The best part of the fact that The Avengers is about to make a Gazillion dollars is...

[Quimby]

...that Joss Whedon is going to be able to green light absolutely anything he wants to. I can't wait to see what it is!

[Sitnam]

I saw it at the midnight showing last night.

Speaking as someone who doesn't read comic books and hasn't liked a super hero movie in a really long time I liked The Avengers. It's light on back story (they assume you've seen Captain America and Thor) and light on the preachy 'hero's inner turmoil' that tends to drags down other super hero flicks.

The 9/11 Ground Zero homage was trite but the action kept the 2 1/2 hour moving rolling along.

Worth paying extra to see it in 3D, a solid B+ from me.

[BMalion]

Excelsior!

[JoelUpchurch]

Originally Posted by Quimby

...that Joss Whedon is going to be able to green light absolutely anything he wants to. I can't wait to see what it is!

Powerful enough to get Firefly back on the air?

[Stowed Bob]

Originally Posted by JoelUpchurch

Powerful enough to get Firefly back on the air?

He needs to exploit Hollywood while it is pliable. He should make a Dollhouse movie for no good reason.

[chrisk]

Originally Posted by JoelUpchurch

Powerful enough to get Firefly back on the air?

As a tv series? I doubt it. First, Fox still owns the rights to the TV property, and they don't seem to be interested in revisiting it at this point. Also, Joss said in his reddit interview that he doesn't want to make Firefly Season 2 happen:

Originally Posted by Joss Whedon

Step 2: Cancel Castle.
Step 3: Cancel Homeland.
Step 4: Generally destroy everybody’s careers.
Step 5: Avoid Step 2.

I'm not sure if the latter would also apply to making a 'Serenity 2' movie.

[DigitalC]

At this point i don't care about him reviving old shows because anything new he comes up with is likely to be just as good or better.

[Irishman]

TV shows have production haituses that leave room for filming movies. Working everyone's schedule to fit 1 actor might or might not work, but it's not a complete obstacle to a Serenity 2 movie.

[Punoqllads]

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie; I'd give it an A-, but

Originally Posted by Sitnam

Worth paying extra to see it in 3D, a solid B+ from me.

due to the significant use of shakeycam in act 3, I was very glad to be viewing the 2D version.

[Sister Vigilante]

Joss Whedon wrote Alien Resurrection. This floored me, since everyone seems to hate it. I liked it at least more than Alien 3.

I think that was before he was Joss Whedon though.

[Lok]

No, he got the job because he was already Joss Whedon. But he claims the director did horrible things to his script. How true that is I don't know, but it was a good enough script to get Sigourney Weaver to sign up after she was initially against doing so.

[Corcaigh]

Originally Posted by chrisk

As a tv series? I doubt it. First, Fox still owns the rights to the TV property, and they don't seem to be interested in revisiting it at this point. Also, Joss said in his reddit interview that he doesn't want to make Firefly Season 2 happen:

He needs to have a word with that Nathan Fillion then, cos he seems pretty keen to get the band back together!

[BMalion]

I, myself, do not want any more episodes of Firefly, I think it is a perfect mini-series. I didn't even care for the movie. Leave it be.

[Evil Captor]

I think Wheedon ought to get with Felicia Day and do something insanely great.

[Tangent]

He'd probably end up killing her character again.

[Alessan]

Look, now that Joss has a blockbuster under his belt, he won't be going back to his old stuff, and he certainly won't be writing for TV. He's moved on to bigger things.

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by Alessan

he won't be going back to his old stuff

Depends on your definition of "old stuff." It sounds like he might do another Dr. Horrible story.

I agree, though, that it's highly unlikely we'll see any more Buffy, Angel, Firefly, or Dollhouse.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by Sitnam

they assume you've seen Captain America and Thor

And Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Incredible Hulk, I presume.

Originally Posted by Evil Captor

I think Wheedon ought to get with Felicia Day and do something insanely great.

Bow-chicka-bow-wow.

[Evil Captor]

Originally Posted by Tangent

He'd probably end up killing her character again.

I'm thinking of a writing team up, not her as an actor. She's a great writer, merely a good actor.

Originally Posted by Evil Captor

I think Wheedon ought to get with Felicia Day and do something insanely great.

Originally Posted by KneadToKnow

Bow-chicka-bow-wow.

OTOH, this could work.

[Tangent]

Ok, gotcha.

[silenus]

I'm going to save my guess as to Joss' future plans until after Much Ado comes out. If it gets good buzz and a decent box office, the sky's the limit. If not, then he may decide to play around with things that interest him the most rather than go for the "glory" that is Michael Bay-dom.

