- Joss Whedon & Ira Glass

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Whedon: It was equal parts that and the love of the silly. The concept originated as an audio podcast that I would do myself because I was hungry to write some songs and I liked the idea of the character.

And then the Writer’s Guild went on strike. I tried to make some deals with Silicon Valley companies and song studios to create jobs and put out product. But it took so long trying to make a deal with these companies up north, that I missed my window. So I said, “I’ll just do it myself — if that’s okay with my wife.” And because I could not afford to do a huge, lavish production we did it with a ton of favors.

We were, at the time, very much in the spirit of the strike. By the time we finished writing ["Dr. Horrible"] and had everyone lined up, the strike was over and we all had shows to scramble to do. But we found a window to shoot it. It became us goofing around and just having a great time making a piece of art that we all enjoyed.

Once we finished … it was equal parts ethos and capricious glee. We said we were going to roll it out for free and then put it on iTunes. We just steamrolled past everybody’s idea of how you market and of how long it takes to do these things. We had people [drawing up] contracts in days that usually take months, because we were tired of people sitting around.

Ultimately, though, we were still in the mind of: This is a bit of a lark. The strike was over and so we wanted to do right by everybody, but we weren’t thinking it would be a grand statement. We thought it was going to be cool.

Knowledge@Wharton: Several numbers have been quoted regarding the overall cost of “Dr. Horrible” — “low six-figures”; “around $200,000″ — can you set the record straight?

Whedon: We got so much of this done through people doing us favors — department heads and people who have access to things. But you’ve got to pay your day-to-day crew. The actors all did it for nothing. And we all did it for nothing. So, the production costs alone — the basic costs of filming the thing, and getting the locations, props and everything — ran a little over $200,000.

We had a secondary budget drawn up in case of a profit, wherein we were trying to find rates for Internet materials. In some cases they didn’t exist. We used models that had been created by the guild for repurposed, or reused, material that we used for original [content], because this had never come up before.

We didn’t want to leave a sour taste and say, “Well, we made some money off of you guys being kind.” It was like: No, everybody has to benefit from what they’ve done, obviously not enormously — it’s Internet money we’re talking about — but as soon as we got in the black, we paid everybody off.

So that budget was probably about twice what the original budget was.

Knowledge@Wharton: You’ve now earned more than twice the original cost?

Whedon: Yes.

Knowledge@Wharton: Which members of the production shared in the profits on the backend?

Whedon: The crew that got paid, got paid. [Those] who didn’t get paid [included people like] department heads who had jobs and could afford to do this as a lark.

As we go forward into profit, there are also residual schedules and payment schedules for all of the creative people. We’re trying to figure out how that works.

From the start I also laid down a gross participation scheme for my three key actors and the other three writers. While the guild was negotiating for one-tenth of a yen, I said, “How about we just get into some percentages.” It was an opportunity to say to the guilds, “Guess how much better we can do” — which, in the case of the Internet, is the only way for the guilds to survive.

We can’t accept anything remotely like [our current situation] with the studios.

When the studios talk about the difficulty of monetizing the Internet, they’re not lying. There are a lot of paradigms wherein you aren’t making that much money. But it’s all pure money for them because they have these libraries they can just put on. They’re really not interested in putting on original stuff because they can just throw the libraries on and make free money off of that. None of us is in that position.

For [the studios] not to offer the creative community a percentage of what they make — they say, “oh, it’s too difficult” and “we’re not going to make any money” — is disingenuous to the point of criminality. What they’re making is pure profit. For them to shut out the people who actually created the content is something that should be looked into by a federal investigatory committee.

Knowledge@Wharton: It sounds like you want what you’ve done with “Dr. Horrible” to serve as a model for similar original content.

Whedon: I do.

Knowledge@Wharton: What do you think the likelihood of that is?

Whedon: That largely depends on a number of people — one of whom, sadly, is me. This could just stand out as Camelot and disappear. Or it can be a model that is built on. And I’m one of the people who needs to be building on it. That’s something I’m looking into right now.

I’m not a business man. I’m also not a techie. My ideas on how to monetize the Internet for independent productions are ideas that other people have already had. But I am in a position to try to take advantage of them in such a way that we get a toehold in this medium and [establish] a system of creating some original content before the giant companies sweep in and fence it all off.

The movies, TV — everything is melding, everything is shifting. If you saw it on a movie screen, it’s going to be on your phone. That territory is moving … now in a destructive way because we’re losing residuals. But eventually it’s just going to be an inevitability that … the studios are going to have to rethink how they monetize [content]. Obviously TiVo makes their relationship with advertisers different. And that’s going to become more and more the case. A lot of it can’t be predicted — at least, not by me.

But if somebody isn’t out there creating a system wherein independent production can thrive, it will wither.

