Joss Whedon: The Biography (76 page)

BOOK: Joss Whedon: The Biography
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a “dog movie …
” Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.


Don’t option it …
” Saralegui, quoted in Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.


when he hooks up with other policemen …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 128.


I wanted a baby for that spot” …
Whedon, undated
Suspension
draft, 41.


It’s one of those scripts …
” Saralegui, interview by the author.


I knew it sucked” …
Ibid.


I turned him into a likeable …
” Whedon, interview in
Fresh Air
, May 9, 2000.


What if he’s just the polite guy …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”


It’s all about finding …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Films like Speed belong …
” Ebert, review of
Speed
.


If it weren’t for the smart-funny twist …
” Hinson, review of
Speed
.


The arbitration was a great sticking point …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

Joss “deserved credit” …
Saralegui, interview by the author.


wrote 98.9 percent of the dialogue” …
Yost, quoted in O’Hare, “The ‘Bus Guy’ Triumphs on ‘Boomtown.’”


When I read his draft …
” Yost, quoted in Bierly, “‘Justified’ EP Graham Yost.”


Graham Yost has always been …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

6. To Infinity and Beyond: Toy Story and Alien: Resurrection

a rough draft of the picture …
Price,
The Pixar Touch
, 130.

Katzenberg “would always … be pushing …
” Schumacher, quoted in Iwerks,
Pixar Story
, documentary.


It was fascinating to read …
” Stanton, interview by the author.


I often say to people …
” Cole, interview by the author.


a perfect structure with a ghastly script …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Everything can be negotiated except Kai” …
Basinger, interview by the author.


One day, we were reading …
” Cole, interview by the author.


Many of you are going to be laid off …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”


Oh! We already know how …
” Ibid.


It would have been a really bad musical …
” Whedon, quoted in “‘Toy Story’: The Inside Buzz,”
Entertainment Weekly
.


He would wear his musical interests …
” Stanton, interview by the author.


They were so sweet …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


We’re all animators …
” Stanton, interview by the author.


She’s [Terminator 2’s] Sarah Connor …
” Whedon, quoted in “‘Toy Story’: The Inside Buzz,”
Entertainment Weekly
.


We decided we could either be PC …
” Stanton, quoted in ibid.

Joss “wrote a lot of great lines …
” Stanton, interview by the author.


Joss helped set the tone …
” Ibid.


utterly brilliant anthropomorphism” …
Maslin, review of
Toy Story
.


I can hardly imagine …
” Gleiberman, review of
Toy Story
.


For once, reality lives up to hype …
” McManus, “Toy Story: A Treasure.”


[It is] gratifying to me …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”


When they said …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


I was there for seven weeks” …
Whedon, quoted in Robinson, “Joss Whedon” (interview), September 5. 2001.


I can’t see the water” …
Whedon, interview by the author.


Of course it got thrown out” …
Ibid.


He puts together these unbelievable bits …
” Cole, interview by the author.


absolutely the part in The Remains of the Day …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Every once in a while …
” Cole, interview by the author.


I put it on, and he just …
” Ibid.


I wasn’t supposed to meet my wife …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Sigourney Weaver is the centerpiece …
” Roth, quoted in Kaplan, “Last in Space.”

a “wooden planet” …
Jolin, “Alien 3: The Lost Tale of the Wooden Planet.”


a slap in the face
” … Cameron, director’s commentary,
Aliens
.


the fans were robbed …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 27.


Scary like Alien …
” Whedon, featurette commentary in “From the Ashes.”


a total identification” …
Whedon, interview in
Joss Whedon: The Master at Play
, DVD
.


It’s very important to me …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 28.


What if I’m even stranger? …
” Weaver, quoted in Whedon, featurette commentary in “From the Ashes.”


She created an extraordinary character” …
Whedon, featurette commentary in “From the Ashes.”


When Call, who was played by Winona Ryder …
” Whedon, interview in
Joss Whedon: The Master at Play
, DVD
.


An android and a clone …
” Saralegui, interview by the author.


Then I put on a brave face …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


The first one was in the forest …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”


It was mostly a matter of doing everything wrong …
” Whedon, quoted in Harris, “Joss for a Minute.”


I don’t remember writing …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”


Listen, I don’t want to be a jerk …
” Whedon, quoted in Saralegui, interview by the author.


I think the biggest problem …
” Saralegui, interview by the author.


It was the final crappy humiliation …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 29.

7. Buffy: Resurrection


a brilliant show …
” Whedon, director’s commentary, “Innocence.”


no show on TV has ever come close …
” Whedon, printed insert,
My So-Called Life
, DVD.


