Marti Noxon interview

[Warduke]

I found this at C&S and I thought you guys would find it interesting since she talks about W/T, I put the W/T part in bold

We decided that since most of the BtVS writers have fanpages and 'clubs' that we should do one for Marti Noxon. It's tentatively titled 'The Marti Parti Page', but we may change that to 'Noxon's Rockin'. (We're also taking suggestions) Anyway, a while back, we contacted her via snailmail to ask her permission to do a site for her and she emailed us back and agreed. She was actually very flattered and nice about it. So, we decided to be brave and ask her to do a ten count Q&A.

Once again, she said yes and we mailed her the questions and she mailed us back. We don't have the site up yet, (damn internic is taking forever to register our name) but I got permission from the President to share this little interview with her from last week.

>>>>>>>>

1) Is it true you named Riley Finn after your dog?

Yes, that's true. Joss loved the name Riley and we had kicked around things like 'Matthews' and 'Jones' to go with it, then I came in late one day and said that I had taken my dog 'Finn' to the vet and Joss said "'Riley Finn'!" We all liked it and I was giddy.

2) Were you sad to see Riley go?

I'm always sad to see anyone go, but Marc's departure was incredibly bad. We've all gotten to know him and he's just amazing, so yeah, it was pretty hard. I think he served his purpose though. Last season, he was the link Buffy needed to the Initiative and he was there for her when no one else was, and this season, he showed her a little about herself. It sometimes takes seeing what you do to other people to see who you truly are.

3) What can you tell us about Spike's future?

Oh, he's in for it. We're going to have so much fun with this and it's really powerful because his feelings are real and the gang, Buffy especially, will realize that there are exceptions to every rule. Most of our story arcs and plots have a 'moral' or say something big and this is no different. There's a reason we're going here and it's not just because we wanted to utilize James, which we do. It's because we have a plan.

4) Any chance of Willow and Tara smoochies on camera?

I'm sure we could if we wanted to, but it's been our goal since day one not to treat their relationship as a rating's gimmick and you can imagine how it would be billed if we did go that route. "Their love has overcome many obstacles, in a very special Buffy, Tara and Willow kiss!" No thanks. We find their relationship to be just as gratifying to us as viewers without exploiting it in any way. And sadly, it would be exploited. We can put Anya and Xander or Buffy and Riley in bed and nothing happens, but if we tried that, we'd be plastered all over the news.

5) Can you dish Xander?

He's got an upcoming episode where he has to make a really startling choice and we see his growth as a character really well in that episode. I'm probably the most proud of Xander through the years. Here's a guy who did 'okay' in school, who overcame a dysfunctional family, and moved on to score a decent job and a nice place to live. Xander's a very real character. He doesn't have super powers, he doesn't always get the girl, but he's taking care of himself in every sense of the word and that balances the show really well.

6) Is it true that this is the last season of Buffy?

You can never tell this early in the game. We always end every season as if it could be the last. There's an actor's strike looming on the horizon and you never know who might want to break their contract or which network may want to swoop down and buy the rights to the show. So, I honestly don't know. I can tell you that we have ideas that could take the show on for many years to come, but our actors are getting older and getting film deals and if we keep them tied to Buffy for too long, they may not get to capitalize on their abilities in other formats. We'd like to do at least seven seasons, though, and it could definitely happen.

7) Do you have a favorite character and couple?

I enjoy writing for all the characters. I find it easier to write angst and sexy episodes, but I sometimes zing a pretty funny Xander line. I enjoy the ensemble and they are all pretty easy to relate to. As for my favorite couple, I was a huge fan of Buffy and Angel, Xander and Cordy, Willow and Oz, all of the main core couples over the years. And I really enjoy all the current pairings, too. Of course, I'd like to shake them up and put this person with this person, until someone reminds me that it's not a soap opera. Oh well.

8) Is Joyce gonna die?

Probably one day, Joyce will die. So will everyone else. Was that evasive? Sorry, I can't really answer anything that direct because my answer could spoil something one way or the other.

9) When is the next crossover?