[JoelUpchurch]

Maybe he could spin off another series set in the Firefly universe. It seems to me there are lot of stories could be based in that system. There is a dramatic tension between the more civilized parts of the system and the pioneer parts of the system.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by Punoqllads

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie; I'd give it an A-, but

due to the significant use of shakeycam in act 3, I was very glad to be viewing the 2D version.

Ugh, thanks for the heads-up - even shakey-cam in 2D tends to inflict nausea on me. (3-D is always out of the question.) I guess I'll be spending that part of the film with my eyes closed.

[Frodo]

I don't remember that much shakey-cam in the film, in fact I remember commenting after seeing it that it DIDN'T have any, perhaps I missed it? or our definitions of "Shakey-cam" are different?.

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by silenus

I'm going to save my guess as to Joss' future plans until after Much Ado comes out. If it gets good buzz and a decent box office, the sky's the limit.

Is this a joke? How can you think Much Ado--a pet project shot on the cheap in a few days at his house and whose biggest "name" actor is Nathan Fillion--will be a better indicator of Whedon's career trajectory than his current megablockbuster? I mean, I realize the success of The Avengers has to do with many, many other things in addition to Joss, but this will definitely give him much more weight to throw around in Hollywood. And that doesn't mean he'll become Michael Bay.

Don't get me wrong--I am looking forward to seeing Much Ado and I love Joss's stable of actors (especially Fillion), but even if it does get a theatrical release it'll likely be nothing more than a blip at the box office. I imagine he'll continue to do these kinds of small projects for fun, in between larger, more mass-appeal ventures.

[silenus]

I'm speaking from an artistic view. More than one director has fallen to the blockbuster Hollywood temptation. If Joss still has the chops for "Art," then maybe he'll keep at it and not sell out to Hollywood. Make the films he wants to make, and do the blockbusters to keep his funding alive. But if MAAN disappears without notice, he might just decide to turn to the Dark Side. We don't need any more of those people. We need directors who care, like Joss has been so far.

[Chronos]

I can see a few reasons why Much Ado could be significant. One, it's a test of his directing ability independent of his writing ability. Two, it broadens his portfolio: Most of what he's done so far has been nerd fare in one form or another, but Much Ado is a straight romcom. Three, there's a certain segment of the critical community that pays no heed to blockbusters, but would take notice of Shakespeare. Yeah, it won't make as much money as The Avengers, but money isn't everything.

When is that coming out, anyway?

[Quimby]

"Inception" exists because of the Box Office of The Dark Knight allowed Nolan to finally get it made. Joss must have something like that rattling around his attic. That's what I can't wait to see.

[silenus]

I wonder what Joss' deal is? I'm sure he has some points.

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by Quimby

"Inception" exists because of the Box Office of The Dark Knight allowed Nolan to finally get it made. Joss must have something like that rattling around his attic. That's what I can't wait to see.

Take this for what it's worth, because Joss often gives jokey answers or is coy about his intentions, but this is from a recent interview:

What is your dream project? I mean, if money and marketability weren’t an issue in any way, what would be the first movie or TV show you’d make?

Whedon: I have many dream projects. But all the money in the world means just one thing: spaceships. Spaceships in trouble.

[Little Nemo]

Whedon: I have many dream projects. But all the money in the world means just one thing: spaceships. Spaceships in trouble.

So the success of The Avengers means we may finally get to see Space Titanic.

On a more serious note, success isn't always a good thing for creative types. Sometimes it turns out that they do their best work under limitations. Give them complete freedom and they produce self-indulgent crap.

[Spoke]

Well if he's going to be making blockbusters, I'd like to see him partnered with Timothy Olyphant for some action and/or science fiction films. Between Whedon's dialogue and Olyphant's delivery, that could be a terrific team.

[Punoqllads]

Originally Posted by Frodo

I don't remember that much shakey-cam in the film, in fact I remember commenting after seeing it that it DIDN'T have any, perhaps I missed it? or our definitions of "Shakey-cam" are different?.

In act 3, I noticed quite a few explosions emphasized by camera shakes, plus some quick camera pans.

[DrDeth]

Originally Posted by chrisk

Also, Joss said in his reddit interview that he doesn't want to make Firefly Season 2 happen:
Originally Posted by Joss Whedon
Step 2: Cancel Castle.
Step 3: Cancel Homeland.
Step 4: Generally destroy everybody’s careers.
Step 5: Avoid Step 2.


.

