H’Wood Reporter Speaks to Top Showrunners

Okay, we admit it. Usually we hate these sniveling puff pieces. But these are showrunners. Writers. Talking about their shows. And how to write them. And everyone knows that writer P.R. is, well, every bit as sacred as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Or something like that.

Killed Characters, Fired Bosses and Canceled Shows: TV’s Top Drama Showrunners Tell All

On a sunny morning in early May, six of television’s busiest showrunners enjoyed that rarest of luxuries: two hours away from writers rooms, sets and, most frightening, blank computer screens. Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad), 45, Howard Gordon(Homeland), 51, Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal), 42, Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead), 44,Veena Sud (The Killing), 45, and Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire), 52, run some of the most powerful and critically lauded drama series on TV. In a candid discussion about the pressures of their jobs, The Hollywood Reporter heard how some have killed off popular characters, how Mazzara coped with replacing his bossFrank Darabont, the rave reviews Gilligan receives from addicts for his spot-on meth recipes and Gordon’s struggle — shared by the others — to live a life despite “being perpetually haunted by these stories.”

Hero of the Day (We Can’t Guarantee to Love Him All Week)

Man Pushes Netflix Account To The Max, Watches 252 Movies In 30 Days

By Chris Morran on June 5, 2012 12:34 PM

Are you a Netflix customer who feels like you don’t always get the most of your $7.99/month for unlimited streaming video? Well, one man decided to put Netflix and himself to the test by watching more than 400 hours of video in a month.

Mark Malkoff, who previously tested New Yorkers’ willingness to do anything for a free taxi ride and thelimits of Apple store hospitality, started his Netflix movie-thon on April 16.

In the first week alone, he watched 60 films for a total of 95.55 hours. In fact, he says he didn’t leave his Queens apartment for a stretch of 155 hours that week, though he did manage to get Jason London, star of the Richard Linklater classic Dazed and Confused to pop by and provide running commentary on the film — and a shoulder rub.