I think we're backing off of the crossovers. It was a scheduling nightmare when we were trying to send Sarah to work on Angel and David to work on Buffy. There may be some minor character crossovers one day, but Buffy and Angel are pretty much separate and need to stand on their own legs. We can't always keep the shows connected because there's a chance that one will end before the other and if we kept them joined at the hip, when one goes down, it may pull the other down with it. And Joss was sending a very clear message last season with The Yoko Factor. When we broke that story, I remember him saying that he wanted a clean cut with Buffy and Angel. No more ties, no more bad feelings, just a brief conversation and an amicable parting of ways. The characters are truly not in each other's worlds anymore, and while that may change at any moment, we don't plan on complicating the lives they want to rebuild by crossing them over. I'd personally like to see Xander cross over and complicate things for Cordelia, or Giles cross over and complicate things for Wesley. Or how about Tara and Willow crossing over, getting into some magickal mayhem, and shaking up everything.

10) Do you go online?

I'll probably be visiting my very own site that you guys create everyday. Heck, I'll probably make it my homepage and show everyone who walks into my office. I may even make printouts and pass those around. I don't go to the buffy.com page very often because I had a really bad experience there. I know, I shouldn't take it to heart when someone says I suck, but it stings and I just can't enjoy "lurking" there when there is so much negativity. It truly can affect your creativity and since I do this for a living, I need to stay positive. And I know of a few
occasions where certain posts have driven someone to tears. I respect all opinions, but it gets really nasty there and I don't want to be involved in that. Don't get me wrong, a majority of the people are absolutely amazing, but I think a few others are there just to tear the morale down.

Wow, thank you so much for making the site and for devoting a little piece of the web to me! I can't wait to see the finished produce and I will be sending everyone I know there as well. These were great questions!

Love,
Marti

I don't buy what she's saying about kissing as a rating's gimmick, I mean come on, they've been together for over a year, to show a kiss between two people who are deeply in love and have been going out for a while is just reality. How long were B&R together before they were going at it like rabbits?

[xita]

I don't trust Marti anymore, ever since she said that Tara fans should be really concerned over Family. She keeps saying, we could have a kiss if we wanted. Aly and Joss keep saying the network won't allow it. I don't know what to think. Joss.. please don't leave.

[darvangi]

"I know of a few occasions where certain posts have driven someone to tears" - - I wonder if she's talking about Amber. It's no wonder VIP posts at the Bronze have dropped off to almost nill. May the hatemongers of the Bronze be banished from the internet and forced to watch Jessica Alba's quivering lips for 40 hours straight.

"How about Tara and Willow crossing over, getting into some magickal mayhem, and shaking up everything." - - I really wouldn't care to see W/T crossover to Angel unless it was a damn good story. The crossovers have been the worst eps, IMO, and I wouldn't want my favorite characters to get dragged down. Just give them their own series and I'll be happy.

As for the kiss business, I'm so freakin' sick of this topic - I just want to ignore it and try to enjoy the show as best I can even though it looks like kissing will never happen from this quote. If I labor over the lack of PDAs I can see my love of W/T losing steam, and I really don't want that to happen. I'd like to hide my head in the sand and think pretty thoughts instead. Watch me as I cover my ears and scream "la la la la."

[Trickster]

I agree with what you are saying about:

quote:

---

I don't buy what she's saying about kissing as a rating's gimmick, I mean come on, they've been together for over a year, to show a kiss between two people who are deeply in love and have been going out for a while is just reality. How long were B&R together before they were going at it like rabbits?

---

Yeah and how boring was it everytime Buffy and Riley went at it? Put me too sleep most of the time. It was so been there, done that, can we see someone else, please? Of course in the beginning it wasn't that bad, but still Anya and Xander kiss, we don't see them having sex, granted we hear about it all the time, but still we have seen them kiss and share affection.

As a matter of fact every Buffy couple ever have kissed and shared affection, heck even the one night stand (Parker) got to be see kissing and more with Buffy.

I mean I don't personally want to see Willow and Tara going at it in every episode, but it would be nice to see some public desplays of affections between them. At least as much as we see from Xander and Anya.

------------------
I love Buffy The Vampire Slayer!quote:

[xita]

Darin, I too will close my eyes, cause I can't seem to get around this.. so I am going to ignore the big pink elephant.

