Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Born Joseph Hill Whedon[1]
June 23, 1964
New York, New York, U.S.
Alma mater Wesleyan University
Occupation Writer, director, producer, composer, actor
Years active 1989–present
Notable work
Style Science fiction
Supernatural fiction
Comedy-drama
Superhero fiction
Spouse(s) Kai Cole
Children 2
Parent(s) Tom Whedon (father)
Relatives
Whedon's voice
from the BBC programme Front Row, December 26, 2013.[2]

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon (/ˈhwiːdən/; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, film and television director, film and television producer, comic book author, composer and actor. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), Angel (1999–2004), Firefly (2002), Dollhouse (2009–10) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–present). Whedon co-wrote Toy Story (1995), wrote and directed Serenity (2005), co-wrote and directed Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), co-wrote and produced The Cabin in the Woods (2012), and wrote and directed The Avengers (2012) and its sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

Early life

Joss Whedon was born in New York City. A third-generation TV writer,[3] Whedon is the son of Tom Whedon, a screenwriter for The Electric Company in the 1970s and The Golden Girls in the 1980s, and the grandson of John Whedon, a writer for The Donna Reed Show in the 1950s.[4] His mother, Lee Stearns, was a teacher at Riverdale Country School as Lee Whedon,[5] and was an aspiring novelist.[4] Whedon is the younger sibling of Samuel and Matthew Whedon and older sibling of writers Jed and Zack Whedon.[6] At a young age he was a prolific writer, loved Monty Python and showed great interest in acting.[7] Whedon attended Riverdale Country School in New York City where his mother taught history.[8] He then spent three years at Winchester College in England,[9] and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1987, where he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters decades later.[10] There, he also studied under renowned academic Richard Slotkin.[11] After leaving Wesleyan, Whedon came up with the first incarnation of Buffy Summers called "Rhonda, the Immortal Waitress".[12] Describing his educative experience, he took notice that "it was clear to me from the start that I must take an active role in my survival".[8]

Career

1980s–1990s

Early work

From 1989 to 1990, Whedon worked as a writer on the sitcoms Roseanne and Parenthood.[13][14] As a script doctor, Whedon worked as an uncredited writer on films like The Getaway (1994), Speed (1994), Waterworld (1995), Twister (1996), X-Men (2000) and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001).[15] X-Men reportedly contained only two dialogue exchanges of Whedon's contribution,[16] but the final cut of Speed left in most of his dialogue.[17] At the same time as script consulting, he wrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992); the film that would precede the series, and Alien: Resurrection (1997), and co-wrote Toy Story (1995) and Titan A.E. (2000), the former of which earned him a shared Academy Award nomination for Original Screenplay.[18][19][20] Whedon has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the released versions of the films Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Titan A.E. and Alien: Resurrection.[15][19][21]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

(From left to right) Tom Lenk, Emma Caulfield, Alexis Denisof, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Whedon and Michelle Trachtenberg at the Buffy wrap party.

In 1997, Whedon created his first TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series depicts Buffy Summers, the latest in a line of young women called to battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. The idea came directly from his aversion to seeing the Hollywood formula of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie".[22] Whedon said he wanted to subvert the idea and create someone who was a hero.[23] This conception came from "the very first mission statement of the show, which was the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it".[24] The writing process came together from conversations about the emotional issues facing Buffy Summers, and how she would confront them in her battle against supernatural forces.[25] Whedon usually directed episodes from his own scripts that held the most cathartic moments in Buffy's story.[26][27][28]

The series received numerous awards and nominations, including an Emmy Award nomination for the 1999 episode "Hush".[29] The 2001 episode "The Body" was nominated for a Nebula Award in 2002,[30] and the fall 2001 musical episode "Once More, with Feeling" was nominated for a Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Award and a Best Script Nebula Award.[31][32] The final episode "Chosen" was nominated for a Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Hugo Award in 2003.[33] All written and directed by Whedon, they are considered some the most effective and popular episodes of the series.[34][35]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was lauded worldwide for its influential themes and impact on popular culture.[36][37][38] Since the end of the series, Whedon has stated that his intention was initially to produce a "cult" television series and has acknowledged a corresponding “rabid, almost insane fan base" that subsequently emerged. In June 2012, Slate magazine identified it as the most written about popular culture text of all time. "[M]ore than twice as many papers, essays, and books have been devoted to the vampire drama than any of our other choices – so many that we stopped counting when we hit 200".[39]

Published in June 2001, Fray was Whedon's first comic book series.

A lifelong comic book fan, Whedon authored the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Fray, which takes place in the far future of the Buffyverse.[40] Like many writers of the show, he contributed to the series' comic book continuation, writing three stories in the anthology Tales of the Slayers (including the one featuring Melaka Fray from Fray),[41] and the main storyline of the miniseries Tales of the Vampires.[42] Whedon and the other writers then released a new ongoing series, taking place after the series finale "Chosen", which he officially recognizes as the canonical eighth season.[43] Whedon returned to the world of Fray during the season eight story arc "Time of Your Life".[44] Arcs and issues of season eight written by Whedon include "The Long Way Home", "The Chain",[45] "Anywhere but Here",[46] "A Beautiful Sunset",[47] "Time of Your Life", "Turbulence" and "Last Gleaming".[48][49][50] Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine was published from August 2011 to September 2013,[51][52] for which Whedon wrote "Freefall, Part I–II" (with Andrew Chambliss).[53]

Angel

As a result of Buffy the Vampire Slayer‍ '​s success, Whedon was allowed the opportunity to make his 1999 spin-off series, Angel. David Greenwalt and Whedon collaborated on the pilot that was going to be developed for The WB Network.[54] During the series' early expansion, efforts were made by the network to mitigate Whedon's original concept.[55] "Corrupt", a precociously optioned second episode, was entirely abandoned due to the gloominess written into the script.[55] The tone was consequently softened, establishing in the opening episodes Angel Investigations as an idealistic, shoestring operation.[55] It follows Angel (played by David Boreanaz), who works as a private detective in order to "help the helpless".[56]

It was praised for presenting a unique and progressive version of the archetypal noir hero as a sympathetic vampire detective.[57][58] The series was however at times referred to being lesser than its parent show, regularly dismissed in context of having been derived from a more popular original work.[59] Despite this, it won a Saturn Award for Best Network TV Series[60] and the three episodes "Waiting in the Wings",[61] "Smile Time" and "Not Fade Away" were nominated for Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in 2003 and 2005.[62]

The WB Network announced on February 14, 2004 that Angel would not be brought back for a sixth season.[63] Whedon said of the cancellation, "It was like 'Healthy Guy Falls Dead From Heart Attack.' I believe the reason Angel had trouble on The WB was that it was the only show on the network that wasn't trying to be Buffy. It was a show about grown-ups".[64] An official continuation of the story came rather in the form of a comic book series.[65] Following Buffy the Vampire Slayer‍ '​s successful eighth season, IDW Publishing approached Whedon about similarly producing a canonical sixth season for Angel.[66][67] Angel: After the Fall released 17 issues written by Whedon and Brian Lynch.[68] The title of the series then changed to Angel: Aftermath with its move to Dark Horse Comics.[69] Although Whedon lacked the time to write its continuing run, he served as executive producer with Lynch.[70]

2000s

Firefly

Whedon followed Angel with the space western Firefly, starring Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau and Ron Glass. Set in the year 2517, Firefly explores the lives of the people who, on the outskirts of society, make their living as the crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship.[71] The series' original concept progressed after Whedon read The Killer Angels, a book on the Battle of Gettysburg.[72]

An ever present element was Whedon's injection of anti-totalitarianism,[73] writing into the show a historical analogy of the Battle of Gettysburg; the "Battle of Serenity Valley".[74] Two of the main characters, Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe Washburne, fought in the "Unification War" and were defeated by The Alliance, an authoritarian regime.[75] The beaten soldiers were called "Browncoats" after the brown dusters they wore as their uniforms.[76][77] Whedon said, "I wanted to play with that classic notion of the frontier: not the people who made history, but the people history stepped on – the people for whom every act is the creation of civilization".[78] Firefly was written as a serious character study,[79] encompassing what Whedon called "life when it's hard", and in elaboration was about "nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things".[80]

Tim Minear, who had worked with Whedon in the past, was selected to serve as the series' showrunner.[81] The fusion of American frontier and outer space motifs was not well received by critics.[82][83] And despite critical praise in other respects, the show had an average of 4.48 million viewers at the time and was ranked 125th in Nielsen ratings, which led to the series' cancellation by Fox.[84] Whedon took to Universal Pictures as a means of achieving a continuation of the story.[85] Following Firefly was Serenity, a follow-up film taking place after the events of the final episode.[86] This developed into a franchise that led to novels, comic books and other media; all centered around the show's fictional universe.[87] New Scientist magazine held a poll in 2005 to find "The World's Best Space Sci-Fi Ever", in which Firefly and Serenity took first and second place, respectively.[88] Since its cancellation, the series acquired cult status.[89]

Marvel Comics

In 2004, Whedon created the comic book line Astonishing X-Men.[90][91] He finished his 24 issue run in 2008 and then handed over the writing reins to Warren Ellis.[92] The title, recreated specifically for Whedon, has been one of Marvel's best-selling comics and was nominated for several Eisner Awards including Best Serialized Story, Best Continuing Series, Best New Series and Best Writer, winning the Best Continuing Series award in 2006.[93][94] One storyline from this comic, the notion of a cure for mutation being found, was also an element in the third X-Men film, X-Men: The Last Stand.[95][96] In February 2009, Astonishing X-Men #6, which depicted the return of Colossus to the title, and concluded Whedon's first story arc, was named by readers as the #65 in Marvel's Top 70 Comics of all time.[97] Taking over after series creator Brian K. Vaughan completed his run, Whedon became the second writer of the Marvel comic Runaways.[98] Having already been a committed reader, he had a letter published in the first volume, which was included in the Volume 1 hardcover edition.[99] He also wrote short pieces for Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man and Giant-Size X-Men #3,[100][101] and was the subject of an issue of Marvel Spotlight (alongside artist Michael Lark).[102] As part of a panel of writers, he contributed to Marvel Comics' Civil War crossover event, lending advice in how to tell the story and how to end it.[103] Whedon introduced several new characters into the Marvel Universe such as the villainous Ord,[104] X-Men Ruth "Blindfold" Aldine and Hisako "Armor" Ichiki,[105][106] Runaway Klara Prast, and Special Agent Abigail Brand[107][108] along with S.W.O.R.D., the organization she commands.[109]

