Sarah Michelle Gellar leaving Buffy
 

From EOnline.com

EOnline.com

by Lia Haberman
February 26, 2003, 10:15 AM PT

CHOSEN ONE: Sarah Michelle Gellar confirming to creator Joss Whedon she won't be returning to Buffy the Vampire Slayer next year. Instead, the actress will star in Romantic Comedy. No word on which substitute slayer could pick up her stake, yet.


Okay, this network has had one failed series after another and now they are allowing the star of the only decent thing on the network walk away?

Everyone sell your stock in UPN right now before they drop off the board like Enron!

You'd prefer they keep her against her will as the show wears out its welcome and descends into disresepcted trash like <I>The X-Files</I>? Kudos to SMG for knowing when to walk away. I hope the rest of the cast and creators do the same thing and the show ends with a bang. I'll miss it, but seven seasons is enough.

das

Oh, but UPN does suck.

das

I remember somewhere that if SMG left, that was it for the show. Joss said in an interview (on IGN, I think) that they'd pull the plug and let it die a natural death, instead of beating the horse when she moved on.

No, it's probably the right time for her to walk away. My comments were more sacrasitic. My bad

Well, it was bound to happen sometime. Let's just hope that some characters find their way to Angel, at least as recurring characters.

Of course, that's assuming that Angel will be back next season...

<BLOCKQUOTE> • Quoth Captain Harlock •<HR SIZE=1>No, it's probably the right time for her to walk away. My comments were more sacrasitic. My bad <HR SIZE=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

:cool:

das

More news from TVGuide.com:

The Chosen One has finally made her decision: Sarah Michelle Gellar will exit Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the end of the season, TV Guide Online has learned. Although UPN and 20th Century Fox declined to comment, sources confirm that the 25-year-old actress — whose Buffy contract expires in May — is leaving the cult-classic series to pursue her film career full time.

Talk of Gellar's probable Buffy departure has been gathering steam for months. Adding fuel to the fire: the recent announcement that the Scooby-Doo star will begin shooting the feature Romantic Comedy in August, around the time she would have been returning to work on a new season of Buffy. As one Gellar confidante puts it, "You do the math."

And if Buffy fans think that bites, there's more bad news. That rumored spinoff starring Eliza Dushku, who plays Buffy's rival slayer Faith, is now occupying a plot at the Sunnydale Cemetery. Dushku, who had apparently been knee-deep in discussions to succeed Gellar in a Buffy offshoot, has instead signed on to headline the Fox pilot Heroine.

Still, not all hope is lost. As Buffy creator Joss Whedon told TV Guide Online in October, a Dushku-led series is "one of many" possibilities he's considering. Among the others: a show revolving around Buffy's kid sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) or sidekick Willow (Alyson Hannigan).

Incidentally, during an interview with TV Guide Online last year, Gellar said she believes Buffy could — and should — forge ahead, even if that means anointing a new Slayer. "Absolutely," she offered. "I don't know if it would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer per se, because you kind of need Buffy for that. But it doesn't mean that there's not Dawn and [reformed vengeance demon] Anya. There are a lot of characters that could easily go on, and I'd hope that they would."

The silver lining in the clouds for Buffy fans? Gellar's swan song will reunite her with TV soulmate David Boreanaz. As TV Guide Online reported earlier this month, the Angel leading man has agreed to cross over to his old haunt in May, so that the do-gooder vamp can bid farewell to his Chosen One at the same time as we do ours. — Michael Ausiello

Well, AP has announced it officially, too -- of course we pretty much knew it anyway. Buffy the series ends with this season. There are "talks" ongoing about a possible spinoff with "some" of the original characters.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/200...D7PEGPGO0.html

The only thing worse for a TV show than ending before its time is dragging on too long. I'll miss Buffy, but I'd rather remember it fondly than rue the fact it's still on. The last three seasons of The X-Files were so bad I can't even watch the episodes from back when the show was good anymore. I'd hate for that to happen to another show I love.

