up hit, Better Call Saul, that Vince had to make a plea for fans of the show to stop throwing pizzas onto the roof of the Albuquerque home in which Breaking Bad was filmed.

Gilligan shot footage of the front of the Albuquerque home, reportedly owned and lived in by an elderly couple for forty one years, for several scenes of Breaking Bad that took place in front of Walter White’s house.

Fans will recognize the home’s exterior from the Gilligan drama as it was the scene of several pivotal moments, including Walter watching from afar as his neighbor entered the home to make sure it was safe and a frantic Skyler chasing Walter as he kidnapped baby Holly. And while Gilligan is no doubt relieved that fans aren’t breaking in or kidnapping anyone, it seems the Breaking Bad following has fixated on another moment to emulate — Walter’s fit of pizza throwing.

In the Breaking Bad episode from Season 3, as Walter approaches his estranged wife Skyler with a pizza peace offering, she quickly rejects him, prompting him to toss the cheesy pie onto the roof of their home in a fit of rage. According to Vince Gilligan, copycat pizza flinging has been a problem for the couple who actually resides there.

“Lately, we’re hearing from the owner that folks are wandering on to her property, and are being rude to her when she comes out and basically says ‘you’re on my property’. They are throwing pizzas on roofs and stuff like that.”

Gilligan went on to say that he doesn’t even consider those who would be so disrespectful to be fans of the show but rather referred to them as “jagoffs” and requested that if any true fans see this type of behavior, that they write down the license plate numbers of the culprits and alert the authorities.

To bring muscle to Gilligan’s mild manner plea, resident Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul tough guy Jonathan Banks chimed in.

“If I catch you doing it, I will hunt you down.”

Both Banks and Gilligan continue to film in Albuquerque for episodes of Better Call Saul.

Vince Gilligan has been credited with boosting Albuquerque’s economy by choosing to shoot Breaking Bad and its sister show, Better Call Saul, in the Land of Enchantment. Gilligan and several actors from the cast of Breaking Bad have received multiple awards and nominations, including Emmys and Golden Globes, for the series that concluded last year.

Though both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are centered around criminal activity, prompting criminal activity is certainly not the type of legacy Gilligan wants to leave behind. In an interview following the end of Breaking Bad, Gilligan had said he had hoped he had a created a series that would be enjoyed for generations and that it would outlive him, “you wanna have that kind of immortality through your work.” Hopefully pizza throwing doesn’t mar his aspirations.

[Image courtesy of BBC]