Lorrie Lynch writes USA WEEKEND's popular Who's News celebrity column every week. In her Who's News blog, Lorrie writes about celebrity news of the day, the stars she talks to, and how she and her team get the job done.
Anthony Head on 'Invisibles,' 'Merlin' and a possible 'Buffy' movie
Posted by Brian Truitt
Ever since I became a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer some 10 years ago, I’ve wanted to talk to Anthony Head, who played the tweed-clad librarian Rupert Giles in the cult TV show. I finally got a chance to interview him this morning, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. This week, his English crime comedy The Invisibles debuted on DVD in the U.S., and the first season of the BBC series Merlin — a reimagining of the King Arthur legend in which Head plays, in Buffy terms, the “big bad” — premieres on NBC June 21. We talked about The Invisibles, Merlin and that possible Buffy movie that’s been creating an Internet uproar all week so click read more for his thoughts on those subjects, and check out a Merlin sneak preview below.
Photo courtesy of Acorn Media
Head is currently shooting the second season of Merlin, that will air on BBC One this fall, in Compiegne, a French city to the north of Paris. But American TV viewers will get to see the 13-episode first season on Sundays starting next month. The actor says Merlin tackles the Arthurian legend much like the CW’s Smallville deals with the Superman mythos, creating a medieval land where a young Arthur meets a young Merlin. Head plays Arthur’s dad, Uther Pendragon, a ruler who has outlawed any and all sorcery. Of course, Merlin (Colin Morgan) being a magic man himself, he keeps his enchanting ways a secret so he doesn’t get his head lopped off by the king. “I have a whale of a time, I must admit,” Head says about his role, adding that the French castle where Merlin films is as much a character as all the dragons and other creatures running about. “People actually think that it must be CGI because it can’t possibly exist.”
British audiences also got to see Head last year in The Invisibles, which debuted on DVD here Tuesday. In it, he plays a member of a legendary burgler team who comes out of “retirement” when his partner needs to scrounge up some cash, and they join up with the son of another old colleague. “I’m a safecracker who just happens to be a really grumpy old man, and I’m glad to say I had to age up for it,” Head says. “My family would say I was annoying to have at home because a little bit of every character spills over, and I was a grumpy old man, apparently.” Actually, his home life spilled into his professional one, too — his oldest daughter, Emily, guest-starred on two of the six Invisibles episodes as his character’s little girl. In one of Head’s favorite scenes, the daughter — who has no idea her father is a master criminal — finally learns about his past. “You don’t have to act the relationship,” Head says. “The relationship is there, all the love I feel for her is there. And you’re playing a heartbreaking scene where you have to admit to your daughter something that you’ve held back all your life, and all the emotion that comes into play is very real.”
With his appearances on Doctor Who and Little Britain, Head says he’s been lucky enough to have four or five iconic English shows under his belt — “What I always find fascinating is I am all things to all men” — but in America, where he has a home in Los Angeles, he’ll always be famous for playing Sarah Michelle Gellar’s sage mentor on Buffy. “Every time I think, ‘Well, everybody must have forgotten it by now,’ there’s a whole new audience. Young kids coming up to me and saying, ‘I love Buffy!’ ” And being so close to the series, which lasted for seven seasons (1997-2003), he understands why there’s been so much fan outrage this week when it was announced that Fran Rubel Kuzui, the director of the original 1992 Buffy movie starring Kristy Swanson, and her husband Kaz were working on a new film without the involvement of series creator Joss Whedon (who also wrote the original movie’s first script).
Doing a Buffy movie without Whedon? “I wouldn’t want to see it, no,” Head admits. “The Kuzuis didn’t do a great job on the movie the first time around. It was Joss’ script at the age of 19, but they changed a lot of it. They said, ‘Look, we know best and we know how to make this movie,’ and it became quite schlocky and high camp.” Head recalls the time when he went to audition for the Buffy series because he loved Whedon’s pilot script so much, and his agent advised him to watch the movie to get the tone of the show before his screen test. “So I did and I went, ‘Oh, that’s not it at all.’ I went in and saw Joss and said, ‘I watched the movie last night!’ And he went, ‘Oh. Did ya?’ I just put it out of my mind. The bottom line is if a movie was ever to be made, it should be made with Joss Whedon, whether it’s a retrospective or not. But it would be madness to do it without him. [The Kuzuis] have the rights to because they have the rights to the original movie, but it should be interesting to see. It may be a bit like watching a car wreck.”
