Sundays in my City - A visit from Joss Whedon

Hosted by Unknown Mami

Today I took Caitlin to the Opera House to hear Joss Whedon speak about his writing and directing career - from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Dr Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog and everything in between and beyond. Joss was fascinating and brilliant and funny and wonderful and when he tackle-hugged Wil Anderson* at the end of the show I was really rather surprised Wil didn't fall over. The image of Wil with Joss Whedon's legs wrapped around his waist is one that will stay with me forever.

After the talk/interview/QandA session we retired to the bar at the back of the Concert Hall with about 100 other people for drinks, nibblies and a chance to speak to the man himself. I stood back and smiled the smile of a super proud geeky mum as Caitlin told Joss about winning first prize in the singing category at the school talent quest singing "Under Your Spell" from the Buffy musical episode, got a great big hug from Joss and then posed for this:

Ok, I'm not really showing much of the "in my City" part of the meme this week, but that is the inside of the Sydney Opera House you can see behind Caitlin and Joss there!

Don't forget to drop by Unknown Mami's place and see what's been happening in other cities round the world.

*Wil Anderson is a comedian and has been a huge fan of Joss from way back in the early days of Buffy. He was offered the job of interviewing Joss on stage at the Opera House and figured he may as well do it seeing as the seat on stage was a better one than the ticket he'd already bought for the event back in row R or something.

Link-fest No. 7

Random linkage for your amusement/edification.

Zero Punctuation - "Zero Punctuation is The Escapist's groundbreaking video review series starring Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. Every Wednesday Zero Punctuation picks apart the games so you don't have to." Is funny :)

Darths and Droids - webcomic of Star Wars as a Dungeons & Dragons game.

Gagging For It - "An Australian Comedy Portal: news, reviews & performance details - where to find your comedy around Oz." Wish I could go see more live comedy.

Geek Crafts - a blog collecting links to all sorts of, well, geek crafts. Check out the crocheted Dark Mantle, click through to the original post too for more photos.

Joss on Whedonesque, with the latest on Dollhouse

And here was me thinking I'd never want to own an iPhone

From an article at EW - Dr Horrible: An oral history

Fillion That is my friend PJ Haarsma. I called him up and I said ''Can you make me a thing? That looks like a thing?'' Twenty minutes later he says, ''Check out this website. You can call it up on your iPhone and you have a Dr. Horrible van remote.'' At Comic-Con, I'm going to release the Website that has the Dr. Horrible van remote.

It's a lovely article full of fun stuff from Joss, Felicia, Nathan, Neil, Jed and Maurissa, go read the lot.

ETA: Dr Horrible van remote site (linked by highandrandom on Whedonesque)

Get a pic! Do a blog!

This guy here? Doesn't look even the littlest bit evil.

I'm sorry, I think Dobber was miscast, he gave a completely unconvincing performance and we didn't even get to hear the infamous whinny...KIDDING! Dobber was brilliant, there should have been more of him. I'm so in love with Bad Horse, wonder if he needs any more henchmen?

*refrains from getting too spoilerific till I'm sure everyone's had a chance to see Act 3*

It's two "r"s.

ETA: Right, that's long enough to wait.

ARRRRRRGH! She got Jossed! And I totally didn't see it coming. Which means I am a very slow learner. I was watching with Caitlin, she cried. When Adam came along a bit later and watched it, he laughed, heartless bastard :P

We went out to dinner tonight and all through the meal the kids were humming snippets of the songs and quoting back and forth at each other (OK, I might have joined in a bit on that too).

Love the groupies. Love the way Penny is horrified by Captain Hammer equating the homeless with a dog, not to mention the "We totally had sex" line. Damn, it's all brilliant :)

We do the weird stuff!

I bring you pain.

I think this is what pain feels like!

Oh. No.

Why did you kill her? (Why Joss, Why?!!!!)

Dr Horrible is here.

I won't feel a thing.

*sniff* Poor Billy.

I want to be an achiever...

...like Bad Horse.

The thoroughbred of sin?

I meant Gandhi.

He saw the operation
You tried to pull today
But your humiliation
Means he still votes neigh

And now assassination
Is just the only way
There will be blood
It might be yours

So go kill someone
Signed Bad Horse.

The suspense is killing me, we'd better get to meet this Bad Horse character!

It sure was nice to meet you...Doctor.

I don't go to the gym.

These? Are not the hammer.

...the hammer is my penis.

(Just because I could *glee!*)

The Evil League of Evil is watching!

If you haven't already done so, get clicking over to Dr Horrible.com and watch Act 1. Then come back here and share your favourite bit. Really I just want to put the whole thing up but transcribing the lot would take a little too long so you get the Bad Horse song:

Bad Horse! Bad Horse!
Bad Horse! Bad Horse!

He rides across the nation
The thoroughbred of sin
He got the application
That you just sent in
It needs evaluation
So let the games begin
A heinous crime, a show of force
A murder would be nice, of course

Bad Horse! Bad Horse!
Bad Horse! He’s bad!

The Evil League of Evil
Is watching, so beware
The grade that you receive
Will be your last we swear
So make the Bad Horse gleeful
Or he’ll make you his mare

You’re saddled up, there’s no recourse
It’s hi ho, Silver! signed Bad Horse.

And this:

Captain Hammer, corporate tool

"It's curtains for you Dr Horrible, lacy, gently wafting curtains."

Ah Joss, how I do love thee!

ETA: Act 2 is also up. We were watching with the kids clustered around the laptop...when Captain Hammer said -

"These are not the hammer.
.
.
.
"The hammer is my penis."

*cue raucous laughter and forget about sheltering kids from inappropriate content!*

Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Teaser

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Heee!

