Dr. Horrible Got Everything He Ever Wanted.

I'm absolutely in love with this Dr. Horrible inspired art found on Etsy entitled "Dr. Horrible Got Everything He Ever Wanted". Yes he did, WednesdayWolf....yes he did.

Micro-Interview with TV Night Organizers Jeremy & Michael

Last week we attended Brooklyn's Knitting Factory for their TV Party that's held every Monday night. The special event: both "Once More, With Feeling" AND Dr. Horrible sing-alongs! They also showed some other Buffy eps, had fantastic games and even a customized menu. Check out the cocktails:

BEFORE THE DAWN - tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup
BLOODY BUFFY- tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce
Faith's Shot to the Heart - Malibu® coconut rum and peach schnapps
BLACK FROST (turns you into a caveman) - Guinness and Lemonade
The Cordelia - Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Cranberry Juice
Team Spike - captain morgan's spiced rum, raspberry liqueur - on ice
Team Angel - whiskey, lemonade, maraschino cherry
The Evil Willow - vodka, Jagermeister liqueur, grenadine syrup, raspberry liqueur

We personally preferred the "Team Spike" over the "Team Angel," which is worth noting. Bitsy decided to stake me with a rather large umbrella in a contest to try and win a free "Team Spike". Thanks a lot, Bits. For people in the audience that weren't Whedonites or never watched Buffy (there were a few!) organizer Michael put together this fantastic vid of all 7 seasons of Buffy. Reminisce on the good times:

After the show we caught up with organizers Jeremy Pollet and Michael Austin for a micro-interview. Check it out:

Buffyfest: What made you add a Buffy themed event to your TV night lineup?

Jeremy Pollet: My friend Michael [Austin] and I decided to host TV Parties, because, well...why watch TV at home alone when you can have a TV Party instead? And who better to party with than Buffy fans? Two of my all time favorite women on this planet, my sister Alison and my pal Elisabeth, are both Buffy fanatics, and I have always loved watching episodes with them- laughing and engaging with the show (pointing stuff out, explaining the connections, interpreting the meanings). So, it seemed obvious. Must throw a Buffy party.

Michael Austin: Women

Buffyfest: How did you get into Whedon?

JP: My sister has introduced me to a lot of great things in this world. Whedon is one. She forwards me links to articles about him, essays by him, and general Whedon news. So I give her full credit. Her influence is all over TV Party's 2010 line-up. She showed me Freaks and Geeks (which we're doing in Nov.) and Twin Peaks (Dec.) and she's taught me how to make a mean tuna melt (which I'm doing sometime soon, I hope. With cheddar).

MA: 75% of my friends in high school watched Buffy and Firefly and I was kind of on the fringe watching an episode here or there. Definitely way more of Buffy. I definitely watched the first 3 seasons in their entirety as a kid. Watched more when I got older. especially when my college roommate had the entire series on DVD. He also had the complete Golden Girls...not sure what that's about. Oddly enough I got into Whedon more watching Angel as a kid. Dr Horrible sealed the deal and now that he's directing/writing The Avengers movie we're super tight.

Buffyfest: Favorite episode?

JP: I know it's not very original to say, but...Once More With Feeling.

MA: I always liked the Halloween episode myself. Xander turning into a bad ass military guy, Willow as a ghost and all that fun stuff. Although I do have a new found appreciation for Once More With Feeling now that I know what "You make me complete" is actually referring to. Don't know how I missed the implied sex the first time around.

Buffyfest: Favorite Whedonverse character?

JP: Buffy!

MA: Dr. Horrible! (Although Penny=crazy hot in my book so also a fav)

And there you have it! If you want to check out TV night, tonight they are holding an X-Files event and an Arrested Development one is in the works! Check out the Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=144105848963314

Bits as he falls into the Hellmouth.

We're here! 'The Joss Whedon Experience', Live Blogged.

Ok, this is the Joss only panel and it's absolutely filled with goodies! We also recorded the entire panel from the best spot in the room and unlike last night, it will go up very soon. Stupid Comic Con wifi horror will not stop us again.

"The Joss Whedon Experience" Panel:

Scott Allie presents Joss and he comes out to a raging crowd!

Joss: I shouldn't be so intimidated after all these years. I'm in enormous trouble if this is not super good. Scott Allie didn't give himself enough credit. Scott, who wants to kill himself and me, will be co-writing the finale arc of S.8!

Q: You've written so many strong women characters wondering if you would do the same for gay men?

