Nothing major, but there are a few bits and pieces that made this too spoilery to put on the main board:
[b:5675d1a110] Growing Up[/b:5675d1a110]
[i:5675d1a110] Marti Noxon, master of melodrama and brand-spankin new executive producer of Buffy, fills us in on whats to come in Sunnydale. [/i:5675d1a110]
By Matt Springer
Official UK Buffy magazine, May 2002
Theres a famous story about former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who seem at first glance to have nothing to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or anything at all these days, since hes quite dead. But while he lived, he gave a commencement address at a college in America. He took the podium quite solemnly, and said to the crowd:
Never give up. Never give up. Never, never, never give up.
Then he sat down. The record is sketchy as to whether or not he received a warm round of applause or found himself pelted with rotten tomatoes by the picky crowd, who were probably hoping for someone far more glamourous at their college graduation than a jowly Prime Minister, whod brought his country through a world war.
If theres a moral to the story of Marti Noxons career in television, it might be Never give up. Before being hired for Buffys second season, Marti was working as an assistant to a producer and trying to sell scripts on the side. I wasnt actually at the end of my rope; Id actually gotten there and kept going, Marti explains. I was well beyond the end of my rope, but I was pretty committed. I knew that I wasnt going to be able to do anything else and be happy. I had actually been writing for the stage when I got this job, and had gotten a play into a workshop at a theatre here. Finally, I caught a break. And what a break.
With Buffys sixth season, Marti has stepped up to assume full executive producing duties alongside Joss Whedon. From overseeing writers meetings to guiding each episode through the post-production process, shes become a new overlord of the Buffyverse. Though her schedule has become even more furiously packed with new responsibilities, she did take time out to chat with Buffy Magazine about season six, her favourite characters and moments from the show, and her particular gift for jerkin the tears.
[b:5675d1a110] Buffy magazine: First off, we have to ask - was that you singing in Once More, With Feeling?[/b:5675d1a110]
Marti Noxon: That was me.
[b:5675d1a110] You have a very beautiful voice. [/b:5675d1a110]
Well, thank you.
[b:5675d1a110] Were you a singing sensation in another life?[/b:5675d1a110]
I was a singer-type person in musicals and stuff like that, and I did study a bit in schoool. I did some semi-professional stuff when I got out of college.
[b:5675d1a110] Did you play any lead parts in the musicals?[/b:5675d1a110]
Oh, you know. I was in Oklahoma!. I was the girl who couldnt say no, not surprisingly.
[b:5675d1a110] What was it like to make your acting debut in front of the cameras?[/b:5675d1a110]
It was awful! It wasnt easy. It was hot and it was boring, and I was worried about how I looked. I felt very vain and self-conscious. I was very glad to be a writer after all that. I had a good time and it was fun, but it was definitely difficult and stressful.
[b:5675d1a110] Did any of the regular cast members pick on you at all, knowing you were the new kid on the block?[/b:5675d1a110]
No, they were wonderful. I think they all knew that I would crumble if anyone teased me or tried to do practical jokes. My whole grasp on the situation was very tentative. I was not in my element, and they were all kind to me, which was wise and very, very good of them.
[b:5675d1a110] You anticipated having more work as you stepped up to the role of executive producer. Is it about what you expected or insanely more than you expected?[/b:5675d1a110]
In some ways, its not as bad. I had been easing into some of the responsibilities over the past couple of years anyway. In some ways, its not as tough as I thought it would be. The show has been on for a while and it runs pretty well at this point. Its like not having to fix something thats not broken - I knock on wood as I say that. That makes it a lot easier on me, because people are all really good at their jobs. We have an amazing group of writers that I work with who are also capable of taking on many other responsibilities, so I can push things on them.
[b:5675d1a110] What kind of new jobs have you taken on this year that you werent dealing with last year?[/b:5675d1a110]
Joss is doing a lot less in terms of post-production: he doesnt do any of the music stuff anymore. Thats basically all me, and in terms of going to mixes or any of the technical stuff we do on the back end, hes not as involved. He still looks at a final cut and he usually takes a final pass on shows, and hes still involved in story breaking. Other than that, hes pretty much left it to me and the rest of the giggleheads here.