I don't get it. Besides the point that Joss doesn't post here, there's no step 1, and why would he want to do those horrible things? (altho true, I admit that Castle may have gone past it's "sell by date")

[Krokodil]

I would've thought Jon Favreau, by making Iron Man, would be in the firmament of Hollywood director gods. But then he made two disappointments back-to-back, and now he has two TV movies in development, a bit of a step down. It's not hard to attribute a successful movie to something other than the director, or an unsuccessful movie to the director alone. And I can see Joss Whedon falling victim to this as well.

[Shakester]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

So the success of The Avengers means we may finally get to see Space Titanic.

Starship Titanic has, in fact, been done.

[Justin_Bailey]

Originally Posted by Sister Vigilante

Joss Whedon wrote Alien Resurrection. This floored me, since everyone seems to hate it. I liked it at least more than Alien 3.

I think that was before he was Joss Whedon though.

Originally Posted by Lok

No, he got the job because he was already Joss Whedon. But he claims the director did horrible things to his script. How true that is I don't know, but it was a good enough script to get Sigourney Weaver to sign up after she was initially against doing so.

The studio hired Whedon to write Alien Resurrection after he wrote the scripts for Buffy and Toy Story, but before the latter's Oscar nom and the former's resurrection as a TV show. So he was just a regular old screenwriter (and not JOSS WHEDON) at the time.

Normally, I don't believe people who claim "they ruined my movie" because we don't know how it would have turned out after drastic changes, but Whedon is right. They ruined the movie he wrote because Alien Resurrection the filmed movie is more or less the same as Alien Resurrection the Joss Whedon script, but suckier in several small (but key) ways.

http://www.cc2konline.com/component/...1801?task=view

[Alessan]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

I would've thought Jon Favreau, by making Iron Man, would be in the firmament of Hollywood director gods. But then he made two disappointments back-to-back, and now he has two TV movies in development, a bit of a step down. It's not hard to attribute a successful movie to something other than the director, or an unsuccessful movie to the director alone. And I can see Joss Whedon falling victim to this as well.

That's a good point, and something like that could still happen. However, the way I see it, the key difference is that while Robert Downey Jr. received most of the credit for Iron Man's success, at least according to the vast majority of the reviews I've read, Whedon seems to be taking most of the acclaim for the Avengers. Now, there's no assurance that the Hollywood industry will thing the same way as the critics, but it's a good indication.

[chrisk]

Originally Posted by DrDeth

I don't get it. Besides the point that Joss doesn't post here, there's no step 1, and why would he want to do those horrible things? (altho true, I admit that Castle may have gone past it's "sell by date")

Sorry, I guess I left out important context. Step 1 was basically in the Reddit fan's question - "Raise money (via Kickstarter) towards buying the rights back from Fox." And steps 2 through 4 I read as sarcasm - that they'd be necessary to get Firefly back on the air as a TV series, but not what Joss wants to happen - thus, step 5.

[chrisk]

Originally Posted by Chronos

I can see a few reasons why Much Ado could be significant. One, it's a test of his directing ability independent of his writing ability. Two, it broadens his portfolio: Most of what he's done so far has been nerd fare in one form or another, but Much Ado is a straight romcom. Three, there's a certain segment of the critical community that pays no heed to blockbusters, but would take notice of Shakespeare. Yeah, it won't make as much money as The Avengers, but money isn't everything.

When is that coming out, anyway?

It's far from a certain thing yet, but when Sean Maher and Amy Acker, (both in the 'Much Ado' cast,) were in Toronto a few weeks ago for Wizard World Comic Con, there was some mention that Joss may be submitting it for the Toronto International Film Festival this year, which happens in September. That usually goes along with a wide release between November and January, though the TIFF winner from last year, "Where do we go now", is coming out next week.

Take with salt as needed.

[Quimby]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

On a more serious note, success isn't always a good thing for creative types. Sometimes it turns out that they do their best work under limitations. Give them complete freedom and they produce self-indulgent crap.

I see exactly what you are saying but I think The Avengers proves he can handle unlimited resources. Now he gets those same resources but for a blank slate (in theory).

[Khadaji]

Originally Posted by chrisk

As a tv series? I doubt it. First, Fox still owns the rights to the TV property, and they don't seem to be interested in revisiting it at this point. Also, Joss said in his reddit interview that he doesn't want to make Firefly Season 2 happen:



I'm not sure if the latter would also apply to making a 'Serenity 2' movie.

Not to highjack this thread, but: Thanks for linking to this, it was a great read. A few favorite quotes:

It let me cast Mark Ruffalo, one of the best and sweetest actors I know, and, I think, THE definitive Bruce Banner. (Apologies to Mr. Bixby.)