We are now in such a homogenized, globalized, monopolized entertainment system where studios are swallowing all independent producers and productions. And they’re swallowing each other. Eventually there will just be Gap films and McDonald’s films. And that will be it.

The worst thing that’s happened in this community is the death of the independent television producer. We have to make sure that that doesn’t happen on what is, right now, a public forum, and not a privately owned forum.

Especially with the economic disaster that the last bunch of presidents has left us with, independent film production is shutting down. The film and television industry is finding itself in the position the music industry found itself in [a few years ago]. The difference is they have a chance not to do what the music industry did, which was to ossify and to basically lock themselves in their fortress until they ran out of food.

They have an opportunity to try to stop the revolution by making evolutionary deals. They’re not inclined to do that right now. So the trick is to create a venue that becomes attractive to them and [where] there is still an independent voice that can partner with them.

Ultimately, they have the power. They have the advertising dollars, they have the distribution systems and they’re a force to be reckoned with. I would like to [sit] at the table as an equal, and not as one of the goddamn serfs who is giving them all my goddamn grain.

Knowledge@Wharton: You’ve made “Dr. Horrible” available through a number of different distribution channels. It was free for a short period. Then it was available for purchase as a video download through iTunes. The soundtrack can also be purchased online. It’s now available once again for free, streamed over the web with advertising. And now there’s a DVD. Can you give us an idea of how successful each of those has been?

Whedon: iTunes has been a great boon for us. And the DVD has done quite well — although I’d love to bump that up more [Admin: you can buy the DVD in the USA or Canada and sign up to be notified in the UK]. Streamed [online video] with advertising is probably the smallest revenue. Whether that’s a viable monetization scheme … is the question. In some ways it acts as an advertisement and in some ways it might be pulling people away from bothering to download it or to buy the DVD.

In the case of the DVD, we went so ballistic with extra content that it took twice as long to make as the movie [laughs]. It wasn’t just a question of: Here’s another potential revenue stream. It was a question of: Here’s something new, so that you don’t feel like this is something you already have. We were trying to protect the monetization stream there and give people a new experience.

Knowledge@Wharton: You’re a third generation television writer. Was it easy to land your first writing job in Hollywood?

Whedon: Well, it was definitely easier for me in the sense that someone would read my script. My father’s agency said, “Look, we don’t do any favors. We’re not interested in this guy. But because he’s your son, we will read the script.” And that’s a door that doesn’t open for a lot of people.

Plus, I’d seen television scripts my whole life. I was raised by a tribe of funny people. Those things help. I understood the rhythms of the thing. Those advantages I never take for granted. But, ultimately, I still had to do the thing. And they read the script and I got an agent, and several spec scripts later — a job.

So, it always comes down to: Can you do it? Can you write it? I’ve made my way for a long time. But was I halfway down the track when the starting gun went off? I was.

Knowledge@Wharton: You’ve created content for television, for feature films, for the web. Do you view these as fundamentally different media or as merely different distribution channels for similar content?

Whedon: I see them as different media. They are connected and connecting in ways that I find both fascinating and appalling in the sense that everybody’s trying to make every story work on every platform. Sometimes you’re like, “Can you just make a frickin’ movie! Can it not be a franchise and a comic book and a bobblehead? Can the characters just matter?”

Part of it is absolutely respecting that the media are different. That doesn’t mean that you can only make things on the Internet that are two minutes long, like a lot of people believed. But it does mean that a movie and a television show and a limited Internet series are going be positioned differently, responded to differently and experienced differently. Ultimately, it’s always going to boil down to: Did I [care]? Was I having a good time?

But the integration of the things can be exciting, if it’s approached the way everything needs to be approached — which is artistically.

The problem now is the form that the integration takes. When I’m shooting my TV show I have to shoot it for 4 by 3 television ratio and widescreen — which means I can never compose a true frame. I’m always splitting the difference between frames. And that is destructive. So you do have to make a choice at some point.

Like when we did our commentary musical [on the "Dr. Horrible" DVD]. It’s ridiculous. It’s sophomoric, it’s silly, it’s off-topic. But, ultimately, we were striving to make a commentary musical, not just to pile on content for the sake of clocking more hours on the extras DVD. We wanted to use the idea of a commentary musical to at least have fun with the concept. Even if we didn’t really break huge ground there, we were professionally silly.

Knowledge@Wharton: What do you think the media landscape will look like in another five or ten years?

Whedon: [Sarcastically:] I am exactly the kind of visionary who is so brilliant that he doesn’t want to share that with other people. Meaning: I have no idea.

I still call my iPod “my Walkman.” OK? I am old. I have gray in my beard — which, by the way, is terribly sexy. I’ve never been a maverick.

