Riki talks with writer/director/producer/composer/all-around creative force Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, The Avengers) about how he got his start, his love of writing and the decisions that defined his career.
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Awesome interview! I have learnt ton of things I didn’t know about Joss’ work, specially about the beginning of his career as writer.
I wonder if I can download this podscat, so I can hear it as I go. Anyone?
Thanks!!! Keep Up the awesomenesssss
Cheers!
In Riki’s defense, she is a massive, massive Joss Whedon fan, just like the average person who is going to listen to this podcast. This is going to have an effect on the interview and the questions she asks and what she reponds to.
I do love Riki and this podcast but I have to admit she is the world’s worst person at being oblivious to the golden nuggets that guests offer up! In this podcast for example Whedon subtly mentions having to get away from Donald Sutherland on the set of BTVS and the subject is changed. No more questions re: that. And when Joss sarcastically says Alien: Resurrection was a dream job (which everyone knows was a Hellish experience for him) it totally goes over her head. Like I say; I do enjoy Making It but sometimes I can’t help but think Riki either isn’t listening or is pretending to know what people are talking about and is afraid to enquire.
Awesome interview – thank you so much to both of you. Can’t wait for Much Ado!
Riki, you are awesome!!
All hail the great Master Joss!! We are not worthy!!! We are not worthy!!! We are not worthy!!! We are not worthy!!! We are not worthy!!!
Great interview, Riki. I’m surprised the internet didn’t ‘splode the day this went up.
I know this is nitpicking and a lot of ground was covered in this interview but one of the things that I was interested in here about especially in terms of “Making It” was Whedon’s involvement in Toy Story. Toy Story was a landmark movie in animation and people have said many things about Whedon’s involvement in the movie as a writer but there are so many people credited with writing the movie that I was wondering what themes or pieces of writing Whedon had contributed to the piece. His name is rarely mentioned as being associated with the movie and since it is such a big movie I would think that he would get more credit for it if he had a lot to do with its themes. The idea of toys being the part of forgotten memories of the past and things were rarely return to was we advance in age and an imaginative struggle for toys to constantly define and redefine their meaning in the world sounds like something very much like something Whedon would do. If he was instrumental in developing this arc, because it definitely extends into the third film that he should get more credit for it.
You covered a lot of ground in this interview. I really liked hearing about Whedon’s work before Buffy and his annoyance with television before Buffy.
Roseanne has spoken extensively on the pain she went through to get her vision made. While she takes down all the people who tried to keep her from putting out a feminist anti-racist working class vision of life that is so rarely seen on television she does mention this in her NY Magazine piece:
I hired comics that I had worked with in clubs, rather than script writers. I promoted several of the female assistants—who had done all the work of assembling the scripts anyway—to full writers. (I did that for one or two members of my crew as well.) I gave Joss Whedon and Judd Apatow their first writing jobs, as well as many other untried writers who went on to great success.
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/upfronts/2011/roseanne-barr-2011-5/index3.html
Wonderful and through interview. Good questions and I like that you asked them, encouraged him and then let him talk. So many interviewers talk as if its a conversation rather than making the interviewee the center of attention.
I listened and replayed sections and listened again as what Joss talked about I can take into my non-writing business. “Make the space.”
…And I was one of the twelve or eight (or was it, in those days, 20 million) people who watched the series UNITED STATES Whedon got his start on…Gelbart had been able to get a few episodes (but only a few) of M*A*S*H by the network brass w/o laugh tracks, but otherwise it was pretty rare, indeed.
Britanick sure seems to be this: http://www.britanick.com/
Fascinating that the major impetus for FIREFLY was Whedon reading THE KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara…since aside from a boxing novel (THE BROKEN PLACE) and a baseball novella (FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME, the source of the film) and the Civil War blockbuster, most of Shaara’s published fiction was science fiction…so a post-Civil War-style sf/western seems like a tribute to Shaara all around.
You all keep mentioning “bridetanic”? What is that?
A great ‘get’, and a great discussion. I’m glad this happened on a process show, like yours as I think those aspects are the ones he gets to talk about the least. Facinating insights!
Riki,
Wow! WOW! WWWOOOOOWW! Fantabulastic job! A great interview/discussion with Joss. The time flew by. Its probably challenging as he has such a portfolio of work however i really think you covered a ton of great stuff. Personally im stoked that you spent time at the end with his Dr Horrible blog as its one of the greatest things made in the last several years (speaking of which…if you rap with him again, can you ask if he’s gonna do anything Dr Horrible based again?). Great job sista…keep up the great work and fun tunes!
Peace .n. Assemble Avengers,
3ToF
Nerdgasm!
great job, Riki! You asked all the questions that were running in my head and I really enjoyed listening to Joss speak–especially about Firefly.
I think I would give everything and anything I have to meet this guy. THIS GUY. THIS GUY is GOD. haha
Riki Lindhome- most powerful woman in Hollywood?
Wow, Riki nabbed Whedon before Hardwick did. I’m sure I have a solid grasp on how these podcasts are scheduled. Listening now.
PåOMG!
Joss f-ing Whedon, I …I.JUST Thanks!
AWESOME!!! How’d u get Whedon? this will be awesome to listen to over and over again