Containing Vectors-Tracking ME Writers

[WebWarlock]

This is the Angel Old Friends Comic.

http://store.idwpublishing.com/product_ ... cts_id=516

Warlock

[sam7777]

Still only a 5 issue limited series. It's sad that even IDW will not pony up for more than 5 issues at a go.

Sheridan: Yes it's the same Peter David of Trek fame. I have liked his Trek novels and think he's a decent writer but he only seems to do licensed stuff. That's OK when you are starting out but he really should have moved on by now. It also appears he's hopped on to the btvs bandwagon too late in the game. This stuff isn't selling.

Good on Chris Golden dropping out of licensed stuff like btvs to work on some new projects like Ghosts of Albion. I know good folks have worked on licensed stuff in the past but these days they really should leave it to the hacks like Nancy Holder. Everything good or bad success or not gets a comic and/or novelization these days.

[aceivan]

Some comments that appeared on the Outpost Gallifrey forum recently about David Fury, Buffy and Lost:

FURY: We had approached her about doing the 100th episode. Buffy was going to appear in my episode, the episode that I directed, so we put out the offer to Sarah and she politely declined which, I will say, she had her reasons. I think there might have been a death of an aunt or something that she was dealing with but, regardless, I guess Joss kind of felt a little bit put off about the way it was done. There was a perceived notion, on both sides, I can say, between Sarah and Joss of ingratitude for both parties. Joss doesn't feel like Sarah's ever shown the proper amount of gratitude for what he's done for her and her career, and I think she feels the same way. That she feels she was never afforded the credit for Buffy's success and the gratitude from Joss.

I think they're both crazy. [laughs] They were the right people at the right time, it was a great partnership and it created a great series, and I truly think they both recognize this to some extent. But for whatever reason, I think the fact that she declined to do that put a damper on her coming back later. It provided us with an opportunity, though, because if we couldn't get Sarah, we thought, "why don't we get Charisma back and do that," which turned out to be a Godsend because Charisma was fantastic.

Joss Whedon's comments on Fury's comments - "Always understand that when a member of the staff (even me) gives their perspective of events, that's all it is. Their perspective."

And do bear in mind that Fury has a remarkable habit of putting his foot firmly in his mouth via the Internet - witness the recent "They're making Lost up as they go along" debacle.

With regards to Lost (and, no, I don't want any spoilers, please, I'm but a lowly Channel 4 watcher), I'm sure that I've read an interview with JJ Abrams in SFX where he said that when they started making the series they had absolutely no idea what was going on or where it was going to go.

Seems to me that that's pretty much saying "we're making it up as we go along".

I thought Damon Lindelof and Javier Grillo-Marxuach's comments on that were fairly convincing - there's 10 writers working on Lost and Fury, apparently, was the only one who never bothered to ask what the full back story was!

If you read recent online interviews with Damon (series co-creator) and Javi (whose written most of the best episodes so far), it's true that when they made the PILOT they had no idea what they were going to do next.

After the pilot was picked up by ABC, Lindelof wrote out a 10 page back story for most of the regular characters (including all of the stuff that Fury says was "just made up" - Locke's relationship with his dad, etc) and, most importantly, the "what the island actually IS" page. The first three writers assigned to the project - Christian Taylor, Javi and ... one other whose name escapes me - then spent a week fleshing that out into the series "bible" and brought in more ideas (Charlie's addiction, Walt's "abilities" etc). By the time the Fury arrived (to write episode four). The entire first season had been outlined.

So, either Fury is, as he's done several times in the past, speaking with engaging his brain just for the sake of it, or else Damon and Javi are talking bollocks.

Again, it's down to who you trust.

I'm just wondering how long it'll be before he does another Internet interview saying something the rest of the cast and crew on 24 don't like. He's batting 2-for-2 at the moment!

[Sheridan]

I have to say given Fury's 'foot in mouth' record I wouldn't bes surprised if the Lost producers felt it would be safer not to tell him too much.

