Buffy Revival Cinematographer Offers BTS Looks at What Could've Been

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Source: Bleeding Cool

by Ray Flook

Cinematographer Brendan Uegama offered behind-the-scenes looks at the filming of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale series pilot.

Article Summary

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale cinematographer Brendan Uegama shared BTS from the shelved Hulu pilot.
  • Hulu passed on the Buffy revival pilot from Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chloé Zhao, Nora and Lila Zuckerman.
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar said Buffy pilots are learning tools and hopes the unreleased New Sunnydale pilot never leaks.
  • Gellar also warned fans that the leaked Buffy script draft is inaccurate and does not reflect the team’s full vision.

Hulu's choosing to pass on executive producer Sarah Michelle Gellar, Showrunners Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman, director and executive producer Chloé Zhao, and EP Gail Berman's Geller and Ryan K. Armstrong-starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale series pilot is one of those decisions that we're never going to be able to understand. Thankfully, we have folks who were directly involved in the production who have been kind enough to share a little of what could've been. Cinematographer Brendan Uegama (Untamed, Them, Mike) took to Instagram to share some great looks at filming of the pilot. "Shot this in LA last year.. Here are some bts pics from shooting the BUFFY pilot. It was a great shoot and I had such an amazing time working with Chloé and the whole team!" Uegama wrote as the caption to their post, which included an image gallery of behind-the-scenes looks.

Here's a look at Uegama's post, followed by what Gellar had to say about the pilot and script potentially being leaked:


Buffy: Gellar on Hoping Pilot Never Leaks, Avoiding Leaked Script

Checking in with SiriusXM's Page Six Radio in March, Gellar explained why she hopes the pilot never leaks online, despite the Buffyverse wanting to get their hands on it. "I actually hope it doesn't because then everyone's going to have an opinion on this and that, and pilots are not finished," Gellar said. "It wasn't done, right? It's not like we did a season and finished it and then they shelved it. It's not like when they made the Batgirl movie and didn't [release] it. That movie was finished. You make a pilot — and I want to clarify this — we made a pilot [first instead of a full season] on purpose because there's some new characters and you want to see how it goes. There are things you learn from it, and there are things you fix. Usually, [the first version of a] pilot doesn't air … it's a learning tool. The original Buffy pilot [had] nothing to do with the show. It was a different Willow. It was a very different show. But those are learning tools and that's what a pilot is."

As for the draft that's out making the rounds online, Gellar urges fans to avoid reading it because it's not the finalized version of the pilot script. "I've seen a version of the script out there. It's not actually correct. That stuff is really unfortunate, and I ask fans if you see scripts — if you see it leaked — don't watch it because you're not getting our vision and all of that," Gellar explained. Deadline Hollywood's reporting from earlier this week noted from "multiple sources" that the streamer's biggest concern was that the pilot "played too young" and felt "small." Reportedly, the studios and creative team wanted to keep the spirit of the original series' modest budget look and vibe. The Zuckermans' rewrite was reportedly 90 minutes long: "It was more adult, featuring a lot more of Gellar's Buffy, and was described as a more of a streaming than a network show." DH reports that "the rewrite was well received at both studios, 20th TV and Searchlight TV, triggering the internal talk of a pending pickup, with at least one executive in charge 'putting everything on the line' for it, as one person put it."
 
The only reason why Gellar doesn't people reading this stem from the fact that she doesn't want people to know to know that this garbage without Joss Whedon.
 
A lot of people could have written a better script (hard to sink that low) other than Whedon, but they would have to be up to the standard of early Whedon and others in Mutant Enemy to measure up. Any number of Mutant Enemy writers could've been called in to script doctor it other than Whedon, as well. Dialog is the major Achilles heel of that script.

The Zuckermans' terrible writing was what really killed this pilot, though I don't trust Zhao either. SMG's reason for not wanting the fanbase to read the script (too late, we already did) is because it really destroys her scapegoat narrative. The script purportedly wasn't as far off from the final product as SMG tried to pretend, along with her excuses that made it pretty clear she knew how bad it was and wanted a second try in reshoots with a Hail Mary of having more screen time than she likely had intended.
 
The only reason why Gellar doesn't people reading this stem from the fact that she doesn't want people to know to know that this garbage without Joss Whedon.
I can't even argue with this

Josh just has a special way of writing, you can tell if he didn't write something
 
Well, I'm reminded of that awful Wonder Woman pilot from a few years back that didn't have special effects and needed extensive Reshoots to make the character as likable as Batwoman 1. Not to mention, the first Buffy Pilot, the Regan cut. It's entirely possible this was more of a spec pilot, that needed Reshoots to be a coherent first episode.

I am also reminded of the That 90s Show, where the chief appeal of the pilot was a cast reunion, then the kids. I wonder if the show would have been picked up, if the cast was out for the weekend, but promised to show up next week?

And it could be as simple as that, Zhao made the first part of a grand epic, not a pilot episode.
 
NotASlayer
NotASlayer
Didn't both Angel and Buffy have unaired pilots? I can't imagine the creators really want those reading/watching.
I know Buffy had an unaired pilot. It's on YouTube, It's clearly not intended for primetime. I know nothing of Angel having one. I assume if it did, it would just be footage from Buffy showcasing Angel's heroic acts, and David and Charisma interacting. That's all you really have to establish for the network for a spin-off.
 
A lot of people could have written a better script (hard to sink that low) other than Whedon, but they would have to be up to the standard of early Whedon and others in Mutant Enemy to measure up. Any number of Mutant Enemy writers could've been called in to script doctor it other than Whedon, as well. Dialog is the major Achilles heel of that script.

The Zuckermans' terrible writing was what really killed this pilot, though I don't trust Zhao either. SMG's reason for not wanting the fanbase to read the script (too late, we already did) is because it really destroys her scapegoat narrative. The script purportedly wasn't as far off from the final product as SMG tried to pretend, along with her excuses that made it pretty clear she knew how bad it was and wanted a second try in reshoots with a Hail Mary of having more screen time than she likely had intended.
Nobody could can writer Buffy better than Joss Whedon because he created the character. You're literally trying to discredit an author.
 
NileQT87
NileQT87
I'm not downplaying Whedon at all. Reread that. I'm trashing the Zuckermans by saying how far below Mutant Enemy they are, never mind Whedon.
Warning - Off topic.

Nobody could write a better Buffy than Joss, so what if Buffy became a new work of art and found herself anew.
Had Buffy the Vampire Slayer gone out on patrol when she wasn't 100% fit and got herself tagged. The new series could be directed to an older age group and as such it would be titled - Buffy The Vampire.
Julie Benz and Sarah Michelle Gellar, now they would be a line up to behold!
 
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