Joss Whedon

Author: Amy Pascale
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1613741073
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 460

Book Description
From the cult favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which netted four million viewers per episode, to the summer blockbuster The Avengers, which amassed a box office of $1.5 billion, Joss Whedon has made a name for himself in Hollywood for his penchant for telling meaningful, personal tales about love, death, and redemption even against the most dramatic and larger-than-life backdrops. This biography follows his development from a creative child and teenager who spent years away from his family at an elite English public school, through his early successes—which often turned into frustrating heartbreak in both television (Roseanne) and film (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)—to his breakout turn as the creator, writer, and director of the Buffy television series. Extensive, original interviews with Whedon's family, friends, collaborators, and stars—and with the man himself—offer candid, behind-the-scenes accounts of the making of groundbreaking series such as Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse, as well as new stories about his work with Pixar writers and animators during the creation of Toy Story. Most importantly, however, these conversations present an intimate and revealing portrait of a man whose creativity and storytelling ability have manifested themselves in comics, online media, television, and film.

Joss Whedon

Author: David Lavery
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1604739258
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 219

Book Description
No recent television creator has generated more critical, scholarly, and popular discussion or acquired as devoted a cult following as Joss Whedon (b. 1964). No fewer than thirty books concerned with his work have now been published, and ten international conferences on his work have convened in the U.K., the United States, Australia, and Turkey. Fitting then that this first volume in University Press of Mississippi's Television Conversations Series is devoted to the writer, director, and showrunner who has delivered Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB, 1997–2001; UPN, 2001–3), Angel (The WB, 1999–2004), Firefly (2002), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Webcast, 2008), and Dollhouse (FOX, 2009-10). If Whedon has shown himself to be a virtuoso screenwriter/script-doctor, director, comic book author, and librettist, he is as well a masterful conversationalist. As a DVD commentator, for example, the consistently hilarious, reliably insightful, frequently moving Whedon has few rivals. In his many interviews he likewise shines. Whether answering a hundred rapid-fire, mostly silly questions from fans on the Internet, fielding serious inquiries about his craft and career from television colleagues, or assessing his disappointments, Whedon seldom fails to provoke laughter and reflection.

What We Keep

Author: Bill Shapiro
Publisher: Running Press Adult
ISBN: 0762462558
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 419

Book Description
With contributions from Cheryl Strayed, Mark Cuban, Ta-Nahesi Coates, Melinda Gates, Joss Whedon, James Patterson, and many more -- this fascinating collection gives us a peek into 150 personal treasures and the secret histories behind them. All of us have that one object that holds deep meaning--something that speaks to our past, that carries a remarkable story. Bestselling author Bill Shapiro collected this sweeping range of stories--he talked to everyone from renowned writers to Shark Tank hosts, from blackjack dealers to teachers, truckers, and nuns, even a reformed counterfeiter--to reveal the often hidden, always surprising lives of objects.

Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion

Author: Popmatters
Publisher: Titan Books
ISBN: 1781164576
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 792

Book Description
THE ESSENTIAL UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE WHEDONVERSE Joss Whedon's importance in contemporary pop culture can hardly be overstated, but there has never been a book providing a comprehensive survey of his career as a whole - until now. The Complete Companion covers every aspect of the Whedonverse through insightful essays and interviews, including fascinating conversations with key collaborators Jane Espenson and Tim Minear. Over 40 contributors have been brought together by PopMatters, the acclaimed international magazine of cultural criticism, to provide an irresistible mix of analysis, interpretation and sheer celebration. Whether you're a student looking for critical approaches to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or a Browncoat who follows Nathan Fillion on Twitter (or, let's face it, both) there is plenty here to enjoy. Covers all the TV series, movies, and comic books, including: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Fray, Astonishing X-Men, The Avengers... and more!

Joss Whedon

Author: Candace Havens
Publisher: BenBella Books
ISBN: 1932100008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 171

Book Description
Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy is a biography of Joss Whedon, the wunderkind creator of television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. From Booklist: Writers, actors, and fans often call Joss Whedon a genius. It's easy to see why. Whedon, who got his start writing for Roseanne, dreamed of writing movie screenplays. He got his shot when he sold his script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the movie fell far short of his hopes for it. After a few years of working as a script doctor, Whedon got the chance to doBuffy again, this time as a TV show. Few expected it to succeed, but Whedon's humor and intelligence shone through in the scripts, and viewers quickly became attached to the engaging, witty characters. Buffy kept getting better: each season of the show featured a complex story arc possessed of a real sense of danger and further developed the characters. The last few years have brought the Buffy spin-off Angel, the lamentably canceled Firefly (a space western), and the comic book Fray. Engaging and filled with fun quotes, this is a must-read for Whedon's many fans.

Joss Whedon

Author: Matthew Pateman
Publisher: Television Series
ISBN: 9780719077814
Category : Television producers and directors
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Book Description
A comprehensive analysis of Whedon's role in shaping the twenty-first-century TV landscape, featuring unique access to drafts of scripts and other source material. The book offers both detailed assessments of individual episodes and overarching histories of production. An essential and timely contribution to TV scholarship.

The Existential Joss Whedon

Author: J. Michael Richardson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786455306
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 205

Book Description
This study examines the major works of contemporary American television and film screenwriter Joss Whedon. The authors argue that these works are part of an existentialist tradition that stretches back from the French atheistic existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, through the Danish Christian existentialist Soren Kierkegaard, to the Russian novelist and existentialist Fyodor Dostoevsky. Whedon and Dostoevsky, for example, seem preoccupied with the problem of evil and human freedom. Both argue that in each and every one of us "a demon lies hidden." Whedon personifies these demons and has them wandering about and causing havoc. Dostoevsky treats the subject only slightly more seriously. Chapters cover such topics as Russian existentialism and vampire slayage; moral choices; ethics; Faith and bad faith; constructing reality through existential choice; some limitations of science and technology; love and self-sacrifice; love, witchcraft, and vengeance; soul mates and moral responsibility; love and moral choice; forms of freedom; and Whedon as moral philosopher.

The Philosophy of Joss Whedon

Author: Dean A. Kowalski
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 081313997X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
Every generation produces a counterculture icon. Joss Whedon, creator of the long-running television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is famed for his subversive wit, rich characters, and extraordinary plotlines. His renown has only grown with subsequent creations, including Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and the innovative online series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Through premises as unusual as a supernatural detective agency run by a vampire and a Western set in outer space, Whedon weaves stories about characters forced to make commonplace moral decisions under the most bizarre of circumstances. The Philosophy of Joss Whedon examines Whedon's plots and characterizations to reveal their philosophical takes on the limits of personal freedom, sexual morality, radical evil, and Daoism.

Serenity

Author: Joss Whedon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1593074492
Category : Adventure stories
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Book Description
The ragtag crew of Serenity--mercenaries, fugitives, and one law-abiding prostitute--pursue fast cash and a little peace along the fringes of space. On a scavenger mission that promises a big payoff, they realize too late that they are being played by an old enemy with a grudge.

Joss Whedon and Race

Author: Mary Ellen Iatropoulos
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786470100
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
Joss Whedon is known for exploring philosophical questions through socially progressive narratives in his films, television shows and comics. His work critiques racial stereotypes, sometimes repudiating them, sometimes reinvesting in them (sometimes both at once). This collection of new essays explores his representations of racial power dynamics between individuals and institutions and how the Whedonverse constructs race, ethnicity and nationality relationships.