Serenity

After Universal Pictures acquired the film and distribution rights from Fox, Whedon started writing the screenplay for Serenity.[110] Transforming the series into a film, he says, "...was the hardest piece of writing I've ever done ... It had to be self-contained and work as a movie, which meant I had to cope with problems like introducing nine main characters who'd already met!"[111][112] The script was based on unused story ideas for Firefly‍ '​s unfilmed second season.[86] On writing the dialogue, Whedon felt that part of it came from "getting to invent the language", which "once I had, reads like a kind of poetry".[113] The narrative of the story centers on Captain Malcolm Reynolds—"the hero"—accompanied by River Tam acting as "the catalyst for what he does".[114] The R. Tam sessions focused on the latter character's past, serving as a form of viral marketing for the film, starring himself and Summer Glau.[115]

The score was composed by David Newman, and according to Whedon was intended to "deglorify space – to feel the intimacy of being on a ship as opposed to the grandeur".[116] He used two long steadicam shots for several minutes of the film's opening sequence to establish "a sense of safety in space".[117][118] In 2006, it won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.[119] The elements of science fiction that Whedon wanted to convey were essentially different in kind, and held "a sort of grittiness" and "realism", which he said, together, "get the most exciting kind of film-making".[120] Like Firefly, the film contained a statement on individual liberty.[121] Critic Roger Ebert observed, "Like Brave New World and 1984, the movie plays like a critique of contemporary society, with the Alliance as Big Brother, enemy of discontent".[122] The film received the 2005 Nebula Award for Best Script, the 2006 Prometheus Special Award,[123][124] and was voted the best sci-fi movie of all time in a poll set up by SFX magazine.[120] There have since been multiple rumors regarding sequel possibilities.[125][126]

A limited three-issue comic book series called Serenity: Those Left Behind was released in 2005 as a tie-in to Serenity.[40] Set between Firefly and the film, it was intended to bridge the two storylines together.[40] The story was written by Whedon.[127] Serenity: Better Days also spanned three issues,[128] and was written by Whedon and Brett Matthews.[129] Whedon later co-wrote The Shepherd's Tale with his half brother Zack.[130]

Further work

As a guest director, he contributed two 2007 episodes of The Office ("Business School" and "Branch Wars")[131] and a 2010 episode of Glee ("Dream On").[132] Denoting this period, Whedon has said, "I had free time, but I'm pretty sure I mean my career was on the skids".[133]

In collaboration with Fábio Moon, Whedon created the free webcomic titled Sugarshock!, as part of the revival of Dark Horse Presents, which was launched on Myspace.[134] Whedon later executive produced another free comic book on the Internet, Serenity: The Other Half.[135]

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Whedon with the cast and crew of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog at its Creative Artists Agency theater screening.

As a response to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike,[136] Whedon directed, co-wrote and produced Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.[137] It tells the story of Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillain, who shares a love interest in a girl named Penny with his nemesis, Captain Hammer.[138] To Whedon the miniseries was "always meant to be a project of love", and an accomplishment "that's gonna really make us excited, that's gonna be our passion, and our ridiculousness".[139] His half brothers Zack and Jed and sister-in-law Maurissa Tancharoen share the other writing credits.[140] Whedon said working with family members provided him with "a glorious surprise" once it became apparent "how much we were all in sync".[141]

After having attended meetings with companies discussing the prospect of producing something for the Internet, and faced with negative feedback on his ideas, "It became clear that nothing was going to happen with this company before the strike was over".[142] Whedon funded the project himself with the investment of just over $200,000,[138] and earned more from it than he did directing The Avengers.[143] He enjoyed the independence gained, saying there was "freedom to just let the dictates of the story say how long it's gonna be. We didn't have to cram everything in ... we put in the amount of story that we wanted to and let the time work around that".[139] He and Jed composed the music, parts of which were influenced by Stephen Sondheim.[144]

About its place in changing the approach for content on the web, he said, "The idea was, we’ll do it for fun, and if our fun for some reason causes other people to have fun, and they end up paying for that, then I will actually have the opportunity to create a different paradigm of payment and profit-sharing for writers and artists involved in the project".[145] "We all know that the mediums are shifting and that television is struggling to figure out how the rise of the computer is going to affect it".[146] Whedon was awarded Best Directing and Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series at the Streamy Awards,[147] a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form,[148] and a Creative Arts Emmy Award the following year.[149]

Dollhouse

In 2009, Whedon created his fourth television series Dollhouse, and explored themes throughout the show that were initially present in an unproduced spec script of his called Afterlife.[150] The series follows Echo, an "Active" programmed for various purposes, on her journey towards self-awareness.[151] As stated by Whedon, Dollhouse was about "the sides of us that we don't want people to see", "the idea of sexuality"[152] and, on some level, "a celebration of perversion"[153] because "perversion, like obsession, is the thing that makes people passionate and interesting and worthy".[154]

Despite low ratings in its first season, the series was renewed for a second and final season.[155] The reason for the renewal given by Fox's president of entertainment was, "if we'd canceled Joss's show I'd probably have 110 million e-mails this morning from the fans".[156] In reflection of Fox's disruptive involvement, Whedon explained, "I had the idea of identity. I had the idea of moral culpability. But I lost one or two essential things. And that ultimately killed the show because we were dancing around them"[154] and "when that fell out, when the show turned into a thriller every week, it took something out of it that was kind of basic to what we were trying to do".[152]

2010s

The Cabin in the Woods

Whedon co-wrote and produced a horror film titled The Cabin in the Woods with director Drew Goddard, which finished production in 2009.[157] Whedon and Goddard both intended to make a film "that was about horror movies while being a straight-up, good fun and scary horror movie".[158] The script was written in three days,[159] producing a minimum of 15 pages a day.[160] Whedon described it as an attempt to revitalize horror, calling it a "loving hate letter" to the genre, continuing:

On another level it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be alright but at the same time hoping they'll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.[161]

Part of what Whedon thought distinguished it from other horror films was that "people are not expendable. As a culture, for our own entertainment, we tend to assume that they are".[162] He stated that the idea started as "a logical extension of what I think about horror movies",[163] and reiterated his sentiment that the introduction of torture porn into this genre was "becoming this extremely nihilistic and misogynist exercise in just trying to upset you, as opposed to trying to scare you".[164]

Marvel Studios

Whedon with the cast of The Avengers and Kevin Feige at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International.
The Avengers

In July 2010, it was confirmed that Whedon would write and direct The Avengers, a live-action adaptation of the superhero team of the same name.[165] On his desire to take on the film, he said, "It goes back to the very first incarnation of The Avengers, it goes to The Ultimates, it goes to everything about it. It makes no sense, it's ridiculous ... Ultimately these people don't belong together and the whole movie is about finding yourself from community. And finding that you not only belong together but you need each other, very much. Obviously this will be expressed through punching but it will be the heart of the film".[166]

About the cinematography, DP Seamus McGarvey said that he and Whedon "were keen on having a very visceral and naturalistic quality to the image" and "wanted this to feel immersive and did not want a 'comic book look' that might distance an audience with the engagement of the film".[167] They took use of the digital camera Arri Alexa when shooting the film.[167] Whedon commented on the conversion of The Avengers from 2D to 3D, saying that "current 3D conversion technology is really amazing, and Marvel is very picky. Having a sense for things in a 3D space and filming while feeling that space was a very easy thing for me. I’m just tired of seeing just things flying toward the camera. So I had to make things look good for 3D in 2D. My eyes and senses work that way, so the conversion from 2D was no problem".[168] The music, Whedon said, "is very old-fashioned, which is why Alan was letter-perfect for this movie because he can give you the heightened emotion, the Zimmer school of 'I'm just feeling a lot right now!' but he can also be extraordinarily cue and character specific, which I love".[169]

It became the third highest-grossing film of all time at the North American box office,[170] and received considerable praise from critics.[171][172] But in retrospect, Whedon thought the film had "imperfections".[173] "When I think of a great film, I think of something that's either structured so perfectly like ‍ '​The Matrix‍ '​ or made so lovingly like ‍ '​The Godfather Part II.‍ '​ ... The thing I cared most about—making a summer movie like the ones from my childhood—is the thing that I pulled off".[174]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In March 2012, Whedon stated that although television involves more compromise than film:

I think, ultimately, gun to my head, TV is the place. Being able to spend years with a character, to really develop them, to understand them, to challenge the actor, to learn from the actor, to work with a team of writers – that experience is so fulfilling. The idea of putting something out there and letting it grow is really exciting.[175]

In August 2012, Whedon signed a deal to develop the Marvel TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for ABC.[176][177] The series focuses on the secret military law-enforcement agency featured throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[178] Created by Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen,[179] he stated that while the show involves individuals who possess powers within the spectacle of science fiction, it also focuses on "the peripheral people ... the people on the edges of the grand adventures".[180] In the same vein, Whedon described the lead character of Phil Coulson as "low-key, he's never overselling, and then when he turns out to be the smartest person in the room, everybody else is like, 'Oh...' And you can't buy that. You can't train for it. Some people just have it".[181] The character's resurrection for the series since his death in The Avengers was said to have begun with "the idea of the Little Guy", which Whedon felt meant something he was "very fierce about", saying "there has never been a better Little Guy than Clark Gregg. That intrigued me, this world around the superhero community. ... It's the more intimate stories that belong on television that we can really tap into the visual style and ethos, and even some of the mythology, of the Marvel movies".[182]

