Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon, a third-generation writer himself, has had some notoriously bad experiences writing screenplays, and he’s never been afraid to talk about them. While his career continues to flourish—he’s signed on as writer/director of the big-screen/big-budget "Wonder Woman" remake and continues to expand his "Buffy" and beyond universe in comic books—a few of Whedon’s past foibles remain part of Hollywood lore.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (Fox, 1992): Whedon wrote but didn’t direct the teenage vampire killer’s debut, which explains why the film barely hints at the dramatic depths Whedon mined with the TV show.

"Speed" (Fox, 1994): By Whedon’s own account he contributed much of the hit film’s dialogue in a rewrite he did, but for arcane Writers Guild of America reasons Whedon never received screen credit (except on a few collector’s item posters, printed up before his name was taken off).

"Toy Story" (Disney, 1995): Whedon was brought in for a last-minute script polish, and while he received screen credit he’s still not usually associated with Pixar’s tight-knit team.

"Alien: Resurrection" (Fox, 1997): Whedon contributed a new script and several alternate endings to this sequel, but became vocally disillusioned after discovering little to none of his contributions made it into the film.

"X-Men" (Fox, 2000): Whedon was asked to submit a script polish but instead submitted an entire new draft. But his ideas and suggestions were not used.