[WebWarlock]

Ok, a lot of stuff today.

First this tidbit from EW.
http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1141 ... 0_,00.html

Adios, 'Firefly'...
Joss Whedon lets ''Firefly'' go -- The ''Serenity'' director may turn to ''Buff the Vampire Slayer'' for his next big-screen project by Jeff Jensen

When Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon looks back on 2005, he can take comfort in knowing that his film-directing debut, the sci-fi Western Serenity, resurrected his canceled-too-soon cult classic TV series Firefly, and was also one of the year's best-reviewed movies. ''I should say I'm above reading reviews,'' he says. ''But I would be lying.'' Alas, Whedon's fond memories are also tainted by Serenity's status as a franchise nonstarter; despite Universal's best marketing efforts, the film only mustered $25 million. ''In the end, it was what it was: a tough sell,'' says Whedon, adding that it appears the Firefly saga has reached its conclusion. He has no regrets — and he's moving on. He's currently penning a Wonder Woman flick for Warner Bros., and has the thriller Goners set up at Universal;

The rest you need to be a member to read, which I am not. But the point is made. Firefly is done and Whedon is crawling back to Buffy (or rather Spike) to lick his wounds. More detail in this next article, with something that is a bit suprising, given that this is 2005.

Interview with Whedon. Boldface mine.
http://wwwj.comcast.net/movies/news/ind ... hedon.html

‘Serenity’ Now — A Conversation with Director Joss Whedon
Interview by Louis Miller
December 19, 2005

’Serenity‘ writer and director Joss Whedon (AP Photo/Paul Ashby).
Following in the literary career path of both his father and grandfather, one might say that writing is in Joss Whedon’s blood. After honing his TV writing chops on the larger-than-life sitcom, ‘Rosanne,’ in the late ‘80s, Whedon went on to garner legions of fans by creating the ‘Buffy the Vampire’ franchise that launched a stake-wielding Sarah Michelle Gellar into the spotlight. He has also received an Oscar nomination for his work penning the animated blockbuster ‘Toy Story.’ (WW: According to the comentary on the new DVD, most of Joss's work was cut) Whedon’s interests soon turned to galaxies far, far away, as he helped write the screenplay for the futuristic space cowboy animated tale, ‘Titan A.E.,’ and created the renegade crew from ‘Firefly’ TV series, the same show that ultimately led to his feature film directorial debut, ‘Serenity’. But how do you go about explaining the stories behind nine leading characters, a totalitarian government, and a marauding race of cannibals within a movie’s two-hour time constraint? Joss took the time to try to explain it all to us recently, as he also dodged any question about his upcoming ‘Wonder Woman’ movie.

Comcast: What was your first reaction when you heard that Firefly was being cancelled?

Whedon: Joy. Unbridled, giddy joy. I laughed and laughed. Um, next question (laughs). No, my first reaction was, quite simply, denial. Denial that sits on your DVD shelf. I would not accept it. I was like Ed Harris in ‘The Abyss.’ I just wouldn't let her go.

C: Do you usually put so much of yourself into your work?

JW: Yeah, I really do. From the very first [time], when they were making the movie of ‘Buffy,’ if you had asked me when I was wringing my hands over lines being rewritten by actors if I can just grow up and get over it, but actually no, you can’t. Because you can’t sit down at your desk and say, ‘Oh, well, this will do,’ or, ‘This will be ruined later.’ If you’re not in love with what you’re making, then you have no business making it. It is always completely personal to me. That doesn’t mean that I don’t pay very close attention to the technical things. If I made utterly personal films, they would be boring and really just histrionic. But the fact is, I create a connection to what I’m doing [with my movies] that is as real as any connection in my real life, sadly (laughs).

C: You’ve basically said you would do anything in your power to bring the Firefly series back. What’s the craziest thing that has entailed?

