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Every week, Scott Davis and Austin Kennedy check out the latest, but not always the greatest films in the multiplexes. Everything from the biggest blockbusters, to the smallest indie films to the latest foreign films. Scott and Austin are film geeks by birth, keeping a critical eye on things, but bringing a lot of humor and energy to the proceedings as well. They don't always agree, but it's always entertaining.

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 5/28/2009 1:17 PM UTC

  BUFFY MINUS TALENT
  

  Good news and bad news. The good news is one of the most iconic heroines of recent years may be returning to the big screen. The bad news is that it will be without any input by that person's creator. But I'm going to make a case that while that's a bad idea, the people who do want to take charge make the prospect even worse.
  
  Back in the early 1990s, a little film seemed to escape from the ether and into summer movie houses. It was called BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and I couldn't wait. Everything from the jazzy trailer to the teaser poster featuring a cheerleader's legs as she held her pom-poms in one hand and a stake in the other, said this would be all sorts of awesome. True, the film proudly proclaimed it co-starred then-current reigning douchebag Luke Perry, but hey two out of three.
  
  
  

   
  

  
  
  Then, the movie came out. It was one of those "coulda been" films I still like to visit. It was far from perfect, but it "coulda been." It was charming, funny, entertaining and had an energy most films didn't. The problem came that most people didn't take the premise that seriously. And to be fair, with the title like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, it's a miracle anyone did. But there were a lot of changes made to the film from the writing stage. Then a novice in Hollywood, writer Joss Whedon invisioned a humorous table-turning on the horror films of old. Where the blonde wouldn't get slaughtered but would take back the night. That sort of showed through in the film, but mostly not. Reportedly, co-star Donald Sutherland asked for a few changes, probably to beef up his supporting role. But the main departure came from director Fran Rubel Kazui and her whipped producer hubby Kaz Kazui. Like many producer-director teams, they sought to make BUFFY their own. Even the trailers pimp their names despite no one outside the Kazui household knowing who the hell they were.
  
  The film failed at the box office. Fox's gamble unfortunately did not pay off. But it did garner a small following once it hit VHS.
  
  Flash-forward to five years later and one of the most open-minded gambles and successful turnarounds in the history of filmed media. Whedon, then hot after his script for TOY STORY became a phenomenon, pitches a continuation of the BUFFY saga, this time under his guidance, to the "fifth network," the WB. Fox would make the show, everything would be recast and it would pick up a few months to a year after the film ended (or more accurately, Joss' version of the screenplay). It was picked up as a mid-season replacement and no one outisde the production was taking it seriously. Lead actress Sarah-Michelle Gellar famously enthused to her friends about her new leading role, only to be reassured, "Oh that's okay dear, maybe you'll get a pilot next year." Still, both Fox and the WB put their money behind it and big ads featuring a more world-wise Buffy, stake in hand, promising to take the world by storm.
  
  
  

   
  

  
  
  Amazingly, by the time the show aired, it looked as if she might do just that. Critic and fan response was immediate - this was far more witty, original and exciting than just about anything else on television and worthy of a chance. It grew slowly, but by the end of the second season, it was apparant that BUFFY was a force to be reckoned with. The show was a watershed moment in television history, all under the guidance of Whedon's Mutant Enemy production company. Here was a heroine for the modern age. Smart, perky, tough but human enough so that the viewers could relate. Amazingly, all this was accomplished without making Buffy into some mutant sex bomb. Not that some folks in advertising didn't try.
  
  
  

   
  

  
  
  So, why were the names Fran Rubel Kazui and Kaz Kazui still in the credits? And why was Kazui Enterprises still listed before Mutant Enemy? In one of the many books released about the making of the show, the answer was given bluntly. The Kazuis names were on the show because they produced the movie and had some contract provision which insured them credit and a cut of the profits, even though they had nothing to do with the series. Did you hear that? They had nothing to do with the series. It's sort of like when Yes did that song "Three Percent for Nothing." Same principle.
  
  After seven seasons, BUFFY folded, more because Joss and company were done with that story and went onto other things. The story has continued in a fantastic comic book offering, codenamed BUFFY: SEASON EIGHT, which Whedon oversees.
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  Now comes word that Vertigo Entertainment wants to get a new BUFFY feature film going... without Joss Whedon. To quote Eric McCormick in FREE ENTERPRISE, "It could be the worst idea since New Coke." For those who aren't invested in the Buffyverse, l tried to think of various "what if" scenarios for other properties. Unfortunately, many of these have already come true, none of which with successful results.
  
  Let's just say, reaction to the prospect of a Whedon-less BUFFY are a bit passionate. You need only check out rhe reaction on the net. True, fanboy reaction is typically extreme in one way or the other. But here, the geeks have a point. Even those who claim to look forward and defend the psospect have a reacion of, "still, no Joss."
  
  Why is this such a big deal? Because every good thing to come under the heading of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER for more than ten years has been under his guidance, and every bad thing has been under the guidance of the Kazuis. Fran Rubel Kazui has not directed a single film after BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. The Kazuis are listed as producers on TELLING LIES IN AMERICA and ORGAZMO, two films which also didn't have good marketing behind them.
  
  And then there's Roy Lee.
  
  Every now and then, one can look at current trends in pop culture and trace the root to one offending party. For instance, we could trace the glut of bands like N'Sync, Backstreet Boys and their ilk to now-disgraced mogul Lou Pearlman. This works for Hollywood too and a guy named Roy Lee, the head of Vertigo Entertainment. You haven't heard of him, but I guarantee he's pissed you off.
  
  In 2002, Lee bet everything he had on a remake of a Japanese horror film. The result was the American version of THE RING, a film many people (not me) love, some moreso than the original. In classic Hollywood fashion, rather than use the clout to do something right (like Whedon did on BUFFY those many years ago), he drove the premise into the ground. If you're upset over the constant barrage of horror remakes, many of them of Asian properties, you can blame Roy Lee. The Hollywood remakes THE GRUDGE, DARK WATER, THE LAKE HOUSE, THE INVASION, THE EYE, SHUTTER, THE STRANGERS, QUARANTINE and THE UNINVITED all came directly from Roy Lee. He currently has over forty other productions either completed or in the works, almost all of them either sequels or remakes. And this, with the aid of the Kazuis, is who wants to do the new BUFFY movie.
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  It won't happen. I'm going to say that now. There's too much negative press already. Only once in a blue moon does someone ride the negative press all the way to a theatrical release (Gus Van Sant's PSYCHO for instance). Even more rare is the possibility that the end product turns out to be not so bad (I'll begrudgingly site Zack Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD).
  
  Still, I want to show that it isn't just an oath of fealty to Joss Whedon that makes the new BUFFY film such a horrible idea. It's that the people in charge are the producers and hangers-on who leech creativity from everything they touch. These are the people to be wary of. These are the hacks who ruin everything.
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  • Buffy the Vampire Sl
  • Joss Whedon
  • Firefly
  • Serenity
  • Sarah Michelle Gella
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