Got my copy last night and watched it immediately. You need this. Even if you’re not a Buffy/Angel/Firefly fan, if you’ve ever been interested in writing for TV or movies (or anything, really), you need to see this writer talk about it with no punches pulled and genuine affection for his craft.
What it is, is an hour-long talk given by Joss Whedon after receiving the Science Fiction Screenwriter of the Year award at Screenwriting Expo 4. He answers questions about his career, how he writes, how to make stories real, and why he feels the need to jerk our hearts around all the time. And because he is Joss, it’s funny and revealing and insightful. A lot of his comments were ones we’ve heard before in different interviews here and there, but it’s great to hear him just sit back and discourse for awhile. And fidget. And talk into a tiny, tiny microphone. And crack the audience up.
Also, he is introduced by Nathan Fillion, and that introduction is worth the price of the DVD. Nathan: “Then there was Firefly, the story of a handsome man,” (audience laughter) “No, I’m going to say, an extremely handsome man. Good show. Nice try. Cancelled.”
Joss goes into more details than I’ve heard before on his time at Roseanne and his movie experiences, and even talks about what writing Alien Resurrection taught him (besides “always direct your own work”). Bringing Sigourney back, even though the audience wanted her back, was a challenge to make believable. And he felt he’d hit on something very emotional and universal when Winona Ryder says, “Look at me, I’m disgusting.” Joss: “And I did it with a robot and a clone, so I was in heaven.”
He talks about metaphor and how each thing you write has to have some layer, some meaning, even if it’s only there just to showcase a perfect moment like, say, putting Willow in an eskimo coat so Oz would see her. Buffy was about high school and the journeys you go through. Angel was about atonement; what you do when you have to make up for something (he referenced alcoholism). “No one becomes who they wanted to be. Except Nathan, who’s totally at ease with his talent and good looks. I really hate the guy… and yet want him to hold and comfort me.”
He talks about being a writer, and being a good writer, and how to hire good writers. And he talks about the differences between TV and movies: “TV is feminine. It wants to talk about the problem for seven years. Movies want to get it done and get out.”
The talk is an hour long, and there is a Q and A clip that actually only includes maybe three questions. Also, for some reason the DVD wouldn’t let me go back to the menu from the middle of the talk; clicking on “Menu” just made it blink. I had to fast-forward through to the credits screen and let it jump back to the menu page by itself. That may have been my player, but I haven’t had that happen with any other DVD. Just sayin’. Note: there is some occasional strong language.
Watch the trailer at creativescreenwriting.com . But buy it at FanDone so your cash goes to a fellow Flan.
Fan Done is now a reseller of this DVD, so if you you’re going to get one, or already have one and need one for a friend / family member / neighbor / student / teacher / co-worker / boss / random person on the street, please buy from a Browncoat. 🙂
http://www.fandone.com/jossScreenwritingDVD.html
Thank you kindly,
– kestrelsempai
Here is some funny news I just found about Winona Ryder:
Winona Ryder’s “psychopathic tendencies” helped the actress land a starring role in director Daniel Waters’ forthcoming movie.
Waters, who worked with the actress on the film Heathers, says Ryder was the perfect choice to play a psychopathic character in his new film, Sex And Death 101.
He says, “I needed a psychopath who was sweet, warm, and funny – and that’s basically Winona. She’s like an Audrey Hepburn that’s been dropped off the table and has a crack in it.”