Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon in 2005, at the premiere of Serenity. Serenity is a 2005 space western Film written and directed by Joss Whedon.
Born	Joseph Hill Whedon June 23, 1964 (1964-06-23) (age 43) New York City, United States
Occupation	writer, director, executive producer
Spouse	Kai Cole[1]
Children	Arden, Squire[2]

Joss Hill Whedon (born Joseph Hill Whedon^[3] on June 23, 1964 in New York) is an Academy Award-nominated and Hugo Award winning American writer, director, executive producer, and creator and head writer of the well-known television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The City of New York The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms A television director directs the activities involved in making a Television Episode. Motion Pictures An executive producer of a Motion picture is typically a producer who is sometimes involved in creative or technical aspects of production Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best Science fiction or Fantasy works and achievements of the previous year A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms A television director directs the activities involved in making a Television Episode. Motion Pictures An executive producer of a Motion picture is typically a producer who is sometimes involved in creative or technical aspects of production A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e Angel is an American Television series, a Spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Firefly is an American Science fiction Television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer He has also written several film scripts and comic book series. See also Pre-production Screenwriting A screenplay or script is a written plan authored by a Screenwriter, for a Film or Television A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative After finishing at Winchester College in England, he went on to receive a film degree from Wesleyan University in 1987. Winchester College is a well-known boys' Independent school, and an example of an English Public school, in the city of Winchester in Hampshire This article concerns Wesleyan

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Television work 1.2 Feature films 1.3 Comic books 1.4 Online media 2 Common themes and motifs in Whedon's works 2.1 Feminism 2.2 Homosexuality 2.3 Dialogue 2.4 Opinions on character deaths 2.5 Family 2.6 Fatherhood 3 Spiritual and philosophical beliefs 4 Awards 4.1 Awards Won 4.2 Awards Nominated 5 Notes and references 6 External links

Career

Television work

After moving to Los Angeles, Whedon secured his first writing job on the television series Roseanne. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from 1988 to 1997 starring Stand-up comedian Roseanne After several years as a script doctor, he went back to TV, where he created three TV shows. A script doctor is a skilled Screenwriter called in to assist a Film project by rewriting parts of the Screenplay to improve dialogue pacing and other In addition to writing and directing, Whedon had cameo appearances in his shows Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, along with a guest role in an episode of Veronica Mars. Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e Angel is an American Television series, a Spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Firefly is an American Science fiction Television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. He directed the 2007 episodes of The Office entitled "Business School" and "Branch Wars". "Branch Wars" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American Comedy television series The Office —the show's fifty-eighth ^[4]

Whedon has been described as the world's first third-generation TV writer. He is the son of Tom Whedon, a successful screenwriter for The Electric Company in the 1970s and The Golden Girls in the 1980s, and the grandson of John Whedon, a writer for The Donna Reed Show in the 1950s. Tom Whedon is an American television writer He worked with Jon Stone on a concept for a Muppet Cinderella series as early as 1964 in the process becoming acquainted with The Electric Company is an educational American Children's television series which was produced by the Children's Television Workshop This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1958 to 1966. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive His brother, Zack Whedon, worked as a scriptwriter on HBO's Deadwood and John from Cincinnati. Deadwood is an American western &ndash Drama Television series created produced and almost entirely written by David Milch John from Cincinnati is an American Television drama set against the Surfing community of Imperial Beach California, that aired

Years after having his script for the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer filmed (the interpretation by director Fran Rubel Kuzui having been poorly received by critics^[5] and audiences^[6]), Whedon revived the concept as a television series of the same name. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 action - comedy - Horror film about " Valley girl " cheerleader Buffy Fran Rubel Kuzui is an American movie director and producer. She received her Masters degree from New York University and was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer went on to become a critical and cult hit, with the episode "Hush" (written and directed by Whedon) receiving an Emmy Award nomination for outstanding writing in a drama series in 2000. Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. The show ran for five seasons on The WB Network before transferring to UPN for its final two seasons. United Paramount Network ( UPN) was a Television network that broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States and that was in production for over eleven Though it premiered on Mondays at 9 pm, Buffy ran from the middle of the second season on Tuesdays at 8 pm.

