Whedonesque : Comments on 9241 : Joss talks to Empire about Goners.

Shiny! I've been wondering about that ever since it was first announced. Of course, still no major details, but nice to hear a bit.

He's got a point about Buffy... he set it up as horror and only occasionally (Hush, for instance) was it actually scary. Not that that's a bad thing, I think Buffy is so great because over the course of the show it would alternate between comedy, drama, horror, and on the rare occasion other genres still (musical).

[ edited by AnotherFireflyfan on 2006-01-12 18:02 ]

AnotherFireflyfan | January 12, 20:01 CET

I still like the concept (and reality) that nobody really knows anything about Goners, but there's already a fandom of what we know. Or don't know.

gossi | January 12, 20:01 CET

I really cannot wait for Goners. I'm looking forward to Wonder Woman as well, but let me put it this way: I would not be looking forward if it were in anyone else's hands other than Joss'.

Is it just me, or is he like the only creative talent that could possibly make that into a quality product (which I'm sure it will be)?

UnpluggedCrazy | January 12, 20:51 CET

Even tho' we don't know what we don't know about, we do know that it'll be worth knowing about when we know. Not that we can really know that for sure.

Saje | January 12, 20:57 CET

Saje...I got a headache reading your post hehe. Well I am looking forward to it, but I hope its not too scary. I'm not generally a big fan of the horror genre.

kurya | January 12, 20:59 CET

I am very excited to finally hear some more about Goners, I think that this getting off the ground shows that Universal is still very much into Joss Whedon. I think something really scary always has a good chance to find an audience, and I think that most Joss fans are like me, we'll be open to whatever he wants to put out there.

And unpluggedCrazy, I agree: I am also looking forward to Wonder Woman because I'm convinced that if it is written and directed by Joss than we can count on it being exciting, interesting, and subtle. But I do hope he gets a big name star so that it turns into a huge box office smash with allows him to write his own ticket in Hollywood for years to come.

embers | January 12, 21:00 CET

bring on tbe scary....i think this will be new for joss. Hush was a dab in the scary. Goners should really make an attempt to frighten since so many movies dont.

ChosenOne5376 | January 12, 21:02 CET

Kurya - me not so much with the horror, either. But this is Joss, so we know that despite the genre it will be VERY GOOD.

AnotherFireflyfan | January 12, 21:18 CET

embers - And then, once he *can* write his own ticket, that ticket will have "serenity 2" on it? ;)

AnotherFireflyfan | January 12, 21:19 CET

Really excited about Goners - next time, though, Joss, superpowered teenage boy, ok? Babysteps... (totally kidding!) I don't think Joss is the only one who would do WW right, but I do think that he is the best choice out there.

zeitgeist | January 12, 21:21 CET

I'd rather have a few paragraphs from Joss about what he's really doing than all the online polls in the world. ;-)

This is beyond kewl. Joss totally knows that actual "horror" isn't the same as "how many body parts can we hack off" *coughhostelandsawcough*. There will be suspense, and scary, and uplifting, and sexy, and, and, and stuff. *can't breathe for a second due to fanboyness* Yay Joss! :-)

billz | January 12, 21:23 CET

In an alternate universe (somewhere deep in my mind), Goners came out before Serenity, and was immensely popular due to the boatloads of horror fans out there, thus paving the way for even bigger boatloads of folks going to see the brilliance that is Serenity.

Ah, well. . . no matter - I'm looking forward to Goners and to WW, Whedonite that I am, and I have a feeling that the best is yet to come!

m'cookies actual | January 12, 21:46 CET

I haven't been this excited about a creative production in a long, long, loooooong time. Joss interpreting horror? Bring it on! Joss's idea of horror *won't* be slasher crap. I'm all tingly thinking about Goners.

phlebotinin | January 12, 21:48 CET

Anything that's uplifting and sexy I feel is a good thing

So Joss has written a movie about women's undergarments?

Lioness | January 12, 22:01 CET

I am curious to learn which of "his" actors will be involved in Goners. Joss has worked with so many talented people and the overwhelming majority of them are dedicated to the man. Who do you think/hope Joss will cast for Goners?

Or... what if Joss went entirely with actors he has never worked with? Could he possibly luck out as he did with the amazing insta-gell of the Firefly cast? If anyone has the instincts to pull together a cast of newbies and formulate an intriguing chemistry between them it's our man Joss... but you never know when someone will go diva or raging drug habit on ya. Joss hasn't had to deal with that crap from his actors yet.

Hjermsted | January 12, 22:31 CET

So Joss has written a movie about women's undergarments?

And that, of course, is my dream scenario.

SoddingNancyTribe | January 12, 22:37 CET

So Joss has written a movie about women's undergarments?

A horror movie about undergarments would be scary indeed!

El Diablo Robotico | January 12, 22:43 CET

"...but you never know when someone will go diva or raging drug habit on ya. Joss hasn't had to deal with that crap from his actors yet."