[b:5675d1a110] Has it been fun for you?[/b:5675d1a110]
Its wonderful! Its so nice to have a variety of responsibilities.
[b:5675d1a110] Do you have a favourite among the episodes youve written? Is it easy to pick one?[/b:5675d1a110]
Its not easy to pick one, because theyre all your different babies. You even love the flipper babies - the ones that didnt quite work out. There are things about those you love too. I have a certain affection for different shows. I really enjoyed writing the Willow and Oz stuff; the whole Wild at Heart trilogy was really fun. Of course, I loved writing Buffy and Angel stuff. I have a special place in my heart for I Only Have Eyes For You, because its all so ghosty, and I love that kind of stuff.
[b:5675d1a110] Its also a definite three-hanky episode, a real tear-jerker. It seems like youve cornered the market on some of those moments on Buffy[/b:5675d1a110]
I try to jerk the tears. Thats my favourite thing. I certainly havent developed a reputation as the laugh-riot, farcical lady - and thats okay. We all have our things, and Im definitely more of a dramatical writer. It seems like I have a contrary impulse; when Im supposed to be serious, I like to crack a joke, and when Im supposed to be joking, I cant seem to find the funny to save my life. I definitely am drawn to the darker material. Quite a few of the writers came out of comedy and thats not my background. My background is pretty much suicidal characters, death and despair, pain...
[b:5675d1a110] Joss always talks about having very firm ideas about whats to come on the show. Has he let you in on all of his plans?[/b:5675d1a110]
He pretty much lets me and the other writers in as soon as he thinks of stuff. Hes greedy that way; he wants an audience. We hear about stuff that bears fruit, and we hear about stuff that never comes to pass. Were always weighing in on that process, but he definitely drives the shape of the season.
[b:5675d1a110] Have the writers meetings changed at all since youve taken over?[/b:5675d1a110]
Joss is still very involved, but I would hope that he has to spend less time in the room. I think that is true, by and large; hes still coming up with stories and directions, but I believe that he actually doesnt have to spend as much time. I think that was the goal. The next goal is to have him not do that at all, but I think thats impossible because, you now, genius. Plus its his baby, and I dont think he could ever walk away completely.
[b:5675d1a110] You guys always seem to have themes you want to explore going into every season. Can you tell us in a thematic way what season nine might be about?[/b:5675d1a110]
Season nine? [laughs]
[b:5675d1a110] Im sorry, I have the wrong number written in my notes.[/b:5675d1a110]
Yknow, no, I dunno.
[b:5675d1a110] Do you have a crystal ball there? Some tea leaves?[/b:5675d1a110]
I see the executive producer keeling over from exhaustion. Thats weird. Howd that happen?
[b:5675d1a110] Im wondering more about season six.[/b:5675d1a110]
Of course. I think the overwhelming theme this year is about growing up. Its about when youre finally faced with adult responsibilities and realities. Every character on the show is dealing with grown-up issues. Joss keeps saying that the theme of the season is Oh, grow up!, because everybodys up against it. All of their parental figures are gone and each one of them is facing new things.
Buff is facing huge responsibility shifts because shes responsible for Dawn and she cant continue school. She has to work and deal with money, and all these crazy things that people shouldnt have to deal with at that age.
Willow is dealing with addiction, which is very much about adult crossroads - how is she going to handle herself on this one? Whether you choose to cope with it and take responsibility or whether you dont is a huge grown-up problem. And Xander and Anya are talking marriage, which is almost the ultimate in grown-upness. All of them are looking at these major thresholds.
