Joss Whedon is one of the most inventive writer/directors working in Hollywood today. He’s known for his strong female characters, his love of monsters, and the clever way he mashes genres together to create compelling, highly entertaining stories. Joss is the creative mind behind such cult classic TV shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, and he’s the screenwriter of such films as The Avengers, Toy Story, and The Cabin in the Woods, as well as an unproduced version of Wonder Woman.
One of the great things about Joss is that he only does projects that he loves, whether their big budget super hero movies or micro-budget indies that he shoots in his own house. Check out Joss Whedon’s ten rules of screenwriting to take your writing to the next level.
Credits:
Avengers: Age of Ultron (written by) (filming)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV Series) -2013-
In Your Eyes -2014
Much Ado About Nothing (written for the screen by) - 2012
The Avengers (screenplay) / (story) - 2012
Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous (Video) - 2012
The Cabin in the Woods (written by) - 2012
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope (Documentary) - 2011
Dollhouse (TV Series) 2009-2010
Astonishing X-Men: Gifted (TV Series) - 2009
This American Life Live! (TV Movie) (written by) - 2009
Dollplay (TV Series) (creator) - 2009
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (TV Mini-Series) - 2008
Serenity (written by) -2005
Angel (TV Series) -1999 - 2004
Firefly (TV Series) -2002-03
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) -1996 - 2003
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (story) - 2001
Titan A.E. (screenplay) - 2000
Alien: Resurrection (written by) - 1997
Toy Story (screenplay) - 1995
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (written by) - 1992
Parenthood (TV Series) (written by - 3 episodes) -1990-91
Roseanne (TV Series) (written by - 4 episodes) -1989
Quotes:
Remember to always be yourself. Unless you suck.
Nowadays, I’m really cranky about comics. Because most of them are just really, really poorly written soft-core. And I miss good old storytelling. And you know what else I miss? Super powers. Why is it now that everybody’s like “I can reverse the polarity of your ions!” Like in one big flash everybody’s Doctor Strange. I like the guys that can stick to walls and change into sand and stuff. I don’t understand anything anymore. And all the girls are wearing nothing, and they all look like they have implants. Well, I sound like a very old man, and a cranky one, but it’s true.
When you’re making a movie, you gotta Amp it up, you gotta go to a greater scale and everything is gonna be a little grander, your hero is gonna be more ‘heroicaler’…. Yes that’s a word….. now….
If somebody comes up to me, it’s because they’re moved by something I’m moved by. I’ve never taken a job I didn’t love … So when somebody’s coming up to me, or they’re writing, they’re in the same space I am in. I write for fanboy moments. I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I’m afraid of. I write to do all the things the viewers want too. So the intensity of the fan response is enormously gratifying. It means I hit a nerve.