Angel was a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, featuring Buffy's vampire-with-a-soul boyfriend as the title character. Angel is an American Television series, a Spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was created by Whedon in conjunction with David Greenwalt. David Greenwalt (born October 16, 1949) is an American screenwriter director and producer Tim Minear also contributed at essential key junctures. Tim Minear (born October 29 1963 is an American screenwriter and director Debuting in September 1999 on the WB, the show was broadcast after Buffy on Tuesday evenings. After Buffy switched networks in 2001, Angel aired in a number of different time slots, and occasionally managed to attain the ratings of its predecessor, though the series finale pulled in more viewers than the Buffy finale. Joss Whedon made a cameo appearance as the character 'Numfar' near the middle of its run. The WB canceled the show in February 2004 while it was in its fifth season. While Whedon had no intention of ending Angel, the WB felt that a reality show would bring in more viewers, forcing Whedon to change the arc and ending of both the final season and the series. The forced cancellation triggered numerous "Save Angel" campaigns and other similar Angel support groups. Thousands raised money to support the cause of Angel returning for another season and even raised money towards a movie starring Spike. Spike (aka William "the Bloody") played by James Marsters, is a Fictional character WB president David Janollari said there might be such a film,^[7] but no such project has been announced.

In 2002, Firefly, which Whedon produced with Tim Minear, was canceled by Fox after only 11 episodes had been aired, out of intended sequence, from a total of only 14 produced (including the original two-hour pilot, which was the last episode to be aired on Fox). See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Firefly is an American Science fiction Television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Tim Minear (born October 29 1963 is an American screenwriter and director Whedon had been writing a movie script based on the TV series for Universal Studios for about a year when the Firefly series was released on DVD. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American The excellent sales of the DVD set ensured the movie would be produced, and in early 2004 Whedon announced that his proposal for a Firefly movie had been greenlit by Universal. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Shooting started in July 2004, and the film, Serenity, went into wide release in the United States on September 30, 2005. Serenity is a 2005 space western Film written and directed by Joss Whedon. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The treatment that Firefly received at the hands of Fox executives caused Whedon to state that he would not work with Fox again. ^[8]

Numerous grassroots campaigns were developed to save the Firefly series. At the forefront of these was a group of fans called the "Browncoats," after the nickname for the anti-Alliance rebels of the show. The Browncoats arranged several events in order to keep the franchise afloat, notably "Serenity Day" on June 23, 2006, during which fans were encouraged to buy copies of Firefly and Serenity DVDs. Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

In August 2007 Eliza Dushku (whom Whedon worked with on Buffy and Angel) signed a development deal with Fox. Eliza Patricia Dushku (born December 30 1980 is an American Actress, who has appeared in several Hollywood movies such as True Lies, ^[9] Shortly afterwards, Dushku and Whedon met over lunch to discuss possible ideas for a series for her. During the meal, he came up with an idea which excited both of them, and Whedon agreed then to write and oversee the pilot airing on FOX. ^[10] Whedon publicly defended this volte-face by saying that he will be working with "a completely new bunch of people" who are "intelligent and supportive. Volte-face (vôlt-fäs' vôl'tə- is a total change of position as in policy or opinion an About-face. "^[11] The show, Dollhouse, was announced by Fox in May 2008 to begin airing in January 2009. Dollhouse is an American Drama series of hour-long Television programs created by Joss Whedon which went into production in April 2008 ^[12]

Ripper is a proposed BBC Television movie about Rupert Giles that was announced to be in development at the San Diego Comic-Con 2007. The popular fictional Buffyverse established by TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and ''Angel'' has led to attempts to develop more commercially viable Rupert Giles is a Fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The development process was set to begin in 2008 and Ripper to be shown that summer. ^[13]

Feature films

Whedon wrote or co-wrote several films, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Toy Story, Alien: Resurrection and Titan A.E.. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 action - comedy - Horror film about " Valley girl " cheerleader Buffy Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-generated Comedy film, directed by John Lasseter and starring Tom Hanks Alien Resurrection is a science fiction released in 1997 by 20th Century Fox. Titan AE is a 2000 Post-apocalyptic animated science fiction Adventure film from Fox Animation Studios He was nominated (along with three other writers) for an Academy Award for Toy Story's screenplay. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. See also Pre-production Screenwriting A screenplay or script is a written plan authored by a Screenwriter, for a Film or Television