Joss: Thinking of doing an Epic Yaoi thing.

Q: Joss, do you ever think of doing a pay for web series? To crowd: Wouldn't you guys pay a couple of bucks an episode so he can do whatever he wants? (Screams)

Joss: Thank you, head of marketing. I absolutely have and all that thinking led to not doing it. All possible models of how to do things and can be built and paid for....working from the ground up with nothing. I mentioned yesterday the Warren Ellis project called "Wastelanders". We are still actively pursuing that.
The other thing I like is when you can do EVERYTHING YOU WANT. So I'll do that for a while. Network television...probably not right away.

Q: As a director, you like using long choreographed shots. What influences you to do that? Also Joss means 'God' in Filipino. Joss: Oh , and it didn't before me. Wait, I'm so vain I forgot the first question. [The long shot] It's like a drug. It should be used sparingly. I'm looking at you young Brian De Palma! I used it in Serenity for very specific reasons. It's all dreamlike, but when we got to the ship I wanted to say, "Look, this is solid ground" by showing it.

Q: Angel kills Drogyn, did you mean for it to be an evil act?

Joss: I don't make this stuff up! Eventually people get to a place where they do things we don't love for the greater good. It's a dicey thing because when we're confronted with that in real life, it's not a good thing. It's supposed to take a toll on Angel. If they didn't cancel it, he'd been all mopey for like 7 episodes. I don't think he'd have too much remorse, though, because of what's at stake. At that time [Angel Season 5] we were trying to do the Godfather family business. It's always interesting if the heroes are not too clean cut...too neat.

Joss on Writing: It goes: "Oh, I have an idea. Oh god, Oh god! I'm hungry! Oh Whedonesque! I'm hungry." Ultimately. The process is fun, hunger, porn, depression, fun.

Q: You like to kill characters we love. How do you feel about firing someone from your decision?

Joss: Sometimes Ron Glass makes me mad. No, I love him. It's Alan that makes me mad. I'd kill off Oz, but he left. Amber, and the darling Kristine Sutherland knew for 2 years that it would happen and when. It's better for the relationship, but sometimes it's just gonna be the story. You never know. One day I was like, "I have a tough job to do because I have to tell Marc Blucas that he's not going to make it the full season...but I'm lucky because Emma is becoming a regular. Mark reacted: "Yay! I'm in more episodes! That's great!" I told Emma, "We're making you a regular...and she said, 'You mean I'm not?'" (laughs)

Q: Did you always mean to make Boyd Evil?
Joss: I would love to say I did, but we could hear the war drums in the 2nd season. I love this guy so of course we thought of killing him. That's not enough! Let's take away everything.

Q: Did you ever think to create a comic as unique and as genre bending as something like "Hush"?

Joss: Uh, you didn't read that issue? You know, I haven't. Stuff like that is really dicey. I don't approach comics that way and I don't look for stunts. I look for challenges, but they have to be integral to that universe The musical did, "black and white" did not. There's no context in the lives of people in that show. With comics, I don't feel the urge, I just want it to connect emotionally. The closest could be "The Chain", Issue 5 of Buffy. I don't think anything else ever reached that level..but it isn't what I look for. A stunt is only as good as the stunt performer, but it's tricky.

Q: What inspired you for Doctor Horrible?

Joss: A lot of things... I relate to the villains. I wanted to make Dr. Horrible because I feel like Dr Horrible.

Q: I really love Dr. Horrible. When can we play the songs on Rock Band?

Joss: We'll look into it. We'll give you the first one. I'm lying.

Q: Some say you play favorites...do you have any favorite actors?

Joss: Would it be right to say? Nathan Fillion.
(Note: OMG It's Nathan Fillion!!)

Joss: Ok, They're telling me I'm finished...in this business.

Last Lines of the Whedonverse Dead

When Twitterer @monkeyonthelam issued the following tweet: "I wish there was a comprehensive list of the last line said by every dead Whedonverse character. I love lists, but that would be a lot of work"...we took that as a personal challenge. At least to come up with 25 of 'em. Well, this gets a bit lengthy so let's get to it.

...but before we do, we'd like to point out that during our research we realized there are many a great characters that do not really get a last line. The final thing they say may be a scene or 2 before the actual death or some-such. This includes: Anya, Buffy (the 1st time), Kendra (she's hypnotized), Jenny Calendar, Larry, Jonathan, Joyce, etc. Since they didn't get the glory of a last lick, why not make one up for them and leave it in the comments?

Without further ado, Buffyfest presents: Last Lines of the Dead.

