A very good read. Thanks for the link. Always interesting to learn more about Joss.

Garim | June 13, 17:21 CET

Joss's observations about Hitchcock remind me of (non-fictional, non-principal movie critic) Robin Wood's in the excellent book, "Hitchcock's Films Revisited." It was interesting to learn that the Strawberry Blonde Auteur was a Brian DePalma fan -- I wonder what he thinks of Blow Out, Quentin Tarantino's favorite movie. Robin Wood, incidentally, finds feminist themes in both Hitchcock and DePalma.

I'd love to see the (doubtless non-existent) video of Jeanine Basinger's address.

Pointy | June 13, 18:02 CET

I was in the front row for this amazing keynote speech, with Mrs. Haunt furiously taking notes beside me (she'll have to decipher them for me before I could attempt to recreate any of them here), and I can tell you that everyone one of us in that auditorium wished we had a video camera. This address was definitely a highlight of the conference... more about which I discuss over on Dot Org.

(Edited to fix link... THIS is The Black, I posted on Dot Org. Oops.)

[ edited by Haunt on 2008-06-14 01:55 ]

Haunt | June 13, 18:27 CET

She seems like a very dedicated teacher and all together a great lady.

Sunfire | June 13, 18:34 CET

It occurs to me that perhaps His Purpleness read Wood's book and named the character after him.

Gag Halfrunt | June 13, 18:56 CET

You mean The White? Or the Grey? :)

zeitgeist | June 13, 18:57 CET

That was very cool to read and I have to say I am so jealous! What interesting insights into Joss' genius!

Linnea1928 | June 13, 19:08 CET

I listened to her on a DVD commentary of It, a Clara Bow movie. She was great. I've read a couple of her books, too, because I'm an old-movie buff. Lots of cool insights from a cool lady.

shambleau | June 13, 21:20 CET

Thank you for the excellent, detailed rundown, Haunt -- makes me want to read all the papers!

Pointy | June 13, 21:39 CET

Her students say that despite her strictness in the classroom (she does not tolerate absences or lateness or extensions AT ALL)...

Was she building a zombie robot on the side as well? Sounds rather similar to what Maggie Walsh told Willow about Oz.

zz9 | June 13, 21:57 CET

It occurs to me that perhaps His Purpleness read Wood's book and named the character after him.

Someone actually asked Ms. Basinger about the connection, if any, between Robin Wood the critic and Robin Wood the character, and she confirmed that Joss had, indeed, read the critic's work. Who's surprised?!

Maeve | June 13, 22:25 CET

I just did two long posts on Jeanine Basinger's speech on http://echidneofthesnakes.blogspot.com/ Some stuff is the same as what Nikki wrote, but I also have some other anecdotes. I also have some more stuff than I couldn't squeeze in, if anyone is still interested.

Now I've got to go to the .org site for the first time, to join my new friends, the Haunts!

Suzie | June 14, 00:01 CET

Awesome, Goddess of the Snakes! Digging your cameos in Season 8.

Pointy | June 14, 00:27 CET

That's my master, Echidne of the Snakes. I'm only her assistant blogger. But I sneak in references to the Whedonverses whenever I can.

Suzie | June 14, 06:56 CET

Thank you Simon, that was a great read.

Shey | June 14, 12:07 CET

Is there any possible way that one of the next Slayage conferences (preferably one where Joss might actually show up!) can be held somewhere in Oregon? The state here holds quite a bit of Whedonverse-centric events and/or groups, not to mention is also the home of Dark Horse Comics.


We need Jossy to finally come visit our fine and unique city, I say!

J Linc | June 14, 13:16 CET

I love Joss stories that inspire me to update my Netflix q. And talk of "Vertigo" reminds me -- every episode of Dollhouse kind of is "Vertigo," exploring the question: What is it that fuels one's desire to completely remake another human being into a character from one's fantasies? Robin Wood saw a "therapeutic" theme in Hitchcock: Characters learn by (a) indulging their fantasies, then (b) witnessing/suffering the consequences of (a). I am so excited about this show!

Pointy | June 14, 18:06 CET

J Linc the rumor is that the next one in 2010 will be held in Sacramento, CA (so not TOO far away from you). And Rhonda wasn't 100% certain that there would be another one after that. We all WANT there to be one, but she couldn't guarantee it just yet. Considering Dollhouse is coming out I think there will still be plenty of new papers to write even by 2012 (unless the Mayan calendar is right in which case none of it will really matter, eh?).

Mrs. Haunt and I are considering trying to pull some weight down here and get one set up for Birmingham, AL... but we ain't got much "weight" to pull around so it probably won't happen. *shrug*

Haunt | June 14, 19:03 CET

"Stop thinking of why the birds are attacking... they just are, that's all that matters."

That's kind of awesome.

You mean The White? Or the Grey? :)

There's a Grey? It's certainly not this, although when that link loaded for me, its tagline was, "Look for the ridiculous in everything!"

The One True b!X | June 14, 22:32 CET

I've heard people refer to .org by either White or Grey, although I've also heard The Library called the White once or twice, I believe. I think that if one were to call it by a color then The Blue might work.

zeitgeist | June 15, 06:50 CET