If you look at “Dr. Horrible,” it’s a very old-fashioned story. And it’s a very old-fashioned presentation. What I was going for was, basically, a television event. It’s going to be on at this time, and this is going to be your opportunity to see it, because it’s not going to be on after that. Tune in this night, this night and this night when it premieres.

Obviously, it was slightly different than that. But that’s the ethos I was going for. I’m a very old-fashioned story teller. I am not, in any way, a visionary. I just try and make whatever I do good enough that people let me do it again. That’s pretty much my scheme.

So, five years from now, we will all have antennae. I got nothing.

The challenge for me now is to create some kind of formula for creation and monetization on a medium that may be completely different.

Right now, DVD is a great revenue source for an Internet-based venture. Most people are saying that in five years, DVD will be over. Sales are already way, way down from what they used to be. I don’t understand how I’m going to ride that change. I’m just trying to make as much fun stuff as I can and stay, if not one step ahead of it, then not caught under the swell.

Knowledge@Wharton: Can you recall the first piece of popular entertainment — a TV show, a movie, a comic book — that really made an impression on you as a child?

Whedon: Umm … all of them?

Let’s go with “Help, Help, The Globolinks,” a horror opera that I saw when I was five. It terrified me. They drove a van on stage — which was awesome. And then the van broke down, the Globolinks came, and the only thing that would keep them away was music. A young girl had a violin and she would play the violin at them and they would go away.

It just terrified me. But, at the same time, I adored it.

Knowledge@Wharton: Speaking of opera and musical theater, what are the chances that “Dr. Horrible” is going to make it to Broadway as a full-blown Broadway production?

Whedon: We talk all the time about all the possible venues for “Dr. Horrible.” And then we go back to our day jobs that we’re supposed to be doing in the first place.

Broadway is something that we’ve talked about. I had a very funny experience talking with a Broadway veteran who basically said, “Oh, yeah, come to Broadway because there you’ll have complete control and be treated with respect, and it will all go really easily.”

[Sarcastically:] Right. And I was like, “Hmmm, I think I’ll go back to the Internet, where you just put it on for free!”

I would love to do it. Broadway is a dream that we all have. But I’m not terribly interested in repurposing things I’ve already done. Obviously, I made a TV show out of one of my movies and a movie out of one of my TV shows, so it sounds like a crazy thing to say — except that I didn’t tell the same story in either of them. I just took the story I had further.

And that’s what I’m concentrating on with “Dr. Horrible.” It’s not so much like: “How can I squeeze another media out of this story” but: “What happened to him after?”

Knowledge@Wharton: You felt that Fox didn’t handle your TV series “Firefly” particularly well. I’ve heard that you swore to never go back to Fox, and yet you’re working with them on “Dollhouse.”

Whedon: That is not, in fact, the case. I never swore not to go back to Fox. I left my deal at Fox because I couldn’t think of any TV shows, and I didn’t want to be paid to not do anything. Looking back — I can’t imagine why I didn’t want that [laughs]. It sounds so cool.

I was heartbroken, but I never swore not to work at Fox. The production people had not done anything bad. They let me make the show the way I wanted to. And the network — well, they’re constantly changing, aren’t they?

If it had been the same people running Fox now as it was then, I would not have come back. But you don’t swear, because the ground is shifting under you constantly. It was doing that even before the new media made everyone cranky.

Knowledge@Wharton: What advice would you give to someone starting out that wants to make an independent film or web content? How can they get their work seen? How can they generate enough revenue to do another one?

Whedon: The fact of the matter is, if somebody has a story to tell there is no reason at all that they should not be telling it. The quality of the material that exists — I’m talking about the physical [equipment] like the cameras — [allows you to do] things that could not be done when I was a kid for almost nothing.

People aren’t going to the Internet to look for IMAX [large screen movies]. They’re going to look for things that shock and delight and surprise and upset and all that good stuff. They’re going for the most basic story.

A lot of people sit around and go, “How can I get this made?” The only answer is: By making it. By borrowing someone’s camera. By buying a camera. They come cheap and they work well. And if you know where to point them — and the person that you point them at is saying something interesting — that’s it! That’s how it works.

I can’t stress enough that I believe the best thing in the world is for everybody who feels like they have a story to tell, to tell it.

If they want to sell it, if they want to make a lot of money, they can do that — and they can kiss their story goodbye. Because, in general, that’s the last they’re ever going to see of it, because somebody else will own it and they will either not make it, or make it very differently than that person hoped.

So, if you really have a story you think you’re ready to tell, what are you doing talking to me?