-BtVS-
 

Jesse: - "You don't have the guts." - The Harvest






Principal Flutie: - "Are you insane?!" - The Pack





Darla: "Angel?" - Angel





Uncle Enyos: "I suppose you want answers." - Innocence





Angel (Becoming): "Quickly, you have to send me to Hell to stop Acathla, Buffy" (reportedly, all but the last word were "indicated with his eyes" [sic]). - Becoming Part 2




Mr. Trick: "Oh, no. No, this is no good at all." - Consequences





The Mayor: "Well, gosh." - Graduation Day Part 2





Magie Walsh: "Adam?" - The I in Team





Adam: "How...can you?" - Primeval






Buffy: "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it" - The Gift





Tara: "Your shirt..." - Seeing Red





Spike: "I want to see how it ends." - Chosen





Warren: "I know you're in pain, but-" - Villains





VampWillow: "Aw, f..." Doppelgangland

-Angel-

Doyle: " "Too bad we'll never know...if this is a face you could learn to love." - Hero

Lilah: "He's gonna kill us." - Calvary

Cordy: "Oh... and you're welcome." - You're Welcome

Darla (again): ""This Child, it's the one good thing we ever did together. You make sure to tell him that." - Dad

Fred: "Please, Wesley, why can't I stay?" - A Hole in the World

Wes: "I—I love you." - Not Fade Away

Lindsey: "You kill me? A flunky?! I'm not just... Angel...kills me. You don't... Angel..." - Not Fade Away

-Firefly-

Mr. Universe: "They can't stop the signal, Mal. They can never stop the signal." - Serenity




Wash: "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how..." - Serenity





Shepherd Book: "I don't care what you believe. Just believe it. Whatever you..." - Serenity

-Dr. Horrible-

Penny: "Captain Hammer will save us." - Dr. Horrible Act III

Buffyfest reviews the Dr. Horrible iPhone App

We have in our hot little hands an iPhone. But it's not just any iPhone. This iPhone holds a PHD in Horribleness. Actually, that's stupid because an iPhone can't go to school or learn or think. It's a sexy gadget, not an anti-hero who accidentally kills the girl of his dreams. Oops! Spoiler alert!

Ahem, so let me back up a bit. Dark Horse Comics was cool enough to let us take an early look at the Dr. Horrible iPhone Comic App which gets released to the public on March 24th, and it's so fantastic. If you follow this blog, chances are you know I'm a sucker for Doc Horrible...so of course I was super excited to get a sneak peek. Written by Zack Whedon, it's entertaining origin story that places one more piece of the complex puzzle known as "Billy Buddy". It's so filled with goodness and all the usual greats are in it, including what I'm pretty sure is a cameo by the David Fury and Marti Noxon news anchors. We also meet Moist's car, which Doc lamely nicknames the "Horrible Mobile", much to Moist's dismay. Some of this "issue" is set in the far past and some is just prior to the beloved web-series.

Just to be clear, this is an adaptation of the one-shot wonder that came out a couple of months ago...not a brand new story.

The Dr. Horrible Comic Book App reads surprisingly well, swiping each single page with your finger, and looks quite lovely on the vibrant iPhone screen. There is about 118 of these "pages" to the story. It'll be $.99 at the iTunes store, which of course is well worth it for a little more "Horrible" in our lives. You'll definitely want to pick this one up, even if you read it in paper form.

Dr. Horrible Sing-Along at Steampunk Exhibition in San Francisco This Weekend!

If you're in the San Fran area, check out The Steampunk Con this weekend featuring a Dr. Horrible Sing-Along/Screening. Fun! They're asking attendees to come in costume, $10 at the door "with proceeds to fund the next Nova Albion; bar proceeds go to Variety Children's Charity."

Thanks to J Benn for the tip! via Boing Boing

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend (Sorta)!

Buffy: Oh, Valentine's Day is just a cheap gimmick to sell cards and chocolate.

Amy: Bad breakup, huh?
Buffy: Believe me when I say "uh-huh."

Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered

It's really hard to write a positive post in honor of Valentine's Day because, let's face it, there isn't so much of the happy when it comes to love in the Whedonverse. A few months back we tried writing about the happy moments of the verse, but as you'll see it kinda backfired. Of course, it was funny and fun to write, so it's a win anyway. This time around, let's take it from another angle, tragedy, which seems to be the only way Joss knows how to write love. In honor of Valentine's Day Weekend we give you Wired's Top 10 Tragic Love Stories in Geek Fiction and, not surprisingly, two of our couples made the list.