If they do it right it may be a good thing. As I have been saying since the beginning. Joss Whedon as wonderful as he is stopped doing Buffy at a critical time, left it wide open and after much clamoring decided to finish it in the season 8 comic. I don't wish to be picky, but it's not the same and it feels as if it wasnt his best.Granted a new movie with none of the same people and maybe a possible different storyline, could be a disaster. But different doesn't mean bad.All we get from Joss in the buffy category when we all want the story finished PROPERLY is "not going to happen" if the Kuzui's do it right this time instead of the abomination they made the LAST time--it could better..
Couldn't agree more with every lifelong Buffy & Angel fan in the world! Without Joss involved, it's going to be a spectacular abortion of a movie! It's HIS world, one that we all enjoyed visiting for 7 seasons, and for it to be staked through the heart like this is unforgivable! Kuzui's, if you actually care about the fans more than money, at least have the decency to do this movie correctly, involve the writers, as much of the cast as possible, and don't sully the good name of Buffy!!! I grew up with these characters, love these characters, and the Buffy fans will unite to stop anything you try to do do destroy them! Has anyone started a petition yet???
Buffy fans, we have a demon to destroy!!!
Seriously, i wish them luck. Cause they're gonna need it without Joss. Joss (and his writers and amazing actors) were the ones who made the show what it is today and what it was while being produced. I am still getting people into the show and they love it. If the Kuzui's make another god awful BtVS film then whenever the show is mentioned they will not only have one horrible film, but two th help them shudder away from the amazing whedonverse.
Joss was able to deal with the first movie and go on to create an amazing show with an amazing cast and amazing plot lines. The Kuzui's ruined Joss in the beginning and now they're going to do it in the end. Which is by no means fair to Joss.And is Anthony Head thinks it's going to be a car wreck then chances are it will.
I think that the Kuzui's should really think this through before they start the actual pre-production and find out how much they truly want Joss deep down. And how much people will be extremely upset with them when, and if, it sucks monkey butt.
Agree with Mazz. The Kuzuis know nothing of the tone and style that makes Buffy so popular. This is a very, very, very, very bad idea. Let's hope that they make it with a shoestring budget. In the end, they'll only be out by one shoestring.
To Not Drinking Whedon's Kool-Aid, you're commenting on "second-hand" with what I assume is first hand info from someone in the know. Someone please find this person a dictionario and flip to irony.
On a side note, David Fury is writing and starring in the "they got the mustard out" guy prequal, titled "Before the Hot Dog". He's doing it without Joss. I think Fury gets the character though, he might be alright.
Not that I support a Kuzui Buffy movie, but this comment is ridiculously ignorant:
"Yes, nothing screams success like the Kuzui classic "Orgasmo", and let's not forget that other Kuzui epic, "Ruang rak noi nid mahasan". "
Orgazmo is a fantastic movie by the creators of South Park, and The Last Life in the Universe is a great movie starring one of the most popular current Japanese actors. Don't try to make these movies sound obscure, or bad, since they are neither!
A couple of things that bother me so much about this is that are:
1. They're going to soil the name 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' with their bastardized version. The show means an incredible amount to me, so this is very upsetting.
2. The Kuzui's are doing this for money. They're incompetent and can't come up with an original idea on their own, so they leech off of Joss Whedon's idea to try to make their money. It's shameful.
As a massive fan of both BTVS and Joss Whedon, hearing about this movie makes me sick. I hope that no one goes to see it and it fails epically.
A Buffy movie without Joss Whedon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Marsters, Anthony Head, David Boreanaz, Allyson Hannigan and the rest of tv cast would be an EPIC FAIL!!! The old Buffy movie was lame!!! Please, stop another lame and crappy movie!!! Let Joss to make the Buffy new movie! I'd love to see a movie with Spike, Angel, Willow, Giles, Xander and all my fav. characters, created by the genius of Joss Whedon!!!
To Not Drinking Whedon's Kool-Aid, don't try to come off as being objective here. Yeah, ASH wasn't involved with the original movie, but neither were you.