[april]

okay, there is such thing as going too far to avoid the semblance of a ratings gimmick, and this is it. a gimmick is where the show and the network hype something to death for ratings. if something cool happens on a show, and it garners a lot of attention even though the show and network did nothing to highlight it, that's not a gimmick. it's good television. and letting willow and tara kiss is not exploiting them!!! geez!!!

what i really can't believe, though, is her response to being asked if we'll ever see them kiss: "i'm sure we could if we wanted to". if that's true, then i feel like we've been getting mad for some of the wrong reasons. all along, i've been under the impression that joss, the btvs cast, and all of the writers would have *loved* to have a w/t kiss, and only the tyrannical repression of the WB was keeping them from it. but now, marti seems to think that they could get away with a kiss if they wanted to, but they don't out of a desire to not seem "gimmicky".

there are plenty of ways to have willow and tara kiss without it being gimmicky, and there have in fact been several times where a kiss was blatantly missing (quite the opposite of having one gratuitously inserted as a gimmick). people may not like me for saying this, but at some point, WB censorship and not wanting to be exploitative become merely convenient excuses to cover up the *real* reason they won't show a w/t kiss on BtVS - cowardice. i think that marti, at least, is afraid of what will happen if they air a w/t kiss, in terms of ratings, in terms of fan backlash, in terms of people's perception of the show. she can make excuses about gimmicks and exploitation, but that's what i get out of her comments. and it makes me even madder to know that they might actually be able to convince the WB to allow willow and tara to kiss, but they aren't going to.

but hey warduke, you forgot to bold one other little w/t mention:

"Or how about Tara and Willow crossing over [on Angel], getting into some magickal mayhem, and shaking up everything."

how about them crossing over into a later timeslot and having that kiss? huh marti? how about it?

[BBOvenGuy]

This interview tells me a couple of very interesting things.

#1 - Willow/Tara is Joss's baby. We already knew that, but this confirms it even more. Willow and Tara are together because Joss wants them together, because Joss has an artistic statement he wants to make with them. Marti doesn't have Joss's vision and is therefore much more reluctant to take risks and push the envelope the way Joss would like to do.

#2 - Marti sounds like she's much more "Hollywood" than Joss. Joss is an artist. He makes a statement and he fights for that statement, and he would rather say nothing than say what the suits force him to say. Marti is more of a "player" - much more likely to say Hollywood-ish things like "fans should be concerned" or "I'm sure we could do it if we wanted to." That's not to say she couldn't make a decent show, but I think she'd be more likely to shy away from anything a focus group or a network suit didn't like.

I suspect that if Marti had been running the show when Tara was introduced, there never would have been a romance between Willow and Tara. It would have been a Xena/Gabrielle thing, where there would have been subtext but also lots of boyfriends thrown at them. As it is, I think Joss has taken the relationship too far for Marti to undo it if she ever took over the series, but I wouldn't look for the relationship to progress any farther under Marti's guidance.

[This message has been edited by BBOvenGuy (edited January 03, 2001).]

[Roxton]

Joss created the relationship, he's the one who has brought it to the point where it is to-day and until I see proof to the contrary I'll believe his version of events over Marti's. As Bob said, Joss is the one with the vision and is therefore much more likely to take risks and push the envelope.

I also have to agree with Darin, while I would love to see Willow and Tara kiss I'm not going let the lack of it interfere with the enjoyment I get from watching our two favorite wiccans. One of these days it will happen and when it does I want to be surprised.

[This message has been edited by Roxton (edited January 03, 2001).]

[MikeThatGuy]

Thanks for posting the interview. It's always fun to hear from the writers, since we get a certain amount of depth, and little hints but nothing too spoilerish.

Please post the URL once you have the site up. Sounds like fun. Marti had a cover story in the San Jose Metro sometime last year.

m i k e

[Warduke]

Speaking of PDA or should I say the lack thereof, I can think of two times that W/T were holding hands in public (at the bronze in Who Are You and at the beginning of NMR) but since they became an “official” couple at the end of NMR, have they held hands again?

Now I’m not forgetting all the little touches and the looks and stares they give each other, those are the little things that make their relationship so romantic for me but I would just want more hugs and holding hands and stuff, since we can’t have any kisses…for now

You’re right april about a lot of times where a kiss would not have been gimmicky and where a kiss was blatantly missing, 3 that come straight to mind are at the end of NMR, when Tara got in bed with Willow in Family and the dance at the end of Family, all these scenes called for a kiss, I still enjoyed them very much w/o a kiss but to have put a kiss in any of these scenes and call it a gimmick would just be idiotic.

