Whedon off of Wonder Woman

Fanboys and girls of the world brace yourself (and, hopefully, quickly realize there has to be something more important than this going on in the world today.) Sorry to ruin your Saturday, but here's what the man himself had to say about it on Whedonesque:

You (hopefully) heard it here first: I'm no longer slated to make Wonder Woman. What? But how? My chest... so tight! Okay, stay calm and I'll explain as best I can. It's pretty complicated, so bear with me. I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked. Hey, not that complicated.

Let me stress first that everybody at the studio and Silver Pictures were cool and professional. We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time. I don't think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk. I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views.

The worst thing that can happen in this scenario is that the studio just keeps hammering out changes and the writer falls into a horrible limbo of development. These guys had the clarity and grace to skip that part. So I'm a free man.

Well, sorta. There is that "Goners" movie I can finally finish polishing, and plenty of other things in the hopper I've wanted to pursue. I'm as relieved as I am disappointed, and both of those things lead to drink, so that's a plus. Truly, you may be hearing some interesting things brewing in the coming months. But all potential jets therein will be visible.

But most importantly, I never have to answer THAT question again!!!! And you don't have to link to every rumor site! Finally and forever: I never had an actress picked out, or even a consistant front-runner. I didn't have time to waste on casting when I was so busy air-balling on the script. (No! Rim! There was rim!) That's the greatest relief of all. I can do interviews again!

Thanks for your time. You are the people who make the world go 'round. Or, no, science does that.

Fascinating stuff. I had heard they were bringing in new folks to help with the script, but I had no idea this would happen. And no actresses under consideration? Witness the power of the rumor mill run rampant, since Rachel Bilson seemed to have been given the role what now seems like years ago.

So, what now? Well, I had heard something vague about "Goners" before, but here's something a little more concrete, courtesy of
Empireonline.com (though I think this interview is about a year old):

He has apparently sold the script for this new slice of sci-fi to Universal, so let's see if he can concentrate long enough to get it made.

"I’m keeping it all pretty close to my chest at the moment," Whedon told Empire. "I’m something of a blabbermouth. What I will say is that it ventures more into the horrific than I normally tend to. I love horror movies but I looked back on Buffy and I was like ’Oh, we forgot to make it scary.’ It was occasionally scary but I got so wrapped up in the emotions and people and things that I missed the horror aspect. Goners comes back to that a little bit."

Plot-wise, all Whedon will divulge is that it’s about a young woman, and involves heoics. Not a million miles from Buffy, Serenity or even Wonder Woman. So what’s with the archetype appeal?

"You know, I don’t really know. It’s the kind of story I like to tell and I’m going to keep telling it until somebody tells me to stop. I’m not sure what aspect of its appeals to me, it’s just something that’s in me it’s just something I identify with, something I idealise. It’s Something that I don’t see enough, that I find fascinating and uplifting. Anything that’s uplifting and sexy I feel is a good thing."

Amen, brother. And please keep your attention span on the Buffy comic book long enough to get that made!

As for me, I'll get over this news soon enough, because "Pan's Labyrinth" has finally made it to my little corner of the world, after what seems like a five-year wait. I'll post a review tomorrow, but if it's anything short of fantastic I'm gonna be disappointed. Peace out.