Joss Whedon on Comic Books, Abusing Language and the Joys of Genre

Joss Whedon on Comic Books, Abusing Language and the Joys of Genre

Posted May 1, 2012

Geeks love Joss Whedon. In his TV shows and movies he gives them not necessarily what they want, but definitely what they need. His characters are smart and self-aware. He’s steeped in pop culture and has a clever way with the twists and turns of science fiction tropes. And he infuses the potential clichés of genre writing with emotion and heart. Not many writer/directors get to see their names go adjectival, but we all know what we mean when we say something is “whedonesque.” Another thing that makes Whedon so lovable is his willingness to talk. In interviews Whedon is […]

Kevin Feige Tells How Marvel Whips Up Its Cinematic Super Sauce

Kevin Feige Tells How Marvel Whips Up Its Cinematic Super Sauce

Posted May 1, 2012

As a movie producer, Kevin Feige has been involved with almost every movie involving a Marvel character for the last decade and a half. From the highs of X-Men and Spider-Man 2 to the, um, other things, like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Feige has been behind the scenes. He is also the guy perhaps most responsible for the crazy notion of crossing over a half-dozen major superhero movies into one continuous universe, culminating in The Avengers. Feige is also at least partly responsible for the unusual line-up of directors who have taken on Marvel movies. After Joss […]

Joss Whedon| The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth

Posted May 1, 2012

Have you heard of Twilight? Are you acquainted with the undead? How about werewolves? Vampires? Angsty adolescent superheroes? This is our culture right now, and it’s no exaggeration to say that it all began with one man: Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and arguably the most inventive pop storyteller of his generation. So how come Whedon never became as famous as so much of the derivative trash he inspired? Better question: Now that his summer blockbuster, The Avengers, is about to arrive, isn’t this the part of the story where the overlooked hero rises to meet […]

the rise and fall of Jerry Bruckheimer

the rise and fall of Jerry Bruckheimer

Posted May 1, 2012

We’re on the cusp of summer movie season and what better way to celebrate than to take a look at the man who, for all intents and purposes, defined the modern day blockbuster.

You can argue with me about that assertion, if you like, but let’s look at a few facts.

Crawl inside Joss Whedon’s head as he makes The Avengers

Posted April 13, 2012

It’s a sweltering day in June last year. Inside the rusting hulk of an abandoned train depot on the edge of downtown, The Avengers has turned the empty space into a New York City battlescape. Flames and smoke rise from heaps of rubble along a strip made to look like a Manhattan street. Smashed cars are wheeled around on forklifts, and guys in alien motion-capture suits strut in to rehearse an attack on Captain America. Scarlett Johansson has just finished a scene where wires swing her through the air, and Mark Ruffalo is in a far corner looking at digital […]

unseen judgement

unseen judgement

Posted April 13, 2012

For the record, I have not seen Cabin in the Woods. But I did read the script about 3 years ago (Jan. 30, 2009), so this post is based on that version of the script and the thoughts I wrote

The Angelina Jolie Gap

The Angelina Jolie Gap

Posted April 12, 2012

I came across an interesting phenomenon sometime last year. It actually was a bit of a surprise, but the more I talked to people about it, the more I discovered there’s this interesting gap when it comes to Angelina Jolie.

Event Horizon| Titanic

Event Horizon| Titanic

Posted April 6, 2012

Kate Winslet in a photo full of glamour and history and she looks oddly alone.

Titanic is such a modern day classic and I loved it so much when it was in theaters (still do) but

Joss Whedon| Cabin in the Woods Q&A

Joss Whedon| Cabin in the Woods Q&A

Posted April 5, 2012

Collider: I was curious if you could talk about your writing process. A lot of writers I’ve talked to have a golden period where they’ll write when they wake up in the morning for three or four hours, and then they sort of burn out and do other things. Could you sort of talk about your process?JOSS WHEDON: You know, I always was an early morning or late night writer. Early morning was my favorite; late night was because you had a deadline. And at four in the morning you make up some of your most absurd jokes. I feel […]

A lesson in trailers

A lesson in trailers

Posted April 4, 2012

I’ve posted on what makes a good trailer before, and that hasn’t really changed. But with the 3D release of Titanic, Salon has taken the time to look at the evolution of trailers in the past 20 years with Titanic