2009 Top Ten Best Moments of the Whedonverse - Buffyfest Edition

It's that time of year again, one of reflection on the past 365 days in the Whedonverse. Here's a look back at the Top Ten Best Moments of 2009 - Buffyfest Edition. Happy New Year, Everyone!

#1 - Dr. Horrible Wins an Emmy
As it should. Plus, there was an awesome appearance by the cast of Dr. Horrible, too. Good times.

#2 - New York Comic Con 2009
Oh boy, was this a bit of craziness mixed with amazing. It was out first year covering the convention and we got to interview Super Scott Allie, the Amazing Brian Lynch and Buffy's own Amber Benson. We also heard Joss speak and I was inappropriately touched by a blind man, but that's a story for another day.

#3 - Buffyfest 2009
It was the year of the Guerilla Drive-in. We thought we might get arrested or at least a little harassed, but alas, it went off without a hitch.

#4 - "Don't Spuff 'til You Spuff Enough"
Words can't properly express how we feel about this song. In truth, it's really the anthem of our year and the pride of our blog.

#5 - Angel's 10 Year Anniversary in Los Angeles
What's more fun than Buffyfest all together in the same room? It's when Buffyfest are all together in the same room that also happens to be the courtyard of the Hyperion Hotel.

#6 - Dollhouse
It was the little engine that could and against all odds, Dollhouse made it to a 2nd and final season with awesome guest appearances by quite a few Whedon alum.

#7- Can't Stop the Serenity Charity Screenings
There's always reason to celebrate charitable giving, especially this amazing group and their determination to help stop Human Rights abuse around the world. As proud sponsors of this year's event, we're happy to report that they had a record breaking year in '09!

#8 - Buffy Season 8 Motion Comic
We still have no idea what this will entail, but it's Buffy and she'll be moving her arms and legs and words will be coming out of her mouth, so this is absolutely a cause for celebration.

#9 - Twilight
A year later we're still asking, "Who the hell is this guy?", but it's finally inching a bit closer to one of the most exciting reveals in the Buffyverse.

#10 - The Buffy High School Reunion
It was a fun-filled two nights in NYC with an extra special Spike performance by our very own Bitsy.

We'd also like to add a very special thanks to the Guest Bloggers we've had throughout the year. We were lucky enough to get some amazing peeps to take over the posting reigns for a bit. A huge heap of gratitude goes out to JayUnderscoreZero (here and here), InyRules, Steph, Danner, Heidi, and Heroine_TV (Part I and Part II).

Buffy, Twilight and Obama Walk Into a Bar: Update with Scott Allie

SLIGHT SPOILERS!

Is Buffy corrupted beyond repair? Are Dawn and Xander a perverted mockery of a couple? Is Obama really putting Twilight Kool-Aid in the Swine Flu vaccine? You can find all these answers and more in the recent interview we had with Dark Horse Comic's Super Scott Allie.

Buffyfest: Last year at NYCC, I asked you a question about theme in Buffy Season 8. You weren't able to answer because the comic was in its early stages, but now, 3/4 of the way through, can you comment on what you think is/are the overall theme(s) of the story?

Scott Allie: Sorry, still a no-go! I'll start being apparent in the next few months.

Buffyfest: There's been a lot of talk on the “internets” about Buffy's corruption and how it's been sitting heavy on the Season. Do you think Buffy's been corrupted by power or is this just a girl who's stressed out and/or maybe a little jaded?

Scott Allie: I don't know that power corrupted her so much as pressure. But I do think she's made some unfortunate compromises.

Buffyfest: What do you think those compromises are?

Scott Allie: Well, I agree with fans that financing her operations with theft is not a very heroic thing. But I think Buffy is a very imperfect hero, so I don't think it's so much out of character, as some fans have suggested, but rather a not so positive bit of character development.

Buffyfest: Regarding Obama's reveal as Twilight, did he get his superpowers from a new socialist health program that helps boost people's strength in order to fight against the free market?

Scott Allie: Like all lesser deities, he got his powers from the sacrifices and devotion of his followers. So basically Season Eight ends when everyone loses faith in him, he loses his invulnerability, and becomes an easy target. I'm still talking about Twilight, right?

Buffyfest: Can you give us one personality trait that would characterize the person under the Twilight mask?

Scott Allie: I cannot.

