IMDB Game: Whedon Edition*

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (film):

Ben Affleck appears in one scene as a basketball player.

In the original version of the script, Merrick committed suicide to escape being turned into a vampire by Lothos, who wanted to know the Slayer’s identity so he could dispatch with her.

The original script by Joss Whedon was heavily re-written to make the film “lighter”. In the original script, Buffy burns down the school gym that the dance is being held in, in an effort to destroy the vampires. In the television series (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997)) this fact is referred to several times, as the series is seen as a spin-off of the original, unproduced screenplay rather than this film.

Joss Whedon was so frustrated by how much of his vision was being mishandled and how much of it was being rewritten that he eventually left the set during production and never came back.

This was Hilary Swank’s first film.

Toy Story**:

First fully computer-generated full-length feature film. Each frame took 4 to 13 hours (depending on the complexity of the shot) of time on a RenderFarm consisting of 87 2-CPU SparcStation 20’s, 30 4-CPU Sparc-Station 20’s and a SparcServer 1000.

The animation team perfected the movement of the toy soldiers by gluing some sneakers to a sheet of wood and trying to walk around with them on.

The carpet texture in the hallway of Sid’s house is the same as the carpet texture in The Shining (1980).

The toolbox that Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) pushes off the milk crate bears the name “Binford Tools,” the name of the company which sponsors Allen’s character’s show in “Home Improvement” (1991).

In the scene where Woody is giving everyone warning to get a moving partner, the book “The Tin Toy” can be seen on the shelf behind him. This is the story “Toy Story” was based upon. Its author is listed as “Lasseter,” a reference to director John Lasseter.

The top of Sid’s backpack reads “Julie Macbarfle has cooties!”, a reference to camera manager Julie M. McDonald, who lobbied people to put her name in the film. “Juju’s house of food” is another reference to her.

Whenever a character’s eyes blink, they never blink together, but one at a time.

Billy Crystal was originally offered the chance to voice Buzz Lightyear, but declined. After seeing the finished film, he said the decision was the biggest mistake of his career. Upon learning this, Pixar offered Crystal the role of Mike in Monsters, Inc. (2001), which he readily accepted.

The filmmakers have indicated in interviews that the moving-van chase scene at the end of the film was partially inspired by the toy train chase scene from _Wallace and Gromit in The Wrong Trousers (1993)_ . The Pixar animators considered the toy train sequence to have set a standard for action which they had to surpass in this full-length computer animated film.

Alien: Reserection

Joss Whedon originally scripted the Newborn creature as a four-legged, eyeless, bone-white creature with red veins running along the sides of its head. It had an inner jaw, similar to the all the other aliens. It also had a pair of pincers on the sides of his head. These pincers were used to hold its prey still as it drained the prey of blood with its inner jaw. The creature was also larger, nearly the size of the queen alien. In later script revisions, the creature was changed into a “more believable” hybrid of human and alien.

Sigourney Weaver made the behind-the-back half-court basketball shot successfully after two weeks of basketball practice, tutored by a basketball coach. Her conversion rate during that two weeks was about one shot in from every six. When the day came to shoot the scene, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet wanted to have the ball dropped in from above, rather than wait for Weaver to sink the shot herself, which “would probably take about 200 takes”. Weaver insisted that the she could get the shot in herself, which she was finally allowed to do. She sunk the shot on the very first take, even though she was six feet further past the three-point line. Ron Perlman was completely stunned (and thoroughly impressed), and turned directly at the camera and broke character, saying, “Oh my God!” The editors looked at the shot and decided that there was “enough room to get the scissors in”. Weaver was excited about making the shot, but Jeunet was concerned that audiences would believe the shot to be faked due to the ball leaving the frame. Upon Weaver’s insistence, he kept the shot as it was. Weaver described the miracle shot as “one of the best moments in her life”, after her wedding day and the birth of her daughter, of course.

The genitals of the Newborn had to be digitally removed.

Joss Whedon went through five different versions of the final battle with the “Newborn” creature, the first four versions of which all took place on Earth in such settings as a hospital maternity ward, a giant junkyard, a snowy forest and cliffside, and a desert.

The Auriga interactive computer is named “Father.” In the original Alien (1979), the computer’s name was “Mother.” There are even compatible scenes where people yell at Mother or Father for not responding to them.

Elgyn’s spoken landing code for the Auriga is, of course, “EA-TM-E”.

Winona Ryder agreed to do this film even before reading the script. She stated that she “didn’t care if she died in the first scene”, she’d do it. Ryder claimed that then she could boast about being in an “Alien” movie to her younger brothers.

