Lyons ‘69 Discusses Failure and Success

If you’ve ever wondered how the popular television series "Breaking Bad" realistically portrayed a train heist in which Jesse Pinkman, a character in the show, lies on a railroad track under a moving train in one episode without endangering cast members, then Stewart Lyons ‘69, line producer of "Breaking Bad," is the man to talk to. Lyons’ job is to make the screenwriters’ vision come to life on film. On Tuesday, he returned to Exeter to speak at Assembly and share his experiences and well-seasoned advice from Hollywood with fellow Exonians.

Lyons graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1969. In his Assembly speech, he said that he struggled at Exeter, and that his job as a stage manager for Dramat later became his career.

"I’m still doing the job that I was doing here as a stage manager. I herd the cast onto the stage, I get everybody their toys and I make sure they play nice," Lyons said, describing the similarities between his role in Dramat, and his current job.

Lyons has been working in the film industry for almost 40 years now, and has received two Emmy Awards for his work on "Breaking Bad." He functions as the key manager who oversees the daily operations and logistics that go into the making of a show, from budgeting, scheduling, hiring crews, collecting necessary props and materials, to making sure the filming goes smoothly.

"I do exactly what I did with Dramat, except I get to spend a lot more money," Lyons said, as he had a three million budget for each episode.

When asked what he enjoys about his job, which he refers to as "both terrifying and fun at the same time," he said he likes the constant changing of his responsibilities, that he gets a new story every time someone hands him a script, and the challenge of having no idea how to make something happen.

In his Assembly, Lyons questioned why "Breaking Bad" became so popular, as it is economically depressing, the actors aren’t gorgeous, people die and it’s not glamorous. "It’s no Miami Vice," he said.

Exonian fans of the show have many opinions on why it became such a hit. Upper Joon Kim believed that "Breaking Bad" achieved so much success because it depicts "an alternate universe where we could be a mastermind criminal. It gives us an escape from the dull and boring moments in our lives and excites it just for an hour at a time."

"I think it's popular because it's relatable. Walt makes bad decisions, but he feels free about it," prep Nicole Stork said.

Not only is the show relatable, but many felt that Lyons’ message was well conveyed. Throughout his speech, he highlighted that his failures have been directly related to all of his success. "Failure is not a stop sign but a detour—anything can happen on that road," Lyons said.

Lyons compared himself to Walter White in the sense that they are "different manifestations of that connection between failure and success. His humility is apparent," dance instructor Alison Duke said.

Students felt that they related with him more than other Assembly speakers because he focused on his experiences with failure rather than how to attain success.

"It was inspiring because we've all failed and the idea that failure is a recipe for success is not a common one," upper Ruby Fludzinski said.

Some, however, felt that Lyon’s message was very similar to those of many of other Assembly speakers that Exeter hosts, and was somewhat redundant. "His message that failure is vital to success is something we've heard many times from Assembly speakers," senior Michael Tuchler said. "However, it is a very important message to hear and he did a good job portraying it to us."

Others thought that his story of finding his true strength of producing, over his passion for writing screenplays was advice that not everyone should take. "The question I would ask would be, ‘Even if you’re good at something, should you do it just to be successful?’" senior Nick Felli said.

Still, most found his message to be extremely relevant to the Exeter experience, especially as the college application deadline approaches. "He really capitalized on the point that his future wasn't always promising, which people, especially the seniors this term, might be feeling the weight of," lower Majestic Terhune said.

Lower Athena Gordon felt that his success story was especially refreshing to hear because of his struggle at Exeter, that Exonians can relate to.

"It's really great to see someone who went through Exeter with struggles, and still succeeded by following their passion," Gordon said.

"It's every person's dream to do that, and to see that in real life is so great. We're often so focused on success and so afraid of failing, that it takes away from the true aspect of learning,"

Lyons said that "one of the great things about Exeter" was that the school teaches students to not fear learning. "You would be surprised how many people are afraid of learning, and it’s because they associate it with failure," he said. "The thing about mistakes is that you will make them, just don’t make them a second time."

For final advice as an Exeter graduate, he said, "Everything you do here, you will carry forth, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to use in some other place. Some of the strangest skills you pick up at Exeter are useful later on, but mostly the sense of hard work and of learning."