JW: You know, even though I think the last three years of my life have been one unending string of crazy, there wasn’t any single thing that — I wasn’t buying a car next to actor Dennis Woodruff saying, ‘Make my movie.’ Ultimately, Universal stepped in and made things easier than I ever expected. They ‘got it.’ And if somebody gets it, you don’t have to explain anything. So it never got really crazy. I went about it pretty methodically, in fact. I sat down with people and asked, ‘Who is everybody we can go to? Where can this land? Where does this have a chance?’ I just kept my head in the game, which is not usually where it is.

C: So is the story finished?

JW: The, um, the movie is finished. And the story is told. The world is not finished. There’s more to tell, but that’s always the case with everything I do and whether I get the chance to tell [it] or not it is up to somebody else. So I made sure that this movie had completion and didn’t feel like a glorified prequel. It’s its own piece and it wraps everything up. I have a sense of closure that I never had, and I can walk away satisfied. But if somebody tells me not to walk away, I’ll turn right back around.

C: There were originally plans to make this a trilogy, right?

JW: No, that’s a myth. (WW: Bullshit!) The original plan was to just make a movie. Had Universal said that they would like to make a trilogy, I would have said, ‘Huzzah!’ But they were taking a gamble on a movie with no-name actors, a first-time director, a universe that’s damn hard to explain, and a premise that’s the same. It was nothing less than a gamble and bless their hearts for gambling once. They weren’t about to say, ‘Let’s do a three-fer!’

C: Your fans [known as browncoats] are ridiculously dedicated to everything you do. Do you ever get scared of them?

JW: (Laughs) I’ve been scared once or twice, but only in reaction to certain character deaths have made me wish I was in another room. But that’s really my own fault. (WW: Now what is that all about? Man did we ever touch a freaking nerve on this guy or what!) Ultimately, no. It’s a very sweet atmosphere. People are very giving and understanding. You know, I’m not the Beatles. And this is the thing I’m going for: It’s not about me. It’s about the work, which I love, too. So when I’m in a room with a bunch of fans, it’s not like they’re tearing my clothes off. They want to talk about the work, which happens to be the thing that I love talking about. So ultimately, I don’t really have scary stories. I thought I’d have a lot more.

C: When you were writing ‘Serenity,’ how much of the political situation in the movie is fiction, and how much is actually where you see the world headed?

JW: You know, it’s all fiction. But it contains what I think are essential truths about humans, which is the way we are. I don’t think that’s going to change. I think society will change more in the next 20 years than it does in my movie, which is 500 years. It’s set 500 years in the future. But that’s structurally. In terms of the human condition — how conflicted we are, how right and wrong we are, our capacities for good and evil, complicated human attractions — that’s never going to change.

C: Political movies seem to be very en vogue now. What I like about the Firefly series and this movie is that they show the humanity on both sides of the equation. (WW: As usuall, interview by slobbering fanboy)

JW: I think the Alliance comes off very evil because we didn’t really have the time in the movie to show the other side of that, which we did on the show. We only showed it at its worst, but at the same time the villain has a point of view and everyone [else] has a different point of view. If they don’t, then they’re not antagonists. They’re just bowling pins. Absolutely have to have a dissenting point of view that is valid, even if the person who has it is a thug.

C:So where are things with ‘Wonder Woman’ now?

JW: It’s still at my keyboard. Oops, I’m out of time!

So...certain character deaths.
Of course he is talking about Walsh (or whoever the hell was killed in Serenity), but he also means Tara.
We beat him down much harder than I ever expected. My only regret is we didn't beat harder. We were probably very close to breaking him in half.

Warlock

[Sheridan]

I’ve been scared once or twice, but only in reaction to certain character deaths have made me wish I was in another room.

I've wished he was in another room as well, preferably one with big locks and padded walls.

[Garner]

I think I would have preferred the same room...but that would have been bad for me, so I guess I can go along with that. It is interesting that this long after the fact Josswad still keeps bringing it up.

Garner

[sam7777]

I've said it before but it's still true: killing off secondary characters is a cheap way to generate drama (ala Trek's red shirts).

