Joss Whedon: The Biography (81 page)

“
What part of that sentence …
” Whedon, interview in “Joss Whedon: Why He Chose an Irish Man to Film Avengers.”

“
It’s very important …
” Ibid.

“
Joss and I were keen …
” McGarvey, quoted in Tran, “Avengers Assemble.”

“
I feel like Jon and Robert …
” Gregg, interview by the author.

he was “hilariously funny …
” Ibid.

“
line policeman” …
Jackson, interview by the author.

“
Joss came to my rescue …
” Ruffalo, interview by the author.

Joss “was so protective …
” Smulders, interview by the author.

“
It needed to say a lot …
” Downey, quoted in Weintraub, “Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.”

“
That’s a great way to put it …
” Evans, quoted in ibid.

“
Nobody was doing it every day …
” Gregg, interview by the author.

“
All of us would just pass …
” Renner, interview by the author.

“
It was grueling …
” Feige, interview by the author.

“
I’ll try and come …
” Whedon, quoted in Hiddleston, interview by the author.

“
Yeah, he came to the party” …
Hiddleston, interview by the author.

there was “some Avengers affinity” …
Gregg in Radish, “Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders and Joss Whedon.”

Joss “is not just a big dancer …
” Tanchoeren, interview by the author.

“
the most enthusiastic white boy …
” Quesada, interview by the author.

“
He has this crazy-legs dance …
” Dushku, interview by the author.

“
Boy just had such swagger …
” Ibid.

“
He’s a grown-ass man …
” Gregg, interview by the author.

“
From my own experience …
” Smulders, interview by the author.

“
I don’t know who else …
” Renner, interview by the author.

“
When you’re doing a movie …
” Feige, interview by the author.

starting each day “refusing to do …
” Downey, quoted in Lussier, “Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau.”

“
Personally, just the stuff I have been able …
” Evans, quoted in Weintraub, “Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.”

“
When I actually did the Alan Rickman …
” Hiddleston, interview by the author.

“
[I was] literally jumping …
” Ibid.

“
this collaborative spirit …
” Feige, interview by the author.

“
Sorry, little buddy …
” Whedon, quoted in Gould, “Story of a Five Year Old Avenger.”

“
Like, ‘Tom, that was so awesome …’
” Keen Ruffalo, quoted in Hiddleston, interview by the author.

“
And then he would tell me …
” Hiddleston, interview by the author.

“
Not for a month …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
He told me all he remembers …
” Ibid.

35. Something Personal: Much Ado About Nothing

“
I think he was mourning …
” Denisof, interview by the author.

“
[Within that,] we had to go up …
” Kranz, interview by the author.

“
I begged to play Helena …
” Williams, interview by the author.

“
I have always believed that Gertrude …
” Ibid.

“
I never heard back …
” Smulders, interview by the author.

“
I said to her, ‘There’s no way …’
” Whedon, quoted in Buchanan, “Joss Whedon on How
Much Ado About Nothing
Made Him a Better Filmmaker.”

“
A production, let alone a movie …
” Whedon,
Much Ado About Nothing
,” 16.

“
about a movie where half of the title …
” Whedon, quoted in Buchanan, “Joss Whedon on How
Much Ado About Nothing
Made Him a Better Filmmaker.”

“
floored” by the absurd …
Whedon,
Much Ado About Nothing
, 14.

“
I was interested in a slightly darker …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
the process of maturing …
” Ibid.

“
the idea that love is for grown-ups …
” Ibid.

“
I deal with a lot of societal …
” Ibid.

“
To me, who Claudio is …
” Whedon,
Much Ado About Nothing
, 14.

“
The story there …
” Ibid., 18.

“
There was his humiliation …
” Ibid., 19.

“
I talked to them before …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
eight pages a day …
” Whedon, quoted in Buchanan, “Joss Whedon on How
Much Ado About Nothing
Made Him a Better Filmmaker.”

“
There were a lot of people …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Just like that …
” Kranz, interview by the author.

“‘
I’d love to see him as …’
” Whedon, quoted in ibid.

“
I literally wrote back …
” Kranz, interview by the author.

“
When we showed up …
” Acker, quoted in Germain, “‘Much Ado About Nothing.”

“
The readings afforded anyone …
” Denisof, interview by the author.

“
I got another call …
” Gregg, interview by the author.

“
I was tense …
” Fillion, interview by the author.

“
I walked on …
” Gregg, interview by the author.

“
I had a feeling …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
Of course” …
Hunter, interview by the author.

“
We have pictures …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
Kai knew better …
” Whedon, quoted in Buchanan, “Joss Whedon on How
Much Ado About Nothing
Made Him a Better Filmmaker.”

an “eclectic, artistic space” …
Whedon,
Much Ado About Nothing
, 16.

“
At the last minute we had no place …
” Espenson, interview by the author.

“
We wanted to encourage people …
” Whedon,
Much Ado About Nothing
, 15.

“
It’s almost like Kai …
” Hunter, interview by the author.

“
It was also a great way …
” Cole, quoted in Cadenas, “Interview with Kai Cole.”

“
We struggled with that …
” Whedon, interview by the author.

“
If we had been shooting this …
” Hunter, interview by the author.

“
yelling at his daughter …
” Whedon,
Much Ado About Nothing
, 26.

“
This is how I want …
” Whedon, quoted in Hunter, interview by the author.

“
backlit, golden sunlight …
” Hunter, interview by the author.

“
Apart from a basic understanding …
” Whedon,
Much Ado About Nothing
, 23.

“
‘I was worried I wouldn’t …
” Whedon, quoted in Boerner, “Warrior Princess.”

