Joss Whedon: The Biography (76 page)

a “dog movie …
” Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.

“
Don’t option it …
” Saralegui, quoted in Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.

“
when he hooks up with other policemen …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 128.

“
I wanted a baby for that spot” …
Whedon, undated
Suspension
draft, 41.

“
It’s one of those scripts …
” Saralegui, interview by the author.

“
I knew it sucked” …
Ibid.

“
I turned him into a likeable …
” Whedon, interview in
Fresh Air
, May 9, 2000.

“
What if he’s just the polite guy …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

“
It’s all about finding …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Films like Speed belong …
” Ebert, review of
Speed
.

“
If it weren’t for the smart-funny twist …
” Hinson, review of
Speed
.

“
The arbitration was a great sticking point …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

Joss “deserved credit” …
Saralegui, interview by the author.

“
wrote 98.9 percent of the dialogue” …
Yost, quoted in O’Hare, “The ‘Bus Guy’ Triumphs on ‘Boomtown.’”

“
When I read his draft …
” Yost, quoted in Bierly, “‘Justified’ EP Graham Yost.”

“
Graham Yost has always been …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

6. To Infinity and Beyond: Toy Story and Alien: Resurrection

a rough draft of the picture …
Price,
The Pixar Touch
, 130.

Katzenberg “would always … be pushing …
” Schumacher, quoted in Iwerks,
Pixar Story
, documentary.

“
It was fascinating to read …
” Stanton, interview by the author.

“
I often say to people …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
a perfect structure with a ghastly script …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Everything can be negotiated except Kai” …
Basinger, interview by the author.

“
One day, we were reading …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
Many of you are going to be laid off …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

“
Oh! We already know how …
” Ibid.

“
It would have been a really bad musical …
” Whedon, quoted in “‘Toy Story’: The Inside Buzz,”
Entertainment Weekly
.

“
He would wear his musical interests …
” Stanton, interview by the author.

“
They were so sweet …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
We’re all animators …
” Stanton, interview by the author.

“
She’s [Terminator 2’s] Sarah Connor …
” Whedon, quoted in “‘Toy Story’: The Inside Buzz,”
Entertainment Weekly
.

“
We decided we could either be PC …
” Stanton, quoted in ibid.

Joss “wrote a lot of great lines …
” Stanton, interview by the author.

“
Joss helped set the tone …
” Ibid.

“
utterly brilliant anthropomorphism” …
Maslin, review of
Toy Story
.

“
I can hardly imagine …
” Gleiberman, review of
Toy Story
.

“
For once, reality lives up to hype …
” McManus, “Toy Story: A Treasure.”

“
[It is] gratifying to me …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

“
When they said …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
I was there for seven weeks” …
Whedon, quoted in Robinson, “Joss Whedon” (interview), September 5. 2001.

“
I can’t see the water” …
Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Of course it got thrown out” …
Ibid.

“
He puts together these unbelievable bits …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
absolutely the part in The Remains of the Day …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Every once in a while …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
I put it on, and he just …
” Ibid.

“
I wasn’t supposed to meet my wife …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Sigourney Weaver is the centerpiece …
” Roth, quoted in Kaplan, “Last in Space.”

a “wooden planet” …
Jolin, “Alien 3: The Lost Tale of the Wooden Planet.”

“
a slap in the face
” … Cameron, director’s commentary,
Aliens
.

“
the fans were robbed …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 27.

“
Scary like Alien …
” Whedon, featurette commentary in “From the Ashes.”

“
a total identification” …
Whedon, interview in
Joss Whedon: The Master at Play
, DVD
.

“
It’s very important to me …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 28.

“
What if I’m even stranger? …
” Weaver, quoted in Whedon, featurette commentary in “From the Ashes.”

“
She created an extraordinary character” …
Whedon, featurette commentary in “From the Ashes.”

“
When Call, who was played by Winona Ryder …
” Whedon, interview in
Joss Whedon: The Master at Play
, DVD
.

“
An android and a clone …
” Saralegui, interview by the author.

“
Then I put on a brave face …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
The first one was in the forest …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

“
It was mostly a matter of doing everything wrong …
” Whedon, quoted in Harris, “Joss for a Minute.”

“
I don’t remember writing …
” Whedon, quoted in Kozac, “Serenity NOW!”

“
Listen, I don’t want to be a jerk …
” Whedon, quoted in Saralegui, interview by the author.

“
I think the biggest problem …
” Saralegui, interview by the author.

“
It was the final crappy humiliation …
” Whedon, quoted in Havens,
Joss Whedon
, 29.

7. Buffy: Resurrection

“
a brilliant show …
” Whedon, director’s commentary, “Innocence.”

“
no show on TV has ever come close …
” Whedon, printed insert,
My So-Called Life
, DVD.

“
I’d been waiting and waiting …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
big movie projects” …
Berman, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
, 194.

“
A couple of weeks later” …
Ibid, 194.

