You might have heard of it. It's the one about the science teacher/cancer patient turned meth maker. It has won a bunch of awards and the Dad from Malcolm in the Middle is in it.
Well the show takes place and is filmed here in Albuquerque. The city has become a character in the show. A big part of what the company I work for does is marketing the city of Albuquerque to visitors. To entice people to come visit and spend money here. Because of the success of Breaking Bad, we've seen a big increase in visitors coming to Albuquerque specifically to tour spots featured in the show.
A few months ago, the cast held a fundraiser in town for a local youth charity. Basically you could pay an insane amount of money to come and hang out with the cast for a few hours. They also invited the local press to come and cover the event. Our PR person Megan, was able to score a press pass and got permission to interview the cast for their thoughts on Albuquerque. Unfortunately for her and lucky for me, she wasn't able to go...and neither was anyone else in the office...so they sent me!
Not going to lie, it was pretty awesome. I showed up early...really early. Like an hour early. I wasn't sure how long it would take to drive out to the studio where the event was being held and I have a pathilogical fear of being late AND I have a habit of getting lost so I made sure to leave with more than enough time for me to wander the New Mexican desert and still show up on time.
Turns out, getting to the studio was fool proof, even Natalie proof. It literally took me 15 minutes to get there, get through security, park and get my credentials.
Not many people had shown up yet so I was left wander around. Never a good idea. I have a habit of just walking around and getting into places I shouldn't be. Cameron is constantly amazed at how I can get backstage and into exclusive places without being stopped. (He gets stopped even if he is supposed to be there!)
I was also able to snap a few pictures before everyone came in:
Reelz Channel is a cable movie channel that is headquartered in Albuquerque.
People finally started to arrive and they had the press line up along the side of the room. There were a few TV stations there and reporters from the Albuquerque Journal so I figured I'd stay out of their way and stand at the back of the line.You know, let the professionals do their jobs
Once everyone was lined up, the actors came in and what I thought was the back...turned out to be the front. I was the first one to interview Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn. They were all super nice though I had to resist the urge to touch Bryan Cranston's bald head.
Once the interviews were over, the cast sat down and the festivities started. They raised over $30,000 for a local youth charity called YDI. The kids were brought out, Bryan Cranston gave a speech, a giant check was presented.
One thing that really struck me was how much the cast knew about Albuquerque, how much they appreciated the community and the fans here. They didn't just fly in to film and then leave, most of them have bought houses here and continue to spend time here.
Oh yeah..then this happened...(Ignore the crazy eyes)
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