Whedon spoke about complications that factored in with making the show for Marvel, saying, "They didn’t actually want me to make it. It’s like, ‘Uh, Joss, we really wanted you to do [Age of Ultron]. Instead you created a TV show, you moron.’ ‘I thought you wanted me to!’ ‘No, we just wanted you to make a movie.’ ‘Oh. My bad.’ ... It went from being absolutely 100% the driving force and totally hands-on to ‘That sounds great, Jed! You should do that!’"[183] He ultimately regretted his decision to bring back Phil Coulson, feeling that his death had lost meaning as a result.[184]

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Whedon returned to write and direct a sequel to The Avengers,[176][185] following the deal with Marvel Studios, which will expire in June 2015.[186] On the matter of approaching a sequel, Whedon reasoned not to go "bigger", but "deeper". "Now you can really spend your time just digging in. And by digging in, I mean with a scalpel to cause pain".[187] He said of the film's characters, "Strong but damaged by power describes every person in this movie. It may, in fact, describe what the movie is about. You know, the more power that we have, the less human we are"—"Ultron's pain is very, very real to me. He can't control the way his pain makes him behave. And I can relate to that".[188][189] Whedon discerns that Age of Ultron "is an odd film in some ways. We went to some strange places in this one, and making that work and making it flow and making it all feel like it's part of the same movie was difficult".[189]

Whedon said that "ultimately, finding the rhythm of the thing was the real challenge ... 'When does it need to calm down? When does it need to build up? When do we need to remind people what's going on with this guy?' I liken it to a symphony. It can't all be RAAAAAAH, like John Philip Sousa. You want something that has grace in the middle of ultimate chaos".[190]

Whedon also served as a creative consultant on the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe leading up to Age of Ultron.[191][192] He rewrote some dialogue for Thor: The Dark World,[193] directed the mid-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier,[194] and suggested that James Gunn make Guardians of the Galaxy "weirder" after reading an early draft.[195] Whedon said it was unlikely that he would return to make another sequel, stating that he "couldn’t imagine doing this again".[196] "This was the hardest work I've ever done, and at some point, when it's that hard, you just feel like you've lost".[189] He continued, "I haven’t created my own universe for over five years. That feels wrong".[197] Intent on using the proceeds made from Avengers: Age of Ultron for such ventures,[143] Whedon explains his plans for the future, "One person. Can’t stress that enough. Movie about one person — not a team, not 10, just one".[198]

Much Ado About Nothing

To create Much Ado About Nothing, Whedon established Bellwether Pictures.[199] On October 23, 2011, he confirmed they had completed principal photography.[200] The film was scripted, produced, directed, edited and composed by Whedon, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name.[201] Whedon's idea to adapt the play for the screen originated from having "Shakespeare readings" at his house with several of his friends, years prior.[202]

He filmed it in black-and-white on digital video over a period of 12 days at his residence in Santa Monica, California.[203][204] Whedon and his DP Jay Hunter took advantage of natural lighting in order to make it feel "very found", noting, "Our lighting package rose in the east and set in the west".[205] Using mirrors, glass and windows to shoot through, he explains, "[It's] something I'd like to do all the time, but particularly in a movie that's all about lies, and manipulation and misunderstandings. The more you can warp the frame a little bit, the more it speaks towards what's going on".[205]

Despite the play's comedy, he discovered that there were elements in the text "of debauchery" that brought out a core darkness, and said the visual nature of film influenced him to permeate a motif of sexuality into the script.[206] Working with the actors, Whedon determined that, although giving them notes for guidance, "...what I understand is what an actor wants to know. 'Why am I doing this, and how should it come out?' And 'Will I be safe to try something strange?' And 'Will I be asked to do more?' I don't come at it from any other standpoint than that".[207]

Other projects

Whedon wrote and executive produced the paranormal romance film In Your Eyes, the second feature by Bellwether Pictures.[208][209][210] The film tells the story of Rebecca Porter and Dylan Kershaw who can feel each other's emotions, but are ultimately strangers.[211] Whedon's script marked a theme of human connection as the metaphor for the couple's mysterious link.[212] He conceived the idea in the early 1990s, and had written drafts of the screenplay since then.[213]

In summer 2014, Whedon encountered artist Shawnee Kilgore on Kickstarter. He said of her project, "I really loved the music and the sound of her voice". Whedon funded her album shortly after. When Kilgore contacted him about his fulfillment reward, he suggested they make a song together. She agreed, and received lyrics to one called "Big Giant Me". To Whedon, the song epitomized "the idea of change, and how much someone will accept you for yourself and what you are and what you’re going to become". The collaboration was then repurposed into producing an extended play.[214] Whedon's work on Avengers: Age of Ultron required the progress on the EP to be held back. He made clear, "That’s something that I will pick up again in May. We’re pretty close".[215]

Unrealized projects

Early in his career, Whedon sold two spec scripts that weren't produced; Suspension and Afterlife. He sold Suspension for $750,000, with an additional $250,000 if production had commenced.[216] In September 2014, Empire suggested the script was being made, with Liam Neeson attached to the project.[217] In 1994, he sold Afterlife for $1.5 million, with an additional $500,000 if production had commenced. In 2000, Andy Tennant was in talks to direct and rewrite.[218] In Afterlife there were precursors to themes Whedon would later explore in Dollhouse. The script was about Daniel Hoffstetter, a government scientist, who awakes after dying to discover his mind has been imprinted on a mind-wiped body.[219]

Whedon had a number of planned Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoffs that became stuck in development or terminally stalled. Among these were Buffy the Animated Series, a set of television movies for The WB based on Angel and Buffy characters,[220][221] and Ripper, a proposed BBC pilot about Rupert Giles.[222]

Goners was announced in 2005. According to Variety magazine, it was a fantasy thriller under development by Universal Studios, and was to be produced by Mary Parent and Scott Stuber.[223] When asked about the film itself during an interview, Whedon said, "It is a fantasy thriller, it is pretty dark and it's all me. So people will pretty much know what that means if they look at my body of work. But it's a new universe set in the present day with a new concept for me and a new bunch of characters. It's been a long time since I got to do that, so that's really fun".[224] From a 2006 interview with Fanboy Radio: "I've been seeing a lot of horror movies that are torture-porn, where kids we don't care about are mutilated for hours, and I just cannot abide them... it's an antidote to that very kind of film, the horror movie with the expendable human beings in it. Because I don't believe any human beings are".[225] In the wake of having finished Avengers: Age of Ultron, Whedon noted that despite there being "something about [Goners] that hasn’t been expressed yet", he would not have the energy to make anything that involved a team.[215]

Whedon was hired to write and direct a Warner Bros. adaptation of Wonder Woman. However, in February 2007, Whedon announced that he would no longer be involved with the project. "We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time".[226] Conversely, he stated, "The fact of the matter is, it was a waste of my time. We never [wanted] to make the same movie; none of us knew that".[227] Whedon also pitched a screenplay to adapt Batman for the same company while development started on what would eventually become Batman Begins.[228] It was described as having included a new, "more of a 'Hannibal Lector' type" villain, and portrayed Bruce Wayne as "a morbid, death-obsessed kid" whose grief was overcome by protecting a girl from being bullied in an alley similar to where his parents were murdered. Whedon recalled, "Bruce is like, “I stopped them. I can stop them.’ That was the moment for me. When he goes ‘Oh, wait a minute; I can actually do something about this.’ The moment he gets that purpose".[229]

The sequel to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog has been shelved on multiple occasions. In 2009, Whedon remarked upon the possibility of presenting it in the form of another miniseries or a feature film.[230] He said in an interview with The New York Times, "We've got several songs near completion and we’ve got a very specific structure".[142] The script was planned to be written in summer 2012 and the principal photography to take place the following year.[231][232] However, production was delayed because of his commitment to projects at Marvel Studios.[233] In 2015, Whedon was unsure whether the sequel was possible. "Everybody’s so busy, and we’ve all changed ... But god knows, we have the people. We have the technology. We can rebuild it".[215]

Wastelanders, a web-based "end-of-the-world" project, once in development with author Warren Ellis, was postponed due to Whedon's preoccupation with The Avengers. Calling it "a dark piece", he proceeds: "I'm just like, 'Gosh, well, if I'm going to finance this and put it together, it's kind of dangerous.' It's not going to have a soundtrack album, it's not going to have all these revenue streams. It's going to be something that I put out there because I feel like I have to, and I don't have to rely on anybody else to let me".[234] Whedon stated in 2015, "I still talk to Warren about it. I still think it’s interesting. It was built around a sort of internet paradigm that probably is a little old-fashioned ... So I sort of need to look at the landscape".[215]

Themes, style and influences

Everybody has a perspective. Everybody in your scene, including the thug flanking your bad guy, has a reason. They have their own voice, their own identity, their own history. If anyone speaks in such a way that they're just setting up the next person's lines, then you don't get dialogue: you get soundbites.