It's not just Joss claiming foul about the 1992 movie. I saw a one hour examination on TV one night about the 1992 Buffy movie, and that was the first I ever knew about Whedon's displeasure at how it turned out. What everyone else has said is true: the director, in all her so-called wisdom, twisted Whedon's original vision of the movie into something tacky and so obviously aimed at trying to capture the teen market that it was just a disappointment that most Buffy fans would rather not think about.
Think about it. Have the Kuzuis ever wondered why their movie was such a failure that is today seen as a negative in the life of BTVS, while the TV series, which was an actualisation of Whedon's true vision of the character and her world, was such a tremendous success? It wasn't luck, that's for damn sure.
A movie without any input from the creator, by people who have never demonstrated any respect for the material or the creator, would be a huge mistake. They've previously cited the success of the new Star Trek movie as an example of how a reworking of the original could be a success, but the Kuzuis are planning on using none of the much beloved characters from the TV series. If they're going to compare this to Star Trek, then I'm going to say that doing this movie the way the Kuzuis are planning on making it would be like making a Star Trek movie with only James Kirk and none of the other crew.
Let's face it, Whedon has a massive ego as evedinced by his treatment of Ms. Carpenter and his comments about Donald Sutherland (how dare someone with over forty years in the movie biz think they know about movies than a snot nosed kid?) in addition to certain press statements in his past (not getting the Batman gig that went to the far more talented Christopher Nolan), so he's always going to blame the film on other parties. Maybe that's even true.
I'm a massive ASH fan, but he wasn't involved in the movie and all he knows is second-hand, so maybe he shouldn't be condeming. I mean what if they get Singer or Nolan or Goyer or Del Toro for four examples as directors, couldn't they add something? Unlikely I know, because of the probable budget, but this condeming out of hand because Whedon isn't involved is narrow-minded to say the least.
Mind you, that hasn't stopped Lenk and Day commenting (Day whose twitter got the entire internet thinking DH was cancelled), and they probably know even less about the film than ASH so....
I'm so glad to hear from a former Buffy cast member. And how eloquently put. The thing is, i'm not sure i'd even want a Whedon sanctioned movie. So many of the cast have moved on, it'd be kinda just milking a cash cow... and well, a Kuzuis Joss-less Buffy? Well, that just shows that after 7 years with producer credits on Buffy they didn't learn a damned thing. It wasn't exactly the main concept (blond, high school vampire slayer)that kept people tuning in week after week.
http://www.igp-scifi.com/best-buffy-moments.html
Yes, nothing screams success like the Kuzui classic "Orgasmo", and let's not forget that other Kuzui epic, "Ruang rak noi nid mahasan".
I would go on listing Kuzui film classics, but of course, there are no other Kuzui movies. No one has been stupid enough to throw money down the Kuzui rathole again, since they stank up the first Buffy movie.
I really want to see this movie. Shudder gasp right? I want to see it because when I say something is crap I like to have proof to back me up.
So far the proof is that Joss isn't a part of it. Right away I know how awful it will be. Now I want to see it just so I can laugh at just how horrible they really got it to be. However since I don't want to give these self rightous morons any money I plan on watching a crappy pirated copy on the internet because good quality film won't make it good a good quality movie.
I would also like to point out how rediculous I think it is that they have the rights to do this. I understand he directed it but as mentioned they fucked it up. More importantly the idea came from Joss. I believe in giving directors their due but this was poorly directed and just so all you directors know if the writer didn't write it you'd have nothing to direct. The owner of an idea should be the one who had it. Period.
That being said Joss rules and these people are insane.
The Kazuis had plenty of credits over the course of the series, their deliberate attempts to go ahead without a full Joss involvement. I mean, did they lose a bet? Is this one of those psychological experiments where you stand outside some random door and wait to see how long it takes for a line to form?
I remember when I first heard that there was going to be a Buffy TV series I thought " there's going to be a show based on that crap movie?"
Good thing I gave the show a chance. It was phenomenal.As are all Whedon shows. It may be a trend to bring back the classics but nothing good can come of the Kuzuis messing with a legend.