• Read the full article and interview Knowledge @ Wharton
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Dr Horrible Sing-Along Goodie Bag

…Some interactivity included a sea of waving red glowsticks during part in when the on-screen crowd is doing the same (sans glowsticks). Also, as Dr. Horrible grows huge during Brand New Day we were instructed to “Stand up and crush the ant-like people around you”. Fun.

See the Buffyfest website for full details & video interview with Clinton McClung.

Buffyfest: Care to share any inside secrets for this Friday’s event?

Clinton McClung: I have been mulling over sing along ideas for Dr Horrible for a while. Even the first time I watched it my mind was racing with how fun it would be to see with an audience, and what kind of interactive activities we could do. So, I made a list of moments, found some props, and there we go. I don’t really want to spoil any of it ahead of time…but there won’t be a cast or anything like that. This show will be all about the audience, and the experience of finally seeing Dr Horrible all big and shiny and with a huge group of happy, roaring fans.

Oh, and I know there was a Dr Horrible sing along in LA on Halloween, which was a huge event and raised a ton of money for homeless charities. This screening is much smaller in scope than that, and I purposefully didn’t look for any details on what Whedonopolis did for that show because I didn’t want to steal anything. There were still some overlapping ideas (shrubbery!), but this is just the first experiment in doing the show sing along style over here on the East Coast.

To read the full interview go to the Buffyfest website.

Watch the video Here

Rachel, you were recently added to the Dr Horrible team as Project Manager, how did you get involved?

Rachel Rhee: I happen to know Jed and Maurissa’s agent and he let me know that they were in need of someone to help manage all things Dr. Horrible. I’m sure after Comic Con, fan mail, press requests, etc. they felt a little overwhelmed! I went into interview with Jed and Maurissa and for some crazy reason they thought I could handle it. And here we are in the middle of an interview!

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was released on iTunes in Australia and the UK recently – are there any other international stores you’re working with?

RR: That is something we are definitely looking into. We’re always looking to expand into other markets, so nothing is ever ruled out.

Can you tell us why it took so long for Dr Horrible to become available outside the USA?

RR: There really isn’t any good answer to this question, other than these things take time. If it were up to me, it would have been up on the same day it came out in the US! What’s important now though is that a lot of the international fans can finally get a taste of just how horrible the Dr. really is.

The soundtrack has been released via a number of services in addition to iTunes including Amazon and Napster, was this always planned or was it arranged in response to fan demand after the iTunes release?

RR: Nothing was ever planned. No one had any clue that Dr. Horrible would be the #1 show on iTunes for several consecutive weeks. So in response to the demand, we put ourselves on Amazon, Napster, and we are pending with Rhapsody, and several other music stores.

Will the soundtrack be released on CD?

RR: Yes, it will! Like the DVD, it will definitely be out in time for the holidays.

Will there be any additional content on the Soundtrack CD release?

RR: The CD booklet has some really cool graphics that include behind the scenes pictures. Hopefully the fans will enjoy it!

Is there an estimated DVD release date yet?

RR: The DVD will definitely be released in time for the holidays. We’ll be taking pre orders for this very, very soon. Keep your eyes open for it…

Have you been pleased with the applications you’ve seen for the Evil League of Evil?

RR: Beyond pleased. Amazed, actually. The level of creativity that Dr. Horrible fans have is astounding. We’ve all been sifting through the hundreds of applications that were submitted and it is definitely tough trying to pick out the favorites.

I keep an eye out on the Whedonesque message board to see what fans are saying and I’ve read that a lot of people are feeling like their applications might not get selected because they are not getting written up about by some of the press the ELE has received. I just want to reassure everyone out there that every, single application is being reviewed. If you submitted to us before the deadline, it will definitely get seen by the Dr. Horrible Team.

In addition to the best 10 Evil League of Evil entries, we know there will be a regular and a musical commentary track on the DVD, are there any other special features you can tell us about or will that be kept as a surprise until the release announcement? Will there be any Easter Eggs?

RR: The actual content on the DVD is going to be a surprise, so unfortunately I can’t reveal too much. We’re in the final stages of putting it all together and I definitely believe the fans will fall in love with Horrible all over again. The release date is coming up so we’re all very excited to see the response!

A lot of people are interested in public performances of Dr Horrible either in the form of screenings or live productions, is it going to be possible for people to be granted permission to do this? What will be involved in receiving permission?

RR: It is definitely going to be possible for people to hold screenings or live adaptations of Dr. Horrible. On Halloween, there is actually going to be a charity screening of it at the Fairfax Regency here in LA. We’re actively collecting requests and are reviewing them one by one. If you are interested in creating some sort of event involving Dr. Horrible, feel free to pass that information along to the DoctorHorrible.net webmaster, and she’ll make sure to get it through to us.

Initial response to Dr Horrible was obviously overwhelming, how are things looking several months on?

