Random thoughts on the Buffy reboot

[sombrefan]

I've identified two people who actually want it.

Is it just me or is that writer being prepped as the sacrificial lamb if it all goes wrong?

A Jane Espenson reboot would have been better and would get more of the online fandom on board.

Joss Whedon is still trending highly worldwide on Twitter. At one stage he was getting more tweets written about him than the North Korean war. Which is a somewhat sad indictment of our pop culture crazed world.

They can only ruin Buffy and none of the other existing characters.

Since it's not a Whedon project, it'll be getting very limited coverage at Whedonesque.

Comments

[angearia.livejournal.com]

Nope, they can't ruin Buffy.

Agree about Jane. And I think Whit is already being roasted over the pit which only means I'm going to be defending her without even knowing much about her (underdogs and all that).

I've read half a dozen positive reactions to it. Which are accompanied by "simmer down, fandom, you're having a spaz attack".

[rua1412.livejournal.com]

As I said to Sue early...

For me the authors here, had a smart idea doing this remake... it doesn't matter if you hate (I hate the idea btw) or you love the idea... in both case you are doomed to watch this movie to have a fair chance to say: "It sucks!" or "It's awesome!".

[simonf.livejournal.com]

"And I think Whit is already being roasted over the pit"

There is a lot of vitriol being thrown her way by the fandom and everyone else writing about it. But the conspiracy theorist in me thinks the Warner Bros is pushing her to the forefront so she and not they will get the flak. They can take the money and run and Whitney is left dealing with the online attacks. The corporate machine is very fond of those tactics.

[angearia.livejournal.com]

I wish she had a blog or something. I get the impression she's a nice person and I liked what she had to say about Buffy.

Would they really do that to her? Eh. I suppose it's possible. I'm distrustful enough of corporations to entertain the idea.

[simonf.livejournal.com]

"I wish she had a blog or something."

That would help. There does seem to be a lot of suspicion regarding a writer who has come out of nowhere to reboot a beloved character. I find it a bit odd myself. Though I suppose writers have to start somewhere.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

But the conspiracy theorist in me thinks the Warner Bros is pushing her to the forefront so she and not they will get the flak.
Yes, putting her interview in the "Hero Complex" column was strange. They usually make interviews with well-known people.

I want to root for her but I can't get rid of the feeling that TheWB plans to produce a very Meyeresque reboot.

[2maggie2.livejournal.com]

I'm baffled by all the fuss. It's a completely different project so why does anybody care?

Your last line was interesting, given that you do pay attention to a lot of non-Whedon projects that are based on his characters but which are done without his input!

[simonf.livejournal.com]

He does sign off on the books and the comic books at the end of the day and they are projects that use his characters.

[ruthless1.livejournal.com]

I think she's the sacrificial lamb. They are touting her looks as being relevant to the project. Asshats - the lot of them. Or a Hollywood marketing machine run amok. Why does this not surprise me.
I just don't like the fact that they are rebooting only 8 years after the show was on tv. It just seems silly. And a big fat bunch of smack in the face for Joss.

[angearia.livejournal.com]

I don't really care how Whedonesque chooses what topics to cover, that's obviously y'all's choice and I respect that, but...

I'd say Joss' involvement and approval of IDW's Aftermath and Willingham's issues he penned before IDW and DH had the joint kumbayaa is similar to this situation.

In both cases, a rival company that Joss was not working with was using his characters he'd created. Just as IDW had legal right to produce the ANGEL comics that Joss couldn't publish when he wanted to, the WB has legal rights to produce a Buffy movie which Joss can't make even though he (hypothetically) wants to because someone other than himself owns the rights. 20th Century controls the tv/comics license. Sandollar and the Kuzuis control the movie license. They're all Joss' characters being bandied around by other companies and he's not in a position to stop them really--it's only because 20th Century Fox wants to continue a working relationship that he gets deferential treatment for things (say, buying back a license that was sold that he wished hadn't been).

I understand not wanting to cover the reboot on Whedonesque because it's not a Whedon-run project that is using Whedon-created characters and through all the self-deprecating humor, clearly that's not a happy thing for Joss. But it didn't really occur to me until I saw Maggie's comment that a lot of stuff that doesn't really qualify gets linked to. Personally, I consider the reboot of Whedon's most iconic character to be pretty noteworthy and of interest to Whedonverse fans than say a book Brad Meltzer is writing because he happened to pen a few Buffyverse issues.

I think we see things a bit differently, of course. I guess I'm not quite clear on how you do see it, actually.

[simonf.livejournal.com]

Regarding Brad, he does now fall under the "cast & category" and once in a while mention does no harm. We do have a reputuation for covering projects of people who have worked with Joss. If it gets excessive, the items get deleted.

"Personally, I consider the reboot of Whedon's most iconic character to be pretty noteworthy and of interest to Whedonverse fans"

That it is but I have no desire to see a non-Joss project crowd out the likes of Buffy Season 8 & 9, Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. Those projects are the main focus for the site in the two/three years. And people can always talk about the reboot at our ancillary sites.

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

They're obviously throwing her into the fire. How many other unremarked writers get full articles with picture for something like that? I think she's a canary in the coalmine on this because at this point, it's still unlikely it'll even be made and even if it *does* it'll go through 3-4 script doctors before it hits the screen. There isn't a point to mentioning her at all other than to be the focalpoint of backlash.

I have little doubt they'd have liked to get JE or one of the Buffy writers, but they're loyal to Joss (as is 99% of Buffy's fanbase) and probably would've turned it down even for the big bucks.

They can't really ruin Buffy, though. The people who care about the character know it's about at canon as Buffy the Vampire Layer and the people that don't, don't care to begin with.