Comments (18)
If they do it right it may be a good thing. As I have been saying since the beginning. Joss Whedon as wonderful as he is stopped doing Buffy at a critical time, left it wide open and after much clamoring decided to finish it in the season 8 comic. I don't wish to be picky, but it's not the same and it feels as if it wasnt his best.Granted a new movie with none of the same people and maybe a possible different storyline, could be a disaster. But different doesn't mean bad.All we get from Joss in the buffy category when we all want the story finished PROPERLY is "not going to happen" if the Kuzui's do it right this time instead of the abomination they made the LAST time--it could better..
Couldn't agree more with every lifelong Buffy & Angel fan in the world! Without Joss involved, it's going to be a spectacular abortion of a movie! It's HIS world, one that we all enjoyed visiting for 7 seasons, and for it to be staked through the heart like this is unforgivable! Kuzui's, if you actually care about the fans more than money, at least have the decency to do this movie correctly, involve the writers, as much of the cast as possible, and don't sully the good name of Buffy!!! I grew up with these characters, love these characters, and the Buffy fans will unite to stop anything you try to do do destroy them! Has anyone started a petition yet???
Buffy fans, we have a demon to destroy!!!
I really wondered what would happen if someone made a movie and nobody came. Guess the makers of this alternate Buffy will find out just that!
Seriously, i wish them luck. Cause they're gonna need it without Joss. Joss (and his writers and amazing actors) were the ones who made the show what it is today and what it was while being produced. I am still getting people into the show and they love it. If the Kuzui's make another god awful BtVS film then whenever the show is mentioned they will not only have one horrible film, but two th help them shudder away from the amazing whedonverse.
Joss was able to deal with the first movie and go on to create an amazing show with an amazing cast and amazing plot lines. The Kuzui's ruined Joss in the beginning and now they're going to do it in the end. Which is by no means fair to Joss.And is Anthony Head thinks it's going to be a car wreck then chances are it will.
I think that the Kuzui's should really think this through before they start the actual pre-production and find out how much they truly want Joss deep down. And how much people will be extremely upset with them when, and if, it sucks monkey butt.
Agree with Mazz. The Kuzuis know nothing of the tone and style that makes Buffy so popular. This is a very, very, very, very bad idea. Let's hope that they make it with a shoestring budget. In the end, they'll only be out by one shoestring.
To Not Drinking Whedon's Kool-Aid, you're commenting on "second-hand" with what I assume is first hand info from someone in the know. Someone please find this person a dictionario and flip to irony.
On a side note, David Fury is writing and starring in the "they got the mustard out" guy prequal, titled "Before the Hot Dog". He's doing it without Joss. I think Fury gets the character though, he might be alright.
Not that I support a Kuzui Buffy movie, but this comment is ridiculously ignorant:
"Yes, nothing screams success like the Kuzui classic "Orgasmo", and let's not forget that other Kuzui epic, "Ruang rak noi nid mahasan". "
Orgazmo is a fantastic movie by the creators of South Park, and The Last Life in the Universe is a great movie starring one of the most popular current Japanese actors. Don't try to make these movies sound obscure, or bad, since they are neither!
A couple of things that bother me so much about this is that are:
1. They're going to soil the name 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' with their bastardized version. The show means an incredible amount to me, so this is very upsetting.
2. The Kuzui's are doing this for money. They're incompetent and can't come up with an original idea on their own, so they leech off of Joss Whedon's idea to try to make their money. It's shameful.
As a massive fan of both BTVS and Joss Whedon, hearing about this movie makes me sick. I hope that no one goes to see it and it fails epically.
A Buffy movie without Joss Whedon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Marsters, Anthony Head, David Boreanaz, Allyson Hannigan and the rest of tv cast would be an EPIC FAIL!!! The old Buffy movie was lame!!! Please, stop another lame and crappy movie!!! Let Joss to make the Buffy new movie! I'd love to see a movie with Spike, Angel, Willow, Giles, Xander and all my fav. characters, created by the genius of Joss Whedon!!!
To Not Drinking Whedon's Kool-Aid, don't try to come off as being objective here. Yeah, ASH wasn't involved with the original movie, but neither were you.
