Joss Whedon

When Joss Whedon puts out the word that he’d like a little support, a lot of people show up. Witness the turnout when Whedon announced online at Fans4Writers.com and whedonesque.com that he and many of the writers and actors he’d worked with at his Mutant Enemy production company on the TV series he created, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL and FIREFLY, and the movie SERENITY, would be picketing at Twentieth Century Fox on December 7 on behalf of the Writers Guild of America strike.

The group included FIREFLY/SERENITY stars Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin and Alan Tudyk, BUFFY/ANGEL writer/producer Drew Goddard (also a writer on ALIAS, LOST and the upcoming feature CLOVERFIELD), BUFFY potential Felicia Day, SLITHER writer/director James Gunn, Whedonverse comics writer Brian K. Vaughan, and the following actors, writers/producers and fans quoted below.

This is the final part of iF’s exclusive coverage of the event.

iF MAGAZINE: What do you think of this event?

ELIZA DUSHKU (Faith in BUFFY/ANGEL, star/producer of Whedon’s upcoming Fox series DOLLHOUSE): I think it’s an awesome show of support and I think that it speaks to Joss and to his fans and to fans of the work and the things that we are entertained by on television and in film that won’t be there if we don’t have our writers – it just would not exist, so we need to be here and remind people of that and stand strong, and everyone uniting is a really impressive thing.

SUMMER GLAU (River in FIREFLY/SERENITY, now on Fox’s TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES): I think that the fans are the reason why we’re able to make television and make films in the first place, so of course their opinion matters. I’d like to say thank you to all the fans who came and supported us. It means a lot to us and gives us hope, like they always do.

AMY ACKER (Fred on ANGEL): We [Acker, her husband and two children] just got back into town last week, so this is my first picketing experience. This is pretty exciting. I don’t know if they’re all like this. There are lots of people out here, and [supportive drivers] honking – it’s great!

BEN EDLUND (writer/producer on ANGEL and FIREFLY, now on SUPERNATURAL): It’s like a polite riot where everyone keeps their clothes on and nobody hits people with sticks, which is nice. I don’t think we need violence in this crowd.

NICHOLAS BRENDON (Xander on BUFFY): I think it’s fantastic. I didn’t know how big it was going to be, and it’s really a nice gesture. Without writers, what do we have? You don’t have a studio without writers, I’ll say that right now.

TIM MINEAR (writer/producer/director on ANGEL and FIREFLY, now on Whedon’s upcoming DOLLHOUSE): I’ll tell you what is dreamlike and what is really cool – that today we are out in front of the Twentieth Century Fox lot, members of the WGA, many of us who worked on Mutant Enemy shows, and the people that we work for, who we are in fact not striking against, because the people that we work for are the audience. And they’re actually here today in solidarity, marching with us. Because they’re the ones who want us to get back to work. Without them, we’d actually have no one to write for. So it’s a pretty exciting day for us.

JEFF BELL (showrunner on last two seasons of ANGEL): It’s Joss! I’m not surprised [by the large turnout] at all. It’s been really fun to see all the fans who’ve turned out and to see friends that I haven’t seen in a couple years. It’s terrific.

JULIET LANDAU (Drusilla in BUFFY/ANGEL): It’s incredible that it’s many years [after Whedon’s series have stopped production], and people are really passionate about it. The fans seem to really understand that the writing is such a huge element; the actors bring their part to it, but that the writing is key.

MARTI NOXON (showrunner on last two seasons of BUFFY, now on PRIVATE PRACTICE): I must say I have come to expect nothing less from the Whedon universe of fans. They are remarkable and they mobilize in such an amazing way. So no, I can’t say that I’m surprised – I’m really gratified to see how many people did come, but they never cease to amaze us with their bigness.

DOUG PETRIE (writer/producer on BUFFY, now on C.S.I.): I expected this kind of turnout. It really is a tribute to Joss’ vision and the way we were all invited to help him see it through and then how the fans reacted. So I can’t say that I’m surprised – I’m very, very pleased, but I could not say that I am surprised by the love and support from the BUFFY fans and the ANGEL fans and the FIREFLY fans. And there seem to be DOLLHOUSE fans. Seeing non-WGA members on line with us heartens me and makes me so glad. I realize how important this strike is, not just for us writers, but for everybody who’s going to want a fair deal and I think that we’re kind of first in line with the new technologies. But seeing SAG members – I saw a mom and her three kids over at Universal – it’s been great. We’ve been wonderfully supported.