RR: Still overwhelming. We’re constantly getting approached by companies wanting to help expand Dr. Horrible and we’re still getting a lot of fan mail via email, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. The buzz is still going, especially since we just went live on international iTunes not too long ago. Less than 24 hours after we went live, we were already the #1 TV program on iTunes in the UK and Australia. Insane!

Is there anything else brewing that you’d like to tell us about?

RR: Not anything that I can share at the moment. Sorry to be so vague!

Michael Boretz

Brian Wiser: I’m Brian Wiser and I’m speaking with Michael Boretz, producer of Dr. Horrible. Thanks for joining us Michael.

Michael Boretz: You’re very welcome.

BW: You worked with Joss for a number of years before Dr. Horrible. Can you tell us a little about your history with Joss and how you came to work for him?

MB: I was working on a Sony movie as a production secretary called Identity with John Cusack, Ray Liotta, and Amanda Peet. The producer’s assistant, a guy named Rupert Cole who was a friend of mine, was going to try to bring me on as the producer’s second assistant. That didn’t work out because he stopped working for her. While I was back home at a golf outing with my family, I got a call from Rupert saying that his roommate, Kelly Wheeler, who I had met once before, was the producer’s assistant on Buffy, and that Joss Whedon was looking for an assistant. I wasn’t very well versed in Buffy or Angel (Firefly wasn’t out yet at that time) so I had to do a little bit of research. I wound up trying to memorize all the seasons’ arcs before my interview. I was very nervous. And then when I met with Joss we didn’t talk about any of that stuff. I think he picked me over the other person he was considering because, quite frankly, I didn’t frighten him or possibly I made him laugh. At one point I remember in the interview I could tell he was starting to get a little bored so I tried to make him laugh and it worked. I attribute landing the job to that moment.

BW: I think it’s always a good idea to show the interviewer that there is an actual live, creative person on the other end, so that was very smart.

MB: Yeah, I was grateful he didn’t have me quote Buffy, but I don’t think that was the most important thing for Joss. I think he just wanted somebody he felt had good organization skills and someone he saw playing more of a producer role one day. So that was how I came to work for Joss and I worked as his assistant for a period of about five years while he had three shows on the air, through Serenity up until recently.

BW: That’s an incredible opportunity you’ve had to see things from the inside perspective of how Joss’ mind works. Having spent so many years with Joss, what are some things you may have learned from him that may have influenced your approach to producing Dr. Horrible?

MB: Well, working with Joss for so many years on multiple projects allowed me to be able to understand what he was looking for creatively and how to communicate that vision to others. This gave me the ability to be an effective producer for him. The script and the songs were already written by Joss, Jed, Maurissa and Zack when he called me in to talk about this musical short project he wanted to do. He had seen my short film Splitting Hairs which I had done and put together while I had worked for him. He was nice enough to give me the time to work on it, and I shot Splitting Hairs while he was in post production on Serenity. So he had seen my short, known what I was capable of, and asked me to help him with Dr. Horrible. And what I did was immediately start to think of key crew who would be willing and able to help us with this project. Since he didn’t have a whole lot of money and was funding it himself, it was important that we got people who were not only willing to help us out, but also people who were very familiar with how Joss works. Lisa Lassek agreed to edit it and Shawna Trpcic who did costumes for Angel and Firefly jumped aboard as well. Loni Peristere from Zoic agreed to do the VFX and I brought in my production designer from Splitting Hairs, Alethea Root. We also brought on as our director of photography Ryan Green who was our camera operator on Serenity. So it was helpful having those years of experience to know the people, and then once they were hired, to be able to communicate effectively with them to relay Joss’ vision and help facilitate getting us into production quickly.

BW: Joss called in favors such as getting a discount on the Universal backlot. The way Dr. Horrible was envisioned and with the limited budget and resources you had to work with, what were some of the other challenges you faced getting it off the ground?

MB: We had a limited budget and we just had to make Dr. Horrible at a reasonable amount. I’d say that was our biggest challenge. It was only through the help of those who know Joss and were excited to be part of the project that allowed us to overcome our budgetary restrictions. A lot of the key crew worked for free and others at a reduced rate with the goal that if Dr. Horrible became profitable we would then compensate them. People willing to work on a labor of love and bringing it in on budget was what made the production possible.

BW: It says a lot about Joss that people are willing to do anything and everything they can to help make his projects successful. Having that history with him no doubt helped immensely.

