by Tami Katzoff (@tvtamijo)
With Joss Whedon and the "Avengers" sequel officially going steady, it's about to get a whole lot busier for us here at The Weekly Whedon.
For now, let’s turn our attention to Whedonverse writer/producer Marti Noxon, who’s made some interesting news of her own recently — she’s partnering with M. Night Shyamalan on the Syfy series “Proof.” She’s also scripting a “Valley Girl” remake, a live-action Tinkerbell movie (“Tink”) starring Elizabeth Banks, and an adaptation of the Jeannette Walls memoir “The Glass Castle.” Like Mr. Whedon, she knows how to keep busy.
Noxon has been involved with many major TV and film projects over the years: “Glee,” “Mad Men,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Fright Night,” and “I Am Number Four” are all on her résumé. But it was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” that kick-started her career. Noxon’s agent suggested that she take a look at the series during its first season.
“I had driven by a billboard for the show and I thought, how dumb,” Noxon recalls. “That was a movie that nobody went to see and now they’ve turned it into a TV show. How stupid is that? So my first reaction was, ‘Ugh, no,’ but my agent was like, ‘You should really watch it.’”
Fortunately for us, she did. “[The agent] sent over all of the episodes and it turned into one of those marathon viewing sessions with me and a bag of microwave popcorn, in tears.”
Noxon wanted in, but she had to get through a meeting with Whedon first. “I had my first interview with him and [producer] David Greenwalt and I remember I was like, ‘Okay, these are genre people,’ so I went shopping for some clothes I thought would make me look geeky.” Noxon thought the interview was a disaster so she prepared to accept an offer from another show. Then she got a call from Joss. “He’s like, ‘What are you doing,’” Noxon says. “He basically spent the next 10 to 15 minutes telling me that I was crazy.”
Noxon’s first “Buffy” script was an episode called “Bad Eggs” — “The kids are given an egg to take care of like a baby and, of course, it’s a demon egg!” She assumed she’d be fired after she wrote it. “I got a call on my home machine and it was David and Joss and they sounded really mad,” Noxon says. “They were like, ‘Marti, we’re calling about your script and it’s not good, we need you to come in.’’’ But it was just Whedon having some fun at Noxon’s expense. “That was the beginning of what, obviously, became a really intense relationship.”
Now, nine years after “Buffy” ended, it’s come full circle for Noxon. “My son is now ten and I think he’s old enough to start watching, so that will be interesting.”
Previously on The Weekly Whedon:
» Joss Whedon’s ‘The Avengers,’ three months later
» In the world of cult TV, ‘Buffy’ is the best
» ’Dr. Horrible‘ sequel coming soon: recapturing the horror of Joss Whedon
» Nathan Fillion finds ’Serenity’ at Comic-Con
» ’Firefly’ at Comic-Con: Joss Whedon thanks the Browncoat Nation
MTV News producer Tami Katzoff presents The Weekly Whedon, a column exploring all corners of the Whedonverse from "Marvel's The Avengers" to "Buffy" and beyond. Assemble your reactions in the comments section!