Like BBOvenGuy said, I think we’re all very lucky that W/T is Joss’s baby because if it were up to Marti, we wouldn’t be here

[eekiboo]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Warduke:
Speaking of PDA or should I say the lack thereof, I can think of two times that W/T were holding hands in public (at the bronze in Who Are You and at the beginning of NMR) but since they became an “official” couple at the end of NMR, have they held hands again?

---

yes, they have held hands in S5. they were sorta half holding hands in Family b4 Spike hit Tara's nose. watch closely and ul see it. 'k? peace! oh, thanks for the interview on Marti. she seems kinda nice so bring on her new webpage. if that's her opinion re: W/T's kiss, so be it. she is entitled to it.

------------------
Willow to Buffy: "we have to face it, you can't handle Tara being my girlfriend..." The Yoko Factorquote:

[The Godfather]

Don't get too into this interview...I question the validity of it. Some of the comments read very strangely..and isn't it interesting that one day after the TV Week blurb where some columnist nowhere associated with Joss said that Yoko was the end of B/A..something he could never know and in fact probably only Joss knows..Marti has an interview where she reitterated the same sentiment almost too the word...I just think it's strange also that the web-site is not up yet...

A couple weeks back we had something called the Underground Express spoiler site and that site never materialized but produced a ton of questionable spoilers plus strange quotes..makes me suspicious...

Also, strange that she refuses to answer the Joyce question saying it would spoil things but is more than willing to spoil other things..

My guess is that we have the same creative writer at work here..

-Shawn

transplanted by xita

[xita]

Godfather, I am with you on this, which is the reason I hadn't dragged it from Cross and Stake. I don't like posted things that have no source. It seems to me that they would wait to have premiered the interview at their website. Anyway, Marti has said before that she thinks she could have a kiss if she pushed for it. On the other hand, I doubt she would push for it. How would she know what the network has said is ok or not. I am still trusting Joss on this one. And it is his baby. I know he'll still be breaking storylines for next year, so I feel safe that big things wouldn't happen without his approval.

[The Godfather]

I should have read this interview more closely the first time because the part about the actors's strike hits me as blatant proof that thing is false..if they have seven year contracts, they have contracts..it's not easy to break them..and I doubt she'd be talking as though it would happen...

The writers also have every intention(and Marti has said so in various TRUE interviews) of going at least six..

_Shawn

[The Godfather]

And another thing and this one actually related(and then I'm sorry for being a nuisance)..Dawson's Creek had Jack and Ethan kiss and there wasn't a single flap about it...if Tara and Will were to kiss, it wouldn't be a large media event so this rings false also..

-Shawn

[Warduke]

Xita and Godfather…it does make sense that it’s false, if you have an exclusive interview with someone and your waiting to put in on a web site dedicated to that person, then why would you post your “exclusive” on some other site?…it doesn’t make sense.

Shawn…about the kiss on Dawson’s Creek, I asked a while back why wouldn’t the WB allow W/T to kiss when they’ve already let two guys kiss on DC?…because I couldn’t understand why it’s ok for two guys to kiss on one show but two girls can’t kiss on another show…the replies I got was that it’s ok for two people of the same sex to kiss as long as it’s a funny scene, not romantic or the “feelings” aren’t shared by one of the people kissing or it’s a good bye kiss, meaning there won’t be any more.
I don’t watch DC, so I don’t know what kind of kiss it was but I was told that they two guys aren’t together so they fall into an “acceptable” category of gay kiss on TV but with W/T, if they kissed it would be between two women who are in love and in a committed relationship and this seems to really scare the WB.

[The Godfather]

Warduke: It wasn't funny. It was tragic. Jack was going to commit to Ethan but Ethan had already decided to move onto some other stud or maybe it was a past boy-toy..I don't recall but I do remember that it was NOT funny..so that hardly holds up...it was a huge moment in Jack's life..when he was willing to accept what he was and be with the guy he thought he loved but the guy was over him...

-Shawn

[Warduke]

Actually Shawn, that proves my point, they allowed the kiss because it didn’t lead anywhere, they had a kiss but no relationship, with W/T it just the opposite, there’s no kiss but they’re in a loving committed relationship and this seems to be the thing with the WB, you can kiss if there’s no relationship or you can have a relationship but no kissing, which of course makes absolutely NO sense at all.
I would love for W/T to kiss but it doesn’t affect my view of their relationship, they are still the best couple on TV, not to mention the cutest and no other couple even comes close to being so romantic in my opinion and that’s why I love them so much.

