Amy Pascale - Joss Whedon: The Biography

G oing from the 4 million US viewers who watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer to a worldwide box office of $1.5 billion for The Avengers is quite a leap. Yet the creator of them both, Joss Whedon, told as personal a story with a cast of A-list movie stars and complicated CGI effects as he had with a modestly budgeted teen fantasy series on an upstart netlet.

Whedon deals in classic themes of love, death, and redemption with a feminist perspective that his mother, a beloved teacher and activist, imparted to him. Although he comes from a family of television writers, he was determined to follow his own path from a young age. This definitive biography shows how his years at an elite English public school led to his early successes, which often turned into frustration in both television (Roseanne) and film (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Alien: Resurrection). But when he resurrected his girl hero on a young network, the results enabled him to direct, write, or produce three more television series, several movies, Marvel comic books, and an innovative web series, culminating in the blockbuster The Avengers. Then Much Ado About Nothing, a personal project shot in his home and cast with friends, allowed him to step out of Marvels shadow.

Amy Pascale has based this revealing biography on extensive original interviews with Whedons family, friends, collaborators, and starsas well as with the man himself. Theyve shared candid, behind-the-scenes accounts of his work with Pixar, his filmmaking adventures, and the making of his groundbreaking series Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Copyright 2014 by Amy Pascale

Foreword copyright 2014 by Nathan Fillion

All rights reserved

Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-61374-104-7

Lyrics from Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog and Commentary! The Musical used by permission of Time Science Blood Club, LLC

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pascale, Amy.

Joss Whedon : the biography / Amy Pascale.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-61374-104-7

1. Whedon, Joss, 1964 2. Television producers and directorsUnited StatesBiography. 3. Television writersUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.

PN1992.4.W49P38 2014

791.450232092dc23

[B]

2014011192

Interior design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To Bronzers everywhere

Bottom line is, even if you see em coming, youre not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You cant help that. Its what you do afterwards that counts. Thats when you find out who you are.

Whistler, Becoming, Part 1

Index

My generation, we were kind of raised on the super-cool, I can handle anything with a gun in his hand hero. Any situation you throw at him, he can handle itwith catchphrases. It was very cool.

But Joss Whedons version of a hero doesnt always win. He loses more than he wins, and when he wins, the victories are tiny, but he takes em. Thats a victory! I call that a victory! Its a tiny victoryhe takes it, and thats what he walks away with. And thats something I can actually relate to.

Thats something that people can relate tobecause thats actually life. I dont know a lot of people who win more than they lose. Life is kind of a losing proposition as you go. Its not all winning lotteries every day. Its a lot of What do I do with this problem? Now how do I handle this? I think people can relate easier to someone who isnt prepared to handle every single situation, and everything comes out roses and their way, and all theyve got to do is be cool. We dont have that in real life.

A friend of mine once told me that what he finds so satisfying about Joss Whedon is his way of telling stories. As a society, we are incredibly story literate: We know story. This is the hero; this is the villain. This is the denouement; this is where the twist comes; this is where the learning experience is; this is where the turn is. We know story.

He said, Joss Whedon will give you a story twist. But instead of twisting it to the story tradition that we know, he twists it and says, Thats what happens in stories. This is what happens in real life. This is how real life went.

I described Joss to a friend as we were on our way over to his house for a party. And shes heard me tell stories over the years about this fellow. We went to his house, we had a great time, and on the way home, she said, You know, I got to say, from your description of the kind of guy this guy is, and from all the stories youve told meI expected him to be six two, chiseled jaw, long, wavy golden hair and bright blue eyes and gleaming teeth, and just chesty and The guy, she said, when you describe him, hes so heroic.

And yeah, he is. Hes heroic like that.

N ATHAN F ILLION

In June 2011, Joss Whedon stepped onto the set of The Avengers. He was just over a month into shooting on Marvels highly anticipated, high-profile comic book movie, with a $220 million budget and a plethora of A-list talent who came to the table with their own high expectations, and it would have been fair to wonder whether he was up for the task. This wasnt Josss first time directing, but his only other feature film was 2005s Serenity, a big-screen continuation of his shortlived sci-fi western series Firefly. Serenitys budget was $39 million, and it pulled in just $25.5 million at the US box office and barely broke even worldwide.

Joss certainly had the geek cred for his other role on the project, as the screenwriter behind The Avengers script. A lifelong Marvel Comics fanboy whod attended his first comic convention while still in grade school, he had a deep understanding of the superhero universe in which the film was set. Hed had his own run writing comic booksand of course, he was the acclaimed writer/producer behind such cult television hits as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His TV work had given him experience handling a large ensemble cast like that of The Avengers, and hed directed nearly forty television episodes.

But in television, if you make a mistake, theres always next week. That isnt the case with a blockbuster movie featuring some of the worlds most beloved superheroes. So no one would have faulted Joss if hed been panicked or overwhelmed by the projector if, on the umpteenth grimy day of shooting, when everything had been covered in ash from daily explosions, hed been a little bit short or impatient with me, his interviewer.

Instead, as I wished him well, Joss stopped me. There is a tiny story that I want to tell you, he said.

My wife is from Barnstable [Massachusetts], and we went with our friends to the Barnstable County Fair one night. We got on this ride that spinsyou go up high to the side in a circle, and then you go the other way. The guy at the controls can switch directions and mess around. Its not for kids.

Near me was this ten-year-old girl with her older friend, and she was clearly not ready and terrified. I wanted so badly to help, but there wasnt anything that I could do. Hey, theres a creepy old man talking to me. Thats weird.

So I was sitting there watching her, and I felt so bad, because shes got that face. I know that faceI wear it most days when I go to work. Everyone was like, Whee, having fun! and shes gripping [her seat] with this death grip. And then gradually she starts to let go a little bit, starts to swing into it. By the end, she has completely mastered it; she is screaming Whee! and she has her hands upshes completely comfortable. And I just my head just exploded.