—Whedon on giving each character a distinct voice.[235]

Thematically, Whedon's works feature allusions to components in existentialism,[236] anti-authoritarianism,[73] power,[24] powerlessness, sexuality,[237] adulthood, sacrifice, misogyny and feminism.[238][239][240][241] His projects usually revolve around an ensemble of protagonists,[242][243] primarily focused on a loner hero who ends up working with others to accomplish a goal.[244] He says of the recurring aspects of community, "Everything I write tends to turn into a superhero team, even if I didn't mean for it to. I always start off wanting to be solitary, because a) it's simpler, and b) that isolation is something that I relate to as a storyteller. And then no matter what, I always end up with a team".[245] Examining a typical motif, he says, "I tend to write about people who are helpless or out of control who then regain or retake control".[238]

Speaking about his approach to screenwriting, Whedon has noted outlining and act structure as the hardest parts of storytelling, but emphasizes that he feels they are "completely essential".[246] He elaborates, "With The Avengers, the structure nearly killed me. It was very difficult to make it flow and cohere in terms of all the changing perspectives and characters, all these movie stars, all these beats to hit. It's a ridiculously complex puzzle. But once you’ve got the puzzle, and you’re just filling in the voices and coming up with the moments, that's what's fun".[247] Many of Whedon's altered phrases and heavily popularized words have entered a common usage called "Slayer Slang", which PBS included an entire section of in their article series Do You Speak American?.[248] In an issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, where Buffy travels to the future, Whedon writes Buffy's reaction to the future dialect of Manhattan; this allows Whedon to comment on the series' distinctive style of dialogue. "Buffy blames herself for what's happened to the English language, and there's a lot of hubris in that joke. I like to think that adding Y's to words that don't usually have Y's is going to destroy the whole fabric of our society".[249] His use of self-aware dialogue to humanize characters,[250] which relies heavily on dry humor and subtext,[251][252] treating clichés subversively,[253] using misogyny to define the trait of a villain,[240][241] and the recurring theme of self-sacrifice led by subverting moral icons have been defining to his style of storytelling.[254]

His penchant to kill off characters has been widely criticized.[255][256] Whedon has admitted extreme tiredness to the criticism,[184][257] explaining, "The percentage of people who die... is a lot. I think it's pretty near everybody. The percentage of people that I kill – not so many. I think the reason that my rep is so nasty is that I tend to do it... unexpectedly, or to someone people are recently invested in, and that is a real mission statement for me, because, death doesn't leave a card. Death doesn't take Hitler. It doesn't work according to story plans. And when a death feels like a loss, gives you grief... then you have told a story that involves death".[258]

Whedon has kept ambivalent on whether to shoot on film or digital video, saying that he has "no allegiance to film as film. If the story is in front of me, I’m fine".[259] In terms of visual aesthetics, he prefers to incorporate as many practical effects as possible when using computer-generated imagery, saying, "I don't think it looks good if it doesn't look real. That veracity is the most important thing. You want to feel like this is definitely happening. I am very strict about letting people feel the space that something's happening in, and the environment has got to be a key part of it. Generally you just try to mix just as much practical with CGI as possible, so people really don't know where one begins and the other ends".[260] On working with high or low budgets, he remarked that both offer "the exact same job. The money has never mattered. If you have $100 million, if you have $100,000, you're trying to hit someone in the gut with an emotional moment. If you can back that up with an awesome visual, that's really neat. If you can back that up with a visual that's not awesome, but at least gets it done, tells them what they need to know to hit them in the gut emotionally, that's neat too. If the characters can only talk about it in a room, then the emotional moment has to be really, really good, but it's still neat".[261]

Whedon has cited Ray Bradbury,[262] James Cameron,[263] Rod Serling,[264] William Shakespeare,[265] Stephen Sondheim,[266] Steven Spielberg,[267] Charles Dickens, Stan Lee, Robert Klein,[264] Jerome Robbins,[264] Frank Borzage,[264] Steve Gerber,[264] Steven Bochco,[264] Frances Hodgson Burnett[264] and John Williams as influences.[264] When asked about his five favorite films, Whedon listed The Matrix (1999), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Magnolia (1999) and The Court Jester (1956).[268]

Feminism and activism

Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity, we need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it. We need equality. Kinda now.

—Whedon's 2006 Equality Now speech.[269]

Elements of feminism are present throughout all of Whedon's work,[270][271] which he gives his mother credit for inspiring. When asked how he could write so well for women, he answered "If you met my mom, you wouldn't ask".[272] The character Kitty Pryde from the X-Men comics was an early model for Whedon's strong teenage girl characters.[273] He said, "If there's a bigger influence on Buffy than Kitty, I don't know what it was. She was an adolescent girl finding out she has great power and dealing with it".[274] Kitty Pryde later played a central role in Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men.[275] In response to perennially being asked why he writes such strong female characters, he famously replied, "Because you're still asking me that question".[269]

In college, Whedon studied the theory called "womb envy",[270] a concept he says observes "a fundamental thing that women have something men don't, the obvious being an ability to bear children, and the resilience to hang in as parents. I don't understand why or how anyone ever pulled off the whole idea of 'women are inferior'. Men not only don't get what's important about what women are capable of, but in fact they fear it, and envy it, and want to throw stones at it, because it's the thing they can't have".[271] In 2007, Whedon expressed his outrage over the murder of Du'a Khalil Aswad, and because the act was caught on video, was prompted to attack the underlying attitude he felt led to the murder, comparing the video to torture porn. He wrote, "[Womb envy is] entirely true. How else to explain the fact that cultures who would die to eradicate each other have always agreed on one issue? That every popular religion puts restrictions on women's behavior that are practically untenable? That the act of being a free, attractive, self-assertive woman is punishable by torture and death?"[270][276]

In late 2013, Whedon spoke at an Equality Now event, where he issued a pointed dissection of the word "feminist". He begins to say, "I have the privilege living my life inside of words ... but part of being a writer is also living in the very smallest part of every word". Arguing against the suffix "-ist", he continues, "you can't be born an –ist. It's not natural". Whedon explains that because of this, the word "includes the idea that believing men and women to be equal ... is not a natural state. That we don't emerge assuming that everybody in the human race is a human. That the idea of equality is just an idea that's imposed on us..."[277][278] This sparked an unfavorable reaction from the feminist community,[279][280] but also an appreciation for Whedon's arguments' thought provocation.[281][282]

News website Digital Spy released in early 2015 an interview they had conducted with Whedon, during which he criticized the entertainment industry for its "genuine, recalcitrant, intractable sexism, and old-fashioned quiet misogyny".[283] He added, "You hear, 'Oh, [female superheroes] don't work because of these two bad ones that were made eight years ago,' there's always an excuse".[284] Whedon exemplified The Hunger Games film series as an argument for the female led franchise, and hoped Marvel Studios would be a part of undertaking the same bearing.[284] He admitted however that "most of the best [female characters] in Marvel are owned by Fox"; referring to the X-Men film rights.[285] After his comments went viral,[286][287] Whedon responded: "It's a struggle. You’ll always be able to rattle off the names of the female-driven genre films, and the rest are all male, and generally white men. I think the success of the young-adult trilogies that are usually not only female-driven but have a romantic bent—and are not necessarily about the spectacle of action but contain it—is great... We can evolve that genre more quickly if we come at it from different ways".[286]

In April 2015, Whedon commented on Twitter in regards to a promotional clip for Jurassic World, calling it "70's era sexist".[288] He thought the clip portrayed the male character as "a life-force" while the female character as "a stiff".[289] Several media outlets picked it up for coverage.[290][291] The Mary Sue, whose tweet this was in response to, stated that the controversy had affected them "in a major way" and wished to dispel past accusations that they write to "cause controversy".[292] When asked to respond, Whedon said his comment "was bad form. I literally forgot that I don’t do that ... I was shocked, and I thought, ‘Come on, we can do better than this.’ ... But as a quasi-celebrity it’s uncouth of me to attack somebody else’s material".[293]

Frequent casting

Whedon often hires the same actors for his projects,[294] and has been described as "the gravitational center of the Whedonverse, a galaxy that spins recurring actors and themes through an orbital system of TV shows, films and comic books that all share similar traits: a unique brand of witty dialogue, relatable characters and fantasy/sci-fi mythology".[295]

Actor Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1997–2003)		 Angel
(1999–2004)		 Firefly
(2002)		 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
(2008)		 Dollhouse
(2009–10)		 The Cabin in the Woods
(2012)		 The Avengers
(2012)		 Much Ado About Nothing
(2012)		 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
(2013–)
Amy Acker Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Alexis Denisof Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nathan Fillion Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tom Lenk Yes Yes Yes Yes
Felicia Day Yes Yes Yes
Reed Diamond Yes Yes Yes
Summer Glau Yes Yes Yes
Carlos Jacott Yes Yes Yes
Ashley Johnson Yes Yes Yes
Fran Kranz Yes Yes Yes
Damion Poitier Yes Yes Yes
Andy Umberger Yes Yes Yes
Jonathan M. Woodward Yes Yes Yes

Note: Due to the frequency Whedon casts the same actors in various projects, the above list only includes those that have played three or more different roles in a Whedon production (actors that have only played the same role in multiple Whedon productions are not included).

Personal life

Whedon is married to Kai Cole, producer and co-founder of Bellwether Pictures.[296] They have two children and live in Los Angeles.[297]

In 2013, Whedon revealed that he suffers from workaholism. This arose during the time that followed the completion of Much Ado About Nothing, which was made in the span of a two-week vacation from The Avengers,[298] and after making the pilot for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. amidst the pre-production for Avengers: Age of Ultron. "It is actually a problem. Sometimes it's adorable ... and sometimes it's not ... Not to get all dark and weird, but it is something I need to address".[299]

Religious and philosophical views

Whedon has identified himself as an atheist, absurdist and humanist.[300][301] In April 2009, the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University presented Whedon with the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism.[302] He has also spoken about existentialism, explaining in detail how it, and more specifically Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea, was used as a basis for the Firefly episode "Objects in Space". He called it "the most important book" he ever read,[236] and said it was handed to him right after he saw Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, whose impact, he recalls, had made him an existentialist.[303]

Political views

In July 2012, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, in response to one woman who noted the anti-corporate themes in many of his movies, and asked him to give his economic philosophy in 30 seconds or less, Whedon spoke out against both the socialism he was brought up listening to and capitalism as well, stating that "ultimately all these systems don't work". He went on to say that America is "turning into Tsarist Russia".[304]

Endorsing Barack Obama in the 2012 United States presidential election,[305] Whedon satirically equated Mitt Romney's future as president with a zombie apocalypse, "Romney is ready to make the deep rollbacks in health care, education, social services and reproductive rights that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, disease, rioting—all crucial elements in creating a nightmare zombie wasteland".[306][307]

In 2015, Whedon signed a petition as part of a political campaign calling for Elizabeth Warren to run for President of the United States.[308][309] In observance of Earth Day, he spoke against climate change denial in a series of tweets, arguing, "The climate IS changing — if we can’t, that makes us dumber than weather ... Policy makers who deny basic scientific truth should also be denied penicillin, horseless carriages, [and] air time on the magic box of shadows".[310]

Filmography

Whedon has written, directed and produced a number of films and television series.