Everything depends on the writing. I like the Universe that Joss has created, and I think there are still a lot of good stories left in it. I'd like to see it continue in some form.

When Frasier was spun-off I didn't expect it to be good at all, but it surprised me. Maybe a Buffy spin-off, with the right characters and good writing would do as well.

The funny part is, Dushka is going with a pilot for Fox over a buffy spinoff. Chances of a new Fox series lasting a whole season = very little. Chances of a buffy spinoff last a whole season = pretty good.

Yes, kudos to SMG Prinze Jr. for knowing when to leave the show and making much more money doing "respected" trash like Scooby-Doo sequals and voice-overs in animated films.

I think the reality of the situation is that there won't be a spin-off, Willow will join rank on Angel [logical considering her vested interest in the project and her hubby co-star], the occassional cross-over cameo and more involvement from the best of the Buffyverse once the hammer drops at the end this year. Joss shows continued dis-interest in the original franchise and it seems he is craving a new pot to stir or at least a new stick with which to stir the old one.

Thus speculatith the Kingfish...

:lol:
I don't see her having anything but a mediocre film career. She's a great actress but with her current resume and the fact that she doesn't come off well in interviews I don't see her having the huge fan base that alot of the top actresses have. Not to mention the fact that she has the whole married to Freddie Prinze Jr. thing hanging over her also:D

I hope nobody returns. Let them move on. Alysson can actually act, and SMG will most likely have a few flops before some big dollars entice to do a big screen Buffy flick. As for Nicholas Brendan and James Marsters, I fear they will wonder the convention circuit for their lives. :( Emma will appear in a few stupid horror movies (Darkness Falls anyone?), but never get anything spectacular.

I am with das. End the show before it becomes X-files or a franchise sucked dry like Trek.

Sure I can understand not wanting the show to end but all this stuff about spinoff theories is getting old.
They would be mere shadows of the original show carried on just to make money.

Let it end while its still entertaining instead of leaving a bad taste in our mouths.

Anyone remember Aftermash?

Bad idea.

I think James is someone who can have a nice future acting. He's very talented.

Nicholas on the other hand ,...

Sad but true... Those of us who know Xander from the beginning still love him, but Nicholas hasn't aged very well... Sadly, I'd be awfully surprised to see him successful again...

That's why I think he's a likely candidate for crossovers and spinoffs--what else is he gonna do? :( :D

Hey, James Marsters is coming to Dragon Con this year!

He needs to find a role that is similar to Chandler on Friends. I think a comedy is where he has the most chance of success, I don't see him as a drama actor.

I agree. I actually think a lot of this cast will do well after the show concludes.

James can act and he can lose the white hair and accent and not be typecast as Spike forever. As mentioned in an earlier post, Alyson can act and she has the "regular" person look that, once established in Hollywood, usually secures you work on tv or in the movies for life. Nicholas, probably has nothing much left in the tank, but living off of his Buffy earnings which ain't too bad.

I think Emma is going to do well. The fact that, as bad as I heard it was, Darkness Falls did well at the Box Office was a good break. She can probably do a few low budget films now and a Darkness Falls sequal and see where she stands after that.

And while Dawn seems the most disliked Buffy character, I think Michelle has a very good chance at being a star. She's got looks and the chops to be a terrific actress. She's gonna get a bunch of great opportunities because of being on Buffy and, hopefully, she'll make good choices.

SMGPJ is gonna make even more riches than she currently has, but I don't see her as a top actress. Especially, if she follows Freddie from project to project. Even then, she's a longshot. I think she's getting too much credit for walking away from Buffy. She's long maintained that she's been way underpaid for doing the show (and she's probably right), she's been pretty angered by the lack of Emmy attention (rightfully so), she's not all that happy to be known forever as Buffy now (can't blame her), and rumors have flown for years that she's not well liked by most of the other castmates and crew. If she was being offered HUGE money, say $250,000-$500,000 per episode to come back and Joss wanted to do another season, I think she'd be doing it. She'd make around 10 million and still have room for a big paycheck, summer released, Scooby sequal. I see her having a mostly mediocre movie career and then returning to TV in her late 30's or early 40's like Susan Dey and maybe winning some Emmys playing a judge or lawyer or ER doctor or Crime Scene Investigator.