He also wrote uncredited drafts or rewrites of Speed, Waterworld, Twister and X-Men—although, with the exception of Speed, little of Whedon's work remained in the final drafts of any of these screenplays. Speed is a 1994 American action / thriller Romance film directed by Jan de Bont set in Los Angeles. Waterworld is a 1995 post-apocalyptic science fiction film The film stars Kevin Costner who also produced it Twister is a 1996 Disaster film starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as storm chasers researching Tornadoes X-Men is a 2000 Superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. In interviews, Whedon disowned the latter three films. He claimed that he had a good script for Alien: Resurrection, which he felt was spoiled by its director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (born 3 September 1953) is a French Film director. His Waterworld script was thrown out, and only two of his lines were kept in the final script of X-Men. ^[14] Even the Buffy movie bore little resemblance to his original screenplay. ^[15] According to Graham Yost, the credited writer of Speed, Whedon wrote most of its dialogue (see examples of credit conflicts in the WGA credit system). Graham Yost is a Canadian film and television screenwriter His most famous works are the hit 1994 film Speed (but crediting Joss Whedon with In the United States, Screenwriting credit for motion pictures and television programs under its jurisdiction is determined by either the Writers Guild of

He wrote and directed 2005's Serenity, based on his television series Firefly. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Serenity is a 2005 space western Film written and directed by Joss Whedon. Firefly is an American Science fiction Television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Serenity won the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Serenity is a 2005 space western Film written and directed by Joss Whedon. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Hugo Awards are given annually by members of the World Science Fiction Convention for the best science fiction or fantasy works Beginning in January 2006, fans (with Universal's blessing) began organizing worldwide charity screenings of Serenity^[16] to benefit Equality Now, a human rights organization supported by Joss Whedon. January 2006: ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July Equality Now is a Non-governmental organization that works to protect the human rights of women around the world Over $160,000 Raised For Equality Now Since 2006. 2008's goal is to raise $150,000 with 55 cities participating. ^[17].

Whedon had been signed to write and direct Warner Bros.' adaptation of Wonder Woman but on February 3, 2007, Whedon announced that he would no longer be involved with the project. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. "We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time. "^[18]

He is currently working on Goners, a supernatural horror thriller which has gone through several script rewrites, and has not currently been greenlit for production by Universal Pictures, which bought the script from Whedon around the time Serenity came out. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American In late June 2007, Whedon told a New Zealand radio station that "It's a supernatural thriller that I'm trying to get the studio to make. I'm rewriting it again. And it's a slow process, and after working in TV for a while, slow processes are a little frustrating. I'm working on some other stuff, but it's all too embryonic to talk about at this point. But hopefully within the year I'll be doing something other than turning in drafts of scripts, which after 18 months of Wonder Woman is getting a little old. "^[19]

One aspect of the storyline of the film X-Men: The Last Stand bears a strong similarity to a plotline in Whedon's comic book Astonishing X-Men: the notion of a cure for mutation. X-Men The Last Stand is a 2006 Superhero film and the third in the X-Men series Astonishing X-Men is the name of three X-Men comic books from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were Limited series. The scientist who discovers the cure in the movie is named Dr. Kavita Rao, as is the scientist in the comic book storyline, though the characters are quite different. Dr Kavita Rao is a Fictional character, a Geneticist in the Marvel Comics universe of the X-Men. Whedon's story in turn bears a striking resemblance to a 1993 episode of the X-Men animated series, entitled "The Cure", written by Mark Edward Edens. For the newer X-Men animated series see X-Men Evolution. For other uses see the X-Men (disambiguation page Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below --> The 1992 X-Men animated ^[20] In both Whedon's and Edens' stories, the scientist who claims to have discovered the cure is secretly working with a superpowered enemy of the team (Apocalypse on the TV show, Ord in the comic book), a plot device that doesn't occur in the film script. Ord is a Fictional character, a Comic book Supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. According to Simon Kinberg, a studio executive who had read Whedon's comics asked him and Zak Penn to incorporate some version of the mutant cure idea into their script. ^[21]

In an interview with Empire Online, Whedon expressed an interest in directing a Harry Potter movie. Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J ^[22]

Joss Whedon wrote a horror film entitled Cabin in the Woods with Drew Goddard which he might direct. He called it "The horror movie to end all horror movies. . . literally. "^[23]

Comic books

Whedon, a lifelong comic book fan, is the author of the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Fray which takes place in the far future of the Buffyverse. Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent American Comic book publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics Fray is an eight-issue Comic book Limited series, a futuristic spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. " Buffyverse " is a term coined by fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel to refer to the shared Fictional universe in Although the miniseries took years to finish, it was a great success. Whedon has mentioned returning to Fray at some point when there is time in his schedule.