MB: What I’ve witnessed over the five plus years I’ve known Joss is he really inspires people on multiple levels. He’s talented and so obviously the writing itself people love. On top of that he inspires people not only with that talent but when you meet him he’s very charming, he has a great sense of humor, and he’s very down to Earth. It’s kind of amazing. You’re in awe of this guy when you meet him because you expect him to not be so approachable and not so open and warm, and he is. He creates that kind of environment on the set as well. And that’s why people like to come back and continue to work for him and are willing to do favors. So, you have this great working environment on set. You have a lot of fun because the project you are working on has great dialog, it has fun actors, and everybody is on the same page. And on top of that you have this genre bending story with lots of jokes, lots of action, and great songs — it’s a lot of fun. It’s not like we’re all signing up to do some kind of period piece or something that’s just overly depressing, like the American political system.

BW: It would be a very different world if everyone worked the way Joss works. With the sales of the show and soundtrack on iTunes, can you say if you are in the black?

MB: I haven’t seen the books but things are moving in the right direction.

BW: There is always some risk when entering new territory the way this was released, but I’m sure the fans and Joss have faith that you’ll prevail very shortly with the stellar sales on iTunes. Can you comment on when the DVD or CD-based soundtrack may be available?

MB: The goal is for both the DVD and CD to be available for pre-order in the near future and hopefully they will be shipping before Christmas.

BW: That’s beautiful! I know what everyone will be getting for Christmas this year! We know that there will be a musical commentary track and Evil League of Evil applications as part of the DVD special features. Are there any other special features you’re planning on, or any other ways of involving the fans?

MB: There will be a bunch of fun stuff on the DVD. I think fans are gonna be stoked.

BW: That was a brilliant idea with the Evil League of Evil applications and getting the fans even more involved and becoming a part of that world.

MB: We got over 650 applications! It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve watched a bunch of the applicant’s submissions and it’s a blast.

BW: It’s interesting how much the fans have embraced Dr. Horrible in a variety of ways. I attended DragonCon and there were several Dr. Horrible sing-a-long performances in the style of the Buffy musical. I actually performed in one myself and it was great fun.

MB: What role?

BW: I was one of the Bad Horse Trio.

MB: Sweet!

BW: The first performance had over 2,000 people in the audience and not everyone was able to get in. And at the end, people from the audience gave homemade Evil League of Evil ribbons to everyone who participated. It’s fun to see how it keeps perpetuating and growing.

MB: Wow, that’s so cool. Great to hear that people are having so much fun with it.

BW: In addition to T-shirts, what kind of merchandise can we look forward to? Singing greeting cards and action figures?

MB: Maurissa informed me that new T-shirts are about to launch on Jinx very soon.

BW: Are there any plans to enter Dr. Horrible in film festivals or show theatrically?

MB: There are many plans in the works. We have to make sure we get our ducks in a row first. The real focus right now specifically is making the DVD and CD available.

BW: Do you think that the incredible success of Dr. Horrible has created an opening for others to follow a similar path releasing films online and being more of an online experience initially? Do you think you’ve paved the way for more things like that in the future?

MB: It seems that way. People, both independents and within the studio system have taken notice of Dr. Horrible. We’ve received a very positive response and I hear more and more about individuals shooting webisodes. I have people contacting me trying figure out how to monetize them and make a success out of them. So yes, I think Dr. Horrible has in a sense opened up people to this and shown them that it can be done successfully. I think that the effects of this project are greater than we ever could have hoped for. For one, it’s a hilarious short film musical. It’s unique, a rarity, and on top of that it’s an industry game changer.

BW: It definitely is. Of course it would be wonderful if this could continue with other Dr. Horrible productions. Do you think there may be the possibility of a TV series or movie?

MB: There are a lot of plans and a sequel in some form is a likelihood.

BW: That’s excellent news and will make a world of people very happy.

MB: Yes, I think those are the intentions for Joss, Jed, Maurissa and Zack. And in between doing double duty on Dollhouse, Fringe and trying to get everything else done, that’s definitely the next step after getting the DVD out — figuring out what’s next.

BW: In addition to producing Dr. Horrible, you had a nice cameo role. Is this the first time you’ve been involved as an actor and how did you find that experience?

MB: It was a terrifying experience. It was our first day of shooting and I believe it was even the first scene up. I was there to wear a “producer’s hat” so to speak, and I remember I had to put on this moving guy uniform which was a little tight. It was this one-piece thing and when I zipped it up I could barely breathe. It was more like a girdle. And all I had to do was say “it’s about time” which had been recorded by Joss previously, prerecorded with Jed. I had to land on my mark and I was totally insecure and Joss luckily took it easy on me and gave me some good direction. It took about four takes which also involved getting the camera right. I’m glad I did it. Even though I was very self-conscious, in hindsight it was so much fun.

BW: A fun and memorable experience without a doubt. That’s always nice to see things from different perspectives — acting, directing, and producing. You’ve had so many wonderful experiences with Joss. Are there any hidden meanings or inside jokes in Dr. Horrible that people haven’t discovered yet? Something in the background, a phrase that was used, or something that would be funny when discovered?

