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Date Posted: 01:04:38 07/26/08 Sat
Author: silveragent
Author Host/IP: 63.199.111.93
Subject: Not so much in Box Office however
In reply to: Christian 's message, "Buffy KICKS Batman's ass in POLL!!! Woooohoooo!!!!" on 21:28:10 07/16/08 Wed

Online polls are of course, meaningless. Ask Presidents Howard Dean and Ron Paul.

In Box Office, Nolan's TDK is setting record after record. I suspect, that when all is said and done, Buffy is a niche character resting mainly on Sarah Michelle Gellar's bravura performances, and secondarily on the support of talented actors like Tony Head, Nick Brendon, Michelle Trachtenberg, Kristine Sutherland, Alyson Hannigan, and the like.

There is nothing wrong with that, but it is what it is.

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Replies:

[> [> If there was nothing wrong with it -- RJA, 18:02:40 07/28/08 Mon [1] (81.99.124.136)

I doubt you'd take the time to say it.

It's true that Batman is a massively popular character, and a Buffy film could never make as much money as TDK or any Batman films do.

I think, however, that this is partly because Batman is something of a blank slate of a character. He's whatever anyone wants him to be, hence why it has had so many successful incarnations. And it is always as much about the villains as the character itself, so it allows it to be endlessly retold without anyone getting bored.

I think you underestimate the potency of the Buffy character as a character. Everyone knows who she is and what she is about, even if they never saw the show. It was a character that captured a certain zeitgeist, and while I don't think it could lend itself to retelling in the same way, you can't underestimate how significant the character is in her own right. And thats partly down to SMG making it work, but given that Buffy is known to far more people than ever watched the show, I think it's down to Joss as much as anyone.


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[> [> [> would JW be able to project Buffy out of his comic pulp *future*?? -- AnInstant, 21:37:51 07/28/08 Mon [1] (75.48.30.153)

i think he would have spring far ahead and write a **Lost** episode....


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[> [> [> [> Re: would JW be able to project Buffy out of his comic pulp *future*?? -- dee, 12:26:32 07/31/08 Thu [1] (64.12.117.20)

At the Paley Institute's Buffy reunion in March of this year, JW mentioned he would have no problem diverting from the comic book canon if/when he does a Buffy project in another medium.


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[> [> [> Re: If there was nothing wrong with it -- silveragent, 20:01:54 08/03/08 Sun [1] (63.199.111.93)

Batman is not a "blank slate" ... he is very well defined, as the "moral revenge" character, a clear descendant of Zorro and the Count of Monte Christo. His depiction in the Dark Knight dates back to the early origins of the character and particularly, Dennis O'Neil's run in the early 1980's. BEFORE Frank Miller.

It's true that little kids in Bali recognize Sarah as Buffy, but that's more to the ubiquity of media than anything else. These kids are not buying the comics, that's for sure. I think you vastly underestimate the impact of the show being run endlessly around the world, and Sarah's performance making the appeal. If kids in Indonesia know her, it's not due to the writing, which is filled with US pop culture references that pass far beyond Indonesian kids.

Internet polls are meaningless -- otherwise Ron Paul and Howard Dean would be facing off this November.

I also just don't think TV writing is that important, compared to the performances, because the actors stay while the writers come and go. After all, Joss wrote relatively few scripts and was not much involved with the show past the second half of the third season. While Sarah WAS Buffy. Compare/contrast the movie's failure with the TV's show's success.


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[> [> [> [> Re: If there was nothing wrong with it -- dee, 21:15:42 08/03/08 Sun [1] (70.19.178.207)

It's been pretty well established that the series was more successful than the movie because JW had creative control over the show vs. the movie studio having the ultimate say about what appeared on film.
Of course, we all know this included the writing.

Sarah certainly did Buffy proud.
My favorite character. Faults and all.


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