The thing about ending shows before they suck is that in 99.5% of the cases, the network/studios own the rights to the "production" of the show and THEY say when it's done.

So, yes, SMG and the entire cast can leave and the execs would force the producers to continue doing the show. Even when the creator's deal is up the execs could throw gazillions of dollars at Joss and he could still say "I'm not doing it anymore" and the execs could say, "Okay, we'll get Drew to run it" or bring in someone else and the show would continue on.

See, most TV execs know very little about why or what makes a show good or bad. They simply look at the balance sheet.

I belive SMG is already making $300,000 per episode for this last season, compared to $60,000 per episode David is making staring on Angel.

It is definitely time for Buffy to go...I will miss it though. Angel on the otherhand I need a lot more of. I saw some news on tvtome.com, which also posts actual news on the shows as well as spoilers, which stated that Joss Whedon confirmed that Angel will be back for a 5th season. I didn't believe it so I clicked on the link and sure enough it was right there in black and white. Now I know the WB said they would make a decision on the show in May but if the creator says it than that is good enough for me. In the same article he also stated that he hopes this is the last season of Buffy, hopes that Firefly will return somewhere, that there is still the possibility of a "Faith" show and that it is a real possibility that some Buffy characters will make their way to Angel. Take this news as you will.

Now that Buffy is all but done I really hope I get to see more of the acting skills of Emma Caufield, James Marsters, and Alyson Hannigan who I think can all be really successful outside of Buffy. Although, I would love to see Spike become a regular on Angel. As for SMGPJ...I think she is a fine actress, especially within her gerenation, but she has got to be kidding herself if she thinks that she will get the respect she deserves as an actress by following around the Mister from movie to movie and doing dreck like Scooby-Doo.

If you are right, you are right. But I'd love to see that confirmed because I highly doubt she makes that much. I thought I heard it was closer to $100,000/episode.

It is actually $350,000 for the seventh season episodes. Here is the link - http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Gellar,%20Sarah%20Michelle

Also according to the IMDB.
Nicholas Brendon - $300,000
Alyson Hannigan - $250,000
David Boreanaz - $30,000 (on Angel, not sure which year)

As for how accurate their information is, I don't know.

Boreanaz needs a new agent!

If correct, I wonder why Nicholas would get a dime more than Alyson. Over the course of one season that's roughly a million dollars more per season. And he doesn't even have any super powers.

Also, if those numbers are even close to being right, I can now see why Nicholas and Alyson wouldn't mind some more Buffy seasons. SMGPJ can get 6 million for crappy movies, the others can't even come close to that.

SMGPJ said in an interview this year that she felt grossly underpaid for Buffy. I wonder what she was smoking that day.

Sarah wont even do interviews for the DVDS, didnt want anything to do with the cartoon and seems rather pompous most of the time so it doesnt surprise me that she would say something like that about her salary.

I think Sarah may rethink things after some of her movies dont do so good.
I love her as Buffy but Scooby Doo was horrible and I havent much liked her other movies either.
I thought she was ok in Cruel Intentions.

The reality of the situation with popular stars is most dont make it. They either leave a show in its prime (Caruso/Farah Factor) or you come off a hit show with a swelled head, make a few movies, never or rarely to be heard from again.

You can go back to young people from the 60s and 70s and 80s that are now doing Star Dates, E True Hollywood Story and Cast Reunion Movies. There are a few exceptions but how many Jodi Foster and Kurt Russels can you name??

Sure I want these people from Buffy to succeed but we know Hollywood and Hollywood typecasts.

I hope none of them go over to Angel. Angel is great just the way it is.