MB: You’ll have to ask the writers that one.

BW: Is there anything you’d like to say the fans in closing?

MB: What I would like to say to the fans is that none of this could be possible without them — the success that we’ve had. The response has been amazing. And this isn’t some kind of gratuitous suck up. It’s that people have been contacting me about shooting webisodes and they want advice on how to make it a success. And the truth is, it couldn’t have been done, as it’s becoming a habit now, without the fans’ support. It’s one thing to shoot something, and shoot something that’s good, but without Joss’ loyal, excited and enthusiastic fanbase we wouldn’t have had the spread, the number of hits and views, and it wouldn’t have been so high up on iTunes. This would not be possible without the fans. It really wouldn’t be. So thank you.

TVWeek believes there are 10 web series creators with that certain something that will separate them from the wannabes. Their results are based on an online poll, reader comments at TVWeek.com and a heavy editorial thumb on the scale.

Featuring in their list are Dr Horrible’s Joss Whedon & Felicia Day

Felicia Day

Creator: Felicia Day, actress-writer-Web producer, has become the patron saint of online talent. She has one of the highest profiles among actresses working on the Web and is well-regarded by the online community that’s active on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

Shows: A self-proclaimed “rebel at heart,” she wrote, produced and starred in “The Guild,” an independent Web series that has garnered more than 9 million views and numerous awards. She starred alongside Neil Patrick Harris in Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” this summer and played Vi in eight episodes of Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on TV in 2003. Her new projects include a sitcom she’s writing for Machinima.com. “I’m most surprised about how much happier I am having my own show on the Web than when I was just another actress in Hollywood.”

Advertisers: “The Guild” is supported by fan donations, and a DVD of the show is available. “We have turned down a lot of deals because we haven’t felt the partner was a perfect fit for our vision of the show,” she said.

Distribution: The Guild is distributed at www.WatchTheGuild.com, MySpace and YouTube. The first season ran for 10 episodes and the second season launches next month.

What’s to like? “The Guild” is a wry portrayal of a group of online gamers whose dysfunctions make them lovable. The writing is tight and actors turn in surprisingly coherent performances.

What’s not to like? The show is still self-funded and has yet to land an advertiser on its own. That model has a lot of street cred, but isn’t financially viable for long. Production values need to improve to hit the level of other top-level Web shows.

Joss Whedon

Creator: Joss Whedon, a director, executive producer and Academy Award-nominated writer (“Toy Story”). He is best known as the creator of TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly.” His newest show, “Dollhouse,” is scheduled to debut on Fox midseason.

Show: Joss Whedon crafted the breakout Web hit “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” about a bumbling super-villain and his crush on a young woman. The show is a 43-minute, three-part “Web musical” starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. Mr. Whedon wrote the show during the writers’ strike earlier this year as a statement about “scribes striking back,” he said. “I was surprised the media took it seriously as something other than a lark, because for us it was a lark. It was a deliberate lark and a calculated good time,” he said. But he’s aware that the show has become a measuring stick for the viability of Web video. “This Web series is about the freedom to create what I want to create,” he said.

Advertisers: Advertisers for the show include run-of-site deals on Hulu, from sponsors such as Degree. The show is on track to break even soon. Revenue comes from iTunes, sales of the soundtrack, advertising deals and from an upcoming DVD release. “In a couple months we can start paying off everybody,” Mr. Whedon said.

Distribution: The show premiered in July on DrHorrible.com and also on iTunes. The show was so popular the first day it ran that it crashed servers, yet it still generated more than 2 million streams in its first five days online. The show now runs on Hulu.com.

What’s to like: Because of Mr. Whedon’s track record in Hollywood, he was able to line up top-notch actors at practically no cost for the initial six-day shoot. Both TV and Web critics have gushed over the show.

What’s not to like? The show was a one-shot deal, with no sequel or follow-up planned.

Felicia Day

If you’ve been following Dr Horrible you’ll know that Felicia Day has done interview after interview after interview since Dr Horrible started gaining attention. Recently Felicia Twittered that she’d had to decide “No more interviews. That’s it. I could spend all day at mixers and doing interviews, but I gotta make more stuff to interview about!” so the Dr Horrible Fan Site is very thankful to Felicia for granting us one final interview… Thanks Felicia!

If you had written Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, how would Act III have ended?

FD: I see no reason to morning quarterback (yipes, was that a sports term I just used?!?!). It was set up so beautifully that the way it ends is the only way it could have ended in my opinion. It was perfect. Had it been more upbeat, I think it would have not had the impact it did. Art should provoke and not placate. I think all the controversy is a compliment, not a detraction.

