Joss Whedon
Writer, director, executive producer, and creator of several television series, most notably Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.
All worthy work is open to interpretations the author did not intend. Art isn't your pet — it's your kid. It grows up and talks back to you.
I have had a dream my whole life... and it was not this good.
The actors can make up their dialogue. I'm bushed, and they're all funny, and the hell with it. Maybe I'll give them a premise to work off of, like "You're all in trouble" or "Wash has a thing". They could maybe light it too.
Joss: Um, no. Dead Buffy's a Buffy. But a dead one.
You can either watch TV or you can make TV.
I'm working on Buffy: Deep Space Nine. It will be dark and badly received.
If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.
The network called up and said 'We piggybacked you on the deal for another show,' I'm like 'Okay, so what you're saying to my writers is that they weren't picked up when they thought they were and now that they are it was because of something that has nothing to do with them. Okay. Great. Stop calling'.
There is nothing more painful in the world than Aly when she makes her big eyes. She makes her big hurt eyes, there's nothing you can do. She just kills you.
I believe we are the only sentient beings in the universe, and I believe that 500 years from now, we will still be the only sentient beings around.
I believe the only reality is how we treat each other. The morality comes from the absence of any grander scheme, not from the presence of any grander scheme.
I think that people need two kinds of fulfillment — one in which you give and one in which you hold back. Part of fulfillment is need, is longing, is being unfulfilled, that’s the nature of tragedy and a lot of drama. Very often, what the fans want, they get. But very often, what they want, they can’t quite have, because we want them to feel the way our characters felt...
Very occasionally, if you really pay attention, life doesn’t suck.
My visions of the future are always pretty much standard issue. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer... and there are flying cars.
Q: So, why do you write these strong female characters?
A: Because you’re still asking me that question.
People with real power never fear of losing it. People with control think of little else.
The first thing I ever thought of when I thought of Buffy, the movie, was the little...blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed, in every horror movie. The idea of Buffy was to subvert that idea, that image, and create someone who was a hero where she had always been a victim. That element of surprise ... genre-busting is very much at the heart of both the movie and the series.
Stay crunchy, even in milk.
I don't actually have anything against anybody, unless their belief precludes everybody else's. … I am an atheist and an absurdist and I have been for many years. I've actually taken a huge amount of flack for that.
Hello, I'm the writer and director. Now take your clothes off and get on top of Morena.