Oh, I love that he wants Aly back on VM. Of course I would rather see her back on the verse, but I think her VM character has so much unexplored territory. It would be great to see her and Charisma in scenes together again. Good to know he's been talking to his peeps. Yes, Joss. It WOULD be cool.

Harmalicious | September 28, 09:23 CET

Fantastic interview. I liked the "dvd is the new box office" quote. I've been thinking the same thing. Reguardless of how the film does at the theaters, I beleave the dvd's will make Uni. and Fox A LOT of money. Plus, millions of new fans will want to watch the series and want a sequel as well. Yipee!!

RiverKillsReavers | September 28, 09:27 CET

Well at least we know the status of Buffy: Animated.

Simon | September 28, 10:17 CET

Yeah, that was the most note-worthy bit of info in the interview, IMO. 'Cause I was still kinda wondering if it was in the "maybe" stage of development hell. I don't think I care as much anymore though. I was excited about a Buffy Animated for a while, but at this point it's just nice to know that I shouldn't be giving it any more thought.

Great to know the Spike/Buffyverse movie ('cause there's always the possibility that it might not feature James. At least it sure doesn't sound like he's locked into anything) is moving along.

Is it wrong that I hope Fox cancels the shit out of Bones so that Boreanaz will have more time and be more likely to wanna take part in the TV movie as well? (or be the anchor of it, in a perfect world...a compressed Angel Season 6?)

Kris | September 28, 10:50 CET

"Is it wrong that I hope Fox cancels the shit out of Bones so that Boreanaz will have more time and be more likely to wanna take part in the TV movie as well? (or be the anchor of it, in a perfect world...a compressed Angel Season 6?)
Kris | September 28, 08:50 CET"


Yep it's wrong ;)


That was a great interview . It's nice to know the status of the animated series, though it's still surprising to me that the idea didn't fly . Maybe it will turn up on a DVD one day.

And wow Joss is a busy bunny! I really hope that we get news on the Spike movie soon ( gotta be Spike to launch the series but I'm hoping for Ripper too!).

Meanwhile I'd better get on the net and find the nearest cinema to me that's showing Serenity .

debw | September 28, 11:02 CET

I'm dissapointed no one picked up Buffy Animated. Think they could put it on DVD even if it isn't colored yet?

eddy | September 28, 11:13 CET

Isn't it just the one demo reel that's been produced? A shorter-than-the-standard-22-minutes-of-animation, rough example of what an episode may have ended up looking like?

They had the talent lined up, along with scripts. I wonder if they recorded any voice tracks. I'd definitely like to read the scripts along with hearing those at the same time (especially since many of the original actors were involved/going to be involved).

Kris | September 28, 11:27 CET

I don't understand really why they don't wanna go ahead with the animated Buffy. I mean, how could it possibly not be a success? It's considerably cheaper to do a animated show then a live action hour drama and you have most of the core Buffy fans interested in it. Oh well...
But it's not all bad here. This interview got me real excited about the Spike film. I mean, there's an actual chance of seeing Willow in it!! I love it! Second only to Veronica, she's my favorite character ever when it comes to anything concerning moving pictures. That would definitely spiral the Spike movie to the very top of my priority chart. And if Amy is on aswell, maybe they'll resurrect Fred (misplaced people, she's just misplaced). I mean, I do love Illyria but I'd take Fred over Illyria any day of the week.
Actually, just get them all in there. The more, the merrier! Perhaps they even could persuade Sarah to make an one scene appearence atleast, cause after all, she owes us that!

Djungelurban | September 28, 13:12 CET

I would say that if they could make a Spike movie and bring back the Buffyverse, that Buffy animated would be a possibility too.

It really gives me a bad feeling and makes me doubt that anything regarding Buffyverse will happen at all.

