So they finally did it.
They’ve decided to go ahead with the "Buffy" remake without Joss Whedon.
I wonder about this town. Then again, this is the same industry that made a cozy deal with James Frey of "Million Little Pieces" fame. Still, this … awfully hard to get your head around.
Let’s be clear this is a "Buffy" project that has NOTHING to do with the Joss Whedon "Buffy." Nothing to do with the TV show that ran for seven seasons. Nothing to do with the bestselling comic book continuation of that series. Nothing to do with the action figures, videogames or other merchandise which is all tied to the Whedon TV series.
It’s already pissing off the legions of Whedon fans, the very people this movie needs to court. If JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" taught us anything it’s don’t make your core constituency angry. Even a grouchy psycho like Mr. Plinkett appreciated the way Abrams carefully crafted his film to appease the fanbase. Wouldn’t you want the fansites like this one or this one ON your side?
Free marketing? Good internet buzz? That doesn’t interest you at all? How about avoiding negative publicity?
I mean you see things like "Cowboys & Aliens" and "Locke and Key" getting greenlit and made. Are those creators getting the creative stiff arm? What about the creator of "Walking Dead"? And meanwhile across town Joss is helming that small indie movie, "The Avengers." Yeah it’s too bad Whedon has no studio cred and can’t be trusted to reboot the franchise he invented.
Sarcasm’s running low. A sense of humor can only take me so far when NONE of this makes sense! Explain, Warner Brothers! This is really looking like a throwback to the bad old days of "Catwoman" when it seemed like producers and directors were too cool to actually read the material they were adapting. Then again, after seeing Jack Black get a wedgie in the "Gulliver’s Travels" trailer, it’s obvious that mentality isn’t dead.
OK. Trying to find a bright side for this. It’s almost certain to bring more attention to the original series than ever so that’s a good thing. And this group that’s producing and writing it is young and upcoming and I do feel sympathy for them. They’ve got their biggest break and their biggest nightmare all on the same day. Congrats, people. Just keep head covered and when the blows start just go limp. Don’t try and fight it; just roll with it
My greatest hope is this will be like the Ang Lee "Hulk." One of those fail upwards movies that prompts the studios to rereboot the franchise just a few years later the right way.