Well, Hhermsted, I have on good authority that Puppet Angel was a HUGE diva on-set. And that Pee-Pee Demon? He'll do ANYTHING for a fix. So there you have it.

Willowy | January 12, 22:44 CET

I don't know anything about Goners other than Joss wrote and will direct it... that is more than enough for me. I don't nwant to hear anything else, I want to experience it umcompromized the day it opens like a good little theatre patron. The only thing that would keep me away would be if some actor or actress that I absolutely cannot stand gets involved, which is unlikly to happen.

war_machine | January 12, 22:47 CET

Who do you think/hope Joss will cast for Goners?

It would be fun for Jonathan Woodward to at least have a cameo appearance just for old times sake. Perhaps James Leary or Andy Hallet where they aren't hidden underneath all that make-up. Camden Toy could play another scary monster.

killinj | January 12, 22:54 CET

Willowy --

I have no inside information, really, but I'd be very, very surprised that in seven seasons of "Buffy", five of "Angel" and also probably not least in his time as a writer on "Roseanne", Joss has witnessed and dealt with at least a bit of inappropriate Hollywood mishegas. He's pretty much proven he can deal with it -- and I strongly suspect his gift in this area is in nipping that kind of thing into a bud so that it never becomes a major problem.

bobster | January 12, 23:20 CET

Oh I understand, bobster. I was joking.

Willowy | January 12, 23:43 CET

I think it's fair to say I'd imagine theres the usual mix of alcoholism and drug use in the past and present of Whedonverse actors, writers and show runners. Which I don't mean in a horrible way at all -- I know one of my favourite 'verse writers was an alcoholic, and it shapes their work into something... good, for lack of a better description. We're all human. Mind you, jossverse shows do tend to have an odd mix of really INTENSE characters and actors who aren't that intense off screen. Which, as always, is a good thing.

gossi | January 12, 23:50 CET

Willowy --

Got you mixed up with Hjermsted. My pontificating bad.

bobster | January 13, 00:17 CET

Another episode that really put on the Scary was Conversations with Dead People. Eeeek!

Ronald_SF | January 13, 01:21 CET

*coughhostelandsawcough*

The horror in saw wasn't about a bunch of gore to me. It didn't really show much gore, even (can't say about Saw2 as I haven't seen it yet). Saw was very psychological, IMHO.

zeitgeist | January 13, 01:37 CET

Eeek! indeed - I thought CwDP was hands down the scariest Buffy episode. I also found the middle part of Fear Itself to be pretty scary. Not sure that's a widely held opinion though...

safetycanary | January 13, 02:34 CET

When the Serenity viral clips started surfacing, I said Joss should do horror movies. Or make Silent Hill 5.

Simon | January 13, 02:37 CET

As if I could get any more excited about this project. My excitement has now been ratcheted up about 30 notches.

Dizzy | January 13, 02:58 CET

I wonder what kind of final budget Goners would have. Typically, with so-called 'scary movies' nowadays, many writers and filmmakers do away with intelligent humor all together. I have total faith in the fact that Joss will create a scary movie that will appeal to more than one emotion. Joss does that, and that's why he's the king. I am very excited about this film.

Eason | January 13, 03:29 CET

The one horror surprise for me was Possessed Anya cutting her face in Afterlife. The other day I was rewatching and had completely forgotten about it, and as such my soda went from my mouth to my lap. I’d love to go into Goners blind, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to completely stay away from trailers. I’m excited to see something from Joss both planned as a movie and not set in the Buffyverse.

nai elske | January 13, 06:49 CET

Who do you think/hope Joss will cast for Goners?

Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) and Adam Brody (The O.C.)

Barry Woodward | January 13, 07:21 CET

So Joss has written a movie about women's undergarments?

A horror movie about undergarments would be scary indeed!

El Diablo Robotico | January 12, 20:43 CET

This may date me, but Woody Allen did that one first in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask
"These things always travel in pairs..."

Of course, at this point in time the concept of Woody Allen and women's undergarments is horrifying in itself.

Back to Buffy "Same Time, Same Place" gets my vote for creepy/scary. Willow locked alone in the cave with Gnarl whispering to her - definitely hackles-raising.

barboo | January 13, 09:12 CET

I too am very excited about Goners. I've said it before, but the fact is that much as I love the BuffyVerse and the Firefly/Serenity 'verse, the idea of new Joss creations - and yes, probably with at least some new actors to grow to love - is very exciting.

As I am a total Spoilerphobe, once any more details start leaking out I will run away from any mention of Goners anywhere, but while it's all just about when it's going to happen, I'm lapping up any news I can get.

I hope it really is properly scary, and that Joss isn't forced to pander for ratings & make changes to make it a PG-13. Of course, I don't know what target audience he has in mind, and maybe he wants a PG-13 audience. But to my mind, too much is made with that certificate in mind, purely to up the ratings (and income).

As I've also said before, I trust Joss, so as long as he has sufficient control of his projects, I believe they will be great. And this one just excites me as an idea so much, I hope the wait isn't too long!

Kiddo | January 13, 18:12 CET

January 12 2006