I’d been waiting and waiting …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


big movie projects” …
Berman, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
, 194.


A couple of weeks later” …
Ibid, 194.


When I pitched Buffy The Vampire Slayer …
” Whedon, printed insert,
My So-Called Life
, DVD.


beautiful images” to demonstrate …
Daniels,
Season Finale
, 118.


sketched … out in Dickensian detail …
” Ibid, 119.

looking for a female teen superhero series …
Daniels, interview in “Front Row Special on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”


slight bias” against the project …
Daniels, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
, 195.


was such a fresh and improved take …
” Ibid.


overall vision that Joss pitched …
” Daniels,
Season Finale
, 120.


It’s amazing that they’re really letting …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


the great square hole …
” Whedon, Visionaries panel.

Joss called this “reset television” …
Whedon, interview in
The Write Environment
, DVD.


TV is a question …
” Whedon, interview in
Joss Whedon: The Master at Play
, DVD
.


Buffy was always intended …
” Whedon, comments in 20th Century Fox Television,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
international press kit.


They said to me …
” Gellar, interview by the author.


You tell them not to leave …
” Carpenter, quoted in “How Charisma Nearly Missed the Buffy Audition,” BBC.

a “ loud, abusive Scot” …
Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.


What he is not …
” Ibid.


I’d read the scripts in a restaurant …
” Head, interview by the author.


I was looking for a guy whose life …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


This is completely different …
” Head, interview by the author.


It has nothing to do …
” Whedon, quoted in Head, interview by the author.


shy, clumsy, sensible …
” Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.

her “own sort of shy quirkiness” …
Whedon, director’s commentary, “Welcome to the Hellmouth.”


charming, decent looking …
” Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.

a “ friendly but pointed” conversation …
Daniels,
Season Finale
, 123.


They had absolutely no time …
” Head, interview by the author.

a “nightmare, [with] the worst crew …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


But the suits don’t get it …
” Head, interview by the author.


it would be like if somebody …
” Solomon, interview by the author.


I don’t read the notes” …
Ibid.


Hey, if this thing goes to series …
” Whedon, quoted in Solomon, interview by the author.


They all just kind of fit …
” Solomon, interview by the author.


I thought that he had captured …
” Daniels, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
.


The pilot was not great” …
Ancier, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
.


I think Buffy will do for The WB …
” Daniels, quoted in Jacobs, “Interview with a Vampire Chronicler.”


part of the reason …
” Regan, quoted in Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.

Regan “came into the room …
” Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.


OK, so she’s talking about how guys …
” Hannigan, quoted in Perenson, “Leather on Willow.”


Willow is a good role model” …
Hannigan, comments in 20th Century Fox Television,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
international press kit.


I’m no more Buffy …
” Gellar, interview by the author.

8. Buffy Premieres


could go down as the creepiest show …
” Everett, review of
Profit
.


It’s got feeling …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.


David was more responsible …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Joss remembered one line …
” Batali, interview by the author.


Tell me your favorite horror movie …
” Whedon, interview in “Joss Whedon on Buffy’s Legacy.”


controlling parents as Stepford …
” Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.


Oh! This show’s gonna be …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


I like my stuff to have an edge …
” Ibid.


We learned early on …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.


He knows what he wants when he sees it …
” Espenson, interview by the author.


The question then becomes …
” Batali, interview by the author.


Joss reverse engineered …
” Gordon, interview by the author.


When we’d break stories” …
Greenwalt, interview by the author.


We spent four or five hours …
” Batali, interview by the author.


Well, here’s what it should look like” …
Whedon, quoted in Batali, interview by the author.


The first year, it was like …
” Whedon, quoted in Ken P., “An Interview with Joss Whedon.”


I did not cook at all …
” Cole, interview by the author.


One of them is funny …
” Whedon, quoted in “‘Avengers’ Director Joss Whedon,” CBS News.

Joss had wanted to preface the story …
Holder,
Buffy: The Making of a Slayer
, 21.


For each generation, there is only one slayer” … Buffy the Vampire Slayer
premiere trailer, WB.


The following two-hour world premiere …
” Ibid.


You know, we had our television tropes” …
Whedon, interview by the author.


He’s atheist, but never seemed …
” Batali, interview by the author.


We didn’t write that …
” Ibid.


I’ll never forget …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.

9. The Bronze


We were not a wealthy or respected show …
” Solomon, interview by the author.


Part of Joss’s genius …
” Head, interview by the author.


People who never watched Buffy …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.


These are really, really smart people …
” Cole, interview by the author.

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