Accolades

Year Award Category Title of work Result
1995 Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay Toy Story Nominated
1996 Saturn Awards Best Writing Toy Story Nominated
2000 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode: "Hush" Nominated
2009 Daytime Emmy Awards Writing For A Special Class Special Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Won
2013 Saturn Awards Best Writing The Cabin in the Woods (shared with Drew Goddard) Nominated
2013 Saturn Awards Best Director The Avengers Won
2013 Empire Awards Best Director The Avengers Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Joss Whedon: A to Z". Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Joss Whedon". Front Row. December 26, 2013. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Writer-director Joss Whedon". PBS. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nussbaum, Emily (September 22, 2002). "Must-See Metaphysics". nytimes.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  5. ↑ Riverdalian, (Riverdale Country School, the Bronx, yearbook), 1971, page 17; and 1972, page 22
  6. ↑ Rochell D. Thomas. "Is Dollhouse a family affair?" TV Guide March 16, 2009; Page19
  7. ↑ "Topic: Joss Whedon". UPI.com. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Rookie – Higher Learning". rookiemag.com. September 5, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Joss Whedon - And they call it Buffy love". The Independent. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Joss Whedon Wesleyan Commencement Address: 'You Are All Going To Die' (VIDEO)". huffingtonpost.com. May 29, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  11. ↑ Schwartz, Dana (April 15, 2015). "Q&A: Joss Whedon on Super Heroes, Killing Characters, and Existing Outside the Pop Culture Mainstream". Mental Floss. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  12. ↑ Dunne, Susan (June 2, 2009). "Writer Joss Whedon Speaks At Wesleyan". courant.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ Burlingame, Russ (July 19, 2013). "Roseanne Barr Says Joss Whedon Will Have to Come to Her For Avengers 2". comicbook.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ McMillan, Graeme (November 2, 2009). "Joss Whedon Wants To Buy Terminator – Someone Make This Happen". io9.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Robinson, Tasha (September 5, 2001). "Joss Whedon". avclub.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  16. ↑ Risley, Matt (April 25, 2013). "The Avengers director's greatest scenes, characters and gags". totalfilm.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  17. ↑ O'Hare, Kate (May 24, 2003). "Graham Yost, the 'Bus Guy,' triumphs with 'Boomtown'.". highbeam.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  18. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (January 4, 2013). "Why Titan A.E. is an Underappreciated Masterpiece". io9.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Wilding, Josh (April 18, 2013). "Joss Whedon Reflects On What Went Wrong With ALIEN: RESURRECTION". comicbookmovie.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  20. ↑ Stock, Francine (June 17, 2013). "Joss Whedon: A Life in Pictures". bafta.org. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  21. ↑ Polo, Susana (April 11, 2012). "The Best of Joss Whedon's AMA: The Avengers, Doctor Horrible 2, and… Titan A.E.?". themarysue.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  22. ↑ Earl, Chris (December 14, 2011). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". starburstmagazine.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  23. ↑ Scheinman, Ted (April 5, 2013). "SXSW Critic's Notebook: Much Ado About What, Exactly? Joss Whedon's Progressive Bardolatry". lareviewofbooks.org. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Buffy's Angels". metroactive.com. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  25. ↑ Kelly, Suzanne (January 28, 2011). "Jane Espenson: Writer, sci-fi thriller, one nerdy lady". cnn.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Back to article: Joss Whedon: 20 greatest moments from 'Buffy', 'Firefly', more". digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  27. ↑ Dellamonica, Alyx (April 22, 2013). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Rewatch: There is no Joyce in Bloodville". tor.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  28. ↑ Faraci, Devin (January 19, 2011). "Happy Birthday Buffy: The 13 Best Episodes Of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER". badassdigest.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  29. ↑ King, Shane (April 12, 2014). "Buffy The Vampire Slayer, "Hush" – A Detailed Review". moviepilot.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  30. ↑ "2002 Nebula Awards". locusmag.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  31. ↑ "2002 Hugo Awards". thehugoawards.org. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  32. ↑ "2003 Nebula Awards". locusmag.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  33. ↑ "Hugo Awards Nominations". locusmag.com. April 10, 2004. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  34. ↑ Tauchert, Carley (July 23, 2009). "Top 10 Buffy The Vampire Slayer episodes". denofgeek.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  35. ↑ Roberts, Samuel (September 3, 2012). "Top 10 Best Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episodes". scifinow.co.uk. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  36. ↑ Harrington, Richard (September 30, 2005). "Joss Whedon's New Frontier". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  37. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 18, 2005). "Joss Whedon to helm 'Wonder Woman'". today.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  38. ↑ VanDerWerff, Todd (December 12, 2012). "10 episodes that show how Buffy The Vampire Slayer blew up genre TV". avclub.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  39. ↑ Patricia Pender (June 19, 2014). "Vampires beware: Buffy is the unslayable pop culture text". The Conversation. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 Thompson, Kelly (May 16, 2011). "She Has No Head! – Joss Whedon's Fray". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  41. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers TPB". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  42. ↑ "Tales of the Vampires TPB". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  43. ↑ Vary, Adam B. (January 19, 2011). "Joss Whedon talks about the end of the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Season 8 comic, and the future of Season 9 – EXCLUSIVE". ew.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  44. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #16 Time of Your Life". darkhorse.com. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  45. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #5". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  46. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #10 Anywhere but Here". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  47. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #11 A Beautiful Sunset". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  48. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 4: Time of Your Life TPB". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  49. ↑ Phegley, Kiel (February 5, 2010). "BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 8: "Turbulence" & "Twilight" Pt. 1". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  50. ↑ Phegley, Kiel (December 10, 2010). "BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 8: "Last Gleaming"". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  51. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #1 (Jo Chen variant cover)". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  52. ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #25 (Phil Noto cover)". darkhorse.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  53. ↑ Phegley, Kiel (November 3, 2011). "BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 9: Buffy Enters "Freefall"". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  54. ↑ Millman, Joyce (October 4, 1999). "City of Angel". salon.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 Pinchefsky, Carol (January 19, 2011). "7 Joss Whedon projects we'll never see (and 1 we eventually will)". blastr.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  56. ↑ Harrisson, Juliette (March 12, 2014). "What Angel's first season did right". denofgeek.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  57. ↑ Tucker, Ken (October 30, 2001). "Angel (1999–2004)". ew.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  58. ↑ "Television's Most Memorable Male Detectives Of All Time (PHOTOS)". huffingtonpost.com. March 12, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  59. ↑ Hughes, Sarah (May 15, 2009). "Buffy's creator makes his valley of the dolls". independent.co.uk. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  60. ↑ "BEST TELEVISION SERIES". saturnawards.org. Archived from the original on February 10, 2005. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  61. ↑ "Hugo Award Nominees". sfsite.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  62. ↑ "Hugo and Campbell Awards Nominations". locusmag.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  63. ↑ "Breaking News: Angel to End After 5 Seasons UPDATED". ign.com. February 13, 2004. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  64. ↑ Jensen, Jeff (May 21, 2004). "The X Factor". ew.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  65. ↑ "Angel: After the Fall". idwpublishing.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  66. ↑ "‘Angel’ Returns for Season Six … But Not on TV". vulture.com. September 18, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  67. ↑ "Angel: After the Fall Rises to the Top for IDW". idwpublishing.com. November 28, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  68. ↑ "Angel: Angel: After the Fall". idwpublishing.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  69. ↑ Manning, Shaun (August 24, 2010). "The Future of "Angel"". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  70. ↑ Furey, Emmett (November 6, 2007). "Brian Lynch talks "Angel: After the Fall"". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  71. ↑ Bettridge, Daniel (March 23, 2012). "Your next box set: Firefly". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  72. ↑ Pierce, Scott D. (September 19, 2002). "Scott Pierce: Fox's 'Firefly' takes flight". deseretnews.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  73. ↑ 73.0 73.1 Cone, K.M. (April 11, 2013). "Whedon's Themes: A Blueprint for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.". culturemass.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  74. ↑ Ohanesian, Liz (December 17, 2008). "Heroes of the Final Frontier: Top 5 Space Cowboys from TV and Film". laweekly.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  75. ↑ Phelps, Steven (July 2011). "Sci-Fi Westerns". cowboysindians.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  76. ↑ Bergen, Jennifer (April 28, 2012). "10 Extreme Cases of Nerd Rage". pcmag.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  77. ↑ Chonin, Neva (June 8, 2005). "When Fox canceled 'Firefly,' it ignited an Internet fan base whose burning desire for more led to 'Serenity'". sfgate.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  78. ↑ Nussbaum, Emily (September 22, 2002). "Must-See Metaphysics". nytimes.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  79. ↑ Snyder, Gabriel (March 21, 2004). "‘Firefly’ feature alights". variety.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  80. ↑ Brioux, Bill (July 22, 2002). "Firefly series ready for liftoff". canoe.ca. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  81. ↑ Peat, Calvin (July 14, 2012). "How Tim Minear came aboard Joss Whedon's Firefly: A story of betrayal, spaceships, and Marti Noxon". shadowlocked.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  82. ↑ Goodman, Tim (September 20, 2002). "Sci-fi 'Firefly' is a bonanza of miscues from 'Buffy' creator". sfgate.