Joss Whedon

Writer, Producer and Director 

Emmy winner and Oscar nominee JOSS WHEDON is one of Hollywood's top creators, scripting and directing several hit films including THE AVENGERS and creating one of television's most critically praised shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Born in New York, Whedon is a third-generation television writer. His grandfather and father were both successful sitcom writers on shows such as The Donna Reed Show, Leave It to Beaver and The Golden Girls.

After receiving a degree in film studies from Wesleyan University, Whedon landed his first writing job on the staff of the top-rated series Roseanne. He later pulled double duty on the series Parenthood, co-producing and writing a number of episodes.

After creating Buffy as a feature film script, Whedon brought it to television in 1996, where it became a cult phenomenon. In 2000, Whedon garnered his first Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for his groundbreaking episode entitled Hush. In 2002, he wrote, composed and directed a Broadway-style musical episode entitled Once More, With Feeling which received worldwide recognition and spawned an Original Cast Recording soundtrack, which sold more than 400,000 CDs worldwide. In a New York Times Magazine profile, Buffy was called one of the most intelligent, and most underestimated, shows on television. The show won several awards over its run including Emmys, Saturns, SFXs and a Hugo in its seventh and final season.

In 1998, Whedon developed and produced Angel through 20th Century Fox Television and his production company, Mutant Enemy. The Buffy spin-off gained a loyal following of its own and ran for five seasons on the WB. In 2002, he followed up with the critically acclaimed sci-fi drama Firefly for the Fox network. In addition to serving as creator and executive producer on Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Firefly, Whedon also wrote and directed multiple episodes of each series.

He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay with Disney's box-office smash TOY STORY. His other feature writing credits include TITAN A.E., BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, SPEED, and ALIEN RESURRECTION. In fall 2005, Whedon made his feature directorial debut with SERENITY, based on the Firefly series.

Whedon's musical internet series titled Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog made its debut online in 2008 and became a smash success, winning numerous awards such as an Emmy win for Outstanding Special Class Short-Format Live Action Entertainment Program. Concurrently, Joss finished his second season, working as the creator, writer, and director of his Fox television series Dollhouse. Following Dollhouse, Whedon teamed up with fellow Dr. Horrible, Neil Patrick Harris, to direct an episode of Fox's critically acclaimed series, Glee.

In addition to his television and feature writing, Whedon created Fray for Dark Horse comics, wrote Astonishing X-Men, Runaways for Marvel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons 8 and 9 for Dark Horse Comics.

In the fall of 2011 Whedon and his wife Kai Cole announced the formation of their micro-budget studio, Bellwether Pictures. Their first project was announced to be a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING along with a deal for Titan Books to publish a companion book. This official tie-in features an introduction by Whedon, his full screenplay, and a gallery of photos from the set. Also included is an extended interview with the director, discussing his approach to the play and the production of the movie, which was filmed entirely in black and white in just 12 days on location at Whedon's California home. He also wrote the music and edited the film. The studio's next project is an original script penned by Whedon, entitled IN YOUR EYES, which recently wrapped production as well.

Whedon co-wrote and produced Lionsgate's horror/thriller feature film CABIN IN THE WOODS. Whedon also wrote and directed THE AVENGERS, Marvel's signature epic superhero ensemble which became the highest grossing film of 2012.