Joss Whedon Responds to Justice League Allegations, Calls Cast Rude

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Filmmaker Joss Whedon has broken his silence on allegations of misconduct while working on Justice League, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.

In an interview with New York Magazine, Whedon opened up about his experience taking over as director of Justice League after Zack Snyder left due to a sudden death in the family.

“They asked me to fix it, and I thought I could help,” Whedon said before claiming the decision to take on the project was one of the biggest regrets of her life.

Image Credit: Brian Ach/Getty Images for MTV

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When he was first hired, Whedon said his role would be strictly limited to writing and advising, but “it soon became clear to Whedon that they had lost faith in Snyder’s vision and wanted let him take full control.” A representative for The WB denied this claim, and Snyder publicly revealed that he chose to leave Justice League to spend time with his family following his daughter’s suicide.

After becoming the new director of Justice League, Whedon was in charge of almost 40 days of reshoots and he admitted that “from the start, things were tense between him and the stars”. Whedon’s directing style was very different from Snyder’s, as he expected actors to read the lines exactly as they were written, while Snyder encouraged a bit more creative freedom.

An unnamed crew member told New York that this change “didn’t go over well at all”, especially after Whedon announced that he had never worked with “a rougher bunch of people”. This went beyond mere directing styles, however, as other actors would continue to criticize his writing. As an example, Whedon claims Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot suggested he “didn’t understand how superhero movies worked.”

Gadot has also publicly stated that, during Justice League reshoots, Whedon “threatens her career” if she doesn’t read the lines as he writes them for Wonder Woman or follow his instructions. She says Whedon went so far as to say he would “damage” her career if she continued to push back on her rewrites.

“I don’t threaten people,” Whedon said when asked about the allegations. “Who do this?”

He went on to say that Gadot “misunderstood him”.

“English is not his first language, and I tend to be flowery boring in my speech,” Whedon said. He gave a specific example of a time he argued with Gadot over a scene she wanted cut. Whedon said he “jokingly” told her “that if she wanted to get rid of him, she would have to tie him to a train track and do it over his corpse”.

“Then I was told that I said something about her dead body and tied her to the train tracks,” Whedon added. Gadot told New York in an email that wasn’t true and she “fully understood” what was going on. to.

Cyborg actor Ray Fisher also opened up about his negative experience working on Justice League with Whedon. While Cyborg was the focus of Snyder’s version of the film, Whedon “cut back” on his role and would end up cutting scenes that Fisher says “challenge stereotypes”.

“I feel like I’m taking notes right now,” Whedon told Fisher when the actor raised concerns about rewrites, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “and I don’t like taking notes. of anyone, not even Robert Downey Jr.”

Fisher also accused Whedon of abusing his power and revealed he was told the director even digitally altered an actor of color’s complexion because he didn’t like the specific color of his skin. .

Whedon was “stunned” when this allegation was brought up and said he “made the whole film look lighter, illuminating everything in post-production, including all the faces”. He also said he cut Cyborg’s role in his version of the film because his script “logically didn’t make sense” and he just thought Fisher’s acting wasn’t great.

He said he spent hours discussing these changes with Fisher in “friendly and respectful” conversations. Whedon believes that none of Fisher’s claims are “neither true nor worth discussing”.

“We’re talking about a malevolent force,” he said of Fisher’s motives. “We’re talking about a bad actor both ways.”

Following Fisher’s allegations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Charisma Carpenter also spoke out against Whedon and said he had created “hostile and toxic work environments throughout his career.” She also said he “insensibly” called her fat in front of her colleagues when she was four months pregnant.

While Whedon agreed he “wasn’t well-behaved,” he remembered his time working with Carpenter very differently.

“Most of my experiences with Charisma have been delightful and charming,” Whedon said. “She struggled with her lines at times, but no one could hit a punchline harder than her.” He also said he “didn’t call her fat.”

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The interview goes into much more detail about Whedon’s career, including his time working on Firefly, his youth when he wasn’t as “civilized”, his denial of allegations of physical abuse, his relationships with actresses then. that he was married, and much more.

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Adam Bankhurst is a reporter for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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