Danny Boyle was Fox’s first choice to direct. He turned it down to work on A Life Less Ordinary (1997).

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (TV):

Series star Sarah Michelle Gellar initially auditioned for the role of Cordelia Chase, and Charisma Carpenter, who plays Cordelia, auditioned for the role of Buffy. Others who auditioned for Buffy and got other roles include Julie Benz (Darla), Elizabeth Anne Allen (Amy Madison), Julia Lee (Anne) and Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall). Bianca Lawson, who played Kendra the Vampire Slayer in season 2, originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia.

Nathan Fillion (Caleb) originally auditioned for the role of Angel when the show was first being cast in late 1996.

Seth Green played Oz, the werewolf boyfriend of Alyson Hannigan. He also played her boyfriend in My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988).

Joss Whedon supplies the voice of the Mutant Enemy mascot which says “Grrr … Arrgh” heard at the end of almost every episode.

“Mutant Enemy”, Joss Whedon’s production company, was the name he gave to his first typewriter when he was 15. The logo was created in 20 minutes when he was told he had to have one.

The Summers’ Sunnydale address is 1630 Revello Drive.

Originally, Joss Whedon didn’t want either of Buffy’s parents to appear as characters on the show. Accepting that that could get complicated, he settled on just having her mother, Joyce, appear. Joyce ended up staying on the show for five seasons.

The character of Dawn was originally intended to have the power to speak to the dead. She was also supposed to be able to move objects with her mind. These powers were later dropped.

Before he was turned into a vampire, Spike’s name was William. Angel’s real name was Liam, which is the Irish version of the English/British William.

Buffy’s birthday was celebrated in the episode first aired on or near 19 January each year. In the first-year episode “I Robot, You Jane”, Malcolm brings up Buffy’s school records on his computer. In the first view, we see that Buffy was born on 24 October 1980, and that she is a sophomore. The second time we see Buffy’s records, her birthday is 6 May 1979, and she is a senior. Joss Whedon finally decreed Buffy’s birthday to be 19 January 1981.

Anthony Head tutored James Marsters in his London accent for Spike. In reality, Head’s accent is more like Spike’s than the clipped English tones that he sports in the show.

Series creator Joss Whedon wanted to do a musical episode as early as the first season, but the network wouldn’t allow him to. When the show switched networks after the fifth season, he was finally able to get his wish, resulting in the episode “Once More, With Feeling”.

Joss Whedon toyed with the idea of making Xander gay instead of Willow.

During Angel and Buffy’s first lovemaking scene, Joss Whedon and sound editor Cindy Rabideauprovided the heavy breathing, because they were too embarrassed to ask Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz to do it.

The even numbered seasons (2, 4, and 6) each feature a Halloween episode – 2.06 “Halloween”, 4.04 “Fear Itself”, and 6.06 “All the way” – while the odd numbered seasons do not.

Joss Whedon is known to plan his season storylines years in advance. Clues to Dawn’s arrival can be found as early as the third season, but she doesn’t actually show up until the fifth.

Firefly:

Joss Whedon originally cast Rebecca Gayheart as Inara.

The cast preferred to use the ship’s lounge instead of a green room or other accommodations when waiting between shots.

The Alliance’s full title is the “Anglo-Sino Alliance”. Joss Whedon intended the Alliance to be the merger of the USA and China, the last of the world’s superpowers. (This is why many characters on the show sometimes speak Chinese.) The Alliance flag, seen in the original pilot episode, is a blending of the US and Chinese flags.

The cast had a running gag where they would yell Summer Glau’s name whenever they flubbed a line or messed up. It began after she forgot her line at the end of a particularly difficult scene. The gag continued through the filming of Serenity (2005).

All the Alliance officer and soldier uniforms are leftovers from Starship Troopers (1997).

Some of the weapons used in the series were present-day weapons, which were picked based on their somewhat futuristic look. No modifications were made by the prop department to either disguise them or make them more look more futuristic. Alliance soldiers are seen carrying Enfield L85 rifles, which have been standard issue in the British Army since the early 1980s. The Browncoats are seen using Heckler & Koch G36 rifles, which are standard issue in the German Army.

The DVDs of Firefly were flown up to the International Space Station by astronaut Steven Swanson on board the shuttle Atlantis during it’s June 2007 STS-117 mission.

Angel:

It was originally intended for Angel’s sidekick to be Whistler (Max Perlich) who appeared in two episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997). But when the actor couldn’t commit to a series, the character of Doyle was created.