Adios, 'Firefly'...
Joss Whedon lets ''Firefly'' go -- The ''Serenity'' director may turn to ''Buff the Vampire Slayer'' for his next big-screen project by Jeff Jensen

Well I don't actually believe that Josswad has given up on Fireshit but the franchise is certainly DOA at Universal as it was at Fox. I also don't believe he will be able to restart the Buffyverse in any form outside of limited series comics (audience ~50K) for a number of reasons:

1. It's hard to do Buffy or Angel without the stars, Sarah and David.
Sarah has a busy movie career while David has a successful TV series where his creative input is welcome. I can see neither returning to be Josswad's meat puppets in the forseeable future. While Aly is a name, she wasn't one of the Buffyverse stars and is also in a hit series. James Marsters is not enough of a name for a TV movie (hence the straight to DVD rumors) never mind a theatrical release.

2. Even if Josswad has given up on Fireshit, I believe that he would rather not do Buffyverse shite and as long as he is doing movies (Goners, Wonder Woman) will not return to the Buffyverse.
I think he resents the Buffyverse actors for their "ingratitude" and will not return to working with the only actors that could further the franchise: Sarah and David. He will continue to spew shit to keep his ever shrinking fan base dangling (fireshit fans will certainly be dismayed by their god abandoning them) as will the other ME failures: Whinear, the Drewler, Furious and JaneEcch. And the few fans will continue to eat it up, harass the nay sayers and continue to be dissappointed.

3. Josswad is no longer HOT and it's unlikely that Warners will let him write and direct a premiere license like Wonder Woman.
Universal certainly seems to have scaled back their interest in "Goners" that Josswad was to write and direct (IMDB states that's it's "in production" with no release date and Josswad has said he's not sure if that or Wonder Woman will be next). Five years ago maybe Josswad was hot enough but not now hence no contract or committment from them despite Silver's pressure. Even if Josswad produces a script, they will prolly want a real director and rewrites ala X-men and Singer.

That said I don't believe that Wonder Woman will see the light of day made by either Whedon or Silver for the following reasons:

1. Singer is out of control on Superman (budget admitted to be $250million and rumored to be 350million for primarily FX!). If Superman fails big time, Warners will put a hold on unproved big budget superhero projects (ala Wonder Woman) in favor of proven franchises: Batman. Batman Begins has restarted that franchise. Even if Superman succeeds, it will have depleted the kitty for comics film while the next even more costly installment is prepared.

2. Given the recent failure of superheroine flicks Electra and Cat Woman and the probable failure of Silver's superheroine flick "V for Vendetta", I don't expect to see a major superheroine flick for 5-10 years given past performance by the studios. V is bound to fail given the push back of the release date for "retooling" (I don't buy the FX excuse) and Alan Moore coming out against the film as he has never done before for the hatchet jobs done on "From Hell" and LXG. To date there has been no really successful (ala franchise creating) Superheroine comic movie.

I see no contracts (or dead people though I do see dead careers). I only see Josswad developing a script ala Silver's last 5 years of work that has failed to produce a Wonder Woman movie. Contrast this with X-men 3 that contracted the writers and director last year to produce a script for the movie being released this year. The longer this development hell goes on the less likely this team will bring it to screen ala Cameron and Spiderman. I don't believe that there is a name actress that will work with Joss Whedon as director given what he did with Charisma and what Sarah has been saying behind the scenes.

ETA: The irony of all this is that Josswad could prolly have continued Angel on the WB if he had not demanded a renewal answer by Feb. Barring that he could have done telefilms as the WB wanted to do the season after Angel was cancelled. Either could have been used to position a new character for spin off such as Spike. Spike heavy seasons on Buffy and Angel tended to have mediocre ratings so prior seasons did not establish Spike as a viable spin off character. Josswad abandoned the Buffyverse to do Fireshit and frankly I think it's to late to reestablish the Buffyverse now. Fans have moved on to other shows such as Veronica Mars or Battlestar Galactica.