Some people have criticized Penny’s character saying she’s not strong enough and doesn’t live up to Joss Whedon’s usual portrayal of strong women characters, do you have an opinion on that issue?

FD: Does every woman character have to be “strong”? What does that mean anyway? To me Penny represented the normal life that Horrible craved, someone who didn’t judge, someone who cared about others before she cared about herself. She wasn’t kicking people in the face, but she was true to herself and brave enough to be “good” in the face of a cynical society. Just because she was naive doesn’t mean she was weak. Personally, I loved playing her.

Last time I spoke to you, I asked if you would be interested in doing a sequel if given the opportunity, you joked that you’d work Craft Services if you had to. Now that we all know what happens in Act III do you think we’ll see Penny return in some way if there’s another episode?

FD: People read waaay too much into that Craft Services remark! I always talk about craft services! Because frankly, it’s one of the great things about filmmaking: An open trough of food to snack on all day featuring thing you’d never buy at home, like processed cheese and crackers. Who wouldn’t want to work in Hollywood with that as a perk! As for a sequel, I can only cross my fingers! Of course I’d love to come back somehow, but only if it served the vision of the Horrible creative collaborative. If they’re reading this, I can also snap a mean clapboard.

Did you have any expectations about how people would respond to Dr Horrible before it went “live”?

FD: I’m so tied to the net I practically have an Ethernet cord plugged directly into my brain, so it was obvious to me that Joss + Whedon Fan Base + Amazing Product would be a phenomenon. That said, the reality of it was more overwhelming than I could have ever envisioned. It’s one thing to say “it’s going to be huge”, but to see an independently produced show in the #1 slot of iTunes and featured in a spread in Entertainment Weekly, that was nothing anyone could have predicted.

Last week was your first visit to Comic Con – what were your thoughts as a visitor?

FD: Uh, wow. Can we say unprepared?! I had no idea they constructed buildings to accomodate that many people! It was insane! When I was rushing from place to place I kept lamenting the fact I was so packed that I couldn’t stop and shop. When we walked on stage for the Dr. Horrible panel and like 3,000 people were cheering, man. I know why Miss America ladies cry now, sorry I made fun of them all my life. It was overwhelming, like the whole weekend.

What was the experience like as a guest?

FD: Crazy!! I literally couldn’t walk sometimes because so many people would recognize me! The thing I’m proudest of is that when I was in the more “corporate” section of the exhibit floor, I didn’t get stopped much, but when I was on the independent vendor side, I wouldn’t make it two feet without a wave. I love that!

Do you have a favourite fan encounter from Comic Con?

FD: When Irrel (http://twitter.com/irrel) gave me the cutest fan art for Dr. Horrible of me, Dr. Horrible and Hammer. She also did fantastic fan art for The Guild that I found online later, you can see it on The Guild site, www.watchtheguild.com. It was so amazing, I will treasure that drawing and meeting her.

Will you ever confess to Twittering in public again?

FD: LOL I love that moment, I turned as pink as my sweater! The only revenge I have is that I’m sure that I’ve created a few thousand Twitterholics like myself after that incident. Take that!

Do you ever worry that being so open with fans will create problems for you, do you think there will come a time when you’ll have to back off a little?

FD: Due to the massive influx of communication, I am finding that I can’t really answer nearly as many emails/msgs etc. which sucks, but I still try to read everything at least. I could spend 9 hours a day just answering Facebook messages, which does no one good if I have no time to write or produce other things That said, I’ll never consider it a “problem” until someone shows up on my doorstep (please don’t do that, haha).

As someone who is so involved in the social networking community, what was your reaction to seeing Dr Horrible on the front page of MySpace this week?

FD: I was pretty geeked out (Did you see my Twitter? ) I was particularly struck that it was getting so many views. A lot of web people have “theories” about length of videos, what viewers will tolerate, but Dr. Horrible shows that it’s quality that keeps people watching, not arbitrary length.

What impact do you think the success of Dr Horrible will have on your career?

FD: Of course I hope it opens doors for me in mainstream TV and movies, but honestly I’m most excited about the opportunities to keep producing and acting in web content. I love being on the forefront of a media revolution, and Dr. Horrible definitely lends web video more legitimacy and will forge new pathways for creators everywhere.

The second season of The Guild should be out in September, is there anything else you’re working on we can look forward to?

FD: We’ll be shooting The Guild Season 2 in September, so release may be pushed to October. It’s all about getting the funding pushed through at this point. I have a Guest Star on House airing in September that I’m looking forward to, and I’m writing another show with Machinima.com, a sitcom set in a game world. In my “spare time” I’m also developing a few other projects for the web and other media. There are so many opportunities for me right now I just need the time to figure out what direction I want to go and do it!