[Media] Joss Whedon, the greatest thing to happen to Film ever ?

[Shinzai]

Don't forget writing the screenplay for Alien: Resurrection! He's managed to keep that very hush-hush ever since. xD

Surprisingly, his original Resurrection design was more like Firefly, with Aliens. However, the way that particular film turned out is more to blame on the director of City of Lost Children - Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Almost everything wrong with it is down to Jeunet and the film feels over all far more like one of his twisted adventures than anything Whedon would have made. The only things that potentially linger from Whedon's designs are the mercenary's characters and interactions. The start of the film feels a *lot* like it's Whedon directing it, then it kind of just goes insane and way over to Jeunet's own designs (he Wormtongue-esque scientist onwards).

To quote Whedon:

"It wasn't a question of doing everything differently, although they changed the ending; it was mostly a matter of doing everything wrong. They said the lines...mostly...but they said them all wrong. And they cast it wrong. And they designed it wrong. And they scored it wrong. They did everything wrong that they could possibly do. There's actually a fascinating lesson in filmmaking, because everything that they did reflects back to the script or looks like something from the script, and people assume that, if I hated it, then they’d changed the script...but it wasn’t so much that they’d changed the script; it’s that they just executed it in such a ghastly fashion as to render it almost unwatchable."

[lzsg]

Wasn't it FOX that fucked up Firefly? Something about them airing the episodes in the complete wrong order so none of them made any sense.

Yeah, they did. It didn't completely ruin it, though. Even with the messed up viewing order it's the best sci-fi series I've seen. It's a mystery to me how more people didn't appreciate it.

OnT: I liked The Avengers, and loved Firefly. Whedon's great with large teams of 'lead' characters. That he is the greatest thing to happen to movies ever, though, is a notion I find ridiculous. I could rattle off a list of directors and writers I find superior but it still wouldn't properly answer the question of what person is the greatest/most important filmmaker ever. It's too vague a question.

[Kane49]

Yeah, they did. It didn't completely ruin it, though. Even with the messed up viewing order it's the best sci-fi series I've seen. It's a mystery to me how more people didn't appreciate it.

OnT: I liked The Avengers, and loved Firefly. Whedon's great with large teams of 'lead' characters. That he is the greatest thing to happen to movies ever, though, is a notion I find ridiculous. I could rattle off a list of directors and writers I find superior but it still wouldn't properly answer the question of what person is the greatest/most important filmmaker ever. It's too vague a question.

Its not a question that has an answer but a good way to incite discussion with people that actually know the subject :P

[Baiyn]

Surprisingly, his original Resurrection design was more like Firefly, with Aliens. However, the way that particular film turned out is more to blame on the director of City of Lost Children - Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Almost everything wrong with it is down to Jeunet and the film feels over all far more like one of his twisted adventures than anything Whedon would have made. The only things that potentially linger from Whedon's designs are the mercenary's characters and interactions. The start of the film feels a *lot* like it's Whedon directing it, then it kind of just goes insane and way over to Jeunet's own designs (he Wormtongue-esque scientist onwards).

To quote Whedon:

"It wasn't a question of doing everything differently, although they changed the ending; it was mostly a matter of doing everything wrong. They said the lines...mostly...but they said them all wrong. And they cast it wrong. And they designed it wrong. And they scored it wrong. They did everything wrong that they could possibly do. There's actually a fascinating lesson in filmmaking, because everything that they did reflects back to the script or looks like something from the script, and people assume that, if I hated it, then they’d changed the script...but it wasn’t so much that they’d changed the script; it’s that they just executed it in such a ghastly fashion as to render it almost unwatchable."

Huh. I had no idea. Well, that redeems him a little for that particularly transgression, I suppose.

That kind of pulpy jumble is definitely perceptible now that you've pointed it out.

[Shinzai]

Huh. I had no idea. Well, that redeems him a little for that particularly transgression, I suppose.

That kind of pulpy jumble is definitely perceptible now that you've pointed it out.

Sorry about having to bring it up, it's just that Alien 3 & 4 irk me to extents I can't control. 3 could've been a masterpiece if David Fincher didn't have 6 months to finish a film with half a script that he rewrote during nights instead of sleeping and Whedon could've given the series a genuine and needed freshening out... *storms off to rage about the descent of the Aliens films as a whole rather than dragging the topic off the beaten track*

[Jon]

Ha ha, no.

Anyone thinking so must have a very limited knowledge of film history.

Don't get me wrong, he's good, but far from the greatest thing.

[Seani]

I really liked dollhouse, was hoping for a season 3

[Baiyn]

Sorry about having to bring it up, it's just that Alien 3 & 4 irk me to extents I can't control. 3 could've been a masterpiece if David Fincher didn't have 6 months to finish a film with half a script that he rewrote during nights instead of sleeping and Whedon could've given the series a genuine and needed freshening out... *storms off to rage about the descent of the Aliens films as a whole rather than dragging the topic off the beaten track*

Nah, don't worry about it. 'Tis interesting trivia. Plus, I hold quite a disdain for 3 and 4 myself, Alien and Aliens being two of my favourite films. 3 had some interesting bits like the human inspiration for Bishop's model, but a lot of it was meh. Oh well, perhaps Whedon will be an Anti-George Lucas in his old age and go back and actually improve old films!

[quikbunny]

call me sour, but Avengers was a good FUN movie, but the way everyone hyped it, that's all it really was in my opinion an Over-hyped Over-rated Movie. Had little to NO substance.

It was a COMIC BOOK movie, it's meant to be fun not deep.

[Halicia]

Wasn't it FOX that fucked up Firefly? Something about them airing the episodes in the complete wrong order so none of them made any sense.

Yes. They skipped the first two Pilot episodes to 'jump into the action without introducing the characters', and it only went downhill from there.

If Firefly had been released today in the same manner, it would have bombed equally.

I *adore* Firefly, but most of Whedon's 'gold' is trash. Mind you, I'm more then happy to see fantasy and scifi coming out of the cults and into the mainstream... but sigh... I wish there was a greater depth and meaning to be found in more of this.

[Howard Moon]

I fell asleep during The Avengers.

But I'm not into the whole superhero movie thing. Iron Man was "meh", didn't watch Thor, hated Spider Man, Dark Knight is totally overrated.... sorry, just not my thing.

[Fuzzzie]

That's a bit of a stretch. He's very good making films targeted at his audience. He does well in a broad sense, but I don't think he would fare well outside his comfort zone.

[Sissyfoo]

I think he is one of the best writers around, be it comics or tv or movie but he isn't perfect by any means. Alien 4 was pretty dire although he only wrote the screenplay and, according to him, the director didn't really do it justice. Not sure what the original screenplay was like but listening to the bluray commentary I can easily imagine that the french director was responsible for a large amount of the fuckery that went on with that movie. Not that Joss is blameless though.

I never really enjoyed Dollhouse either, tbh. He is brilliant but how brilliant is pretty subjective depending on your tastes, I guess.

[Riyan2]

It's okay to go irrationally overboard when it comes to Joss Whedon. He's killed off characters you love and you still come back for more. That's a storyteller right there.