Marker says:
But to tell the truth, I no longer watch many films, only those by friends or curiosities that an American acquaintance tapes for me on TCM.[...] And I feed my hunger for fiction with what is by far the most accomplished source: those terrific American TV series like Deadwood, Firefly, or The Wire... There is a knowledge in them, a sense of story and economy, of ellipsis, a science of framing and of cutting, a dramaturgy, and an acting style that has no equal anywhere, and certainly not in Hollywood.
This DVD came out in June, but I didn't see anyone else post this.
[ edited by SoddingNancyTribe on 2008-01-28 17:52 ]
[ edited by bodamander on 2008-01-28 20:51 ]
theMidnighter | January 28, 05:26 CET
I hope Joss happens across this link/thread.
crossoverman | January 28, 05:40 CET
sungoesdark | January 28, 07:19 CET
Dana5140 | January 28, 08:30 CET
I, too, hope Joss sees this thread. This is high praise, indeed.
palehorse | January 28, 08:31 CET
TheJoyofZeppo | January 28, 10:57 CET
SoddingNancyTribe | January 28, 11:54 CET
I wonder whether the execs at Showtime or HBO think Joss is too genre-bound for their audiences, or are somehow unaware of him? He's such a perfect fit for them. HBO in particular is looking for shows now. Dollhouse sounds more like a show they could get behind than Fox, who will bail if the show doesn't perform immediately. Plus, I think that, as much as I love getting 22 episodes a season on regular tv, if I got 13 episodes where Joss had the time to polish and embellish the stories and then had longer than 8 days to film them, I'd be in heaven.
shambleau | January 28, 13:06 CET
Simon | January 28, 13:40 CET
As far as his main point about the best drama being TV shows like Firefly--well duh! It's not just the dramatic failure of movies due to the business pressures--we've seen how you can tell a richer story with a series. I also think there's a kind of incestuousness and resistance to fresh ideas in Hollywood that hurts movies more than non-reality TV--at least so far.
RBB | January 28, 14:35 CET
I love those Criterion DVDs, I just wish they weren't so expensive. The only ones I own are the ones people buy me for presents.
flakbait | January 28, 16:07 CET
I wonder whether the execs at Showtime or HBO think Joss is too genre-bound for their audiences, or are somehow unaware of him? He's such a perfect fit for them.
I doubt HBO would think of Whedon as too genre-bound, since they were apparently strongly considering a straight fantasy show (an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire) when the strike hit. But him working for HBO isn't going to happen anytime soon. He still has a development deal with 20th Century TV from before Firefly. It was suspended for awhile, but it's apparently back in effect now with Dollhouse, and anyway, suspended isn't terminated, so he'd have to go through them to make any TV show.
Now, just because he has a deal with 20th, doesn't mean the show has to air on Fox. After all, Buffy and Angel were produced by 20th and they didn't air on Fox. But it gives Fox the right of first refusal, so Fox the network would have to pass on it first before it could be shopped around to other networks. And HBO, apparently, doesn't air any original TV that isn't produced by their in-house studio for whatever reason. I don't think that's Showtime's policy though, so they remain a remote possibility.
Mad Axe | January 28, 19:29 CET
aimstomisbehave | January 28, 20:05 CET
WilliamTheB | January 29, 01:01 CET
Y'all are watching 'The Wire', right?
Revello | January 29, 01:23 CET
Then buying the incredible Six Feet Under Season 1 and subscribing to The Movie Network to catch up on Season 2 and the debut of Season 3 (HBO's zenith series as far as I'm concerned, forget The Sopranos, great as that also--sometimes--was and yeah I've seen all six seasons and liked the controversial ending). While all that multi-HBO-series viewing was going on, there was also the beautiful and ambitious Carnivale (Season 1 is slow-build-to-big-finish perfection, while Season 2 had some good stuff but suffered greatly from the loss of Ron Moore heading to Battlestar Galactica), Entourage, and Big Love (hey, I like it, and the subject matter is interesting. And Season 2 built on Season 1 nicely and blew it out of the water).
Oh and wouldn't wanna forget a little piece of brilliance called Deadwood.
I might be forgetting some.
Anyway, I love HBO. I love Showtime & FX too, far as premium cable goes (and TMN in Canada--Slings & Arrows, anyone ?), from what I've seen of theirs...Joss would fit on HBO. I'd love to see what he could do uncensored and with complete artistic freedom.
The Wire is waiting until I've gotten around to Rome. I think after that, I'll have seen every notable series HBO's ever done (don't care about Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Kris | January 29, 18:06 CET
RhaegarTargaryen | January 29, 19:52 CET