Filmmaker Joss Whedon has finally responded to the many allegations of misconduct and harassments levelled at him during his time working on Justice League and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Whedon spoke about taking over Justice League following Zack Snyder's unexpected departure due to a family tragedy. Whedon assisted with extensive rewrites and reshoots, drastically changing the tone of the film from what Snyder had originally intended.
“They asked me to fix it, and I thought I could help,” Whedon said, adding that taking on the project is one of his life's biggest regrets.
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The Buffy creator said that he initially believed he had come aboard to write and occasionally advise, but it soon became clear to the director that Warner Bros. had "lost faith in Snyder's vision and wanted him to take full control." A representative for WB has denied this claim, and Snyder himself has spoken publicly about leaving the project being his choice after his daughter died by suicide.
As the new director of Justice League, Whedon oversaw around 40 days of reshoots, and admitted that there was a tension between himself and the actors.
While Snyder had encouraged more improvisation and freedom with scripts, Whedon wanted the lines read exactly as they had been written. This ""didn't go down well at all," according to one anonymous crew member, and Whedon was soon proclaiming he had "never worked with a ruder group of people".
At one point, Whedon claims, Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot's told the director that he "didn't understand how superhero movies worked."
Gadot herself has alleged that Whedon threatened to "harm" her career if she didn't follow his directions to his satisfaction.
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“I don’t threaten people," Whedon said in response to these allegations. "Who does that?” He added that he believes Gadot "misunderstood him" because English isn't her native language.
"English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech," Whedon said. As an example, he recalled an argument with Gadot in which "jokingly" said if she wanted a certain scene cut she'd have to tie him to a railroad track and do it "over his dead body".
"Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track,” Whedon said. Gadot told the publication over e-mail that this untrue and that she in no way misunderstood or misconstrued what was being said.
Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg, has also spoken frequently about the way in which he was treated by Whedon and others on the set of Justice League. Fisher plays a much larger role in the Synder Cut, as we now know, but the character of Cyborg was "downsized" in the Whedon version. Fisher adds that the director cut scenes that "challenged stereotypes".
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"It feels like I’m taking notes right now,” Whedon is believed to have told Fisher when the actor came to talk to him about the rewrites, The Hollywood Reporter notes. “And I don’t like taking notes from anybody - not even Robert Downey Jr.”
Fisher has also accused Whedon of abusing his power, and going so far as to have the skin tone of an actor changed because he didn't like the colour.
Whedon said he was "stunned" at these allegations, and maintains he had "given the whole movie a lighter look, brightening everything in postproduction, including all the faces." He also implied that Cyborg's role in his version of the film was cut because "logically made no sense", and that Fisher's acting wasn't very good.
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"We’re talking about a malevolent force,” Whedon said of Fisher. “We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”
You can read the full interview with Whedon here.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.Topics: Justice League, DC, Warner Bros