'Breaking Bad' gets a night at the museum -- LACMA to be exact

1/25

Bryan Cranston, left, and Aaron Paul with show creator and episode director Vince Gilligan. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

2/25

Bryan Cranston, who plays Walter White, has his goatee brushed by makeup artist Frieda Valenzuela before a day of shooting on AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” in Albuquerque on May 26. Cranston’s Walter is a high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, turns to making and selling crystal methamphetamine, partenering with his former student Jesse Pinkman, played by fellow Emmy winner Aaron Paul. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

3/25

Aaron Paul, who plays Jesse Pinkman, left, is prepped with his character’s tattoo before a day of shooting. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

4/25

A photo of actor Aaron Paul, who plays Jesse Pinkman, is used for reference in the makeup trailer. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

5/25

Aaron Paul gives director and executive producer Michelle MacLaren a hug while they review scenes. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

6/25

Director and executive producer Michelle MacLaren frames a scene involving Aaron Paul’s character Jesse Pinkman breaking up freshly made crystal methamphetamine on the “super lab” set. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

7/25

Extras are seen inside a drug lab set waiting for filming to begin with Aaron Paul. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

8/25

Props decorate the super lab set where characters Walter and Jesse make crystal methamphetamine. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

9/25

Aaron Paul puts gloves on to complete the wardrobe for character Jesse Pinkman, who will be breaking up freshly made crystal methamphetamine on the “super lab” set. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

10/25

Aaron Paul walks through a scene while lighting and camera take last measurements. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

11/25

Aaron Paul, as Jesse Pinkman, breaks up freshly made crystal methamphetamine. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

12/25

Actor Bryan Cranston talks with makeup artist Frieda Valenzuela while staying cool inside an abandoned building. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

13/25

Bryan Cranston, playing Walter, and Bob Odenkirk, as his lawyer Saul Goodman, prepare for a scene. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

14/25

Director and “Breaking Bad” show runner Vince Gilligan, center, helps move props before shooting on location inside an industrial laundry facility in Albuquerque. Gilligan, who created the show, is an executive producer and occasionally directs. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

15/25

Bins store cloth on the set. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

16/25

Show creator and episode director Vince Gilligan on the set. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

17/25

On the set with show creator and episode director Vince Gilligan and director of photography Michael Slovis. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

18/25

Extras sit outside an industrial laundry facility. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

19/25

The sun sets over an industrial laundry facility. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

20/25

The sun sets over an industrial laundry facility. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

21/25

New Mexico State Police K-9 officer Joseph Romero on set with his German shephard partner, Sasja, who played a drug-sniffing dog in a scene. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

22/25

On location inside an industrial laundry facility. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

23/25

Aaron Paul, left, and Bryan Cranston, right, listen to direction from show creator and episode director Vince Gilligan. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

24/25

Show creator Vince Gilligan, center, directs Bryan Cranston, left, in green and Aaron Paul, right. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

25/25

Director Vince Gilligan. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

By Greg Braxton

July 24, 2013 11:13 AM PT

Meth came to the museum Tuesday night.

“Breaking Bad,” the hit AMC drama about a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who gradually evolves into a deadly criminal, was saluted at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with a live reading of the series’ pilot script by several guest stars taking on the roles of the series’ characters

Jason Reitman, who heads up Film Independent’s Live Read series that has previously featured films such as “The Apartment” and “The Princess Bride,” directed a witty but respectful performance of the script, which he called “phenomenal.”

BUZZMETER: Emmy 2013 pundit’s picks

He was also a bit nervous, because the author, “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan, was in the standing-room-only crowd, along with several stars from the series, including Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn.

Rainn Wilson from “The Office” took on the role of Walter White, the drug kingpin played by Cranson, while Mae Whitman (“Arrested Development”) brought a gender-bending flavor in taking on the role of Jesse Pinkman, the tortured junkie played by Paul in the series.

Others in the cast included Chi McBride, Ellie Kemper and Anne Mumolo.

VIDEO: Summer 2013 TV preview

The players sat on the stage with their scripts positioned on music stands for the “cold” reading. Wilson inhabited White with a dry weariness suitable for the downtrodden character, while Whitman injected her Jesse role with a spirited, jerky energy that quickly won over the fans in the theater.

In the pilot script, Walter White learns he has terminal cancer. Rather than tell his family, he partners up with Pinkman to manufacture crystal meth, hoping he’ll make enough money to provide for his struggling family after he dies.

The final episodes of “Breaking Bad” start airing Aug. 11.

ALSO:

‘Duck Dynasty’ announces season four premiere date

Andie McDowell falls for the romance of ‘Cedar Cove’

‘Moyers & Company’ will commemorate March on Washington