Joss Whedon: The Biography (80 page)

BOOK: Joss Whedon: The Biography
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These people are going to be …
” Cole, interview by the author.


The writers … were very appreciative …
” dreamlogic, Whedonesque post, November 6, 2007.


Dear Writers …
” Whedon, “From Joss Whedon: Do Not Adjust Your Mindset.”


That’s the reason I write …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


the reuse of movies and television programs …
” Writers Guild of America, West, “Writers Guild Members Overwhelmingly Ratify New Contract.”


He thought it was a bad idea” …
Cole, interview by the author.

29. Dr. Horrible, I Presume


I wanted to write songs” …
Whedon, interview in
Fresh Air
, February 12, 2009.


Freedom is glorious” …
Whedon, quoted in Baldwin, “The Web Has Been Wonderful.”

he was “scheming schemes” …
Whedon, Whedonesque post, December 20, 2007.


The embarrassing thing …
” Joss Whedon, quoted in Rosen, “Family Tradition.”


All of a sudden the world …
” Tancharoen, quoted in “Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen,” Dr. Horrible official fan site.


Then he got mad …
” Harris, quoted in Vary, “‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.’”


‘Hey, so, we have this thing …’
” Fillion, interview by the author.


The thing about Joss …
” Day, quoted in Vary, “‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.’”


[Joss] said that obviously …
” Harris, quoted in Vary, “‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.’”

the “guilds haven’t been beaten down …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


I got to invent them” …
Ibid.


There’s no reason …
” Whedon, quoted in Rosen, “New Media Guru.”


The concept was so pure …
” Harris, quoted in Vary, “‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.’”


It was helpful having those years …
” Boretz, quoted in “Producer, Michael Boretz,” Dr. Horrible official fan site.


He creates that kind of environment …
” Ibid.


One of the things that makes him …
” Wilcox, interview by the author.


When I pull a favor …
” Helberg, interview by the author.


Joss knows what he wants …
” Ibid.


all kinds of guerilla filmmaking …
” Harris, interview by the author.


everybody was like a family” …
Cole, interview by the author.


More than any project …
” Fillion, interview by the author.

it had “gotten backburnered” …
Whedon, quoted in Vineyard, “Joss Whedon’s Hollywood Status Update.”


Everything was in place …
” Whedon, quoted in Utichi, “A Buffy-Style Kicking.”


I kept waiting for the other shoe…
” Goddard, interview by the author.


She was so on top of it” …
Whedon, quoted in Rosen, “New Media Guru.”


We like to say we broke …
” Ibid.


Releasing it for free …
” Harris, interview by the author.


Backstage, he was even redder …
” Helberg, interview by the author.


It was very surreal” …
Harris, interview by the author.


But what he loved …
” Whedon, interview in
Fresh Air
, February 12, 2009.


It’s not like a huge moneymaker …
” Cole, interview by the author.


There was a picture of Dr. Horrible …
” Whedon, quoted in Rosen, “New Media Guru.”


I’ll probably regret [that idea] forever …
” Whedon, interview in
Fresh Air
, February 12, 2009.


ambitious and funny while still being …
” Bianculli,
Fresh Air
, February 12, 2009.


Those songs are as equally entertaining …
” Harris, interview by the author.


I always want to get behind …
” Whedon, interview in
Fresh Air
, February 12, 2009.


Homer’s Odyssey was swell …
” Whedon, “Heart (Broken),” in
Commentary!: The Musical
.

30. Dollhouse

had done his best not to be “too embarrassing” …
Whedon, quoted in “Exclusive: Joss Whedon Talks DOLLHOUSE,”
theTVaddict.com
.


Joss and I found common ground …
” Penikett, interview by the author.


painfully convoluted sentences …
” Williams, interview by the author.


Did human trafficking just get …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Some of them said …
” Ibid.


The Network and I had different ideas …
” Whedon, Whedonesque post, October 26, 2008.


It takes a long time to find …
” Penikett, interview by the author.


every show has its own music …
” Lennix, quoted in ibid.


A good deal of Dollhouse …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Dollhouse was the one time …
” Whedon, quoted in Hibberd, “Joss Whedon: The Definitive EW Interview.”


I said, ‘Whoa, no way! …’
” Tudyk, quoted in Adams, “Alan Tudyk” (interview).


There’s no mediation …
” Penikett, interview by the author.


Maybe with a different creator …
” Kranz, interview by the author.


It’s kind of an elegy …
” Oswalt, quoted in Wolk, “Q&A: Patton Oswalt.”

31. The Cabin in the Woods


That was definitely one of …
” Goddard, quoted in Colis, “‘The Cabin in the Woods.’”


They’re wonderful, decent people …
” Whedon and Goddard, filmmakers’ commentary,
The Cabin in the Woods
.


This is basically the same …
” Ibid.


Here’s an example …
” Whedon and Goddard,
The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion
, 21.


very good, funny and smart” …
Jenkins, quoted in Whedon and Goddard,
The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion
, 48.


It was awkward” …
Kranz, quoted in Colis, “‘The Cabin in the Woods.’”


Joss [said that he’d] been seeing me …
” Kranz, interview by the author.


We probably saw over 100 people …
” Goddard, quoted in Colis, “‘The Cabin in the Woods.’”


Drew is a horror aficionado …
” Whedon and Goddard,
The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion
. 19.


there was nobody else …
” Whedon and Goddard, filmmakers’ commentary,
The Cabin in the Woods
.


A person that has done …
” Ibid.


believe in yourself …
” Whedon, Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech.

a “belief system that they can understand …
” Ibid.


The enemy of humanism is not faith” …
Ibid.