[BBOvenGuy]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Warduke:
Xita and Godfather…it does make sense that it’s false, if you have an exclusive interview with someone and your waiting to put in on a web site dedicated to that person, then why would you post your “exclusive” on some other site?…it doesn’t make sense.

---

Gee whiz, first we can't trust spoiler synopses... now you're telling me we can't trust interviews??? Isn't that carrying paranoia and cynicism just a bit too far?

I have enough trouble understanding why someone would go to the time and trouble of writing up an entire fake spoiler synopsis, but if I try I can grasp the desire for attention, etc. at passing one's self off as the bringer of spoilery goodness. But faking an entire interview - especially one that doesn't really say anything spoilery - seems a bit too useless for me to understand why anyone would do it.

And as far as the bit about:

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Godfather:
the part about the actors's strike hits me as blatant proof that thing is false..if they have seven year contracts, they have contracts..it's not easy to break them.

---

Contract or no contract, if SAG goes on strike no actor who wants to keep working in Hollywood will dare cross the picket line. It's not going to happen. If there's a strike, the Buffy cast will be on strike, same as everyone else.quote:quote:

[The Godfather]

You missed my point. The contracts still hold up after the strike. Plus, the writers strike will coincide with the SAG strike so it's a non-issue..

Let's think of the three last substantial spoilerish articles:

1) The Underground Express claims that there is a new spoiler site coming up. They also have quote from an upcoming(reportedly) Expose where Joss supposedly says that they changed their minds on the no more vamps thing. That's huge.

2) The Joss one with the person no one has ever heard from from a site no one knows and without a magazine attached to it. This one has Joss claiming that Buffy will become isolated and completely without the gang in anyway. Also fairly spoilerish.

3) The new Marti one, also an interview, reportedly gotten by snail-mail(are you going to tell me that no one on Buffy.Com or at the PBP has ever asked to host an official Marti site? Unlikely..) for a site that is also, not up. This one basically says that Buffy will realize that Spike is unique and that there are always exceptions..and it quotes practically word for word a blurb in a magazine the previous day by an unrelated to Joss columnist asserting his opinion that Yoko meant B/A were over. That and the day over the preview for Triangle aired in which it plainly shows that Xander has to make a choice between Wills and Anya, Marti reveals this..I find it suspicious..

4) And this one is stretching it but the writing and speaking styles in all three are almost identicle.

Look, if I'm wrong great but I will say this, we know that the same person is writing the extensive and long ep summaries(they constantly put B/S together in almost romantic sitches, include recent rumour spec and ALWAYS involve pop culture references)..isn't it conceivable, in fact likely that this person, who is extremely well-written and obviously a studier of all about, could be doing all of ut and sitting back to laugh at the constant hysteria?

-Shawn

[xita]

These are all also getting posted on the cross and stake. It's all very suspicious. You are right, no source has been yet given for that JOss article. I am doubting we will see the marti site as well.

[dokkyo168]

Well whether or not this interview is valid, I just wanted to sort of defend the opinion semi-stated by Marti or whoever this "marti" might be in relation to the Jack comment by The Godfather. okay that was a long intro, so...

What Jack has doesn't really relate to what Willow and Tara have. On Dawson's Creek, Jack's storyline and development is all about him coming out, dealing with, and maturing because of it, etc. etc., but with Willow and Tara they're more than just about being homosexual. They're witches in training (and beyond) for one thing are and are thus used differently towards the delevopment of each episode. For Willow and Tara it wasn't a matter of coming out and explaining it to your friends and family. Coming out was a mute point since they already developed a loving relationship without focusing on the my-lover-is-the-same gender-is-I issue. (if that is an issue)

I'm glad by the way things are progressing as they are and have. In a more satisfy world, Willow and Tara kissage is absolutely welcomed. From what I remembered about the Jack/Ethane kiss was that it did get entertainment media air time, but personally I wouldn't want to see Buffy on ET or Access Hollywood just because of the love scene that goes on between two characters, I want airtime that recognizes the quality of the show and relationships themselves -- not the same thing as an exclusive on a kiss between two female co-stars.

I don't think I exlpained myself in the best way possible, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but it's just an opinion I have.