Filmmaker Joss Whedon has broken his silence over allegations of misconduct while working on Justice League, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.
In an interview with New York Magazine, Whedon opened up about his experience taking over the directorial duties for Justice League following Zack Snyder's departure due to a sudden death in the family.
“They asked me to fix it, and I thought I could help,” Whedon said before claiming that the decision to take over the project was one of the biggest regrets of his life.
When he was first brought on, Whedon said his role would strictly be limited to writing and advising, but "soon it became clear to Whedon they had lost faith in Snyder’s vision and wanted him to take full control." A WB representative denied this claim and Snyder has publicly revealed that he chose to leave Justice League to spend time with his family after his daughter had died by suicide.
After becoming the new director of Justice League, Whedon was in charge of nearly 40 days of reshoots and he admitted that "from the start, things were tense between him and the stars." Whedon's directorial style was much different than Snyder's, as he expected actors to read lines exactly as they are written while Snyder encouraged a bit more creative freedom.
An unnamed crew member shared to New York that this change "didn't go down well at all," especially after Whedon announced that he had never worked with "a ruder group of people." This went beyond simply directorial styles, however, as other actors would continue to criticize his writing. As an example, Whedon claims Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot's suggested that he "didn't understand how superhero movies worked."
Gadot has also publicly stated that, during the Justice League reshoots, Whedon "threatened her career" if she didn't read the lines as he wrote them for Wonder Woman or failed to follow his direction. She says Whedon went so far as to say he would "harm" her career if she continued to pushback on his rewrites.
“I don’t threaten people," Whedon said when asked about the allegations. "Who does that?”
He continued on to say that Gadot just "misunderstood him."
"English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech," Whedon said. He gave a specific example of a time when he was arguing with Gadot over a scene she wanted to cut. Whedon said that he "jokingly" told her "that if she wanted to get rid of it, she would have to tie him to a railroad track and do it over his dead body."
"Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track,” Whedon added. Gadot told New York in an e-mail that this was not true and that she "understood perfectly" what was going on.
Cyborg actor Ray Fisher has also been vocal about his negative experience working on Justice League with Whedon. While Cyborg was a central focus on Snyder's version of the film, Whedon "downsized" his role and would end up cutting scenes that Fisher said "challenged stereotypes."
"It feels like I’m taking notes right now,” Whedon told Fisher when the actor shared his concerns over the rewrites, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “and I don’t like taking notes from anybody — not even Robert Downey Jr.”
Fisher also accused Whedon of abusing his power and revealed he'd been told that the director had even digitally changed the skin tone of an actor of color because he didn't like the specific color of their skin.
Whedon was "stunned" when this allegation was brought up and said that he had "given the whole movie a lighter look, brightening everything in postproduction, including all the faces." He also said he cut down Cyborg's role in his version of the film because his story line "logically made no sense" and that he simply felt Fisher's acting was not great.
He said he spent hours discussing these changes with Fisher in conversations that were "friendly and respectful." Whedon believes that none of the claims Fisher has made are "either true or merited discussing."
"We’re talking about a malevolent force,” he said on the topic of Fisher's motives. “We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”
Following Fisher's allegations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Charisma Carpenter also spoke out against Whedon and said he created "hostile and toxic work environments since his early career." She also said that he "callously" called her fat to colleagues when she was four months pregnant.
While Whedon agreed he "was not mannerly," he remembered his time working with Carpenter much differently.
"Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming," Whedon said. "She struggled sometimes with her lines, but nobody could hit a punch line harder than her.” He also said he "did not call her fat."
The interview goes into much more detail on Whedon's career, including his time working on Firefly, his younger days when he was not as "civilized," his denial of allegations of physical abuse, relationships with actresses while married, and much more.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Continue reading...
In an interview with New York Magazine, Whedon opened up about his experience taking over the directorial duties for Justice League following Zack Snyder's departure due to a sudden death in the family.
“They asked me to fix it, and I thought I could help,” Whedon said before claiming that the decision to take over the project was one of the biggest regrets of his life.
When he was first brought on, Whedon said his role would strictly be limited to writing and advising, but "soon it became clear to Whedon they had lost faith in Snyder’s vision and wanted him to take full control." A WB representative denied this claim and Snyder has publicly revealed that he chose to leave Justice League to spend time with his family after his daughter had died by suicide.
After becoming the new director of Justice League, Whedon was in charge of nearly 40 days of reshoots and he admitted that "from the start, things were tense between him and the stars." Whedon's directorial style was much different than Snyder's, as he expected actors to read lines exactly as they are written while Snyder encouraged a bit more creative freedom.
An unnamed crew member shared to New York that this change "didn't go down well at all," especially after Whedon announced that he had never worked with "a ruder group of people." This went beyond simply directorial styles, however, as other actors would continue to criticize his writing. As an example, Whedon claims Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot's suggested that he "didn't understand how superhero movies worked."
Gadot has also publicly stated that, during the Justice League reshoots, Whedon "threatened her career" if she didn't read the lines as he wrote them for Wonder Woman or failed to follow his direction. She says Whedon went so far as to say he would "harm" her career if she continued to pushback on his rewrites.
“I don’t threaten people," Whedon said when asked about the allegations. "Who does that?”
He continued on to say that Gadot just "misunderstood him."
"English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech," Whedon said. He gave a specific example of a time when he was arguing with Gadot over a scene she wanted to cut. Whedon said that he "jokingly" told her "that if she wanted to get rid of it, she would have to tie him to a railroad track and do it over his dead body."
"Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track,” Whedon added. Gadot told New York in an e-mail that this was not true and that she "understood perfectly" what was going on.
Cyborg actor Ray Fisher has also been vocal about his negative experience working on Justice League with Whedon. While Cyborg was a central focus on Snyder's version of the film, Whedon "downsized" his role and would end up cutting scenes that Fisher said "challenged stereotypes."
"It feels like I’m taking notes right now,” Whedon told Fisher when the actor shared his concerns over the rewrites, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “and I don’t like taking notes from anybody — not even Robert Downey Jr.”
Fisher also accused Whedon of abusing his power and revealed he'd been told that the director had even digitally changed the skin tone of an actor of color because he didn't like the specific color of their skin.
Whedon was "stunned" when this allegation was brought up and said that he had "given the whole movie a lighter look, brightening everything in postproduction, including all the faces." He also said he cut down Cyborg's role in his version of the film because his story line "logically made no sense" and that he simply felt Fisher's acting was not great.
He said he spent hours discussing these changes with Fisher in conversations that were "friendly and respectful." Whedon believes that none of the claims Fisher has made are "either true or merited discussing."
"We’re talking about a malevolent force,” he said on the topic of Fisher's motives. “We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”
Following Fisher's allegations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Charisma Carpenter also spoke out against Whedon and said he created "hostile and toxic work environments since his early career." She also said that he "callously" called her fat to colleagues when she was four months pregnant.
While Whedon agreed he "was not mannerly," he remembered his time working with Carpenter much differently.
"Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming," Whedon said. "She struggled sometimes with her lines, but nobody could hit a punch line harder than her.” He also said he "did not call her fat."
The interview goes into much more detail on Whedon's career, including his time working on Firefly, his younger days when he was not as "civilized," his denial of allegations of physical abuse, relationships with actresses while married, and much more.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Continue reading...