“
When I pitched Buffy The Vampire Slayer …
” Whedon, printed insert,
My So-Called Life
, DVD.

“
beautiful images” to demonstrate …
Daniels,
Season Finale
, 118.

“
sketched … out in Dickensian detail …
” Ibid, 119.

looking for a female teen superhero series …
Daniels, interview in “Front Row Special on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

“
slight bias” against the project …
Daniels, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
, 195.

“
was such a fresh and improved take …
” Ibid.

“
overall vision that Joss pitched …
” Daniels,
Season Finale
, 120.

“
It’s amazing that they’re really letting …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
the great square hole …
” Whedon, Visionaries panel.

Joss called this “reset television” …
Whedon, interview in
The Write Environment
, DVD.

“
TV is a question …
” Whedon, interview in
Joss Whedon: The Master at Play
, DVD
.

“
Buffy was always intended …
” Whedon, comments in 20th Century Fox Television,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
international press kit.

“
They said to me …
” Gellar, interview by the author.

“
You tell them not to leave …
” Carpenter, quoted in “How Charisma Nearly Missed the Buffy Audition,” BBC.

a “ loud, abusive Scot” …
Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.

“
What he is not …
” Ibid.

“
I’d read the scripts in a restaurant …
” Head, interview by the author.

“
I was looking for a guy whose life …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
This is completely different …
” Head, interview by the author.

“
It has nothing to do …
” Whedon, quoted in Head, interview by the author.

“
shy, clumsy, sensible …
” Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.

her “own sort of shy quirkiness” …
Whedon, director’s commentary, “Welcome to the Hellmouth.”

“
charming, decent looking …
” Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.

a “ friendly but pointed” conversation …
Daniels,
Season Finale
, 123.

“
They had absolutely no time …
” Head, interview by the author.

a “nightmare, [with] the worst crew …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
But the suits don’t get it …
” Head, interview by the author.

“
it would be like if somebody …
” Solomon, interview by the author.

“
I don’t read the notes” …
Ibid.

“
Hey, if this thing goes to series …
” Whedon, quoted in Solomon, interview by the author.

“
They all just kind of fit …
” Solomon, interview by the author.

“
I thought that he had captured …
” Daniels, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
.

“
The pilot was not great” …
Ancier, quoted in Sepinwall,
The Revolution Was Televised
.

“
I think Buffy will do for The WB …
” Daniels, quoted in Jacobs, “Interview with a Vampire Chronicler.”

“
part of the reason …
” Regan, quoted in Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.

Regan “came into the room …
” Whedon, interview in
Making It with Riki Lindhome
podcast.

“
OK, so she’s talking about how guys …
” Hannigan, quoted in Perenson, “Leather on Willow.”

“
Willow is a good role model” …
Hannigan, comments in 20th Century Fox Television,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
international press kit.

“
I’m no more Buffy …
” Gellar, interview by the author.

8. Buffy Premieres

“
could go down as the creepiest show …
” Everett, review of
Profit
.

“
It’s got feeling …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.

“
David was more responsible …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Joss remembered one line …
” Batali, interview by the author.

“
Tell me your favorite horror movie …
” Whedon, interview in “Joss Whedon on Buffy’s Legacy.”

“
controlling parents as Stepford …
” Whedon, handwritten notes, in “Joss Whedon: From Buffy to the Bard” exhibit.

“
Oh! This show’s gonna be …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
I like my stuff to have an edge …
” Ibid.

“
We learned early on …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.

“
He knows what he wants when he sees it …
” Espenson, interview by the author.

“
The question then becomes …
” Batali, interview by the author.

“
Joss reverse engineered …
” Gordon, interview by the author.

“
When we’d break stories” …
Greenwalt, interview by the author.

“
We spent four or five hours …
” Batali, interview by the author.

“
Well, here’s what it should look like” …
Whedon, quoted in Batali, interview by the author.

“
The first year, it was like …
” Whedon, quoted in Ken P., “An Interview with Joss Whedon.”

“
I did not cook at all …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
One of them is funny …
” Whedon, quoted in “‘Avengers’ Director Joss Whedon,” CBS News.

Joss had wanted to preface the story …
Holder,
Buffy: The Making of a Slayer
, 21.

“
For each generation, there is only one slayer” … Buffy the Vampire Slayer
premiere trailer, WB.

“
The following two-hour world premiere …
” Ibid.

“
You know, we had our television tropes” …
Whedon, interview by the author.

“
He’s atheist, but never seemed …
” Batali, interview by the author.

“
We didn’t write that …
” Ibid.

“
I’ll never forget …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.

9. The Bronze

“
We were not a wealthy or respected show …
” Solomon, interview by the author.

“
Part of Joss’s genius …
” Head, interview by the author.

“
People who never watched Buffy …
” Greenwalt, interview by the author.

“
These are really, really smart people …
” Cole, interview by the author.