DAVID FURY (writer/producer/director on BUFFY/ANGEL, now on 24): I thought it was a great idea. I think it was Marti’s idea some time ago, and then it just started a flurry of emails from Jane [Espenson] and from Tim Minear and me, and we just all said, ‘Yeah, absolutely! We’re in, we’ll do it!’ I think the fan turnout is fantastic. I’m definitely impressed. I drove up here a few minutes after Tim [Minear], we were supposed to be starting at ten, and to see this many people out here at ten AM – the numbers are more than when [just] the writers are out here [laughs], so it’s quite spectacular to see this kind of support, and knowing they’re going to stick it out for the four hours is amazing.

JANE ESPENSON (writer/producer on BUFFY and FIREFLY, now on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA): I knew our fans loved us, I knew they would do anything for us. I did not know that we would get as many of the actors as we did, and that we would get this many fans. This is remarkable. I didn’t know it would be this big.

CAMDEN TOY (Gentleman, Gnarl and Ubervamp in BUFFY; Prince of Lies in ANGEL): I think it makes perfect sense. I mean, the fans have been so incredibly supportive of Joss’s work in the past that it would make perfect sense that they would show up to support the writers’ strike.

YAN FELDMAN (Mingo in SERENITY): It’s nice to see the actors, too, and it’s nice that Joss put this together and he’s here and he’s not just doing it from an office. It’s good that he’s really committed to finding an answer and solving it. You’ve got to fight for what you believe in.

RAFAEL FELDMAN (Fanty in SERENITY): No one person can do anything by themselves, so united we stand, right?

SUSAN TOMB (fan): I loved the energy, I loved seeing the people come together – the writers, the actors, the fans – but a lot of people can relate to this issue as far as big corporations trying to take advantage of individual workers.

JOSS WHEDON: This is way more than I hoped it would be. Every writer I’ve talked to said, ‘I knew in my head what this was going to be like, but not in my heart.’ Everybody’s just so moved and so excited and so energized that I think we not only achieved what we set out to do, we found something bigger.

iF: Do you think displays of public support for the strike have any effect on the AMPTP?

WHEDON: I’d like to think so, but they’re not exactly in tune with the public, and they control almost all of the media, except possibly the tape recorder I’m standing in front of right now, but I think it matters enormously that they hear it – it also matters enormously that the writers hear it. I don’t think this is going to be a short strike, and if we felt that the whole world perceive us the way the New York Times paints us, as a bunch of greedy writers who are completely out of touch with humanity, we would have a harder time getting on these [picket] lines. Knowing that the fans understand this is a union struggle, that this is very important – not just for us, but for all the guilds and in fact the country – it makes a big difference for the people who are going to be walking these lines from what appears to be rain or shine for a long while.

ESPENSON: I like to think that the AMPTP has been taking notice of the fan support from the very beginning. Because the online polls, the letters to the editor – there has just been so much fan support that I have to think it is startling and impressive. The fans are going to help us win this fight.

WILLIAM MAPOTHER (in LOST, ROBOT CHICKEN, THE GRUDGE): I think [the AMPTP] has been surprised by the solidarity of the guilds, and also by the support from the fans, not only in Los Angeles, but around the country, and obviously, the publicity that the WGA has put out, not only on its own, but that its members have put out through YouTube and elsewhere, help that.

iF: Did you name the evil Alliance in FIREFLY/SERENITY after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers?

WHEDON: No, that’s just one of those happy coincidences. But the fact that one of the studio heads is named Dr. Evil – he doesn’t actually use that, obviously, in the trades, but that’s his given name.

iF: Do you see any correlation between the themes of the strike and Whedon’s work and/or your own work?

ADAM LEVERMORE-RICH (fan organizer): Yeah. I think this is kind of what we do as Browncoats. We run up against adversity and when we’re faced with adversity, we show our true colors – brown, of course – and I think it’s when we shine most is when we’re faced with impossible situations [laughs]. I think making a one-to-one correlation [between the AMPTP and FIREFLY’s villainous Alliance] may be a little bit farfetched, but I certainly think the large faceless corporations vs. the small scrappy band.