[b:5675d1a110] Willow has taken a darker turn in her storyline. In terms of setting that up, was it important for you guys to find someone among the core cast to give that storyline too, giving it more of an emotional resonance that it might not otherwise have?[/b:5675d1a110]
It was definitely something that we wanted our characters to go through, but it wasnt like, Lets do addiction for a storyline. It sort of grew out of Willow and the idea that so much power is corrupting, even for someone as wonderful as her. At the heart of Willow is still someone who feels a little insecure about herself. That inner nerd never dies, so it made sense to me that she would be a person who took it too far, because it gave her such a feeling of strength. It grew out of a character, as opposed to Hey, lets do Party of Five, only with magic.
[b:5675d1a110] Speaking of inner nerds, lets talk about the legion of nerds. Were you looking for some comic villains to lighten things up this season?[/b:5675d1a110]
We were looking for villains who were a little more organic, in the sense that it wouldnt be a god from another universe. It was all Josss doing, and it just made so much sense to me because it was characters we knew. We really understand their motivations, where normally you dont always understand why our bad guys are doing what they do. Its usually something more apocalypse-y, and we knew we couldnt pull off the whole apocalypse things again this year: it just wasnt going to work. We needed to find something that was a little more down-to-earth.
The other thing is that they play into the theme, because theyre looking for the easy way out. These are guys who should be getting jobs and going to school, and instead theyre looking to shortcut all that with magic and thievery and badguyness. The whole growing-up theme is definitely reflected in their desire not to grow up.
[b:5675d1a110] What are the plans with Giles? Will it take a special occasion to draw him back, or will he be popping up every once in a while?[/b:5675d1a110]
I think the general idea is that when hes in America and available, he may pop up. But we dont have any specific plans in mind.
[b:5675d1a110] Do you have any plans to direct other episodes this season?[/b:5675d1a110]
Not this season, but maybe next season. This season, we knew I would be taking on some more responsibilities and we decided not to complicate things. When one of our writers directs, that basically takes us out of being able to do other things for about 16 days - eight days of prep and eight days of shooting is the minimum. It really knocks people out of their other duties, and it didnt seem right for me to do that this year. Doug Petrie is directing two episodes this season, and David Fury directed one, so our other writers are stepping up.
[b:5675d1a110] Is directing something you look forward to getting back to, that youre excited by?[/b:5675d1a110]
Absolutely. Its a tremendous amount of fun and really challenging. It makes you closer to everyone on the crew and on the set. Its just really hard and really takes a lot out of you. It uses every part of your brain, and Im not used to doing that. I like to keep it the way it is.
[b:5675d1a110] One part at a time.[/b:5675d1a110]
Yeah. But in all honesty, I cant wait to do it again. Ill challenge that brain again.
[b:5675d1a110] In a recent online interview, you mentioned a couple of film projects you were working on. Can you tell us more about those?[/b:5675d1a110]
I am currently working on a movie for Universal, which is a romantic comedy. I also just did a big special effects movie for them, a rewrite, which is called Supernatural Law and is based on a comic book.
[b:5675d1a110] Is that where you see your life progressing after Buffy - to film?[/b:5675d1a110]
In my ideal world, Id do both, if I could clone myself! Television is very gratifying for the writer because they have got some power, and they can see their words actually hit the screen. Ive written two or three projects for film, and nothing has gotten made. Its a lot more fun to see stuff executed. But I would also love, love, love to see a movie made with my name on it. That would give me an enormous thrill.
[b:5675d1a110] Which of the characters do you most relate to? Whos your favourite to write?[/b:5675d1a110]
Everybodys always saying that you cant relate to Buffy because shes not like anybody and shes a superhero, but I like Buffy. Its not that I think of myself as a superhero, its more that I identify with her romantic troubles. I think everybody wishes they had a superhero within them, so thats the wish fulfilment part of it. I identify with her struggle to be a good person and keep all those balls in the air, and her fatal attraction to the vampire. Fortunately, I got over that, but it took many years. I finally married a non-vampire.
[b:5675d1a110] Thank God for that.[/b:5675d1a110]
Right. I finally got sensible, but not in my twenties, I might add. No sensible behaviour in my twenties.
[b:5675d1a110] Im sure many guys in their twenties are very vampire-esque.[/b:5675d1a110]
Pretty much, yeah.
