Whedonesque : Comments on 19369 : Joss Q&A on the Hulu Blog.

Joss Whedon: he walked through the human brain.

I had completely forgotten about that, cheers. Also Whedonesque will now be known as Puppythighsesque.

Wonder Woman brought up similar issues, which may be part of why it wasn't made.

Ah HA! I knew it was something like that. Hmmm. Maybe everybody knew it was something like that.

Oh, and Joss? Funny guy.

jcs | March 06, 18:25 CET

Invading Rhode Island. I can get behind that. But to what end? Hmmmm.

Scaniano | March 06, 18:39 CET

Could somebody post/transcribe some highlights for those of us not in the U.S?(lousy Hulu.)

eyeboogers | March 06, 18:41 CET

"Invading Rhode Island. I can get behind that. But to what end? Hmmmm."

Waterfront access.

NYPinTA | March 06, 18:41 CET

Could somebody post/transcribe some highlights for those of us not in the U.S?

Hulu has done that for you already.

Simon | March 06, 18:43 CET

This is probably one of the best things I've seen Joss say (that makes me happy in a filmmaking sense) about his style as a director, because it shows:

But for some reason, Soderbergh's The Limey had the most immediate and visceral effect on my sense of style. It's so casually daring.

Tonya J | March 06, 18:52 CET

DVD Q updated :D

ETA:

Crochet it

[ edited by Pointy on 2009-03-06 21:51 ]

Pointy | March 06, 18:59 CET

Best. Answer. Ever.

Where do you stand on running vs. shambling zombies? — Bubs
I believe Simon Pegg has very eloquently put that debate to rest. They shamble, if you please.

zeitgeist | March 06, 19:19 CET

I'm mostly wondering why the term "puppythighs" popped into his head so readily.

PS I am also on the "zombies should shamble" bandwagon.

NYPinTA | March 06, 19:24 CET

If anybody wants to know what Joss was referring to with the Peggster reference - see here. Simon is a big Whedon fanboy, so I kind of hope one day the two of them collide at a Hollywood venue.

[ edited by gossi on 2009-03-06 19:24 ]

gossi | March 06, 19:24 CET

Saw this on the run and posted before i could actually read it. LOL

Love the Miss Puppythighs! And this makes me more excited about DH:

And the evolution of the people around her is going to be equally important, and therefore equally twisted. In some ways, this premise allows for radical character shifts that usually require a few seasons and/or an alternate dimension.

Whisper | March 06, 19:26 CET

I liked his mention of Simon Pegg, I agree with 'em on that issue.

Good interview, Whedonites. You didn't let me down.

Jayme | March 06, 19:27 CET

Saw this on the run

So...not a zombie then?

snot monster from outer space | March 06, 19:35 CET

And people wonder why we love Joss so much.

BuffyGroupie | March 06, 19:36 CET

If Joss had 50 billion, I'd hope he would start his own cable network where he and his friends could create original content for it. Joss TV: All Joss, All The Time. YES.

electricspacegirl | March 06, 19:43 CET

I averted my eyes away from the puppythighs answer (TMI!). :=)

Tonya J | March 06, 19:47 CET

Having been a Rhode Islander for eighteen years, I am highly miffed.

I'll be SHAMBLING over to Joss' house to wreak vengeance.

chickenbird | March 06, 19:56 CET

Good, then a sizable percentage the population of Rhode Island will be unable to defend their homes ;).

zeitgeist | March 06, 19:58 CET

Do we get to rename Rhode Island to Genosha?

The One True b!X | March 06, 20:00 CET

Only if we load it up with mutants... or geeks :)

zeitgeist | March 06, 20:00 CET

No. Chickens.

Simon | March 06, 20:03 CET

We can rename Rhode Island to Chickens?

The One True b!X | March 06, 20:04 CET

See, if zombies are the ultra-fast moving kind, the movie is over too soon and there's no suspense like there is with the shamblers: Will they catch the human? ... Will they EVER catch the human?

Tonya J | March 06, 20:04 CET

Load it up with chickens? Or is this a strong statement of your newly acquired anti-chicken stance?

zeitgeist | March 06, 20:04 CET

Chickens are the only thing I know about Rhode Island.

Simon | March 06, 20:05 CET

Like so?

zeitgeist | March 06, 20:08 CET

Aye but those are Scottish Rhode Island chickens.

