WarnerMedia Launches Investigation Into ‘Justice League’ Director Joss Whedon’s Behavior on Set
Costar Ray Fisher said Whedon was “gross, abusive, unprofessional” in July
Umberto Gonzalez | August 20, 2020 @ 3:37 PM
Last Updated: August 20, 2020 @ 4:06 PM
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Human resources at WarnerMedia are currently investigating accusations made by “Justice League” actor Ray Fisher that director Josss Whedon behaved inappropriately during production of the 2017 movie, according to multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation.
The investigation has been in the works since July 1 according to Fisher, who on Thursday tweeted “After 5 weeks of interviews with various cast/crew, @WarnerMedia has officially launched an independent third-party investigation to get to the heart of the toxic and abusive work environment created during Justice League reshoots. This is a MASSIVE step forward!”
“I believe this investigation will show that Geoff Johns, Joss Whedon, Jon Berg (and others) grossly abused their power during the uncertainty of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner,” Fisher said in a follow-up tweet.
“Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable,” the actor, who played Cyborg in the DC Comics superhero team-up movie, said in July. “He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg,” he added, referring to the Warner Bros. executives who headed up DC Films (Berg also served as a producer on “Justice League”).
Whedon famously took over “Justice League” from its credited director, Zack Snyder, and reshot several sequences and oversaw the film in postproduction. HBO Max back in June announced plans to release Snyder’s previously unseen cut of the film.
Despite the assembled might of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, and The Flash, “Justice League” opened well below studio expectations, at $96 million, and its worldwide tally was $658 million.
Representatives for Whedon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
The 10 Most Terrifying Shots of Superman's CGI Mouth in the 'Justice League' Theatrical Cut
There is at least one thing about the "Justice League" Snyder Cut that we're pretty sure will be a big improvement: it should have Superman's real mouth, and not the CGI monstrosity that plagued the theatrical cut. During Joss Whedon's reshoots, Henry Cavill was sporting his "Mission: Impossible" mustache and they had to CGI over it. And it was very disturbing! So lets reflect on that horror while we patiently wait for the Snyder Cut to hit HBO Max next year.
One of the most troubling scenes is actually the very first of the movie: an old cell phone video taken by some kids before Superman died in "Batman V Superman." This is the first full shot of his face, which immediately sets off all sorts of red flags. What an incredible choice of first impressions by Joss Whedon and Warner Bros.
For the record, I don't blame the CGI folks for this. I think mankind was simply not meant to digitally remove mustaches from a movie character's face.
The CGI lip obviously was a hot topic of conversation when "Justice League" was released in theaters, folks pulled this shot (taken just after he was resurrected) from a pirated copy of the movie to make jokes about it. We are proud to present a high quality version of that image for you here.
It's a wonder that Lois still loved him after he smiled at her like this.
Maybe the most overall disconcerting bit is when Superman uses his ice breath to freeze Steppenwolf's axe. He's not even recognizable as Henry Cavill there.
What a gift, forcing us to look at this horrific thing from another, more grotesque angle.
The mid-credits scene, where Superman and the Flash decide to race to see who's faster, might have been cute were it not for, well, you know know what the issue is by now. Below are three other shots from that scene -- truly it is a wealth of horrors, including this part where I don't even know how to describe what his mouth is doing.
If you really want the full CGI lip experience you should watch "Justice League" in 4K and Dolby Vision, as I did earlier this week. It's so much worse!
In this part he kind of looks like Michael Shannon, who played General Zod in "Man of Steel."
AGH! They actually ended the movie with this almost-freeze frame. Good lord.
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Henry Cavill’s infamous CGI upper lip in “Justice League” only appears in about a half-dozen scenes, but that’s more than enough for it to make a major impact
There is at least one thing about the "Justice League" Snyder Cut that we're pretty sure will be a big improvement: it should have Superman's real mouth, and not the CGI monstrosity that plagued the theatrical cut. During Joss Whedon's reshoots, Henry Cavill was sporting his "Mission: Impossible" mustache and they had to CGI over it. And it was very disturbing! So lets reflect on that horror while we patiently wait for the Snyder Cut to hit HBO Max next year.