Buffyfest: Doesn't hurt to try. Moving on. There's been a lot of nay-saying over Xander and Dawn's relationship. Why do you think people are so reluctant to embrace this pairing? Was this issue something you and Joss talked about before the story was released?

Scott Allie: We knew it was coming. We never hesitated. We knew people would hate it because of their history, but I guess we disagree. I don't think that age difference would stop many people. I think 200-year-old Angel (and slightly younger Spike) hooking up with high-school-age (or slightly older) Buffy is a lot worse, and we're all still arguing about which one of those relationships was the most True Love. Xander knew her as a child--when he was a slightly older child. Xander's pretty immature, would’ve met her when she was in 6th grade or so. He wasn't changing her diapers.

Buffyfest: Speaking of controversial relationships, we had Buffy and Satsu, Xander and Dawn and Willow's cheating scandal with the Snake Lady, Saga Vasuki. Are there any other shocking parings yet to be seen in Season 8? If so, without going in to detail, what makes it controversial in your eyes?

Scott Allie: Yes, and no, I won't say.

Buffyfest: Continuing with Willow, the One-Shot comes out soon. Besides Kennedy, will we see any other Buffy characters in the story?

Scott Allie: Ohhhhhhhh yeah.

Buffyfest: Switching gears to some of the other Whedonverse titles: With the success of the Dr. Horrible One-Shot, do you think doing a mini or an ongoing in that universe is viable?

Scott Allie: Viable, yeah, and we have specific plans, not ready fo' unveiling.

Buffyfest: What about Sugar Shock? Any chance we'll be seeing more stories there?

Scott Allie: I doubt it. Maybe. Next time he feels like doing something like that, I suspect he'll make up something new.

Buffyfest: Did you watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles before it was canceled? I loved it! Is there anything you can tell us about the overall time frame of Zack Whedon's Terminator story or how it links to the television show and/or any of the movies?

Scott Allie: All I'll say is that the Terminator license is a very strange thing. Unique in such properties, the original movie, T2, Salvation, and the show are all separate licenses--like Angel and Buffy are. So we only have the original movie. So we're focusing on characters from the film, and situations from the film, and nothing from the other films, or the show.

Buffyfest: With Exurbia coming to "My Space Dark Horse Presents", will it be a continuation of the story with characters like The Rat making appearances or is this a whole new story?

Scott Allie: It takes place before the graphic novel, focused on The Rat. At first we thought we'd do Gage, but while we were on that book tour where we saw you, we came up with this story. I think it's because we were listening to Patton Oswalt's “My Weakness Is Strong”, with all its rat humor...

Buffyfest: As you know, like many women, I was introduced to the comic world through Buffy Season 8. What do you think would attract readers like me to the pulp fictional character of Solomon Kane which you’ve written the next installment for (being released in January)?

Scott Allie: Ohhh, I dunno. Kane is really traditional adventure stuff. For Joss, the monsters are sort of secondary concerns. The monsters are pretty central to Kane. I'm actually surprised at how many women are fans of Conan (created by the same writer as Kane). I think those women will dig Kane, but women who come to comics through Buffy might find Exurbia or Devil's Footprints an easier next step into comics. The Kane artist really likes gore.

Buffyfest: Finally, do you have any comments on the recent cancellation of Dollhouse? Any plans to continue the story in comic form?

Scott Allie: No plans, but we talk. Right now it's just time for him to wrap things up. I loved how Season Two started, much more than Season One. I thought he'd nailed it, and it was like they played a game to see how they could screw it up. Fox %#$@ed this really nice guy.

Check out this quick preview of the Willow One-Shot being released this Wednesday.

Holy Geekery! Dr. Horrible and The Guild Screening in Los Angeles

I've been to a bunch of Whedonverse events in the past few years, but Friday night was my first experience on the West Coast. The Guild and Dr. Horrible screenings were held at the awesome Egyptian Theater right in the heart of Hollywood. When we first got to this sold out event, we found our seats about 10 rows back and surrounded by a lovely bunch of people including Joel Champagne (great name), the West Side Browncoat extraordinaire! We were serenaded with the music from OMWF while we waited and fun fact, while Ivan was getting me popcorn, he saw Dichen Lachman standing in the ticket line. No guest list, I guess? Envor Gjokaj was also in attendence (so handsome) and there was a rumor that Amy Acker was there, but I saw no such sighting.

Check out this adorable mini Dr. Horrible who probably had more requests for photos than Joss Whedon himself.

They screened the entire Season 2 of The Guild and the music video "Do you want to Date My Avatar?" I had never seen The Guild before and I really enjoyed it. I'll be checking out the rest of the Seasons in the very near future.