[Culzean]

RE: Point #2 - I'm sure you're right, and that's a shame. When Will Smith's movie Wild Wild West bombed, the studioso folks were not saying:

* Action / FX films starring a man are just not marketable.
* Will Smith movies will bomb.
* Let's stop making big budget action films starring men.

No matter how many big budget/action films starring men bomb at the box office, that fact is never equated to the gender of the star.

If they made as many action films starring women as they do men, they would find that some do well and some do not. They might even notice that the quality of the script had some minor impact on the outcome.

Ok, rant done.

[helpfulinformationperhaps]

RE: fem action movie - so what do we think it would it take to make a successful fem action movie?

my thoughts
1) a real female lead - not a cartoon spoof of one

2) a well written script that uses the fem lead as a true hero with intelligence - and - doesn't have her end up being a rape victim/punching bag/revenge seeking shrew or pregnant at some point or other - enough with the attacks on the reproductive organs already - for example - do I really want to see Sidney preggers? - I like the way they use Veronica Mars intelligence, guts and gile to have her solve problems and save the day - reminds me of early buffy - not big on how she had to be saved by her dad at one point or the whole story line about being druged and possibly raped - which they also did to buffy in various ways - can you imagine superman getting raped? or batman being preggers? If they don't write it for male hero's then don't write it for a female hero.

3) action with grace and purpose - olde time super hero stories built to the point where you needed the release of seeing the good guy pummel the baddie with a solid right cross - a woman slugging it out with a guy - blood flying - just not believable. on the other hand you can satisfy the audience with scenes like the one with lora croft suspended on the rings doing acrobatics - or - racing up a metal mountain to catch a key to the past - or - a buffy with sword in hand fighting angel - these have strength of both body and spirit, beauty, grace AND a purpose - they work - you can buy into them without a lot of effort and feel the emotion when the hero sends the baddie to he//

[Hemiola]

Question: last night's episode of "Deadwood" gave a writing credit to someone named Zack Whedon. Is he any relation??

[WebWarlock]

Aqccording to Wikipedia it's his brother.

Warlock

[Hemiola]

Thanks WW!

[Culzean]

In the 9/4/06 issue of TV Guide there's an article about a new ABC series called Brothers & Sisters. This show hasn't aired yet, but they've already replaced three of their stars and one of the executive producers - Marti Noxon.

When asked why MN left, the remaining EP said, "We saw the emotional temperature of the show differently. Not better or worse, just very differently...and it just got messy."

Personally, I think they just dodged a bullett.

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-

Well that's interesting. It should be interesting to see how MN does in the small town that is Hollywood in the future.

Jixer

[emma peel]

Oh, joy. A Buffy comic book by Whedon.

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1562057_3_0_,00.html

It's from today's EW.com. I haven't read the whole thing as I already have a stomach bug and icky head, and I don't want to make myself more ill.
He can't do anything else, can he?
What an asshole one trick pony. Note the order of the "lead" performance and "supporting" performance to the right of the first page.

[WebWarlock]

Blah Blah Blah

One trick is right.
Sounds like the same old shit, different wrapper.

This is beneath our notice really, unless he for some reason mentions Tara. The Willow of this comic is the same NotWillow of season 7 as far as I am concerned.

Warlock

[helpfulinformationperhaps]

seems like he is admitting he was fired and can't find anyone to fund him

[The true origin of Whedon's Buffy comic lies in a much-rumored TV project that he now reveals is officially dead: ''I had been thinking about doing some TV movies based on Buffy characters, but we could never get anything resembling financing together that was realistic, so it fell by the wayside.]

how the mighty have fallen

[WebWarlock]

The new Buffy comic is coming up and of course it has Willow.
Some pictures even found their way to W&V.

Expect a whole new round of "fans" wanting to talk about this here I guess.

Again. Unless there is mention of Tara I am not interested.

--
Unrelated: Chris Golden is working on a new "Buffy" book. He says only that it is the story he always wanted to do and could never write. He mentions that he stopped writing when the show was going downhill (2002 on) and had no interest.

