Tag: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Kathryn Graham: WhedonCon is Coming to Los Angeles May 18th – 20th!

by Kathryn Graham

Hey fans of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Marvel’s Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog, and other fun Whedon-creations like Cabin in the Woods, if you’re in Los Angeles or you can get your butt over here by May 18th – 20th, then WhedonCon is the place for you.

A con run by fans for fans, Fandom Charities Inc. have taken their love of the affectionately named ‘Whedonverse’ and combined it with some truly fantastic humanitarian causes. read article

SUBLIME PRIMETIME 2016 – Writing Advice From Emmy-Nominated Writers

Photo courtesy of Michael Jones/WGAW
Photo courtesy of Michael Jones/WGAW

by Kelly Jo Brick

Sublime Primetime, an annual event presented by the Writers Guild of America, West, the Writers Guild Foundation and Variety, hosted several of this year’s Emmy-nominated writers who discussed the inspirations for their nominated episodes, the importance of research and realism in the stories they tell, how they got their first breaks and the need for greater diversity both on the screen and behind the camera.

These Emmy-nominated writers shared with TVWriter.com their advice for writers who are just starting out in the business.

Joel Fields (THE AMERICANS) – Write a lot and read a lot. I remember once when I was having a moment in my career where I was struggling, I was talking to my agent about it and he gave me some great advice. He said, “Keep writing.” I think that’s what it’s all about. Find what you’re passionate about and the stories you want to tell and tell them. read article

Kelly Jo Brick: The Write Path With Dean Batali, Part 2

A series of interviews with hard-working writers
by another hard-working writer!

by Kelly Jo Brick

Batali Headshot (dark bg)Aspiring writers often wonder how the pros got where they are. The truth is, everyone’s story is different, but there are some common elements: dedication, persistence and hard work.

Writer Dean Batali’s Hollywood career began with a brief stint counting money for the Central Vault at Universal Studios and led to writing for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, That ‘70s Show, What’s Up Warthogs and Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch. Through all his experience, he credits much of his start to a mythical Hollywood mailroom job and Froot Loops.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU GOT WHEN YOU WERE BREAKING IN? read article

Kelly Jo Brick: The Write Path With Dean Batali, Part 1

A series of interviews with hard-working writers —
by another hard-working writer!
by Kelly Jo Brick

Batali-Headshot-dark-bg-211x300Aspiring writers often wonder how the pros got where they are. The truth is, everyone’s story is different, but there are some common elements: dedication, persistence and hard work.

From writing a play for his church, to the Central Vault at Universal Studios and on to one of those mythical Hollywood mailroom jobs, writer Dean Batali worked his way up in the industry before landing in the writers’ room on TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, That ‘70s Show and Ties That Bind. read article

Can men write good heroines?

This article gives the answer: A grudging “Um, oh, yeah, some can. Like, you know, Joss Whedon.” Only the writer’s a Brit so she says it a tad more eloquently:

by Samantha Ellis

Can men write good heroines? Most of the heroines I write about in my book How to Be a Heroine are written by women. And most of the heroines I find most problematic are written by men. It’s very troubling to go back to Hans Christian Andersen‘s The Little Mermaid and find that it’s a story about a mermaid who gives up her voice for legs to get a man. And even as a girl, I was furious with Charles Dickens for letting Nancy get bludgeoned in Oliver Twist and, later, outraged that Samuel Richardson heaped pain and indignity on Clarissa and called her “an Exemplar to her sex” as though learning to suffer well made us exemplary.

It’s particularly distressing to see how male writers have punished their heroines for being sexually adventurous. Leo Tolstoy‘s Anna Karenina throws herself under a train; Gustave Flaubert makes Emma Bovary pathetic even before she poisons herself. It’s striking that when Erica Jong wrote about an adulteress inFear of Flying, she gave her a happy ending, in which she is reborn in a hotel bathtub, and summons her adoring husband back. read article