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A very long interview with Joss Whedon,
it was more than an hour long. |
Some examples:
"Well, it looked like that for a reason. "Buffy" was made because there was a character I wanted to see that I wasn't seeing. And "Firefly" was made because I was missing something in televised science fiction, and also in the movies: a gritty realism that wasn't an "Alien" ripoff.
The template I was working from was "NYPD Blue" -- it was "you are there." It was, "We just happened to have a camera, and then this happened." Obviously, these were larger-than-life stories, and obviously [in "Serenity"] there was some arch and manipulative camera work, because much the way Mal realizes he's a hero, the movie realizes, "I'm a movie!" But we always tried to keep that presence: We're there, the cameraman might fall over, everyone might die, and none of us is safe."
[...]
"And people are always like, "They're fighting an evil empire!" And I'm like, "Well, it's not really an evil empire." The trick was always to create something that was complex enough that you could bring some debate to it -- that it wasn't black-and-white. It wasn't, "If we hit this porthole in the Death Star, everything will be fine!" It was messier than that, and the messiest thing is that the government is basically benign. It's the most advanced culturally…."
[...]
"Adam is quite large to be a secret weapon. [laughs] He really is. It's great fun to take someone like Summer, who's never done a film -- except for a small bit -- and really get to show her to people. It's just as much fun with a guy who's been working for 20 years. Because he's so funny, and so vital. His love of that role, and what he brings to it…. Yeah, he does. He knocks every single line straight out of the park. Adam really is bigger than life."
[...]
"What "Serenity" and "Firefly" were both about is how politics affect people personally. And the personal politics are the only politics that really interest me. I'm not going to make this big, didactic polemic -- I'm just going to say, "When there are shifts in a planet, those tiny little guys are the ones who are affected. So let's hang out with them -- not the Federation heads or the Jedi Council.""
[...]
 It was a lot. But it was twofold: It was a way to include a great deal of exposition without becoming the most boring film ever. My other idea was to have Anthony Hopkins talk for 25 minutes at the beginning…. But Oliver Stone stole it from me. But the other thing is, it worked because what I'm basically doing is a story about Mal as told by River. So where we start is in River's mind -- and River's mind is completely fractured. So to tell something that is constantly re-adjusting -- that is constantly pulling the rug out from under you -- is to basically experience the world the way she's experiencing it.
[...]
Q. You've also done an absolutely smashing job of ignoring the massive amounts of bootleg "Firefly" fan merchandise. I'm thinking specifically of BlueSunShirts.com….
A. I'm a Deadhead, and where I come from, bootlegging's a good thing.
 Q. If the movie's a hit, and more official merchandise starts coming out, do you think there's going to be a crackdown?
A. I have no idea. I never have a piece of merchandising; I haven't reached a place in the Hollywood DNA chain where I can actually ask for that. So it's not like I'm losing money.
But even if I was? You know, I'm doin' fine. I have a job. I'm doing just fine. And the fact that people are making this stuff? You can call it "bootlegging" or you can call it "free advertising."
[...]
Q. I think Buffyverse fans are waiting with baited breath to find out exactly how that battle in "Angel"'s finale went. Will the TV movie tell us?
A. Uh, if there's -- I believe yes. You will finally find out what happened -- who lived, who died, who lost one arm or two legs, who was supposed to be the Chosen One but went over to the Dark Side. All that stuff.
[...]
More about bootlegging, Joss Whedon's mix tape, an inside joke (not spoilering the joke), the end of "Angel", a Spike-movie, "Serenity"s future, comics...
Minor spoilers included.
Click on the source-link to read the interview.
| | [by roadi (CulturePulp) ] [0 comments]
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its characters, and the Buffy logo are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB Television Network, and Twentieth Century Fox. Angel-The Series, its characters, and the Buffy logo are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB Television Network, and Twentieth Century Fox.Other Series, their characters and logos are property of the proper right owners.
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