Dear 20th Century Fox,

Please don't suck.

Lots of love,

The interweb.

gossi | October 23, 22:01 CET

Great article! ASH's role in Repo! the Genetic Opera is also mentioned, as is Buffy Season 8.

I loved the bits about Bruce Campbell (he directed a movie? awesome!) and Neil Gaiman.

Altogether a haven of geeky info.

ladygrey | October 23, 22:20 CET

Here, here, gossi. *raises her glass*

Love's Bitch | October 23, 22:30 CET

::crosses fingers, toes, legs, arms, and eyes, and then hobbles next door (no small feat) to do the same to the neighbors::

Meltha | October 23, 23:02 CET

Will Joss have to hurry and write the Ripper script before the writer's strike? Or are there different rules since it's for the BBC?

Succatash | October 23, 23:32 CET

Jesus Bruce, don't beat about the bush, tell us what you really think of the comic ;).

And how high are DC ? What, did they seriously think they wouldn't sell enough of a new Sandman story to cover Gaiman's going rate ? Uh huh, 'K.

And yep, come on rights people, do the rights thing.

(here are the WGA strike rules which Joss, if a member - and he almost certainly is - would need to abide by. Basically, he can't write for or even negotiate a deal with a struck company but whether the BBC is on that list i'm not sure, couldn't find it - maybe they won't release one until a strike is actually called. 20th Century Fox almost certainly will be though meaning he can't sign any rights agreements with them for the length of the strike)

Saje | October 23, 23:52 CET

Will Joss write it himself? Questions, questions.

gossi | October 23, 23:52 CET

What a horrible possibility you raise, Succatash. Egads.

I was wondering idly today when exactly "Ripper" might take place. Might it be set during the time Giles was in England during much of season six? That'd allow for Tony Head's current age. (I want Tony Head to play Ripper throughout. I'm not keen on an unknown Young Ripper stealing half the show. Maybe I'm being close-minded.) We still don't know much of what Giles was up to during that time frame, do we? We do know that he had witch friends who let him know about the evil a-brewin' that was Willow. So he had his nose to the supernatural ground while back there. Hmmmm. What else might he have gotten up to?

phlebotinin | October 23, 23:56 CET

This is great news (and an interesting article overall - thanks, Simon)! That Tony Head knows of specific negotiations, and a likely time for filming, makes it seem even more concrete. Not as concrete as "It's been approved and we're filming right now", of course - but still very exciting.

LKW | October 24, 00:03 CET

Dear 20th Century Fox,

GILES! On tv where they make Gileses! Pretty please? With bangers and mash on top.

Love,
A person in no way affiliated with the internet.

Sunfire | October 24, 01:01 CET

A tentative whooh and a cautious hooh.

Pointy | October 24, 02:24 CET

Heck, if it does come off it might have a Season 11 or 12 setting. (HEck, 13 might be meaningfully spooky.)

((I know nothing about Sid Haig except what I've seen in magazines but I saw a picture of him from a film he made in the late 60s and he was already well on his way to what he's now. Then again,when *I* was that age I looked like I do now except less grey.))

And I'm just guessing here but I have a feeling that considering how long this has been hanging fire, I doubt that, if it's for real now, the strike will last long enough to derail it.

DaddyCatALSO | October 24, 03:13 CET

And, very quietly, near the end of the article there was this:
"John Cassaday's work on “Astonishing X-Men” won him the award for Best Comic Book Artist."

WOOHOO!

catalyst2 | October 24, 04:04 CET

Ooh, sweet. Thanks for the link!

On a side-note, the news blurb about Neil Gaiman and the canceled Sandman series broke my heart. I think I may've been happier never knowing what could have been.

NimNams | October 24, 05:01 CET

This is good. Yes, very good.

UnpluggedCrazy | October 24, 06:52 CET

My little heart is beating faster! To have ASH confirm that there are talks... well! This is such good news.
And congrats to Cassaday - well deserved.

Lioness | October 24, 16:10 CET

Not that I am an expert on international labor laws but I seriously doubt any strike in Hollywood would affect Joss writing for BBC, as long as his employer is a BBC unit in the UK and NOT BBC America.

Bing that the dollar is weak and the pound is strong this will not exactly hurt Joss or Fox either.

Am I the only one who thinks BBC America president Garth Ancier (formerly of the WB) is involved with this in some way?

Jonas | October 24, 17:04 CET

True Jonas but he can't even enter negotiations with a US company (e.g. 20th Century Fox) for the rights without breaking the strike. Also, all the WGA have to do is put the BBC on the "struck" list and presto-bongo, Joss can't write for them - given the number of BBC/US co-productions in recent years I wouldn't be astonished if they did just that.

IANAL either though.

Saje | October 24, 17:19 CET

If Joss is bargaining for rights at all, it would be as a producer, not writer. And it would more likely be the studio (BBC) doing it, right? The script might be long finished, and immune from the strike.

[ edited by dreamlogic on 2007-10-24 15:04 ]

dreamlogic | October 24, 18:02 CET

Ah, so he can still negotiate as a producer for projects he then later goes on to write ? I see a lot of writers "extending" their skill set into production then in that case ;).

And yeah, i'd assume it'd be the BBC that would negotiate rights but from what I understand of the WGA strike rules, Joss can't even sign documents relating to a writing project with a struck company which he may have to do with 20th over rights - or on the other hand he may have absolutely nothing to do with it and just gets a phone call from a lawyer one morning saying "Good to go", i've no real idea how it works.

But yeah, best case, it's all written, the rights are outwith Joss' hands and we're this close to a greenlight.

Saje | October 24, 18:51 CET

If I understand correctly, the struck companies will be those that belong, voluntarily, to the association which negotiates with the union, and I believe these are all American companies. A union member should presumably never do work for a non-union American company at all, strike or not. There seem to be pretty complex rules about what is covered geographically, dealwise. They have to do with the country where the discussions and deal-making take place, among other things.

But I don't think the union claims to be an all-inclusive international organization, covering all screenwriters and their employers everywhere. The members of the employers' group are listed on the union's website, where the contract can also be found. The bbc is not listed, but maybe their production companies are- I wouldn't recognize them. Nor can I claim to understand the provisions of the contract on international deals. Not my area at all. Any labor lawyers around want to take a look?

[ edited by toast on 2007-10-24 17:01 ]

toast | October 24, 19:59 CET

Even if the strike goes away or Joss can do it because it's the BBC, it postpones production of Goners, no? Once that starts, you figure Joss will be working on it for a year or so if Serenity is any guide.

Assuming, of course, that Goners ever gets greenlit. Joss was supposed to have heard by now. Maybe a fantasy movie starring a woman is dead in the water at Universal too, not just at Warner Brothers.

shambleau | October 24, 21:27 CET

This is cool to hear. It makes me feel that Ripper's just that much closer...

As far as Goners is concerned, I'm not interested in it until I know it's been greenlit. I don't want to set myself up for double disappointment if Ripper falls apart. That's what I'll tell myself, anyhow. ;)

Dan Corson | October 24, 22:05 CET