About two hours after starting …
” Whedon, quoted in Bierly “Exclusive: Joss Whedon on ‘Dollhouse.’”


‘Belonging’ is (in a very unpedantic way) …
” Nussbaum, “The Fascinating No-Consent Fantasia of
Dollhouse
and
Mad Men
.”


the opportunity to end …
” Schneider, “‘Dollhouse,’ ‘Hank’ Get the Ax.”


Every actor wants at least …
” Laurie, interview by the author.


When Joss made Buffy …
” Nussbaum, interview by the author.


I’ve had people come up to me …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Oh, thank God” …
Whedon and Goddard, filmmakers’ commentary,
The Cabin in the Woods
.


You have to fight these battles …
” Ibid.

32. Fanboy Dreams Come True: The Avengers


It was very gradual …
” Goddard, interview by the author.


We needed somebody who wasn’t …
” Feige, quoted in Rogers, “With The Avengers, Joss Whedon Masters the Marvel Universe.”


I’ve known Joss for many …
” Feige, interview by the author.


I was about to go back …
” Hemsworth, interview by the author.


was always somebody that I …
” Feige, interview by the author.


The thing about the X-Men …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”


I don’t think you have anything” …
Whedon, quoted in Rogers, “With The Avengers, Joss Whedon Masters the Marvel Universe.”


What a great way …
” Feige, interview by the author.


I was like, great …
” Whedon, quoted in Rogers, “With The Avengers, Joss Whedon Masters the Marvel Universe.”


I have enough signposts …
” Whedon, interview in
The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith
podcast.


I kept telling my mom …
” Whedon, quoted in John, “Joss Whedon: ‘I Kept Telling My Mum Reading Comics Would Pay Off.’”


When are you going to make a real …
” Whedon, interview in
Studio 360
.

Leterrier, who reportedly had expressed interest …
Beaks, “Louis Leterrier Officially in the Running.”


insiders at Marvel Studios …
” Phillips, “‘Avengers’ Talk, Comic Book Signings.”

Deadline Hollywood was reporting …
Fleming, “Whedon to Direct Marvel’s ‘The Avengers.’”


that is not an official thing …
” Whedon, Visionaries panel.


Oftentimes in the Marvel fan community …
” Feige, interview by the author.


There’s been much made of superheroes …
” Ibid.


Joss looks at these characters …
” Ibid.


I did spend a lot of time …
” Whedon, quoted in Sciretta, “/Film Set Interview: ‘The Avengers’ Writer/Director Joss Whedon.”

Steve Rogers “ is looking at this world …
” Ibid.


The motherfucker lives in you …
” Whedon, quoted in Hiddleston, interview by the author.

was “very sweet” in his appraisal …
Hiddleston, interview by the author.


I was like, ‘Dude …’
” Ibid.


I literally plugged in …
” Ibid.


‘I want to dive off the deep end …
” Whedon, quoted in Hiddleston, interview by the author.


it was funny to come full circle …
” Hemsworth, interview by the author.


Mark was my dream choice …
” Whedon, quoted in Wilding “Joss Whedon and Mark Ruffalo.”


Joss said, ‘I’m excited …’
” Ruffalo, interview by the author.


For me, it’s a tough part …
” Ibid.


The way I see it …
” Ruffalo, quoted in Jensen, “‘Avengers’: New Hulk Mark Ruffalo.”


It was like ‘Female Agent #12’ …
” Smulders, interview by the author.


I wrote an entire draft …
” Whedon, interview by the author.


Even though The Empire Strikes Back …
” Whedon, interview in
The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith
podcast.


[The script] was funny …
” Gregg, interview by the author.


Joss, I am so excited …
” Hiddleston, e-mail to Whedon, shared with the author by sender.


Tom, this is one of those emails …
” Whedon, e-mail to Hiddleston, shared with the author by recipient.


You know, ironically …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

33. Buffy Lives, Again?


the deep struggle she had …
” Anderson, quoted in Boucher, “Joss Who?”


a hideous idea” …
Head, quoted in Bricker and Moorhouse, “
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Star Calls Movie Reboot a ‘Hideous Idea.’”


opportunity to take something …
” Carpenter, quoted in Hernandez, “Exclusive: Charisma Carpenter on a Possible ‘Buffy’ Remake.”


There’s no public outcry …
” Green, quoted in Hoevel, “Seth Green Talks ‘Robot Chicken.’


I love the Buffy that I played …
” Gellar, interview by the author.


This is a sad, sad reflection …
” Whedon, quoted in Dos Santos, “Joss Whedon Reacts to
Buffy
Movie News.”


OK, if worse comes to worst …
” Goddard, interview by the author.


If you’re going to bring it back …
” Boucher, “‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Movie Looking for New Writer.”


I wouldn’t want to be …
” Noxon, quoted in “‘I Am Number Four’ Writer Marti Noxon,”
MTV.com
.


The people who feel …
” Whedon, quoted in Robinson, “Joss Whedon” (interview), September 5, 2001.

34. Avengers Assemble

He asked all the actors for their notes …
Weintraub, “35 Things to Know About THE AVENGERS.”


At the beginning I’m an open book” …
Whedon, quoted in Weintraub, “Director Joss Whedon.”

the storylines seemed “cobbled together” …
Weintraub, “35 Things to Know About THE AVENGERS.”


It wasn’t broke …
” Downey, quoted in Weintraub, “Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.”


It was the first chance I had …
” Jackson, interview by the author.


my favorite response” …
Whedon, quoted in Weintraub, “Director Joss Whedon.”


But then I got it …
” Renner, interview by the author.


We spent a long time talking …
” Ruffalo, interview by the author.

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