I know Chris. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt here. I am not going to blast him for doing this. Plus, and I am not saying this to get hopes up at all, but he has told me in the past that one of the stories he has always wanted to do was a "bring Tara back story". Now I am NOT saying that this what he is doing, I have no idea what he is doing. But Chris is a good guy. I am also not hoping for anything, I played that game once. Not again.

Warlock

[Garner]

Hey, if CG is willing to do a Buffy story, I am willing to give it way more credence or latitude than Queen of the Slayers which all the excerpts I've read have been horrible. No matter what Chris does, it will probably be readable and entertaining at the very least.

HIP and Sam, the problem with a female superheroine is that comics have not been written for women, or by women (generally). They are for teenage to early 20s boys, that sort of adolescent male fantasy stuff that means none of the women are really well done or fully realized. Even Wonder Woman who is as close to a female hero icon as any is also a gay male icon as well, and that sort of undercuts the feminist role. Right now there won't be a good female superheroine movie because there isn't one to draw on from comics, it's that simple.

I agree with HIP's list of what is needed, and for the most part a lot of that was found in Xena. Lucy was a strong female lead, Gabrielle grew and evolved as a female side, they kicked butt but weren't raped (exactly) though pregnancy did come up (though to be fair, a lot of the time the actresses involved end up pregnant during a longer series and that sort of forces the writers' hand), still, there is no doubt that Xena was a good female heroine and strong character. Perhaps overly strong to the point of ridiculousness, perhaps the lesbian undercurrents undercut her feminst appeal, but those are smaller points.

I think it will be a while before we end up with a good female super hero, maybe something from Japanese animation will work. I have no hope that Wonder Woman as written by Josswad will fill the bill.

On a related note, the Buffy comic has raised A LOT of interest here in the comic store. It has been long enough that fans are starting delude themselves that seasons sux and severed weren't that bad, they miss Buffy the character, and forget how awful things were. It is still sad that Josswad has to go back to the Buffyverse for success, but at least initially this comic will probably do OK (not great, not up to X-Men or something like that, but still better than the Angel stuff). Whether it stays hot we'll see, I bet after about 5-6 issues things fall off. Personally I am torn between him doing something really horrible and being able to bitch about it, or it being decent and being able to enjoy it. The latter is probably not likely.

Garner

[WebWarlock]

More comic news and I am not sure what any of it means, but here is something posted to MTV.com.

Re-Buffed: New Comic Book Series Resurrects Vampire Slayer

So what if Buffy the Vampire Slayer has died twice? After all, nobody really passes away in the Buffyverse — there's always an afterlife for anyone with a good story line.

In March, Buffy will get resurrected once again, this time in a comic book series that picks up where the last TV season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" left off. "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon is overseeing a multi-episode comic book arc that plays out as it if were a new season for the show. The comic book series promises to be conceptually bigger and more fantastical than the show ever was, thanks to being freed from the restrictions of time, budgets and, oh yeah, those pesky actors.

"Don't get me wrong: I'm tired of those people," Whedon joked. "I can't stand them. But seriously, there were certain things we couldn't do, and many things we couldn't afford to do [in the TV show]."

"There were financial limitations, as well as limitations with what you could do with CGI, at the time, for television. And time constraints," said "Buffy" castmember Amber Benson, who played Willow's wicca gal pal, Tara. "It was hard to get an episode done in eight days."

"So now we can do pretty much whatever we want, within the bounds of common decency," Whedon said. "Well, near the bounds of common decency."

For starters, Whedon gets to rewrite history. At the end of the TV series, Buffy (finally) had her whole life in front of her — after which the spinoff show "Angel" put her back to work and had her shacking up with the Immortal in Rome. But as we learn in the first few pages of the comic, that didn't necessarily happen like we thought.