ESPENSON: Absolutely. Joss’s shows are about kindness and humanity and finding the inner strength to fight the fight when all seems lost and strength in numbers and make a family out of the people who love you, and that’s what this is all about. And I think that you also find it in [BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and strike supporter] Ron Moore. The last episode of BATTLESTAR that aired that I wrote was about a labor action, so here I am.

MICHAEL FAIRMAN (Niska in FIREFLY): The Browncoats are fighting the Alliance – I guess they’re fighting the AMPTP. I believe they’ll be victorious. They’re very stubborn and very persistent. And do you know that there are almost half a million fans of Firefly throughout the world? It’s amazing.

LYNN BRIANCE (fan): Definitely. I think that’s why so many people connect with it. It’s the anti-Alliance kind of thing [laughs], fighting for what’s right and what you deserve. Not extra, but enough –what’s coming due to you without being greedy. It’s important.

ACKER: I guess I never thought of it in terms of why I was acting, but I think that these guys [on the picket line] are all smart and caring and they want what’s fair for everybody. They’re doing it not to help themselves, but to help everybody else, and I would say that’s what I’ve wanted to do with my life, too.

PETRIE: Well, it’s about good and evil [laughs]. If it is reflective of the strike, it’s coincidental. I think one of the many things that’s great about BUFFY and ANGEL and all of Joss’ work is how it can be interpreted and how the fans can take this work, like all great science-fiction, like all great fantasy, and apply the meaning of what’s going on in their own lives and come up with some answers or some greater understanding for themselves. [As far as comparisons to C.S.I.], it is definitely a crime, I’ll give you that. But like on C.S.I., the crime will be solved.

BELL: (showrunner on last two seasons of ANGEL): Joss’s stuff has always been about the disenfranchised and powerless. I think it all goes back to Buffy, giving power and voice to a high school girl and making her a superhero I think spoke to so many people and from there, he honored that notion, whatever kind of story he told. So I think that’s why people loved him and his shows.

STEVE DeKNIGHT (writer/producer director on BUFFY/ANGEL): If you look at [ANGEL’s evil law firm] Wolfram & Hart, there’s definitely a comparison with the companies. There is a bottom line, sinister financial evil that pervades this industry and quite frankly any industry. It really points towards corporate greed in America, which is what we were playing with Wolfram & Hart on a supernatural level. It’s basically the same thing.

NOXON: Fortunately, I don’t think that this will amount to any kind of end-of-the-world scenario [laughs]. We start to feel like it will, but it’s not really apocalyptic. Ultimately, it will end and we’ll go back to work and we’ll either get a raw deal or we won’t, but I think that corporate greed has started to take on a lot of the trappings of the Big Bad. It’s really unstoppable and when I think about what this is really about for me, it’s about fighting that sort of rapacious and endless sense of entitlement that these corporations have now. They really don’t care about who gets hurt as long as they make more money, and as much as a lot of writers make a lot of money, a lot of writers don’t make a lot of money, and the residuals that they get are the difference between making it or not making it. So what they’re asking us to do is take a massive pay cut, and that’s the way they characterize this, is a fight for us asking for more. And we’re asking for people not to get shafted. That’s why this felt like a thing we should vote for and fight for. In that sense, yeah, we’re fighting the Big Bad.

iF: Anything else you’d like to say about the strike?

WHEDON: Only that we are here and that we are staying here and that we are going to keep fighting until we have what we need. And there’s nothing that can stop us. And we will help each other and we will do everything it takes. And the fans coming out here for us is exactly one of the things it takes. It shows that we understand this is bigger than us, they understand it – it’s why we make the shows. We have something more powerful than [the AMPTP] have and it’s not just strength, it’s love. We love what we do, we care about what we do, we love each other and our families and our fans, and they love the fictions we create. That’s something you’ve got to fight for and it’s something we always will.

NOXON: Just thank you for the pizza!

WHEDON: I just want to say the fans have an enormous amount of energy, and today, I realize it’s way too much, I can’t keep up and now I’m sleeping.