Tag: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This story contains spoilers about “The Avengers.” “The Avengers” passed the $1-billion mark in worldwide ticket sales this weekend, and a sequel is already in the works. Does that mean writer-director Joss Whedon will be back at the helm of the franchise that unites Marvel’s box-office heavyweights, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk? “You know, I’m very torn,” Whedon said in a sit-down interview in Beverly Hills before the film’s U.S. opening. “It’s an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else’s story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool.” Whether he gets his hands on the sequel, Whedon’s fingerprints are all over “The Avengers,” which echoes some tropes found in his ...

Amber Benson is best known for Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and her role as Tara Maclay, the shy witch who made up half of a lesbian couple considered pioneering in its portrayal. But now, the actress, director and comics writer is making a name for herself in the world of young adult fiction. Benson’s latest novel, “How to Be Death,” is the fourth installment in her Calliope Reaper-Jones series, which follows a young woman forced to take over the family business: Death, Inc. Hero Complex caught up with Benson, who talked about her writing career and project on the horizon. She was also pleased, as you’ll see below, to hear that the reporter was named Noelene Clark. HC: How did you make the transition from acting to writing? Have you always wanted to write novels? AB: I got into ...

That big-screen revamp of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” has been dealt a setback — it looks as though the movie’s first-time screenwriter bit off more than she could chew. Two sources close to the project say that the script submitted this past summer by writer Whit Anderson fell far short of expectations and, in the end, was rejected completely. That’s news that will spark celebration from some longtime “Buffy” fans who were less than thrilled by the prospects of a “Buffy” revival that didn’t involve Joss Whedon. Whedon, now directing “The Avengers” for Marvel,  himself took a few shots at the reboot project — although he did so with a sly wink. “This is a sad, sad reflection on our times,” Whedon said last November when that deal was announced, “when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths ...

When Joss Whedon brought “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to TV in 1997, no one had very high expectations for the show. But beyond the cult reputation and the scores of academic books it spawned, it was also a talent discovery engine. “Buffy” and its spinoff, “Angel,” launched the careers of countless actors and writers who are all over the fall TV season — not least of which is Sarah Michelle Gellar, who returns to prime time in “Ringer” after a long absence from television. Meanwhile, David Boreanaz is solving homicides on “Bones,” Alyson Hannigan is bringing on the laughs in “How I Met Your Mother,” Felicia Day is tearing up the Internet with “The Guild,” and “Buffy” mastermind Whedon is directing a new set of superheroes in “The Avengers.” “Buffy” fans and newcomers can catch up on the slayer set ...

Sarah Michelle Gellar may have moved on from the Hellmouth, playing twins in the new CW show “Ringer,” but Buffy is still doing what she’s always done — staking (and breaking) hearts. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine” hits comic book stores this week, and new “Buffy” writer, “The Vampire Diaries” alum Andrew Chambliss, said it’s back to the basics for Buffy and her Scooby gang. After the destruction of the Seed at the end of Season Eight, the characters are now learning to operate in a world without magic. Chambliss said it’s an opportunity to explore Buffy’s character. “Buffy is so much fun to write because she’s so relatable,” Chambliss said via email. “Sure, she may be the Chosen One, and she can stake a vampire in her sleep, but at the end of the day she’s just like ...

The ensemble of A-list actors starring in his upcoming “Avengers” movies makes a better team than the actual Avengers in the Marvel comic book that inspired the film, director Joss Whedon told fans at his Comic-Con International panel Saturday afternoon. “What I find is that these characters mesh through these differences really well,” he told the capacity crowd at the Hilton Bayfront’s Indigo Ballroom. “And what I also find is these actors have a great time playing against each other, and they are, as a troupe, actually a much better team than the Avengers are.” He said working on “Avengers” has been easier than he expected. “In fact, the only problem I’ve had with ‘The Avengers’ is: Where is the 14-year-old girl with superpowers?” he joked. The creator of the wildly popular television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its ...

She’s baaaack! Sarah Michelle Gellar, of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame, was welcomed with thunderous applause Thursday during the “Ringer” panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego.  You’d hardly think she ever took a break from acting. “It’s really hard when you have a show like ‘Buffy,’ ” she said. “You’re not looking for a show to top it … I wanted to come back and do a show fans would love.” That show seems to have presented itself. Gellar makes her return to TV in the new CW series “Ringer” this fall. In it, she plays Bridget Cafferty, a recovering alcoholic with a sordid past who,  after witnessing a murder, flees to New York in an effort to escape the killers who want her dead.  It’s there that she’s briefly reunited with her estranged twin sister, Siobhan. What results ...

Sarah Michelle Gellar isn’t the only high-profile “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” veteran making an appearance at Comic-Con International in San Diego this year. NBC will screen the pilot for “Grimm,” the network’s upcoming fantasy police procedural, at the pop-culture expo, and two of the series’ producers, Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, who spent time toiling on “Buffy” and its spinoff, “Angel,” will participate in a Q&A session along with the show’s stars. The duo recently chatted with Hero Complex contributor Jevon Phillips about “Grimm,” which is described as a “modern retelling of the Grimms’ fairy tales, in a fractured kind of way.” JP: Where did the idea for “Grimm” come from? DG: Well, our hero has the ability to see the big bad wolf in the child molester, and the three little pigs in the greedy people. He has the ...

Now that the networks have released the fall season’s television schedules, we’ve had a chance to watch trailers for all the new shows and cherry-pick the programs that tickle our curiosity. Here’s a comprehensive rundown of the sci-fi, fantasy and genre shows worth keeping an eye on: “The River” (ABC): When a wildlife expert and TV personality (Bruce Greenwood) vanishes in the Amazon, his family and crew embark on a rescue mission and discover something darkly supernatural lurking in the jungle.  The pseudo-documentary format promises chills, which is no surprise considering the story is by Michael R. Perry, whose other writing credits include “Paranormal Activity 2” and “Stephen King’s Dead Zone.” Also writing is Michael Green (“Heroes,” “The Green Lantern“). Jaume Collet-Serra directs. “Once Upon A Time” (ABC): A fairy-tale world and modern-day New England collide when a woman who ...

GUEST ESSAY Vampires are everywhere in film, television, novels, comics and beyond and there’s no end in sight. But when did they shift from malevolent predators to conflicted antiheroes? Those are the questions asked by  Christopher Farnsworth, a writer living in Los Angeles whose latest novel, “The President’s Vampire,” is on sale now. It used to be you’d never see a vampire as the good guy. After all, a vampire, by its nature, hunts and kills human beings. There are centuries of folklore detailing how mankind has been forced to defend itself against these lethal parasites. That’s not a reputation you lose overnight. But today, vampires have moved into the light – metaphorically speaking, anyway. Edward Cullen and his family of vampire vegetarians – who only drink animal blood – are only the most famous examples. The ranks of on-screen vampire ...