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  83. ↑ Nussbaum, Emily (December 21, 2003). "A DVD Face-Off Between the Official and the Homemade". nytimes.com. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  84. ↑ Haberman, Lia (December 13, 2002). "Fox Squashes "Firefly"". eonline.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  85. ↑ Russell, M.E. (June 24, 2005). "The Browncoats Rise Again". weeklystandard.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  86. ↑ 86.0 86.1 Balbirnie, Steven (November 12, 2013). "It's All Connected". universityobserver.ie. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  87. ↑ Parker, John (January 28, 2014). "A Recap of Every 'Serenity' Comic (So Far)". comicsalliance.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  88. ↑ Gosline, Anna (October 26, 2005). "The World's Best Space Sci-Fi Ever: Your verdict". newscientist.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  89. ↑ Drown, Esther (September 24, 2012). "Fans construct 'Firefly's' significance". statepress.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  90. ↑ Edwards, Gavin. "Whedon, Ink". nymag.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  91. ↑ Bustamante Jr., Cesar R. "Joss Whedon 101: Astonishing X-Men". popmatters.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  92. ↑ Ellis, Warren (August 5, 2007). "ASTONISHING X-MEN: SECOND STAGE". warrenellis.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  93. ↑ Brookstone, Dean (2012). "Graphic Weekends: Astonishing X-Men". vancitybuzz.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  94. ↑ DeMott, Rick (July 25, 2006). "Astonishing X-Men Wins Top Eisner Award". awn.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  95. ↑ Tramountanas, George A. (February 23, 2006). ""X-Men: The Last Stand" – Dave Gorder – The Super-Associate Producer". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  96. ↑ Chitwood, Scott. "X-Men: The Last Stand". comingsoon.net. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  97. ↑ "Marvel's Top 70". archive.is. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  98. ↑ "From 'Buffy' to 'The Avengers': Joss Whedon's Best and Worst Projects". rollingstone.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  99. ↑ "Joss Whedon Escapes With Runaways". ign.com. September 12, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  100. ↑ "Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man First Look". IGN. September 7, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  101. ↑ "Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men (2008) #1". marvel.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  102. ↑ "Marvel Spotlight: Joss Whedon & Michael Lark". comicvine.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  103. ↑ George, Richard (March 2, 2007). "Interview: Joss Whedon". ign.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  104. ↑ "Ord". marvel.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  105. ↑ "Blindfold". marvel.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  106. ↑ "Armor". marvel.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  107. ↑ "Klara Prast". comicvine.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  108. ↑ "Abigail Brand". comicvine.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  109. ↑ "S.W.O.R.D.". comicvine.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  110. ↑ Linder, Brian (March 4, 2004). "Whedon's Serenity Flies at Uni". ign.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  111. ↑ "Joss Whedon on Serenity". film4.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  112. ↑ "Interview with Joss Whedon about Serenity". sffworld.com. October 2, 2005. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  113. ↑ Overstreet, Jeffrey (2005). ""Serenity" Rewards Faithful Fans, Thrills a New Audience". spu.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  114. ↑ "Joss Whedon, Morena Baccarin interview for the movie Serenity". archive.org. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  115. ↑ "R. Tam Sessions (Session 416_2, 1, 22, 165)". archive.org. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  116. ↑ Burlingame, Jon (October 9, 2005). "Outer Country". nytimes.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  117. ↑ Davis, Cindy (June 4, 2012). "Mindhole Blowers: 20 Facts About Serenity That Might Make You Crave a Fruity Oaty Bar". pajiba.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  118. ↑ "STEADICAM". steadivision.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  119. ↑ "Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  120. ↑ 120.0 120.1 "Serenity named top sci-fi movie". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  121. ↑ Keating, Raymond J. (April 1, 2006). "Serenity Comes from Individual Freedom". fee.org. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  122. ↑ Ebert, Roger (September 29, 2005). "Serenity". rogerebert.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  123. ↑ "Nebula Awards". sfwa.org. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  124. ↑ "PROMETHEUS 2006 AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED". lfs.org. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  125. ↑ Terdiman, Daniel (June 19, 2006). "Fans of sci-fi 'Serenity' follow their bliss". archive.org. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  126. ↑ Murray, Rebecca. "Nathan Fillion Talks About "Serenity"". about.com. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  127. ↑ "Serenity : those left behind / story by Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews ; script by Brett Matthews ; art by Will Conrad.". nla.gov.au. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  128. ↑ "Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3)". darkhorse.com. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  129. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: "Serenity: Better Days" #2 Preview". comicbookresources.com. March 11, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  130. ↑ Ullrich, Chris (June 13, 2008). "Interview: Scott Allie on Shepherd Book's 'Serenity' Spin-Off and 'Solomon Kane'". comicmix.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  131. ↑ Cortez, Carl (July 16, 2007). "Exclusive: Joss Whedon to direct another episode of 'The Office'". ifmagazine.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  132. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (October 19, 2009). "'Glee' exclusive: Joss Whedon to direct!". ew.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  133. ↑ Mital, Sachyn (July 15, 2013). "An Evening of Joss Whedon with the Film Society of Lincoln Center (video)". popmatters.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  134. ↑ ""Sugarshock": A free Whedon comic book to brighten your Monday". afterellen.com. August 13, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  135. ↑ "Serenity: The Other Half". darkhorse.com. November 3, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  136. ↑ Watercutter, Angela (March 15, 2012). "Wait Is Almost Over for New Dr. Horrible, Joss Whedon Says". wired.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  137. ↑ Wortham, Jenna (July 14, 2008). "Joss Whedon Waxes Dr. Horrible". wired.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  138. ↑ 138.0 138.1 Rosen, Lisa (January 2009). "Meet Joss Whedon the Web Slayer.". wga.org. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  139. ↑ 139.0 139.1 Baldwin, Drew (July 14, 2008). "Joss Whedon Interview: The Web Has Been Wonderful For 'Horrible'". tubefilter.com. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  140. ↑ "Joss Whedon Talks 'Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog' On TV, The Sequel And Returning To TV At Comic-Con". huffingtonpost.com. July 13, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  141. ↑ "Joss Whedon Talks 'Dr. Horrible,' 'Dollhouse' and More". washingtonpost.com. July 21, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  142. ↑ 142.0 142.1 Itzkoff, Dave (April 18, 2011). "Once More, With Feeling: Joss Whedon Revisits 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'". nytimes.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  143. ↑ 143.0 143.1 Fritz, Ben (April 23, 2015). "‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Kicks Off the Summer". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  144. ↑ Nussbaum, Emily (July 21, 2008). "Joss Whedon on 'Dr. Horrible,' Stephen Sondheim, and Bad Horse". vulture.com. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  145. ↑ Marshall, Rick (July 15, 2008). "Interview: Joss Whedon on 'Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'". comicmix.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  146. ↑ "Joss Whedon on Emmys, Dr. Horrible and the future". blastr.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  147. ↑ "1st Annual Nominees & Winners". streamys.org. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  148. ↑ "2009 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  149. ↑ Drew, Richard (September 19, 2009). "'Buffy' Creator Snags Emmy For 'Horrible' Idea". npr.org. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  150. ↑ Davis, Lauren (October 5, 2009). "The Mind-Transplant Script Whedon Wrote Before Dollhouse". io9.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  151. ↑ "New Joss Whedon / Eliza Dushku Series!". ign.com. November 1, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  152. ↑ 152.0 152.1 Ryan, Maureen (December 3, 2009). "Sex, secrets and 'Dollhouse': Joss Whedon talks about the end of his Fox show". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  153. ↑ Gross, Edward (November 25, 2010). "Joss Whedon talks Firefly, Dollhouse and leaving television". scifinow.co.uk. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  154. ↑ 154.0 154.1 Rogers, Adam (May 3, 2012). "Joss Whedon on Comic Books, Abusing Language and the Joys of Genre". wired.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  155. ↑ Hibberd, James (May 15, 2009). "Surprise: Fox RENEWS 'Dollhouse'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  156. ↑ Huddleston, Kathie (May 18, 2009). "Fox execs explain why they kept Dollhouse and killed Sarah Connor". blastr.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  157. ↑ Leader, Michael (March 29, 2012). "Joss Whedon interview: The Cabin In The Woods, The Avengers, Shakespeare and more". denofgeek.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  158. ↑ Collis, Clark (April 12, 2012). "'The Cabin in the Woods': How Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's 'insane frolic' became the year's most buzzed-about fright flick". ew.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  159. ↑ Weintraub, Steve (April 5, 2012). "Joss Whedon Talks THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, THE AVENGERS, His Writing Process, Comic-Con, Collecting and More". collider.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  160. ↑ Leader, Michael (March 29, 2012). "Joss Whedon interview: The Cabin In The Woods, The Avengers, Shakespeare and more". denofgeek.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  161. ↑ "Joss Whedon talks The Cabin In The Woods". totalfilm.com. February 16, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  162. ↑ Salisbury, Brian (April 10, 2012). "Joss Whedon on 'Cabin in the Woods': Femi-Nazis, 'Evil Dead,' and the Pains of Child Birth". hollywood.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  163. ↑ de Semlyen, Nick. "Joss Whedon Talks The Cabin In The Woods". empireonline.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  164. ↑ Franklin, Oliver. "GQ&A: Joss Whedon". gq-magazine.co.uk. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  165. ↑ Hardawar, Devindra (July 22, 2010). "Joss Whedon Officially Directing The Avengers". slashfilm.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  166. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (July 24, 2010). "Joss Whedon says Captain America and Iron Man won't be pals in his "Avengers"". io9.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  167. ↑ 167.0 167.1 Tran, An. "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!". arri.