Simon | March 06, 20:09 CET

I so wish I had 50 billion right now. Actually, I wish I had 100 billion, so we could split.

nyrk | March 06, 20:17 CET

Good thing they appear to have removed the expiration date on Dollhouse: Ghost, otherwise they would not have been able to embed it on this interview.

The One True b!X | March 06, 20:17 CET

He answered two of my questions, yay. But not the one about what's going on with the Book miniseries.

Sunfire | March 06, 20:24 CET

But not the one about what's going on with the Book miniseries.

Given that the person who allegedly is meant to be writing it also wrote the Serenity story for MySpace Dark Horse Presents in which he had the ship shoot down other ships despite the fact that Serenity has no weapons, and no one in the entire editorial chain caught it, I hope it's on hold until they decide it's too important to screw up.

[ edited by The One True b!X on 2009-03-06 20:28 ]

The One True b!X | March 06, 20:27 CET

Aye but those are Scottish Rhode Island chickens.

I figured I'd link some that were descended from the ones you were talking about :).

zeitgeist | March 06, 20:29 CET

Whee! LOVED the A.I. shoutout. Joss must be the only other person on earth who actually understood it! ;-)

jclemens | March 06, 20:39 CET

Thanks for the link, gossi. I heart Simon Pegg :)

miri47 | March 06, 20:42 CET

If Joss wants my help he should invades my country or any other in the neighborhood. It's very hard to get a Visa for USA, probably, even more if my reason will be take out an state.

Brasilian Chaos Man | March 06, 20:52 CET

"Duel assignments, love interests, check. Omega, check. Child dolls, no check. A.I. covered that territory powerfully in a much safer venue. We couldn't and shouldn't go there. And I can't do a musical of EVERYTHING..."

I hadn't even thought about child actives. And how quickly that could eliminate any potential sympathy most viewers might have for the Dollhouse and its employees if children were shown to be among the actives. I wonder if they'll address why there are none...but from the sounds of it Joss isn't going anywhere near that. Also wonder what DeWitt's stance on their usage would be, if they'd be allowed to be put in dangerous situations, or if they'd merely be for appearances, like billionaire needs to construct a family for a day or something like that. Or because no one suspects children, they could make child spies/assassins...uh, the latter would be extremely disturbing if shown on screen.

Cool that Joss appreciates A.I., or at least one of its major strengths. jclemens, I don't think it's a hard movie to understand, I think it's just that a lot of people didn't like the second ending (with the future where humans were extinct and the advanced robots that somehow so many viewers confused for aliens, randomly enough), many thought it should've ended with Haley Joel Osment and Teddy in the submersible craft under the water staring at the Blue Fairy and repeating his plea on a continuous loop. I'm both ways about it, either ending is tragic (and that second ending with the cloned mom raises tons of questions). Also, a lotta film snobs got funny about it because it was Stanley Kubrick's last film/project, finished/accomplished by Steven Spielberg. Blah blah blah, complaints about it being ruined by Spielberg's sentimentality vs. what those people think would've been darker if Kubrick had done it, but Kubrick entrusted it to Spielberg so there's also the theory that maybe it required a gentler touch anyway and he saw that.

I loved it when I saw it in theatres, I had no expectations, and it made me cry, I can't lie. Emotional abuse of kids is tough to watch, even fake ones.

Great interview.

[ edited by Kris on 2009-03-06 21:01 ]

Kris | March 06, 20:52 CET

Ah, but if we secure the state first, we'd be independent and can grant you our own visa to come and help us hold our sovereign territory.

The One True b!X | March 06, 20:53 CET

Children can't enter into legal binding contracts anyway.

I'm down for invading Rhode Island. I'll see you soon, Joss.

hacksaway | March 06, 20:57 CET

Thanks b!x.
This means you guys will need to do the hard work first.
Good Luck!

Brasilian Chaos Man | March 06, 21:00 CET

I think taking Rhode Island will be the easy part. Once we have it, people will assume there must be some compelling reason and therefore try to take it from us. Then it gets difficult.

The One True b!X | March 06, 21:02 CET

hacksaway, that'd be a good point if the Dollhouse wasn't illegal to begin with. However, since DeWitt seems to have a system that involves consent (or at least consent influenced by coersion, we'll see), you're right, they probably wouldn't allow it for that very reason, because most children wouldn't have the capacity to understand what they're getting themselves into.