Dollhouse promo clip

Joss and Eliza talking about Dollhouse.



Nothing much by way of new information really, but cute! and amusing! :)

Dollhouse trailer

Our first glimpse of Dollhouse!



Oh yes, there's new Joss Whedon goodness on the way. Can't wait.

ETA: The youtube posting isn't working just now, here's another link to the trailer.

Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

There's a new Joss Whedon musical on the way!

From Nathan Fillion .org

Joss Whedon Announced today that Nathan Fillion will play the hero in a special Internet Musical.

Whedon reports that during the WGA strike he started writing the musical which will be a limited internet series. Each of the three episodes will be approximately ten minute each.

Co-writers for the internet feature are Joss’ brothers Zack and Jed and Jed’s Fiance Maurissa . The writing has been completed and shooting commenced today.

“It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.” Says Whedon.

“Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will star Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Felicia Day as Penny and a cast of dozens.

Joss posted in response to a thread on Whedonesque confirming the real and actually happening nature of the project. I can't wait :D :D :D

Fans4writers

Fellow Browncoat JenskiJen is on holidays in the US...sort of. While she was in LA, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. And Jen, being Jen, volunteered to help out the fandom support campaign. The full story is on her LJ but to save you the trouble of an extra click you can read it all here ;-)

Writers on Strike - Fans4Writers Campaign
You would think that when I travel all the way from Australia to the US to go on a holiday, I'd just relax and have fun, right? Um... well, see... while I was in LA, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. And I kinda volunteered to help out the fandom support campaign. And boy, has it steamrolled!

If you don't know about the strike, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk

In response to the strike, we have formed Fans4Writers.

Fans4Writers is a movement born from fans of Joss Whedon, at WHEDONesque.com. As supporters of the people behind the scenes, who develop and write the stories that have meant so much to so many, we wanted to do something tangible to show them that we support the Writers Guild of America strike.

Our first foray out to the picket lines was to deliver pizza to the writers at Universal Studios, to feed the bodies that have fed our minds. You can read about it at http://whedonesque.com/ws/

It quickly became clear and necessary for the effort to encompass more than a single fandom. As such, Fans4Writers is not just for Whedon fans. It is not just for "genre" fans or television fans. This effort belongs to fans of ALL striking writers.

So, what are we doing?

The fans4writers.com site is currently being fine tuned, and will have all the details of our campaign, as well as resources to educate and spread the word.

What kind of things will the campaign include?

DIRECT SUPPORT

Through our "Food for Thought" program, we will organize and facilitate the delivery of provisions to writers on the picket lines. In addition, fans will gather to join their favorite writers on the picket lines.

MORAL SUPPORT

Through a planned ad in Variety or other major outlet, we will tell the industry -- and the public -- in no uncertain terms that we support the writers' right to a fair deal.

LONG-TERM SUPPORT

Should the strike be of any significant duration, we will contribute to the Guild's strike funds to assist affected writers.

FOUNDATION SUPPORT

At the conclusion of the strike, any remaining funds will be donated to the Writers Guild Foundation to support its charitable and educational activities.

While the studios might not be prepared to value the writers highly enough to offer them a fair deal, the fans will commit themselves, their time, their energy, and their money to show just how highly WE value them. For as long as the strike lasts.

Our message is simple - "Don't write until it's right."

WHAT CAN I DO TO BE INVOLVED?

Check out fans4writers.com (currently under construction). In addition to the details of the "Food for Thought" and other campaigns, we will inclulde many ways that you can help, from boycotts to postcard campaigns, and much more. We have a Paypal link set up should you wish to donate.

Spread the word about the campaign!

We want to be able to support all writers, but we understand that some fandoms would prefer to take the lead themselves. With this in mind, we are structuring our fan support campaign in such a way that individual fandoms can use the formula and conduct their own campaigns. We would ask that each fandom who chooses to do this select a campaign head, and liaise with us. This way, all writers will be supported, and no picket line is neglected.

If you would like to volunteer to help us deliver "Food for Thought" to the picket lines in Los Angeles or New York City, please email us at fans4writers@gmail.com, and leave your contact details (including phone number and availability).

If you would like to become involved and organise an affiliate campaign, please have the campaign head contact us, so that we can support each other.

Remember, without the writers, there would be no fandoms. And without us, there would be no studios.

Yours in solidarity,

Fans4Writers.com

Email: fans4writers@gmail.com
LiveJournal: http://community.livejournal.com/wga_supporters/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19177889752
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fans4writers

New Joss TV show on the way!

Best News Ever! Joss Whedon Spills Exclusive Deets on His New Series
Kristin at E! Online reports:

Whedon's new Fox series, called Dollhouse, stars Miss Eliza Dushku, best known as Faith to you Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans. And this show isn't just a pilot. It's already been given a seven-episode commitment by Fox. Woo!

Here's how Fox describes the series:

Echo (Eliza Dushku) [is] a young woman who is literally everybody's fantasy. She is one of a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages, including memories, skills, language—even muscle memory—for different assignments. The assignments can be romantic, adventurous, outlandish, uplifting, sexual and/or very illegal. When not imprinted with a personality package, Echo and the others are basically mind-wiped, living like children in a futuristic dorm/lab dubbed the Dollhouse, with no memory of their assignments—or of much else. The show revolves around the childlike Echo's burgeoning self-awareness, and her desire to know who she was before, a desire that begins to seep into her various imprinted personalities and puts her in danger both in the field and in the closely monitored confines of the Dollhouse.

Go read the whole thing, there's a Joss interview there too.

More from Michael Ausiello at the Ausiello Report

Well, well, well :D and Tim Minear is going to be involved too.