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  168. ↑ Connelly, Brendon (August 22, 2012). "Joss Whedon Discusses The Avengers, Its Sequel, Marvel On TV And More". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  169. ↑ Weintraub, Steve (April 5, 2012). "Joss Whedon Talks THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, THE AVENGERS, His Writing Process, Comic-Con, Collecting and More". collider.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  170. ↑ "DOMESTIC GROSSES". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  171. ↑ "Marvel's The Avengers (2012)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  172. ↑ "The Avengers". metacritic.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  173. ↑ Frappier, Rob. "Joss Whedon on How 'Avengers' Could've Been Better & Plans for 'Age of Ultron'". screenrant.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  174. ↑ Child, Ben (September 27, 2013). "Joss Whedon: 'Avengers could have been better'". theguardian.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  175. ↑ Willmore, Alison (March 10, 2012). "Joss Whedon at SXSW: 'You have to become your own network head.'". indiewire.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  176. ↑ 176.0 176.1 Perry, Spencer (August 7, 2012). "Joss Whedon to Write and Direct The Avengers 2". superherohype.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  177. ↑ Anders, Charlie Jane (August 7, 2012). "Joss Whedon to direct Avengers 2 and develop a new TV show". io9.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  178. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (August 28, 2012). "ABC Greenlights 'S.H.I.E.L.D' Marvel Pilot, Joss Whedon To Co-Write & Possibly Direct". deadline.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  179. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (August 28, 2012). "'S.H.I.E.L.D.' TV Series Moves Ahead, Joss Whedon To Write & Possibly Direct". indiewire.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  180. ↑ Wigler, Josh (January 11, 2013). "Joss Whedon's 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' Is About 'Powers,' 'Spectacle' And 'Little Things' That Matter". mtv.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  181. ↑ Clark, Noelene (May 15, 2013). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.': Joss Whedon, Clark Gregg on Coulson return". latimes.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  182. ↑ Davis, Lauren (March 10, 2013). "Joss Whedon explains why he brought Agent Coulson back to life for S.H.I.E.L.D.". io9.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  183. ↑ Vary, Adam B. (April 21, 2015). "Joss Whedon’s Astonishing, Spine-Tingling, Soul-Crushing Marvel Adventure!". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  184. ↑ 184.0 184.1 McCown, Alex (April 23, 2015). "Joss Whedon regrets that he brought back a character he killed". A.V. Club. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  185. ↑ Kit, Borys (August 7, 2012). "Joss Whedon to Write and Direct 'Avengers 2'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  186. ↑ Eisenberg, Eric (August 7, 2012). "Joss Whedon Signs Three Year Deal With Marvel Studios". cinemablend.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  187. ↑ Armitage, Hugh (January 13, 2013). "'Avengers 2' is deeper, not bigger, says Joss Whedon". digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  188. ↑ Cornet, Roth (December 17, 2014). "Joss Whedon on Avengers: Age of Ultron 'Something Terrible is Coming That You'll Love'". ign.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  189. ↑ 189.0 189.1 189.2 Buchanan, Kyle (April 13, 2015). "How Avengers: Age of Ultron Nearly Killed Joss Whedon". Vulture. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  190. ↑ Miller, Lindsay (April 14, 2015). "There's a Good Reason Why Joss Whedon Isn't Directing Avengers: Infinity War". POPSUGAR Entertainment. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  191. ↑ Yamato, Jen (March 7, 2013). "Joss Whedon Q&A On Eve Of SXSW". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  192. ↑ Franklin, Oliver (June 13, 2013). "GQ&A: Joss Whedon on S.H.I.E.L.D., Shakespeare and Star Wars". GQ. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  193. ↑ Davis, Erik (October 29, 2013). "Marvel's Kevin Feige Explains What Joss Whedon Did for 'Thor 2,' Plus Which Loki Scenes Were Added". Movies.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  194. ↑ Weintraub, Steve (March 14, 2014). "Joss Whedon Directed One of the Post-Credits Scenes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier". Collider.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  195. ↑ Wales, George (June 12, 2013). "Joss Whedon talks Avengers 2 and Guardians Of The Galaxy". Total Film. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  196. ↑ Child, Ben (January 27, 2015). "Joss Whedon 'very doubtful' for Avengers sequel Infinity War". The Guardian. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  197. ↑ Dyce, Andrew (February 1, 2015). "After ‘Avengers 2′, Joss Whedon Wants To ‘Create a New Universe’". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  198. ↑ Han, Angie (February 2, 2015). "MCU MVP Joss Whedon Wants to Build His Own Universe, Probably Doesn’t Want to Direct ‘Captain Marvel’". /Film. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  199. ↑ Cadenas, Kerensa (June 21, 2013). "Interview with Kai Cole – Producer of Much Ado About Nothing". indiewire.com. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  200. ↑ Stevens, Dana (June 6, 2013). "Much Ado About Nothing". slate.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  201. ↑ Weinstein, Joshua L. (October 23, 2011). "Joss Whedon Wraps Secret Shakespeare Movie Project (Exclusive)". thewrap.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  202. ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (June 7, 2013). "Joss Whedon on Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare-Buffy Parallels, and Avengers 2". vulture.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  203. ↑ Friedman, Keri (June 3, 2013). "FILM & VIDEO: Jay Hunter". lensbaby.com. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  204. ↑ Trumbore, Dave (September 11, 2012). "Joss Whedon's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Picked Up by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions". collider.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  205. ↑ 205.0 205.1 Leckie-Palmer, Kirsty (June 4, 2013). "Joss Whedon on Much Ado About Nothing". theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  206. ↑ Wittge, Josh (March 9, 2013). "SXSW Film: Much Ado About Nothing Q&A". leakynews.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  207. ↑ Wilner, Norman (June 2013). "How Joss Whedon and his loyal team of actors adapted the Bard in 12 days". nowtoronto.com. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  208. ↑ White, James (October 31, 2011). "Joss Whedon Knows What's In Your Eyes". empireonline.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  209. ↑ Goldberg, Matt (October 31, 2011). "Brin Hill to Direct Supernatural Romance IN YOUR EYES Written by Joss Whedon". collider.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  210. ↑ Droege, CB (November 1, 2011). "Joss Whedon reveals plans for next film". tgdaily.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  211. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 15, 2012). "Joss Whedon's 'In Your Eyes' Lands Leads". deadline.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  212. ↑ Teich, David (April 24, 2014). "2014 Tribeca Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Brin Hill (Director-'In Your Eyes')". indienyc.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  213. ↑ Topel, Fred (April 22, 2014). "Tribeca 2014: Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl David on In Your Eyes". craveonline.com. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  214. ↑ Adam B., Vary (August 8, 2014). "Inside The Secret Folk Song Joss Whedon Co-Wrote While Making "The Avengers 2"". buzzfeed.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  215. ↑ 215.0 215.1 215.2 215.3 B. Vary, Adam (April 21, 2015). "What’s Next For Joss Whedon?". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on April 21, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  216. ↑ John Brodie (June 25, 1993). "'Suspension' toll: $ 1 mil from Largo". Variety. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  217. ↑ Hewit, Chris (September 19, 2014). "Liam Neeson Is Up For Suspension". empireonline.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  218. ↑ Claude Brodesser and Paul F. Duke (March 14, 2000). "Helmer Tennant believes in an 'Afterlife' with Sony". Variety. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  219. ↑ Lauren Davis (October 5, 2009). "The Mind-Transplant Script Whedon Wrote Before Dollhouse". io9.com. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  220. ↑ Hockensmith, Steve (May 16, 2003). "Dialogue with 'Buffy' creator Joss Whedon". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  221. ↑ Norton, Al (March 10, 2012). "411mania Interviews: James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel)". 411MANIA. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  222. ↑ IGN Staff. "IGN: SDCC 07: Whedon Says Buffy Spinoff Ripper Still Planned". Tv.ign.com. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
  223. ↑ Michael Fleming (September 23, 2005). "Whedon's a goner for U". Variety. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  224. ↑ Daniel Robert Epstein (September 30, 2005). "Joss Whedon Interview". SuicideGirls. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  225. ↑ "Fanboy Radio #352 – Joss Whedon LIVE". Fanboy Radio. November 26, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  226. ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (February 2, 2007). "Joss Whedon Won't Write, Direct 'Wonder Woman' — Despite Doing 'A Lot Of Legwork'". mtv.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  227. ↑ Gopalan, Nisha (August 2, 2007). "Whedon After 'Wonder'-land". ew.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  228. ↑ Seijas, Casey (August 11, 2008). "Joss Whedon Talks About His 'Batman' Movie That Never Was". MTV. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  229. ↑ Acuna, Kirsten (April 29, 2015). "Here’s the Batman movie script 'Avengers' director Joss Whedon wrote and Warner Bros. shot down". Business Insider. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  230. ↑ "Joss & Co. reveal plans for a Dr. Horrible sequel: Maybe a movie?". Blastr. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  231. ↑ Watercutter, Angela (March 15, 2012). "Wait Is Almost Over for New Dr. Horrible, Joss Whedon Says". WIRED. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  232. ↑ Ishimoto, Moye (July 14, 2012). "Joss Whedon On Dr. Horrible 2 And Much Ado About Nothing From Comic-Con 2012 Panel". G4TV. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  233. ↑ Schwartz, Terri (April 17, 2013). "Joss Whedon won't have time for 'Dr. Horrible 2' until after 'The Avengers 2'". Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  234. ↑ Breznican, Anthony (September 23, 2011). "Joss Whedon Plots His Return to the Web". ew.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  235. ↑ Damiani, Jesse (June 5, 2014). "In the Writing #6: Parallel Plotting and Empathy in Game of Thrones". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  236. ↑ 236.0 236.1 Preece, Caroline (December 1, 2011). "Looking back at Firefly episode 14: Objects In Space". denofgeek.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  237. ↑ Bianculli, David (February 12, 2009). "Joss Whedon: Slayers, Dolls And Singing Villains". NPR. Archived from the original on August 25, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  238. ↑ 238.0 238.1 Jamieson, Teddy (February 17, 2013). "Too much of a good thing?". heraldscotland.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  239. ↑ Pappademas, Alex (May 2012). "The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth". gq.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  240. ↑ 240.0 240.1 Dibdin, Emma (June 21, 2014). "Top 15 Joss Whedon characters: The best of the Buffy, Angel, Firefly bunch". