After graduating from the NYU film program Vince Gilligan wrote an episode for the “X-Files” and the piece found its way to Chris Carter, creator of the show. He was hired for the writing job at age 28. This was a lucky break for the aspiring young filmmaker. He advanced to writing and producing for the show. His writing is good and it landed him more gigs including a stint for “Breaking Bad.” He’s doing okay but it appears that he’s on a venture that could lead to even greater things. Vince is a creative writer and he knows how to develop a seriously flawed character and even make them likeable. This will come in handy for his latest undertaking.
Here is what we know about his latest project:
Taking on a new HBO series
We’ll see more of Vince’s creative writing as he develops the new mini-series about the former cult leader Jim Jones. This will be an HBO exclusive for the 50-year-old. Soon, we’ll have his perspective on the People’s Temple tragedy. The film will be directed by Michelle McLaren. Vince shares that the crew will be working on the adaptation of the book “Raven,” written by Tim Reiterman for the series. He is an expert on the topic, and was also there with congressman Leo Ryan when he made the fateful trip to Guyana. They were the last to interview the infamous cult leader Jim Jones. He was there on the airstrip with bullets whizzing past him as the congressman was violently murdered. He was struck in the wrist by a bullet that tore his wristwatch off. Reiterman lived to tell about the ordeal and he still has the scar from his close call with death.
Vince plans to write the entire project on his own. He has access to the information that he needs and the interview with someone who was actually there, along with the contents of the book should give him all of the information that he needs to successfully write a riveting account of the events leading up to the People’s Temple tragedy. This is nothing new for him though. Vince was the sole writer for the pilot of “Breaking Bad,” but since, other writers have been brought on board. He jokes about forgetting how to write after allowing others to take over the job.
Possible cast
The developers are not sharing much about the project yet, but what we do know is that Vince has been thinking about who would be the best candidate to play Jim Jones. So far, the only name that has surfaced is Bob Odenkirk who is becoming well known for his role as Saul Goodman. Gilligan has worked with him and he knows what Bob is capable of. He has total confidence in his ability to pull off such a role, but there has been no confirmation of cast offers or assignments at this point. We hope to hear more about Gilligan’s new HBO project in the near future.
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