My predicition, Buffy films are risky, but we might see that. But Buffy is a human being, the slayer will get older, maybe it will be like Columbo, and we revisit Buffy later one, the show returns, Buffy is older, it's a whole new ball game, it's just a predicition, the show can end, but the character continues, so there's always possibilities. I think depending how Sarah's film career goes, it will determine future Buffy comeback.

In terms of Faith spin off, anything can happen with her new show at Fox, if it lasts only one season, Joss could ready a Faith spin off a year later, people would be more hungry for it then, if her new show is good, then I'll be watching, if its not, then preying its not too late for a spin off.


In terms of a spin off, Spike would be cool.

Angel
Spike
Buffy
short names


And in tonights Spike episode, Spike in London.:D

just curious wouldn't this possibly be construed as a spoiler as well as news? i haven't read all the posts because i am afraid as to what they may contain, but i thought it should be brough up.

Nope. Not spoilers that a actor is leaving a show unless you tell how and we dont know that.
Its been all over the news on the Internet and TV today. You would have to be living in a cave to not hear and besides, look at the title of the post!

I guess it's better to go out and be remembered as great, than to drag on and start to suck.

What's next, putting Spoiler tags on MSN home page and Yahoo home page?

This was headlines on both of those.

Sarah Michelle Gellar's "Post Buffy" career summary
 

Making a string of B movies

Attempt television comeback by staring in a sitcom on that will be cancelled after 3 weeks

Appear on Celebrity Mole

Star in soft core porn on Cinemax

Pose nude in Playboy

The last two are a lot to hope for I know

I'm not surprised that Sarah Michelle Geller is leaving Buffy: The Vampire Slayer--a move that will likely end the show.

She doesn't want to be typecast--the same situation that ruined the career of Tina Louise from Gilligan's Island.

A good thing for Geller to do is take a few years off from the entertainment industry, then come back with a new TV series or a movie with something completely different.

Heres more news.
Thanks for not Milking it Joss.

BUFFY Won't Continue Without Gellar, UPN Eyes Spin-off But Whedon Not Quite Ready



Posted: 12:37:18 on February 27 2003
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: General Genre/SciFi

On the heels of yesterday's news that actress Sarah Michelle Gellar would not return for an additional season of the popular UPN genre series BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (story), today series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon says the show will not go on without her. Speculation had circulated that the show might continue sans the 25-year old Gellar, who's departing for a bigger film career.
Speaking to Variety, Whedon said, "We're shuffling off to Buffalo. Sarah's decision was wrapped up in mine. We weren't interested in doing it without the other."

UPN bought BUFFY for its last two years in 2001 after producer Fox and rival network WB couldn't agree on terms for its renewal. The STAR TREK network has anchored its Tuesday night line-up with BUFFY and is interested in a spin-off of the series. Whedon, however, isn't ready to jump into a follow-up just yet.

"I think ideally the best thing to do would be to wait and not rush anything," Whedon said. "There are paradigms that I've posited that could start next year ... (but) whatever came next, it would have to have at its center an idea as worthy as ('Buffy' and spinoff 'Angel') were. And somebody who's pretty."

Whedon says he hopes BUFFY has made an impact in presenting strong women that defy Hollywood stereotypes.

"[BUFFY was] part of the move toward genuinely strong female characters that weren't cardboard cutouts. The idea was to venerate people who weren't taken seriously and make a real strong feminist statement."

UPN's remaining genre tentpole next season will be ENTERPRISE. Read more.

I think we could cut her some slack. She's anchored 7 years of incredible television and done a mighty fine job. Whether you think it's greed or arrogance or simply wanting to do something different, I can't see any reason to fault her for ending it at the natural stopping point that everyone anticipated 3 years ago. Despite her marriage to an idiot, she's an incredibly talented actress, and there's not much else you can do when shooting 18 hour days 6 days a week. Maybe she'll flop; maybe she'll have a great career; either way, she's given a lot to this show, never abused her celebrity to back producers into a corner like many stars of popular shows, and deserves the chance to move on.

She certainly has the talent to do good things; hopefully, she'll show some wisdom in choosing good projects.

das