Black Eye Guy
Taking over the World!
April!! What happened to march 7th!! (Was there ever a march 7th, or am I makeing this up, thats so depressing!)
And now you're writing and directing a new movie called "Goners" for Universal, right? What's that project?
"Goners" is a supernatural thriller I wrote after "Serenity" and is being produced by Mary Parent.
What's the status of it?
I'm doing a rewrite [of the script], which for a long time eluded me mostly because I was working on "Wonder Woman," but perhaps not coincidentally, as things began to go south with "Wonder Woman," corners began to unfold and what I needed to do became very clear, so I'm working on that right now. [So I'm working] on a draft I feel will be ready to give to the studio for, hopefully, a light of greenishness.
It's about a girl named Mia - people know that - who sort of sees in a mystical way the underbelly of the city and of human society, and goes through a kind of extraordinary hell, and we all have a lot of fun in the process.
It's very much the kind of fiction that I tell. That is to say, I love this character and I've been seeing a lot of horror movies that are torture-porn, where kids we don't care about are mutilated for hours, and I just cannot abide them.
This is much more a story about -- literally about human connection and whether or not it's possible.
But it's told on a very mystical scale and, in a way like everything I've tried to do including Buffy, it's an antidote to that very kind of film, the horror movie with the expendable human beings in it. Because I don't believe any human beings are.
Tell us a bit more about the dance project with Summer, we know you've been writing the music for that.
I've been working for a long time composing the score for a ballet short that I've wanted to film because of Summer. It's a little piece and we have a choreographer we're about to start working with it. I don't know if she's suddenly going to be shooting again or what, but we hope to shoot this hopefully in the late spring or early summer. It's something I've dreamed about pretty much ever since I met her.
What would you do with it after you finished it?
I don't know ... I guess go to festivals! I've never been to any festivals, so I guess I'd go to those with my short film. (He breaks into an impromptu little "I'm an indie short filmmaker guy" dance).
The day the strike is over, assuming the entire infrastructure of Hollywood has not collapsed, I go to work on it. And not the day before.
So, basically, he should be going to work tomorrow
GONERS - Whedon is working on the script, which he describes as a horror fantasy about a young woman who gains powers. The story is a "very personal thing about human connection and questioning whether there is such a thing at all." Currently backburnered by Universal.
CABIN IN THE WOODS - Co-written with BUFFY alum and CLOVERFIELD writer Drew Goddard. Goddard says: "It’s genius, it’s funny,” Goddard says. “It’s got a harder and darker edge, but it’s also got classic Whedon qualities. It’ll rip your heart out and be heartfelt at the same time." An original take on the cabin in the woods sub-genre. Whedon is also producing this project.
DOLLHOUSE - A return to FIREFLY network FOX. BUFFY's Eliza Dushku is starring, Amy Acker (Fred on ANGEL) is a recurring character, and Steven DeKnight is writing. Regarding the Buffyverse alumni filling up the cast, Whedon says: "I tried not to make DOLLHOUSE a family reunion, but I reluctantly read Amy, I realized I was the biggest idiot alive. I mean, how can I not have them come back? Have you seen them act?"
DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG - We've been keeping you up to date on the webisodes, which is set to air on July 15, 17, and 19. Whedon refers to it as "Joss' friends having a goof". Most of us spend our friend-bonding time drinking as many beers as we can, but Whedon, his brothers, and some friends used their downtime during the Writers' Strike to put together a three-part musical starring Neil Patrick Harris as a supervillian trying to get into the Evil League of Evil. Nathan Fillion plays his superhero nemesis, and Felicia Day plays the girl he likes at the laundromat.
Other projects - Working on BUFFY comic, putting short film SERVING GIRL with Summer Glau on hold.