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  241. ↑ 241.0 241.1 B. Vary, Adam (January 9, 2014). "117 Buffyverse Characters, Ranked From Worst To Best". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  242. ↑ Clark, Noelene (May 15, 2012). "'Avengers': Joss Whedon talks sequel, 'Buffy' and 'X-Men' parallels". latimes.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  243. ↑ Pinchefsky, Carol (August 10, 2012). "What to Expect from Joss Whedon's Upcoming Marvel TV Series". forbes.com. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  244. ↑ Korbelik, Jeff (April 28, 2012). "The wonderful (and complex) world of Joss Whedon". journalstar.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  245. ↑ Pappademas, Alex (May 2012). "The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth". gq.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  246. ↑ Rogers, Adam (May 3, 2012). "Joss Whedon on Comic Books, Abusing Language and the Joys of Genre". wired.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  247. ↑ Beggs, Scott (September 26, 2012). "6 Filmmaking Tips From Joss Whedon". filmschoolrejects.com. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  248. ↑ "Slayer Slang". pbs.org. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  249. ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (July 2, 2008). "Joss Whedon Sends Buffy Back To The Future In New Season-Eight Comic". mtv.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  250. ↑ Franich, Darren (September 24, 2013). "Self-Aware Dialogue". ew.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  251. ↑ O'Brien, Lucy (May 27, 2012). "Why The Avengers Belongs to Joss Whedon". IGN. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  252. ↑ Bernstein, Jonathan (April 18, 2015). "Joss Whedon: ‘Making The Avengers is tough. I may die…’". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  253. ↑ Franich, Darren (September 24, 2013). "The Simultaneous Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Clichés". ew.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  254. ↑ Franich, Darren (September 24, 2013). "The Simultaneous Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Moral Icons". ew.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  255. ↑ O'Brien, Emmet (May 21, 2012). "The Ten Cruelest Things Joss Whedon Has Done To His Characters". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  256. ↑ Barton, Kristin M. (April 27, 2012). "Why does Joss Whedon always kill the characters we love?". io9.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  257. ↑ Sullivan, Kevin P. (June 23, 2014). "50 Joss Whedon Quotes For His 50th Birthday". MTV. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  258. ↑ "Nerd HQ On-Demand: Joss Whedon". thenerdmachine.com. July 15, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  259. ↑ Weintraub, Steve (April 2, 2012). "Director Joss Whedon THE AVENGERS Set Visit Interview". collider.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  260. ↑ Rocchi, James (May 1, 2012). "Interview: Director Joss Whedon of 'The Avengers'". msn.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  261. ↑ Robinson, Tasha (August 8, 2007). "Joss Whedon". avclub.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  262. ↑ Flood, Allison (April 28, 2009). "Ursula K Le Guin wins sixth Nebula award". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  263. ↑ Lussier, Germain (April 23, 2012). "/Film Interview: Joss Whedon, Writer and Director of 'The Avengers'". /Film. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  264. ↑ 264.0 264.1 264.2 264.3 264.4 264.5 264.6 264.7 "Joss Whedon: Heroes And Inspirations". SFX.co.uk. March 6, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  265. ↑ Lewsen, Simon (June 3, 2013). "Shakespeare Helps Us Fumble Through Life". randomhouse.ca. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  266. ↑ Smith, Nigel M., (March 12, 2012). "Joss Whedon: 'I want to make things that are small, pure and odd.'". IndieWire. Retrieved September 20, 2012.,
  267. ↑ Kappala-Ramsamy, Gemma (April 15, 2012). "Joss Whedon: the film that changed my life". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
  268. ↑ Drake, Grae (June 14, 2013). "Five Favorite Films with Joss Whedon". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  269. ↑ 269.0 269.1 "American Rhetoric: Joss Whedon – Equality Now Address". American Rhetoric. May 15, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  270. ↑ 270.0 270.1 270.2 Snarky, Dorothy (May 21, 2007). "Joss Whedon on feminism, sexism and popular culture". afterellen.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  271. ↑ 271.0 271.1 Avni, Sheerly (November–December 2008). "The MoJo Interview: Joss Whedon". motherjones.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  272. ↑ "The ladies' man". theage.com.au. September 25, 2005. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  273. ↑ Armitage, Hugh. "Joss Whedon: 'Kitty Pryde was the mother of Buffy'". digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  274. ↑ Edwards, Gavin. "Whedon, Ink". nymag.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  275. ↑ Armitage, Hugh (May 5, 2012). "Joss Whedon: 'Kitty Pryde was the mother of Buffy'". digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  276. ↑ Arpe, Malene (May 22, 2007). "Violent videos made me 'snap': Whedon". thestar.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  277. ↑ Berlatsky, Noah (November 8, 2013). "What Joss Whedon Gets Wrong About the Word 'Feminist'". theatlantic.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  278. ↑ Asher-Perrin, Emily (November 11, 2013). "Joss Whedon Hates the Word Feminist! So... What Does That Mean?". tor.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  279. ↑ McDonough, Katie (November 11, 2013). "No, Joss Whedon, "feminist" is not a dirty word". salon.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  280. ↑ Bastow, Clem (November 11, 2013). "Joss Whedon just said some really dumb things about feminism". dailylife.com.au. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  281. ↑ "Joss Whedon: 'I Hate Feminist' (VIDEO)". huffingtonpost.ca. November 11, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  282. ↑ "Joss Whedon's Awesome Speech About Why He Hates The Word 'Feminist' Will Make You Think". crushable.com. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  283. ↑ Dibdin, Emma (January 28, 2015). "Joss Whedon criticises comic book movie industry for "intractible sexism"". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  284. ↑ 284.0 284.1 Rosen, Christopher (January 29, 2015). "Joss Whedon: 'Quiet Misogyny' Within Industry Prevents Growth Of Female Superheroes". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  285. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (January 29, 2015). "Joss Whedon Says The Comic Book Movie Industry Has "Intractable Sexism" & Fox Has The Best Female Marvel Characters". Indiewire. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  286. ↑ 286.0 286.1 Vary, Adam B. (January 30, 2015). "Joss Whedon Clarifies His Comments About Misogyny In Superhero Movies". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  287. ↑ Broderick, Ryan (January 29, 2015). "Did Joss Whedon Sum Up Exactly Why There Aren't More Women In Comic Book Movies?". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  288. ↑ Gajewski, Ryan (April 11, 2015). "Joss Whedon Slams 'Jurassic World' Clip as "'70s-Era Sexist"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  289. ↑ Begley, Sarah (April 10, 2015). "Joss Whedon Tweets That Jurassic World Looks Sexist". TIME. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  290. ↑ Lockett, Dee (April 10, 2015). "Joss Whedon Thinks Jurassic World Looks Pretty ‘’70s-Era Sexist’". Vulture. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  291. ↑ Child, Ben (April 13, 2015). "Joss Whedon criticises Jurassic World clip for '70s-era' sexism". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  292. ↑ Pantozzi, Jill (April 14, 2015). "Feminism Ain’t Easy: That Time Joss Whedon Used Our Tweet to Call a Jurassic World Clip Sexist". The Mary Sue. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  293. ↑ Faraci, Devin (April 12, 2015). "Joss Whedon On #GamerGate, JURASSIC WORLD, Adam Baldwin And Speaking Out". Badass Digest. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  294. ↑ Dibdin, Emma (June 11, 2013). "Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado' actors: Where you know them from". digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  295. ↑ Zakarin, Jordan (April 24, 2012). "Exploring the Whedonverse: Inside the Cult Hero Fame of 'Avengers' Director Joss Whedon". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  296. ↑ Faires, Robert (March 8, 2013). "Joss Whedon follows 'Avengers' with a Shakespearean labor of love filmed at his house". austinchronicle.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  297. ↑ Dunn, Daisy (November 24, 2010). "Joss Whedon: The man behind the Buffy series". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  298. ↑ Taylor, Drew (June 4, 2013). "From 'Avengers' To Shakespeare: If Joss Whedon Can Do It All, 5 Film Projects We'd Love To See Him Tackle". indiewire.com. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  299. ↑ Huddleston, Tom (June 10, 2013). "Joss Whedon interview: from Buffy to the Bard". timeout.com. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  300. ↑ Nussbaum, Emily (September 22, 2002). "Must-See Metaphysics". nytimes.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  301. ↑ "Joss Whedon on Humanism". patheos.com. April 13, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  302. ↑ "Harvard to honor "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon". boston.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  303. ↑ Kappala-Ramsamy, Gemma (April 15, 2012). "Joss Whedon: the film that changed my life". theguardian.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  304. ↑ "Comic-Con 2012: Joss Whedon: America Is Turning Into 'Tsarist Russia'". TheWrap.com. July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  305. ↑ "Joss Whedon's Romney Ad Endorses GOP Candidate Because Of Power To Bring Forth Zombie Apocalypse (VIDEO)". huffingtonpost.com. October 28, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  306. ↑ "Whedon On Romney". YouTube. October 28, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  307. ↑ "Watch: Joss Whedon Anti-Romney Ad Warns Of A Zombie Apocalypse". Cinemablend. October 28, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  308. ↑ Pompeo, Joe (February 2, 2015). "Why Mark Ruffalo, Kim Gordon, and the Other Cool Kids Want Elizabeth Warren to Run". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  309. ↑ Chasmar, Jessica (February 4, 2015). "Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo urge Elizabeth Warren to run for president". Washington Times. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  310. ↑ Atkin, Emily (April 23, 2015). "Joss Whedon: Politicians Who Deny Climate Change ‘Deny Basic Scientific Truth’". ThinkProgress. Retrieved April 24, 2015.

Further reading

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Joss Whedon
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joss Whedon.
Preceded by
None		 Astonishing X-Men writer
2004–2008 		Succeeded by
Warren Ellis
Preceded by
None		 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer
2007 		Succeeded by
Brian K. Vaughan
Preceded by
Brian K. Vaughan		 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer
2007 		Succeeded by
Drew Goddard
Preceded by
Brian K. Vaughan		 Runaways writer
2007–2008 		Succeeded by
Terry Moore
Preceded by
Jane Espenson		 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer
2008 		Succeeded by
Brad Meltzer
Preceded by
Jane Espenson		 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer
2010 		Succeeded by
Brad Meltzer
Preceded by
Brad Meltzer		 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer
2010–2011 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by
None		 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine writer
2011 		Succeeded by
Andrew Chambliss