“
Hey, guys! …
” Fillion, Twitter post, October 24, 2011.

“
Filmed in just 12 days …
” Bellwether Pictures,
Much Ado About Nothing
press release.

“
Making The Avengers was very important …
” Whedon, quoted in Yamato, “Joss Whedon Q&A.”

“
When I came back …
” Ibid.

36. The Year of Joss Whedon

“
This was a movie that came in …
” Feige, interview by the author.

“
Usually, by the time …
” Goddard, interview by the author.

“
by turning splatter formula …
” Travers, review of
The Cabin in the Woods
.

“
almost as a puzzle …
” Ebert, review of
The Cabin in the Woods
.

“
a hollow exercise …
” Rooney, review of
The Cabin in the Woods
.

one big “ inside joke” …
Sharkey, “‘The Cabin in the Woods’ Is Joss Whedon’s Inside Joke.”

“
It’s the nature of it” …
Goddard, interview by the author.

“
I have kids running up …
” Ruffalo, interview by the author.

“
She doesn’t live …
” Whedon, quoted in Warner, “‘Avengers’ Director Joss Whedon.”

“
Toymakers will tell you …
” Whedon, quoted in Stern, “Joss Whedon’s Passion Project.”

“
It’s frustrating to me …
” Ibid.

“
People have told me …
” Whedon, Whedonesque post, May 9, 2012.

“
What doesn’t change …
” Ibid.

earning more than $1 billion …
Downey, “‘The Avengers’ Rules at Box Office.”

“
I’m very torn” …
Whedon, quoted in Clark, “‘Avengers’: Joss Whedon Talks Sequel.”

“
I’m so in love …
” Whedon, quoted in Ramos, “Why You Need a Creative Shift.”

“
I don’t know how …
” Cole, interview by the author.

“
I’m standing there” …
Goddard, interview by the author.

“
OK, well …
” Whedon, quoted in Goddard, interview by the author.

“
I feel like that summarizes …
” Goddard, interview by the author.

“
A good opportunity …
” Whedon, quoted in Poniewozik, “Joss Whedon Talks SHIELD.”

“
He’s an enthusiast” …
Ibid.

“
Well, what does S.H.I.E.L.D have …
” Whedon, quoted in Wigler “Joss Whedon Says ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ TV Series Will Star ‘New Characters.’”

“
We all love Clark Gregg …
” Whedon,
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
announcement.

“
You make a strong man cry” …
Whedon, quoted in Ramos, “Why You Need a Creative Shift.”

“
We didn’t think …
” Cole, interview by the author.

37. The Year of Joss Whedon, Again (Really)

“
seems very Whedonverse …
” Gregg in Vary, “Life Inside the Whedonverse.”

“
I knew people wanted to go …
” Whedon, quoted in ibid.

“
I can’t believe Joss …
” Lenk, quoted in ibid.

“
I did have a moment of just …
” Whedon, quoted in Vary, “Joss Whedon on Kickstarter.”

“
He came for our breakfast …
” Basinger, interview by the author.

“
If you think that happiness …
” Whedon, 181st Wesleyan commencement speech.

“
all the dialogue and the language …
” Kermode,
Much Ado About Nothing
review.

“
the first great contemporary Shakespeare …
” Shoard,
Much Ado About Nothing
review.

“
OK, Marvel fan boys …
” Alexander, “Shakespeare Would Approve of This ‘Much Ado.’”

such beliefs were “not a natural state” …
Whedon, Equality Now address, November 6, 2013.

“
I think about the old days …
” Basinger, interview by the author.

Books

Abbot, Stacey, ed.
Reading Angel: The TV Spin-Off with a Soul
. London: I. B. Tauris, 2005.

Adams, Michael.
Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon
. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Castlemon, Harry, and Walter J. Podrazik.
Watching TV: Six Decades of American Television
. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2010.

Daniels, Susanne. S
eason Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN
. New York: Harper, 2007.

Davis, Michael.
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street
. New York: Penguin, 2008.

Early, Frances, and Kathleen Kennedy.
Athena’s Daughters: Television’s New Women Warriors
. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003.

Espenson, Jane, ed.
Finding Serenity: Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly
. Dallas: Smart Pop, 2005.

__________.
Inside Joss’ Dollhouse: From Alpha to Rossum
. Smart Pop, 2010.

Havens, Candace.
Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy
. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2003.

Holder, Nancy.
Buffy: The Making of a Slayer
. 47North, 2012.

Kaveney, Roz.
Reading the Vampire Slayer: The Complete, Unofficial Guide to ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel.
’ London: Tauris Parke, 2004.

Leonard, Kendra Preston, ed.
Buffy, Ballads, and Bad Guys Who Sing: Music in the Worlds of Joss Whedon
. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010.

Levine, Elana, and Lisa Parks, eds.
Undead TV: Essays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2007.

Longworth, James, Jr. “Joss Whedon, Feminist.” In
TV Creators: Conversations with America’s Top Producers of Television Drama
. Vol. 2. Syracuse University Press, 2002.

Lotz, Amanda D.
Redesigning Women: Television After the Network Era
. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2006.

McCloud, Scott.
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
. New York: William Morrow, 1994.

PopMatters.
Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion; The TV Series, the Movies, the Comic Books and More—The Essential Guide to the Whedonverse
. London: Titan Books, 2012.

Price, David A.
The Pixar Touch
. New York: Knopf, 2008.

Sepinwall, Alan.
The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever
. New York: Touchstone, 2013.

Stafford, Nikki.
Bite Me!: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
. Toronto: ECW Press, 1998.

Stevenson, Gregory.
Televised Morality: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
. Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books, 2004.