Joss Whedon: The Biography

Overview

From the cult favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which netted four million viewers per episode, to the summer blockbuster The Avengers, which amassed a box office of $1.5 billion, Joss Whedon has made a name for himself in Hollywood for his penchant for telling meaningful, personal tales about love, death, and redemption even against the most dramatic and larger-than-life backdrops. This biography follows his development from a creative child and teenager who spent years away from his family at an elite English ...

See more details below
Hardcover
$19.31
BN.com price
(Save 35%)$29.95 List Price

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (Hardcover)
  • All (16) from $17.82   
  • New (14) from $17.82   
  • Used (2) from $19.3   

Overview

From the cult favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which netted four million viewers per episode, to the summer blockbuster The Avengers, which amassed a box office of $1.5 billion, Joss Whedon has made a name for himself in Hollywood for his penchant for telling meaningful, personal tales about love, death, and redemption even against the most dramatic and larger-than-life backdrops. This biography follows his development from a creative child and teenager who spent years away from his family at an elite English public school, through his early successes—which often turned into frustrating heartbreak in both television (Roseanne) and film (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)—to his breakout turn as the creator, writer, and director of the Buffy television series. Extensive, original interviews with Whedon’s family, friends, collaborators, and stars—and with the man himself—offer candid, behind-the-scenes accounts of the making of groundbreaking series such as Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse, as well as new stories about his work with Pixar writers and animators during the creation of Toy Story. Most importantly, however, these conversations present an intimate and revealing portrait of a man whose creativity and storytelling ability have manifested themselves in comics, online media, television, and film.

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Amy Pascale delves deep behind the scenes of Joss Whedon's myriad film and television projects, covering Avengers, vampire slayers, and everything in between.  This thorough and engaging biography is a must-read for everyone who loves Whedon's work, from the casual fan to the most hardcore Browncoat.” —Tim Hanley, author of Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World’s Most Famous Heroine “The material is jam-packed with all sorts of behind the scenes trivia. Perhaps that means an update will be needed after Avengers: Age of Ultron. Amy Pascale has written an interesting, well-written take on the life and art of Joss Whedon; any true fan should take a look.” —CliqueClaque

“Pascale collects enough fascinating details and candid anecdotes to surprise even the most devoted of Whedonites." —Maclean's Magazine

“If you think you know everything about Joss, you haven’t read this thoroughly entertaining and well-researched treasure trove.” —Josh Horowitz, MTV News

“Now that I’ve read this and feel like I know Joss as a person rather than merely a hit-making, critically adored peer, my schadenfreude has been reduced to completely manageable levels.” —Rob Thomas, creator of Veronica Mars 

“When art hits us, it’s fun and possibly necessary to look behind the scenes and see what drove it. Amy Pascale gives great insight into Whedon’s work that will interest and surprise even seasoned fans.” —Alan Kistler, author of The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook and Doctor Who: A History

“Like a series of great tales told during a boozy night of friends reminiscing, Pascal’s biography of Joss Whedon does what the great artistic biographies do — it makes you want to go back and re-experience his work.” —Patton Oswalt

“Though Whedon’s many fans are fairly familiar with the ups and downs of his career, the many frank quotes from Whedon, his friends, family, and coworkers make Pascale’s absorbing bio a must-read.” —Booklist

An informative and readable book.” —Kirkus

“For the story behind one of the hottest writer/directors of the moment, fans will want to pick up this biography.” —SheKnows.com

“Through unprecedented insight, Pascale allows readers to relive the journey… almost as if they were experiencing it with Whedon himself. Readers will gain a true understanding into the creative and inspirational mind and passion of Joss Whedon.” —Geekscholars

Pascale has done a tremendous amount of research; the sheer number of interviewees and sources

is impressive. The book is at its most compulsively readable when the author is writing about the

period when Whedon was running three different shows at once. It’s comprehensive, entertaining

and thoughtful and, perhaps most importantly, it will send you running to your box-sets to relive his

work.” —SciFi Now

 

From the Publisher

“Though Whedon’s many fans are fairly familiar with the ups and downs of his career, the many frank quotes from Whedon, his friends, family, and coworkers make Pascale’s absorbing bio a must-read.” —Booklist