Robert and Neil are both even funnier off-screen than on. Funnier, in fact, than me. I hate Robert [Downey Jr.] and Neil [Patrick Harris].
Yes, the original cast will be back for Dr H 2, but Penny will be… um… I don’t want to say “decomposing”…

[Khadaji]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

I would've thought Jon Favreau, by making Iron Man, would be in the firmament of Hollywood director gods. But then he made two disappointments back-to-back, and now he has two TV movies in development, a bit of a step down. It's not hard to attribute a successful movie to something other than the director, or an unsuccessful movie to the director alone. And I can see Joss Whedon falling victim to this as well.

Yes, after Iron Man I was willing to give Jon Favreau a lot of leeway - but even with that and even though I love Christmas movies and even with Reese Witherspoon, I had absolutely no desire to see Four Christmases (wait, did he direct that?)

[BigT]

Originally Posted by Shakester

Starship Titanic has, in fact, been done.

Ha! But for everyone else, I'll point out that, while this is a great game, the spaceship setting is really not that important, except for the final puzzle. The rest of it could have been any futuristic location. And it's not as if the final puzzle was particularly good.

[Ethilrist]

Originally Posted by Quimby

...that Joss Whedon is going to be able to green light absolutely anything he wants to. I can't wait to see what it is!

I've been curious about something... Joss wrote two of the most insanely popular teen-to-college-age TV series of all time (note, however, that he only directed about 1/10 of the episodes). Anyway. He then, at the height of his TV writing career, went to the networks and said "Hey, I've got an idea for a new teen-college age TV series and I'm going to call it Firefly", and they didn't just start writing blank checks, and instead hamstrung him at every creative turn (they broadcast the pilot last? WTF with that?) and eventually cut him off at the knees mid-season.

Why do we think that directing one (more) good movie is going to catapult him to mega-blockbuster success?

[Lok]

Because this particular good movie is in fact a very, very good movie, and it looks like it will make $200 million dollars its opening weekend here in the US. Money talks, especially in Hollywood.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Ethilrist

I've been curious about something... Joss wrote two of the most insanely popular teen-to-college-age TV series of all time ...

I wouldn't consider Buffy or Angel to be "insanely popular." They were very successful basic cable TV shows, but they were still basic cable TV shows, and there were several other basic cable shows targeting the same demographic that were equally or more successful than Whedon's shows. Probably more profitable, too, since stuff like Dawson's Creek doesn't need a particularly huge fx or stunt budget.

[Justin_Bailey]

Originally Posted by Ethilrist

I've been curious about something... Joss wrote two of the most insanely popular teen-to-college-age TV series of all time (note, however, that he only directed about 1/10 of the episodes). Anyway. He then, at the height of his TV writing career, went to the networks and said "Hey, I've got an idea for a new teen-college age TV series and I'm going to call it Firefly", and they didn't just start writing blank checks, and instead hamstrung him at every creative turn (they broadcast the pilot last? WTF with that?) and eventually cut him off at the knees mid-season.

Because instead of your made-up scenario, what he actually did is say "Hey, I've got an idea for a space western TV series and I'm going to call it Firefly." And then the executives wrote him a big check for the pilot, which they didn't like, and then continued to write him smaller and smaller checks until they told him he was cancelled.

[Alessan]

Originally Posted by Ethilrist

I've been curious about something... Joss wrote two of the most insanely popular teen-to-college-age TV series of all time (note, however, that he only directed about 1/10 of the episodes). Anyway. He then, at the height of his TV writing career, went to the networks and said "Hey, I've got an idea for a new teen-college age TV series and I'm going to call it Firefly", and they didn't just start writing blank checks, and instead hamstrung him at every creative turn (they broadcast the pilot last? WTF with that?) and eventually cut him off at the knees mid-season.

Why do we think that directing one (more) good movie is going to catapult him to mega-blockbuster success?

"Insanely popular"? BtVS and ATS may have been beloved by their fans and by plenty of critics, but not that many people actually watched them. How good do you think their ratings were?

[Ethilrist]

Mmmkay, so my my own personal perception of the quality of Angel and Buffy seem to have biased my initial question, but the bottom line question still stands: He made two TV series that were popular in certain circles (but apparently not insanely so), another TV series that was popular enough that, even though it was cancelled, they ended up making a movie about it, and another TV series that went two seasons... in all cases, he's primarily the WRITER, not the director: He directed 7 episodes of Angel. 22 episodes of Buffy. THREE episodes of Dollhouse.

How do we get from that to "The best part of the fact that The Avengers is about to make a Gazillion dollars is that Joss Whedon is going to be able to green light absolutely anything he wants to"?