Like many other authors from the Buffy TV show, he also contributed to the show's comic book version: he wrote three stories in the anthology Tales of the Slayers (including one featuring Melaka Fray from Fray) and also the main storyline of the five-issue miniseries Tales of the Vampires. Tales of the Slayers consists of two items a Graphic novel and a one-shot comic book Tales of the Slayer Broken Bottle of Djinn. Tales of the Vampires is a five issue American comic book Limited series (later collected in a single trade paperback) published by

The three-issue miniseries Serenity: Those Left Behind, based on the Firefly series and leading up to the film Serenity, was released June through August 2005. Serenity Those Left Behind is a 2005 three-issue Comic book Limited series published by Dark Horse Comics. Co-written with Brett Matthews and pencilled by Will Conrad, the first issue featured covers drawn by John Cassaday, J.G. Jones, and Bryan Hitch, as well as other artists for the second and third issues. Brett Matthews is an American writer of comics and TV shows He was assistant to Joss Whedon on TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, John Cassaday (born 1971 is an American Comic book artist and writer J G Jones is an American Comic book artist. He is best known for his work as cover artist on various Comic book series including a stint on Brian K Bryan Hitch (born 1970 is a British Comic book artist He is the co-creator and artist of The Authority and The Ultimates The first two issues went to a second printing. The trade paperback featured a new cover by acclaimed painter Adam Hughes. Adam Hughes (born May 5, 1967) is an American comic book artist known mostly for his voluptuous Pinup -style female characters and his cover work

A second Serenity miniseries, also three issues, and entitled "Serenity: Better Days", is currently being published by Dark Horse. Serenity Better Days is a 2008 three-issue Comic book Miniseries published by Dark Horse Comics, based on the 2002 The first issue has been released as of Wednesday March 12, 2008. "Better Days" reunites Whedon, Matthews, Conrad, and Adam Hughes, who will provide all three covers. The three covers form a larger panorama of the ship's crew. "Better Days" is set before "Those Left Behind", and features the full crew of Serenity.

Whedon has mentioned that more Serenity comics are planned for the near future, and will be based in the Firefly continuation of the series. Including one about Shepherd Book. Likewise, Whedon and other former Buffy writers have released a new ongoing Buffy which takes place after the series finale "Chosen", which he officially recognizes as the canonical "Season 8". " Chosen " the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is Episode 22 of Season 7 This article is not about Literary canons of influential works of fiction but about the concept of a canon which defines the world of a particular fictional series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a Comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The first issue was released on March 14, 2007 by Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent American Comic book publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics Following the success of issue one of Buffy season eight, IDW Publishing approached Whedon about similarly producing a canonical Angel Season 6. IDW Publishing (a division of Idea and Design Works is an American Comic book company. ^[24] This project has been confirmed. Although Whedon will not have the time to write the twelve issue maxi-series, Angel: After the Fall, he will be executive producer for the series. Angel After the Fall is a Comic book published by IDW Publishing. Instead Brian Lynch will write season 6, starting in November 2007. This article is about the American writer For the professional basketball player see Brian Lynch (basketball, for the Jazz trumpeter see Brian Lynch (musician ^[25]