It's not just Joss claiming foul about the 1992 movie. I saw a one hour examination on TV one night about the 1992 Buffy movie, and that was the first I ever knew about Whedon's displeasure at how it turned out. What everyone else has said is true: the director, in all her so-called wisdom, twisted Whedon's original vision of the movie into something tacky and so obviously aimed at trying to capture the teen market that it was just a disappointment that most Buffy fans would rather not think about.
Think about it. Have the Kuzuis ever wondered why their movie was such a failure that is today seen as a negative in the life of BTVS, while the TV series, which was an actualisation of Whedon's true vision of the character and her world, was such a tremendous success? It wasn't luck, that's for damn sure.
A movie without any input from the creator, by people who have never demonstrated any respect for the material or the creator, would be a huge mistake. They've previously cited the success of the new Star Trek movie as an example of how a reworking of the original could be a success, but the Kuzuis are planning on using none of the much beloved characters from the TV series. If they're going to compare this to Star Trek, then I'm going to say that doing this movie the way the Kuzuis are planning on making it would be like making a Star Trek movie with only James Kirk and none of the other crew.
Let's face it, Whedon has a massive ego as evedinced by his treatment of Ms. Carpenter and his comments about Donald Sutherland (how dare someone with over forty years in the movie biz think they know about movies than a snot nosed kid?) in addition to certain press statements in his past (not getting the Batman gig that went to the far more talented Christopher Nolan), so he's always going to blame the film on other parties. Maybe that's even true.
I'm a massive ASH fan, but he wasn't involved in the movie and all he knows is second-hand, so maybe he shouldn't be condeming. I mean what if they get Singer or Nolan or Goyer or Del Toro for four examples as directors, couldn't they add something? Unlikely I know, because of the probable budget, but this condeming out of hand because Whedon isn't involved is narrow-minded to say the least.
Mind you, that hasn't stopped Lenk and Day commenting (Day whose twitter got the entire internet thinking DH was cancelled), and they probably know even less about the film than ASH so....
I'm so glad to hear from a former Buffy cast member. And how eloquently put. The thing is, i'm not sure i'd even want a Whedon sanctioned movie. So many of the cast have moved on, it'd be kinda just milking a cash cow... and well, a Kuzuis Joss-less Buffy? Well, that just shows that after 7 years with producer credits on Buffy they didn't learn a damned thing. It wasn't exactly the main concept (blond, high school vampire slayer)that kept people tuning in week after week.
http://www.igp-scifi.com/best-buffy-moments.html
Yes, nothing screams success like the Kuzui classic "Orgasmo", and let's not forget that other Kuzui epic, "Ruang rak noi nid mahasan".
I would go on listing Kuzui film classics, but of course, there are no other Kuzui movies. No one has been stupid enough to throw money down the Kuzui rathole again, since they stank up the first Buffy movie.
Hollywood idiocy at it's very finest.
I really want to see this movie. Shudder gasp right? I want to see it because when I say something is crap I like to have proof to back me up.
So far the proof is that Joss isn't a part of it. Right away I know how awful it will be. Now I want to see it just so I can laugh at just how horrible they really got it to be. However since I don't want to give these self rightous morons any money I plan on watching a crappy pirated copy on the internet because good quality film won't make it good a good quality movie.
I would also like to point out how rediculous I think it is that they have the rights to do this. I understand he directed it but as mentioned they fucked it up. More importantly the idea came from Joss. I believe in giving directors their due but this was poorly directed and just so all you directors know if the writer didn't write it you'd have nothing to direct. The owner of an idea should be the one who had it. Period.
That being said Joss rules and these people are insane.
The Kazuis had plenty of credits over the course of the series, their deliberate attempts to go ahead without a full Joss involvement. I mean, did they lose a bet? Is this one of those psychological experiments where you stand outside some random door and wait to see how long it takes for a line to form?
More likely they're morons.
Exactly! I want a Buffy movie from Joss Whedon, period. This Kuzui crap won't even exist to me.
And this is just one more reason, why Anthony Head is my all-time favorite British Actor. The man has heart!
I remember when I first heard that there was going to be a Buffy TV series I thought " there's going to be a show based on that crap movie?"
Good thing I gave the show a chance. It was phenomenal.As are all Whedon shows. It may be a trend to bring back the classics but nothing good can come of the Kuzuis messing with a legend.
Tony is absolutely right! this movie is going to be awful without our beloved Joss!