The girl with the electric powers, first appearing in episode 4.2 “Ground State”, is named Gwen Raiden (Alexa Davalos). Raiden is the Japanese god of lightning. The character named Raiden in Mortal Kombat (1995), with the powers of electricity, is also named after this mythological figure.

When Joss Whedon appeared as Numfar in the Pylean arc, it was kept top secret. The only ones that knew it was him were David Greenwalt, Tim Minear, David Boreanaz, and a few key makeup people.

Originally, there was going to be no Jasmine character in season four. Cordelia was going to be the “big bad.” Whedon had originally planned for the season to end with a battle between Angel and Evil Cordelia.

Andy Hallett holds the record for the actor who took the longest to become a regular. He guest starred in over 40 episodes during the second, third, and fourth seasons before finally being added to the main opening credits of the 14th episode in the fourth season.

The address for Angel Investigations at the old hotel is: 1481 Hyperion Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Phone (213) 555-0162. Fax (213) 555-0163.

Liam/Angel was born in 1727 and turned into a vampire in 1753, as established in “The Prodigal” (1.15), and he counts 1753 as his birth year. Although he spent 100 years in a hell dimension due to Buffy’s actions in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997) episode “Becoming: Part 2” (2.22), he does not count those years as part of his lifespan and told Cordelia in “Dear Boy” (2.5) that he was 247. Allowing for aging and assuming that he survived “Not Fade Away” (5.22), he is now 253 years old.

By the end of the show’s run, Angel had lost and regained his soul a total of four times. The first time he lost his soul was when Darla made him a vampire in 1753. The first time he got his soul back was when the gypsy clan cursed him in 1898. The second time Angel lost his soul was when he and Buffy made love on her 17th birthday and he experienced a moment of pure bliss and total happiness (the condition of the curse was that Angel’s soul would be restored but he would lose it if he ever experienced a moment of pure happiness). The second time he regained his soul was when Willow performed the spell to restore it. The third time was when Rebecca slipped him a happy pill so he would relax in the episode, “Eternity”. That was only a temporary condition though and Angelus reverted back to Angel when the effects of the pill wore off. The final time he lost his soul was when a shaman took it. The final time he got his soul back was when, once again, Willow restored it.

In the beginning of the show’s first season, whenever Cordelia would answer the phone at Angel Investigations, she would say, “We help the hopeless.” That line was later changed to “We help the helpless.”

Serenity:

When the Operative reviews Mal’s file, it shows his birth date as 9/20/2468. 9/20/2002 is the day “Firefly” (2002) premiered. Coincidentally, 9/20/1968 is “Firefly” writer/producer Ben Edlund’s date of birth.

Although only a portion of the animated “Fruity Oaty Bar” commercial is visible in the movie, it was produced in its entirety and is visible as an “Easter Egg” on the DVD. Joss Whedon wanted the commercial to be as odd as possible and admits on the DVD that it is heavily inspired by the “Mr. Sparkle” advertisement from “The Simpsons” (1989) episode “In Marge We Trust.” The uncredited actor shown in the commercial and in the Easter Egg segment is Robert Michael Lee.

This is the first film to be released by Universal on HD-DVD (High Definition DVD).

One of the video clips playing on the monitors in Mr Universe’s base is the Blue Sun commercial from the “Firefly” (2002) episode “The Message”.

The key phrase, that Dr. Simon Tam uttered to put River to sleep, “Eta Kooram Nah Smech!” in Russian means literally “this is for hens to laugh”, meaning “this is very ridiculous”.
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The DVD of Serenity was flown up to the International Space Station by astronaut Steven Swanson on board the shuttle Atlantis during it’s June 2007 STS-117 mission.

Body count: 74

In his commentary on the DVD, Joss Whedon made specific mention that Chiwetel Ejiofor, ‘Nathan Filion’ , Summer Glau and Sean Maher all performed many of their own stunts. Summer Glau, in reality a trained dancer, used her dancing skills in River’s two fights – for the second, the cameraman, who was also a dancer, moved through a gap around the combatants in order to achieve the dynamic camera angles which appear in the movie.

According to the director commentary, Mal’s line “Faster would be better” was ad-libbed by Nathan Fillion when Joss Whedon told him to “say something Mal would say.”

According to the Q&A with Joss Whedon and the cast after the premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, there were at least 20 separate takes of the final make-out scene between Simon and Kaylee in the engine room, with take #20 being the one used in the final cut.

Will

*Like your shocked that I’m doing this one.

**Bet this one surprised you. Joss did a rewrite and created the character Rex. Which was enough to get him a screenwriter credit (and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay).

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