Saturday Links
Nov. 19th, 2011 03:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakA whole bunch of them, courtesy of your train travelling blogger who despite loving to travel at this point just wants to rest for the weekend with some nice things to read and watch.
The Avengers:
Joss Whedon interview about directing The Avengers. Some key aspects that stood out for me: 1.) talking about working with established characters (and actors). See, one of the reasons why I'm optimistic about The Avengers is that the last time Joss worked with established characters (plus a few self created ocs who then went on to become established Marvel characters other writers used as well), in a universe he didn't create and where he was limited in the storytelling choices, it resulted in the fabulous Astonishing X-Men. Basically, having editors is good for him.:)
2.) I wasn't surprised most of the questions were about Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. My favourite Joss reply relates to the oeuvre mentioned above, for when asked how he wrote a straightforward, non-edgy hero like Cap, and wasn't that untypical for him, he said:
I love a straightforward character. I am the guy who loves Cyclops on the 'X-Men', because he is square. [Captain America] is a little square, and he is aware that he is a little square, and he is aware that the world is a beat ahead of him, or in his case, 70 beats. I think that's very disarming and very charming. I relate to that guy.
(Reminds me that the last time I really really liked Scott was when Joss wrote him, btw; the successors went too far in the dark!Cyclops direction though I haven't read X-Men comics for a while, and maybe that has changed again.)
3.) Now, if you've watched more than one Whedon oeuvre, you might be famliar with something of a recurring Joss motif, and no, not the daddy issues, though it's a bit related. It's his distrust of organizations and "the man", and yet awareness that if you're long enough successful as a rebel, you become the man, you do have that responsibility. Guess what he brings up about Nick Fury?
Well, he is not going to be talking about his childhood, and you do want to keep a certain mystery. Also -- and this is something that I was very pleased that Marvel actually mandated -- they were very interested in keeping him, not just in the sort of a mystery of how the organization operates, but a real moral gray area where you really have to decide, "Is Nick Fury the most manipulative guy in the world? Is he a good guy? Is he completely Machiavellian or is it a bit of both?" And that was really fun to tweak. I felt that in the other movies, they had been cameos and he had been called upon to come in and be Sam Jackson and bluster a little bit. And I told Sam upfront that my big agenda was to see the weight on someone who is supposed to be in control of the most powerful beings on the planet. The weight on somebody who has to run the organization and the gravity of it.
Sanctuary:
Now that I've clocked three seasons, I feel reasonably safe to watch vids without getting spoiled, so imagine my delight when penknife recently posted this one:
My Freeze Ray, which is Nikola Tesla and Helen Magnus to the tune of Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible. (Here's your elegant connection of subjects.) The lyrics fit scarily well. :)
Doctor Who:
The Christmas Special Trailer. It's titled The Doctor, The Widow And the Wardrobe, and apparantly after having a go at Dickens last year, Moffat now takes on C.S. Lewis and Narnia. (Incidentally, I think the TARDIS-as-Wardrobe comparison must show up in a thousand metas through the decades.) I am simultanously intrigued and slightly scared, because on the one hand, the Moff is good with children, on the other, there is much potential for fail given the meeting of the questionable subtexts that could occur, and I'd rather have a special to enjoy and not a mighty internet flame war to follow around Christmas.
David Tennant wrote the introduction for Elisabeth Sladen's postumously published memoirs, and here he reads it, with that continuing unabashed endearing fanboy adoration you can see in all their scenes together in School Reunion. Oh, Ms. Sladen, I miss you, too.
The Avengers:
Joss Whedon interview about directing The Avengers. Some key aspects that stood out for me: 1.) talking about working with established characters (and actors). See, one of the reasons why I'm optimistic about The Avengers is that the last time Joss worked with established characters (plus a few self created ocs who then went on to become established Marvel characters other writers used as well), in a universe he didn't create and where he was limited in the storytelling choices, it resulted in the fabulous Astonishing X-Men. Basically, having editors is good for him.:)
2.) I wasn't surprised most of the questions were about Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. My favourite Joss reply relates to the oeuvre mentioned above, for when asked how he wrote a straightforward, non-edgy hero like Cap, and wasn't that untypical for him, he said:
I love a straightforward character. I am the guy who loves Cyclops on the 'X-Men', because he is square. [Captain America] is a little square, and he is aware that he is a little square, and he is aware that the world is a beat ahead of him, or in his case, 70 beats. I think that's very disarming and very charming. I relate to that guy.
(Reminds me that the last time I really really liked Scott was when Joss wrote him, btw; the successors went too far in the dark!Cyclops direction though I haven't read X-Men comics for a while, and maybe that has changed again.)
3.) Now, if you've watched more than one Whedon oeuvre, you might be famliar with something of a recurring Joss motif, and no, not the daddy issues, though it's a bit related. It's his distrust of organizations and "the man", and yet awareness that if you're long enough successful as a rebel, you become the man, you do have that responsibility. Guess what he brings up about Nick Fury?
Well, he is not going to be talking about his childhood, and you do want to keep a certain mystery. Also -- and this is something that I was very pleased that Marvel actually mandated -- they were very interested in keeping him, not just in the sort of a mystery of how the organization operates, but a real moral gray area where you really have to decide, "Is Nick Fury the most manipulative guy in the world? Is he a good guy? Is he completely Machiavellian or is it a bit of both?" And that was really fun to tweak. I felt that in the other movies, they had been cameos and he had been called upon to come in and be Sam Jackson and bluster a little bit. And I told Sam upfront that my big agenda was to see the weight on someone who is supposed to be in control of the most powerful beings on the planet. The weight on somebody who has to run the organization and the gravity of it.
Sanctuary:
Now that I've clocked three seasons, I feel reasonably safe to watch vids without getting spoiled, so imagine my delight when penknife recently posted this one:
My Freeze Ray, which is Nikola Tesla and Helen Magnus to the tune of Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible. (Here's your elegant connection of subjects.) The lyrics fit scarily well. :)
Doctor Who:
The Christmas Special Trailer. It's titled The Doctor, The Widow And the Wardrobe, and apparantly after having a go at Dickens last year, Moffat now takes on C.S. Lewis and Narnia. (Incidentally, I think the TARDIS-as-Wardrobe comparison must show up in a thousand metas through the decades.) I am simultanously intrigued and slightly scared, because on the one hand, the Moff is good with children, on the other, there is much potential for fail given the meeting of the questionable subtexts that could occur, and I'd rather have a special to enjoy and not a mighty internet flame war to follow around Christmas.
David Tennant wrote the introduction for Elisabeth Sladen's postumously published memoirs, and here he reads it, with that continuing unabashed endearing fanboy adoration you can see in all their scenes together in School Reunion. Oh, Ms. Sladen, I miss you, too.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-19 03:54 pm (UTC)YES!!!
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Date: 2011-11-19 05:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-19 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-19 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-20 06:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-20 01:24 am (UTC)Tennant reading the introduction? So amazing and sweet and adorable. It was so perfect. One True Assistant ♥
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Date: 2011-11-20 06:39 am (UTC)And same here, re: Joss & Avengers.