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American writer and director Joss Whedon discusses his film Much Ado About Nothing 2012, a passionate project filmed in his own house starring Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker. He always wanted to do a version of the Shakespeare play after watching it in London as a student, Whedon loved the comedy aspect. He shot the film in black & white in order to elevate it and give it a look from an other time. Whilst shooting and editing Much Ado.... Whedon was editing Marvel's The Avengers 2012 he wrote and directed the first two films. He talks about how working on the two films at the same time was an eye opening experience and he realised just how much Shakespeare influences so many modern films including his very own Avengers script. Whedon goes on to discuss his childhood obsession with comic books, movie scores and action figures. Films such as Superman and Star Wars were a massive influence including their music scores, they really 'fired up his imagination.' His first writing job was for the American sitcom Roseanne 1988 - 1997, he loved working on this very working class, feminist show, he was 'dazzled' by it, for a 30min show 'it had so much texture and difficulty in their lives, dramatic without being over-blown'. Toy Story 1995 during this time Whedon was working as a script doctor for Disney. He was hired to amend scripts and one day was given Toy Story, the script was in terrible shape but the structure and story line was perfect so it was easy to re-write. The film went on to become a hugely successful Pixar film. Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series 1997 - 2003, was originally a film in 1992 written by Whedon, it came from his passion for horror films and his desire to change the narrative of the 'blonde girl victim'. The movie was more of a pastiche, it was the TV series that allowed him to develop the characters. It was the human element and the love story that got everyone hooked, the monsters were a metaphor for his high school experience. The TV series Angel followed, a spin off from Buffy, both TV shows were hugely successful and have a dedicated cult following to this day. Firefly 2002-2003 only lasted one season as there was no passion for it, set in the future with elaborate special effects, this was a disappointment for Whedon. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D 2013 - 2020 created by Whedon about a peacekeeping and spy agency set in the Marvel Universe. Whedon then talks about being deep into the latest Avengers script and the fun of seeing what happens next in the franchise.

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