Joss Whedon, A Creative Portrait: From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Marvel's The Avengers

by David Lavery

Overview

Spring 2012 saw the returban to creative and critical success of Joss Whedon, with the release of both his horror flick The Cabin in the Woods and the box-office sensation, Marvel's The Avengers. After establishing himself as a premier cult creator, the man who gave us great television with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and web series Dr Horrible's Sing-along Blog, as well as comic books including Fray and Astonishing X-Men, finally became the filmmaker he'd long dreamed of being. Drawing on a wide variety of sources and making use of psychologist Howard Gruber's insights into the nature of the creative process, Joss, A Creative Portrait offers the first intellectual biography of Whedon, tracking his career arc from activated fan boy to film studies major, third generation television writer, successful script doctor, innovative television auteur, beloved cult icon, sought-after collaborator, and major filmmaker with Marvel's The Avengers. Film and television scholar and Whedon expert David Lavery traces Whedon's multi-faceted magic from its source - the early influences of parents and teachers, comics, books, movies, collaborators - to its artistic incarnation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848850309
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/24/2013
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

David Lavery is Chair in Film and TV at Brunel University. He is co-editor of the online jourbanal 'Slayage' (on the "Whedonverse"), and a founding editor of 'Critical Studies in Television' jourbanal. His many books on US TV drama today include 'Reading "The Sopranos'" and 'Reading "Deadwood'", both from I.B. Tauris, as well as volumes on 'X-Files', 'Heroes', 'Lost', 'Seinfeld' and 'Twin Peaks'.

Table of Contents

Introduction - From the Mind of Joss Whedon: An overview of (1) the book's approach (Howard Gruber's case study method for understanding the nature creative work) and (2) Whedon's imaginative signatures.
Chapter One - Television Son: In which the offspring of two generations of television writers, John Whedon and Tom Whedon, enters this dimension.
Chapter Two - Fan Boy: In which the young Joss Whedon grows up under a variety of high and popular cultural influences.
Chapter Three - Film Studies Major: In which a creator-in-the-making goes to college and falls under the influence of the movies and professors like Jeanine Basinger and Richard Slotkin.
Chapter Four - Television Writer: In which the college grad goes West in hope of realizing his dreams and gets stuck in television.
Chapter Five - Creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I): In which his first film script (and greatest creation) is ruined by others and disillusionment sets in.
Chapter Six - Script Doctor: In which Whedon tries his hand (with some success) at saving the work of others.
Chapter Seven - Creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (II): In which the F. Scott Fitzgerald "no second acts" maxim is proven false and a botched movie becomes a TV masterpiece.
Chapter Eight - Creator of Angel and Firefly: In which the Whedonverse expands and the pains of cancellation are known.
Chapter Nine - Joss Whedon, Television Auteur: In which Whedon's signature writing and directing are elucidated through examination of such singular episodes as "Hush," "Restless," "The Body," "Once More with Feeling," "Waiting in the Wings," and "Objects in Space."
Chapter Ten - Comic Book Author: In which a childhood dream comes true as the fan boy authors Fray, Astonishing X-Men, Runaways, and Buffy Season Eight.
Chapter Eleven - Creator of Serenity: In which a failed television series becomes a movie.
Chapter Twelve - "You think you know, what you are, what's to come. You haven't even begun": In which predictions are made about the future achievements of Joss Whedon.

Afterword - Michael Bay vs. Joss Whedon, Weapons to be Determined: In which two Wesleyan alumni square off, caveman vs. astronaut, for the future of the imagination.

Notes
Bibliography
Index