Joss Whedon Turned Down ‘Buffy’ Reboot; New Writer Speaks

Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series accumulated a legion of rabid fans over the course of its seven seasons. Last week, many of them were outraged to learn that Warner Bros. was moving forward with a big screen reboot of the property – and that Whedon wasn’t involved.

Despite being hard at work on The Avengers, Whedon quickly drafted an amusing (if not slightly esoteric) response to the news and expressed his frustration over how soon all of this seemed to be happening. Unfortunately, Whedon doesn’t own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Kazui Enterprises does. He even admitted he doesn’t have any legal ground to stand on.

Although the thought of a Whedon-less Buffy probably sounds sacrilegious to fans, Heat Vision is reporting that he was offered the chance to be involved but turned it down. Evidently, Kazuis approached him last year with their plans for the reboot and Whedon decided he was more interested in other projects.

I’m a little surprised by how many people seem to think this means he has no business complaining about the situation. Of course they offered Whedon the opportunity to participate and of course he passed. It’s not like they were proposing a big screen continuation of the series. This is a brand new Buffy that eschews established continuity and all of the supporting characters. Why would Whedon want to rebuild the mythology from the ground up when he’s already told this story so successfully?

Meanwhile, Hero Complex recently profiled the screenwriter of the Buffy reboot – Whit Anderson. When plans for the film were unveiled and Anderson’s script was mentioned, her name raised a few eyebrows. The reaction was understandable considering she’s an aspiring actress with a few small roles on her resume, but no produced writing credits (her IMDb page is up 12558% in popularity now, though).

It’s impossible to try and guess the tone of her script with no past work to examine, but Anderson says she was a huge fan of the show and of the Buffy character in particular:

“I didn’t really watch much television at all, but I always watched ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.‘ That was the one show I would watch when I got home. I just loved this character. I was the same age as Buffy, and it was so rare to have a female lead character on TV in those days who was strong and capable and smart but also allowed to be feminine.”

Anderson also indicates that she’s aware of fan skepticism, but uses Batman Begins as an example of how a franchise can be successfully revitalized. She goes on to explain what she believes makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer so unique:

“The thing that was so wonderful about ‘Buffy’ is what made it special was so timeless … The deep struggle she had with duty and destiny, that tug between what you’re supposed to be doing and what you want to be doing. The fate of the world is on her shoulders, but some days she wakes up, and she just doesn’t want to do it. And are we doomed and destined to love someone? That conflict was very interesting to me. Those are the things I loved about her and her world. She also represents — like all the heroes — something empowering for us. She reminds us of what we could be if we were in our top form, the best of us if we were at our very best, and even then we still see the vulnerability and doubts she has inside. That’s where we all connect.”

Clearly Warner Bros. believes that this property still has teeth with or without Whedon. They might even be counting on a whole new legion of fans for the reboot rather than simply trying to appeal to old ones. I previously expressed my concern over another writer trying to emulate Whedon’s incredibly unique and specific style, but it’s more likely this reboot will be as dramatically different from the series as it was from the original 1992 film.

As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I have to admit I always thought that Buffy herself was one of the least interesting characters on the show. Creating an ensemble as dynamic and entertaining as Xander, Willow, Spike, and Giles (just to name a few) seems like an arduous challenge. We’ll see if Anderson is up to it.

Source: Heat Vision and Hero Complex.

View the original article here

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Movie Reboot On The Way [Updated]

[UPDATE: Buffy creator Joss Whedon has responded to the news. Check out his comments below.]

There have been rumblings of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie reboot for a couple of years now. The last time we heard, original rights holders Fran Rubel Kazui and Kaz Kazui were interested in developing a new film that would take the franchise in a “darker direction” – and they were doing it without the involvement of Buffy creator Joss Whedon.

When the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series debuted on television in 1997, it was more than a quirky cult hit – it also acted as vindication for Whedon, whose original vision for the 1992 film of the same name had been severely compromised by Kazui Enterprises.  When the movie reboot rumors surfaced, fans were understandably apprehensive about the property reverting back to Kazui, the same people who had so poorly mishandled it in the first place.

It was later reported that Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) had been offered the lead role of Buffy and that TV series star Sarah Michelle Gellar might make a cameo appearance. Thankfully, this never materialized and the project seemingly vanished.

Well, now it’s back – Warner Bros. has optioned the rights and a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie is officially underway. Charles Roven and Steve Alexander will produce the reboot alongside Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment (How To Train Your Dragon, The Departed).

The script is being written by Whit Anderson and evidently this new take on Buffy‘s mythology was enough to spark Roven’s interest:

“Whit approached us with an exciting idea about how to update Buffy…There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return to the big screen. We’re thrilled to team up with Doug and Roy on a re-imagining of Buffy and the world she inhabits. Details of the film are being kept under wraps, but I can say while this is not your high school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough, and sexy as we all remember her to be.”

I know I won’t be alone in declaring that I’m not terribly supportive of this. Whedon has such an offbeat and specific sense of humor. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show had just the right balance of scares and laughs and it did it all with a pitch-perfect tongue-in-cheek attitude. It’s an incredibly difficult tone to achieve. In fact, look no further than the original Buffy movie for an example of how easy it is to screw up.

I’m just not convinced that this is a property that needs updating – especially when new generations of fans continue to discover Whedon’s TV show. The concept -a high school valley girl becomes a hardened vampire slayer – meshed well with Whedon’s unique style of writing, but I’m not sure how it’s going to hold up with a “darker” approach.

Update: It looks like Buffy fans aren’t the only ones saddened by this news. After the story broke, E!‘s Kristin Dos Santos sent an email to Joss Whedon asking how he felt about this development. Here’s his reply:

Kristin, I’m glad you asked for my thoughts on the announcement of Buffy the cinema film. This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.

Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, “Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER.” Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, “I’ll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!” Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?

I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don’t love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I’m also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can’t wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I’m making a Batman movie. Because there’s a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.

Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

Meanwhile, Bones creator Hart Hanson just tweeted this picture of Buffy alum David Boreanaz’s reaction to the news:

That pretty much sums it up.

What do you think? Is Buffy the Vampire Slayer ripe for re-imagining or should they leave well enough alone?

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

Update Source: E! and Twitter.

View the original article here