Whedon is currently writing Astonishing X-Men in Marvel Comics' popular line of comics about the X-Men but will finish after the current story arc passing the reins to Warren Ellis. Astonishing X-Men is the name of three X-Men comic books from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were Limited series. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc The X-Men is a team of fictional Superhero characters in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Warren Ellis (born February 16, 1968) is a British author of Comics Novels and Television, well known for sociocultural The title, recreated specifically for Whedon, has been one of Marvel's best-selling comics as of 2006 and was nominated for several Eisner Awards including Best Serialized Story, Best Continuing Series, Best New Series and Best Writer, winning the Best Continuing Series award in 2006. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Award is a prize given for creative achievement in American Comic books It is named in honor of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner The Will Eisner Comic Industry Award is a prize given for creative achievement in American Comic books It is named in honor of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner One storyline from this comic, the notion of a cure for mutation being found, was also an element in the third X-Men film, X-Men: The Last Stand. Whedon also introduced a number of new characters in to the Marvel Universe such as Ord of the Breakworld, Blindfold and Armor. The Marvel Universe is the fictional Shared universe where most of the comic stories published by Marvel Comics take place Ord is a Fictional character, a Comic book Supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. Blindfold ( Ruth Aldine) is a Fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe, one of the student body in the Xavier Institute

Whedon is the second writer of the critically acclaimed and fan-favorite Marvel comic Runaways, taking over after series creator Brian K. Runaways is a multiple award-winning series of comic books from Marvel Comics. Vaughan completed his run. ^[26] Whedon had been a fan of the series for some time, and had a letter published in the first volume, which was included in the Volume 1 hardcover.

Whedon's other comic-related work includes writing the introduction to Identity Crisis trade paperback and a contribution to the "jam issue" Superman/Batman #26 (to date his only published work for DC Comics), writing short pieces for Marvel's Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man and Giant-Size X-Men #3 and also being the subject of an issue of Marvel Spotlight (alongside artist Michael Lark). Identity Crisis is a seven-issue Comic book Limited series published by DC Comics in 2004, written by Brad Meltzer Superman/Batman is a monthly Comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular characters DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Stan Lee Meets Superheroes was a limited non-canonical Marvel Comics series in which comic book writer Stan Lee met one of the characters he has created Marvel Spotlight is the name of several Comic book Anthology series published by Marvel Comics. Michael Lark is an American Comics artist. Lark has provided pencils for DC Comics ' Batman, Terminal City

Online media

In 2005 Whedon released a series of online shorts titled the R. Tam sessions, starring himself and Summer Glau. The R Tam sessions are a series of five short videos released by Joss Whedon over the internet which were set within his fictional Firefly universe Summer Glau (born July 24 1981 is an American Dancer and actress, best known for playing River Tam in the short-lived Science fiction series They acted as a form of viral marketing for Serenity. Serenity is a 2005 space western Film written and directed by Joss Whedon. In 2007, Whedon launched a free online webcomic, titled Sugarshock! It is hosted on Dark Horse comic's Myspace. [1] In 2008, Whedon will team up with Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day to produce the online live action musical series, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15 1973 is an American Golden Globe - and Emmy -nominated Actor. Nathan Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian Actor known for his lead role in the television series Firefly Felicia Day (born June 28 1979 in Huntsville Alabama) is an American actress known for her work as " Vi " on TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer ^[27] Filming finished on Joss Whedon’s Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on 3/21/2008 ^[28]

Common themes and motifs in Whedon's works

Feminism

Whedon identifies himself as a feminist, and feminist themes are common in his work. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate For his part, Whedon credits his mother, Lee Stearns, as the inspiration for his feminist worldview. When Roseanne Barr asked him how he could write so well for women, he replied, "If you met my mom, you wouldn't ask. Roseanne Cherrie Barr, aka Roseanne Barr, aka Roseanne Arnold, aka Roseanne Thomas, aka Roseanne (born November 3 1952 is an Emmy "^[29]

The character Kitty Pryde from the X-Men comics was an early model for Whedon's strong teenage girl characters: "If there's a bigger influence on Buffy than Kitty, I don’t know what it was. Katherine "Kitty" Pryde is a Fictional character that appears in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. The X-Men is a team of fictional Superhero characters in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. She was an adolescent girl finding out she has great power and dealing with it. "^[30]

Whedon was honored at an Equality Now benefit in 2006: "Honoring Men on the Front Lines",^[31] and his fans raised a considerable amount of money in support of the organization. ^[32]

