Whedonesque.com - The Joss Whedon Blog

February 03 2007

SATIN TIGHTS NO LONGER. Joss will not be fighting for our rights after all.

You (hopefully) heard it here first: I'm no longer slated to make Wonder Woman.
What? But how? My chest... so tight! Okay, stay calm and I'll explain as best I
can. It's pretty complicated, so bear with me. I had a take on the film that,
well, nobody liked. Hey, not that complicated.

Let me stress first that everybody at the studio and Silver Pictures were cool
and professional. We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind
of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the
time. I don't think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody
knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt
good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk.
I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have
differing views.

The worst thing that can happen in this scenario is that the studio just keeps
hammering out changes and the writer falls into a horrible limbo of development.
These guys had the clarity and grace to skip that part. So I'm a free man.

Well, sorta. There is that "Goners" movie I can finally finish polishing, and
plenty of other things in the hopper I've wanted to pursue. I'm as relieved as I
am disappointed, and both of those things lead to drink, so that's a plus.
Truly, you may be hearing some interesting things brewing in the coming months.
But all potential jets therein will be visible.

But most importantly, I never have to answer THAT question again!!!! And you
don't have to link to every rumor site! Finally and forever: I never had an
actress picked out, or even a consistant front-runner. I didn't have time to
waste on casting when I was so busy air-balling on the script. (No! Rim! There
was rim!) That's the greatest relief of all. I can do interviews again!

Thanks for your time. You are the people who make the world go 'round. Or, no,
science does that.

-joss

ps All right, it was Cobie Smulders. Sorry, Cobes.

I hope he was joking about Cobie Smulders. She's okay, but...

First, I wasn't aware that Joss Whedon was on the Wonder Woman project. Second, I wasn't aware there actually WAS a Wonder Woman project. Third, if there is/was a Wonder Woman project, as much as I like Joss Whedon, he would not be right for it. Everything I know about him from television doesn't seem to fit Wonder Woman and everything I know about Wonder Woman comes from when I was a young kid living in Europe with no television, reading comic books.

I wouldn't WANT to do a Wonder Woman movie if I was anyone who already had a reputation in movies or entertainment. First, the costume. You cannot change it because then it wouldn't be Wonder Woman, but SOMEHOW you have to make it look good in live-action on-screen (anything can look good in comics). Second, even though it was a TERRIBLE series way back when, you have to find someone that can fill out the costume the way that Linda Carter did, because that is actually what Wonder Woman looks like (she isn't a Buffy or a River). Third, you have to explain why a modern woman in the 21st century would wear that costume (even though she is actually an Ancient Greek Amazon). Fourth, in Wonder Woman comic books she was always getting tied up, so it was sort of like a pseudo-bondage kind of thing and although that was common back in serials from the forties and fifties, I don't know how that fits the woman as hero in modern movies.

Of course, you COULD just change everything. Maybe that is what they intend. But they changed Daredevil and that didn't work. They left Spiderman mostly the same and that DID work. Same with Superman. And Batman.

First, I wasn't aware that Joss Whedon was on the Wonder Woman project. Second, I wasn't aware there actually WAS a Wonder Woman project. Third, if there is/was a Wonder Woman project, as much as I like Joss Whedon, he would not be right for it. Everything I know about him from television doesn't seem to fit Wonder Woman and everything I know about Wonder Woman comes from when I was a young kid living in Europe with no television, reading comic books.

I wouldn't WANT to do a Wonder Woman movie if I was anyone who already had a reputation in movies or entertainment. First, the costume. You cannot change it because then it wouldn't be Wonder Woman, but SOMEHOW you have to make it look good in live-action on-screen (anything can look good in comics). Second, even though it was a TERRIBLE series way back when, you have to find someone that can fill out the costume the way that Linda Carter did, because that is actually what Wonder Woman looks like (she isn't a Buffy or a River). Third, you have to explain why a modern woman in the 21st century would wear that costume (even though she is actually an Ancient Greek Amazon). Fourth, in Wonder Woman comic books she was always getting tied up, so it was sort of like a pseudo-bondage kind of thing and although that was common back in serials from the forties and fifties, I don't know how that fits the woman as hero in modern movies.

Of course, you COULD just change everything. Maybe that is what they intend. But they changed Daredevil and that didn't work. They left Spiderman mostly the same and that DID work. Same with Superman. And Batman.

Yeah, I wasn't sure about Joss Whedon choosing to make yet another comic book based movie, though he does have a thing about female superheroes. And you're right, Lynda Carter was Wonder Woman (even though the series was lame). I do disagree about the costume thing though. The X-Men movies did have the mutants look different than us normals and there was some degree of costuming but Wolverine was pretty normal looking (except for the hair) and so were several others, so perhaps the comic book fans would accept a different looking Wonder Woman. The Batman sequels had costumes galore and they sucked (at least in my opinion). So many comic book based movies and so few good ones. I think it has to do with how the movie makers relate to the material and I think too may think they can make paint-by-numbers movies ("first we need a big name and then we need eye-popping special effects and then we need...."). A smart superhero movie may seem like a contradiction to them. Joss Whedon might have made a cool Wonder Woman movie but I was never sure why he wanted to.

...she is actually an Ancient Greek Amazon..

Greek Amazon...that's two different continents, at a time when there were only boats to cross the ocean.

Stephanie

/joking

...Fourth, in Wonder Woman comic books she was always getting tied up, so it was sort of like a pseudo-bondage kind of thing and although that was common back in serials from the forties and fifties, I don't know how that fits the woman as hero in modern movies.

As long as she ends up kicking the bad guy's butt into next week, I don't see a problem.

Besides, all those male superheroes were always getting caught and tied up, locked up, whatever. Was that some kind of soft porn too? I must have missed it...

The only thing I don't get is... why were the bad guys always shooting at her wrists?