Kris | March 06, 21:04 CET

Who would want to invade Rhode Island? I hear it's plagued.

Sunfire | March 06, 21:15 CET

Yeah, full of Vampires with HIV! Wait, wrong thread.

zeitgeist | March 06, 21:21 CET

I was thinking locusts but that works too. We just need to make sure all the tabloids pick it up before we take over.

Sunfire | March 06, 21:24 CET

I'm wondering if consent is needed in order for the mind wipes to work. And in Echo's case, she consented but a part of her was still unwilling and hence the mind wipe wasn't 100%. Could be the same case for Alpha.

NYPinTA | March 06, 21:24 CET

You know, if we just sell everyone on the idea that Rhode Island is a plague ridden locust infested place, I don't think anyone would mind if we took over.

NYPinTA | March 06, 21:26 CET

Wouldn't a part of most people still be unwilling? I can't imagine a decision like that being made without some lingering concerns.

Sunfire | March 06, 21:26 CET

Well, maybe. Or maybe they try and pick people that know they have no other choice and the other dolls were more accepting of their fate. Or had something happen that was so horrible the idea of having it removed was a relief, so they succumbed to it completely. And I am totally just guessing. ETA: but it just seems odd now that it's been pointed out that a place that is illegal would insist upon something like a signed contract. I mean, that sure as hell isn't going to protect them should they be found by the FBI. It won't hold up in any court. So why else do it? Unless it's necessary to get the potention doll in a particular frame of mind... or something.

[ edited by NYPinTA on 2009-03-06 21:29 ]

NYPinTA | March 06, 21:28 CET

So, Rhode Island consents the invasion.

Brasilian Chaos Man | March 06, 21:33 CET

The movie has humor, but make no mistake, it's SCARY. Drew Goddard isn't the same kind of namby-pamby, "people have dignity so let's not do appalling things to them" wuss that I am. Prepare for scare.

Aw, Joss is a softie at heart. And yay for Goddard not believing people have dignity and thus cannot do appalling things to them. Heh.

Emmie | March 06, 21:35 CET

The dolls may not know it's illegal. The contracts may be part of the scam.

redeem147 | March 06, 21:39 CET

I think children actives can be effectively eliminated from the series with a line of dialogue. Since the science of the dollhouse is unclear anyway, Topher can just offhandedly say that the wiping/memory download process only works on fully developed brains. Doing it on a brain that is rapidly maturing (i.e. children) would be too dangerous, etc.

The Operative | March 06, 22:55 CET

'You may call me Miss Puppythighs' - Haha!
His randomness never ceases to amaze me.

[ edited by Shep on 2009-03-06 23:27 ]

Shep | March 06, 23:23 CET

I loved this movie as well, jclemens. I wrote my senior thesis on it. It was heart-breaking and just the thing I needed at the time. And, yeah, I wonder how much flack it received was because of the movie or because Spielberg did it instead of Kubrick. But the kid actor (Haley Joel Osment) really shone and made a permanent position in my "best actors of all time" list.

The "Miss Puppythighs" comment has me wondering what puppy-thighs are like...

And I think Rhode Island might just be big enough to hold Joss Whedon's fan-base... if we stood side-by-side. ;) It could be our new fan hut!

korkster | March 06, 23:59 CET

I'm definitely excited about this whole Rhode Island plan; just let me know when and where! I've always wanted to be part of a good invasion plan.... now, WE won't have to shamble, right?

puppy thighs = furry.

[ edited by embers on 2009-03-07 00:05 ]

embers | March 07, 00:04 CET

He answered my question!!!

buffywrestling | March 07, 00:07 CET

The whole thing was quite amusing. :D

I like this Rhode Island idea thing. Hmm.

lol.

druzilla | March 07, 00:30 CET

running zombies suck, go Joss!

Boy#5 Kawada | March 07, 01:40 CET

Enjoyed the Qs and the As. The "The West fascinates me because it's the creation of culture and morality out off nothing but remnants. But it lacks spaceships! Solution: Firefly." and a few other show-specific ones were nifty.

Jav | March 07, 04:43 CET

Rhode Island is too cold. Come and invade Hawaii Joss, pleeease. ;)
For Lost fans: don't worry, Kauai doesn't actually move, through time or otherwise (except for the occasional earthquake or rare hurricane).

Shey | March 07, 15:33 CET

March 06 2009