[ edited by Koos on 2005-09-28 13:32 ]

Koos | September 28, 14:53 CET

Again, always love hearing about a possible Spike tv-movie.

seeya

sethsky | September 28, 15:30 CET

My first comment here was about the fact that I wished that if would be made a Spike film, I would like see WIllow in it..... because of that these are just greats news for me

rua1412 | September 28, 16:14 CET

What i liked best about the comments regarding the possible Buffyverse project is that Joss is clearly not putting all his eggs in one basket when it comes to the focus of the movie. It seems to me that, whilst the Spike movie is the obvious way to go, there are other options that Joss is more than willing to go with. The fact he has been talking to Alyson, Amy and Alexis in relation to the project allows for a lot more possibilities should James decide to not come back to his role. Personally i would love to see Spike leading Willow, Illyria and a somehow restored to life Wesley into battle but any combination of those four would be more than satisfactory to me as well.

WhedonTrivia | September 28, 17:54 CET

Just read the above quote made by dashboardprophet in another thread here and wanted to mention that i have found SFX to be a 95% reliable source of information for all things genre. Naturally no magazine is absolutely free of the occasional error but i generally find SFX to be accurate, particularly when it comes to Buffy/Angel/Serenity information as they are a VERY Joss Whedon friendly magazine.

Having just read the comments made by James myself today in the magazine in question i would have to say that James isn't uneasy about doing a Spike movie, just as long as it actually is a SPIKE movie. He later goes on to say that he would be more than happy to share every scene of the movie with Amy as Illyria just as long as it was clear that Spike was the lead role, which is fair enough, in my opinion.

WhedonTrivia | September 28, 18:07 CET

Well I suspected the animated series was dead and gone, but to hear it from the mouth of Joss just cements it. What a shame.

Desilu | September 28, 18:18 CET

Thanks for re-posting VwaG. I was just being lazy not doing it!

alien lanes | September 28, 18:18 CET

If Spike isn't the star of a 'SPIKE' movie...then whats the point? It would be nice to see all the characters again at some point, but why stuff them all in one film? It would be better to only concentrate on a few at a time or it dilutes the whole story out.

And I don't blame James one bit for voicing his concerns...he deserves top billing in a SPIKE movie. I just think he's looking out for the fans, the character and himself. I'm sure he is still all for doing the movie and working with anyone else who is in it, but I think he feels that a Spike movie should well...be about Spike first. That makes sense to me.

As a Spike fan I have no problem with other characters coming along for the ride, but Spike better be the one driving......

kathylovesspike | September 28, 19:10 CET

Wow! Talk about nailing just about every open question in one interview. Very impressive (and it's appreciated).

Can we get Ausiello over to the next White House Press Conference?

bookrats | September 28, 19:43 CET

Depressing news about Buffy: Animated, but I figured it was probably dead.

Also, James, great guy though he does seem to be, sounded really selfish in that interview. I mean, damn, James, if the story's good, does it really matter who's in the lead? No. Because no matter what, I won't be thinking of the Spike movie as "the Spike movie"...I'll be thinking of it as "the Buffyverse movie"...and the Buffyverse is a place in which ensembles reign.

UnpluggedCrazy | September 29, 02:52 CET

UnpluggedCrazy, it may not matter to some of the audience if it is a good story where Spike is once again a side kick who is used to highlight someone else's story, but it would bother others who have been waiting for a story truly focused on Spike. Even if James Marsters had not had that frustration expressed to him more than once by fans, (which I seem to recall him saying something about) as an actor he needs to be taking care of his career. He played that character for 7 years as a side kick while it was always threatening to take over the story. ME worked hard to keep the focus on the other characters and tell the story they had originally set out to tell. I don't think it is selfish not to want to repeat something that was a great learning and development experience then but would be repetitive and confining now.

You are right, BTVS and Angel were both ensembles, but they had definite leads. It sounds like JM is just interested in the next ensemble he is in as Spike to be an ensemble with Spike as the lead. IMHO he has earned it.

newcj | September 29, 04:08 CET

I have to agree with newcj here. James has more than earned the right to have the focus of the next series/telemovie be on Spike. The character has always been viewed and marketed as the third central character of the Buffyverse and it's about time he had a headlining project to back that up. If that only proves to be the telemovie rather than the less likely series many of his fanbase would love to see then that is the least James deserves given how popular he and his character are.

James and Spike deserve a little time in the spotlight and this might be the last chance for us to see that happen.

WhedonTrivia | September 29, 16:23 CET