'Buffy' in for feature relaunch By Borys Kit May 25, 2009, 11:00 PM ET A new incarnation of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" could be coming to the big screen.
"Buffy" creator Joss Whedon isn't involved and it's not set up at a studio, but Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment are working with original movie director Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui, on what is being labeled a remake or relaunch, but not a sequel or prequel.
While Whedon is the person most associated with "Buffy," Kuzui and her Kuzui Enterprises have held onto the rights since the beginning, when she discovered the "Buffy" script from then-unknown Whedon. She developed the script while her husband put together the financing to make the 1992 movie, which was released by Fox.
Kuzui later teamed with Gail Berman, then president of Sandollar Television, bringing back Whedon to make the TV series, which was produced by Fox TV and launched on the WB in 1997. Kuzui and Sandollar received executive producer credits on "Buffy" and its spinoff, "Angel." The new "Buffy" film, however, would have no connection to the TV series, nor would it use popular supporting characters like Angel, Willow, Xander or Spike. Vertigo and Kuzui are looking to restart the story line without trampling on the beloved existing universe created by Whedon. One of the underlying ideas of "Buffy" allows Vertigo and Kuzui to do just that: that each generation has its own vampire slayer to protect it. The goal would be to make a darker, event-sized movie. "It was Roy's interest in taking Buffy into a new place that grabbed us," she said, noting that original exec producer Sandy Gallin also was consulted. "It was based on our respect for what he does, and his particular sensitivity to Asian filmmakers, that we wanted to work with him."
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An interesting family comment: "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog": A Whedon family hootenannyIt's always nice when a pleasant surprise pops up in your inbox late in the afternoon. That was the case with an invite that came out of the blue for a screening next Thursday (July 10) at CAA of Joss Whedon's latest concoction, the made-for-Internet "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."
It's a three-parter with name-brand stars, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day and the fabulous Simon Helberg from my new favorite show, "The Big Bang Theory." "Dr. Horrible" seems to be something of a Whedon family hootenanny. It's penned by Joss, his brothers Jed and Zack, and Jed's fiance, Maurissa Tancharoen. Jed and Maurissa are writing partners working for Joss on his day job, the upcoming Fox drama "Dollhouse."
Zack, as readers of On the Air already know, is a comer who is not only endowed with screenwriting in his DNA (his father and grandfather were also in the family biz) but was taken under wing a few years ago by none other than David Milch. Zack (pictured right) worked with Milch on "Deadwood" and "John from Cincinnati," and even wrote "John's" big-wave-wild finale (I'm not ashamed to say that I really enjoyed that show). In his spare time during the past few months, Zack's been busy working on "Dr. Horrible" and writing a comic book, "Captain Hammer," based on a character from "Dr. Horrible." You can check out his comicbook wordsmithing right here.
"Dr. Horrible," which Joss also helmed, is set to be unleashed on the Web over three days -- July 15, July 17 and July 19. If there's some numerology significance to those dates, maybe we'll find out about it at the screening.
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