After Dr. Horrible was finished and I cried over Penny's death for the millionth time, it was time for questions. Check out the video below for some of the panel discussion. There were some technical difficulties with shakiness and, unfortunately, the battery died 3/4 of the way through, but there's some fancy notes to enjoy even further down the page with all the info from the night.




- Felicia Day is an online gaming addict and after an intervention by a friend she quit playing. Shortly after, she started shooting The Guild in her house.

- Joss Whedon said Dr. Horrible was partly inspired by The Guild, the writer's strike and because he's a nerd.

- Dr. Horrible took 5 months in total from inception to streaming. it took 6 days to shoot and a few weeks to do the music.

- Ben Edlund (love him) was supposed to be part of Dr. Horrible, but he wasn't available at the time of production. Wonder if there would have been puppets?

- When The Guild first started shooting, none of the cast knew the gaming terms (except for Felicia Day) and they had to study up on their pronunciation.

- Fun Whedon family fact: Joss Whedon used to direct his brother's in movies when he was 8 years old. "Stupid Man" was the title of young Whedon's early film (cute).

After the panel discussion, the floor was opened up to the audience for questions:

- The first was the inevitable question of "Will there be a Dr. Horrible II?" The answer was "maybe" and they have "high hopes". They do have a title already, some songs and "3 1/2 jokes" written.

- Someone asked how Joss incorporates color theory into his filming. His answer, "Color is awesome."

- Felicia Day either can't poop when she drinks coffee or drinks coffee so she can poop. It wasn't clear enough to decipher.

- A fan asked if Joss could save the show Heroes. Zach Whedon answered that question with the awesome: "No one can save Heroes."

- Dr. Horrible was edited on Avid.

- Someone asked about the future of "rogue" entertainment on the internets. Joss said he tells people to get their friends together and do some funny stuff and he always gets the same reply of "...but you're friend is Nathan Fillion." Probably easier to shoot an internet film with Mal/Caleb/Capt. Hammer as your sidekick.

- One person asked if they could be friends with the panel. Joss responded, "Sadly, our quota is filled."

- Jed Whedon responded to a music composition question. He first writes the music and hopes for the lyrics to follow and if all else fails, he asks Joss to write some of it.

- A person wanted to know the title of the Dr. Horrible sequel. Joss wouldn't reveal, but they did come up with a few alternatives like Dr. Horrible: The College Years and Live Free or Dr. Horrible. Ha!

- A proud Firefly fan asked Joss what it is about him that makes us so invested in his work. Joss answered with a humble, "When you find out, let me know."

- There will be a Dr. Horrible: Commentary soundtrack released in the near future.

- As we all know, Cabin in the Woods will now be in 3D, but we'll have to wait another 11 months to see it.

So, that about covers the event and all its eventfulness. Oh, one more thing, check out the picture below and enjoy the irony my fellow Buffyfest Bloggers!

Recap: Dr Horrible Sing-Along and Joss Whedon Q&A benefit for 826NYC

Joss Whedon and Buffyfest, sadly minus Michelle

Joss Whedon hosted a Dr Horrible screening last night in New York City and Bitsy and I were there! This was all to benefit 826NYC. Joss showed up and worked the entire line outside, signing things and taking pictures. Once inside...well just check out the video below, which was Joss's intro of the evening:

The crowd was great, Dr. Horrible looked better than ever on the big screen and the singing was loud and rambunctious. Joss was just a few seats down from us and was also singing along. Ira Glass led the Q&A portion of the eveing right after the screening. What transpired was a very interesting interview of Whedon, indeed. I'll try and recap as best I can. (Please know that this was all shorthand and not entirely complete):

Dr horrible makes me sad. - Joss Whedon

Ira Glass: Are you knocking off Sondheim?

Joss Whedon: I knocked off Penny!

Joss spoke about the song "Slipping" originally being called "Rebuttal" and that he definitely takes cues, particularly from Sondheim. See the entire beginning portion here (Thanks, Lyssa!). He then spoke a bit about being inspired by films.

JW: When I was doing "Amends"...the thing that unlocked it for me was watching The Last Temptation of Christ. Just the emotional pain of what this guy had to do because it's right.

IG: What kind of stupid shit can you get away with in a Musical?

JW: "Deltoids of Compassion" might be the greatest thing I ever wrote. Musicals bring the broadest jokes, the loudest cry. Cursing in musicals is 10 times funnier.