Homosexuality

In his cinematographic works, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he includes gay characters among both the major and the minor dramatic personae. Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. A major character in Firefly, Inara Serra, has at least one lesbian encounter. This article is about characters in the television series Firefly. In early episodes of Buffy, he deliberately included scenes that suggested that either Xander Harris or Willow Rosenberg might be gay or bisexual. Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris (born 1981 in Sunnydale, California) is a Fictional character in the cult Television series Willow Rosenberg is a Fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the Television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation At the time, he was uncertain as to which character he wanted to come out. Closeted Coming out (that is " coming out of the closet " describes the voluntary public announcement of one's Sexual orientation and/or Gender identity Ultimately, he decided that Willow would begin a relationship with another young woman, fellow college student Tara Maclay. Tara Maclay is a Fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult Television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed Later, after Tara's murder, she developed a romantic relationship with Kennedy. Kennedy is a Fictional character in the Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Two minor characters in the series, Larry Blaisdell and Scott Hope, were also gay. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American franchise which spans several media and genres Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American franchise which spans several media and genres The Angel episode "Power Play" implied a homosexual encounter between Spike and Angel. Angel is an American Television series, a Spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Spike (aka William "the Bloody") played by James Marsters, is a Fictional character Angel is a Fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the Television programs Buffy the Vampire ^[33] In the canonical season 8 comic book, Whedon features straight protagonist of the series, Buffy, experimenting with (lesbian) Slayer Satsu. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a Comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics.

Dialogue

The dialogue in Joss Whedon's shows and movies usually involves pop culture references both notable and obscure, and the turning of nouns into adjectives by adding a "y" at the end of the word ("listy"). According to one of the Buffy writers, "It's just the way that Joss actually talks. "^[34]

Whedon also heavily favors the suffix -age (Linkage, Lurkage, Poofage, Postage, Scrollage, Slayage). )^[35]. Also, phrasal verbs usually ending with "out" are changed into direct verbs, for example "freak" rather than "freak out", "bail" rather than "bail out", or "hang" rather than "hang out". A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition a verb and an adverb or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition any of which are part of the syntax of the sentence Whedon also tends to change adjectives into nouns such as "happy" (orgasm), "bad" (mistake), "funny" (joke). An orgasm (sexual climax is the conclusion of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, and may be experienced by both males and females So many of Whedon's altered usages, new words, and heavily popularized words have entered the common usage that PBS in their article series "Do You Speak American" included an entire section on "Slayer Slang". The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the ^[36]

Opinions on character deaths

Many characters die in Whedon's shows, especially the long-running Buffy. Extras and minor characters die as expected in action-based shows and movies, but Whedon also kills off main characters in any manner or fashion even if it creates mixed reaction from his fan base and even the actors themselves. On the Serenity DVD commentary, Whedon says that he'd rather have fans say "Why'd they kill (that guy)? I liked him!" than "Oh. He's dead? Turn the page!" However, there is also a strong theme of redemption attached to these deaths, and the possibility of return.

Family

There is a strong theme that one's true family is the group of people that you live your life with rather than the blood relatives who raise you as a child. This is a major theme for the main characters in all of his television series, particularly explicit examples including the BtVS season 5 episode "Family" and the "family meal" scenes (and homey set decoration) in Firefly as well as Buffy and Giles' father-daughter relationship. Season Four of Angel strongly focuses on the family of friends Angel shares, and his longing for a family is passed onto his son, Connor. The season begins and ends with scenes of group dinners, where a character proposes a toast: "To family".

Fatherhood

Whedon sometimes portrays fathers in a negative light. Buffy's distant father was neutrally portrayed until later in the series, and most of his characters' fathers are never seen. Wesley's father was mentioned on several occasions to be abusive, and the episode Family showed Tara's father to be controlling and manipulative. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (also spelled Wyndam-Price When Faith goes rogue after accidentally killing a human being the Scooby Gang neglect to inform Wesley and Child abuse is the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children Tara Maclay is a Fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult Television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed Xander's father was portrayed as alcoholic and disrespectful of his wife and the fear of becoming like him is in large part what prompted Xander to cancel his wedding with Anya. Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris (born 1981 in Sunnydale, California) is a Fictional character in the cult Television series Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins, born Aud (formerly Anyanka, the "patron saint of scorned women" is a Fictional character created by Additionally, in an episode of Firefly, Simon and River Tam's father is shown to be very unsympathetic and unforgiving.

