Joss Whedon: The Biography

by Amy Pascale

  “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.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Books

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  __________.”Joss Who? Meet the Writer of the New ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Film.” Los Angeles Times, November 22, 2010. http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/joss-who-meet-the-writer-of-the-new-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-film/.

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