They mentioned that Joss directed the Emmy bit that aired last night.

IG: Where did Moist come from? Is there anything else to say about a character like Moist? JW: You're underestimating the power of "damp". He comes from the mind of Ben Edlund.....So did Bad Horse which he pitched for Angel. Ironically, that horse was in episodes of both Angel and Dollhouse. We've used this horse 3 times!

In reference to Neil Patrick Harris's opening monologue in Dr. Horrible:

IG: Is he ad-libbing at all?

JW: (jokes) Never! (then coyly) I'm not as controlling as I uuuuused to be. I'm a "control enthusiast."

IG: (in response) It's an amazing monologue to watch. Is it take 50?

JW: I think it's take 4. Or maybe 6. It's a long monologue. I thought "It's a lot to ask of an audience"...but it's an internet musical! It's free!

In the clip below, Joss talks more about the opening monologue and then about the financial aspect of Dr. Horrible:

Joss would give us absolutely nothing about the Dr. Horrible sequel except that "Penny's still dead". See for yourself:

When Dollhouse came up, Ira Glass' first question was "Did Dollhouse feel like a Joss show?" (People in the audience proceeded to scream "No!")

JW: It did at first. Even the first pitch seemed territory uncharted, but at the same time natural. These stories are "me" stories.

Joss spoke about Eliza's acting saying "Eliza is capable playing someone who is actually classy." instead of just tough. He mentioned a bunch of roles she's played and Bitsy then shouted "Bring it on!"

JW: the "Bring it on" girl is both tough and conservative.

JW: [Dollhouse] became just a scoach too whore-y. Never had a better meeting, everything was great, then they [FOX] said "so they're kinda like prostitutes and that's not ok" Word came down that it wasn't ok. I wanted to make a show thats about feeling bad about feeling good or good about feeling bad. Fantasy is just that, fantasy. FOX wanted to back away from these implications. Every episode is ridiculously hard because the central core has been ripped out just enough, that we're constantly dancing around our own premise.

JW: I only do ensemble shows ...you don't hire Olivia Williams for exposition.

IG: You're about 6 episodes in the season now?

JW: About halfway through yeah.....and we've written 2 of then too! (laughs)

Regarding the episode "Epitaph One":

JW: We didn't want a Firefly where it's "interuptus" but we also didn't want to close the book. Plus, we also had FOX which needed another episode (and me thinking it eventually would air). We couldn't do a clip show, showing the pilot would be stupid. We could do this fast. It would be a bottle show. A bottle show means "let's shoot on the set we have, we've run out of money."

[Apparently another example of "Bottle Show" was the Angel episode "Spin the Bottle" - all shot on the Hyperion set.]

Ira Glass seemed baffled by the fact that a Whedon show always has strong women but with an older "dude" that she needs. See below for that conversation:

They spoke a bit about Joss's father:

JW: Since the day I started writing he's been nothing but supportive.

IG: What does he say about the fatherless characters on your shows?

JW: It doesn't come up....were WASPS! (laughs) My relationship with my older brothers and father was tough, but over dinner we spoke about it one day and that was it. "This always bothered me, "well this always bothered me", "Good talk." But the damage was done (audience laughs) and I get to give it to all of you.

Glass had a question about the art in the Buffy comics. Apparently his wife noticed that when the comics started, the boobs on the women matched those of the original actresses. But now, "the boobs are getting bigger".

JW: I've always been pretty specific about the breasts in my comics. I probably shouldn't be saying this. (laughs) But there's a certain form they're used to drawing and they revert back and I don't notice.........so is Willow like stacked? (audience laughs)

They got into Joss having a hard time with being a leader:

JW: My version of being nice is avoiding conflict, not telling the cast what they do wrong and then firing them. (audience laughs) I write about being a leader...making a decision that makes you less of a person. I find it fascinating in Mal, the later seasons of Buffy, in Adele. For me, it's really hard.

He had a hard time with a leadership role he had in college, then he found he could lead people with kindness.

IG: What happened that you realized you weren't having a firm enough pimp hand?

JW: Were not talking about Dollhouse. (audience laughs)
IG: So were you trying to be their friends?

JW: Yeah, it was cool and then it got messy. It always gets messy.

IG: What would've happened if Firefly had continued? (someone screams, "IT WOULD'VE BEEN AWESOME!)

JW: It's hard to talk about. Recently, I was going over a scene with Mal in a bar at the end of an episode and I actually got a little teary...then I wake up from that daze and I realize that's never gonna happen.