An informative and readable book.” —Kirkus

“For the story behind one of the hottest writer/directors of the moment, fans will want to pick up this biography.” —SheKnows.com

“Through unprecedented insight, Pascale allows readers to relive the journey… almost as if they were experiencing it with Whedon himself. Readers will gain a true understanding into the creative and inspirational mind and passion of Joss Whedon.” —Geekscholars

Kirkus Reviews
2014-06-05
Obsessively detailed treatment of the director ofThe Avengersand creator ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Fireflyand other TV series.Debut nonfiction author Pascale, a director at MTV, delivers a biography of Whedon that caters to the massive worldwide community of sci-fi obsessives who won’t settle for anything less than exhaustive details on the object of their obsession. The author takes readers through the auteur's privileged upbringing—his father penned lyrics for Broadway shows and also wrote forThe Electric CompanyandGolden Girls—and formative educational years spent first in an English boarding school and then studying film at prestigious Wesleyan University, where he cut his teeth as both a teacher and a writer/director. After a stint as a video clerk, Whedon’s break as a writer came through his father’s industry connections; eventually, he landed a job as a writer onRoseannein the early 1990s; not long after, he sold the screenplay for the original movie version ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer. But Whedon would bounce around from show to show as a behind-the-scenes writer and script doctor until his proverbial big break came in the mid-1990s when his Buffy character was refined and recast as a weekly TV series on the WB network. That series lasted almost seven years and accumulated an intense, devoted following. Pascale totally immerses the reader in the “Whedonverse,” a sort of neo-feminist supernatural world grounded in everyday human dilemmas. The author pens worshipful prose throughout, extolling Whedon’s never-ending quest for complete control over his work, and she occasionally goes overboard: For example, does even the most obsessive fan really care what brand of pen and notepad Whedon prefers? By the end of the book, Pascale has adequately familiarized us with the creative commercial artist side of Whedon; however, the actual human being behind all the demons and vampires is never satisfactorily fleshed out.An informative and readable book that often resembles a long PR piece.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781613741047
  • Publisher: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 8/1/2014
  • Pages: 448
  • Sales rank: 69011
  • Product dimensions: 6.10 (w) x 9.20 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Amy Pascale is a director at MTV, where she has worked in on-air and online media for more than 14 years. She is the cofounder and editor of the Web magazine PopGurls.com and was an early member of The Bronze, an online community through which the Buffy the Vampire Slayer staff interacted with the show’s fans. She lives in Highland Mills, New York. Nathan Fillion is an actor best-known for his portrayal of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the Joss Whedon–produced television series Firefly and its film continuation Serenity, which was directed by Whedon. He also appeared in the Joss Whedon vehicles Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and Much Ado About Nothing. He plays Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He lives in Los Angeles.

Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Reviews
  • Posted Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    more from this reviewer

    I am not generally a biography kind of girl. However, that being

    I am not generally a biography kind of girl. However, that being said, I am a huge geek at heart and let's face it, Joss Whedon knows exactly how to speak right to us geeky type people; probably because he himself is one. So when I saw this book on Netgalley, I just had to try to get it. I was thrilled when I was accepted.

    Since I don't read many (any) biographies, I honestly can't tell how it stacks up to others of its genre. I can say that reading about Joss Whedon's life, from a history of his grandfather and father all the way up to his recent success with the Avenger's movie was done in such a way, that I felt like I really got to understand what drives him. The stories, quotes and interviews with his friends, family and co-workers shared the many sides of the man. It was told in such a way that it was very easy to follow his journey to the top of the geek mountain. I learned so many interesting things, and though some myths were debunked, finding out others just made him more interesting.  

    As a fan, I thought I knew quite a bit about him. I learned that what I did accurately know, was just the surface. After reading about the struggles and obstacles throughout his career, it gives his successes and victories that much more meaning. Reading this biography has simply made me a bigger fan. I can't imagine telling the story of a world-class storyteller would be easy, but Amy Pascale did it with grace and aplomp.  This was a fantastic read, worthy of 4 stars. 

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Reviews

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)