In lieu of a biological father, Whedon's characters often find an alternate father figure who takes the biological father's place. The most notable example is the evolution of Rupert Giles from a timid Watcher in the beginning of season one of Buffy to the father figure he became in the later seasons. Rupert Giles is a Fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Spiritual and philosophical beliefs

Whedon has identified himself as an atheist on multiple occasions. Atheism When interviewed by The AV Club on October 9, 2002, Whedon answered the question "Is there a God?" with one word: "No. The AV Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion eaters. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. " The interviewer followed up with: "That's it, end of story, no?" Whedon answered: "Absolutely not. That's a very important and necessary thing to learn. "^[37] In one of the Buffy DVD commentaries, Whedon comments that "I don't believe in the 'sky bully'", referring to God. Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e ^[38] In addition, during a question and answer session found on the Serenity DVD with fans of the Firefly series at Fox Studios in Sydney, he identifies himself as an atheist and absurdist. Serenity is a 2005 space western Film written and directed by Joss Whedon. Firefly is an American Science fiction Television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Absurdism is a Philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the Universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd because no such

Whedon has also spoken about existentialism. Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives and that this essence follows from their existence On the Firefly DVD set, Whedon explains in detail how existentialism, and more specifically the book Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre, was used as a basis for the episode Objects in Space. Firefly is an American Science fiction Television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Nausea (orig French La Nausée) is a novel by the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, published in 1938 and written " Objects in Space " is the fourteenth and final episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon ^[39] On this commentary he claimed interest in existential ideas and described the impact of Nausea on his early life.

Awards

Awards Won

Nebula Awards:

• Best Script - Serenity (2006)

Awards Nominated

Academy Awards:

• Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen - Toy Story (1996)

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series - Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, for the episode Hush (2000)

Nebula Awards:

• Best Script - Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, for the episode Once More, with Feeling (2003)
• Best Script - Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, for the episode The Body (2002)

Saturn Awards:

• Best Writing - Toy Story (1996)

Notes and references

• Suicide Girls: Joss Whedon interview. Retrieved on October 7, 2005. Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

External links

• Whedonesque
• Joss Whedon at the Internet Movie Database
• Joss Whedon at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• The AV Club interview (First one) (2001-09-05) (part 1, part 2)
• The AV Club interview (Second one) (2007-11-08) (part 1, part 2, part 3)
• "Serenity Now!" In Focus Magazine Interview (2005-06-23)
• sffworld.com interview with Joss Whedon (2005-10-02)
• Audio interview with Joss Whedon about equality(2006-06-19)
• Joss Whedon interview at www.sci-fi-online.com (2006-02-27)
• 'The Dude' Interviews Joss Whedon
• Joss Whedon's work at Marvel.com
• BrownCoats.com Original Fan Site
• Jossverse.com Joss Whedon Fanlisting and Fan Site
• Whedonstuff blog about Whedon related merchandising
• GeeksOn.com An interview with Joss Whedon with the Geeks of GeeksOn. The AV Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion eaters. The AV Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion eaters. com

Preceded by none	Astonishing X-Men writer 2004–	Succeeded by Warren Ellis
Preceded by None	Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer 2007	Succeeded by Brian K. Vaughan
Preceded by Brian K. Vaughan	Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer 2007–2008	Succeeded by Drew Goddard
Preceded by Jane Espenson	Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight writer 2008–	Succeeded by TBA
Preceded by Brian K. Vaughan	Runaways writer 2007–	Succeeded by Terry Moore

Persondata
NAME	Whedon, Joss
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Whedon, Joseph Hill
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	June 23, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH	New York City, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

Astonishing X-Men is the name of three X-Men comic books from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were Limited series. Warren Ellis (born February 16, 1968) is a British author of Comics Novels and Television, well known for sociocultural Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a Comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. Brian Keller Vaughan (born 1976, Cleveland Ohio) is an American Comic book and Television Writer. Brian Keller Vaughan (born 1976, Cleveland Ohio) is an American Comic book and Television Writer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a Comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. Drew Goddard (born February 26, 1975)is a television script-writer best known for his collaborations with Joss Whedon ( Buffy the Jane Espenson is an American television writer and producer who has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a Comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. Brian Keller Vaughan (born 1976, Cleveland Ohio) is an American Comic book and Television Writer. Runaways is a multiple award-winning series of comic books from Marvel Comics. Terry Moore is a Comic book author Graphic novelist and illustrator Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The City of New York The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

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