Pakistan's Burka Avenger Fights Bad Guys with Books and Pens

The "Burka Avenger" is a superhero cartoon in Pakistan, inspired by a real-life hero and child-activist Malala, who survived an attack by the Taliban and was honored by "Malala Day" at the United Nations.

While she wears a burka like extreme traditional women, in her everyday life this cartoon character is a modern woman - a teacher - who doesn't wear a veil or cover her hair. The creator says he wanted the burka to be used just to hide her identity, a nice twist on the usually oppressive use of the burka to hide a woman's sexuality from the world.

And she protects children from the bad things - sweatshops and religious oppression.

Her weapons? Books and Pens only. And that goes back to something Malala said:

Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first.

Mr. Giles would certainly approve.

Robert Downey Jr. Signed for Avengers 2

Robert Downey Jr. WILL Definitely appear in Avengers 2, which is good news since Director Joss Whedon recently said the movies couldn't be made with him.

Whedon Via Daily Beast

He is Iron Man. He is Iron Man in the way that Sean Connery was James Bond. I have no intention of making Avengers 2 without him, nor do I think I’ll be called upon to do that. I don’t think it’s in my interest, Marvel’s interest, or his interest, and I think everything will be fine. But I know that this is Hollywood and you roll with things. You have to be ready for the unexpected. But I loved working with Robert, and everybody knows he embodied that role in a way no one else can. The day he was cast, I went up to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige and said, “You brilliant son of a bitch.”

EW Inside Movies

Picture a big pile of money in that metal hand.

Robert Downey Jr. has reached a two-picture deal with Marvel Studios to appear in The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3 — but notably

He reportedly earned more than $50 million for The Avengers, and although his multi-picture contract with the comic-book moviemakers was fulfilled by Iron Man 3, everyone involved was moving forward as if a deal for more films was inevitable.

“I’d go start another one tomorrow, but it’s not tomorrow,” Downey told EW when Iron Man 3 was debuting. “And there are a lot of other considerations. But I also don’t like the idea of leaving people hanging or leaving people in the lurch.”

Whedon Talks Avengers in The Daily Beast

Joss Whedon on Shakespeare, Female Superheroes and Feminism (and lots of other stuff) via Daily Beast

Excerpt:

Where does your fondness for heroines come from?

I was raised by a hardcore feminist. I was also much smaller than my brothers and bullied a lot, so I identify with the feeling of helplessness.

Why do you think there’s a lack of female superheroes in film?

Toymakers will tell you they won’t sell enough, and movie people will point to the two terrible superheroine movies that were made and say, You see? It can’t be done. It’s stupid, and I’m hoping The Hunger Games will lead to a paradigm shift. It’s frustrating to me that I don’t see anybody developing one of these movies. It actually pisses me off. My daughter watched The Avengers and was like, “My favorite characters were the Black Widow and Maria Hill,” and I thought, Yeah, of course they were. I read a beautiful thing Junot Diaz wrote: “If you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves.”

. . . The Avengers 2 is on the horizon, and Robert Downey Jr. is technically not signed yet. How crucial is he to the franchise? His Tony Stark is almost Shakespearean.

He is Iron Man. He is Iron Man in the way that Sean Connery was James Bond. I have no intention of making Avengers 2 without him, nor do I think I’ll be called upon to do that. I don’t think it’s in my interest, Marvel’s interest, or his interest, and I think everything will be fine. But I know that this is Hollywood and you roll with things. You have to be ready for the unexpected. But I loved working with Robert, and everybody knows he embodied that role in a way no one else can. The day he was cast, I went up to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige and said, “You brilliant son of a bitch.”

How did you get to direct The Avengers?

I’d known Kevin for a while and was brought on just to read the script and advise the way I have with plenty of people. Eventually, I thought there was a story that I’d like to tell, and Kevin and I were on the same page about that. I took a big financial hit doing that movie. They know it’s your [big] break. Plus, you don’t do it for the money—even if there is the money—because people will know. They’ll smell it. But I fell in love with the story and they liked my version of it.

Joss Whedon ~ Frank Langella's Dracula was "Hot"

Fantastic Whedon interview with Time Magazine




Best take-away? Whedon says that for him, the "hottest" vampire of all was Frank Langella. That shouldn't surprise anyone who recalls the "Dracula" episode of Buffy with the suave Langella look-alike.

Joss Whedon Talks Avengers II

Joss Whedon's modern update of Much Ado About Nothing opened in Ireland today, and he did a press interview which mentioned his attitude towards The Avengers II:

From ComicBookMovie:

Responding to questions about doing more Shakespeare, Whedon says he doesn't want to do another one exactly like he did Much Ado About Nothing. He says that he needs to keep trying different things from a creative standpoint. From there, the discussion turned to The Avengers sequel.

Whedon: When I first considered doing Avengers 2, my first question was what can I do that's new? Because I can't make it bigger....but I can make it better.

The moderator asks about his philosophy for Avengers 2.

Whedon: Death, death and death. (Crowd applauds madly.)

Joss Whedon wins British Film Bloggers Award

Joss Whedon has won an award in Britain:

From Cinemart

At the BFI Southbank’s bar tonight (16th Feb), the BFBC (British Film Bloggers Circle) Awards were announced. . . .

Best Director
Joss Whedon
Best Film
Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone (not The Dark Knight Rises!)
Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix & Daniel Day-Lewis share the distinction (ironic, really)
Best British Film
Anna Karenina
Best Screenplay
The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Adapted Screenplay
Cosmopolis – David Cronenberg
Newcomer Award
Matthias Schoenaerts – Rust & Bone/Bullhead

Here is Whedon talking last year about directing The Avengers and creating a "contemporary pop mythology":