Glass tries to press what this "lost" Firefly scene was about.

JW: Intimate things and I have a few if them... I'm not going to share. Had the show continued, I'll tell you one thing, Wash would've been alive! (Applause)

IG: Is TV a good place right now to make interesting work?
JW: Getting harder for networks and the way people are entertained is changing. I didn't think I was gone from TV for that long but so much has changed. What they refer to as a "6 act structure," or what we refer to in the writers room as an unholy mess, it creates false act breaks. Someone says "pass the salt" cut to commercial. Really? The salt? Can't you just not pass it? (audience laughs)

JW: They tried with Dollhouse and Fringe shorter commercials...which meant 10 more minutes of show, which was prolly the most crippling decision they could've made. But they're out there trying different stuff. The most interesting venues right now are AMC, HBO. For me there was this little golden era of television. Little places that no longer exist called the WB and UPN...indie TV. Janet Jackson's nipple caused the FCC problems and the whole culture seemed to retract. "No side boob." Every week we get this note. "no side boob" Ira responds, "Really?"

IG: A question that might be embarrassing...Do you go back and watch old episodes of your own shows?

JW: It is embarrassing. After my wife would go to sleep I'd put Buffy in (slyly motions the dvd player closing).

IG: Which ones would you watch?

JW: The ooooones directed by meeee. (audience laughs) It's funny, cause it's true. (more laughs) The reactions would surpise me, though. It watch "Restless" and think "that's good", I'd watch "Hush" and eh...it's not all that.

Ira's final question was a pretty awesome one, regarding half a dozen Reavers vs. half a dozen Vamps. Check that exchange out below:

Here are some more photos of the evening:

Dr. Horrible Wins an Emmy!

Dr. Horrible is one step closer to ruling the world. Yes, it's true, the Doctor, the Captain and the Whedon's have won a little prize for being outstanding. Of course, we all knew this already, but it's always nice when someone else notices. Congrats!

*Updated with amazing pic! Go here to check out Maurissa Tancharoen's photo stream from the Emmys.

Top 8 Happy Moments (Sorta) in the Whedonverse

Last week, inspired by an SFX article, Buffyfest came up with our own list of the Whedonverse's Greatest Tearjerkers which you can find here. We've decided to balance out the sadness with some of the happy, albeit fleeting, moments throughout the years. Trust me, it's much harder than you'd think and I'm not sure anyone will leave this post feeling happy. Sorry.

"I Will Remember You"

Buffy and Angel in bed and laughing with ice cream. It's a rare moment when you see either of these two so happy and relaxed, so when they're doing it together, it must be a really happy moment. Of course, we all know how that ultimately ends.

Dr. Horrible

Captain Hammer just might sleep with the same girl twice! But, then she dies.

"Sleep Tight"

The beginning and I mean only the beginning of that episode. Angel is all "Daddy's here" when Connor is fussing. He's so happy and then...and then...damn you Wes.

"Bad Eggs"

Buffy's grounded at the end of that episode, but she's all smiles as she secretly smooches with Angel through her bedroom window. Uh, that episode ends well I guess, but then..oh, never mind.

"All the Way"

There's really nothing funny about Season Six at all, but Anya's excitement about her engagement to Xander is one of the happy moments. Of course, she eventually gets left at the alter and then sliced in half a year later, so...yeah, okay, moving on.

"Passion"

Giles is about to get back with the woman he loves and he's about to (one would assume) get some, so he's all smiles as he enters his house to find the lights dim, rose petals strewn on the floor and...oh, dammit.

"Seeing Red"

Willow and Tara get back together and they're happy and Dawn's happy for them, but as I mentioned above, Season Six will suck the happy out of anyone, so by the end of the episode Willow's all, "Tara? Come on baby. Get up." I hate you Powers that Be (meaning Joss)!

"Graduation Day Part II"

The end when the gang is sitting outside the school and Oz tells them to take a moment. They graduated/survived. That's a happy one, right? It doesn't matter that Buffy's beau just skipped town leaving her with a bite mark scar and a bunch of other internal scars that will last till the end of the show and that Cordy ends up with visions that nearly kill her, but not before an evil god takes over her body and Willow goes evil and Oz skips town and Xander dumps his bride. Oh well, I tried.

And Honorable Mention goes to...

"Surprise"

Even though there's nothing truly happy in this episode, attention must be given to the fact that Angel was REALLY happy by the last scene, enough to make his soul go bye-bye.

Screencaps courtesy of Screencap-Paradise