"That's one of the great things about writing," Whedon said. "You get to play off on everything you've set up. 'Well, that was clearly a double, they didn't have Sarah [Michelle Gellar] there, and that Italy really looked a lot like the Universal back lot.' But you know, at first she was with the Immortal, and then I thought, 'I don't see her that way. I want to pick up [with] Buffy more like she was.' "

So Whedon decided that the "Scoobies" — Buffy's gang of friends and activated Slayer potentials — had expanded into 10 separate squads, with 500 Slayers and three Buffys, to spread confusion for those who might target our original Slayer. "One's underground. Literally," Buffy explains in the comic. "One's in Rome partying very publicly — and supposedly dating some guy called 'The Immortal.' That part was Andrew's idea. He did research on the guy, said it would be hilarious for some reason."

"I thought, 'If Andrew — who was there to counsel Spike and Angel in their time of grief when they realized Buffy found a new boyfriend — created the entire scenario just to mess with them, well, I find that delightful,' " Whedon said.

"What was great about 'Buffy' is that it was like a soap opera," Benson said. "What's going to happen next, who is going to sleep with who, who is going to turn into a vampire, who is going to die five times and come back. It leaves people on the edge of their seats because they're not sure what's going to happen, and they want to find out."

Without giving too much away, Whedon revealed that vengeance-demon-turned-Scooby Anya is "definitely dead" — "but that doesn't mean she's gone," he said — and we will only see Spike and Angel "sparingly." "Buffy and Angel were separated on TV, and for a reason," he said. "You can only play variations on 'Romeo and Juliet didn't die' for so long before you get bored. You know, a 'Romeo's Working Out to Get Rid of His Spare Tire' episode is not going to be that exciting. You want to keep the great passions but save them for the big moments."

As for those big moments? Well, Dawn — Buffy's sister — is in the middle of an especially "big" one after having reached ginormic proportions because she lost her virginity. "Her first time and it all goes wrong, which I'm totally well-versed in," Buffy quips in the comic book.

Meanwhile, Xander is now a leader at Central Command — which, since Sunnydale was demolished, is now Scotland. And speaking of Sunnydale, did anyone really think no one would ever notice if an entire town was destroyed? Now the army is involved, deeming Buffy's squads terrorist cells. "They got power, they got resources and they got a hard-line ideology that does not jibe with American interests," one general rants. So in addition to her regular crew of monsters and vamps, Buffy's got a new battle coming her way.

And what about all those day-to-day doldrums that Buffy faced on the show? Trying to juggle a job while being a Slayer, for instance, or raising a sister on the side? How much of that side of her life will we see in this new Buffy series?

"The show was very mundane, deliberately mundane," Whedon said. "A comic has got to work on a grander, epic scale. We can really take the characters wherever we want, and of course, that means I can kill them. That's where the fun is, in revisiting these characters. It's like being with my old friends, but in actuality, not being with my old friends, because the actors aren't there to play them. It's a little different. This is bigger variations. It's a symphony based on the little tune we played."

So. any guesses.

It's obvious that he does not like dealing with actors, but I'll stop short of say he dislikes the people (actors have issues and sometimes they just don't want to do what you want them too), supports the "meat puppet" theory.

Plus did they interview Amber with Joss or seperate? Note. No mention at all about Willow in that whole block of text.

Also more evidence of his record being stuck and he's playing the same tune over and over and over...

It will be interesting to see what the sales are.


And in Wonder Woman news...

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.ph ... 0&id=39909

WB Seeing Another Woman

Warner Brothers is in the process of acquiring a spec script for a Wonder Woman film by newcomers Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland, despite already having a deal with Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon to write and direct a film based on the DC Comics character, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sources told the trade paper that the purchase is a pre-emptive measure intended to keep the script off the market and to protect itself against any legal action prompted by similarities between the two scripts. The Jennison-Strickland script is reportedly set against the backdrop of World War II, while Whedon's script is set in the present day.

Producer Joel Silver, who is overseeing the project at Warner Brothers, has no interest in making a period Wonder Woman, sources said. But executives at the studio were impressed by Jennison and Strickland's writing. Representatives for Warner Brothers and Silver Pictures declined comment.

Now keep in mind that one script sent in by Whedon was sent back to be redone.

Tim

[urnofosiris]

No mention of Tara either and puh-leaze let it stay that way. I am mildly curious why "Benson" is commenting on anything at all here. Why ask her opinion unless she is somehow involved with this crap. And comparing Buffy to a soap is an insult to soaps everywhere.

[gspiggott]

According to Whedonesque, Josswad is off Wonder Woman. Of course it's a misunderstanding and the studio just doesn't get his take on things blah , blah , blah. I know it makes me a terrible person but it does make me chuckle.

[Hemiola]

I wonder if all the comments from Amber Benson mean that she will be doing some of the writing???

That could be interesing......m

[WebWarlock]

OH that is so wonderfull!!!!!

Ah, there is some justice in this world. Ok, not much, but I'll take what I can.

Warlock

[xita]

Dude! That's awesome, I would have hated boycotting this movie! I am so happy! Couldn't happen to a nicer person! Have fun with the buffy comic joss!

[helpfulinformationperhaps]

man I am sooo glad I can now watch Wonder Woman - cuz there was no way I would have seen it if JW was involved

and speaking of JW - how is it he claimed he ended the tv series because "the story was all told" - yet now he is writing a comic series like it was a tv series extension - next season of buffy? I mean if the story was finished it was finshed - and if it wasn't then why bring it back as a retreading for comics? - could it perhaps be that the tv show didn't end cuz 'the story was finished' but rather because the tv suits were finished with Joss?

[emma peel]

All I can say to the following is, "Oh, good grief!"
Are the crickets chirping yet?

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[WebWarlock]

In other DC-Comics news.

Our VERY good friends Douglas Petrie and Jane Espenson have written the 2-part season finale of "The Batman" cartoon on Kids WB.

You can tell it was them.

Tim

[helpfulinformationperhaps]

new show coming this fall - sure sounds like angel to me


MOONLIGHT
Friday 9:00 p.m.

-The Premise:
In this new twist on the traditional vampire type of storytelling, an "undead" private investigator named Mick (Alex O'Laughlin) uses his acute vampire senses to help the living instead of feeding on them. With only a handful of undead confidantes for company, Mick fills his days trying to protect the living. Moonlight is created by famed movie producer Joel Silver (The Matrix).

-Lead-in: Ghost Whisperer
-Competition: Women's Murder Club (ABC), Las Vegas (NBC), Nashville (fox), Friday Night Smackdown! (CW)

-Who Was on the Panel:
Alex O'Loughlin, Sophia Myles. Jason Dohring, Shannyn Sossaman and executive producers Joel Silver and David Greenwalt.

-The Scoop:
Wondering what the difference between Moonlight and other vampire type shows is? According to David Greenwalt:

"The other shows I did (Buffy and Angel) went way into the past, and you would find yourself in time immemorial and ancient curses and things. And here was a great deal of brooding. This is more of an ironic take on what it means to be immortal. The whole look and feel of the show is different. And there is really neat wry voice-over from Mick St. John."

-The Reality:
While the premise sounds a bit far-fetched, don't forget there is an audience for this type of story-telling as witnessed by the success of former WB staples Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and spin-off Angel. And a vampire out of a ghost sounds compatible. But CBS is not the youth-drenched WB, Ghost Whisperer provides older-skewing lead-in support, and the audience CBS is targeting - adults 18-34 - will probably be out ringing in the new weekend. So, CBS might have been safer with a more traditionally older-skewing drama like former time period winning occupant Close to Home. After all, was an average 10.34 million viewers for Close to Home (out of 9.89 million for Ghost Whisperer) really that bad?

-Chance of Survival for Moonlight (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1):
9-1

-Did You Know?:
Dark Shadows, the classic daytime serial about a vampire, was actually remade in prime time in both 1991 and 2004. Both versions were short-lived.